tupac17616

i really enjoy levain ruby et violette didn't do much for me i liked both jaques torres and city bakery milk and cookies was really mediocre i seem to remember a pretty good cookie at balthazar bakery the search continues...

Actually, Ramsay is at $80 for the 3-course prix fixe, $110 for the tasting menu — right in line with all of the others. ← Indeed. And the "carte blanche" tasting menu, if you will, is around $130.

1. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon -- My favorite restaurant in the city, hands down. Over the course of 10 or so visits, I've had the chance to sample it in different capacities: a 4 hour, 19-course tasting with a friend; a simple, 3-course dinner alone; stopping in for desserts and coffee with a group; the regular tasting menu; ordering a la carte; etc etc. Over the course of a few of their seasonal menu iterations, I've had basically every dish the restaurant has offered thus far. The reason I keep going back: consistency. From the food, to the service, to the atmosphere, I know exactly what to expect every single time. There is no pretense whatsoever. Great food. Great service. No BS. Oh, and a la carte all the way. Much more flexibility that way, and overall I find it's a better deal. And sitting at the counter is definitely the way to go. The regular seats are quite comfortable, but sitting at the counter you get the real L'Atelier experience. Wow, I'll move on now. I really tend to ramble about this place... 2. Masa -- While I think there is definitely some validity to DutchMuse's point that nobody he knows who has been there has gone back (I haven't either), Masa is most definitely an experience, and one I think is worth the outrageously high price tag. At least once. I know you've enjoyed Yasuda in the past. I think you'd enjoy Masa very much. 3. Eleven Madison Park -- I've not yet been, but given your criteria (and my knowledge of where you've been in NYC already), that would undoubtedly be my choice. I can hardly think of another restaurant about which I've read such glowing reviews over the past several months. Actually, I can't think of any. I am really looking forward to trying this place in the very near future. Other thoughts... Per Se: Would undoubtedly have been in my top 3, but I know you've been already. Can't say that I blame you, though. The thrill of trying a new place is a wonderful thing! Alain Ducasse: Would have likely been in my top 3 as well, but is no longer open as you know. I still think about that foie gras and tapioca ravioli. And the souffle. Mmm. Daniel: Might have suggested this as well, as I found the setting to be very comfortable, and the service very friendly. But I know you've been, and I seem to remember you feeling like you'd been "manhandled", so it sounds as if you and I may have had very different experiences! Gordon Ramsay: Granted, I've only been once. But we put ourselves completely at the disposal of the chefs in the kitchen, letting them create an off-the-menu tasting for us to show a wider range of their offerings. So we ended up with around 12 to 13 courses. While many of the high points of the meal were quite high (phenomenal souffle, for example), there were too many dishes that were merely good. A few dishes were far too one-dimensional, lacking contrast, and overall I felt they often struggled to acheive the right flavor balance (we thought many courses skewed too sweet or too salty). Can't really say I'd recommend this over the other places you seem to be considering. The Modern: I've not yet been to the main dining room (it's on the never-ending "list"), but I was not as impressed with the Bar Room as many other eG'ers seem to have been. Perhaps I deserve to give the place a second shot. Del Posto vs Babbo: Personally, I'd do Babbo. But, as I'm sure you know, they are two VERY different restaurants. Hardly even comparable, save for the fact that their pastas are often the most lauded dishes. Like slkinsey, I've not been disappointed by the secondi at Babbo. Yes, some of the pastas are stellar, but the secondi are no slouches. The osso buco in particular was outstanding, I thought. Also, I would not do the pasta tasting menu, personally. I generally find the choices that comprise that menu to be a bit boring and not necessarily representative of the flashes of brilliance that other choices on the pasta menu may contain. The pasta specials (I walked by and saw one with uni last week. mmm..) are often nice. Oh, and if you end up going to Del Posto, whatever you do, make sure you try the 6-year aged parmigiano-reggiano. Absolutely outstanding. Others: Picholine, Cru, Aquavit, Country -- places I've not yet been, but have heard enough good things about to be quite excited for whenever I finally do go. Sorry for the long post, U.E., but hopefully this is helps!

The Garden of Eden on Bway & 106th has 'em all the time

Just curious: why do you find Prune underappreciated? They've not exactly been struggling for business during the times I've been by.

Agreed. The marrow bones are almost an exact duplicate of the ones at Blue Ribbon, which is to say they are friggin delicious. Nice charcuterie. Addictive bread. Pretty good steak, even. QM is a solid place.

Dean and Deluca maybe?

Gracias, señor. Some other places that came to mind as I thought about this a bit: Alto -- At least as good, if not better than, L'Impero, IMO. Arturo's -- Their pizza is on par with the heavy hitters anywhere in the city, yet it is rarely mentioned as one of the usual suspects: Patsy's, Grimaldi's, Di Fara, Lombardi's, etc. Ottimo, La Pizza Fresca, and Naples 45 also come to mind for underappreciated pizza. Bouley Upstairs -- As sneakeater and others have argued above, this place is perhaps the very definition of underappreciated, as far as the online food boards go, at least. Cafe Gray -- Rarely a peep about the place on the food boards, it seems Compass -- Not mindblowing cuisine, by any means, but solid and pretty reasonably priced. Esca -- An outstanding restaurant in a, well, not outstanding neighborhood. Ouest -- It is of course on the great-restaurant-barren UWS, but I really like the place.

Sushi Yasuda

The pizza at Naples 45 in the MetLife building always hits the spot for me.

Agreed. I found it highly disappointing. Re: raxelita's additions, I've got to disagree with Cafe Boulud. This is a place that seems to be thougt of in a very positive light, if not here on eG then at least on the other food forums/blogs/etc. A few months back I endured what may have been the worst meal I've ever had in the city there. It was bad. I mean, shockingly bad. Uniformly bad. Coasting on its reputation? I would argue that it most definitely is. Definitely agree about Upstairs, Esca, Wallse, Craft. And THANK YOU sneakeater, for being the first one brave enough to admit the friggin' truth about Hearth! Maybe that will stop the excessive praise that place gets here. One can only hope.

I, too, ate at the Little Owl on Sunday night. Looking out the huge windows overlooking that quiet little corner in the village as it snowed was beautiful. The staff were all very friendly. There was a wait for a spot of the bar, but that's pretty much par for the course, I'd imagine, since there are only five seats there. As for the food: the meatball sliders were moist and delcious. The pork chop, juicy and cooked perfectly, though admittedly not even close to the softball-sized mound of pork pictures above in this thread. I agree with ewindels and noodlebot on the beignets -- definitly a little heavy. And undersalted. A little salt sprinkled on the Nutella that accompanied them, though, and all was well. Their cheese selections sounded nice, but unfortunately they hadn't gotten their delivery that day, so I was out of luck. Maybe next time. The price was right. There is no BS and no pretention about the place (aside, perhaps, from calling the pork chop, "the pork chop" on the menu, but yeah). I'd go back. Next time, though, dessert somewhere else.

burger joint ok, ok. telepan

Finally got around to trying the Kobe steak at L'Atelier after several visits. The verdict? A little north of amazing.

THE BEST Manresa – Los Gatos, CA (8/29/06): 30 courses of pure bliss. Best meal of my life. THE REST (chronological order only) Jean Georges – NYC (2/3/06): Is there a better lunch deal in NYC? In a word, no. Bouley – NYC (3/26/06): Extended off-the-menu chef’s tasting. Per Se – NYC (5/2/06): Best foie gras I’ve ever had. My thoughts about the meal are here. Masa – NYC (9/9/07): Definitely an experience. My thoughts about the meal are here. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – NYC (10/22/06): 19-course tasting. Wonderful. Per Se – NYC (11/7/06): Colgin Cellars Wine dinner. Oh, the kabocha squash agnolotti… L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – NYC (11/19/06): The change to the new fall menu was beautiful. Daniel – NYC (12/16/06): Tandem chef’s tasting menu, ridiculous cheese cart & great company. Alain Ducasse at the Essex House – NYC (12/20/06): Foie-gras-and-tapioca ravioli and the most perfect soufflé I’ve ever had. HONORABLE MENTIONS OF DELICIOUSNESS NYC: enjoying the pork & pickled watermelon salad, and the gloriously messy chili crab at Fatty Crab with one of my best friends, and not giving a crap what we looked like while eating it; a warm bowl of trippa alla toscana at Al Di La; a perfect chunk of 6-year-aged parmigiano-reggiano at Del Posto; pumpkin-filled casoncelli, and green apple risotto with foie gras at Alto; pork buns and three terrine bahn mi at Momofuku Ssäm Bar; caviar-pasta, and ‘the egg’ at Le Bernadin; hamburger at Peter Luger; bucatini with pistachio pesto, fagiolini, toasted breadcrumbs, and pecorino at Tempo; shirayaki, anago, and uni at Sushi Yasuda; the polenta with mushroom fricassee at L’Impero; all the other visits to L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon that have become too numerous to count, making it my favorite restaurant in the city right now ELSEWHERE: breakfast at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco; the rustic simplicity of Chez Panisse in Berkeley; salt-crusted porterhouse for 2 at Table 8 in LA; fish taco from Chapala Restaurant in Morro Bay, CA; wood-fired naan w/ roasted garlic butter at Bin 555 in San Antonio; hamburger at Big’z Burger Joint in San Antonio; prime rib from Kreuz Market in Lockhart, TX

Yes, I occasionally can get epoisse (Berthaut) here in Kansas City, so I'm sure that restaurants, like GR can certainly get it in NY - although you're right in noting that they'd (legally) have to have been aged more 60 days. Another cheese that I always enjoy, but can never find state-side is Vacherin Mont d'Or. Might anyone know if GRNYC or any other high-end establishements has that on their cheese carts? u.e. ← It's on the cheese cart at Daniel. Had it there a few weeks ago. Delicious.

Whoops! I think I ought to clarify. I wasn't saying the scallops, turbot and egg caviar were among the best dishes I've had at JG (FWIW, I did enjoy them, but I've yet to find anything at JG that really blows me away). Just that they are some of the dishes that comprise the "JG Classics" tasting menu that is available at dinner, and if it's my first time at a particular restaurant, I often find I'd like to find out what made that restaurant notable in the first place. Trying to gauge what the restaurant is all about, so the speak. The venison was a tad overcooked (read: closer to medium than the medium rare I'd ordered). Still tender. The flavor pairing to me did not have enough balance. The quince puree was not enough to counteract the much stronger cabrales foam, whose flavor just seemed to assault everything else on the plate flavor-wise. The undersalted broccoli rabe seemed like an afterthought. Also, the best dessert I think I've had there is not the molten chocolate cake (I'm not really a chocolate guy), thought that is indeed a classic. It was a "Winter" dessert last year: butternut squash souffle, prune-armagnac ice cream, poire william gelee, pear and chocolate praline mousse cake. Hot damn that was good.

Oh, by the way, I think the tables that are sort of tucked into the wall that divides the main dining room from the Nougatine are pretty nice. Don't recall whether they are 2- or 4-tops, though.

My two cents. Others may disagree: Must-orders: definitely the foie gras brulee if going a la carte; or scallops with caper-raisin emulsion, egg caviar, turbot, molten chocolate, etc....the JG classic tasting menu since it's your first visit. Stay-away-from: Venison with cabrales foam and broccoli rabe, black bass crusted with nuts and seeds in a sweet & sour jus (I know other eG'ers have enjoyed this dish, but it just didn't do much for me) Just go with your gut. The menu is not a minefield by any means. Very, very solid restaurant. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful meal regardless of what you order.

I'd count myself among those people. I can't even count the number of times Bruni's reviews have directly followed weeks of buzz on the various online food forums (eGullet, Chowhound, etc). Nor the number of times I've been lucky to try a good place just before it got slammed with the post-review crowds, or conversely kicked myself for failing to do so. Whenever there is a notable change in the NYC restaurant scene, be it an opening, a change in concept/location (see: Tocqueville), or whatever, it's always a guessing game to determine when exactly the soft spot occurs after the place has gotten their sh*t together and before a review from Bruni sends the crowds over. (Momofuku Ssam Bar is a place that I feel is in that soft spot right now.) In the came of EMP, we observed both cases: a lot of praise in the food forums, as well as a change of concept due to Humm's arrival last year. It was only a matter of time.

Sneak and Dave speak the truth. To Momofuku Ssam Bar, my friend! You will not be disappointed.

Bueno, Thought you might appreciate a picture I took at dinner last week...

RESTAURANT Not sure if this is cheating, but... Manresa in Los Gatos, CA on 8/28/06 - Corn and tomato salad "new version", seaweed granita Absolutely the finest thing I've ever had the pleasure of eating. Period. I wish I'd taken notes on this during the meal (not coincidentally the best meal of my life, but that's another thread). Warm corn puree was at the bottom. Topped by the most refreshing gelee imaginable (Cucumber was it? Or lemon-cucumber? Something like that). Several perfect little heirloom tomatoes suspended in the gelee. Seaweed granita creating a marvelous textural and temperature contrast on top. Basil oil drizzled atop the whole thing and a few tiny basil leaves to crown it. The interplay of the textures, temperatures and flavors was tear-inducingly perfect. I lack the words to do it proper justice, but suffice it to say that this a dish I'd sooner refer to as "revelatory" or "life-changing" than simply "great." Very distant runners-up (but excellent in their own right, and putting this thing back in NYC ): Per Se on 5/2/06 - "Terrine" of Hudson Valley Moulard Duck "Foie Gras" -- Washington State Rhubarb, Spiced Shortbread, Garden Mache, Rhubarb "Mignonette" and Toasted Tellicherry Pepper "Brioche" Even with all the stupid quotation marks, an absolute thing of beauty. I'd had foie gras terrines many times before then, and have had it many times since, but this particular dish is ingrained in my head as the Platonic ideal toward which all the others have only strived. The texture was absolute perfection. The flavor pairing, delicious. The dish? Incredible. Per Se on 11/7/06 - Mascarpone Enriched Kabocha Squash "Agnolotti" -- with Hobb's Shore Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Honey Glazed Cranberries and Perigord Black Truffles This dish had so much going on in such a small amount of space, yet it did not taste overly busy, if that makes any sense. The tastes, textures, and aromas were so harmonic. Better yet, they were symphonic, encompassing such contrast and focus at the same time. The smokiness of the bacon. The sweet-tart pop of the cranberries. The earthy aroma of freshly shaved truffles. Hot creamy squash and mascarpone filling in a perfectly al dente pasta casing. Absolutely remarkable dish. HOME Soft-Shell Crab BLT on 7/6/06 Two beautiful fried soft-shell crabs with applewood-smoked bacon, avocado, homegrown tomato, lettuce and chipotle mayonnaise served on toasted pain de campagne. Eaten outside on the back patio as late afternoon faded to evening, relaxing without a care in the world. Gotta love summertime...

L'Atelier could be lunch or dinner. The menu is the same, with the exception of the $70 club menu available at lunch only. Seems like a decent deal to me, although I've not yet been for lunch. Jeans could work there, as well.

oh and the chili crab sooo messy but sooo good