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It was a 2001 Salvestrin Cabernet. ← I hadn't heard of these folks. looked em up--they are old grape growers who sold to wine makers like Rombauer, Raymond, Biale, Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. make their own wine since 1994. The 2001 retails around NJ for $40-$50 a bottle. I would not be so suprised if their 2001 cabernet had a bit of sediment. I would be very suprised to find any of it in my glass after a supposed professional decanted the wine. again--the primary purpose of decanting (by any method) is to separate out any sedimant in the wine and secondarily to aerate the wine. (there's no debate as to the first purpose and some debate as to the efficacy of the second purpose). As a chef/poster noted earlier--It would have been a good idea to bring the problem to the attention of the restaurant. if they are serving fine wines and want to be "known" for their wine service this would certainly help them out. By the way dropping a note would be a good idea (it might also get you comped for dinner or maybe a free bottle of wine next time you are there!). By the way--how was the wine before you encountered the sediment? ← It was very good. It was exactly what I asked for. I don't normally drink Cabs and sought one which was approachable and was not too tannic. It had a nice finish and went well with my rib eye. Thanks for asking.

Mark - Sorry about your experience. I enjoyed the one time I dined there over the Summer. With so many choices out there, I completely understand your intention not to retry so soon. It just goes to show how first impressions are so important.

It was a 2001 Salvestrin Cabernet.

Katie - I'm not sure if it was just aerated or poured through a mesh funnel. The cab was a 2001 vintage. It was decanted away from the table and brought back in a small decanter. The restaurant is well known for its wine service so I was quite surprised.

During a recent meal at a well known NJ restaurant (which shall remain nameless) I ordered a fairly expensive California cabernet. Due to the wine's age the bottle was decanted and then served. There were no issues with the wine itself however upon tasting the final mouthful I encountered quite a bit of sediment in my glass. One of my guests also commented of the same experience. While I did comment to the captain that I was disappointed with the decanting of the wine, no apologies were given. Was I wrong to be upset or is some sediment (in this case quite a bit) acceptable? I'm left in a bit of a quandary as I frequent the restaurant and don't wish to embarrass myself. I would appreciate any advice.

Not on this trip, but make sure you watch the Pacific Northwest episode of No Reservations. I think it airs Jan. 22nd. ← Henry and Lorna - I got a chance to catch No Reservations last night and I have a few questions: 1. How do I get an invite to one of those Gypsy Dinners? 2. Who was that Chef and where does he normally cook? 3. Was that your house? 4. What was the "donation" per person for that Dinner? 5. Is that a typical menu for a Gypsy Dinner or was this kicked up a bit for Bourdain? 6. How was AB off camera? Same persona? 7. Can I have your autographs? ← 1. Here's a link to the site: Gypsy They supposedly make you write an essay to get in, but if you already know a member, you're in. 2. Chef Gabriel is CIA educated. I'm not sure where he used to cook, but he now runs a cooking school called Culinary Communion. 3. The house belongs to some friends of ours. Robbie and Louis who were sitting at the end of the table with us. The house was designed by a firm I used to work for called Stuart Silk Architects. 4. Donations vary per dinner. They range from $35 to $150 plus tip. This particular dinner was free for us. We happen to be friends with the person that did PR for Gypsy (Traca, "would kill for a diver scallop.") When NR and Gypsy were looking for a nice house with a view of the lake, gourmet kitchen, and gorgeous dining room; Traca asked me if I knew of a good fit. I said I knew of the perfect house. This was not an ordinary Gypsy. All the guests were invited. There was us, the couple that owned the house, Traca, a Seattle food writer, and some friends of Tony's in the restaurant business. Gabriel recreated the menu for a dinner a few weeks later that he charged $200 (I think) for. 5. I've only been to a handful of Gypsy events, but this one was much more ambitious than usual. 6. AB is exactly the same person on and off camera. 7. Sure Tony mentioned that at most dinner parties, he goes around the table with the same question, "You are going to die a horrible death tomorrow morning; what would your final meal tonight be?" We circle the table hearing stock answers of steak, foie gras, mac and cheese. My answer was my mom's ma puo tofu. When we get to Lorna, she excitedly shouts, "A KILOGRAM OF AMEDEI PORCELANA CHOCOLATE!" That's where her subtitle came from. Side note, We also got an invite to the Salumi lunch in the last segment, but Lorna and I were flying to LA that day. Shucks! ← Henry - Thanks for the detailed response. It adds just a little bit more to a great episode of No Reservations. I would love to have had a chance to meet AB in such an environment. It looked like you missed a great lunch at Salumi - but just how lucky can two people be? I've never heard of Amedei Chocolate but if its the last thing Lorna would eat, I'm sure its great. I've noticed that you can get the Porcelana bars at Amazon, so I'm sure to order a couple (but not two pounds - sorry Lorna). My regards.

Not on this trip, but make sure you watch the Pacific Northwest episode of No Reservations. I think it airs Jan. 22nd. ← Henry and Lorna - I got a chance to catch No Reservations last night and I have a few questions: 1. How do I get an invite to one of those Gypsy Dinners? 2. Who was that Chef and where does he normally cook? 3. Was that your house? 4. What was the "donation" per person for that Dinner? 5. Is that a typical menu for a Gypsy Dinner or was this kicked up a bit for Bourdain? 6. How was AB off camera? Same persona? 7. Can I have your autographs?

Mouton is sending me the material to repack the bottles along with prepaid shipping. I agree. Quite the good deal. BTW, I put two and two together while reading your recent post on the 75 Palmer. Thanks for your reply.

The mold on the outside of the cork is harmless. Just wipe away. It is possible your bottles were heat damaged but if you kept them in closets and the temperature didn't get much higher than low 70s, they may not be damaged but just advanced. A musty smell is not necessarily a sign of heat damage. A sticky wine residue under the capsule is one sign of heat damage. Another sign would be if the color of the wine is brownish and dull looking. And finally if when you taste it, the wine lacks fruit and is dull and tasteless then it is most likely heat damaged. I have not had the '87 Mouton but the vintage itself was not very good and quite backward. I would try decanting the next bottle for an hour+ or doing a double decant a few hours before you take it to the restaurant. The mustiness might dissipate. I would be very interested in finding out the results of your next bottle if you do decide to decant. I also would not waste my money on buying any product that claims to restore corked wine. It's not going to happen. I've been to Blu once recently and I was not overwhelmed. Some dishes were very good but they had a very heavy hand with the salt on others. This was a pretty busy Saturday night. I need to try it again on a slower weeknight. I did think the service was excellent even though it was very busy. The waitress did an excellent job of opening and decanting my 1975 Chateau Palmer. I am usually afraid to give waitstaff older bottles of wine as the corks can be fragile. She was gentle and took her time even though the place was hopping. Best, Paul ← Paul - Thanks for the reply and the advice. Its interesting that you replied to my post as I was meaning to update it. I decided to take a shot and email Mouton about my situation. Suprisingly I received an email back offering to accept my remaining bottles and substitute them as well as the "corked" ones for a different vintage (I believe 99). Excellent customer service if you ask me. The 75 Palmer sounds nice. What do you think of these three wines I'm bringing to Blu: a 2005 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah, a 2004 Hermann Donnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese (a favorite of mine from Nicholas), and a Jorge Ordoñez #1 Seleccion Especial Malaga. I loved the Tensley and the Ordoñez at a recent tasting. BTW, you wouldn't happen to be PMJ on CellarTracker?

FaxMachineAnthem - Good first post and welcome to the board. I agree Blu is the best. I have a reservation in a few weeks and can't wait to return. I have my wines all lined up and ready to go. I too also wish they updated their online menu. Any changes you can remember? Again welcome.

Is Tao another option? Seems much more convenient than Buddakan.

Congrats Lori. A well deserved honor. Kudos to your husband too for designing such a beautiful and romantic space. Much continued success.

I know I posted a review. Here it is: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...aded&show=&st=&

I generally didn't mind, however in this case it sort of mislead me. I can understand a little "culinary liberty" however when you advertise chicken soup it shouldn't be Tom Yum. In rereading my post it may come across that I'm being too hyper critcal of Perry Street and that I didn't enjoy my meal. Please know that I did however I had higher expectations considering other JG dining experiences as well as Bruni's 3 star review.

Here is my report on Perry Street. The afternoon didn't start off too well as we left the house late (those darn kids) and decided to take the PATH in from Journal Square which added even more of a delay. We called the restaurant and they were very understanding. We had a 1 PM reservation and arrived sometime after 1:30 PM - thankfully the walk from the Christopher Street PATH Station was quite fast. We arrived at the restaurant to find it half empty. Notwithstanding same, we were seated in the back as the Hostess wished to give people "some room". While I initially objected my wife was happy with the location and we decided to stay put. We were presented with both the menu and a cocktail list. While some of the wines looked interesting, we decided to just drink water and soft drinks. My wife had diet coke while I had the homemade sodas. I first tried the cherry/yuzu (excellent) and then the lemon/thyme (okay but not great). After reviewing the menu we decided to order an extra course each for a total of four courses. Our choices were as follows: Her - Frisee salad with goat cheese, tuna rolled in rice flakes, tuna burger and the chocolate pudding. Me - Chicken Soup, Red Snapper with 2 types of potatoes in a truffle sauce, beef with chanterelle mushrooms and a ravioli of some sort, and a white chocolate mousse with meringue napoleon with a yuzu sauce (the only other dessert available). Let me start off by saying that all the food was solid. That being said, I wasn't blown away or terribly impressed by any of the food except for the tuna and rice dish and my mousse dessert. I have to add that what truly makes the meal is the food/value ratio. As other posters have noted, you can't beat the price for the meal. A few individual comments on the dishes. The salad was good however it was way over dressed. Something a bit unexpected in a JG establishment (the perfectionist that he is). The chicken soup was a bit disappointing. I was expecting something more considering the write up it had received. Here I am bit critical on the lack of description on the menu. While I was expecting a homey classic preparation instead I was presented with a Tom Yum Goong soup. Something I would have expected at Vong not here. It was good none the less but it was not what I was looking for at that time. Another nit pick is the service. They take the trouble to bring out the dishes on a beautiful silver platter, but place the platter well out of the way so you don't see it being delivered. Our server constantly was having difficulty locating her tray stand and would deliver only one dish at a time (with a bit of a delay between serving both dishes of the course). Another faux pas was the delivery of the soup without a soup spoon. I waited at least 3 minutes before getting my waiters attention. My waiter did apologize and didn't miss a beat with other utensils thereafter. BTW, the amuse was a very nice sun choke soup with a tiny but very fragrant truffle shaved on top and there were no after dinner chocolates nor petit fours. Again, all in all a very solid meal and I would have no hesitation recommending it to friends. However, I don't think I will go out of my way to do so nor am I inclined to return. After the meal we walked around the village a bit and made our way down to Jacques Torres. We ordered a couple of his classic hot chocolates along with a giant chocolate cookie and a small box of chocolates. The cocoa was very rich and I found it quite enjoyable. My wife on the other hand couldn't take more than a little bit. The cookie was fabulous - one of the best I have ever eaten. The chocolates on the other hand were not all I thought they would be. But for a delicious few (the caramel and the PBJ) the rest we had were mediocre at best (cappuccino, milk, passion fruit, hazelnut). Maybe its the luck of the draw and we didn't choose right. We then made it uptown to check out the tree and see if we could score some show tickets at TKTS (bad idea as Rockefeller Center was mobbed and the wife spent too much money on cosmetics at Saks ). Nothing good was available so we decided to try our luck at Nobu 57. The wife and I are big Nobu fans and we haven’t had a chance to try this one. The place was a zoo. After a bit of persistence we were able to nab a lounge table after about 15 mins. The people watching alone made the night. Really classic uptown crowd - very fun to watch. We had our old stand bys (couldn't understand the reason for the limited lounge menu but most of our usual items were on the list). We had the lobster salad, the rock shrimp tempura w/ponzu, the white fish tiradito, toro tartare w/ caviar, and a couple of spicy tuna rolls (very pricey but worth it). Everything was perfect as usual. Before we left we decided to check out the upstairs dining room. What a beautiful room. We definitely want to come back. Thanks to all of you for your great advice. We had a lovely day. Happy New Year.

The space is double or triple the size of the old one, though I still prefer to sit on the more "happening" bar side, rather than in the more ordinary (and surprisingly, sometimes louder) dining room. And yes, their reservation policy has gotten a lot more accommodating since moving into the larger space, but waits without reservations can still top an hour. Don't miss the fantastic homemade fire roasted salsa (if you can stand a whole lot of heat) or the best margaritas around, which are made with only fresh juices. ← I finally got the chance to dine at Copper Canyon on Saturday night. The restaurant was unusually half empty when we arrived which added to the enjoyment of our evening. Interestingly, Bobo's was closed that night. Anyway, I found the decor to be very nice and and I really enjoyed the comfortable high back leather chairs. With regard to the food, our dinner party ordered as follows: APPS 1. Chips with salsa and guacamole - the chips, salsa and guac were excellent and freshly prepared. 2. Baked Brie with garlic - an appetizer recommended by friends. Truly exceptional. 3. Southwestern spring rolls - recommended by the server - okay but nothing too special. 4. A salad of some sort with grilled shrimp - I didn't get a chance to try it so can't comment 5. Tuna Carpaccio - passable - nothing special ENTREES 1. Sesame crusted Tuna - Pretty good - nothing earth shattering but solid 2. NY Strip Steak with Fries - Didn't sound too exciting on the menu but came highly recommended. Very very good. Top notch french fries. 3. Crab Cakes - Okay - again nothing special. 4. Grilled Shrimp w/ mango sauce - quite good. DESSERT 1. Chocolate ganache cake - very nice and chocolatey. Satisfied my sweet tooth. All in all a very good meal. I would not hesitate to return. BTW, the margaritas were good but not great. I asked for more lime juice on my second and it was much better.

Bryan - Thanks for the clarification. I'm not trying to prejudge and keep an open mind. I've dined in many of JG restaurants including Lafayette, JG, Vong, and Jo Jo so I'm not foreign to his cooking style.

Okay - based solely on the recommendations of this board I booked for lunch at Perry Street. I've got to say however that I'm not going into this too excited. The menu doesn't really do it for me and the idea of JG "light" doesn't make me want to dine there (I'm not a light kind of guy - especially for a special dining experience). However, you guys are rarely wrong so I will place my dining fate in your hands. The $24 lunch special does sound like a great deal. We will probably add a fourth course for the extra $12. Any must haves on the menu? Thanks to all for the advice. I will report back on the experience. BTW, are there any no miss places in the area for the wife and I to check out while walking off lunch?

Thanks Ling .... another excuse for my wife to do even more shopping.

I generally agree about the food at Carmines, however, it offers something that I have been unable to find anywhere else - a fun and festive atmosphere were the food is served family style. We have done this dinner several years now at Carmines and every year they want to go back. Who am I to argue - its their gift. I have to admit though that the exeperience is kind of fun. We have never been let down.

Your probably right. We intended to stay in Midtown so I guess the cab ride would not be that bad.

The general comment is the place looks to serious and not fun enough. Furthermore, I don't think they are into the "cocktail" thing. By way of further example, the general consensus for dinner is Carmines. See the trend? Entertainment for the night is Caroline's on Broadway with Charlie Murphy currently scheduled to appear (pretty funny if you ask me). Buddakan or Spice Market sound good to me.

As our Christmas present to our staff (approx 15) we are taking them on a "Night in the City" in February. We have the restaurant and entertainment but need a place to go afterwards for a few drinks. I mentioned Pegu to a bunch of my employees and showed them the website but they were generally not impressed. By way of background, we did the touristy bar at the top of the Marquis last year. Any other ideas? Thanks. BTW, I'm sorry if this is a bit off topic.

We miss Dennis in New Jersey. He had a little storefront in Pt. Pleasant were you would find him alone in the open kitchen cooking for you. I guess we knew it was only time before he want back to the city. Our loss is your gain. Please let me know how his new place is.

Perry Street sounds like it would be the ticket if it wasn't so out of the way. Is there is a second tier of restaurants (good food and casual) that is more centrally located?