oakapple

I thought the Bruni piece was sufficiently balanced to allow him to go either way in the review. He appeared to be pointing out some of the potential hazards, particularly the depth of the menu.

Again, per the Times:

In today's New York Post, Braden Keil has the word that V Steakhouse is closing — possibly as early as this Friday. (In the Post's typically pun-laden fashion, the headline is: "It's V End of the Road for Steakhouse.") The news isn't exactly surprising, but it marks a number of milestones. It's the first Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant to fail, and the first restaurant in the Time-Warner Center to close. Given the number of restaurants in Vongerichten's empire, it's pretty remarkable that he's never had a misstep in New York. I wouldn't cry for the Time-Warner Center. They have three bona-fide hits (Per Se, Café Gray and Masa), and that's not bad considering the failure rate for new restaurants. The article mentions that Vongerichten plans to open another steakhouse somewhere in Manhattan. That's not surprising, either. I believe his Las Vegas steakhouse has done well, and in general steakhouses are indestructible. In a new location with a more reasonable rent structure, and prices more in tune with other Manhattan steakhouses, Vongerichten should do well. No word yet on what will replace V Steakhouse.

I've been to 17 of the 31 one-star restaurants in the guide. I couldn't say that Saul is serving better food than, say, Babbo or WD-50. But I can see why the Michelin inspectors thought Saul was good enough to be considered an approximate culinary peer of those restaurants.

An article this evening on the Times website builds on this:

Based on what I've seen around town, as well as my own place of employment, FG's instincts seem to be correct. There were fewer people on the sidewalks this morning than usual and less traffic on the streets. At work, people who could avoid coming into the city have done so. A training course that involved an instructor traveling from out-of-town has been canceled. Our office holiday party, which was to have taken place tonight at a restaurant, has been postponed.

The main eGullet thread is here.

The 5-course menu was originally $125, and the tasting menu $150, before tax, tip and beverages. If you got out of there for "a little over $150," I presume you drank tap water and stiffed them on the tip. The current price for both menus is now $210, not $225. However, and this is a significant point, the current price includes service. Do the math, and you'll see that $210 is $175 plus 20%. Hence, in comparative terms, the 9-course tasting has had just one price increase—from $150 to $175. The additional $35 reflects the conversion from service extra to service included. The now-deleted 5-course menu at Per Se was originally $125 without service, vs. $210 including service for the present 7-course option. For the record, Alain Ducasse's four-course menu at the Essex House is currently $175, and I believe the tasting menu is $225. Those prices do not include service. Whether ADNY and Per Se are comparable is much debated, but it's the closest comparison available. I think it was Fat Guy who observed that as Per Se was selling out instantly at its "introductory" price, simple supply-and-demand suggested that the prices should be, and eventually would be higher.

Within the last month or so. ← Was there any announcement about why they were doing this? The five-course menu offered a 3-4 choices for each course. Is that still true??

These are some of the best photographs that I have seen on this site. Fine work!

This thread's subtitle — "Spicy food and slow service" — is regrettable. Three years later, Brick Lane Curry House has its act together. My friend and I arrived at 6:20 last night and were out by 7:35, which was sufficient time for us to order drinks, appetizers, and entrées. The restaurant is now on OpenTable, which was what brought it to my attention. I started with Aloo Chaat, which is described as: Potatoes tossed in a yogurt and mint sauce with spices. At $6 this is a bargain, as the portion is almost big enough to be an entrée. My companion ordered the same thing with chickpeas, rather than potatoes. It has a lively flavor, and just enough heat to prepare the palate for the curry to come. Most of the curries come in a variety of preparations, usually chicken, lamb, goat, fish, shrimp, paneer, tofu, and vegetable, priced from $12-19. We both had vindaloo: she the lamb ($17), I the goat ($18). I'm not a curry expert, but there was enough heat to bring sweat to the forehead, water to the eyes. I found the bones in the goat a bit annoying. We ordered two preparations of rice and another of spinach to round out the meal, and had more food than we could eat. For the record, vindaloo is the restaurant's second-hottest curry. The hottest is Phaal, which is described thus: The restaurant is on 6th street just off 2nd Ave (not 1st Ave, as stated upthread). It is a short walk from Bleecker St or Astor Place on the 6 train, Houston St on the F or V train, or 8th St on the N/R.

I never would have tried Saul, but for its recently-acquired Michelin star. It is actually a very close trip from my apartment in lower Manhattan — two stops into Brooklyn on the A; change to the F across the platform, and then one stop to the corner of Bergen and Smith Sts. Saul is just a couple of steps down from the subway exit. The space is pleasant, but forgettable. The food is remarkable. You can see why the Michelin inspectors were impressed. We started with an amuse of hot curry soup. My companion and I both started with the smoky seafood chowder, which resembled a New England clam chowder, but with hefty chunks of smoked fish in the broth, and a helping of dainty micro-croutons served on the side. The soup was served in a slightly oval dish with its own ceramic cover, which the server removed tableside. For the main course, my friend ordered the sliced ribeye, while I ordered an off-menu special called the Lamb Tasting. This consisted of lamb cooked four ways with a bed of mixed vegetables and spices. The two most memorable components of the dish were a lamb sausage and a shreded lamb confit inside a fluffy pastry. For dessert, we both had the Baked Alaska, for which Michelin had printed the recipe in their guide. This was pleasant enough, although nowhere as memorable as what had gone before. I don't believe Saul carries a rating from the New York Times, but I have no hesitation in saying that the restaurant is serving three-star food — at least on the strength of this one visit. Dinner for two came to about $200 including tax and tip, which included a $45 bottle of wine.

When it opened, the choice was a 5 vs a 9-course menu. When did the 7-course option replace the 5?

I dined alone. I noticed that too. I haven't checked, but it almost certainly must be a smaller cut, because they also offer the full restaurant menu in the pub.

Frank Bruni's review aroused my curiosity, so I dropped into Keens tonight to try that mutton chop. I arrived around 6:45. The matre d' advised me that there would be no tables available in the dining room till 9:15, but I could put in my name for a pub table (where a full menu is served). I was advised there would be about a twenty-minute wait for that. I ordered a glass of cabernet at the bar, where the patrons were four-deep, and settled in. Keens may have New York's best collection of single-malt scotches (they say they've got 200 of them). The bottles cut an impressive figure across the back wall of the bar. Naturally they're available individually, but Keens also offers "flights" of four contrasting scotches, which go for anywhere between $28 and $48. I wasn't in the mood for that tonight, but I'll probably sample them on a future visit. Before I knew it, the hostess advised me there was a table in the main dining room after all. It had only been ten minutes. I don't know if Bruni's review has influenced business, but I could see there were lots of people ordering "mutton chops" (which, as Frank has now told us, are actually lamb chops). Keens must have its own network of lamb purveyors, as I've never seen a cut anything like this before. Who else but Keens could be serving it? While I waited for the legendary chop, I enjoyed the complimentary warm bread service and chilled vegetables with creamy dipping sauce. I also enjoyed staring at the massive collection of churchwarden pipes that adorned the ceiling. The chop finally arrives. It looks massive, but this is a bit deceiving, as it's actually a T-bone, and the bone itself takes up a lot of space. After you savor a bit of the fat, you'll want to trim the rest away, leaving yourself with a substantial, but not unmanageable portion. Still, at two inches (or more) thick, with a peculiar wing shape, it's a meal to remember. Keens cooked mine superbly to medium rare, just as I'd asked. At $37.50, it's one of New York's better steakhouse bargains. (The chop came with sauteed escarole, which I didn't care for.) As I was leaving, the hostess inquired about my meal, and remembered me by name. That was impressive, given the hundreds of people in the restaurant, and the fact we'd only spoken briefly. I look forward to returning, and trying more of the menu. Including those scotches.

Past posts on this thread suggest that you give them a budget (within reason), and they work within it. $100 is typical.

Does Keens have dining at the bar?

I stand corrected. It was one star, though not for that reason.

Referring to today's two-star review of Keens Steakhouse: The first few paragraphs were Bruni at his worst: The review also has the obligatory references in a steakhouse review to "artery-clogging proof" and "testosterone cuisine," as well as an homage to Bruni's former career as a movie critic ("surprisingly effective cameos"). All we needed was a quote from one of his friends, and this would have been a Bruni classic. On the other hand, I did get a good appreciation for what the restaurant is about—Bruni's tortured and cliché-ridden prose notwithstanding. By my count, four steakhouses have received rated reviews in the last two years (BLT Steak, Wolfgang's, Ben & Jack's, Keens). All of them received two stars.

However, apparently this is its first rated review in the Times. (Where there has been a previous review, Bruni normally mentions it.)

JoJo underwhelmed me earlier this year. Last night, I decided to give it another try. We were seated upstairs, which is a considerably more romantic and intimate space than the downstairs, where I was last time. When we arrived at 6:30, there was just one other couple in the back room. My friend whispered, "Wouldn't it be great if we could ditch the other couple? We could imagine that this was the private dining salon of our elegant New York townhouse, and all of these servers were here to wait on us alone." We wondered why the fireplace wasn't lit on such a cold evening (perhaps it is not a practical fireplace). To start, she ordered the Peekytoe Crab Salad ($13), and I the Pumpkin Ravioli ($12), which was superb, especially at such a low price point. For the mains, she had the salmon ($24) and I the duck ($26). I had a taste of the salmon and found it bland, although my companion was satisfied. The duck was excellent: four thick breast medallions with a crisp crust and tender flesh; and a pastry filled with shredded leg meat confit. Several fingerling potatoes added to the lovely geometry of the presentation, but nothing to the taste. For dessert, she concluded with the molten chocolate cake ($10), and I had the cheesecake (also $10), which was again wonderful. Service throughout the evening was attentive and efficient, although I felt that both the appetizers and the entrées came a tad too quickly. However, the restaurant was not full, and at no point did I get the impression that we were being rushed out of the restaurant. We lingered for a long time over our desserts, and in total we were there for around 2 1/2 hours. On the strength of this second visit, I retract my "remarkably uninteresting" verdict from upthread. JoJo is highly competent, and the upstairs seating areas are most charming. With plenty of appetizers in the low-teens and entrées in the mid-twenties, JoJo is one of the better restaurants at its price point. Still, there is a certain lack of sustained inspiration that one expects to find in three-star dining. Of course, we are in the Frank Bruni era, and when The Red Cat attracts two stars, it's difficult to argue that JoJo isn't worth three. In a less grade-inflated era, I would probably have awarded two and a half.

In New York, only JoJo and Vong are on the OpenTable website, and JoJo was added only quite recently (within the last month or two).

The other problem is that there's no waiting area, and as of two months ago they wouldn't take a cell number.

I only wish I could get comped for a meal like that. No, that was the seven-course tasting menu with wine pairings, at $145 each. The restaurant is on, I believe, the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Like many hotel restaurants in this town, they are not catering solely to diners who are staying there.

A friend had asked where I'd like to be taken out for my birthday. I chose Asiate, where we dined last Saturday night. This must be the most spectacular room in New York City, particularly at night. At one end of the room is a massive wall of wine bottles; on the ceiling, a glass tree-branch scuplture. Most striking are the wraparound windows offering unobstructed long-distance views of the skyline. On a clear evening, as it was last Saturday, we felt like we were suspended in space, looking out on a futuristic fantasy city. Asiate's evening menu is $75 for three courses, or $95 for the seven-course tasting menu. We selected the tasting menu with wine pairings at $145. Chef Nori Sugie has been at Asiate from the beginning. His adventurous way with food reminded me of what Wylie Dufresne has been doing at WD-50. He misfired occasionally, but the overall impression was highly favorable. Amanda Hesser's one-star assassination of the restaurant is a disgrace. Since I've been reading the Times, no review has under-shot the true merit of a restaurant by so wide a margin. The menu was as follows: Slow Poached Egg, Bonito, Ginko Nut Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs, Reims This amuse totally misfired. I did eat the whole thing, waiting for the pleasant taste sensation that never came. My girlfriend abandoned it after one bite. It resembled an eyeball suspended in a turd, and tasted not much better than that. I would guess that an awful lot of slow poached eggs have been sent back. Reading our minds, our server advised, "It gets better." So it did. Seasonal Tasting Dishes Strub Riesling Spatlese "Niersteiner Paterberg" 2003, Rheinhessen Tentaka Kuni "Hawk in the Heavens," Junmai Sake This is the set of six appetizers served in a bento box, much written about. The printed menu I took home doesn't note what they were, but for me the highlight was a candied foie gras that reminded me of WD-50's treatment of that same dish. There was an oyster suspended in a tangy green sauce. There was a delectable sliver of grilled striped bass. And three other items I don't recall. We much appreciated the pair of contrasting wines that went with this course. Caesar Salad Soup This was totally funky — soup that looked like espresso, but tasted like caesar salad. Fish of the Day Zoémie De Sousa Brut "Cuvée Merveille," Avize This, I believe, was a black bass fillet, and probably the best single course of the evening. Tender, supple to the touch, and absolutely delicious. Pan-Roasted Venison Tenderloin, Braised Shoulder Meatball, Spaghetti Squash Salad, Butternut Squash, Bitter Chocolate Beggars Purse, Civet Sauce Robert Craig "Affinity" 2001, Napa Valley This meat course had two cubes of venison that unfortunately had both the look and the consistency of marshmallows. The spaghetti squash salad and bitter chocolate beggars purse were rather more successful. After a string of perfectly chosen wines, the Robert Craig "Affinity" was an unremarkable cabernet-merlot blend that was not up to the elegance of the menu. Sakelees Goat Chees Bavarois, Beetroot Plum Granite Roasted Pear Soup, Spiced Cake, Hazelnut Ice Cream Gosset Brut Grand Rosé, Ay At this point, we were ready to be wheeled out of the restaurant, after this much food and drink. On top of all this, we were served a birthday cake that was so good it should be added to the menu as a regular dessert. Our server was highly attentive, friendly, helpful, and professional. We were made to feel as if this was our special evening, as we had wanted it to be. Asiate is one of the most romantic spots in the city. If Chef Sugie's concoctions aren't always hits, certainly enough of them are, and he has my support for serving some of the most creative cuisine in the city. I look forward to returning. And shame on you, Amanda Hesser!