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Check out this thread for more on the current incarnation of Schwa. Getting a reservation can be a bit "labor intensive", but it's so worth it.

I haven't been to Onesixtyblue in awhile, but I was just at North Pond and it was really really good. If you want to stay really close to your hotel Custom House, Powerhouse and Blackbird are all good spots. Not sure when your trip is, but if it's far enough out you should definitely try for a reservation at Schwa.

Bump. Well, we're back in Boca. Any other or new sushi places near by that are worth checking out. Does anyone have opinions on either Diamatsu or Bluefin?

Seriously, as long as the food tastes good, the swearing is irrelevant. As has been shown on Top Chef again and again, it's the best cook/chef that wins not the nicest guy/gal (which is exactly how it should be).

As a diner, I could care less about whether or not my food has been exposed to profanities in the kitchen. The amount that a cook/chef swears has absoultely zero impact on what I think of them as a cook/chef. As it realtes to Top Chef, the swearing hasn't bothered me one bit.

We went to North Pond last night and my meal was about a million times better than the last time I was there. I came away pretty underwhelmed after my first visit. I suspected that it was because I had ordered poorly because it seems like everyone except me fawns over this restaurant. Well, last night's dinner proved my theory correct. I started with an appetizer of scallop and pork belly. The scallop was perfectly cooked (I use Sweets & Savories as my benchmark for scallops, and this scallop was as good as any I've had there). The pork belly was a small portion, but was an appropriate size so as not to make this an overly rich dish. Both the scallop and the belly were served on a bed of asparagus and farro. Next was a salad of arugula, ricotta and pomegranate. The salad was wrapped with several slices of prosciutto. I don't have much to say about this as the ingredients really spoke for themselves. Very fresh and a nice representation of what North Pond is all about. For my main course I had a lobster and chicken dish. This was half of a very small lobster that had been poached in butter, a cube of skin-on roasted chicken breast, and a small portion of dark meat served in a fricassee of winter vegetables. The whole thing was served with a bacon emulsion. This was a very tasty dish, with the only flaw being the severely oversalted skin on the breast. The star of this plate was definitely the dark meat/vegetable combination. I asked our waitress specifically about this part of the dish and she told me that the vegetables are cooked along with the bacon for the emulsion. No wonder they were so good! Dessert was something called bomboloni, which were kind of like beignets. They were sprinkled with a couple of different types of sugar as well as smoked paprika. The smoked paprika definitely gave them an added depth of flavor over and above your standard desserts. All in all a great meal. I'm glad I was able to go back to see what I was missing the first time around.

Absolutely outstanding dinner at Schwa. One course was a real miss for me (steelhead roe, formerly arctic char row), but everything else was one highlight after another. We are very fortunate to have Schwa back in our lives.

OK, so let's say this is the model going forward... The people who are regulars at Chang's other restaurants continue to get "special" treatment (comped dishes, drinks, whatever). Those who somehow manage to become regulars at Ko (under the reservation system currently in place) continue to get no special treatment with respect to getting seats, but get some extras when they do eat there (extra truffles, an extra course or two). Regulars of other Chang restaurants might also get a little extra love at Ko. I wouldn't have any problem with this as a "civilian" in this situation ("hey, why are they getting stuff I'm not?" I'm a realist, I know that kind of stuff goes on). Heck, I enjoy getting a little something extra at the places where I'm a regular. I would also think this would keep the vast majority of Chang regulars happy. If I were a regular at a restaurant with an EXTREMELY limited seating capacity, I would totally respect an egallitarian reservation policy. Especially in NYC for crying out loud. I mean, I assume there are other places to eat.

So if regulars and VIPs get first dibs, then how are us common folk supposed to eat at a 12 seat restaurant?

They'll call back, they're just unbelievably swamped. It definitely took them more than 3 days to get back to me, but Michael did call and I was able to get a reservation. Just be patient...it'll be worth it.

Going on March 13. So freaking excited.

Mmmm, pork and booze. In for 2 for both Thursday events.

Mmmmm...tastes like words.

The Wife took me to Powerhouse last night for my birthday and we had a fantastic dinner. I sort of inadvertently ordered a very similar meal to the one I had at Takashi a couple of weeks ago, so this turned into a bit of a smackdown. I have to say, I think Powerhouse came out on top. I started with the pork belly. It's gotten to the point where pork belly is starting to become ubiquitous, so there is a greater responsibility on the part of the chef to make this dish really special. At Powerhouse, it's really special. The top of the belly was crisp, and the rest simply melted in my mouth. I can't think of the last time I had pork belly that it actually melted in my mouth (this includes at Blackbird, the home of pork belly). This pork belly dish absolutely destroyed the pork belly I had at Takashi, not even close. The belly was served with two slices of apple, providing the necessary sweet foil, and on top of barley which gave the dish a nice heartiness. The Wife had the bay scallops and Serrano ham which was also awesome. The kitchen was then kind enough to send out two additional appetizers (I think it's because I told our waiter how much the pork belly rocked). One was a mushroom risotto and the other was the roasted chicken thigh. I'm not really a mushroom fan so I just had a bite of the risotto. The risotto itself seemed to be cooked perfectly, and the rest was tasty (especially if you like mushrooms). Luckily the Wife doesn't eat chicken so I got the chicken thigh all to myself. The skin was nicely seasoned and crispy, and the meat was moist and flavorful. I usually don't order chicken in restaurants, but I would definitely consider ordering this when I go back. For my main course I had the duck. The typical sliced breast/confit leg dish, but definitely elevated. The slices of breast were a nice medium-rare, and cut thick enough so you actually knew you were eating duck. The plate also had a few chips of crispy skin. The confit part of the dish is actually served in a cobbler. You get a little cast-iron pot with a beet and duck confit cobbler. I thought this was a really neat take on the confit portion of the program. The beets provided just enough sweetness to go with the duck, but also enough of a savory element to let you know you weren't eating dessert. The Wife had an 18oz. steak, ordered before we knew that there would be a bonus course. The steak was very good (cooked a little under the ordered medium-rare, but that's ok), but let's just say I'm going to be having a nice sized steak for dinner tonight. For dessert we went with the sweet potato donuts, which were just as good as advertised, and a banana/peanut butter thing (I can't remember exactly what it was called). Basically, it was a banana mousse served on top of a peanut butter cookie on top of a milk chocolate sauce. To put it over the top, there was some nice melted marshmallow on the plate to go with it. The banana/peanut butter dessert was comped. Service was fantastic. Our server James (who we've also had at Custom House and Alinea) is a real pro and always does a great job. Prices didn't seem out of line with other comparable restaurants. Total bill for a bottle of wine (about $90), two appetizers, two main courses, and one dessert was $210 after tax but before tip. Had we been charged for the other dessert, it would have added $9. I will definitely be back.

Something about people in glass houses... ← Are you also shocked by the number of doctors who are overweight or who smoke?

Hilarious. So, all the guy does is eat in restaurants. Comfort food (even with shortcuts like Pillsbury (OMG!) dough) is exactly what I would expect to get if he invited me over for dinner. That's what he made, FG said it was awesome. I don't see what the problem is.

I don't know if this is still the case, but the reservation policy (at least the last time I made one) was they started accepting reservations two months out starting on the first day of each month. So, if you call on 3/1, you can make reservations for March, April, and May. 4/1 - April, May, June. etc. Maybe Nick can chime in here...

You can get to Evanston using the El (the venue is pretty close to the Dempster stop on the Purple line), but it's also a pretty easy cab ride if you're staying in the Loop or River North.

In for 2.

Just got back from a really lovely dinner at Old Town Brasserie. The interior of the restaurant is gorgeous, with lots of wood and nice soft lighting. The crowd is a little Viagra Triangle, which had me worried at first, but after tasting the food that was just an afterthought. I started with a selection of three housemade pates: chicken liver, duck and (I believe) something pork-based. All had just the right amount of richness and it was very obvious that a lot of care went into making them. The Wife had a salmon and crab terrine which looked beautiful. I only managed to snag a small bit...her plate was cleaned pretty quickly. For my main course I went with the duo of rack of lamb and Kobe beef. The lamb came in the form of two nice sized chops cooked to an absolutely perfect medium rare. This lamb was nice and lamby (in a good way), rather than just being tasteless generic meat product. The Kobe beef had been braised for 72 hours. It sounds silly and trite, but the best word I can use to describe the beef is "luxurious". It had such a lovely richness, it's just hard to explain here. Go taste it, you'll understand. I also managed to get a taste of the cobia, which was a special tonight. The fish was perfectly cooked, the sauce (didn't get what is was) was nice and light and complimented the fish beautifully. The table also got an order of fries served with a curry aioli...delicious. I had a coconut souffle for dessert which was fantastic and light as a feather (it also didn't hurt that I ordered it with chocolate sauce instead of the default coconut sorbet). Service was professional and efficient. Here's what I like about Old Town Brasserie. It's the type of place that will satisfy many different types of diners. The "foodie" can eat with the "non-foodie" and both will leave satisfied. It's a nice dinner without being fancy, appetizers around $10 and main courses in the $20's. Based on the crowd there tonight and how good the food was, I think this place is going to be around for a loooong time. I will definitely be back.

I guess I'll third or fourth or whatever. TAC Quick gave me some of my first exposure to "real" Thai food and I haven't looked back since. I crave TAC on a regular basis.

Going on Saturday (UE...I'm starting to think I should be charging you for all of this advance scouting ). I'll report back.

I'm thinking we could be in danger of this

It's a small place and on a Friday night when I was there it did get pretty loud. Probably not noticeably louder than other popular, bustling restaurants (but certainly not a place to go if you're looking for intimacy). I had no issues with the service, but that's only based on a single experience so take it for what it's worth.

We went over the summer and really enjoyed it. I thought I had written a recap of our meal over at LTH, but apparantly not. It is a pretty good deal. We did a tasting menu for 3 people and had enough food left over to easily feed a 4th (and maybe even a small 5th). Pastas were outstanding.