Sneakeater

I agree with you that it's ridiculous to present $12 as an expensive price for cocktails. But I think they're actually doing everyone involved a service by noting that you have to wait for your drinks at places like this. For whatever reason, Death & Co. is getting mass attention. And you have to understand that mass market bar patrons are used to getting drinks made by tossers. They aren't used to waiting for a drink to be prepared properly, and it's probably for the best that they be warned of that before they go to Death & Co. I don't think it does anybody any good for Death & Co. to filled (and, based on the reports we're getting, I mean FILLED) with people with inappropriate expectations. (I mean, if a busload of people used to eating at Olive Garden got taken to Le Bernadin, it might not be amiss to warn them in advance that the food takes longer to come.) Just to pull out one possible example among many, go to Gin Lane some night and watch the bartenders toss out those cocktails, quickly. That's what people expect. (Too bad that the cocktails aren't very well made.) But that's not what you get at Death & Co. -- and thank God for it.

Thanks!

Bar Jamon.

That's weird. Isn't lagrein the name of a (red) grape? And isn't it a different grape from teroldego?

Me at a bar: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/index.j...playVideo=17453

OT, but if a restaurant is so popular that there's usually a substantial wait to get in, why shouldn't they raise their prices? Isn't the long wait the market's way of telling them they were somewhat underpriced to begin with?

FWIW, I, too, was going to say that, for me, the "mineral" makes all the difference.

Leonard, I know I keep coming back to this, but if you want to see evidence that Bruni lacks culinary expertise, look at his review of Wolfgang's. The whole review is set up so that it leads up to this comparison of Wolfgang's steaks with Luger's. But when you finally get to the comparison, Bruni craps out. He simply (sorry oakapple) lacks the chops to analyze and describe steak quality with any kind of particularity. (As always, I'll be quick to admit that I couldn't do it, either. But I'm not a professional restaurant reviewer, much less the most powerful one in the country.)

I'm not sure they take reservations for small non-bo ssam-purchasing parties. (But it can't hurt to try.)

I agree. I think Bruni's writing, at least in his current position, has been overrated by some. It's too cute and mannered.

It got really bashed on Mouthfuls, and I think Chowhound, too. Frank Bruni gave it a very lukewarm write-up in Diner's Journal. I don't recall Bruni's complaining about the service, but people on Mouthfuls and, I think, Chowhound complained like crazy. Frankly, I attributed the service glitches to opening-period jitters. If they're still having that problem, I really do think they need to do something to correct it.

Appropos of nothing much, when Ruth Reichl first started at the Times, the stylishness of her writing actually put me off. I think I was so inured to Bryan Miller's clunkiness that I viewed Reichl's stylish writing as a sort of affectation. I got over that pretty quickly, though. Reichl is actually instructive. She put a lot of "color" into her reviews. At first, I thought that was a distraction from the actual analytic criticism. But as I came to appreciate, she was in fact able to do what Bruni isn't: to make the "color" tell. Instead of simply (sorry oakapple) wasting space, it shed light on her conclusions. I guess that's because, with her, the "color" supplemented the analysis instead of replacing it.

I don't really get it. The knives seem to be out for this place. But, really, what's the problem? Well, pacing CLEARLY seems to be a problem, and they're going to have to do something about that. And sometimes Chef Neroni's dishes are a little too clever for their own good: a few less ingredients (and most particularly less sweet ones) would be better. OTOH, I completely agree with Daniel that standards of preparation are high. And the hits are, well, hits. For the money, and the neighborhood, you couldn't expect better. As I said in my own review, I think Porchetta is a victim of its own hype. PS -- Yeah, I always go to Fatty Crab for another full meal afterward, too. Daniel, are you even human???????

When people talk about the Great Old Days of Times restaurant criticism, I somehow don't think John Canaday is what they have in mind.

Could you talk more about the Monday Room?

How could you POSSIBLY like the block? The block is, like, awful.

I really miss the early days of nouvelle American cuisine. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!

FWIW, I completely agree with you about the prices. You'd be giving stuff away if you charged less than standard prices. Don't read what I'm about to write, but many of us would probably pay a premium for drinks of the quality you make. (You didn't read that, right?)

Pinot grigio.

I think that if Lutece under Soltner magically reappeared tomorrow, most people here would say it's a three-star restaurant.

Anybody says ANYTHING bad about Mimi Sheraton they're gonna have to step outside.

Unless they're calling it something else, doesn't that list omit what is by far the best-known white grape (or indeed wine grape, period) in the AA, at least here in the United States?

Do the restaurants feel demeaned? To the contrary, I suspect Danny Meyer and Daniel Humm are absolutely delighted with their three stars at Eleven Madison Park.And I suspect Drew Nieporent was absolutely delighted with his two stars at Mai House last week. (Actually, I know he is delighted, because he posted a congratulatory letter from one of his celebrity friends in the restaurant's front window.) Of course, those who fail to receive the stars they wanted aren't as happy, but any such system necessarily implies there will be winners and losers. I doubt the feeling is much different after an opera production gets panned, even though no stars are at stake. ← I don't mean it's demeaning to restauranteurs. I'm sure opera presenters (let alone singers) would be thrilled to get four stars. I mean it's demeaning to cuisine as a subject of serious attention. Stars imply consumer evaluations. If that's what you want out of restaurant critiicism, and nothing more, then promote stars all you can.

But isn't Joe Ng a dim sum chef? Was he in charge of the non-dim-sum menu at World Tong? Did World Tong even have a non-dim-sum menu?

Of course, opera reviews don't have stars. And, as I keep insisting, it's reductive and even, if you want to look it that way, demeaning that restaurant reviews do.