Nathan

NY's more complicated than that. I wouldn't call it a hipster hangout -- "hipsters" are more limited-edition t-shirt wearing types from Billyburg (and the LES); Sex and the City types are mainly from Jersey or LI....or the UES, which now to think about it...are showing up at LE....and will be in droves now that it's been written up. (and once it's written up in Time Out -- forget about it...then it'll simply be all B&T for a month or two...until they forget about it).

for what it's worth: the Balthazar Bakery sells its coffee to go in cups designed in exactly that manner.

Indeed, had the strawberries with parmesan ice cream the other day. The strawberries were actually so top-notch that they would have been a fine dessert by themselves but the ice cream was terrific and the pairing worked (brie is classic with strawberries but parmesan?) and the pseudo-strawberry panna cotta was terrific as well (apparently it's not a panna cotta -- albeit similar in texture -- but rather utilizes some sort of gelatin). Also noticed that they now have a couple permutations on a dessert tasting menu. I don't have a sweet tooth so that would be too much for me but to the best of my knowledge only Daniel and Chickalicious do that as well.

of course, you can eat at the bar as well....which virtually always has seating.

I'm puzzled....who told you to go to Tao? it's a tourist trap...no one eats there.... looking forward to hearing your comments on the others ....

Well....for about $60-65 apiece we had cocktails (cilantro-infused Tanqueray is a great idea), glasses of wine, expresso, tax, tip and: Smoked eel rillettes....terrific. Liverwurst: sublime...well, if Longinus had been exposed to this liverwurst he may have used the term. Octopus with potato salad. Great rendition of a classic. The octopus was cooked properly....nothing chewy about it. Wild mushroom soup with chorizo ravioli. The pure and utter essence of mushroom. Perfection. My favorite dish. Pork cheeks with sauerkraut. A classic Alsatian dish and perhaps boring compared to the others but the pork was tender and the sauerkraut must have been braised in pork stock as well. Chocolate Tarte with Ice Cream....very very chocolate....if you like that sort of thing. Buttermilk panna cotta with rhubarb. Impeccable, rivals the panna cottas at Babbo.

as already noted: the Bemelman's Bar. it seems safe to say that you'd get a good one at Flatiron lounge and Milk & Honey. the Pegu Club opens at the end of the month and I guarantee you'll get a good one there.

I'd add Gotham Bar & Grill.

I'm finally making it to the Bar Room this Thursday -- I have a tentative idea on what to try on a first visit with 2 people but I'm open to any additional suggestions: octopus mushroom soup pork cheeks duck confit horseradish-crusted salmon a panna cotta of one form or another

after having a $19 sidecar there last night (and realizing that I was the youngest non-staff male by at least 20 years -- albeit there were plenty of women younger than me) and perusing the late night menu ($16 pommes frites and $75 scrambled eggs with caviar -- as well as a caviar preparation from the "Alain Ducasse private stock")...I wondered, has anyone actually eaten here and if so, is it worth checking out for dinner?

Go up the thread -- to summarize: $20.04 prix fixe is in Nougatine. it's not as good as the $24 lunch in JG itself.

I would rather have the one meal at Per Se than three at OIBL. I am not saying it is a bad restaurant, just that Per Se is more than 3x as good. If your main interest is food, you can do a lot better at that price point. ← second this. and imho, I don't find its atmosphere to be "charming and romantic" at all. maybe the bar area, but that's about it. it's a tourist trap in my book.

I'm trying to think how to put this: you will find substantial disagreement on this forum -- most would consider this to be one of the worst restaurants in the city (at least in the quality/price sense)...as for the host having "thought up" the rose petal thingy...he didn't think up anything, they apparently do a couple engagements a night....and probably a shitload on NYE.

so am I....maybe this weekend. despite the substantial anti-Bruni sentiment on this forum I'll defend him -- at least on Italian restaurants -- he seems to get these right (and catch some overlooked gems such as Petrosino)

I will be in Detroit M-F for the next couple weeks and need dinner suggestions. However, the following stipulations apply. I will be staying at the Renaissance Marriott (near the federal courthouse) and being from NY I will not be driving (that goes for any of my colleagues as well)....so choices have to be within easy cab distance. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. thanks.

It should be noted that Mark Ladner is the chef at Lupa and appears to have a pretty free hand with the menu -- so, in this case, it appears that he is inspired in his use of farrotto.

The BLT Fish thread has its first report on Jan 18, so I think it must have been open for longer than you think, at least 3 months it would appear. ← No, I'm talking about the formal second floor, which is what Bruni reviewed, not the casual first floor. He gave three stars to the former. ← Normally I would find it rather deficient for a critic to review a restaurant 2 months from opening (try telling that to the hothead idiots on Chowhound who will lambast a restaurant for slow service on opening night!) but in this instance that criticism is mitigated by the fact that it's a very positive review. In other words, if it had been a negative review the obvious retort would have been that he reviewed it too soon. However, instead (since it's obviously not intended to be a 4-star restaurant) Bruni seems to be saying that this restaurant is already maximizing its capabilities. If a 3-star restaurant is already functioning at a 3-star level, why not review it? So, I can't find much fault in this particular instance.

there's one in Astoria

I don't think Norma qualifies because who highly rates it? That's like asserting that Tavern on the Green or One if by Land Two if by Sea are overrated...they're not, because no one likes them anyway (except for tourists). curiously, the $1,000 frittata is arguably a good deal...the actual food cost in that gimmick is apparently around 65-70% of the total.

leaving aside the more arcane economic issues for the moment...I was in Miami this past weekend and was amused to see a restaurant price a bottle of "Marques de Caceres Rioja" at $45.99 (retail under $10 outside of Manhattan)...the rest of the list was similar....I stuck with beer.

1. Otto....Meredith Kurtzman is a genius. 2. Cones 3. Il Labatorio

interesting thread: I would have to say (each one producing an entirely different kind)....Balthazar, Les Halles, Cafe Leibowitz (before it closed), Bar 89 and horror of horrors....McDonald's

I had dinner at the bar on friday around 9....there's never a problem scoring a seat... as for Balthazar's uniqueness....yes, I think it's the only restaurant in NY that is a true mix of locals, celebs, B&T'ers and tourists, year after year.....

yeah...it was a little weird to have that sort of intestinal reaction....I handle any Thai at any level of spiciness just fine...and even the spiciest, oiliest stuff at Grand Sichuan doesn't give me more than an hour's trouble (if any)...so I'm not sure why....but I just had leftovers for lunch and I'm fine. the chicken jhal fry was quite good....need more of a kick...next time I'll ask for it spicier....ditto for the achar gosht. we had the appetizer platter...decent enough but kind of one note...everything seemed to be along the lines of dough with potato....

I went to Angon last night. the Achar Gosht and Chicken Jhal Fry were terrific (as was the Kareema Paratha)...I found the apps to be a little lackluster....though better than other homestyle places. with that said, my stomach's still in recovery...it's been a tough 15 hours.