smgarsh

The problem I see here is too many ppl take the NYT rating system (0-4 stars) to literal. The rating system is flawed and useless. Either come up with a more "sophisticated" system where every aspect of the dining experience (food, service, decor etc) is given a rating or don't use a rating system at all. Too many ppl believe that just because a group of restaurants have the same rating then they must be equivalent. For something like OG ,what an educated/experience diner should do is compare it to other restaurants who are in the same "genre". If someone asked me to rate Shake Shack within the boundaries of the NYT system, I would give it 2 stars also. Does that mean SS = BlueHill = OG? Of course not, and it would be foolish to. Just read the review and forget about the rating.

If they won't allow 2 different tasting menus at the same table maybe you can "create" your own. When we (2 ppl) go to Babbo, my friend and I would choose about 5 pasta dishes and ask then to split it between both of us, thus creating our own pasta tasting menu.

wow. Thank you very much bond girl

sounds like a nice place. The menu sounds like its Asian fusion? Is the entire menu "tapas" style? What is the average cost per dish and how many should you order per person? thankyou

Wohop is definitely not a place to go. I think its more of a quick lunch place, and its a bit divey. Peking Duck House would be the better choice.

chikaliciuos is still very good.

but the question is, how many diners @ PerSe actually pay their tip in cash? It's now $175 pp. Thats $350 per couple excluding beverages and tax. A meal for 2 can easily be $500. After a certain $ amount I think a lot of people will pay their tip with their CC.

is anyone else unhappy with some of the judges? They don't seem to be open-minded, and they seem to have a perceived notition of what they like and dislike before even trying out the dishes. I swore during the judging on the Batali/Des Jardin episode the woman on the right of Steingarten said something like "I was prepared not to like this dish etc.".......

Your description of Bibingka = fusion. But I would not put the fusion label on a restaurant because of a few dishes. Take a look at shun lee's menu @ http://shunleepalace.com/ What category would you put Shun Lee in? It's not 100% chinese and its not 100% fusion. For every "authentic" dish they have, they also have a Ostrich Steak Hunan Style, or a Sweet Breads with Black Mushrooms. And I'm not even sure if their authentic dishes don't contain non-traditional ingredients. I believe that these restaurants (Cendrillon, Shun Lee etc.) have to tweak their menus in order to appeal to the masses. But I would not call it fusion though. I think something like 66 and spice market would be a better representation of a fusion cusiine.

You see you don't know that the bolognese is original. He could have altered in a way he sees fit. No one would be the wiser. Unless someone has observed and documented the way bolognese is cooked at Babbo, we assume its authentic/original. And quite frankly, I don't really care if its 100% authentic. If its good, I'll eat it.

Pappardelle Bolognese, I think is a perfect example of a "jazzed up classic". The way I see it, the cuisine @ Babbo is Batali's "jazzed up" version of classic dishes throughout Italy. I'm not even sure what you're try to say? 1st course is a 1st course, 2nd course is a 2nd course etc???

You can make the same argument for Babbo. Is it exactly Italian cuisine? No its not but its origins are Italian.

I don't see why a Filipino restaurant can't be rated 2 stars? Isn't every cuisine in one way or another based on home cooking? Cendrillon may be an updated version of a Filipino restuarant that caters more to non-filipinos than filipinos. Something comparable might be any chinese restaurant in Chinatown vs. something uptown such as Shun Lee.

It is true. When I use to live in Buffalo, that was the standard recipe. The only additional item used was cayenne (sp?) to adjust the spice level. The only real difference was the oil that is used. I guess old oil constantly reused for deep frying adds a another level of flavor? Next time try the recipe on the back of Frank's Hot Sauce. You will get very good results. And when was Frank's hot sauce ever sweet? To me its hot/spicy and very acidic.

I agree. You cannot get good wings in NYC. I lived in Buffalo for a while and even wings at the worst pizzeria in Buffalo are way better than anything in NYC. It's better than Atomic Wings, PluckU etc. And the funny thing is, its so simple to make. Like coquus said, its deep fried wings, Frank's Hot Sauce and Butter. There even a recipe on the back of the Frank's hot Sauce bottle. One thing I've noticed about wings in NYC is how cheap there are with the celery. I swear its about 1/3 of a stalk of celery cut into tiny strips.

good god, ICA is a joke!!! Pizza Dough and hamburger??? WTF is that about?? What's next Kellogg's corn flakes? prasantrin, I'm not trying to start anything but they do have money. If they can afford truffles for the mushroom battle, they can afford something better than pizza dough and hambuger. If they had to choose simple ingredients I think flour (all types) instead of pizza dough would have been better and a whole side of beef instead of hamburger.

I believe the time you go to Shake Shack will reflect on how good or bad your meal is going to be. I've been to Shake Shack 5 times now. On the first 4 times it was near or close to the afternoon. There was always some sort of wait time (15 -45 mins) but it was worth it. The burgers were hot, well seasoned, delicious and the fries fried to a perfect crisp. But on my last trip I went around 8 PM, a couple of days after they started their extended hours. There was no lines at all and I got my food within 3 minutes of ordering. But the burger was just warm and not well seasoned. The fries was not as crispy and hot as usual. I think it was sitting under the heat lamp. The meal was okay but not nearly as good as the previous 4 trips. From now on, I going to go during or near peak times.

wow great photos!! all the dishes looks so good How much did the food cost? was it a tasting menu?

they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

I think the recipe is in the Babbo cookbook.

I really enjoyed the event last year but they should hold it on a different street. That tiny street above the park is to small. It was very difficult to move around. If possible, I hope they would use Madison Ave. It's wide and long enough.

Is that $100 per person???

I was over at shake shack this afternoon. I split the trilogy (2 meat patties and mushroom) and the elk sausage with a friend of mine. The trilogy was big, almost impossible to fit into my mouth and it was very good. But the elk sausage was very dissapointing probably one of the worst sausages I've ever eaten. There was absolutely no flavor. It tasted like an underseasoned pork sausage. It almost made me want to go over to the street fair on PAS to get an italian sausage to cleanse my mouth out. There are a couple of problems that may have resulted in such a crappy sausage. 1: I think they only boil the sausages. I saw the veal brat sitting in some liquid, and I know my elk sausage never hit the grill. 2: The sausages comes "flavored". The sausages are not just the meat/fat and seasonings but was made with other ingredients. I think the elk sausage was maded with japlenos and cheese? They also sold a wild boar, buffalo and a pheasant sausage. The pheasant sausage came with mushrooms and other ingredients. They didn't have the pheasant when I was there so I was unable to sample it. I think I will just stick with the burgers.

I'm very impressed with what you guys have done. But what do you do about the dinnerware situation? Do all of you have enough dishes for all the courses or do you guys use "fancy" plastic plates?

thankyou robert40 and sladeums... Very nice pics robert40!!!!