robyn
-
Posts
3,574 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by robyn
-
-
I don't think it will hurt the recipe if the peas are less than a year old
. Robyn -
Who among us has not bought a bag of frozen veggies - tossed it in the freezer - and forgotten about it for a year or more? When they're frozen into a solid block - and all kind of withered up and yucky looking. I plead guilty.
I found a recipe in the NYT for pea soup (cold spring variety - not split pea) - and changed it a bit to use freezer burnt peas. It's very simple.
Take the peas - which in my case is usually a mix of sugar snap peas and regular peas (plain - nothing with butter or sauce or the like). Mix the peas with chicken broth (I use Campbell's chicken broth - but use whatever you like). A ratio of about 1 pound of peas to about 3 cups of broth. Bring to a boil - covered (not too fast) - and then simmer for about 10-12 minutes.
Cool for a few minutes - and then blend with an immersion blender. Then press the mixture through a chinois (there will be a lot of fibery stuff left even after a full court press). I have to say that of all the kitchen gadgets I've bought in the last 3 years - the immersion blender (or - as Emeril would say - the "boat motor") and the restaurant quality chinois (bought it at Sur La Table) are the greatest. If you think you can't make soup - try these 2 items. They'll turn your efforts from dreary to dazzling.
Add pepper (there should be enough salt in the broth) and some sour cream or cream to taste. Chill and serve with maybe a dollop of sour cream. That's it. The pea soup goes nicely with smoked salmon/herbed cream cheese tea sandwiches.
I plan to try this technique with other freezer burnt veggies. Will let you know how it goes (summer is a great time for chilled soups). Robyn
-
^^^Robyn does a nice job of summing up the situation in Tokyo. Great advice.
You might also want to investigate ramen, of which there are a dizzying array of styles and options in Tokyo, and find a shop that makes teuchi (handmade) soba.
The Western pastry scene in Japan can also hold its own, if you are interested in desserts.
The western desserts all over (I am a big dessert fan) were fabulous. Anyone who loves dessert who can escape a major Japanese department store food basement without taking one home to his/her hotel room has more will power than I do
. And just about every high end chocolate place in the world has a store in Tokyo (I happily munched on some goodies from Maison du Chocolate in Marunouchi/Tokyo while I was there).A note to any traveler to Japan (or Berlin or similar places). Many of these cities were bombed to bits during WWII. Instead of looking for the quaint buildings of the past which no longer exist for the most part - look for all the great new stuff that has been/is being built - and how people actually live today. People told us before we went to Tokyo that it was an ugly city. It isn't (IMO). It's simply - for the most part - a very new city. Nothing wrong with that. Robyn
-
Thanks for your replies. Well, we are very open-minded about food, so all your recommendations are more than welcome. As a fact, here in Spain most Japanese places bases their offer on Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, and Tepanyaki. Trying good places for this kind of food will be great. Of course, we want to go for a kaiseki as well.
In Tokyo we will be staying at the Park Hotel Tokyo which I think is in Shiodome. In Kyoto, I think that we will finally go to the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, which is very close to the railway station.
Budget is not such a big problem. Ok, I don’t want all my meals to go up to $200 each, but it’s ok to try some top range places.
Sorry if I can’t be more precise, but I really don’t know very much about Tokyo and Kyoto, except for that I look forward very much to go there!!
BTW, I don’t know a single word in Japanese and we will be most of the time by ourselves
Thanks again!!!
Eduardo
We stayed at the same hotels. The link I PM'd you will be exactly what you want and was prepared by locals. Interesting but Toronto is a big city also and I would be able to list off my 10 tops right away all over the city. I find that the response that you are getting seems to be what I initially got. I would also suggest that you get Kanji characters for the places also since a roman name is pretty much meaningless and useless when you are out on the street looking for a place IMO if the name of the place is not in roman letters.
The hotel concierges will give you either a card or something printed off the internet (like a mapquest) so your cab driver knows where to go. If you're walking - it's good to write out the phrase in Japanese - "excuse me - but do you know where [pointing to the map] is". Even then - some places are really hard to find (even if a cab driver drops you off right in front!). Many streets do not have names - or posted names - and the street numbering is frequently odd (the oldest place on the street is 1 - second oldest is 2 - etc.). So #1 and #2 can be a mile apart on a long street. Many restaurants are in multi-story buildings with lots of other restaurants - and some restaurants are down unnamed pedestrian alleys. If you don't know to walk down the alley - you can be in trouble when the cab driver drops you off. We had a reservation at one higher end sushi restaurant in Tokyo that was like this. I don't think we would have found it had we not been with a friend who speaks fluent Japanese.
Toronto is a large city - but Tokyo is *huge* - largest city in the world (about 35 million people) - with - reportedly - over 100,000 restaurants. I read a lot of western media stuff about Tokyo restaurants before we left - and I think most media people from the west tend to go to the same 25 restaurants. Which is a shame - very limiting. And "all over the city" really doesn't work in Tokyo - which is really spread out. Cabs are expensive - the streets are crowded - and although it's easy to get around on the subway - you want to avoid the subway at rush hour if possible.
To give you an idea of size - we had lunch with a son of a friend of ours who lives in Tokyo (and his family). He took us to his local neighborhood Chinese restaurant. Run by Iron Chef Chen. Now you'd think that an Iron Chef would be in the center of things in Tokyo. You'd be wrong. It was about a 35 minute subway ride from near Tokyo Station - in a small neighborhood at the end of the subway line (which still looked like New York City in terms of population density).
I am not very organized in terms of sightseeing. So on many days - we just kind of poked around in whatever neighborhood we happened to be in when we got hungry (which was frequently at weird times for the first week we were there due to extreme jet lag). Spain is only about 7 time zones from Tokyo - so the OP's jet lag shouldn't be so bad (but it won't be terrific - since you're talking east ---> west jet lag). But for people from North America (13 time zones or so) - you'll be hungry for lunch at about 6 am - ready for dinner at noon - and nodding off by dinner time. It is very disorienting.
This kind of approach - poking around in a neighborhood when you get hungry - really works well in Tokyo - since Tokyo has been called a city of neighborhoods. And I found that to be true. So I think in Tokyo one should for the most part work backwards. Where in the city am I going to be today for sightseeing - and then what restaurants might I want to try when I'm there Or do I just want to wing it? I highly recommend winging it. You might have to talk a lot with your hands - but you'll have a lot of fun.
Note that Kyoto is *much* smaller than Tokyo (only about 1.5 million people). It is the place to try traditional kaiseki if one wants to do traditional kaiseki. We did - and although it was visually gorgeous - it is basically a very ascetic meal. I think our 7 or so courses had about 300 calories - max. It is also pretty expensive. We dined at the branch of one of the most famous kaiseki restaurants in Japan - Kitcho - which happens to be in the Granvia in Kyoto. It is not as traditional in terms of decor as the "mother ship" - which is located a ways outside Kyoto. Nor is it as expensive (although dinner for 2 cost us almost $400). If one wants to dine at the original outside Kyoto - I suspect you're talking about $700-1000 for dinner for 2 - and reservations far in advance are essential. Also - people should keep in mind that very traditional restaurants tend to have very traditional seating. Like on the floor with your knees crossed. If you're like my husband (he's currently a candidate for a total knee replacement - too many years of running) - that is not a comfortable way to dine.
Note that I much preferred the non-traditional kaiseki restaurant Roan Kikunoi in Kyoto (we went there with a friend from eGullet - who recommended the place) - which is the downtown branch of another famous kaiseki restaurant. It was supposed to have French influences. Wouldn't call them French - but the meal was tastier and heartier than that at Kitcho (although not as visually exquisite - they did stuff at Kitcho like presenting a platter that looked like a Japanese tea garden - everything was made from veggies).
I also really liked the grilled eel restaurant in Kyoto - Edogawa - in the department store in the train station. No English spoken - but there is "plastic food" - which is the savior of the non-Japanese speaking tourist in Japan. If you are going to a high-end non-plastic food restaurant - most have fixed menus. And - if you don't speak any Japanese - it is good to ask the concierge to call the restaurant and explain the different fixed menus before you get to the restaurant - and to pre-order the one you want. I cannot over-emphasize how little English is spoken in Japan - even in restaurants.
Guess I should mention that Japanese restaurants in Japan tend to specialize. There are eel restaurants - sushi restaurants - tempura restaurants - noodle restaurants (many of which specialize only in soba or udon) - etc. - etc. We tried as many different kinds as we could. And we tried to avoid the thousands of restaurants that specialize in non-Japanese food (although we did have some great Korean BBQ). Simply because we wanted to learn about Japanese food on this trip - and not how the Japanese can do strange things with other cuisines (like Italian food). Who knew the Japanese had such a fascination with mayonnaise
?Anyway - the OP didn't say how long his trip was. We were in Japan for 3 weeks - and we learned a lot during our stay (wasn't hard to do - since we knew almost exactly zero about Japanese food and dining when we left). I think the most important thing we did on our trip was to abandon any preconceptions we had - Japanese food and dining in Japan are very different than what we're used to in the west. Second most important thing we did was try to get together with everyone we knew or could possibly meet in Japan (everyone from our friend's son to people we met here). Meeting people who live in a country gives you insight into a country you couldn't possibly get on your own. Robyn
-
Chances are you will still have the opportunity.
From another site: "He plans to spend more time at Norman's at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Lakes, Orlando, and at a new restaurant at Beachside Resort in Key West. He and his partner Thomas Wood, Jr., say they are exploring opportunities to open a Norman's in a South Florida hotel sometime in the near future."
As the South Florida "restaurantscape" goes Norman's had quite a nice run. 12 years is phenomenal in this town!
Randy
Randy,
Thanks for the tip. I see myself in Orlando sooner than Miami area, I'm in Tampa now.
Warmly,
Shai
A few people here who've dined at Grand Lakes weren't impressed. Perhaps if Van Aken spends more time in the kitchen there - it might improve. Robyn
-
Mick Jagger was allowed to wear jeans at Per Se...but my understanding is that was the only such occasion.
I'd say jackets are still de rigueur on men in NY four stars....and Chicago for that matter. Miami and L.A. are more casual.
On that same note, while I was working at TFL, Mario Batali wanted to come for dinner but TK refused because Batali wanted to wear shorts.
-Chef Johnny
Maybe if he had better legs
?I was in Santa Monica at lunch time a while back with my husband and a male friend. Really wanted to eat at Chinois on Main. I got out of the car to see if they had room for 3. They did. I was wearing shorts. Told the guys everything was ok. When the 2 guys came in - they were wearing shorts - and were told shorts on guys weren't ok (although shorts on girls were ok - go figure). The guys knew how much I wanted to try the restaurant. So the maitre d' came up with a solution - he gave the guys chef's pants to wear during our meal. They were quite a sight! BTW - the restaurant apologized for the misunderstanding - comp'd us an appetizer - and we had an excellent meal. So even in "casual land" - there are limits. Robyn
-
We usually stay at the Four Seasons when we're in Atlanta (once or twice a year). Have enjoyed Park 75 for dinner - but our best meal there was its Sunday brunch (which really isn't a brunch at all the way we usually think of brunch - but a multi-course tasting menu - the chef's ideas of the week). Glad you enjoyed Atlanta! Robyn
-
Robyn,
Did you put your Japan's experience somewhere in this thread?
Any chance to go to Beige or Chateau Robuchon? I might plan to go to Tokyo late this year or sometimes next year. Thanks
I wrote up a lot of what we ate in Japan in the Japan forum here. And a lot of stuff about our hotels and sightseeing and the like in the Japan forum on Flyertalk (under the name robyng). We decided to concentrate on Japanese food in Japan - so we skipped French places like Beige. If you're interested in French food in Tokyo - I can recommend L'Osier - perhaps the most famous French restaurant in Tokyo. Didn't dine there - but I know the chef from his days at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead (Atlanta, Georgia) - and he is great. We met him on the street in Tokyo one day by accident - and he showed us the restaurant. Very impressive. Robyn
-
Thanks for your replies. Well, we are very open-minded about food, so all your recommendations are more than welcome. As a fact, here in Spain most Japanese places bases their offer on Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, and Tepanyaki. Trying good places for this kind of food will be great. Of course, we want to go for a kaiseki as well.
In Tokyo we will be staying at the Park Hotel Tokyo which I think is in Shiodome. In Kyoto, I think that we will finally go to the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, which is very close to the railway station.
Budget is not such a big problem. Ok, I don’t want all my meals to go up to $200 each, but it’s ok to try some top range places.
Sorry if I can’t be more precise, but I really don’t know very much about Tokyo and Kyoto, except for that I look forward very much to go there!!
BTW, I don’t know a single word in Japanese and we will be most of the time by ourselves
Thanks again!!!
Eduardo
The Granvia is actually *in* the train station (a very new - very large - train station - terrific contemporary architecture). There are dozens - maybe hundreds - of restaurants right there. If you go up the escalators to about the 6th floor - you will find many mid-priced restaurants - including a famous eel restaurant. Ditto if you go down to the "city" underneath the train station. I recommend using bento.com to locate places that might be of interest.
Also - the huge department store in the train station is an excellent place to do "take out" to bring to your room on nights you might be very tired. The food basements close at 8 pm - and everything starts to go on sale at about 7:30. We had a couple of excellent take-out meals from there.
If you don't speak Japanese - then I think your best bet for sushi in Tokyo is one of the numerous places in Tsukiji fish market - open in general for breakfast and lunch.
For tempura and other cuisines in Tokyo - take a look at the restaurants on top of Barney's (New York) in Ginza. I don't think anyone there speaks any more English than anywhere else in Tokyo (which is to say little or none) - but the chef at the tempura restaurant we went to there was good-humored about the situation (unlike many chefs - who are very serious).
Are you interested in cuisines other than Japanese during your trip? Robyn
-
Hi, I'm going to Japan this coming August and I’m quiet lost about restaurants to go. I would really appreciate if you guys could give me some advice, in all ranges. We will be four days in each city, so we have plenty time to visit several places.
Thanks in advance. It would be a real pity to go so far away and skip the best places!! I promise to give advice back if you ever come to Spain
It's hard to tell what's best in a city like Tokyo. It's the largest city in the world. It has 35 million people and perhaps 100,000 restaurants. About the best you can do is what people here have already said. Where will you be - what would you like to eat - about how much do you want to spend - and do you speak Japanese (or will you be with people who speak Japanese).
Also - from Spain - how many time zones will you be traveling? From the east coast of the US - it is about 13 time zones. You're ready for lunch very early in the morning - and dinner at about noon
. Robyn -
To add: The service issue that is really under discussion isn't a service issue in the way we usually talk about "service": It's an issue of ease of making reservations, and ability to hold a table. Those issues boil down to supply and demand. Americans have a LOT of money and a seemingly pressing need to dine out at the establishment(s) of the moment in droves and repeatedly. When you have that kind of situation, it is very, very hard to decrease the number of reservations and/or limit seatings. Moreover, the price has to go up a LOT in a city like New York to lower demand; Masa is a case in point. Try getting a "table" for two there on a week's notice and see how far you get. Unfortunately, all price seems to do in the case of Per Se is tilt the crowd further toward the wunch of bankers quotient; it doesn't limit the crowd at all. Somehow, restos in Europe don't have this problem; Le Bristol, despite its newly-minted 3-star status and glowing Gault-Millau writeup (both of which would have scored a US restaurant a limitless stream of customers) was easy to reserve on a week's notice. The room wasn't even full when we were there, at prime dining hours (and this is NOT a large dining room, especially given the vast distance between tables). Ditto for Gagnaire, which is practically a household word for experimental-food nuts. It's easy to let diners have tables for the entire evening if you don't have pressure to book and fill tables.
IOW, this is *not* a problem that I have any suggestions on how to fix. Perhaps someone in the industry at this level can suggest something?
Perhaps the New York thing is just a strong euro/weak dollar - financial types all over the world are rolling in money - kind of situation?
As a discretionary traveler - I think the prices in New York and some other cities in the world (like London) are kind of crazy these days. Too much demand for too little supply? Which is why we wound up in Japan last year and Germany this year. Certainly they are not 3rd world travel bargains - but they are quite reasonably priced compared to other places.
Perhaps the "fix" will come in the next recession - or major currency realignment. Robyn
-
Just curious Mayur - Kretch - and others who have had dinner reservations or dined between 7 and say 9 at Per Se. How did you get reservations at those hours? I dined there when it had only been open a short while - and went on someone else's reservation (I had tried to make a reservation myself - but after dialing the restaurant about 200 times - and getting busy signals - I gave up). Does Opentable work for Per Se at all? Robyn
I called and spoke with the receptionist. In both cases, I took cancellations rather than booked "on the dot," but I have made a reservation for colleagues at 8pm on the dot by calling at 8:50am two months to the day and engaging auto-dial.
Both Per Se and TFL are on OpenTable, but it is utterly useless when trying to make reservs. You are *much* better speaking to an actual human being. In fact, my experience with the receptionist *added* to the generally excellent service I had at Per Se.
FWIW, I agree with the general premise that US restaurants at the highest levels generally do not match their European equivalents, but Per Se is a bad example IMHO to use in this context. The service at Keller's restaurants is pretty darn impeccable, and quite comparable to the best European establishments.
Thanks for the useful information. The problem I have is when trying to arrange a trip - it's a combination of flights - hotel reservations - and the restaurants come last. Which is why I don't plan my trips around dining - even though I generally book the air and hotels very far in advance. If I book a flight 6 months in advance - who knows whether I will be able to book a table at a place like Per Se 60 days or 1 day in advance? I just try to do the best I can after making the other arrangements.
I agree 100% about doing restaurant reservations with a person. If it's possible to do it on the phone - that's the best. Otherwise - especially for very long distance reservations - email works fine too. When I was trying to reserve at Gordon Ramsay RHR - I made email contact with a person who worked with the group who had nothing to do with reservations - but she was charming - and basically called the person who could make reservations for me. In other cases - email with hotel concierges have worked very nicely too. In general - I have found the reservations process for tourists to be more user-friendly outside the US than in the US. I usually get the reservations I want outside the US - that's not the case in the US.
I had no quarrel with the food service at Per Se. Very nice. But the wine service was mediocre at best. Perhaps there was a sommelier - but - if there was - our table wasn't deemed worthy of his/her service. Our server acted as a sommelier - and I'm sure he couldn't tell the difference between a pinot noir and a pinot gris. Also - with a 5:30 reservation - it was impossible to arrive early and have a cocktail/apertif at the bar.
I guess my biggest complaint about the restaurant to this day is being asked to dine at early bird or night owl hours. How many people here with parents in Florida would complain about eating the early bird special in Boca at 5:30? I know I would. And I wasn't any happier eating at 5:30 at Per Se.
I have to go to the midwest later this summer on some personal business. Will probably fly into Chicago. I guess I'll see whether the reservations process at Alinea is more user-friendly than the one at Per Se. Robyn
-
I guess so....I just ask AMEX Centurion to make the reservations and they only offer options for 5:30 or 9 or 9:30....was never given any other option but maybe that's just with AMEX Centurion?
I think it's the norm with most people - not just AMEX Centurion. That's why I asked about how people got reservations at normal dining hours. Robyn
-
...the major problem is pacing. too many tables per waiter. its fine in the cultural context..where the meal is the evening...
So your major complaint is that the service is too slow in these places? Robyn
-
right...but the whole point is that though fine dining may have better service in Europe (generally speaking)...its often/usually worse at the low and middle end in Europe.
I simply haven't found that to be the case. Of course - I can't recall going to a single restaurant in Europe ever anywhere where we didn't speak at least a passing amount of the local language (except in Scandinavia - which is one of the few places in Europe IMO where English is almost universal). I think that one's ability or inability to speak a foreign language may well influence where one winds up dining. Which in turn can influence the kind of dining experience you have.
So what countries in particular in Europe are you talking about - the ones where service is inferior to service in the US? Robyn
-
...both Marlene and myself were talking about the low and middle end.
I usually have pretty low standards for service at the low end - and middle of the road standards for the middle. Hard to be disappointed when your expectations aren't very high. Heck - I even find the dining service on trains (outside the US - who uses a train in the US?) is pretty good (keeping in mind that my expectations are reasonable - all I ask is that the server not drop something on me when the train lurches
). Robyn -
Just curious Mayur - Kretch - and others who have had dinner reservations or dined between 7 and say 9 at Per Se. How did you get reservations at those hours? I dined there when it had only been open a short while - and went on someone else's reservation (I had tried to make a reservation myself - but after dialing the restaurant about 200 times - and getting busy signals - I gave up). Does Opentable work for Per Se at all? Robyn
-
one trip isn't much of a sample size.
I do think that German and Dutch low-end and mid-level restaurant service is closer to U.S. standards than most other European countries...I believe that this is due to cultural factors.
Agreed concerning the sample size. But 28 meals or more (14 lunches and dinners and my husband has breakfast as well) isn't a tiny sample.
Note that I get what I generally think is decent or better service most places in the US. I may have quarrels with a lot of the food - but the service is usually fine and proportionate to the dining experience. Also my food quarrels are mostly with upper-middle or places that purport to be high end where the food isn't cheap and is at best mediocre. I'd rather have the buffets at the Golden Corral or any random fried chicken place in a small town in the south than a lot of what passes for high end food in the US.
Have to ask you a question. Do you regularly do more than one thing in an evening (like dinner and a show) where part of the evening consists of a $500 meal? I guess there are people who do. But - to me - a really expensive meal at a fine restaurant is enough entertainment for a single night
. If we have theater tickets or the like - we generally have a simpler dining experience (either early or late - and sometimes if we're on the road it may be some assorted goodies purchased at a nice store which we eat in our hotel room). Robyn -
I don't know about Per Se specifically, but there are several fine-dining restaurants that don't take 7-7:30 reservations at all. It's a pretty standard flow-control procedure.
There are a lot of 2 seating restaurants with 6-7 seatings - and 8:30-10 seatings (depending on the length of the meal the restaurant generally serves). Robyn
-
I've never heard of a 7pm rez at Per Se...only the 5:30 (or is it 5:45?) and 9pm.
That would be 2 seatings - not 1.5. With 1.5 seatings - some people are starting their dining at 7-8. Robyn
-
...Rome, Barcelona, Corfu, Serrento, to name a few. Even Paris.
Of these - I've only been to Rome and Paris. I can recall one very awful service experience in Paris - at Lucas Carton. That's about it. Nothing bad sticks in my mind about Rome - but it would have had to be pretty bad to remember it after all these years (the Lucas Carton episode was so bad I have remembered it after over 20 years).
Ah - I just remembered another bad experience in Paris - which turned out kind of funny. Our friend/mentor in Paris was good friends with the head bartender at the Georges V (Nino). I had a terrible cold one day - couldn't taste a thing - so he suggested we all go to Harry's Bar for lunch. Everyone told me to have a JW Black (scotch) to help my cold. So I did. I don't know much about scotch - but it tasted really awful - not smooth. So the glass got passed around the table - and everyone agreed the scotch was not JW Black. So Nino called the waiter - and said "this is not JW Black". And the waiter started to argue with him - and finally said something like - who are you to tell me these things. And Nino pulled himself up very straight and said - I am Nino - the head bartender at the Georges V - and this is not JW Black. At that point the waiter took back the glass - and returned with JW Black. Don't think it had any effect on my cold - just made me forget I had one
.FWIW - I think that my husband's language studies have really been useful in terms of service. We've found that speaking even a little of a language like Italian - German - Spanish or Japanese - is a real ice-breaker at a lot of places where people don't speak English. I tend to think that perhaps we generally get good service because my husband's language skills are a curiosity. French in France is an exception to the rule (although French in Quebec isn't). Robyn
-
I have long been an advocate for a place like TFL or Per Se, where demand FAR outstrips supply, for them to simply increase the pricing accordingly. Instead of 1.5 seatings, they could simply increase the price by 1.5 times or perhaps even more. If the Rolling Stones and Madonna (let alone Streisand) can sell $500 tickets, why can't Thomas Keller.
Of course, then, they would be vilified in the press for "taking advantage" of their position etc. All I know is that when I have eaten at 2 and 3 star restaurants in Paris or London, it is often the case that the bill is double what I have paid at Per Se... I recall a 300 Euro prix fixe price for food alone at several Paris 3 stars, well above what could be charged in the U.S. without a column or two bemoaning the fact in the papers. Heck, appetizers at Le Meurice (my all time favorite hotel for service and a great restaurant) cost up to 115 Euros with the average app. going for roundly 70 Euro. Main courses such as a roasted fillet of turbot are 110 Euro.
Of course, when I suggested this to a few U.S. chefs I know they looked at me like I was certifiably nuts. All one has to do is read the articles on the mandatory service fee "imposed" by chefs such as Keller and Trotter -- and how the writers misunderstood the real economics and purpose of them (ie. the freedom to pay the kitchen properly) -- to understand how difficult it is to price a restaurant such as Per Se properly.
I guess this brings us around full circle to the question of why some highest end restaurants are single seating and some aren't. It isn't the money. Like you say - chefs like Keller have fairly inelastic demand at this price point - and probably much higher price points. Don't think it's to keep the restaurant full and buzzing so diners don't feel alone. There aren't many tables at Per Se - and they are far apart - so even if the restaurant is full - it's still pretty quiet - especially compared with most restaurants in Manhattan or other big cities. Don't think it's to make it easier to dine there - I think we've established that it is still a very hard ticket. So what's the real motivation - except perhaps that the chef likes it that way for his own personal reasons?
Frankly - I like the idea of 2 seatings better than 1.5. Makes me feel like I'm being treated like all the other diners. With 1.5 seatings - the .5 will usually wind up feeling more privileged than the other 1.0. Robyn
-
...On the other hand, in other parts of Europe while we were there, at the "low end or middle end" bar, we found service to be generally indifferent. Definitely worse in most cases, that in North America.
What other parts of Europe are you talking about? Robyn
-
Of the places you listed - I've only dined at Ran Getsu. I've been in Japan - and can recommend it highly for Japanese food in the US. Think your choice may depend more on the kind of food you'd like to eat than the restaurant itself. Robyn
Versailles - Little Havana, Miami
in Florida: Dining
Posted
Agree in general about ordering the things you mention (if it can be overdone - it will be overdone) - but my husband really likes the arroz imperial (which is made with chicken). Robyn