jbraynolds

Very good point. I guess my definition of New York "fine dining" is, indeed, actually "luxury dining" and that's the distinction that, in my opinion, sets the J-G's, Daniel's and Ducasse's apart from, say the Danny Meyer group or Gotham.

I wouldn't call Gotham, Babbo or Craft (or USC, Gramercy, Hearth, etc.) "fine dining" when compared to Jean-Georges, Le Bernardin, Atelier, Per Se, AD/NY, Chanterelle, Daniel or, in the recent past, Lespinasse. Anybody who has been to any of these places and the aforementioned three would realize that their goals/aims aren't anywhere near as lofty. Which is NOT to say that they aren't wonderful restaurants.

Okay, here's one for the conspiracy theorists out there. Those in the food & wine trade in D.C. back in the late 80s and early 90s (that would include me) who spent more time with industry folk rather than their families (um, that would have been me, as well) knew all too well about a simmering feud of egos between Gerard and Jean-Louis Palladin. Maybe "feud" is too strong a word but there was some serious competition and oneupmanship going on, perhaps fueled by the fact that Gerard, back in the Paris days, had replaced Jean-Louis as the youngest chef to ever get two Michelin stars (I guess the fact that Marco-Pierre White replaced Gerard was mitigated by the fact that he was a Brit, so didn't make the D.C. boys say "ah, what the f***"). And don't forget that the shadow of Yannick was hovering around as well, making D.C. one incredible city for high-end French dining...and all of this was to the great benefit of the D.C. dining fanatics (this was also when Roberto Donna was staking his claim as well as the ascent of Peter Pastan and Obelisk and when i Ricchi was flat-out remarkable...but that's for an Italian dining conspiracy discussion). All in all a truly amazing era of fine dining, as anyone who was around back then would attest. Am I the only one who thinks that he can track the waning of Gerard's spark to the departure of Jean-Louis from the D.C. trenches? Go ahead, talk about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, I won't stop you.

Just re-read what I wrote and by "stuck in Austin" I mean "limiting oneself to bbq places in Austin and not driving to a destination place like Lockhart". Then it occurred to me - freakin' Taylor is almost as close to Austin as Salt Lick, timewise. Round Rock is closer and they have Cooper's. You could also go to Elgin and Crossroads in about the same amount of time as driving to Salt Lick. How much further is Lockhart than Salt Lick from downtown Austin? Geez, you could probably find a McDonald's that has the McRib closer to Austin than Salt Lick (maybe that's being a bit harsh). Bastrop is a shorter drive than Salt Lick! Now I'm even more appalled.

My D.C. brother-in-law called late last week to tell me that some radio restaurant guy down there (Sietsma?) ripped Rosa Mexicano a new one on his show, saying that one should stop in for the guacamole, have a cold beer or a BASIC Margarita and then go somewhere else for dinner. Fwiw, here in NYC, the new RM, on the west side, has gotten pretty much the reception that Donrocks has given your version. The original location, on the upper east side, has taken a considerable tumble in recent years, btw. It's pretty much "get some guacamole, a beer and a margarita and haul ass" anymore there as well. Oh, on a side note, I had the horrible misfortune of dining at the Baltimore Austin Grill last Monday. Would have been better going to Taco Bell, or even getting the two-tacos-for-99 cents at Burger King, I'd say.

I don't know if the steaks are good or not at Gibson's because it's such an incredible zoo and the service is, in my experience, so perfunctory that I can't wait to get out of there. The jam scene you hve to fight through (almost literally!) at the front door, where the stairs, the bar entrance, the coat check/cigar counter area and hostess stand all converge must be the most unpleasant restaurant area I have ever encountered, anywhere in the U.S. Stroll down to Ontario, take a right and go to Chicago Chop House, with it's professional, friendly service and excellent wine list made for a wonderful dinner, for me, last Wednesday. Then go back to Gibson's, late, for a great drink in their bar after the hoard has departed. Or go to Gene and Georgetti's, where I've had my best Chicago steakhouse dinners.

And, for the record, my experiences with Pangaud's cooking go back almost 20 years, to his first American presence, at Aurora in New York. I was also at that last Ritz dinner and, yes, it was truly memorable.

Noone who has ever had Gerard's food will deny that he has "creativity and talent". The problem is that he gave up using them a few years ago, about the same time that his wine list went straight to Hell and, it has been suggested by more than one person, his golf handicap went down.

Salt Lick? Please. If you're stuck in Austin, Johnnie Mueller's is WAY better. The ribs at Artz are way better than anything (except, maybe, the desserts) that you'll get at Salt Lick. County Line is better than Salt Lick for heaven's sake. Iron Works is better. I've even had better at Stubb's! And then there's always Sam's but I imagine that the type of person who thinks that Salt Lick is the best bbq in the Austin area wouldn't even begin to get it. And I say all this as a (temporary, I hope) New Yorker. Salt Lick? God, I need a beer.

The restaurant feature article in this weekend's edition of Financial Times is an interview with Batali and April Bloomfield/semi-description of The Spotted Pig. I have no clue how to post links and don't even know if the article is available on-line. Sorry.

Go to the pub at Keen's Steakhouse. The Prime Rib Hash is superb and they have the best burger in New York. Great room to boot.

Otto is the pizza/wine place but I far prefer the antipasti to the pizza. Lupa is the cured meat/pastas/more straightforward/rustic place. The wine list is excellent and asinteresting and well-priced as Otto but not as vast. Babbo is the fanciest, using more luxe ingredients and has the sometimes out-there pastas. It's also the toughest reservation as it's Mario's flagship. More high-end wines on the list here. Esca, as you mentioned, is the fish place. It's one of the very best seafood places in the country, I think. Haven't been to the Spanish-inspired meat places yet. Po, Mario's first restaurant that he sold his interest in a short while ago, is really quite good, cozy, very well-priced. It hasn't changed much since it opened, which I consider a very nice thing.

I think that it's also worth adding that, aside from the cachet-of-the-day (as opposed to the catch of the day) that Mario brings, Esca is and always has been very, very much Pasternak's place. Considering that the space was a full on Bastianich outlet (Frico) prior to Esca, and I'm assuming that the Bastianich family still holds the lease, the Mario quotient is even further diminished. As for costs, as primitive as much of what happens at Lupa might be, most of it is pretty damned labor-intensive, from making pastas to the whole meat-curing thing. Same, I'm assuming, goes for the new Spanish places.

Re: desserts and costs. Remember that most high-end places have at least part-time and usually full-time pastry people while the steak places buy a lot of things (in some cases, everything) pre-made and just slice it or scoop it. And much of the exotica that will ratchet up food costs (fancy chocolate, great fruit, alcoholic stuff) that the Blue Hillish places do will never be found at a steak place. That chocolate syrup at Luger's? Fox's U-Bet or such, I'd bet.

Lupa has never really been a Mario restaurant. It's always been much more about Mark Ladner and Jason Denton, and they're both there most of the time, even with Jason's 'ino and 'inoteca stuff and Mark's limited involvemnet up at Otto.

Nothing in the restaurant food cost world can top highest-quality beef except some of the really crazy, seasonal, exotic, flown-in fish. Throw the large portion factor into it and places like Sparks have to have some of the higher food costs in the city. Luckily for them they sell a lot of beer, booze and wine. The steak places were sure a lot happier when they were able to sell cigars at 400% markups, which usually led to expanded booze tabs as well. Also, dessert costs are usually lower at the steak places than at the Blue Hill-types so they make up some ground there.

Supposedly the owner of the Fashion Square shopping center where Cafe Annie is located is developing the entire area to a pair of high-rises and everybody is out, from Eatzi's down to Cafe Annie. Anybody else hear about this?

Really????? I must be reading a different thread. Grimes, NY Magazine, NY Post and Gourmet have all been pilloried in the Mix and Ducasse discussions for not seeing the greatness that is apparently so obvious to some here. Or am I imagining this? Also, please, name my straw men. I haven't seen you blow down my major "straw man"yet - the lower-tier, cheap wines in the pairing being sold for top-shelf prices. While you're doing that, I guess I should continue to list assorted sycophantic bows to the Ducasse Empire as well as borderline (and some over the border) attacks on the credibility, knowledge and integrity of those who disagree with the opinion that Ducasse and all his works are holy. Maybe I'm missing the parts where you say "gee, maybe you have a point" when Ducasse is criticized. If I am, please tell me where that might be.

Most restaurants that offer it would call it a "Wine Pairing" and it basically involves the sommelier's choices of wines to accompany the dishes in the meal. At a place like Trotter's, with up to a dozen courses, it might not mean a different glass of wine with each and every course, it might be wines that "bridge" courses. Same deal with Tru. However, if you're game, they'll gladly match wines with each and every course. The pours will be about half what would be a "by the glass" pour, meaning about two-two and a half ounces. With the all-over-the-map possibilities, food-wise at these places, the wine pairing is a good call.

Cafe Campagne is wonderful for breakfast, best I've had in Seattle by a good stretch.

Cocotte opens at 5:30. Could probably get a quick diner in and easily be down to JFK by 7:30, I'd bet.

Blue Ribbon's not open. Peter Luger is open all day, no closing between lunch and dinner hours...your daughter would sure sleep well on her flight.

Given the forecast you might want to think about getting yourself back home before it gets really nasty out. If you're going early maybe some of the Brooklyn places? Is Blue Ribbon serving mid to late afternoon? I think so.

Let me hasten to add that many of the arguments FOR the Ducasse projects are compelling. There are many things that I especially like about/at AD/NY but I just don't think that any argument against AD/NY, Mix or whatever can be brushed away as hollow or so much axe-grinding.

Let me get out the gasoline here. Why does it have to follow that any criticism or skepticism of Ducasse and his products is agenda-driven or political? Maybe, just maybe he doesn't bat a thousand? Is that unthinkable? What, the guy shits diamonds? Anything less than adulation and awe of Ducasse, Doug Psaltis or anything associated with them sure seems to bring out the attack, or, worse still, lap dogs, at least here. When I read things like "Mix is cool" (read: if you don't like Mix, you're not cool), "dishes that are the best of their kind", "Ducasse's kitchen team...would be the envy of any kitchen, anywhere in the world", "the guy is one of the greatest chefs in history - the heir apparent to Escoffier" (better not tell that to Point), "AD/NY is as good a restaurant as America has ever seen"...well, I just have to wonder about getting an objective view. Fire away.