Sneakeater

There's a long bar when you walk in. Behind it are a bunch of small booths and maybe some small freestanding tables. It looked like there would be table service at the booths and tables. I don't remember seeing a service counter. (In other words, the substantial wait looked like it was for a place to sit and be served, not for food at a counter. And there was a woman holding what looked like a long list to be seated. The bar was beyond crowded.)

I understand you might not want to speak to this, veda, but the elephant in the room is of course the New York Times review and the effect it might have had on Gilt's business. One might also question whether Frank Bruni's (and Bill Grimes's before him) apparent lack of sympathy for avant-garde or hypermodern or whatever-you-want-to-call-it cuisine might be one reason for such cuisine's arugable lack of traction in New York so far.

Tried to pop into BLT Burger (Laurent Tourondel's new burger joint on 6th Ave. btwn 11th & 12th) for dinner last night. But it was too packed. I ended up walking over to Little Owl. When you go to Little Owl because somewhere else is too crowded, you know things are bad. If anyone ever gets in, it would be nice to know how BLT Burger is.

When I said something like this, Fat Guy (at least I think it was Fat Guy) responded by asking, "Then what about Papillon?" So I guess now I'll add the question, "Then what about Papillon?"

Are they fools or knaves?

Speaking of Malbecs, I have to say that I opened a bottle of a very good Cahors (Chateau la Caminade "La Commandery" 2002) to go with some leftover steak in monkey gland sauce (don't ask) tonight and, boy, was it good. Just thought I'd let you all know.

Here, check this out: http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361_r1.html

No no no. I'm talking about an actual academic field -- aesthetics -- that is centered on the question of what art is. They're not experts in painting, or music, or sculpture. Their training is in philosophy. Their expertise is in the definition of art.

My own opinion is that the question whether or not cuisine can be art should be decided by the art experts (the guys who write the philosophy of aesthetics), not the food experts.

ON TOPIC: DITTO re Jewel Backo. I don't think that place is going to survive 2007, star or no star. OFF TOPIC: davidburke & donatella is the new Uptown. Hot girls and even young people get treated like or (that last word is supposed to be French). As long as they're rich-looking and kempt enough.

I could easily see you not liking it. It's VERY uptown. I've always thought of it as the uptown equivalent of THOR (when Gutenbrunner was there): a sort of fun version of "serious" cooking, in a high-energy, fun (for the neighborhood) setting.

It seems impossible that it's not still in the upturn phase. The guy only started there in February. How could it be getting worse? I have a feeling he's only now getting his kitchen staff in shape.

Oddly, if someone asked me to recommend a highly characteristic (and good) New York dining experience, davidburke & donatella would be near the top of my recommended list. OK, back to topic. Sorry.

I think for them the 3 AM is a more important component than the bone marrow in the "bone marrow at Blue Ribbon at 3 AM" experience.

I tried to go to Smoke Joint after BAM today (watching Butoh dance definitely makes you hungry for barbecue). But despite their plans it's not open yet. (Or at least wasn't open tonight.) It does, however, answer the burning question: what's going into the space where the Cambodian restaurant was?

You know, I love Tadao Ando, too, and so I understand you've got to go despite what I'm about to say, but the Morimoto interior just doesn't come close to, say, the Pulitzer Museum in St. Louis in terms of sheer gooseflesh-inducingness.

You're putting Lever House on the wrong side of the island.

DiFara, for the by-the-slice pizza of the gods. Franny's. But you don't have time to get to them. (Both in Brooklyn.)

You mean, like, if you left Lorna home? I'm actually a pretty big fan of Danube, but I'd recommend Upstairs over it. Yeah. You really HAVE to hit Room 4 Dessert.

It's more like $350-$400. There are no options whatsoever. You pay the set fee (which fluctuates slightly with the seasons) and you eat.

Actually, isn't it a dead cow?

I don't know any local non-foodies who consult Michelin. Zagat still seems to have a lock here. OTOH, the reservations guy at Saul was quoted in Eater today as saying that their business jumped after they got their star.

Why the Saul hating? I see Saul as a prime candidate for a single star. It serves very solid market-driven fare, the service is professional yet friendly, the ingredients are "gourmet" without being overly fussy. I wish some of the one stars I ate in Paris were as good as Saul. Never been to Etats-Unis, so I can't say that it doesn't deserve the slam. And for my input, wd~50 should be at two stars - I think the fairly boring room holds them back. The fact that Del Posto has two while Babbo has one adds fuel to that fire. ← I can't speak for Sneakeater, but my interpretation was not so much a slam on Saul or Etats-Unis, but a defense of Devi. ← Thanks. You said it better than I did anyway.

I guess to me, the question isn't "why the Saul hating," but rather "why the Devi hating".

I don't hate Saul. I do think it's overrated. If it were in Manhattan instead of Brooklyn, I don't think you'd ever hear much about it (and I certainly don't think it would have gotten a Michelin star). I think Devi is special in a way that Saul just isn't.