robyn

You're really out of luck, as Berlin's specialty is a very sour and sort-of funky mostly-wheat beer. ← Thanks for the link to the article. There's some useful stuff in it (like the protocol relating to Koelsch). My husband will probably try the Berlin wheat beer (on the theory that perhaps it isn't like the wheat beers we get in the US). I'm not sure the New York Times is in a position to set itself up as an arbiter of beer. I think there are more micro-breweries in the greater Jacksonville FL area (where I live) than in NYC . Robyn

Thanks Stephen. These places all look in the ballpark. Think the ultimate decision will be based on where we are when we get hungry (always a question mark when dealing with jet lag). FWIW - I took my husband to the Anchor & Hope (in London) for lunch on his birthday a few years ago - and he loved it. Robyn

I think it's been mentioned before (probably on one of the Berlin threads) but I enjoyed a meal at Ottenthal last summer. Sort of "Modern Austrian" cuisine I guess, excellent quality and good service. Worth booking if you want to go as it is a fairly small restaurant and was full when we visited. ← Nice looking menu. Note that it's a Bib Gourmand choice in this year's Michelin Guide for Germany. Robyn

Kai-M - We'll be in Cologne - but are already booked for Vendome and Dieter Muller. I'm not sure how much more food we can eat during our 3 days there. But if we have room - perhaps Le Moissonnier for lunch on the day we don't have dinner reservations. Robyn

Think I'll "bump" this thread. We're leaving on Saturday. About a week in Berlin (mostly because we need a couple of days to get over our jet lag). Then four days in Munich - then Cologne. I am particularly perplexed by Berlin. Although there are a reasonable number of starred Michelin restaurants - they are - for the most part - very expensive - and have only 1 star. Not usually a good sign (very expensive should have more than 1 Michelin star). We're dining at the hotel restaurant one night - Vitrum - but - otherwise I don't have a clue (except perhaps lunch at Vau - which seems like a good value). Seems that we may be better off trying to find some casual fun places instead of higher end places that aren't worth the price. Does anyone have any new ideas about interesting places in Berlin? The concierge at the hotel recommended Sankt Moritz - but it didn't look that interesting to me. If Berlin isn't a great eating city - so be it. There is plenty to see - and I am a girl who can live on sausages for a week . Robyn

We're leaving for Germany this weekend. Will be in Berlin on Monday for my husband's birthday. He is a real beer lover (except for wheat beer) - and I think nothing would make him happier than lunch/dinner (depending on our jet lag) at a place with great beer - and decent food (doesn't have to be fancy). Does anyone have any suggestions? I realize that Berlin in a big city - but it's smaller than Tokyo (where we were last year). So I reckon we can get around. In terms of neighborhoods - we'll be staying at the Ritz Carlton - but I think that since Monday is a national holiday - and a lot of places will be closed - we'll go to the zoo - and see the famous polar bear cub . I'm not exactly sure where the zoo is - but we will be in that neighborhood on Monday (as well as at the Ritz Carlton - sleeping off our jet lag). Robyn

In case you don't know - the German World Cup soccer finals (men's and women's) are in Berlin on Saturday May 26 (perhaps that's why you're going to Berlin). I suspect you'll need reservations at most restaurants that weekend. Robyn

The German soccer cup final will take place in Berlin the weekend we're arriving - so we might see a few of the people you're talking about . To Minichef - I don't know how long you're staying in Berlin - but that weekend should be very busy in the city. Robyn

My brother lived in Cave Creek until a few months ago (he moved closer to town when the kids went to college). I first dined at Binkley's in 2003 and wrote it up (very favorably) here. FWIW - my brother is a doctor who owned horses - a typical homeowner in the area. Cave Creek has good schools - which is what attracted him to the area in the first place. And with areas like Troon (and the Boulders and the Four Seasons) just a little to the south - there are plenty of people to keep the restaurant busy. It was a hard ticket even in 2003. We'll be going to visit my brother this summer - and we'll be dining at Binkley's again. I'm looking forward to it. Robyn P.S. The restaurant will be closed the entire month of July for vacation.

P.S. I am guessing from your posts that you are a younger woman (I'm an older woman). From what I've read - there are areas of Berlin that are kind of rough - and some of the cheapest restaurants might be in those areas. The Let's Go guides are very honest about which areas of town are safe - and which aren't - when it comes to recommending cheap hotels and cheap restaurants. If you can't find a copy before you leave - perhaps you can find one in a large bookstore in Berlin (or at an airport bookstore). Robyn

We're not leaving for Berlin until next weekend - so all I know is what I've read. Don't know if it's available where you are - but why don't you try to pick up a copy of the Let's Go guide to Germany (formerly known as the Harvard Student Guide). Extremely useful in terms of sightseeing tips - and budget travel suggestions. It's geared for students (who are almost always on tight budgets) - but I think the suggestions are useful for older people too. If you can't find a copy - why not pick up a guide when you get to Germany? The Michelin red guide is only in German - but it's very comprehensive and you can at least read the ratings and the price ranges even if you don't read German. Plus - it gives you restaurants by neighborhood (Berlin is a big city). Robyn

OK - let's try to analyze this (I'm serious). Who are the potential clients for places in the Design District? The design places are one thing (you go there to buy stuff for your house - and they usually close at 5 pm). There have always been a couple of bar type places that cater to shoppers and workers for drinks/bar food after work (although they've changed over the years). As for the galleries - they are generally open only until 5 pm too - except for art walk nights (which everyone has everywhere - even here in Jacksonville). So they won't attract a dinner crowd. So who's going to eat dinner at an expensive restaurant in the Design District? What's the age group? Is that person a tourist - or a local resident? Will people come from the Beach - Brickell - the Grove - the Gables? I doubt they will come from Aventura or Pinecrest (too far). When my husband and I worked downtown -we'd be potential clients (have a few drinks after a normal late night at the office - and then go to dinner). How many people are like us? If there are enough - ok - if not enough - a place can't make it - unless it becomes a destination restaurant (and that takes more time than most places have operating capital). As for ugly questionable neighborhoods - Miami (and other parts of Florida) have their share - and that usually will not deter us from dining anywhere (unless the neighborhood is really dangerous). But also note that when I lived in Miami - my jewelry lived in my safe deposit box. As for other expensive looking stuff - forget it. There are more than a few people in Florida whose main reason to dine out is to show off their stuff. And this is definitely not the right kind of neighborhood to do that. Clubs are a totally different thing. I am much too old for them now - but I used to go to different ones in Miami - and I know that we have dozens of them in Jacksonville that cater mostly to younger people with all different kinds of tastes (everything from tats to GLBT to office workers to young conservative Christians who don't drink). I assume Miami is the same. The clubs are destination places for the clients they are trying to attract. They are frequently located in kind of crummy areas of the city where no one is around to complain about noise at 1 am - or no one listens to the people who live in those areas when they do complain. But I don't think these clubs do anything to attract middle of the road or finer dining. I think the thing that most of the best restaurants in Jacksonville have in common is that even if they aren't on the best streets in the best neighborhoods - they are close to relatively large numbers of upper middle class people who do live in nice neighborhoods and who eat out a lot. The 5-10 minute drive to dinner. And these restaurants do great - because there are more people in the area who want to eat good food than there are good restaurants. Location - location - location. Since Blais is here - I can mention one of his hometown restaurants - Bacchanalia - near midtown Atlanta. We had a fine dinner there in January. It is "on the other side of the tracks" in a converted warehouse kind of place (which also has some design stores). Certainly wouldn't want to stroll around the area at night. But - at the beginning - it had the advantage of being close to a reasonably large number of people who like eating at this kind of place. Perhaps not so many in midtown (because there wasn't much in midtown then - but there was a Four Seasons a few miles away - and that is always a good source of business). And there was Buckhead - and it used to be relatively easy to get there from Buckhead (traffic has really become awful in recent years). And now it is a destination restaurant. So even people from Jacksonville go there . But it takes a while to get from "here" to "there". A restaurant needs a critical mass of diners to survive. So the ultimate question is - how do you fill your restaurant (especially if you're not relying on frozen food you bought at Costco to feed people - you have to throw away spoiled food but not frozen food). Just as a thought off the top of my head - if this restaurant Karu has any brains - it ought to cultivate the concierge staffs at the Four Seasons and the MO on Brickell. Also the RC in Coconut Grove. Invite them to dinner. Show off its stuff. If it's good - it can get a lot of business from these hotels. Finally - that is interesting about Ligne Roset moving. Wonder if they had problems with people finding parking spaces in the old Gables location (that area is the only place I have had to parallel park in the last 10 years!)? And it's not the kind of place that would be in a "to-the-trade" location like DCOTA (e.g., its showroom in Atlanta is in mid-town - next to another really nice design store and across the street from a great kitchen place). BTW - if you ever have any questions about buying design stuff - PM or email me (I may not be a world class eater but I am a world class shopper ). Robyn

What are the politics you're talking about (I assume it's "food politics" and not the chef supporting Castro or anything like that )? I assume that once you explain it - it will be obvious why it's depressing. I just could never understand why the Miami restaurant scene simply hasn't improved all that much in the last 20 years or so. There are more people - with more money - more young people - and more tourists. So what's the problem? Heck - we don't have that many good restaurants in Jacksonville (although we have a lot more than we used to) - but we don't try to kill them off at inception. We don't really have anyone here who can reasonably be called a "food critic" (although there are food columns in local publications). What they really are is "cheerleaders". Anything new is good - go out and try it. It may be a provincial attitude - but at least it encourages people to get out and try all the new places - good - bad and indifferent. And FWIW Ecruz - although we don't have a large number of really good restaurants - the ones we do have might surprise you in terms of their sophistication (BTW - we're going big time non-provincial this year - Louis Vuitton is opening a store ). Also Ecruz - As for my comments about the Design District - I hope it does fine - sometime before I die! I wish it no ill will. I like to see nice areas develop in Miami and every other part of Florida. I've lived here in Florida for about 35 years now - and I like the place. It just seems like there's always a "Renaissance" there at the end of every Florida real estate boom - which fizzles when the boom busts. Coconut Grove is an even sadder case. It was a "hippy" place when I first moved there in 1971. Then it got developed during the 80's. Reached its zenith when - late 80's - early 90's? Last time we were there it was a sad sight to behold. People told us things fizzled because rents got so high that many places closed. I don't know whether or not this is true. So if the Grove can't make it - I wonder how the Design District is going to make it. BTW - last time I ate at the Design District a couple of years ago - we went to a good Ethiopian restaurant. Can't remember the name. How is it doing? Robyn

The place you're thinking of for breakfast is the Donut Gallery. I think it's still there. Used to live on Key Biscayne - but I haven't been there for a long time - so I can't help you with the rest of your questions. Robyn

Bruni administered similar two-star bruisings to Alto, Café Gray, Le Cirque, The Modern, Gilt, and The Four Seasons — all very pricey restaurants that, I am sure, considered themselves at least three-star material. Most critics, though not Bruni, did the same to Del Posto. I don't think GR was singled out for such treatment.I do agree that it is nuts. ← Of those you've mentioned - I've only been to Le Cirque - when it was in a hotel (think it was the Palace?) maybe about 4 years ago. And we had an unusual meal experience there. We had dined at Le Cirque in Las Vegas. It was dreadfully mediocre (as opposed to Circo - which was quite quite good for a middle of the road restaurant). And I wrote the owner a real letter detailing our experiences. Got a reply that said - next time you're in New York - be our guests for lunch at Le Cirque. Took about a year. But we took him up on his offer next time we were in town. And I can can tell you that we got the full Ruth Reichl Treatment 2 (as opposed to her treatment 1) for VIPS during that lunch. One of the best meals we've had in the last decade. An experience we'd probably never be able to duplicate. But getting back to Ramsay - I think the problem here is that there are some people (maybe every reviewer who's younger than 50?) who do not like classical formal food served in classical formal surroundings. Which is what Ramsay does (at least in London). I suspect his place in New York isn't up to London standards (it takes years to get up to 3 star Michelin standards) - but I doubt it is a 2 star NYT stars place. Now I have my own prejudices. You'll never convince me that a steak dinner with creamed spinach is worth what top steak houses charge. Probably because (unlike most people in big cities - I live in the 'burbs) - I can turn out a wonderful steak at home on my BBQ for a lot less money. When I go out - I like to eat things that I would never in a million years consider making at home (too long - too hard - too complicated). Something like a multi-course high end continental meal. I don't eat that kind of food that often - otherwise I would wear a dress size I don't care to wear. But it's great a half dozen times a year. Ditto with pasta and a lot of other Italian food. So easy to make wonderful stuff at home. When I go to a restaurant - I want to eat food that: 1) I can't/won't make at home (even if it's fried chicken - which is a big mess to make); or 2) just because I'm too lazy to cook on a particular night. I think with reviewers - they ought to put their prejudices out front. If they don't - they're not very good reviewers. Robyn

How can you say that Alinea is the best restaurant in the US when you haven't even been to Per Se - which is (for you) a local restaurant. Did you ever go to Alain Ducasse before it closed? On my part - I wouldn't presume to say what the best restaurant in the US (or any other country) is (although I can give opinions about those restaurants I consider the best where I live - I just go out more at home than anywhere else). Just haven't been to enough of them (although I have been to Per Se and Alain Ducasse). All I can say is where I've had my best/favorite meals. Robyn ← best restaurant in the U.S. that I've been to. as for Per Se, I simply won't deal with the reservation system. Ducasse never struck me as being worth the money on my budget. fwiw, I've heard (more than once) from people who have eaten everywhere that the best restaurant in the U.S. is the Mansion. ← I cheated both with Per Se and Alain Ducasse. Shared a reservation with an eGullet member at Per Se when her companion had to cancel dinner on relatively short notice. We happened to be in New York the day of her reservation. But I wouldn't go back because I don't enjoy eating dinner at 5:30. Was a walk-in at Alain Ducasse on a relatively slow Monday when our patio seating at Jean Georges was cancelled due to rain and they wanted to seat us at the bar (no way I was going to eat at the bar on my 30th anniversary). However I agree with you in general about reservation hassles. It is one thing to make extensive reservations far in advance when you're going on a long trip planned a long time in advance if there's a reasonable way to do it. It simply isn't fun if you're making local reservations (apart from trips - how do I know what I'll be doing 2 months from now - and things get harder when you're trying to get together with friends - they don't have a clue either). I can say that with some restaurants that have hard to get reservations - particularly overseas - you can sometimes avoid problems by sending email to someone - anyone - who will get back to you - especially if you are willing to do something like lunch on Wednesday - rather than dinner on Saturday night. I managed to contact such a person within the Ramsay organization on a recent trip to the UK - and she was great in terms of getting us the reservation we wanted at RHR (which happened to be lunch the day we were doing to the Chelsea flower show). Otherwise - concierges can frequently help - often by email (which is useful if you are going to a country where you don't speak the language well or at all - or the time differences are very extreme). A third possibility is staying in the hotel where a restaurant is located - you frequently get better access through the concierge desk. But - there are some - not a huge number - but some restaurants in the world where the reservation process is so silly and overloaded that I wouldn't go through the hassles required unless I was having life-saving surgery there ;. As for the whole Madame thing - I don't think it's an affectation except perhaps when done poorly by someone from Kansas. It's just a protocol - and I've seen it both abroad - and in New York. Like at David Burke & Donatella - I think we had about 3-4 people attending to our table - from maybe 3-4 different countries - and I was always Madame. Same at Ducasse. I've rarely seen it on the west coast of the US - perhaps because I've rarely run into servers born outside the US there at high-end restaurants. In places like Miami and parts of Texas of course - it's more likely to be Senora (or Lady) than Madame. I realize that some people might find this post off topic - but so far I haven't read many messages which contain anything but what I consider minor or irrelevant complaints about GR in New York. Robuchon at the Mansion might be the best restaurant in the US these days - but I'll probably never get there - just because (as a non-gambler) - I think Las Vegas is a 2 day town and we've been there within the last five years. FWIW - if you're interested in the place - I've only read one review on line where the diner ate both at the Mansion and Jamin in Paris. It makes for some very interesting reading. Finally - as for budgets - except for those hedge fund guys who made $25 billion last year - we all have budgets of one kind or another. One way to keep down the tab at an expensive restaurant is in the liquor department. Cocktails are usually cheaper than wine. A couple of glasses of wine is cheaper than a bottle. And at every *good* expensive restaurant we've been to - you will not be made to feel like a poor idiot if you ask for a wine at the lower end of the price list that works with your dinner. Although you can wind up with some bad wine (we had bad at Jean Georges - really excellent at Alain Ducasse). When outside the US in a wine-producing country - asking for a relatively inexpensive recommended *local* wine almost always works like a charm. I'm not sure that will work in New York (we have had some barely drinkable whites from the Finger Lakes - but never a drinkable red). Robyn

Today - madame is simply a polite French/sometimes Continental way to refer to a woman who is too old to be a mademoiselle (most women past college age) - whether or not she is married. Just like a polite way to refer to the same type of woman in the southeast US is m'am. And in Spanish - it would be senora. Etc. Robyn ← To clarify, I find referring to women in the third person as kind of creepy. I believe they addressed me as "you". ← You may find it creepy - but it's just the way people are taught to speak in their native languages. For example - a Spanish speaking person who is attempting to deal with me in English in a service capacity will usually call me "Lady" - the translation of Senora. Sounds weird - but the grammar is correct (in Spanish). Shouldn't be a deal breaker for anything (except perhaps if the person is working as a professional translator). Robyn

How can you say that Alinea is the best restaurant in the US when you haven't even been to Per Se - which is (for you) a local restaurant. Did you ever go to Alain Ducasse before it closed? On my part - I wouldn't presume to say what the best restaurant in the US (or any other country) is (although I can give opinions about those restaurants I consider the best where I live - I just go out more at home than anywhere else). Just haven't been to enough of them (although I have been to Per Se and Alain Ducasse). All I can say is where I've had my best/favorite meals. Robyn

I don't know many gay guys - or "foodie" guys for that matter (straight or gay) - who are big steak house types. Bruni seems to be an exception. On my part - I think that steakhouses are annoyingly expensive - boring - and predictable. Robyn

Today - madame is simply a polite French/sometimes Continental way to refer to a woman who is too old to be a mademoiselle (most women past college age) - whether or not she is married. Just like a polite way to refer to the same type of woman in the southeast US is m'am. And in Spanish - it would be senora. Etc. Robyn

Critics like Bruni and Platt have a bias against restaurants that do classic things well. They are bored by old-fashioned cuisine, practically no matter how well it is executed. They also don't enjoy the rituals of formal service. Remember, Bruni's favorite word for that type of service is "fussy," which he never means as a compliment. So Gordon Ramsay has two strikes against it, right off the bat. ← Funny thing is, Bruni doesn't appear to like hypermodern or extremely creative cuisine either, but that is probably a discussion for another topic ← I don't care whether or not Bruni is gay. I live in a golf resort area a little out of Jacksonville (you can wave to me at the TPC in couple of weeks). He talks about food the way just about every male golfer I've ever played with here in years of playing talks. Steak is great - particularly if served with/by sexy women. Stranger food (anything that is not steak) is frequently ok if not served in formal surroundings. He has had to bow a bit to TPTB in New York - not like giving Per Se 1 star. But overall - to me - he's just an average guy who seems to enjoy average guy food. Wonder what his handicap his? Robyn

The major problem with 3 star Michelin restaurants word-wide is I doubt many people eat at particular ones all that often. Even if they live in the place where the restaurant is. So consistency is of utmost importance. I know there are 2 points of view about this. The first (not mine) is that any great restaurant can have a bad night. The (second) mine is that a great restaurant should be great the night I dine there (unless the chef has had a heart attack or his wife has gone into labor). We'll dine at 2 3 star restaurants in Germany next month and we'll see how it goes. Robyn

I got "comfortable in my own skin" a long time ago. The nice thing about classical European service (maybe classical service in any country - we found the same in Japan) is the servers almost always know a ton more than you do - but are always gracious when you do something dumb. I will take that any day over the server we had at Per Se - who knew less than I knew about food and wine than I did when I was 28 (maybe that's because he was about 22). I think he was a "wannabe actor" or something. You can call that kind of service "informal". I call it incompetent (at least at Per Se - it's certainly ok at Ruby Tuesday). I guess when you get old enough (and I am there) - you're not afraid to make mistakes (unintentional or otherwise). We're going to Germany next month. You know what I know about German food - nothing. But if I'm afraid of making mistakes while dining - I'll never learn about the cuisine. At any classical European restaurant - including GR in New York (I've only been to RHR in London) - I think you really have to pace yourself in terms of rich food. Even if you're only doing 3 courses. I can (and do) cook this kind of stuff at home on occasion - and when you see how much butter and cream and the like can go into 2 tablespoons of a reduced sauce - well - it's better to have at least one out of 3 courses that's on the lighter side (I made a duck sauce the other night that started with a whole bottle of port - among other things - and wound up with 1/2 cup of sauce). What do you think are the 3 greatest restaurants in New York? Robyn

Oh gosh, there have been so many changes to Miami in the last 35 years or so. Even when I was living in Homestead in the mid-80's - South Beach was a slum then, Andrew and Wilma had not happened, the Haitian immigrants had just arrived, the South American influx and influence had not manifested itself. The shopping is just fine in the Design District. In fact, the shopping has been just fine, the district has been kind of dead at night though - from what I have heard. ← Excuse me - South Beach a slum in the mid-80's? I don't think so (my ex-secretary is married to an ex-mayor of Miami Beach and I'm sure he'd beg to differ with you too). South Beach wasn't even a slum in the 60's or 70's - just a place where most of the tourists were old and the hotels were a bit shabby. Now Liberty City - that's a slum. Has been for decades - still is. As for the design district - when's the last time you bought anything there? There are few places there left worth going to. Knoll still a place there - but since Knoll started selling retail in lots of places - including Luminaire in Coral Gables - not much reason for retail customers to go there. Regarding comments about the condom in the restaurant review - I think it's a valid comment. I don't want to go to a restaurant where I'm going to spend a couple of hundred bucks or more and the surroundings are disgusting and/or filthy (I won't even mention dangerous). I can get $6 BBQ in a lot of places in the south and do that (although I've never had to step over used condoms in most $6 BBQ places here - most restaurant owners here - no matter how low end their surroundings are in general - keep their immediate locations clean - you'll see them sweeping the sidewalks in front of their places in the morning before they open). Perhaps that's because one sign of a good local BBQ place is the entire police force (maybe all 4 of them) eat there every day. So just exactly why is it irresponsible to mention that when you arrive at an expensive restaurant wearing your Armani and your $600 Manolos that you will have to wade through through the urban equivalent of horsesh**? Robyn

Why did you think that? It sounds like a review of another expensive restaurant with mediocre food - not unusual for a lot of places - especially in Florida. Robyn