BryanZ
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Posts posted by BryanZ
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This seems more publicity stunt by Platt and NYM than a real measured review.
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Dispatches from the Ippudo front from some friends of mine who went this Saturday:
6:05pm: The place is adorable! The manager has been standing outsidegreeting customers. There is a little bar area (Sapporo on tap), and
all kinds of ramen bowls on the wall behind the bar. There are cute
Japanese women who take down our names. The wait is 1 hour.
6:15pm: We are starving, and we find a street fair one block away, so
we want to get $1 Thai Food (our favorite booth). The Thai food
place is closed, so we get a corn dog and mozarella sticks. It was not
horrible, but cost is $11. Ugh.
6:30pm: We return to Ippudo to wait. In the meantime, the wait is now
one hour and a half. Cute Japanese woman tells customers that there
were 100 people waiting in line before the place even opened. Many
people walking in are turned off because they don't understand what the
big deal is. Most of these look like unwordly-white people who just
don't get it. We realize we are grossly outnumbered by Japanese
people. Cool!
6:45?: We actually get seated sooner than we expected. The guy who
seats us is wearing those wooden flip-flops! The place is gorgeous! It
is small, but cozy, and you feel like you are transported to Japan,
because they are all yelling these things in Japanese like every 3
minutes, and its just awesome.
Food: The Ramen is to die for. The soup was so good! We got the Ippudo
Ramen and another with some special sauce. I don't remember the
names, but it was SO good. Seriously, we will be back, even if we have
to stand in line for hours.
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The sea urchin primo is pretty killer, if a bit rich.
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I was on Bravo this morning- Is Padma writing her own blogs drunk or high? Is no one editing her writing....I don't remember her blogs from last season being quite so ill written.
The written blog is simply a literal transcript of her video blog, hence the somewhat strange delivery. Can't fault her for that.
All in all, a very classy episode. Good looking food. It was unfortunate to see Manuel go when he's probably more talented than a good number of the remaining cheftestatnts. And Blais continues to be a baller.
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Is it mainly white folks or Japanese or other Asian types?
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No, she's at the Plaza now, I believe.
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Is it too much of a stretch to say that the soubise onions are at all distantly related to French onion dip, like the really shitty Americana kind?
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Obviously Restaurant Liebrandt. Brushstrokes sounds interesting too.
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I think obvious (too obvious?) answer is Robert's. Not sure if it's fallen off since Adam Perry Lang left, but I feel like it's an only in NYC experience.
You could go pretty wild at Ssam bar for $120/person. Definitely do the bo ssam and order pretty much the entire menu. They can fit you in the back.
A bit classier would be like Craftsteak or something. Doesn't look like you're looking for fine-dining, so that knocks out a lot of contenders and otherwise board favorites.
With that budget you should be able to have a pretty solid time.
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Obviously I love Jujube for a variety of reasons. I've never actually eaten a normal meal in the dining room, always at the pass or for a special event, but the service I've had has always struck me as particularly friendly. I will agree though that I have had soupy dishes there that have been literally scaldingly hot.
Still, one of the most exciting restaurants in the area without question.
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If you two are both male you might have some trouble getting into some places at peak times. You might want to bring a female along to increase your chances of entrance.
That is almost completely false with reference to serious cocktail bars in NY. Seriously. You have no clue what you are talking about.
Classic.
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Fiamma is like a minute or two away, and that might placate your friends. I liked Tailor more, but Fiamma is a solid spot. I've done both back to back.
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Some friends went several months ago before I could dissuade them. They were uniformly underwhelmed.
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People are all about the wagyu with escolar. Not sure if that's still on the menu too.
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Spoony, since you worked at Santoka, which do you think is the best in the area? Will Ippudo reign supreme?
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Opening 9:45 tonight, 1 or 2 people.
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A logistical question for those who have been. Does one cook take care of a set number of diners, making all of the dishes, as in at a sushi bar, or is the kitchen organized in a more traditional fashion with different stations responsible for various parts of each dish?
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I'd argue that Chang wass probably aiming for two stars as his floor. Much as he probably expected one star for Ssam Bar--I believe he said this in Eater or something--he probably expects two as the minimum at Ko. Three would seem to be the best case for Chang (and certainly within the realm of possible), as I really can't imagine it receiving four. This place doesn't seem to be better than Robuchon, and Bruni probably won't award four stars taking price alone into account.
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Perhaps more poignantly, it's not like you got a vodka and soda.
I was tempted to drive up to NYC this weekend to meet another Brownie for a meal at Ko, but unfortunately I have to cook. Oh well. By the way, our campus food smokes yours, no offense.
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People seems to be confusing Spike and Andrew. They look and behave similarly. Spike was wearing the hat. Andrew had the "trouble" with the mayo.
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I like Andrew, Dale, and obviously Blais is pretty damn sweet, repping for both Team Modern and Team South.
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Having never eaten at Ko, Schwa, or TKC @ Beacon but having seen lots of pictures, I'm going to go out there and say that Beacon's food just doesn't seem as interesting and doesn't necessarily warrant the press that Ko and Schwa do based on looks alone. Lots of cities have something like Beacon where you can sit at the chef's table/pass/counter and get a custom tasting menu or whatever.
Minibar, Schwa, and Ko are on another level entirely when it comes to the creativity/weirdness of food and the notoriety of the chef.
Even after seeing all the pictures, I'll be honest, I'm not going to go out of my way to visit TKC. The other restaurants I mentioned, however, are at or very near the top of my dining list.
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Where the hell is JG?
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So with all due respect to NC barbecue, it's nothing like the likes of RUB, Daisy May, or Hill Country. Different beasts.
I still really like Seta and Shake Shack. Haven't been to the former in a while, but I really don't buy a lot of the food board talk that dictates a place has gone "down hill" when a few lukewarm reports have come in. That's just me.
With that said, Katz's is by far the best recommendation--you must get pastrami, nothing else. Paired with a slice of pizza, a bagel, and some smoked fish you've got NYC culture right there.
And how the hell did you meet Tien? You should've tried to score a reso at Ko.
Momofuku Ko (Part 1)
in New York: Dining
Posted
For a major critic to weigh in with four stars after just one visit seems a bit absurd. I'm not saying it's not deserving, but it seems like Platt and NYM are just trying to the "the first" to weigh in on this hot new restaurant. It also seems like an inadvertent slight to Bruni who has (jokingly) said he won't get to review the place until 2009 or 2010. This seems like a "well look at how on the ball we are" jab.
The review itself is fine, it's just how it was done and the context that it's being done in.