Nathan

um: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1564363

I completely agree that just because it's a different service model doesn't make it inferior. I've been championing this new breed of restaurants for sometime now. but...I don't think you can make these individual comparisons unless you're also being VIP'd at those restaurants. you're simply not in a position to do so. apples and oranges. (my rough estimation is that the Momofukus do offer better service to the ordinary non-bar diner than Otto or Lupa or EU)

service at all of the Momofukus is generally good if you're not a vegetarian, don't have fake food allergies, not anal, not a picky eater, accept that the chef is almost always right, etc. I fall into the above category so I've always found service to be pretty good. people who commit one or more of the above sins are going to find the going a little rough sometimes. (and, on occasion, as with the Asimov incident, people who don't fit into those categories may still have things go awry.) obviously, a few people manage to play on a different field altogether.

define "mid-price"... frankly, I'd say to most on this forum, Lupa is on the low end of "mid-price" (by Manhattan standards). Tsukushi would make sense for your food and geographic preferences, but it's probably a bit more than you want to pay. Mia Dona seems like the obvious bet (easy walking distance, cheap and good). some of the best seafood restaurants in midtown are Esca, Sushi Yasuda and Le Bernardin. for a lobster roll the standard candidates are Pearl Oyster Bar, Ed's Lobster Bar and the store inside of Chelsea Market.

I thought it was a little Disney-esque...but that can be fun on occasion. didn't find that part of the meal objectionable.

What did you find objectionable with the way they cooked your duck? ← all the flavor cooked out, dry. sauce was limpid.

oh, and a fun dessert -- a playful take on celery and peanut butter.

the spring menu is very good. (btw, the only tasting menu currently offered is $65) we had...a tasting of crudi...each nicely prepared. then they sent out an additional app of hamachi that had been smoked with a take on bread as well as some mustard. kind of a play on a pastrami sandwich. this was very very nice. then an excellent lasagne verde...superb pasta and a flavorful ragu. a well-prepared beef heart risotto with perfect spring peas... then black porgy in a morel consomme with morels (and spring onions?). excellent cooking here. the cocktail program is actually quite respectable. friendly service at the bar.

I was wearing jeans on Friday (and was in on Saturday later as well...it was quiet then too)

the problem with Benoit isn't that the food isn't "inventive"...it's that they can't cook duck, make a reduction or quenelles that have any flavor.

no, it wasn't byo on Friday. do you mean that they waived the corkage for your group?

I want to reiterate how good the cocktail program here now is. by far the best above Flatiron Lounge (with apologies to the excellent list at Bar Milano). and the staff is terrific. it really should show up on lists of SCBs...

mixed. ate at one of the walk-in tables in the bar on Friday. service was very pleasant and competent. the charcuterie was very very good. at $39 for two, it's not cheap, but you get large portions of a variety of things, including good foie and veal tongue. duck l'orange wasn't very good. meat wasn't cooked properly and it needed seasoning. the sauce is what it is....not that flavorful to begin with and in addition it was kind of thin. price is quite reasonable. my friend's quenelles de brochet were flavorless and kind of mushy. very pretty space. I'll return for the charcuterie and to try the cassoulet

new spring menu on the way

I've been doing 2 Peat Monster, .75 St. Germain, orange bitters. (I think the Scotch with Germain concept originated with Philip Ward)

That sounds like a winner. When you first mentioned it I clicked on the wrong menu on their website and thought I was looking at $50+ per person (I am incapable of going to a nice place and ordering just the cheap stuff) but the $24 is well within budget. Are they "small plates?" ← some are, some aren't. many are on the dinner menu. some are apps, some are basically entrees in size (and you can order two of those if you would like) there's really nothing else like it offered on the weekends.

um, yeah you did. you said you know that "it sucks"

Have YOU eaten there, Daniel? ← I have not and will not eat there.. I think its pretty clear how I feel about the restaurant.. I dont need to drop 2 bills on some shitty drinks and some African Tuna Tartare to know this place sucks.. I went to Riingo when it opened.. I paid my dues.. ← you know, even though the menu looks interesting and the room is pretty, I have no intention of eating at Bagatelle either. but if I heard reliable reports that it was surprisingly good...I would.

Or, perhaps the consistency of the restaurant creates a clientele of locals and regulars. Which may also be the reason that Fatty Crab is still extant - locals and regulars. ← or maybe it's that the tourist/b&t hordes aren't interested in an unassuming, no decor, tiny, cramped, no reservation restaurant with a "weird" menu a couple blocks away. but I do agree that restaurant consistency and local/regular clientele forms a sort of feedback loop.

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. ← to be clear, I wasn't talking about the "packed" part.

I eat at Fatty Crab a lot. but it's not in the MPD and, more importantly, doesn't have an MPD clientele. It has locals and regulars. which creates a requirement for consistency from a restaurant.

you can wear anything you want to PS. $25 for any two items from a list of about 20, plus dessert. $5 glasses of wine.

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)

You going back? ← yeah, sure. I live a block away....so sure why not. I wouldn't travel far for it but...

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...