Nathan

he worked there years ago.

Who knows, and who cares? ← we do know. the answer is that there aren't any others. Emeril Lagasse doesn't have a restaurant in NY. Tyler Florence was supposed to open one but it never materialized. Rachel Ray doesn't have a restaurant. all of the Batali restaurants have been reviewed (although Lupa deserves a full review). Bourdain basically has nothing to do with Les Halles. no one else has anything like that level of fame. not even close.

right! Babbo, like Balthazar, is one of the few restaurants that actually gets both groups in large numbers....

out of curiosity, which other NY places that haven't been reviewed in 8 years feature someone as well known as Bobby Flay? to second Sneakeater...as I noted above, even professional restaurant reviewers from other cities assume that Mesa Grill is one of the top restaurants in NY....the fact that NY'ers basically don't go there simply isn't something they're aware of.

the review has been filed. demoted to one star.

right. though I have had success subbing Peat Monster for Laphroaig and vice versa....

a year or so ago, a restaurant reviewer for a Las Vegas newspaper commented on a diner's journal comments thread that he wasn't impressed with NY restaurants and cited places like Mesa Grill that he had eaten at. of course, several of us immediately replied that he had picked tourist traps...but it doesn't change the fact that Mesa Grill is a nationally known NY restaurant (yeah, locals don't eat there much...but the tourists don't know that). and it was an important restaurant at one time.

so, Bruni's reviewing it tomorrow. it's been a long time. I have a hard time believing that it will hold on to two...what do we think, one or zero?

+Hearth for a glass of wine and a pasta or app. I have a hard time imagining "hopping" through Hill Country, but hey. Might also recommend Gramercy Tavern front room for an app or actually even a main, and 15 East for sushi. Um, yeah, except that I'd skip centro, barbuto, and perry street (I think the latter two are hard to do for "hopping" and I'm not that big a fan of centro) and hit Bobo and Sumile instead. Yeah, though if I got a seat at the bar at Babbo, I'd probably just engage in a full-on feast. Might as well throw in the kitchen counter at Beacon while you're doing this, although being able to handle anything else + robuchon is going to be a big hit to the wallet. ← Hearth is a good idea. Barbuto has a bar. Perry Street has a nice lounge area and bar and even has a "snacking" lounge menu which includes some of their greatest hits in perfect portions. Bobo isn't very good...heck, they're already changing chefs. Barfry is an idea. agreed on Babbo.

that is very good news!

your palate changes, yes. But it hasn't changed my regard for other forms of liquid bliss.

flatiron lounge does not serve food. Every new York restaurant that has a bar serves food at the bar. Exception: del posto (which serves food in the lounge where the bar is but not the bar itself). A couple restaurants situated in hotels do not really have a bar: Insieme. All the places they listed serve the regular menu at the bar. (The Modern does not have a bar per we, as the Bar Room is a separate restaurant. The bar at Gramercy Tavern serves the same menu as the room that it is in.)

new York is the nation's bar dining center and it shows. Virtually every restaurant that has a bar (almost all) will serve the full menu at the bar. Most will even serve a tasting menu. EV hop: bar veloce or carrera, ssam bar, noodle bar, kasadela. Flatiron/Murray hill hop: casa mono, resto, hill country, pamplona WV hop: gottino, del'anima, centro vinoteca, barbuto, perry street, bellavitae, fatty crab WV batali hop: babbo, lupa, otto Midtown hop: bar room, maze, grayz, robuchon I could come up with many more depending upon your tastes. Please note: the above are not in order. Plot them on a map and plan accordingly.

yup

neither of those is a new opening. we're all grateful for cheap good neighborhood places, but they're irrelevant to this discussion.

its a small room off of Public.

ooh, didn't realize you were going for a weekend lunch. I'm pretty sure that JG has never been open for lunch on the weekends. do Perry Street then.

its kind of shocking that it doesn't have its own thread here. it's also shocking that it hasn't received more critical attention. I'd heard very good things from reliable sources for some time. I haven't eaten at Public itself in a couple years...but I remembered the food being uneven...sometimes very good, sometimes less successful. good wine program though. well, the Monday Room is pretty spectacular. very different design aesthetic from Public. extensive wine list by the half glass, glass, half-bottle and bottle. about a dozen small plates available. we opted for the tasting menu of five savories with paired wines (which the menu noted were wines "not normally available by the glass") (base price of $85), subbed some courses (our sommelier noted that the tasting menu is only a guide), and asked for a couple specific pairings. the kitchen had too heavy a hand with the acidity on the eel. liked the components though. foie was good but not exceptional. cocoa short ribs were simply superb. one of the best short rib dishes that I've had anywhere. sashimi of tasmanian sea trout was good and the accompanying grilled bread with butter, lemon and caperberries was quite clever. the dashi custard with lobster....also terrific. pumpkin panna cotta with sage ice cream and candied squash was nifty. we opted for an additional pairing with dessert which upped our bill significantly...but it was really really good. the pairings were the real star of the show. extremely well done. the dry sherry with the eel was nice. the predictable riesling with the foie was still very good, but the particular chardonnay (a wine I generally don't like) with the lobster and dashi custard was absolutely fricking terrific. highly recommended.

Rao's isn't known for the food (though it's supposed to be pretty decent Italian-American). I know one regular and he goes to chat with his friends.

Notable openings? In the past?? These 3 restaurants all opened within the last year - didn't some of the restaurants in the op also open within the last year? And didn't all of the restaurants in the op open in the past. I'm confused, but that's nothing new. ← what I meant was the LES' most notable restaurants all opened sometime ago.

Huh? Please elaborate on what you mean in regard to both neighborhoods. ← I'm not aware of any restaurants of significance in either neighborhood.

Eater to the contrary, it is open for business. the dining room's still empty of course.

yeah, but here people have dogs instead of children... I'm half-joking!

these things go in waves...this is the current one.

you're going to get a different experience on the weekends, I understand that. the restaurant is more crowded, the staff are more harried (more customers, weekend warriors, guys being assholes to impress their dates, people clueless about fine dining, the chicken and salmon orderers, etc.)... so I understand that the experience might not be optimal. but I'm still paying full price, I still should be able to expect a good performance out of the restaurant. not all of their diners on weekend nights (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) are one-timers.