Sneakeater

I don't see anything wrong with a restaurant's preferring customers not to be wearing jeans and sneakers.

Thanks!

I never deny it.

I found this paragraph interesting because just about every other word is something that I have no idea what it means. Raji could be making all this stuff up for all I know.

Too much success must be an interesting problem for you. Genuine heartfelt congratulations!

I never drink any bottled water, so I can't comment based on personal experience, but I've read that Dasani consistently beats bottled spring water in consumer taste tests. Which is not surprising, considering that it was forumlated by a highly successful soft drink company. (I'm sure that's why the salt is added.)

OK: problem.

Well, yeah, you're right, if the portions on the three-course prix fixe aren't much bigger than the portions on the tasting menus, that would be a problem.

Maybe we should start dropping unsubtle hints at Two Little Red Hens.

You should be grateful that Wylie didn't make it part of one of those big visual puns he's so fond of.

At some sushi bars you can get cod sperm. What a useful fish. Seems like there's hardly anything you can't eat.

I guess it's also theoretically possible that it's pronounced "tih".

I sort of stumbled into Eleven Madison Park last night, alone, intending to check out the bar menu. But when I caught a glimpse of the "Summer" tasting menu, it looked so good I couldn't resist it. Especially given the golden reviews Chef Daniel Humm has been getting. I, too, was blown away by this meal. It is hard to believe that this formerly boring restaurant is serving food this good. This is the best food (at least of the Euro-American haute cuisine variety) that I've had in New York in years. (No, I haven't eaten at Per Se or ADNY yet.) I see that M.X.Hasset has already described the "Summer" menu in detail (what I had was the same but for a few differences in the many "hidden" courses), thus relieving me of that obligation. So I can just make a few comments. First, I'll note that the uni in the poached egg/uni/caviar appetizer was so patently superior to the tasteless mush I was sold (also as part of a composed, cooked appetizer) at Morimoto last week that it shows that place up for the mass-market tomfoolery that it is. And amazingly, Eleven Madison Park isn't appreciably more expensive than Morimoto. (Better cocktails at EMP, too.) Second, I'll add to M.X.Hasset's description of the seafood "ragu", a dish that I liked a lot more than he appeared to. (Maybe because my mussels, happily, weren't the slightest bit off.) This dish consists of bits of seafood served in a very intense carrot consumme. The intense flavor of that broth really took me by surprise. FWIW, the "couscous pearls" at the bottom of the cup were tapioca. Third, I'll agree that the veal dish was the best I've ever had. It was a veal chop, with the meat taken off the bone and sliced, served with unconstructed lasagna noodles and fava beans and a delicious, very slightly pungent gravy of some kind (given the lightness of the veal's flavor, the temptation would have been to make the gravy very strong, as Gray Kunz does with the glaze on the pork chop he's currently serving -- but Chef Humm is too restrained for that; he lets the veal's light flavor shine through). I thought the dessert courses were all extraordinary. Someone mentioned the name of their pastry chef earlier in this thread; I think she deserves celebration along with Chef Humm. Figuring that, once I decided to go with their most expensive tasting menu, I was in for a pound as well as a penny, I ordered the wine pairings. Without wanting to sound too gushy, I'd say they were the most consistently successful I've ever had anywhere. My only complaint about this restaurant is that I don't think the service and the room live up to the food. This is a complaint I never thought I'd lodge, but I thought the service was too casual for what is some of the very best food now available in New York. I've never been a fan of the room at EMP -- I think it's cold, soulless, and boring -- and I think this food in particular deserves a more jewel-like setting. And (now I'm gonna sound like Frank Bruni) it should be served somewhere where there isn't music playing. Food this good deserves to be the complete center of attention. In other words, here's what I think should happen: EMP and Country should swap kitchens. Daniel Humm's food deserves the fancy setting and prepossessing service that Country provides. Doug Psaltis's food at Country would only seem better in this slightly more casual setting.* I don't have a single negative thing to say about the food I had at EMP last night. And even if the prices have gone up a bit since Chef Humm first took over (my endless tasting menu cost $115; the nine wine pairings were $68), this is still, for the quality, a relative bargain. In other words, if you're at all interested in haute cuisine, RUN, DO NOT WALK, to EMP. _____________________________________________________________ * Having eaten at EMP, I now understand gaf's misgivings about Country. I think EMP, having similar culinary aims as Country, shows Country up. I'm not saying Country is in any way unworthy; only that EMP is much better.

You can say that. But in a thread entitled "Why can't Korean food become mainstream?" and subtitled "Kimchi for the masses?", it seems kind of strange to take people to task for speaking in terms of the mainstream masses.

And nobody laughs?

I had the "summer" tasting menu here last night (review to follow at some point) and I can honestly say that I left stuffed. And believe me when I tell you that I'm as big a pig as just about anyone who posts on this board. I didn't think the course sizes were that laughably small; in fact, they were pretty substantial for a multi-course tasting menu. It may even be that someone over there is reading this board and has made an adjustment. I can't speak to the three-course prix fixe, of course.

IMPORTANT QUESTION: Is the first word of this drink pronounced "tee" or "tye"?

In what way do you think Landmarc has declined? I don't go there very often, but I don't notice much difference. Then again, I didn't love it when it was new. How long did the halcyon days last?

[Moved to Landmarc thread, where it belongs]

I had the omakase at the bar at Gari (the West Side outpost) on Saturday. We ordered an omakase starting with sashimi and then moving into sushi. Unlike the flight received by gaf, this was served more traditionally, piece by piece. The menu lists the price as "$79 and up." This was up, but not way up. I think the food cost was something in the neighborhood of $100 or $125 per person (exclusive of beverages, tax, and tip). As is well known, this is not traditional sushi. The preparations are "imaginatively" topped. One white fish, for example, came with a cap of vinegar jelly. While some were better than others, none of these innovative preparations offended or even misfired. My favorite was probably the minced fatty tuna. But I pretty much liked all of it. I was not, however, transported the way I am after a session at Yasuda. My preference is for the simpler, more purist style of sushi. Nevertheless, quality here is high -- this is much much better than (indeed, in no way comparable to) the neighborhood sushi bars that dot the Upper West Side -- and I think the Garis should be tried at least once by anyone with a taste for sushi.

I can't say specifically. (Remember that they don't really have "items" here, but rather a set of combination platters -- and that each of the four items on each combination platter usually is itself pretty complicated.) All I can say is that, off the intial menu, I always had a hard time deciding which plate I wanted, whereas off the current menu I sort of have to force myself to get anything but the chocolate plate.

I will repeat that, in my opinion, the current menu is much less attractive than their initial menu.

From the Summer Menu, let me also put in a plug for the French Pearl, a great drink that johnder -- or, I think, actually, johnder's incredibly lovely wife -- turned me on to.

There's a link to Kion's website at the very top of Jason's initial post. I can't wait to try this place.

The store was open when I walked by at about 8:30 p.m. Shit, I wish I knew they were giving out free samples. I second the question about what they serve in the restaurant.