BackwardsHat

Heading to NYC for a Saturday night with 5 friends in Mid-May and wanted to make a res at a hot/trendy restaurant around the union square/greenwich village/meatpacking area... Top 3 picks anyone?

Give me a ring when you're in town -- The Raven is my local. Couple other neo-dives around giving it a run for its money, as well, within staggering distance. I actually think most of the "beautiful people" bars tend to get slightly "older" crowds because their demographic more or less begins around 25 (after grad school, or when the money gets a little better, or you just stop drinking like a college kid) and goes to married with children, which seems to be close to 40 these days. The kids tend more towards Georgetown and Adams-Morgan, which is why they're so crowded that nobody goes there anymore. And I find the Dupont scene -- 18th Street Lounge, Mantis, Citron -- a little Eurotrashy. Different strokes. ← Agreed with all your comments... I have been avoiding bars/clubs for a while, and mostly been doing restaurants, but when I do go to bars I've found the U-street area to be pretty good... DC has def changed in the past few years, or maybe I've just gotten older and more boring, lol...

I'm not surprised... They book up 2 months in advance... So what he said about being full until next year makes sense... You need to call about 2 months to the day in advance and hope you get lucky... If you've dined there previously they seem to allow you more flexibility and table choice... I've never had a problem getting the table I want as long as I give them about 1.5 to 2 months notice ahead of time... Good luck!

Just came back from Paris today (still at JFK now actually), and I ate at Guy Savoy and Le Meurice (both 3 star)... Guy Savoy is stil the best IMHO... Although Astrance comes in a VERY close second... Although I've been going to Astrance since it was just 1 star, so I'm a bit sentimental about those guys BTW, how long are you going to be in Paris for? If you are doing 4 big restaurants, I hope it's at LEAST a 1 week trip...

Older crowd there... Knowing the age of the person would help...

Sorry for the delay!!! Please see all the pictures and only minimal commentary from me here: http://www.backwardshat.com/main/food/innjune2k7/ Hope you enjoy! Thanks again for the information you guys gave me in advance!

Ya, looking for advice... I'm having trouble making a decision I'll probably go with l'Ambroisie... Or maybe I'll just stick with what I have, too many 3-stars in 1 week can tend to diminish the experience sometimes...

I'll be there in a few weeks so I'll post my thoughts as one of my dining companions is a water drinker as well... Also, I read your lunch vs dinner articles, as well as your review of savoy 100e lunch... Nice work!! Great writing, pictures, etc... I went ahead and booked the 100e lunch at Savoy, and I'm looking forward to it as I've never had lunch there but love that place... Def one of my favorite places to eat, such a fun time Just deciding now between a dinner at Ambroise, ADPA, or Arpege for my final meal... I'm already booked at Meurice and Taillevent... Decisions decision!!!

Will I need a reservation for Le Gavroche? I didn't make one the first time but maybe I got lucky...

This sounds like a great event... And you've picked a great day since it's a holiday, BUT, no one has mentioned where the baguettes are going to be sourced from??? Surely there must be some consensus as to which boulangerie will be supplying the baguettes! I know I have my favorite baguette hot spots

I've eaten at a bunch of 1-3 star restaurants in Paris, I've taken flash and non-flash pictures at every single one, and about 1/2 the time I have a small notepad and I take notes with when there is a particularly interesting dish... Never have I had a single person even say 1 negative thing to me about this... Quite the contrary, I've had a chance to meet and chat with the head chefs of the restaurant as they come out to chat with me... They are flattered that I want to remember the experience in as much detail as possible... I've even had them autograph the menus for me and take pictures with me (with flash) in the kitchen and other parts of the restaurant... I once had a chef give me an entire box of special sugar that was infused with lavender because I was complimenting him on the aroma of the sweet dish... I asked him where I could buy such a thing and he said it was 50 euro for a small box and difficult to get but if I left my email he would send me the information to get it, so I gave him my info... When I was leaving the restaurant the maitre'd had a brand new box of the sugar wrapped with a bow and a note from the chef! Very nice touch... I went back to the same restaurant about a year later and presented the chef with a bottle of my favorite champagne... He remembered me and was visibly moved... If you love food, most chefs will love you in return, as that's what they live for... ESPECIALLY the French... Don't be scared to show your excitement, just do it in a civilized way...

Wow... Dinner in the kitchen at the Inn was incredible... Patrick is a genius... I love his philosophy... His staff is so friendly and happy too... I'll post a link to my review + pics in a few days or weeks for those that are interested... Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread, it really got me prepared and excited for the actual dining experience!

Ahem. How about Chinese food in the area?John PS Yes, with your boyfriend's parents do the Cafe Atlantico, it's quite special, but for me selfishly, what Chinese is fun there? ← The "famous" places are holes in the wall: Full Kee and Chinatown Express (where they make the fresh noodles) I don't really like either of those places... My 2 personal favorites are: 1) Chinatown Garden - This is where you go with a group of people or a date - NOT a hole in the wall, great atmosphere, great food, super friendly staff, full liquor selection (Scorpion bowl, volcano, etc...) 2) New Big Wong - This is where you go if you just want some good food - Hole in the wall, great food, no liquor (BYOB I think, but I've only ever gone there for the food), open till 4AM, best name for a Chinese restaurant ever... Oh, and if you really want a "unique" experience, go to "Magic Gourd" restaurant in Columbia Plaza in Foggy Bottom! That place is great... Excellent Chinese food... And guess what John? They have steak frites on the menu!! And it's actually pretty good! I've gone there before for a nice wonton soup and some other chinese appetizers, then gotten the steak frites...

Why? Because I think Clyde's has one of the best burgers in DC... True, it's not "the best", but there's nothing wrong with it... It's definitely very good! But I guess I am in the minority in thinking this... ← Actually, not only do I like Clyde's burgers, I let my son work for the place. But, the Chinatown/Gallery Place location is out of control. Too big and too crazy and the few times I've been there, the service has been awful. If you want a good burger, go to the Chevy Chase location and ask for... (heck, I don't want to get him fired, he owes me money ) ← You know, I've never eaten the burger at the Chinatown location... In fact, I've only eaten there once, and don't remember if the food was good... I usually just hit the bar there... I'll heed your advice and avoid that location for food... My experience with Clyde's is almost entirely based on the Georgetown location... I love that place... They actually cook my burger medium-rare when I ask for it medium-rare... Another bonus is 1/2 price wine on Sundays!

Why? Because I think Clyde's has one of the best burgers in DC... True, it's not "the best", but there's nothing wrong with it... It's definitely very good! But I guess I am in the minority in thinking this...

You got something against the burger at Clydes??

Amazing!! I can't wait! Thank you all very much for the replies... I have confirmed my reservation and will be dining in the kitchen and will definitely take pictures and post a review...

Good. More for us. ← Agreed! More for us and maybe less of a wait if this means I only have to wait 15 minutes for a table instead of 30!

That place IS Le Gavroche, Backwardshat. You can be 100% sure. It simply never happens that a bottle of house wine that bears the name of the restaurant on the label is found at another restaurant. I know the place, I can tell you. The label even says "mis en bouteille au Gavroche"; I think the search stops here. (Oh, and I liked the zooming but not the blurring. Hence the "Ringu" reference.) ← Yes!!! Thank you for the confirmation... I can now rest easy knowing that it is Le Gavroche... I am so happy and can't wait to go back in the Fall... If any of you are in Paris in late October/Early November and would like to have a steak frites, we should definitely meet up and have a group dinner. There's nothing quite like eating at a restaurant with fellow egulleters who appreciate the same things

The picture from google maps that I believe is NOT actually a picture of Le Gavroche is found at this link: http://www.hol.cityvox.fr/restaurants_pari...3313/ProfilLieu I found this other picture of the exterior and this looks EXACTLY like what I remember, except it was dark outside so I can't be 100% sure: What do you guys think?

Yes, kudos to petit pois on mentioning Le Gavroche... That damn picture on google maps of Le Gavroche must be a generic picture or one of a different Gavroche restaurant... It really threw me off... I thought that was it when I read his post because it sounded so familiar... Anyway, last night after eating at mortons (I had to get the closest thing here in DC to that good steak frites picture I posted earlier) I was motivated and found that additional photo of my dinner companion... Glad you guys like the zoom-in and blurring To get the mouths watering some more, here is a pic of my meal from last night: So, I am 95% sure that La Gavroche is the restaurant... But I guess I won't know for sure until I go there in October... If anyone is in Paris between now and then and goes to La Gavroche on Rue St Marc, please take a picture of the exterior as well as the interior for me so I can confirm...

Here is a picture of the wine label, I took this crop from the original high-res photo, not the resized jpegs I uploaded... It "looks" like the name of the wine is: "Thomas Gavroche" EDIT: I think I may have found it!!! ***** Le Gavroche - A Titration of Pure Paris Info: 19, rue St-Marc, Paris 75002; Tel: 1.42.96.89.70 Dinner: approx. $20; Metro: Richelieu-Drouot, Rue Montmarte, Bourse This place is timeless--hasn't changed in the ten years I've been going there religiously for the best steak & frites in Paris. Major points for the house wine bottled there and the hoppin' Parisian bistro atmosphere of talk and empassioned food worship. Beware, this is PURE France...no English spoken unless you count grunts Just need to find a picture of the place...

OK, here's the last picture I found... You can see to the left of the picture the divider to the other "room"... Rustic wood looking beams... I remembered a few more things: 1) The chairs were similar to the rustic beams... Almost like solid wood benches... 2) They made their own wine!!!! You can almost see the label in the picture below... If someone is a good photo analyst, they should be able to zoom in or something... Anyway, hopefully the fact that they make their own wine will give it away... I'm about ready to drive all over Paris to find this place

That sounds familiar... But the pictures on google maps does not look like this place... This place was pretty small, with tables sort of "here and there", not the typical "row of 2 person" tables you find in paris bistros... I remembered a few additional details: 1) There was a dessert tray at the end 2) The wine list was written on a chalkboard... I believe the waiter picked up the chalkboard and showed it to us at our table 3) There was a small "back room" of tables for dining, so the restaurant was sort of partitioned... 4) The street where the restaurant was actually on might not have been twisty, but the walk from the metro to the restaurant was definitely lots of curves and turns... It was definitely in the middle of a residential neighborhood... I remember when I was walking there thinking "Where the heck am I and why am I making this trek for a restaurant that a guidebook recommended?" I cannot find the guidebook... I will have to look through my boxes of storage for it next weekend... Man, this is maddening... And now I'm concerned that I am hyping this place up too much... I mean, it was good (you can see by the picture) but it's not like it was "the greatest ever"... I just really liked it...

See with each suggestion, you recall one more small detail. So, how far on the twisty street was it and what sort of places were around it; shops, other restos, residences, etc? We'll get there about the time you find your guidebook.Twisty street is a great clue, I agree with Ptit as always, Grégoire-de-Tours is as straight as a ruler. Where were you staying? How far on the Metro was it? ← I always stay in the 16th, either at my friend's flat, or one of two hotels I like there... All 3 are near Place Victor Hugo... Unfortunately, I cannot remember what metro the steak place was at... Or how far away on the metro... I want to say it was a decent ride though... so probably at least 1/3 to 1/2 way across Paris... Man, my memory is really bad... I used to be able to remember the slightest detail, like the waiter's name!