hshiau

you have to admire Wylie's restraint.

Perhaps I shouldn't speak since I've only been once but we thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. Service was smooth and professional. The maitre'd was very nice. Food was excellent and we got to chat with the chef as he made his rounds. Now the maitre'd at Bar Boulud is a different story. She makes me feel like I need to be a celebrity or know her personally to get a real smile rather than a fake, look my nose down at you, smile.

interview with Wylie. http://www.devour.tv/video/show/vid/401

Did they not ask what temp she wanted it done? I recall my wife and I were both asked what temp we wanted liver and steak respectively. ← Nope. They didn't ask which surprised me. I assumed it would be medium or medium rare depending on the chef. I didn't expect well done.

We ate there a couple of Saturday's ago. I had the arctic char which was quite good. My wife's pork chop though was way overcooked. Now it turns out that my wife likes her meat well done but she hadn't asked for it that way. If the temperature of that chop was the way they'd normally serve it, definitely overcooked.

So after all the"This is Top Chef, not top cook", we go for home cooking? So far this season, I've seen nothing in any of the elimination challenges that proves or disproves whether someone could be a top chef.

Zagat.com now lists 64 wine bars in New York City, though curiously it lists them in the nightlife survey not the restaurant survey. ← That's interesting because, at Bar Boulud, it sure seems like the hostess sizes you up before telling you whether or not anything might be available. Add a large fellow with an earpiece and you have a club.

oh yeah, and they said they would start opening for lunch towards the end of the month.

My wife and I also stopped by for a late dinner a week ago. At 9:30pm, there was about an hour wait. Good thing we live a couple of blocks away. We ended up sharing the large charcuterie tasting and the pork belly. I thought the pork belly to be just eh. Could have been a bit more crispy and the fat portion was huge! The charcuterie was fine. I think we enjoyed the beef cheek the most. One or two just didn't have enough punch. We're definitely glad to have Bar Boulud open in the neighborhood. We'll have to go back to try the rest of the menu and give the service a chance to settle. BTW, the crowd gets younger as it gets later in the evening.

I don't know if it's about eating the same foods as opposed to being open to trying new foods. My wife used to be an extremely picky eater, no greens, meat cooked to well done, no seafood, etc. Over the 22 years we've been together, she has changed quite a bit. While there are still things she doesn't like (ie. gamey meats, offal, etc), she is open to at least tasting something before she decides she doesn't like something. That being said, sushi restaurants and those with minimal offerings that she doesn't like are still places I need to hit with friends.

Ok then. What if Hung, having heard so much about needing to incorporate Vietnamese flavors into his cooking, makes a less than spectacular meal because he's more used to making a more rustic Vietnamese dish. It seems that much of his talent now is in high end cuisine. If he hasn't blended the two styles before, he could easily screw up the finals trying to do so.

I was stunned when Colicchio said that in order to show something of himself in the dishes, he'd have to use Vietnamese flavors. WHAT?! I was stunned by the implicit racism in that statement. Does Colicchio have to cook Prince Spaghetti, just because he's from New Jersey? Is Padma Lakshmi only allowed to make Indian food? If what Colicchio is implying is true---that a person can only put themselves in a dish if it's from the cuisine of their own ethnic group---then Rick Bayless is in a heck of a lot of trouble. Somebody better tell Bayless to start melting some Velveeta over those Mexican dishes, or nothing he cooks will have any "soul"!! ← I absolutely agree. I don't that "soul" in quantifiable as it is but to imply that Hung needs to inject Vietnamese flavors in order to make it soulful is incredibly racist. Perhaps Hung finds his passion in french cuisine?!?!

Ooh. Sorry to hear that. We've been several times and haven't had a bad meal. How about Cesca on 76th & Amsterdam? Or is that too far uptown?

Sorry for the flippant remark. I like Telepan on 69th & Columbus. They have a really good deal on their 4 and 5 course menus. I find most of the other restaurants in the few block radius to be hit or miss unless you go high end.

Well, if you're a block away and reasonably priced, can you suggest some good places for pre-opera dinners? ← I AM reasonably priced but it's reasonably priced for the Lincoln Center area!