mrud

the above descriptions make it sound more like the vegas venue

Seriously: Chef Boyardee on a big platter. Carmine's in their early days did this sort of thing way better.Sfoglia is incomprehensibly and lamentably absent from this discussion. ← Not so imcomprehensible, as Sfoglia is also about 97 blocks from being in Little Italy. ← the one on nantucket may be closer!

ate in the lounge last night and was very impressed. the food was the equal of my previous meals in the dining room and as always, the wine service was perfect. (roxane is the perfect sommelier) the only complaint is that my seat at a high table was a bit awkward, but the quality of the gougeres, cornet, gazpacho, and my asparagus salad and duck more than made up for the seating. still expensive, but well worth it.

stopped in today at the bar. pretty empty and a lot of staff standing around waiting for the rush...very handsome room and nice menu although only had time for 1 pasta and a glass of wine. 1st glass was oxidized and warm (opened at least the day before). pasta was good but not great. all things considered, i'll give it some time and come back with high expectations given his former stints and the great room.

is there any word on this yet? i'll be in the area tomorrow at lunchtime and always liked carmellini. thanks

anyone have contact info? going to try wednesday night.

that would explain why i'm having a difficult time finding it. found a menu on another site but have no idea how recent it is. thanks taion

anyone know the website for jack's? i'd like to go as a walk-in tomorrow night (and maybe start with a drink at pdt)

if they were next door to each other i'd go to jg. i was downtown for business, so bouley it was. (and, as noted above, the extra 2 courses are a nice enticement as well)

i arrived this morning without reservations at 11:30 exactly. the door was finally opened at 11:44 after 3 phone calls to the reservationist (wherever she was located at the time.) i was a little cranky when i came in from the cold, windy drizzle. as noted above, the room is truly beautiful. far nicer than the red one was and better even than i remember the off white, farm-housey original. after some mis-cues with available wines at my table and another accross the room, the captain straightened it all out and the procession of dishes began. all dishes were as photo'd above including the same amuse (although mine didn't look nearly as good as the one pictured), the crab flan (as a bonus dish), the skate, chicken, pre-dessert and then the white, puffy sorbet dish. all were very well executed with the skate and flan being my favorite. as to whether this rises to the level of jg, bernardin, daniel, or per se.....well i don't think so. for a $48 lunch tasting however, i'd go back anytime i was in the area and anytime i needed a special room for lunch.

completely agree on bouley's food being one of my formative fine-dining experiences. (other than jl palladin at watergate) my 1st real big deal meal was bouley about 15 years ago. i'm planning on having lunch at the new iteration tomorrow but this thread has me worried. any words of hope, or should i head elsewhere while downtown?

sorry for the drift, but looking at the menu above i'm reminded that the arctic char with jalapenos is probably my favorite fish dish of all time. this remains the best 'cheap' lunch in the city.

i'm sure dm will be very happy to read this review. as a longtime devotee of the place i know i am! btw, one time sitting at the bar and waiting for my wife's potato chips before the kitchen formally opened, i had to ask what makes them so incredible. the answer: clarified butter. nice.

lespinasse when gray was there. arctic char served crunchy side down in broth. somehow the crunch survived in the broth and the taste/consistency made for the most memorable single dish of my life.

veritas most definitely does not allow byo (unless you know someone way up the food chain). i agree that the modern is awesome and as with all dm's places, they do allow wine to be brought in. thank-you oh yeah, nice picture of winston rodney!

emp is where i currently have a rese. byo is critical, and they're not too bad. i believe per se was @$90 so nothing else can really be too offensive in comparison! i've been to emp quite a few times under the new regime and was hoping for some more suggestions from the board. btw, thanks for the recc for corton and i'll check it out.

each year my mom and i do something like per se for a healthy dose of catching up. in the past we've done per se, aureole, bouley, chaterelle, daniel, per se 2x, and a couple of others. this year i forgot to make a rese early enuf to get per se so i'm thinking of emp or asiate. recc's have been for mas or annisa as well. must be kind of quiet because we have 3 or 4 hours of talking to do over the wine i'd like to be able to bring. btw, jg's out as i love it for lunch but not so much for dinner. tia

jg was a great choice. i eat lunch there once a month or so and have never been disappointed (although sometimes the amuse fail to wow.) glad you enjoyed your lunch. tough to argue that it's not the best value high-end lunch in nyc. for me, it would be at or near the top even taking $ out of the equation.