juuceman

Did the Waldorf=Astoria reopen the brunch buffet?? my understanding is that it was discountinued in about September '01, somewhat simultaneous with the closing of Oscar's.. one of the things i've been most interested in is whether with the reopening of Oscar's we'll see a reopening of the brunch buffet.. with the close of the Plaza restaurant, there's not much worthwhile out there.. heard mixed reviews of the Rainbow Room's brunch buffet- at $80 it's likely not worth it and i'd rather just order what i'm interested in from Cipriani Soho.. the Water Club has one of the nicest brunch buffets in NYC.. Arabelle, in one of the midtown/UES hotels, is one of the few that i've repeated..

after a few meals here, i've figured out that i'm not a huge fan of this place.. food is, to my palate, fine, while the overall experience is somewhat underwhelming.. i find the entire thing overly done in a hipsterish, trying too hard kind of way, highly publicist touted, and pretty overpriced.. i'd rather go to momofuku where the cooking is honest and no one is trying to amke more of it is than it is.. all that said, its better than i expected given its locale..

regardless of any of the above, Andrea Strong was given the number and reports it in today's 'Strong Buzz' 212-774-3680..

still unlisted, and they weren't giving it up on Wednesday night when i stopped in..

just like thrillist said, the majority of the menu is under $9, with one of the specials priced at $10.. i don't think they're open for lunch..

so go and try it.. it's in the middle of nowhere, you're likely closer than most of us.. your disclaimer seems to bely the fact that you'll not truly believe any of our responses without our providing a similar background so that you'll trust we're entitled to make such a judgement.. at the prices they're charging, expecting the greatness you seem to desire probably isn't reasonable.. i wandered in tonight but didn't like the vibe of the place, so i turned around.. it's oddly arranged, with a large low counter setup as the focal point of the room.. there's a stage upon which the waiter walks around, towering above you.. when the waiter isn't in the room, the center of attention is a smallish dry erase board that listed the specials.. everything is prepared in a kitchen that's pretty much fully screened.. i was alone, there were seven other people in the room, they all seemed to be there as a result of the recent publicity although no one had any food in front of them.. there was one or two small tables separate from the main counter.. it was deadly silent inside and everyone's head turned when i walked in.. it was one of the odder experiences i've had in a restaurant.. i think they've got a good publicist or friend at NY magazine..

don't sell yourself short there.. Del Posto is open, at least softly, for family and friends.. wandered by tonight- was met by the ice queen of the city who ensured i didn't get past the outer vestibule to even glance at who was eating there.. curtains are pulled tight around it.. it was a solid 2/3 full at 9:30.. look for it to open next week.. it's too close to the opening of this place for me to think that this wasn't publicist placed.. combined with the trend of bullfrom and baum et all essentially controlling what appears in the various press pieces and reviews and i'm getting kind of fed up with the current nyc restaurant scene..

Andrea Strong recounts a meal at Beppe in this weeks Buzz.. it's not quite a review, in my opinion a lot of her stuff is closer to a paid advertisement, but it's there.. Lupa is wonderful, the back room can approach fine dining, the front definitely doesn't provide the level of service that say, Scalini Fedeli might offer.. check this week's NY Metro for a discussion of the 4 Michelin starred Italian joints in NYC.. Peasant, in my opinion, doesn't offer the service level of fine dining, nor does it offer the quality of food to lift it from more than a mediocre place with a bit of atmosphere.. I much prefer Il Cantinori, on 10th, for something approaching this.. also, Cipriani, both uptown and downtown, offer a nice place to have a meal, although downtown can be a madhouse..

there's a supermarket on the UWS, on Amsterdam in the 80's i believe, that sells and delivers kegs through their normal delivery guys.. they have signs in the windows advertising such.. other than that, in my experience, you're probably out of luck etting something delivered tomorrow at this point.. you might be aware of this already, but there's now a $100 cash deposit on all kegs, and it has to be returned within 72 hours or so in order to get this back.. nys liquor laws are looking to reduce binge drinking..

Michel Cluizel opened a new shop in ABC, basically between Lucy and the tapas joint..

it's pretty reasonable.. meal for under $20 without a problem.. two can probably eat for little more than that.. they've got some nice lunch boxes as well, although every time i consider going i wind up next door at mishima..

i don't think you can use the Prime designation unless it's USDA Prime.. see http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/highland_steaks.htm, about halfway down for some support forthis.. see also: http://meat.tamu.edu/history.html but there isn't a definitive answer that i can some up with..

she's been kind of bitchy lately.. it's nice to see, but doesnt' redeem her history.. she reviews restaurants prior to their openings, discusses dishes that aren't yet being served, and generally has a poor palate, in my opinion.. she lives off of press releases and is a tool for restaurant owners and PR folk..

Whole Food's, 7th Avenue, had them last week near the cheese counter, as well as SB and Valrhona bars. The cake and baking supply shop on 22nd btw. 5 and 6 regularly has high end chocolate as well.

not really.. depends on whether you prefer an all beef, or a beef and pork mix as well as what type of casing you prefer, and how you prefer to cook it.. John has written a great treatise on the topic, i believe it may be found on the above link, or search for Sabrett and/or marathon on Chowhound..

are you talking the bar room versus the rear reserved area?? just curious if there's a new restaurant at the Modern.. i've been reading about the concept behind country for almost a year now.. my understanding is that they'll be putting together a market driven menu that will run for two weeks.. you'll be able to call, find out what they're serving, and decide whether you like it enough to reserve and go eat there.. it'll be price fixe and served family style.. i'm hoping that the reservation process will somehow allow us to discuss the various menus and have a chance to visit after hearing impressions of the current offerings.. somehow i doubt that it'll work out that way in the beginning.. btw- the new hotel lobby is absolutely beautiful and has a great abr which is pretty poorly visited so far.. see Fabricant's quick synopsis..

i asked that too.. the guy that gives out the food told me sausages on biscuits, maybe some pastry, and stuff like that..

the salt content of the burgers has either noticably increased, or having not had a shack burger in a month or so i've lost my taste for them.. extremely salty burger the other night.. still enjoyable, but i was drinking water like a fish all night.. the hours are changing.. they cut back to an 8 pm closing next week and breakfast begins in two weeks, so they'll be opening at 8 am.. not posted on their website but indicated at the shack are some weekend hours that appear to be severely curtailed..

i thought that i'd read that upstairs would be family style, with one menu repeated for two weeks.. did not realize the cafe would be a similar format, although i had assumed that it wouldn't be as the discussion of breakfast offerings didn't indicate this in any manner.. anyone else think it's odd that they've opened the casual cafe prior to the more formal restaurant, on which they'd likely like to be judged and have the cafe pick up some of the overflow from??

chalk it up to the weakened dollar versus the euro..

NY Press's 'Best of NY' slams Nobu, recommends Komagashi, and gives the unlisted reservation number for Nobu. The website is currently down, otherwise i'd share it..

I'm a big fan of Balthazar, not so much of Pastis.. i like the crowd and atmosphere more at Balthazar, however, do enjoy the outside seating at Pastis.. raw bar excels at Balth, as do most of their fish dishes.. late night, it's one of our standard go-to joints after shows, concerts, etc.. well worth the cab ride from wherever we happen to be.. that said, i don't go during prime time.. coffee early mornings at the bar, raw bar and asparagus late night.. for brunch we'd rather hit Le Gamin, or a couple of small hole in the wall cafe's over either of these two.. it can be a nice place for dinner during the week though- usually able to snag a last minute reservation for Bathazar for a group of 6 or so..

if they still have the white peach sangria, and you think you might be into it, get it.. it's great.. he does amazing things with octopus.. the grilled octopus app is one of the best renditions of this dish in nyc.. i remember the paella being good.. there is (was??) a female bartender there who truly defines bitchiness.. one of the worst attitudes, on repeated visits, that i've ever seen in any human, much less one in the service industry..

i hit it at two in the morning on Friday.. they were crowded, as was the lunge behind it.. while they were cooking burgers like madmen behind the counter, the two that i was given were dry and cooked well throughout.. i've eaten there before and found it to be much better.. the timing might have had something to do with it..

i'm pretty sure the screen and seating are AMEX sponsored things..