
oakapple
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Everything posted by oakapple
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Undisclosed philosophical differences with the management. Typically, there's a separation agreement that prohibits either side from publicly voicing its grievances, and that seems to be the case here.
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What about the early program has been abandoned?
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Ok...well, I don't think that's true. "Downtowners," a demographic that includes millions of people, don't all fall into one category. As I noted upthread, there aren't many restaurants in New York that offer a “Café Boulud-like” experience. It is therefore a destination for those who desire food of that quality, in a setting of that quality, because most people don't have one in their own neighborhood. If you enjoy that type of experience, you probably wish you had such a place close by...but you probably don't.
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You do realize that we're in complete agreement? ← What happened to "no one goes there" and "not a destination"?
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I'll allow that "cafeteria" was a joke, and not intended seriously. But "no one goes there" and "neither sexy nor trendy" are more serious errors. The city is not comprised exclusively of people looking for the latest "sexy and trendy" thing. Café Boulud is an upscale, adult experience. By its nature, regardless of where you put it, it isn't meant for sexy and trendy folk. Non-sexy, non-trendy diners eat out too.
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I'm pretty sure that Bar Boulud does not. It is meant to be the most low-end of Boulud's properties—at least until he opens a burger joint. So it doesn't have the extras you find at Daniel and Café Boulud. My last visit to DB Bistro Moderne wasn't recent enough for me to recall if madeleines were served.
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The segment of the dining public you define as "sexy" and "trendy" comprises something like 2%. Your comment has nothing whatever to do with the habits of the other 98%.
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At places like Masa, it comes down to how much you're willing to pay for an unusual experience that doesn't quite have a peer in New York. How many times you can dine at Yasuda for the same price is almost beside the point.
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It's awfully hard to fix these kinds of problems during the review cycle. I can't think of many restaurants that have managed it. It seems to me Benoit simply wasn't ready. That is about par for the course from a critic who, it seems, has hardly ever visited a French restaurant voluntarily. But as you know, we're living in an era when re-reviews are awfully difficult to get. In any case, I think we're in the final year of Bruni's tenure, and it would take a remarkable turnaround to induce a return visit. It sort of reminds me of the comment about the music in his very first review, Babbo. He was using it as a rhetorical "hook" — a way of getting around to the things he really needed to talk about. Bruni does that a lot. If his point was, "A lot of things at Benoit are just a little bit off," there were better ways to express it.
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There are very few food writers — either on the blogs or pro reviewers — who can appreciate novelties done well, and who can also appreciate classics done well. Food boards tend to be dominated overwhelmingly by those who are looking for the next greatest thing, preferably served without tablecloths or bow ties. I hasten to add that Fat Guy is an exception to the rule, and there are some others, such as Sneakeater. But the food board population is dominated by those who don't appreciate what Ducasse is trying to do, even when it's done well. Critics, unfortunately, are like most of the food board population, though they are more sophisticated, are generally better writers, and have deep-pocketed corporations funding their meals. The additional problem for Benoit is that, as even its admirers admit, it is uneven. When you take an uneven restaurant, and add to it the modern bias against classic cuisine, and you have all the makings for a critical train wreck.
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I can't compare Shorty's 32, but one advantage of this place is that the food is quite respectable, and you can get in. At Little Owl, you probably can't.
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They should just visit Adour and ask Ducasse who supplied his bar stools. With a change of upholstery, they would fit just fine.
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They weren't when it first opened, though—which is the relevant point of comparison.
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Thanks for the link. The old site was rather frumpy and was long overdue for a rehab. Your friends are wrong, by the way. I use restaurant websites all the time, and I doubt I'm the only one.
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In an earlier post, I commented on what a snoozer the menu has become upstairs. Well, now the other shoe has dropped. The upstairs dining room (as we know it) will close on or about September 1st, to be replaced by a steakhouse called "Country Steak." Geoffrey Zakarian told Grub Stree that, I've been trying to do a steakhouse concept for a while...." Methinks he protests too much.
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Restaurant pricing simply isn't that precise. I doubt there are many who divide price by the number of courses, then put it on a graph with the number of Michelin stars. To the extent they do, bear in mind that according to the NYT, which New Yorkers pay slightly more attention to, both restaurants have four stars.
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I doubt it. More likely, they're not seeing enough traffic to justify it.
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We really liked Savarona, but I say that against a backdrop of having very little to compare it to. Savarona is fairly new, and none of the critics have weighed in yet. It's a lovely space, and while I would not call it expensive, you are nevertheless paying up a bit for ambiance. That's worth it to me, but perhaps not to everyone.
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Real-time online reservations technology is about a decade old. I believe OpenTable launched in around 2000, and I think there was another (now defunct) company doing it around then too. ← Here I agree with you. I think it was hubris that led Chang to develop his own system, when a very well vetted alternative was available.Let me add one other drawback, though it has nothing to do with technology. I see no reason at all why Ko limits reservations to six days in advance, which makes it awfully difficult for out-of-town visitors.
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For the moment, let's forget about the word Chang used, "egalitarian". By now, it ought to be clear to all that Chang never means what he says. Whether the system actually meets Chang's description of it is fairly close to irrelevant, except to point out, once again, his tendency to bend the truth. I think the most relevant comparison is the early days of Per Se. In recent times, I cannot think of another new restaurant where the demand for limited seats was as intense. With that in mind, I cannot say that the Ko system is any worse than what Per Se did. To get into Per Se, you had to commit roughly 30-45 minutes every day at 10:00 a.m. That was, on average, the amount of redialing and waiting-on-hold that it took to either get a reservation, or determine that none was available. To get into Ko, you have to commit about 60-90 seconds every day at 10:00 a.m. That's how long it takes to either get a reservation, or determine that none is available. Per Se relies on an older technology that everyone has access to, and is comfortable with: the telephone. Ko relies on a new technology that some people don't have access to, or aren't comfortable with. Since Per Se's technology has been around awhile, there aren't any significant bugs. Since Ko's technology is brand new, there have been some glitches. Although they use different technologies, both Per Se (in the early days) and Ko require you to be available at exactly 10:00 a.m. People who aren't near a phone (in Per Se's case) or aren't near a computer (in Ko's case), or who are busy at that time, are out of luck. Overall, I'd call it a tie.
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If this true, then EMP is not as great as I estimate. In fact, it would be highly disconcerting. If the majority, or even a good half the choices are likely to disappoint, then I would go so far to say that such a restaurant is bad. Let me clarify that. It's not that that half the choices at EMP are disappointing. It's just that if there are fifteen of them, perhaps a couple are disappointing, another half-dozen are average, and then another half-dozen are great. (And by "disappointing" and "average," I am using those words in relation to the price point.)On an $82 prix fixe menu, if you generously allot $20 to the dessert, then it means you've paid about $30 apiece for each of your savory courses, and there are pretty good odds that you chose at least one of the disappointing or average ones. I've been there only once during Chef Humm's tenure, and that's what I had, too. I was impressed, though I thought The Modern was a shade better. I think the Gourmand menu has been expanded since I had it. From my limited experience, this has yet to happen, thankfully. I can't say I have been disappointed by a savory course. Actually, even the desserts are fine. But, certainly, there are some courses that are much likable or successful than others. ← I wasn't saying that three or four of the Gourmand dishes are actually disappointing. It was more a general comment about long tasting menus: when there are eleven courses, you can tolerate some disappointments and still feel good about the meal overall.
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I've come to the conclusion that disingenuous comments are the only kind that David Chang makes.
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It's also a chronic issue on prix-fixe-only menus. You're locked into a minimum of $82 for three courses. Forced to choose two from among fifteen savory courses on EMP's menu, there's a pretty good chance you won't land on the strongest ones. On the Gourmand menu, you're getting eleven courses, and even if three or four disappoint you, there are more opportunities for the kitchen to shine.
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He says he spent several years luring them here, so that doesn't seem quite fair. ← What would you like him to say? He has been paying rent on the space for over a year and I needed an out ← The failure of 66 doesn't make his other statement false. Anyhow, the plan for this space was well known a long time ago, so it's not as if it was a quick bail-out.
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It's not the restaurant's fault that so many people want to dine there.True, they don't give you someone to talk to. But you also never get a busy signal or wait on hold, as you do at any other comparably busy place—the early days of Per Se come to mind, and that's but one example.