ulterior epicure

It's been overhauled, perhaps, but it's barely working. Most of the links are not hot. ← I guess I just opened it and looked at the menu. The menu links worked for me. Hopefully, you will be able to take a pass through it. It is a controversial place in SF. Most of this is due to the strictly enforced "no fragrance policy." The owner is a bit of a character from Brooklyn and some people are not fans of his or how he enforces the policy, but he has always treated me well when I have dined there. He also has provided decent wine selections from a fairly extensive Itallian focused list. All of this aside, I think the food is truly fantastic, especially the pastas. The chef has remained with the restaurant, which is unusual in Santa Fe. She deserves a lot of credit for creating great Italian food in a climate where everyone wants to focus on Southwestern. It looks to me that the pricing has been scaled back some. I know in January, he had reworked the menu to make prices more reasonable due to the economy. It is still not a cheap meal, but one I have always found to be worth it. ← I've never gone to the restaurant, mostly because I've been told by a number of friends in the food/wine industry in the area that the owner is one of the biggest a$$holes in town. He apparently has been quite a bully towards people in the industry who were simply unsuspecting friends, and I've personally seen him be beyond sleezy to young women (and women in general). Supposedly the fragrance policy is his way of being able to do whatever he wants in his restaurant. If he doesn't like you, he simply kicks you out and cites the no fragrance policy. In all honesty, the policy makes sense (I never wear fragrances of any sort, nor do I wear products that are fragrant), but his implementation is suspect. That being said, I've been told that the chef is possibly the most skilled in town, and it is likely that my curiosity will outweigh my dislike of Eric's actions. ← Regardless, the man needs to fix his website. I just popped on there again. It's still broken. Part of the menu shows (there are actually two templates that show, if you look at the navigation), and the wine list pulls up (although that puts you at a dead end page), but the rest of the site doesn't seem to be hot.

It's been overhauled, perhaps, but it's barely working. Most of the links are not hot.

That's a pretty strong reaction to papaya, my friend. Yikes. Have you had this dish in any of its prior incarnations? I had this about three years ago. At that time, it was served with a passion fruit mustard. (CLICK - sorry for the pallor color in that photo: entirely my fault, not Jean Georges.)

I'm assuming they did not replace this dish. Correct?

Other than price and level of "fanciness" of the food, what is the difference between Coyote Cafe the restaurant as opposed to the "cantina?" Is the cantina in the same location as the restaurant? Is it open for lunch? Is one more reliable/enjoyable than the other?

What was so disappointing (or "downright bad") about Coyote Cafe?

For upscale, I would try Trattoria Nostrani, just don't wear fragrance as they have a no fragrance policy which they strictly enforce. In my opinion, this is some of the best food in Santa Fe. I was in town two weeks ago and tried Coyote Cafe and was very dissapointed. In fact, it was downright bad. Also, for traditional New Mexican food, it is hard to beat the Shed or Tia Sophia's. Both are a little touristy, but the food is very traditional and spot on. La Boca would be a good pre-theater dinner -- just make sure you have reservations or you may be waiting for a table. ← It never ceases to amaze me how neglectful restaurant's are of their websites. Geronimo, for example, has not updated their online menus since last year. Meanwhile, neither Trattoria Nostrani nor La Boca have a working website at all; the links are broken.

It's looking like three nights and two lunches in Santa Fe in a few months. One of my dinners needs to be relatively early, as I have tickets to the opera. I would appreciate input. The only places I've bothered to research so far are the usual suspects: Cafe Pasqual's (brunch, I hear, is better than dinner) Geronimo Coyote Cafe La Boca (would this be good for a pre-theater dinner?)

But getting back to the food part of Corton: for those members who had eaten at Gilt under Liebrandt's hand as well as at Corton, I'm curious to hear comparisons between his food there and his food at Corton. Sadly, I never went to Gilt (still haven't). I've heard some say that Corton is Liebrandt's Gilt dialed back a few notches.

If, as you say, the restaurant has a multi-class service, then that is certainly not good. I have all too often been treated like a "nobody," and I know how ugly an experience that can be. I'm sorry your visit to Corton was not better. I look forward to returning to Corton under more normal circumstances. Hopefully, your visit was an aberration from the norm.

Happy anniversary, graham elliot! One year is not a smile milestone in these uncertain times.

Thanks for your kind words. This rarely happens to me, as I am usually fastidious about segregating front of the house issues from kitchen issues. In the past couple of years, I can only think of a couple of meals where poor service "ruined" a meal. My meal at Bouley in March was one of them. There, breathless food was so overshadowed by poor service that the entire meal was rendered worthless. That is completely understandable. Money and time, alas, do not flow as water. I suppose I am less risk averse in this respect than many. Food is the primary concern for me. No amount of enthusiasm and generosity in the front of the house can increase my estimation of a restaurant if the food is poor. Conversely, rarely does poor service lead me to demote a restaurant despite brilliant food. Poor service suggests that there is a management problem, but not necessarily a chef problem, so to speak. Of course, the ideal restaurant is the one which can coordinate the whole operation seamlessly on a consistent basis. But as you and I know, these gems are few and far between. That is good to know. And I would not expect less.

At this point, you might as well write my review for me! Yes, in addition to the wine, the one dish that made me suspect that we might be experiencing "Corton deluxe" was our first "Uni" course. I was quite shocked (but not displeased) by the amount of sea urchin presented. I have seen photos by others of the "Uni" and it seems that one tongue, not three, is the norm. This I cannot explain.

Given your relative frequency at other high-end restaurants (you make a point of giving us your per se, Jean Georges, and le Bernardin tally regularly), what would you have expected one of those restaurants to have done in a similar situation? In your many visits to any one of those restaurants, have you witnessed a physically disabled person leave the restaurant assisted by restaurant staff in any way, or known of one of those houses to hail a cab? By now, I think I know good service when I experience it. Regardless of whether my evening at Corton was "big guns night" or not, service should have been wonderful. It was excellent. I have been at restaurants when VIPs sucked all of the staff's attention. That's great for the VIPs, not so much for us Lilliputians. Circumstances shouldn't matter. I expect good service wherever I eat regardless of who I am, who I'm with, the total on my tab, or the camera that I happen to have under my seat. Why shouldn't I? I'm paying for it. My positive service experience at Corton may not overshadow the other negative reports you've heard. However, I might point out that I have read/heard about service issues at every restaurant in New York, even le Bernardin, Jean Georges, and on one occasion, per se. But those are OTHER diners' experiences, not mine. I have had excellent service at all three. I'm certainly no VIP at any of them (save one experience that was an exception). And I'm certainly no regular. You could colourably argue that I am friendlly with one of those houses, but that has only been a recent development, and I disclose that relationship up front. Am I just lucky? robyn was clearly not happy with her service. But sethd, I will tell you that, based on my experience, Corton is a restaurant that I would commend - for both food and service - to *almost* any adventurous diner in New York. You seem to fit in that category. If hearsay service issues alone are keeping you from going, I say, take one night out of your per se rotation and head downtown and find out for yourself. I traveled hundreds of miles to eat there. A cab ride across town won't hurt nearly as much.

As someone mentioned on Eater, you can't "call" cabs in New York. A restaurant can call a liveried car service if it has the phone number of one -- more expensive than a cab, and often it takes a long time for one to come if you don't schedule it in advance -- or it can send a staff member out onto the street to hail one (which is something no one, I think, would reasonably expect). But in New York, unlike in other cities, regular taxicab services don't have telephone numbers you can telephone to have a cab come. They don't work that way. You HAVE to hail them on the street. I've been eating in restaurants in New York for thirty some years and I've NEVER had a car called for me -- or even thought of it as a possiblity. (I HAVE done so in other cities.) It just doesn't work that way here (probably because, unlike in most other cities, there are so many cruising cabs here) (although the system breaks down when it's raining). ← Well, there you go. Thanks Sneakeater. I did not know that about the cab system in New York. I have never asked for a cab to be called, I suppose largely because I prefer to walk, if not all the way home, at least I know I'm capable of walking to a place where cabs are available.

I'm sorry to hear that your experience at Corton was disappointing. A few notes (which I hope to gather and put into a more coherent blog post in the next millenia): 1. I'm not sure people who deride restaurant photography and photographers should benefit from the fruits of our labor, Robyn. But I don't take photographs to be stingy, rather, to share. I'm glad you got good use out of them. 2. I'm waiting to see how you answer docsconz's inquiry above on your cooking preferences with squab. That might explain your comments. Like docsconz, I prefer my squab on the rarer side. The lardo wrapped around my squab was quite thick, and rather white, which is why I was so surprised it yielded with little trouble. I do not think that the lardo on my squab was undercooked (or not cooked at all, as you suggest). 3. Service for us was spotless. But, as you noted, I was at Corton on a big night. No less than five nationally-known chefs were in the house (at different tables). As well, I spied a number of non-chef food industry personalities about. There really was no room for error that night, which probably explains why... 4. Our wine was fantastic. As far as I know, the pairing we were charged for was the lesser of the two (I had not been aware that the wine pairing was two-tiered). However, I suspect, given the labels that were poured, they might have just "upgraded" our wine service. 5. The cooking was fantastic as well. There was not a single execution flaw as far as I was concerned. 6. Robyn, you had been concerned (above) with statements by other posters about the aggressive seasoning. Did you encounter any? If I had one gripe (actually, I had two, but I'll get to the second one later) about this meal, it was that a few of the initial bites (amuses bouches) were notably salty. I wouldn't describe them as "inedibly salty," rather "uncomfortably salty." Thankfully, that issue resolved itself once the main dishes began arriving. 7. Second gripe: the second dessert - a hollowed out financier filled with two kinds of cream was utterly pointless. That was the only throw-away dish of the evening, in my opinion. 8. Liebrandt's training at Pierre Gagnaire is evident. 9. Spatial concerns. Our three-top was seated at a freestanding four-top. I think I would have been less happy at one of the banquette tables, either as a four or as a deuce. 10. Aesthetics: To each his/her own. I did not hate it. I did not love it. Pea green is not a wonderful color to me. But I have to say that the use of pea green here was not harmful. As far as the sterility of the white walls, I would disagree with you only because I found the relief flora and fauna motif, with occasional dots of peachy leaves, poetic. Now, the lighting, on the other hand - especially from a photographer's standpoint - was a disaster. Incandescence, fluorescence, and the pea green glow ensured that I had a challenge in getting decent images. 11. I will only reach back to your Blackbird reference to make this point with regard to Corton: where as Blackbird trades simplicity and sleekness for LOUD, Corton trades not-wonderful upholstery and plaster egg-shell walls for normal. No, Corton is not quiet, necessarily. But it is not loud either. I suppose with such a small dining room, it really couldn't get that loud (although the festive group in the house during my meal did get quite boisterous during a few moments). 12. Bathrooms. Yes, awkwardly situated, though once inside, I did not find them awkward to use. However, I am probably not physically limited in the same ways as your husband is. 13. Do you know if Liebrandt was in on the night you visited? Edited: to correct multiple crimes against grammar. Please forgive me for any orphans left behind.

Agreed with the sentiments expressed by you and others on the lack of taxi service. It's interesting that you make this point. We were the last ones out the door the night I was in. And it was raining. And it was cold. I can't recall whether or not we asked for a taxi (I'm almost certain that we had not, since I had planned on walking back to the place I was staying until we realized, after exiting the restaurant, that it was raining). But we did have to walk a block or two to find hail a cab. Given that it was raining, I do remember it odd that the restaurant had not offered to call, or mentioned it at the close of our service. But, as we did not ask, and I had hoped to walk (even if there was a light rain, I could have used the jaunt), I really didn't think much of it.

Six months ago (shortly before Christmas 2008), I returned to le Cinq for dinner. You can read the full review at the the ulterior epicure. Here's the upshot:

I can't comment on the overcooked halibut or the "meagre" veal. But, I would tend to agree that Vetri's famous spinach gnocchi dish is not his best. I think that calling these wet balls of spinach puree "gnocchi" might be misleading, even if they are technically gnocchi.

It was about $120 per person, including tip, but each of us had a little alcohol (sometimes a full glass, sometimes a taste). ← I don't think that's what tsqure is asking. tsquare: yes, if you order a la carte, conservatively, three people could eat for $100 or less. Most of the dishes camp out in the mid-teens. Two people could easily share a pizza, which, I believe, is somewhere in the neighborhood of $14-$16.

Well, no wonder I couldn't recall tasting any anchovy in the conserva dish. There wasn't any. I was reading the prior description (with the punterelle, etc.).

1. Beet salad with fresh ricotta. The ricotta (from Gioia Cheese Co.) was nice and milky. Texture was a bit more coarse than I would have liked, but that's personal preference. Beets were boring. 2. Fried brussels sprouts. Disappointed by this dish last time. Hated it this time. Terribly salty. 3. Tuna conserva, puntarelle, garlic, anchovy and mojama. I prefer this newer way, but would've liked to have the garbanzo beans more cooked. Mojama nowhere to be found. 4. Beef tongue with pickled horseradish crema. I liked the texture of the tongue. Really crispy edges. 5. Zuppa with porcini mushroom bread dumplings, chives, and pecorino. Tasted like the "flavor packets" that come with ramen noodles. Terrible. 6. Bay scallops with agreeti, preserved lemon and chilies. I didn't taste the chilies, either. But this was simple and good. 7. Sweet potatoes with pancetta, fried chilies, and pecorino. My favorite, too. A little greasy at the bottom. Serving it on a little square of paper might prevent the bottom pieces from becoming soggy by the end. 8. Tripe with fennel, chilies, pickled onions, mint and parsley. I liked the spice, but wanted more mint. When I had this on my previous visit, I liked it much more. 9. Jones Farm rabbit with frisée, carrots, pancetta and mustard. I enjoyed this one, but wasn't wowed by it. 10. Ricotta fritters with orange marmalade and crema fresca. Nice. ← 1. I loved the ricotta. Beets are never boring. 2. Brussels Sprouts: not what I expected. These were not meaty, charred halves or quarters, rather a pile of fried leaves (lots of work). I didn't not like it, though I was a little terrified when I saw the cook in the kitchen throwing three heavy handfuls of salt into a bowl of the sprouts. 3. Tuna Conserva: Agreed with tupac (except I can't compare with the "old way," as this is the first time I've had it). Beans needed more time in liquid and heat. Mojama? Where? Could have used a bit more (okay, a lot more) anchovy too. 4. Beef Tongue: Fantastic. Brilliant crust. Best in show (for me) by a country mile. 5. Mushroom Dumpling Soup: Concur with the overall conclusions drawn. 6. Bay Scallops with Agretti: Perfectly cooked scallops, though not as sweet as I would have hoped. Spritz of lemon was key. Chile needed a boost. 7. Sweet Potatoes: Agreed with the others. Crispy skin of this ROOT vegetable was awesome. 8. Tripe with Fennel: Bold spicing was appreciated. Surprisingly, a bit under-seasoned (given the tendency they seem to have with over-seasoning). 9. Jone Farm Rabbit: Very good. Love the grainy mustard. 10. Ricotta Fritters: Not a "fried dough ho" (self-styled) like Carolyn, but I must admit, the texture was very good: like eating warm chenille in a thick, crunch shell. You could paint me with the vanilla crema without objection, however. Over/under-seasoning problems and slowly-disappearing service issues aside, I was pacified by the music, which was great.

That's easy: Eric Asimov, to give but one example. Of course, he's not doing restaurant criticism now, but he's still at the Times and has done the job in the past. ← Now we're getting somewhere.

The job has a high burn-out rate. I believe Mimi Sheraton lasted eight years, but the norm is 5-6. In the music department, the Times has had critics that lasted 10-20 years, but none of the main restaurant critics have done that. Eating 10-12 big meals a week takes its toll. I wrote an open letter to the Times about this. Basically, I want someone with deep experience in food—someone I will learn from. Although Frank Bruni was sometimes entertaining, he didn't really know (or seem to know) much more about food than I did. Obviously he had the advantage of doing this full-time with a much higher budget, and like any smart person he did pick up useful insights along the way. But his reviews never made me think or expand my horizons, the way good criticism should. ← I would like Bruni's detractors here to name one restaurant critic that DOES scratch whatever itch they have in the area of RESTAURANT criticism? What published restaurant writer expands your horizons, oakapple? The anonymity issue aside, let's just come up with a list of people who have proven themselves as knowledgeable, experienced, trusted, and thoughtful restaurant writers. And then, consider their writing inside a 900-1100 word box.

Again, I maintain that he had, and lost, his chance there with Daniel. ← My person star-gazing theory is that demoting Daniel would have raised existential questions that Bruni did not want to face. Exactly. The rest of your star-gazing is inconsequential to me, regardless of how true it may be. I never (alas) went to ADNY, so I cannot comment there. However, given my experience at the old Bouley, I don't think that a demerit was unwarranted, despite the two others waiting "on queue."