Nathan

I agree that WD-50 is a three star restaurant. I really don't think there are any undiscovered restaurants in Manhattan (at least below 125th or so)... there might be a good dumpling place that no one knows about or a better than expected Italian spot on Amsterdam (just making stuff up here)...but nothing that people would actually travel for..

he didn't get Will's desserts at Cru or Kahn's desserts at Varietal either...combined with Gilt and his mixed perception of Alinea...I don't think he's too enthused about molecular (though at least open enough to recognize El Bulli for what it is).

????? he didn't get Alinea at all....

He wrote up Sapori in a Diner's Journal. I didn't think S'agapo was any better than Kefi, frankly. It's gotten plenty of press regardless...so Bruni would be a "follower" if he went there. Bruni has written positive reviews of a number of non-Batali Italian restaurants in NY: Petrosino (excellent and now-closed....it was a "hidden gem" actually). Sfoglia A Voce Falai Il Buco there are more.

1. once again, let's have an example of a worthwhile place that others have ignored....you said there were "dozens"...I'm just asking for one. 2. there are plenty of legit criticisms of Bruni (personally, as I said, I thought reviewing MB was a waste of space), but he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't on this thread. if he waits to review a restaurant to let it get its act in gear (as most here have agreed he should do...some of you criticizing him for not waiting A YEAR)...then he's a "follower"....so instead you want him to get there before anyone else. it's gotta be one or the other. which is it? (and yes, some professional critic would have gotten to Rosanjin eventually) ← Nathan, is it enough to say that he's just not good at what he does and leave it at that? ← I think he's quite good at some of it...not so good at some of it. He's very good on Italian, pretty good on steakhouses and Asian cuisines in general, pretty good on "new paradigm" food, not so hot on classic French and downright poor on molecular/avant garde. He's also a wonderful writer. His inability to get molecular food is the part that bothers me by far the most.

I'd like to emphasize rich's list in connection with the "hidden gems" conversation above. ← well, WD-50, Aquavit and Daniel are hardly "hidden gems" (in the "hidden" sense anyway). Sapori d'Ischia was written up by Bruni. I've eaten my way through much of the Greek in Astoria...and I can't say that I've run across any place that was more notable than the better Greek restaurants in the city...they were just cheaper. and it's not like Cafe Agape et al haven't been written up. where are Carol's Cafe, Henry's End and Don Peppe?

1. once again, let's have an example of a worthwhile place that others have ignored....you said there were "dozens"...I'm just asking for one. 2. there are plenty of legit criticisms of Bruni (personally, as I said, I thought reviewing MB was a waste of space), but he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't on this thread. if he waits to review a restaurant to let it get its act in gear (as most here have agreed he should do...some of you criticizing him for not waiting A YEAR)...then he's a "follower"....so instead you want him to get there before anyone else. it's gotta be one or the other. which is it? (and yes, some professional critic would have gotten to Rosanjin eventually)

here's my point: I would like just one example of a notable restaurant opening in Manhattan (below 96th street...though even uptown gets publicized now) that is not publicized. in other words, I'm asserting that you're asking Bruni to do the impossible...to find restaurants that don't exist.

Thalassa's never had a rated review, but it was given a full Times piece here: http://www.thalassanyc.com/nyt.html

most restaurants I know about...I've never been to. nor will I. there are only so many restaurant openings every week...and they get published...in multiple sources. aggregating these easily available sources, I highly doubt that there are significant openings that aren't showing up. Manhattan simply isn't that large.

or rather, I'm saying something tautological. but what I'm specifically disputing is that there are multiples of worthy places that remain "undiscovered". I think they all get discovered, rather quickly. and just because Bruni waits six months to write about a place doesn't mean he doesn't know about it. 2007 is manifestly different from say, 2000. today, the sheer number of amateurs writing about food necessitates that virtually every place has been visited and written about. in a sense, they've all been discovered before the pros get there. (how do you think the pros find out about them?) in fact, they're all discovered within days of opening.

well, I guess the existence of "hidden gems" is unfalsifiable....which, by definition, ends the discussion.

No no. I meant the possibility that one of these "neighborhood" places is extraordinary. It's possible. THAT would be a "hidden gem". ← sure, it's possible. though I don't think you think there are "dozens" of such places. but it's not like anyone has come up with one. we've had a long underrated restaurant thread here...nothing came up that hasn't been professionally reviewed.

category three gets reviewed.

Yeah, but SOMEBODY had to "discover" it (and then the rest followed). And who knows how many places there are in, say, Western Queens that are worthy of "discovery" but haven't been yet? ← sure...but I don't think oakapple, of all people, was claiming that it's Bruni's job to be trying every storefront place in Queens. in fact, down the thread I deliberately limited my point to Manhattan.

Sietsema and Meehan, between them, seem to cover the ethnic spots in both the outer boroughs and Manhattan pretty well. there are a fair amount of decent neighborhood spots that don't get a lot of press (usually because they've been around for a while) that are decent enough....but it's no travesty that they don't get reviewed. people know of their existence..its just that they're not worth traveling too. for example, Vespa on the UES (full disclosure: I know some of the owners and management) is pretty good...but there are a number of "neighborhood restaurants" in my neighborhood that are just as good. If any one of them gets reviewed, fine. but it's not necessary, it's not a discovery. they're all good if you happen to be nearby.

sure, I've found small, tiny tapas places that were acceptably decent (but not especially good) that haven't been reviewed. but if they were really good..they'd get buzz and they'd get reviewed. even a fabulous niche place like Sabry in Astoria has gotten multiple professional reviews. edit: ok, Tsukushi was basically hidden (from everyone besides Japanese aficionados) for a few years after it opened. but it still got a Times review in 05.

I don't want this to sound like a "mine is bigger than yours" type comment, but I had certainly heard of Rasanjin before Bruni reviewed it. And my sources are almost exactly the same as yours. I think you just might not have been paying attention in that case (I want to emphasize that I don't mean that as a pejorative -- I mean, big deal, you didn't pay attention to some delivery place opening a small dining room). But I wouldn't universalize it. ← fair enough, but that only further proves my point.

Presumably Rosanjin wasn't on your radar before Bruni put it there. I guarantee you there are dozens more. This guy is paid handsomely, full-time, to find such places. He ought to be able to identify far more than you and I can. If he cannot, it's a failure of imagination or effort.Remember, that "buzz" you refer to has to be created by somebody. It requires, you know, a "discovery." An intelligent critic who does this full-time damned well ought to be able to find more than one. ← really? dozens more? you should be able to name one then. the start-up costs for a serious restaurant are such that restauranteurs have no choice but to invest in publicity. combined with the voracity of foodblogs (see Eater's "Plywood Report" -- where even minor pizza joints get mentioned ("Mosco Pizza" was mentioned in a Plywood Report on Friday...when I walked past it on Saturday it was open)...I wish there were hidden gems in the city. there just aren't.

I don't understand what the author is thinking. besides lemon being tolerable in a margarita (sort of)...I think the margarita recipe would work better (I have no intention of trying these to find out) simply because to me orange is more necessary to the sidecar than the margarita (to me the margarita is a tequila forward drink (despite its origins in the sidecar) while brandy/cognac is the underlying foundation for the Sidecar...not the first flavor to hit your tongue....(which is why her recipe makes no methodological sense)

imo, the food buzz is so heavy in Manhattan that there are no unidentified important restaurants. Rosanjin stands out precisely because it apparently was the one really good restaurant (assuming Bruni was right) that no one knew about. edit: to echo FG, more than once I've heard typical Manhattan non-foodies who wouldn't be caught dead going to OG refer to MB in rhapsodic terms.

oh, I agree, it's a wasted review. but I put it in the Vong category. if he wants to do this once a year for fun...big deal. (Sascha had a great deal of buzz (their PR bill must have been for a fortune), Waverly Inn has legitimately good food combined with massive amounts of buzz, and Robert's -- by most accounts -- is one of the best steakhouses in the city)

that Margarita might work decently enough. its the Sidecar that would be revolting.

I think that you are a bit myopic, no disrespect. The bartenders at Alto, the last head bartender at WD-50, The bartenders at SB3, a couple of the people behind the bar at Freemans. There is some wicked talent at Gold Bar. At SoHo grand there is a wonderful bartender. I am sure that there are wonderful bar keeps many places. To reference another thread where the hell is Del? A good bar has a million pros and a few cons. I have had wonderful cocktails all over the city, it just takes throwing yourself on the mercy of the bartender. Let them make what they are good at, be it a perfect Martinez, or let them shine at pouring a great pint of black and a atiitude adjustment of Red Breast. ← not really....I specifically said there are many places in the third tier. and the fact that you can only order "what they are good at" is precisely the problem. Junior Merino's cocktails are still on the menu at Bar Room at the Modern...and are still well-made. but I got a really crappy sidecar. there are quite a few places like that in NY. but if I can't get a good sidecar (for goodness sakes!), it's not a first or second tier bar.

yup. it was nicely done. they could have discussed the olive controversy and why "dirty" is bad...but that's nitpicking. I completely agree with their sentiments on Junipero (which I rate more highly than Plymouth for martinis -- Plymouth is my general cocktail gin though)...and Old Raj. The thing about OR is that it's really only suitable for martinis..or even sipping neat (very chilled). It's flavor profile just wouldn't work in most gin cocktails....its very hard to balance with. But it's a great gin to contemplate...carefully....it comes on like a truck.