babern38

Hello, My wife and I are going to Paris the first week of December and looking for some advice on choosing 2-3 upscale michelin 2-3 star meals. There are so many to choose from and we would like some recommendations that may include both very excellent traditional french as well as very modern cuisine. We have not been to Paris in many years. Any thoughts on any of the numerous alain ducasse places? guy savoy? L'arpege? L'ambroisie? Le Cinq? to name a few I'd been looking at. is the alain ducasse restaurant in the eiffel tower too touristy? the view looks spectacular but not sure about the quality of the menu. we are also open to lunch suggestions. thanks.

I'm very excited about going to EMP for dinner this saturday. I have seen the video of them using hot tongs to open wine bottles on youtube and I was wondering if they do this for all wine bottles ordered or just special bottles. Thanks

I've eaten at B&B two times in the past 4-5 years and always had a good meal. I like Babbo, and thought the food was just as good (even some same dishes) and the atmosphere is better without the louder rock music atmosphere.

So, I realize these two restaurants are completely different, but I've come across them a few times and despite varying reviews I feel compelled to try them. I have yet to meet anyone with personal experience at either of these places and was hoping someone here might shed a little light and opinion. Russian food is something I've always enjoyed but probably only seek out once a year. While Russian Tea Room has a fond place in my heart, the touristy nature of it and other places like Firebird make them less appealing. Some of the pictures of the food at 21 grams looked wonderful and I like the pictures of the resaurant's esthetic. Some of the sushi roll combinations seem inventive and unique to me. i.e. everything bagel I look forward to any suggestions or comments.

I am utterly crestfallen at the news that Adour has closed and Gilt will be closing this Saturday. These were two of our favorite restaurants where we've had some memorable experiences. We ate at Gilt the night we got engaged and were later married at the Palace. Apparently Michael Richard is the new chef taking over the space. While info is pretty scarce right now it seems like they plan on keeping the Gilt dining room more formal and modern while putting a more casual bistro in the Villard room next door that was primarily a private event space. I absolutely love the decor of the dining room at Gilt. I've seen pictures from when Le cirque was there and notice they didn't change the mural or wood work, etc. Does anyone know if they can't because of some historical protection given the location as the archiodese residence?

I think the Stage Deli was probably the first place my parents took me to when visiting new york for the first time at age 8. I remember the sandwich as big as my head. Now I live in the city and its sad to see it go. Wish I ha known it was closing so I could have gone one more time and paid my respects.

My wife and I had our first trip to Jungsik this Saturday and had an amazing meal. The 7+course tasting menu was fantastically conceived in progression, ingredients, and flavors. I feel they had an excellent balance of french and korean influences with a keen eye for presentation. A standout dish was the sea urchin served with crispy quinoa and squid ink rice with shredded cabbage and I think tomatoes if I recall. My wife nailed the description of both the presentation invoking that of taco salad as well as the flavors echoing that dish but with the seawater taste of uni instead of ground beef. I rarely find myself enjoying Uni, but the uniqueness and new but familiar idea of this dish made it a winner. I also must give praise to one of the most tender and well prepared pieces of wagyu I've ever had. I've always wanted to like Kimchi, but there is something about the bitter/pungentness that prevents my true enjoyment of it. I wonder now if it has something to do with the cabbage, because the plate was sauced with the brilliant red kimchi sauch around the wagyu adding wonderful contrast and spicy flavor to the mouthwatering beef. Service was also extremely friendly, making sure to congratulate us on our anniversary in both person, as well as the custom printed menu and plating of a dessert course. Our only real marginal/negative comment would be that the dining room itself, while very clean and minimalist, was a bit cold and could greatly benefit from one or two pieces of wall art. I have not heard much about Jungsik from my foodie friends or on message boards, but given our wonderful experience felt it necessary to encourage those looking for a new fine dining experience to check it out. I struggle to think of any other korean based restaurant anywhere near this level.

I like German/Austrian food, but find myself eating it only a few times a year. One reason for this is probably the relatively few (at least that I know of) restaurants in the city serving such fare. I've really enjoyed every meal I've had at Wallse, Heidelberg, Currywurst, and Seasonal weinbar. I actually just visited Heidelberg for the first time a few weeks ago and am sad I hadn't gone sooner. The Rouladen was exceptional. I was hoping people may offer a few other suggestions of this relatively sparse ethnic cuisine so that I can up my frequency.

I just learned about the "secret/private" restaurant Bohemian. I searched through the forum and found no threads or mention of it. I was wondering if anyone here has been and what they thought of the experience. Any hints on how to get a res?

I'm glad to hear the recent positive review above. I was a fan of Liebrandt' food when he was at gilt but must say I was rather disappointed in my only visit to corton several years ago. I was wondering what other people have experienced lately and if its time for another try.

do you or anyone else have any info regarding his next business venture?

I'm sad to admit that last friday I had one of the least pleasurable "fine dining" experiences ever at Graham Elliot. I've had the pleasure of eating chef Bowles' food at Avenues and a few years ago at Graham Elliot, so I was greatly looking forward to my return visit with my family. We did the chef's tasting ~15 courses. Honestly, I can't remember a single stand out dish. If I had to pick a color to describe the overall feel, taste, and color palette used during this meal I'd have to go with beige....or gray. I'm often a positive person and can find some good in most things, but am really struggling here to describe this meal. All the typical ingredients of a large format tasting were there (caviar, foie, wagyu) but simply displayed poorly. The presentations were all very similar and uninspired. Most were brought out on the same large plate and the course plated on the plate edge/rim leaving a broad, open canvas of white/beige plate. Unique for one or two courses, but not 5-6. Also there was an average of 10-15 minutes between courses. We had explained that we only had about 3.5 hours to eat and were repeatedly told by our waiter that he was pushing the kitchen. In the end the meal took about 4 hours. One dish, featuring some meat or mushroom on the plates rim was served with heated pine branches on the plate for aroma......all too reminiscent of an alinea dish that was far more impressive given the amount of branches placed before the diner. This just seemed underwhelming and like an uninspired and half hearted attempt. The carrot cake consisted of a dry, beige cake with a quenelle of ice cream and shaved raw carrots. I remember having a similar dish elsewhere that I really enjoyed due to the combination of flavors and that the carrots had at least been lightly cooked and seasoned with nutmeg and brown sugar. In this dish, the ice cream was the only enjoyable ingredient. They even managed to make the tenderloin center a muted shade of red. Perhaps it was purposeful that they are attempting to make every dish like the mossy terrariums throughout the restaurant. I won't belabor the point, but just wanted to share my dissatisfaction and disappointment. At least our wine was comped without any statements by us (or maybe simply forgotten to be billed). I understand restaurants can have an off night, but a friday night with a half full restaurant seems like a strange time for this to happen, but from my impression this was not a one night thing.

I know this is news from last month but didn't see it up for discussion here. I just found out that Shaun Hergatt left SHO and the restaurant will now be known as The Exchange. I loved this restaurant and I'm surprised this happened after gaining the two Michelin Stars. The place was also usually busy on my visits for dinner. Hopefully he will be quick in opening a new place in the city as it seems he intends to.

Hello again, I'm trying to plan a dinner for my work group of about 10-15 people and was hoping you guys could provide some recs for places that we would be able to dine a la carte and preferably have a private room with no extra charge. Also, feel that most people would want to stay under 70 a person. Hudson clearwater was the one place I've been wanting to go to and know of with a private room. Any other ideas? Thanks

I was hoping someone may offer some suggestions of places serving more unusual game on their menus on a regular basis. I'm looking for elk, venison, kangaroo, etc. I've heard about Resto and been interested in trying it, but their group dining is really the only option to get them to offer more exotic items. Thanks.