mikeyrad
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Posts posted by mikeyrad
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i will take krug and salon against any grower champagne, any day of the week.
Krug, yes; DP or Cristal, maybe not. For a lot of the Negociants, you're paying as much for marketing as for quality.
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I first found out about grower Champagnes at a blind Champagne tasting led by Willie Gluckstern. We must have tasted at between 50 and 100 Champagnes, from grower-producers to premium brands. I remember that many described Cristal as tasting like piss. Willie said that many in the industry have given Veuve Clicquot the nickname "agent orange". On the whole, the grower-producers fared much better than the large Négociants.
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JohnL, I also agree. It's a shame that the Times is digressing to a lowest common denominator approach.
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A few restaurant owners have told me that Bruni doesn't know squat about wines. (I'd add that he is equally as boneheaded about food.) Supposedly, someone in his inner circle does have some expertise.
BTW, you can identify grower Champagnes by the RM designation somewhere on the bottle (in many cases the lower right-hand corner). They're usually of the similar or higher quality as the premium brands (Cristal or DP) at a fraction of the price.
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Whether or not you think that Chodorow's retort was a good idea, most would agree with his argument that Bruni is an incompetent restaurant reviewer. Unlike Grimes, it doesn't appear that Bruni has learned much about food or wine during his tenure. Either that, or he is unwilling to share that knowledge with his readers. I base this opinion on the fact that many of us have noted how little space is devoted to describing the food in comparison to describing the decor and/or everything else not remotely associated with the subject at hand. And that's too bad because unlike me, he is a wonderful writer.
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Yes, it is my opinion.
The inevitable conclusion is this place is suffering from being
over thought conceptually. Resulting in a lot of confusion.
Maybe they should have opened three separate and distinct places.
Actually, I don't think that the problem with Varietal is their concept or the ambiance. It's their prices! If they were around $22 per entree, Varietal would be a standout neighborhood type of restaurant serving very good food with a great wine selection. My guess is that the place would also be packed. However, at the $30 per entree price point it has some serious competition.
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I have to admit, using white "to enable wine drinkers to get a sense of the wine's color" is IMOP--pretentious bordering on the idiotic.
As you said, it's just your opinion. I just described the concept as described to me by the restaurant's food and wine director.
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I've NEVER seen Bruni write more than three sentences concerning dessert. Usually its exactly three sentences: the first sentence names the pastry chef and sums up his or her talent level and appropriateness to the restaurant, the second mentions in vague detail a dish that was delicious, and the third cites another which was unsucessful.
It would be interesting to see if he gives more consideration to the desserts at Varietal, knowing that they have garnered more buzz than the savory menu and the wine list collectively.
The problem is that he doesn't write more than a couple of paragraphs about the FOOD. He seems so much more intent to waste space describing the room or even worse, babbling on with clever, but completely unrelated prose. But this is getting into Bruniland so I'll stop.
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The point of the "starkness" (mostly white, even the bar) of the atmosphere is to enable wine drinkers to get a sense of the wines' color. I've spoken to many restaurant owners who have been reviewed by Bruni and it seems that he knows next to nothing about wine (IMHO, he knows next to nothing about food). It seems that sometimes he brings along someone who supposedly is more into wines than he is. So, given his penchant for weighting atmosphere in his reviews combined with his lack of knowledge about wine drinking and winetasting, don't be surprised if he bashes this restaurant.
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I was waiting on line outside of Smoke (jazz club) a few months ago and started a conversation with a man who is a partner in the Rosa chain. He explained that Rosa wholly owns the original 1st Ave location. We didn't talk about her stake in the other restaurants. But that would certainly explain the difference in quality between the original and all the other restaurants.
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StrongBuzz is reporting that the menu has reverted to the format from the old space. Can anyone verify?
The first time I had dinner at the Tasting Room, with Julie and Kiri, the menu had been modified to conform to standard appetizers and entrees from the signature Share/Taste format. We were disappointed by that change, but on my last visit, the original format had been restored. -
what I find interesting is it seems that Bruni's major criticism of Del Posto was that the menu had too many entries. His criticism of Babbo was the rock music. It seems to me that if Del Posto simply adopted Babbo's menu, that would have done the trick.
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To get four stars, Del Posto's cuisine needs to be better than Babbo's; moreover, it needs to be consistent, and that's hard to do with such a long menu.
oakapple, I am extremely impressed.
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Hi Spiro,
Just went to the Starwich web site and saw that one of the new locations in NYC will be on the Upper West Side. I am really excited to have a Starwich in my neighborhood. Where will it be located?
Also, I work in the Union Square area. Since 'wichcraft closed my sandwich choices have pretty much been limited to coffee shops. I know the area is way high rent, but I'd love to be able to get a starwich for lunch.
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Thanks for the response, bushey. Any other recommendations would be most helpful.
Mike
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My wife and I will be on vacation in Lee in the middle of October. We've been to Wheatleigh, and the Inn on the Green. I'm wondering about Pearl's, the Williamsville Inn and any other suggestions you may have.
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Just ate at Indus Valley last night. Their Kabuli Nan, stuffed with dried fruits and nuts, is highly recommended. The Tandoori chicken is not the customary red that you seen in most Indian restaurants. My guess is that they don't use food coloring.
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I don't mind saying that I was both shocked and appalled to see that Bruni only saw fit to give Alto two stars
. If only we could elect (and impeach) restaurant critics.
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Just ate at Celeste for the first time about two weeks ago and have been back around five times since. I'm hooked. Highlights include the fried artichoke; salad of raw baby artichokes and parmagiano with lemon dressing; pizza with anchovies, capers and tomatoes baked in a 700 degree oven; the ricotta ravioli with butter and sage (very rich); chicken cutlet with crushed almonds; and halibut sauteed with lemon and capers.
BTW, the cheese plates are amazing. As Daniel said, Carmine describes each cheese for you in incredible detail -- region, history, aging process, etc. He'll also tell you the order for tasting. I'm getting hungry.
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Has anyone been lately?
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You mean he isn't the literary creation of a culinary Ayn Rand?
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You know, I hang out on this board and a New York Mets fan board. On the Mets board, if a player has a bad game someone will post a "Release [insert player name here]" thread. I don't even want to mention what fans will post about a player whose performances are consistently subpar. So, I was thinking that maybe iheartoffal is on to something. I think a "Fire Bruni" thread is in order.
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Is the catering biz closing as well?
Bruni and Beyond: NYC Reviewing (2007)
in New York: Dining
Posted · Edited by mikeyrad (log)
If the two columns aren't mutually exclusive, then why not simply eliminate the $25 and Under column altogether? Why have two different columns if Bruni reviews restaurants that are under $25, and the $25 and Under column does the same? Maybe the $25 and Under column should review Masa.