Sneakeater

I don't think anyone was using jiggers on a late Friday night with what looked like thousands of panting young people swarming at the bar. But I may be wrong. They do at Flatiron (which, OTOH, I've never seen get quite so zooey as Gin Lane was last Friday).

Yeah, that's it: very buttery. Avoid.

There are all sorts of understandable reasons why an early dinner at a restaurant wouldn't work. But that doesn't mean it isn't a legitimate knock if the restaurant doesn't overcome them. Restaurant meals are expensive, ya know?

FWIW, I never saw anything exciting about the food at Cucina, either. It seemed to me like Italian unnecessarily gussied up with 80s ideas about fancy plating. (This was in the 90s.) It always seemed strange to me that its original chef, Michael Ayoub, became such a star in the Brooklyn culinary firmament But I never ate there under the guy who's now the chef at Tempo, and the food is reportedly very different anyway. And those posts sure do make it sound good.

At least I don't wear a cape.

The reason I've never gone to Tempo is that I found Cucina so off-putting. And the reason I found Cucina so off-putting is precisely what bethala states: the stiff "corporate dining room" feel. It made Cucina seem provincial, like it had to meet some outdated criteria for being a "nice" restaurant because it was located in Brooklyn. The restaurants that followed avoided that syndrome. But now I'm gonna have to go to Tempo. I mean, a cocktail (and one apparently made with Junipero!) and porchetta is kind of my idea of what it'll be like in eternity if I lead a good life.

Actually, I've walked down Fifth Avenue with a stick and found that, even now, I am still able to shake it at all the restaurants I pass.

It's a place to eat. There's a big counter and a few tables. Aside from the blintzes (which I like a lot, but you would probably think are too crispy), there's a really great bean (no meat, obviously) chulent. I recommend it very highly. You might want to wait until it cools off before trying it, though. Other than that, they have many of the standard dishes of a Jewish dairy restaurant. (I like the baked farmer cheese, which may be more doable in this post-global-warming August weather.) Altogether, the Diamond Dairy is a very cool lunch experience.

Anguilas?

Sorry. I missed that. I can honestly say that I know nothing about smoking cigars.

I think Christopher Wallace would have been very surprised to hear that Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls were two of the greatest hip hop artists the world has ever known.

It looks to me like they've completely revised the lounge menu. And based on my visit there Friday night, it's well worth everybody's checking it out. (In fact, as is obvious, I now think it's pretty much the only way to approach this restaurant.) Don't forget to make a reservation.

Of course, I'm much less ambitious at home than you. (In fact, don't tell anyone, but I hardly cook at all.)

The pasta I had in the dining room of Del Posto was DEFINITELY worth it.

Notorious P.I.G. is the greatest possible name. Maybe Piggie Smalls could be your nomme de grille.

Gin Gin Mule?

From your description of what you like, I would guess that you wouldn't like the blintzes at the Diamond Dairy (on the mezzanine at 4 West 47th St.) as much as I do.

Unless they're charging you less for an early meal, I'd say it's a legitimate knock.

For $60, it's well worth it. Strong recommendation. Just stay out of the dining room.

I was drinking Stork Clubs. Nathan was drinking Irish Blondes. Interestingly enough -- we had each already had a few cocktails and dinner with wine -- the two drinks didn't taste that different to me.

So Nathan and I went to Del Posto Friday night to try the lounge menu in the lounge. There's a four-course tasting menu (antepasto, primo, secundo, dessert) that's a good deal. The food is something like $49, and wine pairings are something like $19. The first course was a seafood salad that was very good. The second course was a very simple pasta that, surprisingly for a Batali restaurant, was disappointingly underpowered (it needed more cheese or something). The third course was a very simple pork loin that was good, even very good, as far as it went. Dessert was OK. For $60 or $70 (including wine), this was very good. Thing is, though, that except for the disappointing pasta, this food was comparable in quality (if not quantity) to what they serve in the main dining room. And I'll tell you what: even if they've lowered their prices somewhat, nobody's getting out of the main dining room for $60 or $70 including wine. And, at least in my opinion, this food just isn't worth much more than what we paid for it. So while I enjoyed my lounge dinner at Del Posto and thought it a good value, it reconfirmed my reservations about the main restaurant here. (There is also an a la carte menu in the lounge. But the prix fixe was such an obvious choice that I didn't spend much time looking at it.)

I stumbled in there (along with Nathan) for a few drinks at about midnight on Friday. Apparently, nobody told the people who used to go to the Village Idiot that it's not the Village Idiot any more. The drinks were fine, but who can know what they're drinking when you're mainly focused on hoping none of the frat boys or girls will throw up on you?

Compass Box Hedonism has tremendous snob value while being very drinkable.

Key point.

New restaurants of a certain type comp models and the like all the time.* I don't get what the excitement is about that. And to say they're trying to attract an emptily stylish crowd is a little off the mark. They're trying to attract money. _________________________________________________ * New restaurants also hold reservations for the fashion and publishing industries all the time.