Sneakeater

Holy shit. Did everybody but me know that Joe Ng didn't just come from someplace in Brooklyn, but from WORD TONG?????????????????? I mean, we already knew this, but the guy's a genius!!!!!!! Anybody been to World Tong since he's been gone?

Isn't it great that you can now refer to that person as "my wife"?

Hey happy birthday! I'd recommend the Summer Tasting menu, cuz the veal was so good. OTOH, gaf really liked the lobster with gewurztraminer sauce, which is only on the Aquatic. I wish I had to make that choice tonight. Fuck, I wish I were 24.

It's now in "The Fridge" (whatever that is). You can find it toward the bottom of the main "forums" page. But to make it easier, here's a link: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=78832

Easy walk from Nolita to the Pegu Club.

I thought I'd carry over an exchange Jason Perlow and I (and others) have been having in the "Bruni and Beyond (2006)" thread here, since it focuses more on Chinatown Brasserie in particular than on Bruni's reviewing in general. I think another way to look at why I think this doesn't really apply to Chinatown Brasserie is to see what's happened with some other Asian cuisines that might generally be thought of as "cheap". Take Thai. Nobody complains that Kittichai is too expensive, because the food it serves is so clearly different from what you got in most inexpensive Thai restaurants. It isn't necessarily better -- anyone could plausibly say they prefer Sripraphai -- but it's clearly different. Not just in using more expensive ingredients and supposedly "better" cooking technique, but a whole different level of cuisine. Take Indian. There have always been cheap Indian restaurants in New York, and expensive ones. Old school expensive ones, like Raga (which isn't open any more). New wave expensive ones, like Dawat and Devi. Either way, New Yorkers have had no problem accepting expensive Indian restaurants alongside the cheap ones. Because again, the food served in the expensive places is simply different from the food served in the cheaper places. (Moreover, the difference in quality of the raw materials -- particularly the protiens -- seems much greater between the expensive Indian restaurants and the cheap ones than between Chinatown Brasserie and the good Chinatown places. Unlike the cheap Indian places, the good cheap Chinatown places somehow serve protiens of a very acceptable quality.) My point, once again, is that I don't think the problem Chnatown Brasserie is having getting accepted by the serious foodie community is that we automatically categorize Chinese food as "cheap." It's that Chinatown Brasserie isn't demonstrating enough added value to go with the higher prices. (Again, read Ruth Reichl's "Chinese cuisine in New York" discussion here on eG to see the kind of Chinese haute cuisine that Chinatown Brasserie is not serving. If that guy from London opens his planned restaurant in the Gramercy Hotel, I think we might all see what Chinatown Brasserie isn't doing.)

You're right. I regretted the "a little" as soon as I typed it. I'm fortunate in that, aside from its seemingly endless expansion, my stomach seems to have missed the fact that it has become middle-aged, and will happily ingest whatever insalubrious stuff is thrown down it. I wonder how long that will last.

I think Florence Fabricant reported it in today's Times. So the ramp-up may be becoming less gradual.

What's interesting to me is the way the Tasting Room succeeds with slightly fancied-up versions of hearty foods, whereas I thought Trestle on Tenth's preparations seemed too refined for what was, at root, supposed to be peasant food. I guess I'll have to revisit Trestle on Tenth to see why I feel this way. I wonder.

I ate there last night, at the bar. 1. Based on the one time I was able to get in there, I didn't much like the old location of the Tasting Room. To me, the food seemed unable to live up to the chef's ambitions. I don't know if the new place has better kitchen facilities, or if I was in a better mood, or what, but this time the food seemed pretty much perfect for what it was. It wasn't the greatest food I've had in New York, but it wasn't trying to be. Nevertheless, it aimed above comfort food -- and made it. Everything just seemed to work. 2. Maybe it's cuz I was able to stroll in, sit down, and order dinner. Getting into the old location was just too much of a production. The food didn't seem worth the effort. Here, everything was pleasant from the get-go (watch out after the hard opening, though). 3. The menu changes frequently. I stopped in for some pre-dinner cocktails last Friday and, while I was there, perused the dinner menu and pretty much decided what I would have when I went there to eat at some later date. By last night (Tuesday), though, the menu had changed. 4. I started with a stuffed chicken leg. I have no idea what it was stuffed with. The skin was delightfully crispy. The leg sat under an unctuous (but not to the point of being gross) foie gras sauce (a foam, you might even call it). It sat on top of some sweet corn and (I think) brussell sprouts. This was very enjoyable. 5. Then, a plate of chanterelles with scrambled eggs and potatoes. A plate of properly cooked chanterelles is never anything less than wonderful. Well . . . . 6. For dessert, I was comped a rice pudding. It was supposed to come with strawberries, but, happily, when it appeared, the condiment was blueberries. A properly cooked rice pudding is never anything less than a tremendous comfort. Well . . . . 7. To some of us, the big news at the new location is the liquor license and bar. They have a cocktail here called the Cooler that I like very much. It consists of dry Vya vermouth, sweet Vya vermouth, creme de cassis, and orange. Perfect after walking to Nolita from Midtown. 8. I like the new space very much. It's all very casual, but appealing. The bar area is fairly spacious (this is the Tasting Room we're talking about) and inviting. The dining room (separated from the bar by a passageway, so the two areas feel completely separate), festooned with colorful art, is lively but not headache-inducing. And you can move without establishing physical contact with a fellow patron. I am very enthusiastic about the new Tasting Room. Rather than failing to live up to the kitchen's ambitions, the food seems exactly commensurate with those ambitions. The kitchen doesn't aim for the highest heights. But it fully achieves its less lofty aims. This is the kind of food you'd be happy to eat every night. I wish it were in my neighborhood.

Cuy certainly didn't resonate negatively with this North American when he was in Peru. I gobbled them up. Delicious!

Oh, OK, gotcha.

Also, Frank Bruni doesn't write for foodies. He writes for the general public. And, as I've already said elsewhere, the restaurant doesn't seem to view the main menu as secondary. They wouldn't have hired such a high-profile chef if they viewed the main menu as an afterthought.

As I also said in that thread, if someone opened a restaurant offering the kind of Chinese haute cuisine that we're alway told is not available in New York (see, e.g., Ruth Reichl's Chinese Cuisine in New York discussion here on eG), I doubt people would have any problem paying for it. What's wrong with CB is that it's a slightly fancier (but not necessarily better) version of the same old same old. That's a hard sell in terms of value. Especially when the regular version is so great.

No. 2 definitely is a problem.

I've already addressed that, in the "Chinatown Brasserie" thread (where I have a feeling this whole discussion is going to be moved anyway). So let me quote what I posted there, for your consideration:

And people complain about Del Posto's prices all the time. Note, though, that people don't complain as much about Jean-Georges's prices. Or Perry Street's, if you want a place opened in the current real estate market. Some places simply charge too much for what they're serving. If real estate costs force them to do so, then that just means that real estate costs make the kind of place they're operating misconceived under current conditions. But it's not up to us as consumers to give them a pass on value because their costs are high. (Especially where, as with CB, there are so many excellent cheaper options.) It's their problem. Personal disclaimer: I live in Brooklyn, so I'm especially immune to pleas for special treatment on grounds of high Manhattan real estate costs. There are ways to avoid those costs -- even if they're not as convenient or centrally located as you might hope. For god's sake, I've got to commute to go to those Manhattan places that are overpriced because of their rent.

This is really the heart of the matter. Their need to recoup their real estate costs is of no concern to me as a consumer. It's like what I said about Ditch Plain: if real estate costs prevent you from charging sensible prices for what you're serving, then you either have to serve something else or change your location. (Of course, Ditch Plain found a way to lower its prices when it found itself empty most of the time -- a problem that CB seems to be avoiding, I must admit.) The quality of the ingredients is really what kept me on the fence about CB. But finally, after repeated tries, I realized that they didn't make much of a difference to me. Meaning, they didn't cause me to like the food at CB more than I like similar food available much cheaper elsewhere. (If anything, I think CB's food is a little bland.) So, while I recognize that the higher-quality ingredients necessitate higher prices, they don't make me think the higher prices are worth it.

As have you, of course.

Would they have done pairings? (I don't remember that having been offered as an option when I had the tasting menu there, but sometimes you have to ask.)

It's also worth noting that Eater predicted one star. And not mainly on political/Kremlinological grounds, but pretty much on qualitative grounds: http://eater.curbed.com/archives/2006/08/brunibetting_ch.php Also, Adam Platt gave CB one star, and that's out of a possible five. Finally, speaking personally, I have to say if I never walk out of a place without feeling vaguely ripped off, I consider that a bad sign. Speaking only for myself, of course.

Especially considering the price, I think they're a pretty big drag. Even more especially if you consider, along with the price, their inconsistency. (Remember that most diners don't have the guy who conceived the place's menu telling them what to order.) If I were a star-giving guy, I wouldn't give the entrees more than a star.

FWIW, I disagree pretty strongly. I think one star is right. Dim sum are only a part of a very flawed menu.

They might have been using jiggers. I don't want to accuse anyone of anything. (I was already pretty cocktailed-and-wined-out by the time I got there.)

I myself am generally of the school that holds that there's nothing that isn't made better by the addition of a little extra fat.