Sneakeater

You know, rereading my report, it sounds like my main problem with the food here is the execution. But it isn't, really. It's with the conceptualizing. This is, like, cookie-cutter food, another version of everything you see everywhere this year. Not particularly well-prepared, either -- but that's only the half of it.

It's been ages since I've been to Patois, so I can't vouch for its current quality, but based on experience in the long-dead past I'd recommend Patois. Patois is nouveau bistro done to a fairly high standard. Saul is a very safe, unchallenging, eager-to-please version of haute cuisine. (eGullet poster gaf nailed it when he said Saul could be one of the better restaurants in Minneapolis.) In other words, you can get a much better version of what they give you at Saul simply by getting on the subway. Patois strives for something more ordinary, but to me it's more satisfying -- and, oddly, harder to find in this town. (OTOH, the two places seem incomparable. Saul is MUCH fancier than Patois. What kind of birthday celebration are you looking for?)

I would have liked to see a slideshow of the week Bruni spent staying in hotels.

Well, you know, he spent all that time in Rome . . . .

But if you're putting the Biltmore Room in that "genre", you're proving Fat Guy's point. That restaurant was much more casual than any "fine dining" spot would have been in the past. The same is true (although perhaps, concededly, to a lesser extent) of Cru. I have a feeling that the same might also be true of Asiate and some other places you've named that I haven't been to. Note that the "fanciest" of the places you mention -- Del Posto, the main dining room at Country, even the original Gilt -- are almost self-conciously fancy. As if "fanciness" is now a style element that a high-end restaurant might choose to incorporate, instead of the sine qua non of fine dining.

Depends on who the two people are.

To add to the off-topic pile-on, Coco Rocco is, like, WELL worth checking out.

Please.

I hope you don't think that means that now you can die.

I think that three years ago the chef was Ed Witt, now of Varietal.

Believe me, H.: whatever the retarded clientele was, it wasn't you.

One If By Land Two If By Sea

Let's give a shout-out, though, to their cocktail list -- the Bergamot Margarita I had was delicious -- and to their wine list. It's full of interesting stuff, and not ridiculously overpriced. We had a Chateau Musar blanc that, to be honest, I didn't like very much. But on the other hand, you don't see this everywhere (I didn't even know Musar made a white wine). And they get credit for having a fairly obscure bottle that, by its somewhat unusual taste (heavy, almost sherry-like), is not destined to be a big crowd-pleaser. The list is one of those newfangled ones divided not by region but by weight. I don't remember, but I think at least some of the wines also had descriptions. As a minor-league wine geek, I'm on the fence about lists like this. But, format aside, I did appreciate their selections.

Amalia is a new restaurant connected to, but not actually in, the Dream Hotel. It's on West 55th Street between Seventh and Broadway. I was directed there (I'm too gallant to say "dragged") by a young woman who purports to be interested in food but is really interested in design and scene. I think she wanted to go here because she likes the roof bar in the Dream Hotel. The room design is certainly cool, and the downstairs lounge (not open yet) looks like it will be uber-cool (for a place on West 55th Street). The food, however, is mediocre. The chef is Ivy Stark, whom I believe has worked at Dos Caminos and another Mexican place. Here, she's cooking "Mediterranean." I had an appetizer of fried and braised calimaris, with beans and chorizo. The squid wasn't overcooked -- a plus -- but the sauce was too oily. My main was muscovy duck with a honey glaze, so perhaps it's unfair of me to complain that it was too sweet. The duck also wasn't overcooked -- another plus -- but the skin lacked crispness and that layer of fat lacked unctuousness. In all, this simply is not cooking of a very high order.

Speaking of old men and whores, I took a date here late Sunday night. I hadn't been to Il Buco in years. Not since Sara Jenkins was there. I'd kind of written it off. The food was good enough, but I found the whole place too precious, and the clientele too -- I don't know, what's the word for it? -- retarded. Maybe I see things differently now that I'm out on dates rather than dining seriously with my Life's Companion, but Sunday night I found it delightful. (Funny thing, though: that crowd that years ago struck me as young and vapid -- well, now they seem to be even younger. What's up with that?) The chef is now a Uraguayan named Ignacio Mattos. I don't know anything about him, but he can cook. I started off with little chunks of fried rabbit confit with a quince-mustard dipping sauce. This was seriously good. The waiter described it as "the best Chicken McNuggets you've ever had," and that sounds right (except that I've never had Chicken McNuggets). I very highly recommend this dish. I then had a pasta course of taglialini with chanterelles and lots of butter and parmesan. It was just as you'd expect -- except very much on the good side of expectations. The segundo was a slight let-down (as is often the case). It was a porchetta. Maybe we're all getting just a tiny bit sick of this dish, but it didn't transport me. I found the meat a little bit fatty (this may be the first time anybody's heard me complain about that) and parts of it were a bit tough. Don't get me wrong: this was perfectly good. It was just the only course I could find any fault with. For dessert, I had a dessert-wine flavored gelato. Very good. Il Buco highly touts their wine list, and the wine we had was exciting. For whatever reason, when I have rabbit I think of Sardinian wines. This was a grape called Monica di Sardegna; I think the wine or the vineyard or something was called "Chinanta". It was light-weight (perfect for the rabbit and pork), but with a very haunting, slightly spicy flavor that was unlike anything I've previously experienced. This is a banal commonplace, but the great thing about wine is that there's always something new and good that you've never had before. I did not think my meal at Il Buco was any worse than my recent dinner at Morandi.

When Ssam first introduced its late-night menu, my initial impression was, "What's the big deal? This is just the equivalent of the non-noodle stuff at Noodle Bar." In time, though, it became clear to me that Ssam was moving far beyond Noodle in terms of both ambition and execution. I think Fat Guy got it right.

FWIW, I find the Italian menu to be comparable to A Voce.

He didn't mean "cheap" as in "cheap".

Only cuz he hasn't been to Room 4 Dessert.

I think the "Rochester NY" thread . . . .

Sounding more like Momo-Ssam every minute.

He wasn't saying Room 4 Dessert isn't molecular. He was saying that its being molecular can't be the reason it's "New Paradigm".

I think alwang has nailed it.

If you're employed, it's all to easy to eat dinner very late.

I was there on Saturday at about the same time Jon was. Alone, on a quick break between installments of The Coast of Utopia. When I peeked in at the bar area, it was scary crowded. But nobody was eating at the bar. Everybody was having a few drinks while waiting for their table. I figured that turnover would be fast. I also figured that, if I made it clear that I actually intended to eat dinner at the bar, the bartender and maybe even my fellow patrons would try to make sure I was accomodated with a seat. I was correct on both counts (thanks to everybody who offered to give up seats for me!). I think the kitchen was stressed. Compared to the last time I ate there -- when it was only crowded but not scary crowded -- the food seemed marginally less well prepared. The slightest bit gloppier (to use a famous chef's term). But still very good. Indeed, I remain astounded by the value of this place. This neighborhood should be VERY happy to have it (and if the enormous crowds are any indication, it is). NOTE TO BAR DINERS: You can only eat at the actual bar. They will not serve food at the tables in the bar area. Those are only for waiting (with drinks).