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stetson99

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Everything posted by stetson99

  1. I hate to go off topic, but today Bruni awards one star to Robert's Steakhouse. I am sure that this will allow the Chodorow Breakdown to continue to grow at an exponential rate.
  2. I haven't found this to be the case. The last time I was in New York I used the AMEX Platinum Concierge service to successfully get at 4-top at Babbo at 7 PM on a weekend. This wasn't used as a last minute tool of course. The requested was made to AMEX one month to the day after I couldn't personally get through the Babbo phone line that morning. I've never had any problems getting a last minute table in my own market of Houston either.
  3. I really hope this new endeavor works out well for him, but he's clearly got an uphill battle to fight. The place has not even open yet and already there's negative PR from the initial union rumors and now this time limit issue. Of course I take it all as a grain of fluer de sal until it can be independently verified that these are in fact true. I still must wonder if Ramsay has yet to learn the Great Truth about overseas chefs attempting to stake their claim in New York: "Those that fail to learn from the mistakes of Ducasse are condemned to repeat them."
  4. Did anyone catch Joel Robuchon's appearance on Charlie Rose last Friday? I missed it, and for some reason it hasn't been posted online yet. It should pop up at http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=tvsh...arlie_Rose&so=1 any day now. Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of dining at the Las Vegas outpost. It was one of the best meals of my life. I'll post a full review in the appropriate thread tomorrow evening. If you visit the NYC location then be sure to order the poached baby oysters with salted French butter. It is hands down the best small course I've eaten in my life. Incredibly simple, but amazingly delicious.
  5. I have no doubt that Heather will win, and that Gordon will make her the Executive Chef of the franchised Subway sandwich shop located deep in the pits of the Red Rock casino.
  6. stetson99

    Le Cirque

    http://events.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/dinin...ews/19rest.html Two stars from Bruni. Exactly what I suspected. "Le Cirque means luxury. Le Cirque equals privilege. Le Cirque connotes a culinary pecking order by which the rich and famous get the best tables and others get to breathe the same air. The name has so much iconic resonance that it’s molded into the butter on every table, stamped in gold on the chocolate flecks in some desserts and scrawled in red across the restroom towels. "But the restaurant itself is no longer an especially exciting one, at least not in its current incarnation. The new Le Cirque, in the Bloomberg Tower in Midtown, seems to be coasting on its myth, counting on the star power of Mr. Maccioni to compensate for a menu that could use more spark and a kitchen that could show more finesse."
  7. Have you not heard of Gordon and his reputation? This is how he has always been in the kitchen. Watch Boiling Points or Kitchen Nightmares. He's exactly the same on these more real 'reality' shows. You're wrong saying that no one would stand for his behavior. He has an amazing degree of loyalty from his cooks in England. They hear his abuse day in and out, and yet they stick with him because they respect him and his cuisine. Yeah, this show is typical american reality television, but you shouldn't bash on Ramsay. You may disagree with his tactics and approach, but you have to respect his reputation for continually producing great food.
  8. stetson99

    Babbo

    I must say that I'm surprised how hard it is to get a reservation at this place. My personal experience there makes me wonder what the trouble is all about. I planned a family trip to NYC last December, and I made the early decision that Babbo would be one of the places that we would dine at. I called a month to the day right after the reservation line opened. I called 150+ times for a Sunday res and never received anything more than a busy signal. I had a family member call American Express to get a table. A day later we had a table confirmed. A month later we arrived for our dinner. I expected the place to be packed due to the trouble I had making a reservation. I was shocked to be seated upstairs and seeing many empty tables. At least 1 out of 3 tables were empty at 8 PM. Two hours later even more were vacant. I expected the place to be full when we arrived at prime time. When it wasn't full I figured they were about to turn the tables. They never turned them. I'm not going to say that they intentionally limit reservations via phone, but I really must wonder if they're trying to be exclusive to build hype. This all could be forgiven if the food was decent. It was sadly lacking. I'd say it was borderline bad. It was one of the most disappointing fine dining experiences that I've had. The lamb's tongue salad had a 'three minute egg' that was hard boiled. The beef cheek ravioli was served cold. The interior had the texture and taste of cold and poorly cooked beef brisket. The black truffles served with the dish were too chewy, without flavor, and had a terrible mouth feel. The saffron panna cotta is perhaps the most overrated dessert I've ever consumed. The service was generally good. They had a great knowledge of the dishes and they knew their wine. They still made pedestrian mistakes. They poured wine from the wrong side. They cleared crumbs in an intrusive manner. All relatively minor. The worst mistake they made was serving my dessert wine five minutes after I finished the dessert. I should have refused it, but I'm too nice. I did enjoy the atmosphere. It was very comfortable and inviting. Bruni's comments on the music being too loud were lost on me. The music that played while we ate was Bruce Springstein's Nebraska. Awesome album and a nice touch. If anything it was played too quietly. I love that record. Still...very disappointing and very overrated. I had lunch at Cafe Boulud earlier that day. Now that was a great dining experience. Sure it took the server a minute to realize that he didn't give me the proper knife for my duck. But that duck..ohh...the duck...swoon. Brilliant.
  9. Any rumors that suggest what Bruni will be reviewing tomorrow?
  10. Midnight Pacific time I believe. Your timing has to be perfect as only a few tables are offered through Opentable.
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