augieland

Great report. Except for harmony between monkfish and pork I concur with most of your thoughts. I have scans of the menu from night one here for those interested, sounds like it was slightly different than doc’s night though. http://augieland.blogs.com/augie_land/2006...tal_832_fi.html

did you equate Ssam bar to chipotle?

Hate to use superlatives, but Masa is peerless and beyond compare so far. Go it is worth it.

I simply assert that if you are offering a travel guide, as Michelin is, it would be a mistake to overlook three restaurants operating at a level superior to their counterparts which can only be experienced in the place you are referencing. Sourcing local ingredients doesn't make you a destination restaurant (or Californian). Getting more out of local ingredients (who said vegetables?) than anyone else makes you a great restaurant. Limiting yourself to the ingredients of an area and elevating them beyond the abilities of your contemporaries makes you a unique destination spot, worthy of a note in a travel guide for that area.

The pedigree of the chefs and the menus driven by indigenous ingredients make all three only possible in NY.

gotta tell ya i like augieland.blogs.com, but i write it

Looking over this list, which cities would you want to add to the list? Why? ← The Paris thing makes sense to me; most the best dining is prohibitively expensive and staid. I love New York, I spend my days paying homage to it’s food, but at most the points in my life if asked what restaurant I most wanted to go back to it was in Chicago. Trotter’s then Alinea now. Somehow Chicago always leaves me impressed by expertise and creativity. I can’t imagine a list that doesn’t include it.

I’ve never eaten in the dining room so I can't share my feelings on his feelings. You all know I love the Omakase bar. http://augieland.blogs.com/augie_land/2006...o_nyc_om_5.html I find it very interesting (not necessarily bad) that he never had an omakase either in the dining room or at the sushi bar.

wish i had been invited to the morimoto friends and family, so far every Mori has been a pay for play affair.

the answer is in the posts, the answer is in the posts