hshiau

I suppose I never order delivery from really expensive places so 15-20% always sounded right anyway. Bottom line is it usually comes out to $2-5. I do have a minimum of $2 tip and I tip extra if they come in the rain.

I usually tip 15-20% on deliveries and have only gotten take out once or twice ever. I didn't tip those times mainly because I never thought it necessary. I will do so in the future.

One last comment. I saw the waiter consistently ask other tables as they were leaving what hotel they were staying at so he could call them a cab. I was dining solo and he didn't bother. I dislike being treated like a second class citizen because I'm alone. Since I was on an expense account, he could only benefit. He would have gotten a better tip even though I didn't like the food.

I ate at Radius last Thursday evening. The chef de cuisine, Brian Reimer, had left just a couple of nights before so the head chef, Michael Schlow, is going to be presiding in the kitchen for foreseeable future. I did get a chance to speak to the chef about the future. He's looking to go with 3 sous chefs instead of promoting or hiring a new chef de cuisine. There's also going to be a new menu soon. Since Michael Schlow was in the kitchen, I decided to go with the 4 course tasting menu and added the foie course. My meal started with an amuse of cervice of white fish with jalapeno, cilantro, and lime. Very refreshing and a great start to the meal. The chef sent out the next complimentary item: a tartare of marinated fluke with cucumers, radish, yellow pepper jus and espelette pepper. While this item was delicious, it was too similar to the amuse and did not make as much of an impact as it should have. I then had a grilled striped bass with braised artichokes, baby fennel and carrots, and nicoise olives. The bass was tender and well spiced and the vegetables perfectly cooked and crisp. The chef then sent me another free item: a miso soup with porcini mushrooms red jalapeno, scallions, and cilantro. The soup was excellent and the jalapeno was very strong. However, my fears of the jalapeno ruining my palate for the next items was unjustified. The next item was probably the best...the potato gnocchi with chanterelles, summer truffles and parmeggiano reggiano. The gnocchi melts in your mouth and the paper-thin chanterelles were very good. The pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras with riesling-braised peach, thai basil, and spiced cashew came out next. The foie was tasty and the peach complimented the flavor of the foie very nicely. After all that, we got to the entree, which was port loin and pork confit with a garnish of diced tomatoes, baby turnips and cattors, local beans, smoked bacon and nepitella. This was probably the weakest item. The pork was extremely tender but I think it could have stood some more seasoning. The jus was excellent though. At this point, I was fairly stuffed and couldn't finish. After a cleanser of celery sorbet (very interesting flavor), dessert came. It was guava begnettes covered with powdered sugar with a guava dipping sauce and a guava smoothie with rhubarb and tapioca pearls. A completely decadent ending to a great meal. The begnettes were so light that they dissolved as soon as they hit my mouth. The experience at Radius was inspiring. The service was excellent. I sat at the bar and the bartender comped me both a glass of champagne and espresso. Chef Schlow was very nice and his buddy, Peter Wolf from J. Geils, sat down the bar from me. I'll be back.

I went to Mistral last Tuesday and was very disappointed. The scene was great...packed...but the food just didn't do it for me. For appetizer, I had the seared foie gras with confit of duck in a brioche and tart Wisconsin cherries. The cherries were a little too tart and the brioche too dense. The confit was prepared just right and the foie very nice. Together, the dish was too salty and I think they're trying to do too much with this dish and the tastes overwhelm each other. For my entree, I had the grilled striped bass. Started off badly when the server almost spilled the entree onto my lap. It was served hot in the skillet...way too hot. After about 5 minutes, I was finally able to taste my dish. The skin on the bass was too salty and the meat was almost completely tasteless. The beans were so undercooked that they were still hard. The waiter was very apologetic and brought me a sauteed spinach as a side. This was a pretty bad meal and I will definitely not be back to eat. The scene isn't bad though and drinks after work or after dinner would definitely be a possibility.

I was in Boston this past week and dropped by No 9 Park on the many recommendations I had read. I stopped in around 7:30 to see if I could get a seat at the bar, which was packed. I was told the wait would probably be about 20 minutes so I took a walk around first. Came back and prompty got a seat at the bar. The bartender recommended a light red wine: 2001 Firriato Chiaramonte Nero d'Avola. Very nice. Just what I was looking for. It seemed most of the folks seated at the bar were there to drink only and not eat. One woman that was sitting near me was trying to figure out what to order and we started talking about the various items we wanted to try. We ended up sharing 4 items so we could sample each one. We started with the Prune Stuffed Gnocchi and the Seared Sea Scallop. The gnocchi was delicious as advertised but the portion was a tad small (5-6 gnocchi). I could have easily eaten twice the amount. The scallop with corn blini and black summer truffle was also very good and, again, the portion too small...just ONE scallop. The corn and truffles complemented the taste of the scallop quite nicely. We then had the Crispy Sweetbreads with English pea puree and lardons and the Truffled Gnocchi with lobster, peas, and mushrooms. The sweetbreads were a complete disappointment. The bacon taste completely overwhelmed the taste of the sweetbreads, which seemed a bit overcooked. We didn't even finish this one. The truffled gnocchi was amazing. Practically melts in your mouth. The only negative was the presentation. It looked like everything was just thrown onto the plate. I had the black pepper cheesecake with roasted pineapples, green apple sorbet, thinly sliced pineapples, and crystallized rum. The pepper made this a striking dessert. Overall, I enjoyed my meal. The service was excellent....bartender and maitre d were both very nice. I had great conversations with both of them. I don't know if Barbara Lynch was there that night but the food and presentation seemed a bit inconsistent. I'll go there again the next time I'm in Boston.

On the recommendation from this site, I went to New York Burger Company on Friday for lunch. I had the Seattle Burger with the mushrooms and onions. It was tasty and definitely a notch above your standard burgers. Like the previous post, I thought a coarser grind would definitely have made it a different experience. The thing I liked most actually was the fruit shake. Unlike many places that have frozen fruit in tubs to make the shakes, I got to watch the guy peel the bananas for my shake. The food was good but I wouldn't make a special trip considering I don't eat burgers that much anyway. I still need to try the burger joint in the Parker Meridien. Howard

I can't seem to view this thread. It tells me that this menu has been disabled. Its in the Site Talk area, which requires 20 posts. Thanks. I'll try back in 5 minutes after I've hit a few more. .....16!

I can't seem to view this thread. It tells me that this menu has been disabled.

Since I work only a few blocks away, I visited the Shake Shack during lunch today. What a madhouse!!! The line to order was 40 deep. Then you get to wait on the line to pickup which was also 20 deep. I don't think they've quite figured out the best way to keep things moving yet. I'm sure it'll improve once they've been open awhile. There were a few people inside that were very busy and others that were just standing around. I'm not sure they expected this volume. I had both the taxi dog and the Chicago hot dog. Both good but the taxi dog doesn't look anywhere as nice as it did in the pictures above. The taxi dog was $2.25 and the Chicago dog was $2.50. Burgers range from $3.95 to $5.95. I also had a large chocolate shake for $4.45. One big issue with the menu is that it's non-descriptive. No one knows what's in anything except maybe the 'shroom burger. I saw a section for concrete and had no idea what it was. Now, looking back through the forum, I see that it's the frozen custard that I should have gotten instead of the shake. We'll see how things go. I'll stop by again in a few weeks to see if business is still booming and whether they've improved their throughput.

My wife and I went there for brunch a couple of Sundays ago. We got there around 11:30 and were able to get a table without a reservation. I take it that's not typical?

I think it's easier to locate a tourist by how fast they walk.

law and banking, according to one poster. I have friends working for several investment banks that now wear suits. This may only be in the front office, sales and private client areas of the bank. I also don't know that this is a written rule yet but everyone's wearing suits and those who don't are frowned upon. BTW, those in the high end fashion business (I don't mean retail) still wear suits.

Absolutely right! I lived in the Bay area for a couple of years in between stints in New York and was, it seemed, always overdressed. But I suppose the original question really meant "How dressed down can you be?". I didn't help answer that.

Actually, you might be surprised to learn that many firms in New York are starting to go back to requiring suits every day. Many of the law firms and banks have already started. This isn't to say everyone is going to do that but it does seem to be a trend. Now, even though I'm not in favor of HAVING to wear a suit and tie every day to work, I would do so if I went out to a nice restaurant. Is it a uniform if you have to wear it to work? Absolutely! Is it feel special to wear it to a top New York City restaurant? Absolutely! Now why wouldn't I want to feel special in these cases? Would the restaurant feel less special if the guy at the next table was wearing sweatpants? Absolutely!

I finally have a reservation!!! July 24th at 7:30. Since we really wanted a Saturday reservation, I had to be confined to one opportunity each week to get a reservation. After forgetting numerous times or unavailable to call or get through at the right time, we're now in. I'm so excited.

Sorry if this question has been previously asked but I'm new here. Are they taking reservations?