Todd36

I had lunch there a week before the review---it wasn't bad, some things were pretty good. It is more of a scene place than a food place.

If you're looking for used books via a website, try www.abe.com, it's a good meta site that covers many dealers. Disclaimer---my sister is a used book dealer.

Yasuda is about twice as expensive as say Ushiwakamaru, for sushi that in my opinion isn't as good. Yasuda is also a bit more expensive than Seki, and Seki is also a better sushi place. Yasuda is at least partly about marketing, it has a nice web site, fresh blond wood etc. If you speak Japanese and see Yasuda yell at his staff at they break things down at the end of the night, you'll understand what I mean. Yasuda is a place built for Americans who like a nice atmosphere. It's not bad, but it's expensive for what you get. I also prefer Seki to Gari. Tsuki, on First Avenue near 75th, can turn out some good sushi, if you let the chef choose. It's just a local place, but it did make the NYT $25 and under column a few years back. They have things like live Uni, so it's not quite what it looks from the outside.

I mean that Kurma and I mean Waseda, I can't spell. Komegashi is Chinese, the original ones are in NJ, there is one at Newport for example. Poor review in NY Mag (shows up in Google) and I think worse review somewhere else, in a pretty major publication. It's just a fusion place....not a serious sushi place....perhaps it changed ownership....it's near my office and it was closed for two weeks and then re-opened, although I don't think the menu changed. Nobu is not a good place, it's not a place I would advertise my chefs as coming from. Zagat's notwithstanding.....

Komegashi? That import from NJ on Broadway that is always empty? The one that got a horrid review from some paper, forgot which one? Might not really matter, but its Chinese BTW. People have strong preferences in sushi. I usually eat sushi with a Japanse friend of mine, Tokyo native and Wasada grad. Sushi Seki is good. Not impressed by either Yasuda or Gari-east. Blue Ribbon is not good sushi. Ushiwakamaru on Houston is good, probably better than Seki and its cheaper. I have not eaten in Kurma in a long time, but if budget is no object, most Japansese in NY will say it is the place to go. The sushi at Bar Masa is nothing special and is very overpriced. The fish at Sugiyama is as good as any place, but it's a small part of the meal. Tomoe, another place people talk about quite a bit, is nothing special.

Had dinner there last night on the pre-theater pre-fix, which was $35 a head. It's a good buy, for three courses. I had Quenelles, Short Ribs and a Grand Marnier Souffle ($3 supp) and my friend had the Lobster Bisque, Duck and Warm Chocolate Cake. Food was good, seems to be the same food as the ala carte menu, at a considerable discount. The price of starter plus main on ala carte menu is greater than $35, the three courses ala carte are on the order of $60 (which might be a tad overpriced). At $35, if you want that much food, it's a good value. They also serve that same menu after 10:00. You have to ask for this menu, it's not listed on the regular card, served before 6:30 and after 10:00. Menupages has it at $39, but my card said $35 and that is what we were charged. Coffee runs $2.50 and cappuccino runs $4.00. Wine was a bottle of Chateau des Tours 2004, it's a Brouilly, retails for something like $16, their price $38. Total with tax and tip was just under $150, which is not bad in NY for three French courses for two, with a bottle of decent wine and coffee.

I live near Cafe Lux. Unless it has recently significantly improved, one star is generous. For several years in a row, according to the NYC Dept of Health website, it was cited for a large number of violations for a place in its price point. That, along with the food, made me stop going there.

Was dragged there today by a friend for brunch. Their salmon eggs benedict is quite good actually----the eggs in particular are high qualtity and perectly poached. Not sure about anything else they serve, but salmon eggs benedict is better than any of the usual upper west side places, better than any egg dish at say Sarabeth's.

The Mark is good.

I've seen Tuna collar on menus. In fact, if you run Google, it shows up in a New York Times surburan review of a Hartford Japanese restaurant!!!! It's not some great exotic thing.

Clear and obvious lack of knowledge shown in today's review---fish collar is not an exotic dish in NY Japanese restaurants. The NYT should admit that they have a problem and remove Bruni. They are hurting their reputation badly. The NYT has serious management issues--- e.g. Judith Miller and how well they handled that situation.

I don't think that conclusion squares with what's in the guide itself. Five of the eight restaurants that received two or three stars are French restaurants (ADNY, Bouley, Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin). But these five restaurants tend to dominate most lists of the city's best places to eat, no matter who is doing the judging. And that still leaves three restaurants in the top eight that are not French, including a very rare (by Michelin standards) two-star Japanese restaurant. By my count, seven of the thirty-one single-star restaurants are French, which hardly supports the proposition that "Michelin feels that great food has to be French, or styled like French food." As I mentioned upthread, in the guide overall, the dominant cuisine is (surprisingly) Italian. Indeed, it can be argued that the guide graded French restaurants on a rather harsh curve. Many people were surprised that long-admired French restaurants like Chanterelle, La Grenouille and Montrachet were left unstarred. ← I haven't thought that either Chanterelle or Montrachet were particullary good----had many, many recruiting lunches at Chanterelle over the last five years.

I've liked Danube every time I've eaten there. I think the small size helps.

Jean Georges has house made non-alcholic fruit drinks, they are pretty good and seem quite proud of them.

Another interesting question is why did about half of the NYT three star restaurants merit no stars from Michelin?

You mean Rhodes 24? A couple of members here praised it last year when I was asking about London restaurants. They were particularly fond of the mutton and suet pudding (which didn't sound very appetizing to me - but they set me straight on the issue ). The more important point is that the validity of any guidebook or reviewer (professional or non-professional) can't be judged by whether someone disagrees with a particular restaurant rating (or even a bunch of ratings - since some are harsh graders and some are lenient graders). The only issue is whether the guidebook or the reviewer helps you to make intelligent decisions about where to dine. Which is a function of 1) the nature of the guidebook or the reviewer; and 2) your nature. Some restaurants - and restaurant practices - are controversial. So you have to learn which sources best lead you to the kinds of places *you* like. It's a very personal thing. On my part - whenever I'm making choices about where to dine when I'm on the road - I frequently use multiple sources to make decisions. And even with the best of homework - my experiences run the gamut from homeruns to strikeouts. But sometimes I use a single source. Best example of that is when I tried ADNY because a single voice in the wilderness - the old fatguy.com - said the place was terrific - while the rest of the mainstream press was dissing it. The reaction to the new Michelin guide kind of reminds me of that initial New York press response to ADNY. Robyn ← Rhodes 24 it was. Check out the hotel ratings in Michelin....they are a bit off when compared to conventional wisdom. The Palace must be worried....

This thread is a testament that some people obviously do ← I was talking about their guides to things like "the South of France", where they compete with Frommer's and the like. The main players in that market would seem to be Frommer's, Foder's, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Let's Go. Michelin seems to be a minor player. By the way, the last three are often not bad when it comes to food.

Then the book goes straight into the garbage as far as I am concerned. Nobu and Jewel Bako one star, but zilch for Kurma? Sugiyama as well. Not to mention the six or so other Japanse places in town that almost all of us would agree are better than Jewel Bako or that machine that is Nobu. At least in my humble opinion, Michelin clearly doesn't know Japanese food. I had dinner last month in London, at Tower 24, which is I think Michelin one star. It was fine, but nothing special. The Indoneson Fried Rice I had last night in a very modest London place was better than anything at Tower 24. Note to readers.....new job means I don't have the chance to post so much, but I do fly to London about once a month. Flew back to NY this morning. Another Michelin point is that their area gudebooks are dated and I don't think anyone takes them seriously.

Japanese? Where's Kurma or Sugiyama? Are they even mentioned?

Japanese versions of Korean BBQ are currently becoming popular, Gyu-Kaku in Cooper Square is a recent example. Teppanyaki just doesn't seem to be a NYC thing. My 1968 NYT Restaurant Guide mentions a number of places that served Teppanyaki, all gone. Teppanyaki seems to have turned into "Japanese Steak-House" food, it's all over the south, on the outskirts of places like Charleston and Charlotte. You can also find it in surburban NJ. An interesting old book I have on dining in Tokyo, The Guide to Japanese Food and Restaurants by Marcus and Plimpton, has a chapter on Teppenyaki and lists 6 or so recomended places in Tokyo. The book is from 1984, and has a big testimonal from Craig Claiborne on the cover. It may not be the most classic Japanse cooking, but at least at one time, it existed in Japan.

Opera, symphony orchestas and fine/expensive dining result from local prestige and whether there is money. BSO has has historical ties to Boson's investment banking community and has the social prestige in Boston that the Met Opera has in NYC. The Boston opera to my knowlege never had the same social ties. For that matter, neither does the NY Philharmonic---you could ask what at various times the NY Pharamonic has been unabale to crack the top 5. As a community, Boston probably has less than 10% of the people willing to spend top dining dollars. The entire metropolitan area is at best 20% of New York's, and it doesn't have the investment banking, corporate and law firm jobs that New York has, or the out of town people who either visit NY or who have apartments in NY. Dinner at your average three star in NY can hit $150 per person without difficulty, just order a $90 prix fix, add wine, bottled water and tip. To most people in most parts of the county, that's a lot of money. I grew up in Hartford, and when the local economy took a dive in the early 90's, the first thing to go were all of the upscale restautants. Every single one went out, save for Cavey's in nearby Manchester. You need a lot of money to support fine dining. I'm of course assuming this was an expensive place in Boston that he worked at.....

Zucco: Le French Diner 188 Orchard St., nr. Houston St.; 212-677-5200 It's very small, very informal, no liquor license yet. Prices are reasonable and the food seems pretty good.

Most likely that is Pam's husband. He's in the HVAC business.

I think the license is held by the chef, not by the restaurant. Sugiyama can get if you order it in advance by a few days. I've never had it, but they offered to me once when they had extra. It's not supposed to have much flavor, more of a texture experience. Mr. Sugiyama has a license, I think his chief assistant may have one as well.

This weeks New Yorker has an article about Per Se's new tipping policy.