Nathan

I'm not sure that accomodating a regular when there is a cancellation would be a violation of Chang's reservation system.

heh...Cuozzo raises the same questions: http://www.nypost.com/seven/03192008/enter..._mpd_102622.htm "But if Samuelsson wanted to introduce us to the cuisine in a serious way, why do it in the MPD, the stamping ground of the boozing bridge-and-tunnel crowd?"

I'm not a regular at Bouley Upstairs...but I've never had to wait more than a couple minutes...the demand isn't the same.

no...but the whole thing is complicated cause Michael Huynh is the chef at Mai House and he was reported as out there and now he's back in...the real story isn't clear.

I find it absurd that anyone should be taking customer service advice from u.s. airlines. I also find it completely not-analogous...not only do frequent fliers often only have one choice for the route and time they have to fly...they also don't care about the price since they're not the one paying for it. this is also completely inapposite and has no bearing on this discussion.

huh?

agreed.

or on the edge of SoHo anyway. this received a fair amount of press when it opened a few months ago but not much since. finally stopped in last night. very casual atmosphere. tried two rolls: one a vegetable mix and one composed of pork belly and shrimp. both were quite good for what they were...although the shrimp could have been better. served with addictive spicy carrots. scallops were overcooked but I loved the braised endive they rested on. lamb "lollipops"...three small chops were good. nice "lamby" flavor. hangar steak bu'n didn't feature very good meat. liked the noodles. better wine list than you would think. it's fine for the price point. plates ranged from $6-12.

NY Magazine just mentioned it the other week in an article.

I was in last night. the red bell pepper cake with the cornbread ice cream and peas was terrific...especially the peas and the ice cream. the "mushroom margarita" utilizes the huitlacoche mezcal. there's a nice new rye gateway drink -- using a hibiscus syrup.

the Falling Leaves is an Audrey Saunders drink pear eau de vie riesling honey syrup curacao Peychaud's disagree on NY dirty water hot dogs. they suck. the only good hot dog is a grilled (or fried) hot dog.

oh, and what Simon S. said.

well, taking the topic of this thread at face value: I get comped something a fair amount...even on the first visit...at a lot of places. I also get into a lot of hard-to-get-into places at prime times on prime nights (say 9:00 on a Saturday). how? I don't do reservations. the actual fact of the matter is that in NYC, your odds of getting into a hard-to-get-into restaurant at a prime time are much higher as a walk-in than making a reservation...unless you are a VIP or a regular. simple fact. and I'm not just talking about sitting at the bar (although sitting at the bar and conversing with the bartender is the easiest way to start getting comps). I'm talking about parties of 2, 3, 4... the caveat here is that obviously you can't guarantee it will work with any particular restaurant. so you have to have a backup plan...you should have three different restaurants in the same neighborhood that you're willing to eat at. another thing: yes, a $20 bill (or more) can work wonders. but it works in one way...given in a handshake...as you're leaving the restaurant...as a "thank you" for a favor given....not as a direct bribe.

I'd do Katz's....

had a full meal here last night with a friend. the menu has expanded (as has the wine list). pig's trotter casserole thing was bland baccala was good selection of three salumi and two formaggi (you pick them) was excellent for this sort of thing...unlike many other wine bars...everything seems to come in a different preparation. for example, the speck comes wrapped around braised endive. lardo on toast. that sort of thing. brussel sprout salad was well balanced.

Mayur is absolutely right. the intended chef at Broadway East who has written some very well regarded vegetarian cookbooks was fired after noting that vegetarians are adolescent and sentimental.

Why? Receiving special treatment is entirely a different issue than expecting (or feeling entitled to) special treatment. ← But I'd bet that when the special treatment never comes or stops, the "regulars" opt to be regulars elsewhere. ← hmmm...yes and no. I'd say that for most people here, if the place is the best (or best located or whatever) at what it does, they'll be a regular no matter what. but if a place has equivalent competition, then of course perks matter in whether you're a regular.

well yeah. I know one of the most prominent sommeliers/wine directors in NY...they all take care of each other....which makes sense, it's not like they're paid anything.

shudder, but I'm going to partially agree with FG here on his larger point. if I've dropped thousands of dollars over a period of time at an establishment, and if there's a special favor I ask for that's in their power to give, or if I screw up in some way (like say screwing up the bill cause I was a little inebriated and not knowing about it til I come back in again, yes, the amount of money I've spent at that place figures into my expectations on whatever the given issue is. of course it does. that's human nature. what I don't see is how that basic fact necessarily applies to the reservation system at Ko.

well, that we agree on. but there's a flipside to it...when I'm spending a couple hundred dollars at a restaurant whether it's the first time or the fiftieth time, I expect good treatment. when a restaurant is concentrating primarily on taking care of its regulars, the treatment for the non-regulars (who are paying the same money) often suffers.

well, yeah they COULD do that. so? I don't see why you think they SHOULD do that.

I can think of two roughly comparable places which are both quite hard to get into. One I can almost always get into...one I can't. yes, I patronize the former quite a bit more often...but not so much because they let ME in but rather because I CAN get in. but I don't stop going to the latter...

I take it you disagreed with Reichl's method of reviewing Le Cirque? you're describing the way most restaurants do things...its a business model that works for them. there's no reason it has to be true for Ko. I don't expect a restaurant to ever do anything...other than treat me fairly whether it's the first or the fiftieth time I've eaten there. now purely from a business perspective, is it true that, all other things being equal (and that's a big if), I'm more likely to return to a place that comps me stuff or makes it easy to get into than a place that doesn't? of course, I'm human. but, "special treatment" isn't something I feel entitled to. Yes, if there were two Kos and one gave me a special in...and one didn't...I'd more often patronize the one that did. who wouldn't? but, if there were two such Kos, and I'm in the vast majority of people who don't have an in..I'd know which one is more likely to get my business. and that's the model Chang has apparently chosen to follow. more power to him.

fwiw, I'm pretty sure I don't count as a Momofuku "regular"...the Momofuku regulars all seem to eat there several times a week. I don't live in the EV...that's not gonna happen (I eat at Ssam or Noodle Bar closer to once a month). and I doubt that FG has been there more than me. edit: and there were at least several people who do eat there more than once a week who were not invited to previews.

good point (other than presumably Grimes...though he never wrote about restaurant cocktails in his reviews)