ASM NY

I really want to try this one... a bunch of us went a couple of nights ago and surprisingly nobody ordered this one. The already-mentioned "voyage to India" was a huge hit. What a great place... can't wait to go back and try the rest of the menu. I am very curious to see how this place will evolve and how what they offer will change with the seasons.

We checked it out Friday night, and while it definetly has an original tapas bar "feel", much of the fare is not traditional tapas food (with the exception of maybe the tortilla, patatas bravas, and a couple others). That aside, our group of 6 ordered basically everything on the menu, and found it to be excellent overall. For a tapas bar, we found the portions to be very generous. I have not been to Casa Mono, but we have gone to Tintol recently. In food terms I think Tia Pol compares favorably (to be fair, Tintol is Portuguese so there is limited overlap in the actual dishes). Some of the dishes were outstanding, like a mushroom carpaccio and a "gallega" octopus terrine. I did find the wine list significantly more extensive at Tintol. The only remaining comment has to do with the space at this place, it's cramped and a good place to eat at the bar. For a party of 4 or more, it makes sense to call in advance and reserve the only table in the place that accomodates more than 2 people. Doc, it's not really like a pintxos bar, and I don't recall seeing Txocoli on the list, but still very much worth checking out.

Sorry to hear you went through all that. In my opinion, regardless on how good the food may be, poor service, and particular the type of experience you went through just make the meal impossible to enjoy. Especially when they think they can lecture you. Spend your money elsewhere, you will be happier for it.

Exactly... NYC needs more steakhouses

Bruni gives Telepan two stars. Article here. I have walked by the place a couple of times and have been meaning to go. I think $55 for four courses or $65 for five sounds like good value. They should make it a little more obvious that there is this option, as it was not mentioned on the menu posted on the window last time I passed by.

NY Times reporting that 71 Clinton Fresh Food closing down in mid March. Article here.

While I can't call myself a Liebrandt fan (since I have only eaten his food once), I do consider Todd's fishy fish experience inexcusable and I would have made a big stink about it in the restaurant. Same goes for the Tropicana OJ. Regardless of whether people can tell or not that the few drops of OJ in their cocktail is indeed Tropicana from concentrate, at a restaurant with these price points, that is striving to be one of the top restaurants in the city, stuff like this just cannot happen.

NY Metro (NY Magazine) out with a pretty good review of Gilt. Can't seem to find the number of stars that easily in the article, but I guess it got 3 given the comments at the end of the review. NY Magazine Review of GILT

I think it's mostly because like in many other industries, there are a lot of big egos and some people are not the most receptive.

Todd: Do you regret not cancelling your reservation as you originally planned?

I will usually ask the server if it's ok to have a word with the chef, or ask a specific question regarding the preparation of different items. I have found myself talking to the chef when possible/appropriate. Just last night I ate a parmesan cheese marshmallow and I asked the chef how it was made, and he was more than happy to go through the process step by step and give me the recipe. In many high end restaurants (more common in Europe than in the US) the chef walks into the dining room to chat with the customers. I have rarely asked for an actual recipe, but I have not yet been in the situation in which the chef does not wish to disclose how something was prepared. What I would be more interested in finding out from professionals out there is whether chefs see customers wishing to talk to them or ask them questions about the preparation of their dishes as a nuisance. "I prepared your food, you ate it and paid for it". Should that be it as far as chef/patron relationship is concerned?

We made our way over to Hoboken for dinner at Venue last night. Overall we had a very good experience, we were a little worried about earlier comments about the meal taking 4 hours, but we were actually done in roughly 2-2.5 hours, so that seems to no longer be an issue. We basically ordered everything on the menu with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 items (we had two different 7-course tasting menus). Earlier reviews on the food were spot on. While some combinations worked extremely well (eg. cepe soup, tuna maki, sable fish), there were some that just didn't work for us. In my view the restaurant gets high marks for creativity and outstanding presentation, yet this kind of food is not for everybody. I strongly agree with BryanZ's earlier comment that if you are lucky or unlucky with your selections you can end up with either an outstanding meal or a mediocre one. It makes me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea for the restaurant to offer a 17-course tasting menu with much smaller portions (a la Alinea/elBulli). What we kept wondering the whole time during dinner was whether Hoboken is the right place for Venue or if it would do better in NYC. I also am a big fan of WD-50, yet as it was mentioned earlier, the styles and what the food is about in each place are different and am not sure that they would be so much "competition". Tobacco ice cream and carbonated miso are not for everybody, and I think an issue here is whether there are enough paying customers that will go to a place to try something completely different, even though there is a high possibility that some of the things they have, they will not like at all, and whether there are enough of these customers in/around Hoboken or willing to make the trip there for the experience. Overall we found that the trip and the cost ($260 after tax & tip) were well worth it and do plan on returning to sample next season's menu.

Todd36: I am no food critic, and know little about the restaurant business as a business. Even though I had a fantastic experience at Gilt, it's not worth it for me to try to convince you that it's a good place or that it's worth the money, I think you will form your own opinion for yourself tomorrow. Similarly, I would advise you against putting yourself at the hands of a restaurant critic, I think that from reading this thread you have a good idea of what the restaurant is about and what kind of food to expect. I think $100-$200 pp meal is a lot of money. But it has little to do in my opinion on the "volume" of the food brought out, and what the rent of the place is. It has more to do on whether the restaurant can deliver a fine dining "experience". I look forward to hearing how it went...

I've become intrigued about this place over the last couple of days since I first read about it in another thread. I am amazed that I hadn't hear about it before. I actually just changed my dinner plans for Friday to check this place out. Will have a report soon after...

Disappointed to see only two stars, but not at all surprised given his earlier mentions on the place. It struck me that he didn't like the fact that they bring so many amuses. I liked being served 8 very small dishes to begin the meal. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I do think it's a little overwhelming that they bring so many of these at the same time and crowd the table. Regarding his mention of "too many ingredients", I personally think that is one of the things that makes this place good. These are generally elaborate preparations, not too many ingredients, but the use of ingredients in interesting combinations. I didn't have the same menu he did, but I found that the dishes we were served tasted best as a sum of their parts, not as individual elements that were in the plate.

I am glad to read about this, as I have been sold on the "creative cuisine" idea of this restaurant. I am still very much looking forward to dinner there but this helps manage expectations a bit.

I am hoping it gets 3 stars or better (unlikely), but I am going to be a contrarian and bet on 2 stars.

I too am willing to give Alex the benefit of the doubt and check out his place. I think he's earned his stripes. And I hope that it does well. I think we need more creative cuisine in NYC.

A few things: - I think that more relevant than the neighborhood itself is the fact that the restaurant is in the New York Palace hotel. I got a sense that more than a fair share of the tables were guests of the hotel (at least both tables next to us), and a good share of the customers were an older crowd (60s). I think it's almost a necessity for them to have a more "classic" option for the patrons of the hotel. - The tasting menu was not printed and we were not told what was in it, we were just told to highlight any things we might be alergic to or might not like. - The supplements for a few items on the menu were still there.

I also think that this is in my list of new places to try. I do think however, that it takes more than being an elBulli graduate to make it these days. La Broche in Miami did very poorly.

Just came back from my birthday dinner at GILT. First impressions: the place is small. 15 tables, when we arrived at 7pm we were only one of four tables that actually had people sitting having dinner. By the time we left (10:30) there was a full house. Given the number of courses that are served at any given moment in time, I did notice the staff sometimes having a bit of a hard time "manouvering" around the tables. When we walked in, the average age in the room dropped by 20 years. The service was solid. Very helpful, very friendly, a little more formal than it needed, but overall no complaints there. The menu. Split into two: Classical and Modern. The classic, to give some additional options to the older customers that might not be feeling so adventurous. Overall I did get a sense that there is some restraint in the chef's creativity and what he would ideally like to serve, as if NYC may not be ready for it. Three course menu: $92, tasting menu $135. (everyone gets the canapes, amuses, petitfours and chocolates) Quick note on the food: We had the tasting menu, and they were extremely flexible in making substitutions and letting you mention items that you may not like. My wife had to constantly remind me to try to put many of the different elements of each dish on the fork before eating. In this place it makes a huge difference, and this is where I see some real genius in the chef's cooking. The combination of flavors just exploded in your mouth. CANAPES - Beet Crocant with vinegar salt - I was a little bit disappointed to see this item brought to the table since we tried this exact item at ElBulli 2 years ago, and it's straight out of their 2003/2004 cookbook. It's delicious, but not an original. - Passionfruit/Saffron Marshmallow with Chorizo powder. This was outstanding, it wasn't sweet at all and the flavors contrasted well. - Arugula financier with Stilton and walnut chutney. Delicious as well. Very light. - Oreo cookie. The "cookie" was made with squid ink, the filling was caramelized onion. AMUSES (they bring all of these at once, and in my opinion, it crowded the table. It makes very little point to bring them all at once, it hurries the meal a little bit, and it becomes difficult to switch from one dish to the next) - Jerusalem Artichoke Foam: Served in a small cup. Very light, a little salty, there was grapefruit and fennel at the bottom. Very tasty. - Shrimp: Served raw, with a crunchy green peppercorn disk. This was "ok", wasn't crazy about it. - Rabbit/Chicken Terrine - Very tasty, quite smoky flavor. - Sea Urchin Custard - I have never been a huge sea urchin fan, but the texture and flavor were sublte and delicious. DISHES - Oysters: A trio of oysters with a slice of black truffle, covered with lemon foam. The flavor from the truffle had a hard time coming through. It came with a side of a "sandwich" of foie gras, cheese, apple and truffle. - Kampachi Sashimi: It came with rhubarb, an olive oil sorbet, piquillo pepper sauce and sprinkled with pink salt. The combination of all of these together was really something else. - Diver Scallops: Served over small pieces of cauliflower and covered with a lobster roe biscuit and with a caper/berry sauce on the side. The biscuit was very sublte and crunchy, and all of it combined with the sauce was outstanding. - Dover Sole: covered with a sliver or Comte cheese, with chanterelles, leeks with a dijon/tarragon sauce (foamy). This also came with a small side of peruvian potatoes (tiny!) with duck. - Apple/Wasabi sorbet with lemongrass powder and Manni olive oil. Small dish to cleanse palate. - Pine-smoked Venison Tenderloin: It came served over sweet potato and covered with small soufleed potatoes. It came with a foie gras/peking duck sauce (could only taste the foie gras). DESSERTS - Lemon "Bomb": A very light lemon mousse with champagne sorbet and crunchy lemon "drops". - Tangerines: Tangerines with tangerine gelee, lychee sorbet and crunchy tangerine chocolate drops. - Begniets/Parfait: 3 Chocolate Beignets, peanut butter parfait with almond crust and caramelized fleur de sel. This was the only major let down of the evening. The beignets were tasty, but the parfait was just too big and it was as if someone had just poured 1/2 jar of jiffy on the plate. - Warm Tangerine/Chocolate Cake: The cake was good, but not overly original, but when combined with the pepper reduction and the chile ancho parfait it was a very good combination. PETIT FOURS - Pistacchio financier - Casis drop (very good) - Mini lemon merengue - Passion fruit/coconut CHOCOLATES (I usually pay little attention to these, but these in particular were off the charts, it was as if you were biting into a coffee bean or a mint leave, very difficult to describe, just make sure to try them if you go). The ones that I thought were great: - Earl Gray with matcha powder - Coffee - Mint In conclusion, after reading many of the comments in this forum I came in with very high expectations and the restaurant did not disappoint. I totally see myself returning. When comparing it to meals in Per Se, I would say that even though the place is not as fancy or the service as polished, the food is as well executed. The food is certainly more creative and "fun" and would probably take a dinner over Per Se (independently of the price, which is considerably less).

I am getting a mandoline for my birthday but am unsure which brand to get. I currently own a "less expensive" model which I have been very unhappy with, so I feel like it's worth dishing out a little more cash for a higher quality brand. Any thoughts?

I just got the book which I ordered straight from the website. It's very bare-bones and I was concerned that the order had not gone through, especially since I am in a different country. All said and done, the transaction went smoothly, and I got the book in a very timely manner. The books themselves are awesome. They have a lot more information and pictures about technique and their more recent styles. I found the 2003 book to be more interesting and accessible, as the 2004 is very heavy on the liquid nitrogen, which for the avid home cook is still not very attainable. The CD ROM is also somewhat improved, making it easier to navigate between recipes without having to hit the "Back" button all the time.

I have used the MinoSharp for some time. It does a decent job in bringing back the sharpness in the Globals, but in my experience, the knives lose their edge rapidly. One drawback is that you have to be very careful with the use of this sharpener, it's very easy to "scratch" your kives. You may get a 1/4 inch scratch along both sides of the blade when the wheel comes in contact with that part of the knife.

Nightscotsman's marshmallows. His recipe was posted in 2004. But I made it this year. They were fantastic.