Sneakeater

I've eaten at Table 8, and agree with FG and Chris that the food is better than it's getting credit for. But Chris's comments about the cocktails show why this place is so denigrated by anyone with any taste -- and his wildly optimistic hope that they improve their cocktail program (and put an emphasis on gin) suggests that he might be missing why that is. This place will NEVER improve its cocktail program. The ignorant douchebag crowd that it caters to WANTS the sugary one-dimensional vodka swill that the bar here specializes in. The fact that this place obviously caters to a clientele that doesn't know or care about quality (and which is extremely unpleasant to be among) has blinded most observers to the quality of what's on the plates. (I'll note that this isn't the fault of the chefs, but rather their backers who own the Cooper Square Hotel.) You can see that this is what Frank Bruni was (over)reacting to. But I think it's colored most of the other reviews this place has gotten as well. And frankly, speaking for myself, while I liked the food, I'd never consider going near Table 8 again.

That brioche really is fantastic.

How many times do I have to explain this: nowadays, B&T means Manhattan.

I don't do brunch myself, but the Parker Meridien itself has a very famous and successful (and expensive) brunch spot called Norma's. Be sure to reserve ahead -- it gets stupid crowded.

It's a stupid question. If you have throngs of people waiting an hour and a half for a slice, why WOULDN'T you charge five dollars?

Your license determines how late you can stay open. The SLA, under pressure from local community boards, is getting tougher in the licenses it grants. A lot of places are now only getting licenses allowing them to stay open till 2AM rather than 4AM. In cases like Death & Co., where there was a foul-up with their license which the local community board took advantage of, they had to agree to close at midnight. The new Hotel Grifou on 9th or 10th St. similarly has to close at midnight or 1 AM because of an agreement with the coop they're housed in.

One of my biggest complaints about New York is that places of all kinds that are supposed to be open late -- late-night restaurants as well as bars -- frequently will close up long before official closing time if there aren't any customers there. This infuriates me. If a place is supposed to be open till 1 AM, I don't want to get there at 12:15 and get turned away because they're closing up for the night. But it's very common.

A lot of them do it because of licensing problems.

I'm hard pressed to think of anywhere in the East Village you couldn't go in jeans and a tee shirt. From Hearth on down.

I'm sure Matsugen didn't call it Kobe.

I thought the kobe beef at Matsugen was pretty fantastic (if extremely expensive).

NCL! NCL! NCL! What a great drink. (Wait I haven't had the bourbon lemonade yet. It could be even better.)

Yeah, I think questioning the value at Allegretti is weird. It's not off-the-charts great value like Aldea, but in the scheme of things, it's very well-priced for what it is. (Especially with that prix fixe they're now offering.) Frankly, I think the reviewers questioned its value just because they were put off by how nice (in a traditional sense) the dining room is.

I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me.

STANDOUT: Corton

(Although I should add that I went to a recent wine dinner at Per Se where we were led to believe the final tweaking of the menu was done by a sous chef rather than Chef Benno, and I have to say I found the result to be spectacular.)

The problem is not in executing dishes. It's in creating them. We have no idea if Chef Benno's sous chef has the chops to create menu additions as good as what Chef Benno's been serving over the last several years.

I'm boycotting this movie because they didn't cast Dan Ackroyd.

I just wouldn't trust a place that serves a classic like a Sazerac but gives it another name. Makes it seem like they have no respect for cocktails (or their clientele) (which in the case of a place located where the Standard is would probably be warranted). PS -- Actual absinthe is part of the recipe of a Sazerac, so housemade or not that couldn't justify a new name.

That's the way I feel exactly.

I love Tulcingo, but the problem I have with it is that the protiens are pretty low quality. (The moles they're in are obviously beyond praise.) You can't complain at that price, of course, but if I were travelling I think I'd have a problem with eating like that.

Twenty-three pages more -- with a link to an archive of even more, earlier posts. And WD-50 (about which I had fairly serious reservations when it opened) keeps getting better and better (meaning more sensually appealing). I had the tasting menu there a couple weeks ago, and I'm still thinking about how great it was.

The OP may not yet know whether she loves pastrami.

I don't think "high end" is an accurate representation of Ssam Bar. Anybody who goes there expecting "high end" is probably going to be pissed off (and it's my favorite restaurant, so this isn't meant as a criticism of it). Also, although I know what you mean, I don't know that I'd use "French-based" to describe Degustation (Spanish), Blue Hill (American), and WD-50 (Martian/American).

I think Natasha has to tell us whether she's willing to travel to Outer Boroughs. If she is, a whole world of possibilities opens up to her.