Nathan

I don't think this is fair. Can you name more than one restaurant that has been reviewed by Bruni within two months of opening? As for shock factor...that's one thing I haven't noticed in his reviews at all. I would expect that RGR is intended to be the first big review of the year.

a few thoughts: 1. yes, Bruni's piece was a rant. 2. as he also noted, he gave these very same restaurants three and four stars -- I think this piece was supposed to be an exercise in "tough love" 3. matthewJ: have you been to Cafe Gray? I think every review by every person who has ever been there has raised exactly the same complaint. 4. yeah, the whole "Chef" thing was getting on my nerves too. 5. the music at Babbo can be obnoxious -- at that price point. it's fine at Lupa or Otto but it is kind of an atmospheric issue in a white tablecloth restaurant. 6. as I noted way up the thread, the Waverly Inn review was a little precious and too cute by half. with that said, I think this is one situation where someone unfamiliar with the whole Waverly Inn saga is more likely to have a WTF? response while if you've been following it -- it makes a lot more sense...this was one case where I think the review assumed way too much knowledge on behalf of the reader.

kind of. I'll put it this way. I heard them tell a couple (who clearly weren't from the neighborhood or famous or friends of GC) that they don't take reservations.

nope. Just don't be clearly lying. i.e., I just cited my actual street (which is a rather obscure three block street). it probably helps if you don't look like you obviously live somewhere else either (no, we're not going to have that discussion again)

"After all, they can't get short-term Per Se reservations any more easily than I can." garnering the reservations isn't necessarily the problem. it'd be the required credit card.

true, they dropped the "e"

I think what he was trying to get at was that there is some pretty good cooking going on at WI but that it's really useless to review since you can't get in unless you know GC, are a celeb, or live in the NW West Village. This actually isn't quite true, hanging out at the bar, dressing well and asking nicely without being a sycophant probably will get you a reservation -- but that's way too much rigmarole for what is ultimately comfort food (which is why GC in a sense has achieved the ultimate neighborhood restaurant).

what I did was assemble drink recipes around the liquor that I already had. once I had learned to make some cocktails with those bottles (the cocktaildb database is great for this) I took recipes that only needed one additional bottle, added that and so forth. ended up accumulating a good 40 or so different kinds of booze. with that said, the standard cocktails that everyone should know....so an easy place to start, are: Martini Sidecar (I guess everyone should know a White Lady as well -- but it's actually a boring drink and if you can make a Sidecar you can make a White Lady) Margarita Sazerac Manhattan Aviation Daiquiri Pisco Sour Start out with those. Once you have the liquors necessary for those drinks you have all that you need for hundreds more.

"but the reality is that, for now, the restaurants aren't offering this service and the third party is." as I've suggested, if there really is a large unmet demand for this service, one of two things will happen: a. the restaurants will start doing it themselves; or, b. (more likely), the restaurants will agree to give some prime time reservations to these services (saving others for VIPs and regulars) in return for a kick-back of the reservation fee earned by these services. the thing is, if this happens, opentable will be the one getting the piece of the action. (why? because virtually every computerized restaurant in the U.S. uses opentable's reservation software. many -- especially in NY -- use its online booking service as well (opentable kills dinnerbroker in online bookings because opentable's online booking service blends seamlessly with the opentable software that every restaurant uses). in other words, PTT's business model fails if there is too large a demand for this service. if the naysayers here are right and there really are a lot of people willing to pay cash for prime-time tables - restaurants will start offering prime time tables at a premium through opentable (with both taking a cut)....and this will probably drive PTT out of business. so, yeah, it behooves PTT to keep this very narrowly targeted.

"Says you. I think it's a big deal. In this example, "before PTT" I could eat the way I wanted to eat, "after PTT" I can't." Except that you can't in NY. there are certain restaurants in NY where the only possible way to eat at those times on those days is to call 60 (or 30 in some cases) days in advance at precisely 10 a.m. and then constantly pushing the redial button in the hope that you get through. for many of us, this is not an option. and even if it is, an hour of my time is worth more than $45. throw in the aggravation that there is no one I can count on to eat at one of these restaurants with me on a date certain 60 days in advance. I had to cancel a Friday 8:30 reservation at LB the other day for this precise reason. so, bizarrely enough, in theory this service actually increases the odds that I can dine when I want, where I want. and the same certainly goes for you (unless you really want to pay transantlantic phone charges to be on hold for a half hour). of course, in actuality it doesn't affect me at all since I'm generally reserving two-tops, not four or six-tops.

those barriers evince the fact that it is a very limited service aimed at a specific niche

"In addition, PTT poses additional barriers, because you have to join first before you can participate, and membership isn't instantaneous. If premium pricing is going to exist, it's much more efficient if it comes from the restaurant." Are you arguing my side or yours? This would appear to support my position.

"so I fail to see how one can not be very skeptical when confronting a blog." I don't think anyone disputes this in the slightest.

"And New York has a chief restaurant reviewer whose idea of a good time is any Italian restaurant with a celebrity chef who knows him. How pedestrian." That's not fair to Bruni. He undoubtedly has an Italian bias. I'm also pretty confident that he doesn't know Batali personally. Bruni's not Amanda Hesser. For that matter he attacks Batali in a rant about NY restaurants in today's Times.

3 things: A. Bruni's review, besides being a little precious but fitting, is right on the money. B. that tuna tartare really is delicious and illustrates how a boring dish can be elevated with a little care. C. that back garden is gorgeous. edit: go later (ten-ish) on a week-night...its not crowded and not snooty.

or Thomas Keller or some of what Robuchon is doing now (some of it's deliciously retro as well) or Humm or even Kunz.

I don't question that at all.

You mean you would rather pay the fee to the restaurant than PTT? I suppose there's something to be said for that. Well, if there really is a large market for this (which there isn't)...then that's exactly what will happen (or actually, what will happen is they'll arrange for kick-backs to the restaurant...to keep the fiction they're not doing it). You already have the opportunity to save a few bucks at numerous restaurants during less desireable times.

"Otherwise, it rubs me wrong. What if those tables don't sell? You don't get that walk in business in most places. It just seems dirty. To each their own, but I don't buy scalped tickets and I still managed to go to 3 Mets playoff games. If you want something enough, you plan for it." eh....no one's going to pay $45 for a reservation unless it's a very in-demand restaurant and time. do you really think that if Gordon Ramsay gets a cancellation for 8:00 P.M. on a Saturday night for a four-top at noon that day that they can't fill it? as well, you're certainly less likely to be a no-show if you've paid $45 for a reservation. "In so doing, if they are successful, they will force restaurants to adjust to reality. Daniel Boulud may say, "If a last-minute 8:00 p.m. reservation is worth an extra fifty bucks, why should someone else be earning that?"" That's exactly what I said above.

one: the logistics for garnering lots of tables in this way would be quite expensive and require a lot of manpower. not happening. second: the market for this service is quite limited. edit: the first point is the key one. as for the second -- if there is a large market for this service...restaurants will morph to take advantage of it themselves...either by directly or indirectly (through dinnerbroker and opentable) moving to arrange for premium prices at prime hours (of course, they already do that). I agree that if it "caught on" that would be a bad thing -- but I don't see how it is possible.

"BLC wasn't informal. I think the owners spent about $3 million decorating the place. And - it was named one of America's best 25 restaurants by Esquire magazine. ...." so? there's a reason why it was called a Brassiere. I've been to the BLC in Atlanta. beautiful space. nice seafood menu. and a heck of a lot simpler and cheaper than LB. Was BLC Miami tasting menu or prix-fixe only? "And although it is hard to compare a place now with a place 20 years ago (or a chef for that matter) - the cuisine was basically fish - prepared simply to highlight the nature/essence of the fish - which is what is served at LB today. I liked the concept (still do)." well yeah, but one could analogize Red Lobster and the Rock Pool at that point -- so? it doesn't make them nearly "identical". LB is most certainly a French restaurant. It was a French restaurant when it was in Paris and it is a French restaurant in NY. i.e. one wholly centered on seafood (as it was in Paris).

Pasha is west? hmmm..what was that turkish restaurant I ate at on the UES then? google confirms you are correct. its a mystery where I ate then.

I know the menu is almost identical. I know that some of the staff came from JG. What I was told was that they essentially licensed the name, the dishes and the right to hire JG staff. Like I noted, I can't vouch for its ultimate accuracy. (neither do I think it really matters exactly what the actual business arrangement is)

what's your point? that most blogs are written by the ignorant? sure. so?

I assume you're talking about mole poblano? or a mole negro? or a coloradito? a pipian? those are all somewhat brown moles.