daisy17

We had such a lovely time at Pegu tonight. I should probably not be allowed access to a computer after all the drinking we did, but here I am nonetheless. After believing firmly that I was a vodka drinker, the dedicated bartenders at Pegu taught me that I like gin and even rye - RYE! Who would have thought it? The bartenders are remarkably passionate about their craft, and their passion is contagious and thrilling. Started off the night with a Gin-Gin Mule (so refreshing and delightful), onto a Whiskey Smash, and then Toby made me a concoction whose name I am completely forgetting with rye and pomegranate juice, and it rocked my world. Feel like I've never had a cocktail before - I had no idea how complex a drink could be in the mouth. Simply fantastic. Can't wait to go back.

Oh, one more thing - if you're into wine and food, I highly recommend Veritas. It's constantly noted for its stellar wine list, but I think that Scott Bryan's food is absolutely fabulous (most notably anything braised, imo) and surprisingly underrated. Prix fixe is about $70 and you could go crazy with the wine, but it will be a great meal.

Le Bernardin is absolutely spectacular, and I highly recommend it especially if you like seafood, but it is not inexpensive. Lunch is a great deal though. Some great, not expensive (and not too heavy) meals in NY can be had at some of my (currently) favorite restaurants: inoteca Bellavitae Petrosino Snack (Greek) Mary's Fish Camp (or Pearl Oyster Bar) more expensive than the above but worth it: August Prune Hearth The Red Cat Gusto Enjoy your time in NY.

Pasha is great! It's Turkish, and is located at 71st and Columbus. ← I love pasha too. very good food.

I really like Pasha, a Turkish restaurant on 71st and Columbus. Also, Rosa Mexicano is right across the street from Lincoln Center

Just returned from FANTASTIC lunch at Le Bernardin. I've been dying to go for a while now and I was not disappointed. Had the hamachi tartare and my friend had the fluke tasting to start - both phenomenal. Entrees were Crispy Chinese Spiced Black Bass in a Peking Duck Bouillon Scented with Maitake and Enoki Mushrooms (very good), and White Tuna - Hawaiian Escolar Slowly Poached in Extra Virgin Olive Oil which was absolutely incredible. Great desserts; service was warm and attentive. It very well may go down as one of my favorite meals ever.

I am not, and have never been, a fan of Magnolia's cupcakes. I want to like them, really I do, but I can't get myself there. I think the cake is dry and the frosting is just bad. However, I do think that they make up for it with some of their other stuff, like the sour cream chocolate cake, chocolate pudding pie, and banana pudding with nilla wafers. Same goes for Billy's in my opinion.

Hold on! The square ones are not homemade, the round ones are. GOOD, fresh, round homemade knishes cannot be compared to the packaged square ones - no contest! My favorite knishes came from Knish Nosh in Forest Hills, Queens. Used to go there when I was a kid and my grandparents lived nearby. Anyone know if it's still there?

I ate at Sevilla a few weeks ago for the first time in years. It was a favorite of mine when I was a kid so I could be convinced that this was an off night. My veal was way too salty and I wouldn't say the service was attentive, although everyone was friendly. Sangria was good. Ate at Peter Luger two days ago. The last time I was there, last year, left me wondering why I love the place. This trip reminded me. The steak was incredibly tender and flavorful, and I could eat an entire plate of the home fried potatoes myself. It should definitely be on any list of tried and true NY restaurants. As for Gotham, what amazes me is the impact it has had on the NY restaurant scene over time. So many of our city's great chefs (now heading their own kitchens) started out there. I would also put Union Square Cafe on the list, NOT because Zagat says it's popular, but because it's been putting out excellent food for nearly 20 years, and because Danny Meyer set the bar for hospitality/service in the industry.

Seriously. Thanks Oakapple - I couldn't have said it better myself.

When I made my reservation, I was told that men should wear a jacket. I'm sure they seat people who don't, but they cared enough to mention it . . . .

A jacket is required. Enjoy!

One person in my party of 6 wanted to substitute one dish on the 9 course chef's tasting menu (to a selection from the 5 course) and the kitchen accommodated this request. Our server did check with the kitchen first, leading me to suspect that they might not normally substitute a large number of dishes in the menu. I would really encourage your friend to be open to trying new things on this restaurant visit. I, always a fairly picky eater but pushing myself to try new things all the time, ate a variety of foods that I don't normally order and they were all phenomenal. I would eat anything Thomas Keller/Jonathan Benno put in front of me.

This is precisely the problem. I find the idea of traipsing through the dining room at the end of my meal to find the sommelier and then slipping him some money both appalling and bizarre. I would imagine that it would make me uncomfortable if I were the one receiving the tip. So for those of you in the business -- what are you comfortable with? Is there a way for me to separately tip the sommelier without going through this awkward procedure?

I'm actually going to Veritas again on Saturday, hence my curiosity. In the past, friends and I haven't separately tipped; if I'm doing this incorrectly and slighting the sommelier I need to know. I have looked up answers to this issue on various websites, and they do seem to suggest that people actually hand cash to the sommelier. This seems bizarre to me. What I'm looking for is exactly what you suggested: what do people really do and what does the staff really expect?

It's never been clear to me whether I'm supposed to separately tip a sommelier who recommends/presents/pours wine for the table. (I recognize that this thread may more appropriately belong under "wine" but I'd like to specifically know what other New Yorkers do, and I feel like I know you all after reading your posts for so long, so I'm hoping that this can stay here!) Generally speaking, I tip at least 20% on the total bill, including tax and alcohol/wine, so this isn't a question of trying to save money. It's more of a protocol issue - the thought of handing cash separately to a sommelier makes me very uncomfortable. Let's assume there's not a separate line on the credit card printout for the sommelier's tip (I've never seen one). So what do you do? If you do tip separately, do you calculate 20% for the server based on food and then do a separate calculation for the sommelier basd on the cost of the wine? If so, what is that percentage? If I lump it all together in one tip amount on the credit card bill, will the server tip the sommelier out? Thanks in advance.

After what seemed to be an eternal wait (original reservation was March) I dined at Per Se with five friends on Saturday night and we had a phenomenal evening. Five of us had the nine course chef tasting menu, and one had the nine course vegetarian menu. We started with drinks in the salon and sat at our table at about 6, finishing up at almost 10 (and they did turn our table). The food was incredible -- from signature Keller dishes like the salmon cornets and "Oysters and Pearls" to "Macaroni and Cheese" (butter poached lobster over orzo with marscapone and lobster broth) to lovely macarons following dessert -- and everything in between. The service was impeccable yet entirely down to earth. (I generally consider service to be almost as important as food in an overall dining experience (probably because of my many years as a waitress).) From start to finish, it was as close to perfection as I've ever seen. Our captain for the evening, Phoebe, was warm, friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about the food, wine, Keller and the restaurant. She and Andre, the sommelier, recommended wines throughout the evening which perfectly complemented our meal. Everyone we encountered seemed to understand our enthusiasm for being there, which I truly appreciated. We also had an amazing tour of the kitchen (greeted by everyone we passed) at the end of our meal. (The kitchen was unbelievable and deserves its own thread . . . .) My only disappointment was that the evening had to end.

The dining room is one large, moderately noisy room, with banquettes along the walls and deuces and four tops in the middle. I don't recall seeing any large rounds. While the decor is somewhat old-school and sophisticated (marble, mirrors, high ceilings) it has a modern flair to it that I really liked. It very much has its own style - I couldn't think of another restaurant that it even resembled. There were not many (or even any) large parties when we were there. I would definitely recommend making reservations for a large group. They were booked when we were there (a Friday night). The food was excellent, no question about it. The room was stifling when we sat down, so much so that we commented to our server who immediately spoke with the manager and adjusted the temperature. (She actually seemed relieved that someone said something . . . and we were equally relieved when the AC went on.) Service was efficient and helpful but not friendly or warm. Our server knew the menu very well and made some good recommendations. In all, a very satisfying meal.

Received my call on Saturday afternoon and unfortunately was at the Greenmarket instead of in front of my calendar. The reservationist offered to call me back at a time that I named and did so, promptly. Rescheduled my March 19th reservation for June 5th. I was very pleased to see that they followed up with the second call and fairly easily accommodated our party of 6 for a Saturday night. Am once again eagerly anticipating my visit to Per Se.

With mention of The Biltmore Room in this week's New Yorker and my upcoming visit tomorrow night, I thought that I'd revive this thread and see if anyone had more to share . . . . Food recommendations are always helpful! Many thanks in advance.