Nathan

right. it's the cheaper consort to Alto. Bruni was generally positive on the current iteration. http://events.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/dinin...ews/31rest.html

oh, I thought it was pretty clear that...in the case of Le Cirque....he found the formality a plus. I agree that there will always be a demand for formal dining. that doesn't detract from the point that that demand has diminished....and that a change in economic circumstances will lower it even further. a great many formal dining customers are once-a-year celebratory types (yes, they have plenty of regulars too)....and that group is especially affected by economic swings.

It looks very promising. Why would you not normally suggest it? ← mediocre. but very unusually for a Manhattan restaurant, they emphasize families.

oh...the demand has been there for the past few years for high-end restaurants. it's been a mix of luxe tourism and wall street.....but if I was investing in a restaurant, I sure as heck wouldn't bet on that particular combination being sustainable for the next couple years.

consider Picholine. and he's left Chanterelle or La Grenouille alone. I think he hates formality for the sake of formality. where you're paying for obsequiousness...not for the food. but where the formality is justified by the food, I see nothing in his record that says he downgrades that.

no, I wouldn't open a traditional formal four-star-restaurant in New York cause the odds of losing money on it would be pretty high (and the coming attempts to pin dollar in line with other currencies in order to mitigate or stave off recession are going to lower high-end tourism considerably). and leaving aside economic factors...the dining trend just isn't toward formality...and Bruni is only an example of that trend...he's by no means the leader.

you know, the Chang Dog...and the John John Deragon....just go with anything...

key word is "never"

yup...Trois for sure and I've only heard good things about Eugene

I guess some will have to rethink the contention that Bruni never likes formal restaurants...after today's Le Cirque rereview...

DON'T GO FOR LUNCH. you won't get a table for three. you will get seats at the bar. wait will vary between 10 minutes and an hour and a half. I'm guessing if you go really early (by 7) you probably won't wait long but I don't eat that early so I'm not sure. it definitely gets easier after 9:30 or 10.

not a place I normally suggest but Landmarc?

fair enough...for some reason we thought it was shoulder...

And, dessert is a la carte (in addition to)? ← I think dessert is included.

I think it's two.

ah...my alzheimer's hasn't begun quite yet... sounds like it's a little unclear what exactly makes a pork dish "tung-po"

hmm...I'm all confused. I'm talking about the pork shoulder in the sort of anise sauce over bok choy as well. I've had this dish any number of times and I'm pretty sure it's sometimes been listed as tung po pork....but maybe not...

a couple "brunch" items are added to the regular lunch menu on the weekends. otherwise it's the same. the menu changes constantly. items disappear and reappear and even when the item stays..its exact composition will vary. imo, what differentiates the Perry Street lunch deal from some of the other fine ones is that its served on the weekend...making it the only one that some of us can use.

yup...I like Shanghai Cafe's tung-po pork the best.

well yeah! and it's not the cost of travel that's the issue...it's the loss of return for that rent. (i.e., why would one pay 4K a month for a studio in order to spend your weekends in Jersey?)

I'll refer you to this: http://nyjournal.squarespace.com/journal/2...u-ssam-bar.html

I've dined solo throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. I always dine at the bar when possible... the only place I've been made to feel uncomfortable was Italy, especially Rome, at dinner....(with the exception of Gusto).

the thing is, sitting at a table is the worst way to enjoy these places... always go for the bar...

right. the median Manhattan below 96th street diet is probably something like this: purchased bagel on the way to work. Hale & Hearty soups for lunch. diner, Chinese or Italian delivery at home for dinner.

to me the obvious question is: NYC or Manhattan? I'm sure that the majority of the 8 million people in NYC eat the vast majority of their meals at home. on the other hand, the only place I've ever lived where a large portion of the population only keeps condiments in their refrigerators is Manhattan below 96th street. this is always the problem with NYC stats...(i.e. the average two bedroom apartment in NYC rents for 1200 a month or something like that...well...yeah...but.................................) (I'd also speculate that the Zagat population is significantly older and more likely to be married than the actual Manhattan median)