oakapple

I'm likewise a big fan, though it's not quite close enough for me to stop in monthly, as Daniel intends to do. But don't we want some places that are outdated in this sense? I mean, how would it be if every restaurant instantly morphed itself the instant a new fad came along?

Grudgingly given in which direction? ← I just got the sense that he really wanted to give it two but couldn't. ← There were more negative comments about the inconsistency of the food than one usually finds in a three-star review. But he was hemmed in by the two stars he gave Ssam Bar and the two stars he gave Degustation, which is the most similar non-Chang restaurant I can think of. Ko is better than both of them. It's also possible that, in light of Platt's review, he felt compelled to explain why he was not awarding four stars.

I don't think that other restaurants at Ko's price point are useful points of comparison either. Just because they share a price point they're good comparitors? What the other restaurants (Del Posto, Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, etc.) aim to be and what Ko aims to be are so enormously different. All they have in common is a price point and the notion of "high end" ... that's not nearly enough in my book to treat them as apples and apples, especially when Chang's vision is clearly to not be an apple. If Per Se is an apple and Gramercy Tavern is a peach, then Ko is a durian. ← I haven't a clue what Ko "aspires to be," and I doubt anyone else does either. Chang's own comments are worse than the Oracle of Delphi: you can interpret him any way you please.But it's unavoidable that when you dine at any restaurant, you compare it to other experiences you've had. How could you not? And I do think price is a factor. When you pay eighty-five bucks for dinner, you compare it to other places where you paid eighty-five bucks—if there are any. There are probably other comparisons you could make, but price is the one that's most easily measurable. And at the end of the day, Ko's customers need to decide whether Chang should get their $85, or if someone else should. I also think there's a problem with the suggestion that "Del Posto, Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, etc." are all one thing, and Ko is another thing. All of those places have significant differences. The one thing they have in common is that they're competing against each other for a share of the dining wallet.

Those are all worthy examples, but they are all less expensive than Ko, and none of them are three-star restaurants. To be blunt, they are all pretty good, but not on the level Ko aspires to. In that sense, they're not really useful points of comparison.If you compare Ko to the restaurants in its price range, its limitations become more apparent. We should probably take Chang's cryptic statements out of the equation. But it is not necessarily equivalent or better, either.

Which restauranteurs are you thinking of? If you compare Momofuku Ko to the other Chang restaurants, or to the average burrito bar, then it's awfully impressive. If you compare it to other restaurants in Ko's price range, then it is not. It isn't a question of "not liking it". The service is very good for what it is. But it's not comparable to what you get at, say, just about any Danny Meyer restaurant.

It all comes down to your point of comparison. Service at Ko is an order of magnitude below any four-star restaurant, and indeed, the majority of three-star restaurants. It is not so much a matter of being courteous, as simply the level of comfort they're able to provide in such a cramped space.There's also the matter of the chefs, who also provide quite a bit of the service. They do a decent job of it, but it is clearly their second priority. They don't always have much patience with diners who want to have a dialog about the food. None of this means that Ko is offering bad service; it isn't. But if you come in expecting the kind of experience normally expected of a restaurant that charges $85 a head, you most likely aren't going to get it.

This is a common theme of multiple reviews that I've read—certainly all of the professional ones. Since Ko is its own invention, you could say it succeeds on its own terms. But once people start praising the service, you have to ask what they're comparing it to.

A more accurate statement is that they can't yet do it consistently, since some reliable reviewers have raved about those dishes.

I'm just not clear what has allegedly been "put over" on whom?

I don't think this is necessarily inevitable; Samuelsson didn't have to phone in his performance. ← not at the beginning, no. but they all seem to do so eventually...(with the possible exceptions of Craftsteak and Del Posto....which are arguably in Chelsea anyway) ← Actually, Spice Market was the only critically acclaimed MPD restaurant that had any perch to fall off of, unless you count the very-early Pastis. Five Ninth, though somewhat beloved of foodies, got only one star from the Bruni. There are a number of good restaurants that I would call "Meatpacking-adjacent," such as Fatty Crab, Craftsteak, and Del Posto. Some people do refer to them as Meatpacking District restaurants. Going by the historic boundaries, they're not in the neighborhood, but they're close enough to be part of the same economic area.

considering the location, that's to be expected. and every review seems to find that to be the case. I'm actually curious about the food... ← Actually, a number of reviews have found it not packed. There's no good reason there cannot be good food there. San Domenico, on the same block, used to be good, BLT Market is good, and Ducasse (whatever the critics thought about it) was sublime.

I don't think this is necessarily inevitable; Samuelsson didn't have to phone in his performance.

Apparently he has a very small share of ownership, but I agree it's a pretty big deal for the nominal chef (even on a consulting basis) to be totally absent. The Post's Steve Cuozzo said that, in multiple visits early on, he never saw Samuelsson.

Everyone knows—at least I hope they do—that multi-kitchen chefs devote the bulk of their time to their flagships, which for Samuelsson is Aquavit. But they usually pay at least some attention to a new restaurant when it opens initially. Samuelsson's near-total absence from this project is what has caught people's attention.

The kitchen must be rather inconsistent. I had a miserable onion soup there this past Sunday. ← I would think one needs multiple data points before saying that, especially about a nine-day-old restaurant.

The difference is that they have no other place to go. At the moment, they have no other restaurants, nor do they have TV shows to distract them either. Samuelsson has a mini-empire to look after, and of course Merkato 55 was only ever meant to be a sidelight. I'm not defending that, merely making the observation. Nonsense. Most of them do. Heck, even Robuchon was cooking when he visited New York the other week. Obviously when you run a global empire, a good deal of your time is spent on managerial tasks, but not exclusively so.

Sadly, yes.

I doubt that a majority of the patrons here have dined at the Paris Benoit. I think it's fascinating that this performance is described as selling one's soul. I believe that this is the cuisine Ducasse learned earliest, so it is just as arguably a return to his roots. This menu is practically a French lesson compared to the one at Adour: Langue de Veau, Pâté en Croûte, Duck à l’Orange, Quenelles de Brochet.Then again: Grilled Salmon, Braised Halibut, Lamb Chop, Medallion & Filet.

I wonder if those prices will hold after the Bruni review. ← If he gives it the same review he gave ADNY, they could go down.

As FG observed, the whole point of such a restaurant is to execute classics skillfully. By its own terms, the only way such a place could "suck" is if the execution were poor, which could not be assessed until after it opens. It's not the kind of menu that can "suck" before any food has been served.

I think there was a combination of: A) People who think all French bistros are the old same boring story B) People who think era of French classics is over, and is never coming back again C) People who figure that Ducasse will never get a NYC restaurant right

Yes, but various people are reporting service glitches here, and they add up.

Thanks, oakapple. Maybe both (a la carte and prix-fixe) are offered? ← Yes, that's exactly it.

Am I to assume that the pre-opening menu prix-fixe is not available on the current post-opening menu? I don't see it offered on their online lunch menu. ← It's a little confusing, because their website offers both HTML and PDF links, and the two aren't alike. The PDF is more up-to-date than the HTML. Anyhow, the following prix fixe lunch menu is available from their website, so I assume they're still offering it: http://www.benoitny.com/benoit/PDF/Luncheon.pdf

As of yesterday, they were still BYO.