daisy17

Oh, of course I did. I've had friends from the 'burbs who want to come in and have dinner. When I ask what they're in the mood for, it's amazing how often a place like Blue Water Grill comes up - and I gently steer them away from that clusterf#%k. ← EXACTLY. They look at me like I'm nuts - how could I not appreciate how awesome Blue Water Grill is? It's not a restaurant, but when I see people lined up around the block for Magnolia Bakery all I can think is that the emperor has no clothes. Spice Market (which was severely smacked down by Bruni today) I can't believe it took me this long to come up with these: the eternally & inexplicably popular Tavern on the Green and One if By Land!

Every time I read about the Masa "Service Charge" bullshit I shake my head in disbelief. Apparently one diner decided to do more than that: Masa returns services charge - Eater Regardless of the illegality of the practice, I can't believe they have the nerve to charge you 20% for "administrative expenses" and then expect you to add an additional 20% tip, all on top of a $400/person meal. (And then they charge you $5 for a coke?) This is some crazy shit. I'm surprised more people haven't called them out on it.

Sadly, I would have to agree (excepting their home fried potatoes, which are on my list of Favorite Dishes Ever). I've been going to Peter Luger since I was a kid - my parents believe there's not another steakhouse in NY. It is not what it once was, but its reputation keeps them coming in droves. I can't believe weinoo didn't like my Steve Hanson comment.

Gemma. Tao = ridiculous. Good call. Any Steve Hanson restaurant? Any meatpacking spot other than Scarpetta? That may be too harsh. I'll have to think about that one. Tempted to say Nobu, but I have to admit I've had a few good meals there. It's so expensive and the quality is just not there - and now I can't justify going there.

I've never found an Italian restaurant in Little Italy that was remotely good or worth recommending. You can do SO much better. (I think you'll find most eGulleters agree.) Some of my favorite Italian restaurants: Lupa Peasant Scarpetta dell'anima I might add L'Artusi to that list. If you wanted something really casual and not expensive I'd say Otto. Locanda Verde is getting some good commentary as well. I haven't been to A Voce with its current chef but have heard good things. Of these, Scarpetta is probably the most expensive/upscale. They probably all have their own threads and menus online. I beg you, skip Little Italy.

I would have said Cru before it was announced that Shea Gallante was leaving. Never understood why people didn't talk about it (and go there) more.

This thread just further explains why there is so much variety in cookware, kitchen gadgets and crap. To each his own. I have a few All Clad pots that have served me very well over the years, no warping. You can, however, take every single piece of cookware (there aren't many gadgets, but fine, take those too) out of my apartment as long as you just leave me my Le Creuset dutch oven. By FAR my favorite kitchen thing. Makes me wonder if the haters have ever even used it.

Oh, come on! No one lied - he just had the guts to pretend he'd been there before. I liked it.

I would argue that precision in cocktail creation is an entirely different thing than precision in cooking. (It is probably more akin to baking if anything). A bit too much or too little of any one ingredient can throw a cocktail off completely.

@gingerbeer I would encourage you to venture away from Champs Elysees for food. I second recommendations for crepes (I like sucre) and L'As du Fallafel. Best falafel anywhere. Get it with aubergine (eggplant) I love to make a picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg with food from Gerard Mulot (76, rue de Seine in the 6eme arr). Also, macarons from Pierre Herme are amazing and close to there in the 6eme.

Not on the menu. I'm sure they would make you one if you asked nicely, but Phil's cocktails are so creative and complex I would really encourage you to try them.

New York Times review of Mayahuel

A few years ago I was in London on business for a few weeks and dined alone several times. The Brits don't seem as into bar dining as New Yorkers. I went to both Amaya and Benares (both upscale Indian) and loved the food at both. Amaya is very much set up for solo diners with a communal table, and I met some lovely people that night. At Benares I sat alone at a table, which is not my preference at all. I'm pretty sure St John has a bar that you can eat at.

I think that when most of us have something negative to say we at least provide detail about what happened or what we didn't like. I would never encourage someone to not be honest about their experiences, but really think that we should take seriously the fact that people's livelihoods are affected by things like reviews and posts. This restaurant already has its share of well-publicized problems due to the economy. So let's not be so glib. You have something negative to say, give some supporting facts. "Disaster," "bad" and "joke" are neither substantive nor helpful.

SOLID. ← What are the proportions for this? I fiddled with it and got: 1.5 tequila (Milagro) .5 dry vermouth (Noilly Prat old version) .5 lime .25 green chartreuse I don't have celery bitters. Who makes it anyway? Definitely tastes pretty good, but not mind-blowing. My proportions and the lack of celery bitters are probably at fault. I'll be in town at the end of June and will find out in person. ← Maybe Phil will come by and tell us the right proportions/ingredients, but I suspect the kind of vermouth you'd use in this cocktail would make a significant difference. I think they're using Dolin but really could just be making that up. ← BTW, I asked Phil - it's the Dolin dry.

Different mushroom on ours but DAMN is this an awesome dish. Think of it as the best chicken mcnugget ever created.

Same here. It would be great to know what you guys loved from there so I can retry.

Some news. So disappointing. New York Times Diner's Journal

I've never understood why people don't talk about Cru more. I have had several AMAZING meals there.

I actually think the waitstaff made the suggestion in order to try to be MORE helpful. There are a million cabs going up 6th Ave in Tribeca at all hours, and it was half a block away. Hailing a cab would save the customers a considerable amount of time and money. I'm sure if the customers had said that this would be difficult for them to accomplish they would have been called a car service. I can't see holding this against a restaurant if you take into account everything we know about the situation.

Visible?

I'm not sure how clear it was to the restaurant that the gentleman had difficulty walking. If it was clear, then they could have called a car service for them. If it wasn't clear, I don't think that the suggestion of walking a half a block to 6th Ave was in any way wrong.

SOLID. ← What are the proportions for this? I fiddled with it and got: 1.5 tequila (Milagro) .5 dry vermouth (Noilly Prat old version) .5 lime .25 green chartreuse I don't have celery bitters. Who makes it anyway? Definitely tastes pretty good, but not mind-blowing. My proportions and the lack of celery bitters are probably at fault. I'll be in town at the end of June and will find out in person. ← Maybe Phil will come by and tell us the right proportions/ingredients, but I suspect the kind of vermouth you'd use in this cocktail would make a significant difference. I think they're using Dolin but really could just be making that up.

Sounds correct to me.

I've had several meals at Gramercy since he's been there, and they've all been truly excellent. I would go back in a heartbeat. I am a huge fan of Prune - it's honest, good food without a fuss. The burger (lunch) is *really* good. Personally was underwhelmed by Dovetail. It was expensive and not in my opinion worth it. If I had to be on the UWS, I'd consider it, but otherwise would not. (I know you're not asking about the Bar Room at the Modern, but I dined there a couple of weeks ago and it was better than it's ever been.)