LPShanet
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Posts posted by LPShanet
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In addition to Pan's recommendation (Cantoon Garden), I've also had good group meals at Fuleen and at Congee Village. In the latter case, you can even ask for a private room for your group.
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I think a combination of all three of the last three posts in the thread is probably the most accurate way to look at it. Certainly the economy and the ridiculous delays in opening were major factors, but Sneak is totally correct that NY has been much less receptive to modern/molecular cooking than many other major US cities. WD-50 is the only place to make a long go of it here to date. And quite a few have failed. While it's easy to say that the flavors were accessible, that doesn't change the fact that the techniques were "science-y" and many flavor combinations very unexpected to traditional palates. Molecular cuisine done well is just as delicious as any other type of cuisine, but that doesn't mean everyone accepts it. As for the location, while it' wasn't the middle of nowhere, it was a block with essentially no foot traffic/walk-in potential, and that part of Soho is certainly not a neighborhood on the rise in terms of dining. Lethal for a place that depended on a strong bar business as well as regular visitors to the dining room.
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Very sad (if not unexpected) news. Even for those people who may not have loved the place, New York has lost a restaurant for which there is no equivalent, and is the worse for it. For those of us who were big fans, it's an even bigger loss. Please keep us posted on any upcoming ventures, chef, as we'll be eager to be first in the door...
Cheers!
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Update: Had the dinner at Apiary. Food quite good. Service quite bad. (Which I suppose is consistent with what happened above.) While not nearly as ambitious or impressive as what he was doing at Veritas, Scott Bryan's food is very solid. A nice combo of eggplant caponata and seared scallops made for a surprisingly well-matched combo in my appetizer, and the skate with a sort of razor clam and corn chowder as a sauce were very good, as were the dishes of my dining companions. He's not breaking any new ground culinarily here, but it's what I'd call a very good neighborhood restaurant. Not worth a major trip, but definitely one of the best in the area, and well worth trying.
On the negative side, the room is VERY loud, even when half empty, due to hard floors, bare tables, and the general design of the place. By the time it filled in, it was deafening, which doesn't really suit the overall ambience of the place. Further, service was pretty spotty. It took a very long time to get our appetizers, but we shrugged that off. Then, over 40 minutes after ordering them, the waitress approached us and told us that they were out of one of our mains. I have no idea why it took them so long to inform us of this, but it was very unprofessional, and we were starving. Then it took another 25-30 minutes or so to get our food, presumably because they were then starting from scratch on cooking the dish that replaced the one they were out of (and maybe re-making the others at the same time). In the interim, they didn't offer us anything else to eat. Once the food did come, it was very solid, as noted above, but there was nothing done about the service issues apart from an apology at the time they took the revised order. No comped dessert, no snack to tide us over, no round of drinks. Nothing. Between that and the whole reservation thing, I'd say they need to direct a little attention to their service procedures. It's not like they're packing the house every night and can afford to lose business.
I first ate at the restaurant within a week or two of their opening, and the service was smooth, even though newly opened spots often struggle with that. For them to have gotten so much worse is really surprising and not good. Scott Bryan's food deserves better.
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Still, they need to get on a few of the gaps in their coverage (Yasuda, Jewel Bako, etc.), which they may have failed to do not because of the difficulty of visiting the spots, but because "correcting" some of their gaffes would be almost like admitting an error.
These errors are getting corrected gradually. La Goulue and Vong, among the most dubious stars in the first NY guide, no longer have them. Eleven Madison Park, one of the worst omissions, now does.
Obviously I would prefer that the errors never happened at all, but at least they do have a process for detecting and removing them. In five years, Michelin has demoted 19 restaurants (that is, taken one or more stars away). That's not counting restaurants removed from the guide because they closed. In five years as NYT restaurant critic, Frank Bruni never once corrected one of his ratings downwards. He did add stars to his own ratings, but no more than half-a-dozen times.
Good point about La Goloue and Vong...I hadn't even noticed their removal! I think Michelin is doing a pretty good job overall, despite the expected disagreements, and a few "errors". And certainly there seems to be less individual bias and ego at work here than with Bruni (or any other Times critic). As usual, though, the nature of the beast makes the two and three star selections more useful than the rest. And despite the odd picks, there are no real duds on the list at all. Even the surprising picks (e.g. Rhong Tiam or Jewel Bako) can still provide you with a pretty good meal. Surprisingly, I think Jewel Bako may be improving slightly again. I had a "snack" there a few weeks ago while waiting for seats at Degustation and it was noticeably improved. If their usual correction lag holds true, they may finally take it off the one star list, only to find us clamoring to put it back!
Well, either that or they'll sit on it long enough that their prophecy once again comes true... -
Still, they need to get on a few of the gaps in their coverage (Yasuda, Jewel Bako, etc.), which they may have failed to do not because of the difficulty of visiting the spots, but because "correcting" some of their gaffes would be almost like admitting an error.
These errors are getting corrected gradually. La Goulue and Vong, among the most dubious stars in the first NY guide, no longer have them. Eleven Madison Park, one of the worst omissions, now does.
Obviously I would prefer that the errors never happened at all, but at least they do have a process for detecting and removing them. In five years, Michelin has demoted 19 restaurants (that is, taken one or more stars away). That's not counting restaurants removed from the guide because they closed. In five years as NYT restaurant critic, Frank Bruni never once corrected one of his ratings downwards. He did add stars to his own ratings, but no more than half-a-dozen times.
Good point about La Goloue and Vong...I hadn't even noticed their removal! I think Michelin is doing a pretty good job overall, despite the expected disagreements, and a few "errors". And certainly there seems to be less individual bias and ego at work here than with Bruni (or any other Times critic). As usual, though, the nature of the beast makes the two and three star selections more useful than the rest. And despite the odd picks, there are no real duds on the list at all. Even the surprising picks (e.g. Rhong Tiam or Jewel Bako) can still provide you with a pretty good meal. Surprisingly, I think Jewel Bako may be improving slightly again. I had a "snack" there a few weeks ago while waiting for seats at Degustation and it was noticeably improved.
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Just had a confusing and surprising experience while making a reservation at Apiary. Via a link from Apiary's website, I went to OpenTable in search of a 7:30 reservation. I saw that they had both 7:15 and 7:45 available, but not 7:30. So I called the restaurant directly, assuming it probably wouldn't be a huge matter to request a 7:30 slot (which I was in need of due to timing issues with the arrival of my two guests). To my amazement, rather than accommodate me, they told me that 7:30 would be "impossible", but I could still have either 7:15 or 7:45. I find it hard to believe that a restaurant with several tables available at both 7:15 and 7:45 is making a good business decision by not helping us out in this small way. I know it's just a matter of 15 minutes, but I was a bit shocked, I have to admit. It's especially confounding when you consider that most restaurants will generally hold a table for 15 minutes, meaning that were we less considerate than we are, we could have arrived by 7:30 for a 7:15 reservation and reasonably expected that our table would still be available for us. Surely, what they could have achieved with a minor gesture of good will would be been a greater gain for them than saving the 15 minutes and pissing me off before I even arrived at the venue. Thoughts?
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Seems like they used their usual procedure of exploring the potential 2 and 3 star picks MUCH more thoroughly than those that might only receive Bib Gourmand or 1 star status.
Jean-Luc Naret (Michelin head) said that they visited Daniel eight times this year. Given any level of reasonable budget, they simply can't give all 600+ listed restaurants (and probably hundreds more visited, but not listed) an equal amount of scrutiny. Those receiving the highest ratings naturally are explored much more carefully. There is simply no other way to do it.
And they've now thrown in one or two seemingly intentional "controversial" picks each year.I suspect that if you posted your 55 favorite restaurants (that's the number with stars), there would almost certainly be a few that the rest of us considered controversial. Our tastes and interests are too widely varied for there to be a list of 55 that everyone else agrees is 100% reasonable.
I think it's kind of fun to see a list that isn't just the usual suspects recycled.
Aside from the previously mentioned bafflers, it seems almost intentional that they avoid giving Yasuda stars. Obviously, they know about it. And weird that they love Ko enough to give it multiple stars, but Ssam doesn't even make the list.Their treatment of Ko is more sensible than Frank Bruni's decision to award both Ko and Ssam the identical three stars. Ssam does have a Bib Gourmand.
The lack of a star for Yasuda is one of the handful of decisions that I cannot rationally explain, but again, I suspect your list of 55 would have at least a few of those. Frank Bruni's certainly did.
Fair comments all, Marc. But I still get the sense that they are trying to pique conversation and controversy a little bit. That, after all, is a very French thing to do. I'm sure we'd all have slightly different top 55 lists, as you said, but some of their decisions/selections are certainly intended to provoke....and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Still, they need to get on a few of the gaps in their coverage (Yasuda, Jewel Bako, etc.), which they may have failed to do not because of the difficulty of visiting the spots, but because "correcting" some of their gaffes would be almost like admitting an error.
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At $125, to leave still hungry enough to eat a dessert, with no appreciable change in the types of ingredients used....
When the price went up to $125, they said that more expensive ingredients would be used. Are you saying this is untrue? I have to say, if you left hungry after a dozen courses, you have a remarkable appetite.
Actually, despite the large number of courses "on paper", I didn't find my dinners at Ko to be that much food, or particularly filling. I was full after the lunch, which is larger, but certainly had a little room at dinner. My companions did, too, so I don't think sickchangeup's comment is out of line. Loved the food, though.
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It's not trying to be a Neapolitan pie at all. It's a square pan pizza/whatever and it's soggy. A Neapolitan pie can be wet in the center, and some people call that soggy -- an defensible position -- but I'd call that a desirable sogginess. The Veloce pies are undesirably soggy.
I may be shot for being a non-believer, but I found the pies I had at Keste last week to also have an undesirable sogginess. In fact, I was overall unimpressed.
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Word is out. It was Boulud. And Liebrandt got two.
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There is no food of any kind being served at the bar. I was there a couple of times in the last two weeks for drinks, and the kitchen is completely closed. In fact, the entire upstairs is sort of blocked off and you walk directly downstairs. Seems the bartenders have been told to just say that they will reopen the restaurant once Sam is done with his show, but I'm not sure how relevant that info is. I hope it's true. As far as the cocktail menu goes, they have been serving a variety of things from Eben's old cocktail menus, and there do seem to be some minor changes from week to week, though it's not clear if any of the added drinks were created by others, or if they're just rotating the old recipes in and out. Nonetheless, I had a few very nice drinks there last week.
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Seems like they used their usual procedure of exploring the potential 2 and 3 star picks MUCH more thoroughly than those that might only receive Bib Gourmand or 1 star status. And they've now thrown in one or two seemingly intentional "controversial" picks each year. Aside from the previously mentioned bafflers, it seems almost intentional that they avoid giving Yasuda stars. Obviously, they know about it. And weird that they love Ko enough to give it multiple stars, but Ssam doesn't even make the list.
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are they answering the phones?
Their phones are still answered with the same recording they've had on for months, that states they'll be closed July and August, but that the bar will be open. Haven't gone by in person, but there's been no change to their phone situation and I haven't had a live person pick up.
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Anyone have any insight as to Tailor's current status? They were supposedly closed for July and August for a "revamp". Sadly, I assume this has more to do with revamping finances than decor. The message on their phone line states that they were only closing the dining room, and that only for those two months. But I'm not sure if they're open at all these days or whether they still plan on opening the dining room. Any info is greatly appreciated.
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Useful thread. Went to Blue Ribbon Sushi late night. I used to really like this place but I had not been back for a year or two. This time we were very disappointed--prices have gone up and portions have gotten smaller. Quality of the sushi rice was spotty. I really have to say I would not go back here, which is a shame because I used to think it was a pretty good late night option. Guess they've just been able to coast along on a wave of popularity and are now just squeezing everything out of their existing customer base. Oh well.
That's a major shame. Seems like it might be time to do an update to this thread. If anyone has any thoughts, please chime in. I'm sure there are additions and subtractions to be made. And I fear that Tailor may soon be a subtraction, though I sincerely hope not!
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Great stuff, everyone. Thanks so much. I'm there now, and almost certainly going to Cutler and Co., and Vue de Monde at some point this week if possible, and going to try to hit as many others as time allows. Unfortunately, since it's not a pure vacation, I don't think we'll be able to get too far out of town, though some of the more distant options do sound good. Better saved for the next trip, it would seem.
Thanks again!
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I'm making my first trip to Melbourne, and was hoping to get opinions on what the best few restaurants in Melbourne are, of any type. I'm completely open in terms of food types, and price isn't an issue. I'm simply looking for the can't-miss food experiences in town. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks!
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Overall, I agree with the posts so far by Fat Guy and oakapple. However, there's one thing that hasn't been discussed much. LOCATION. What you do depends greatly on your location, and the clientele it tends to attract. While I and most others on these boards are probably fans of dry aging, the real determining factor will be whom you're serving to. The midtown east audience has very different tastes from the West Village, Financial District and so on. While I'm sure you're trying to maintain anonymity, a little more info is needed to guide you properly. And as FG has pointed out, you need something to set you apart from the existing competition, both good and bad. So far, most of the stuff you've mentioned is being done, either well or poorly, somewhere. In NY, it's not enough to be merely good (or even very good). You also have to have some way of standing out, and a reason for existing. Tell us more about your neighborhood and your market position, and we can give you lots of useful input.
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Times announcing that there's a Picnick, Smoked trailer gonna bring barbecue to Battery Park starting today. Anyone planning a trip down?
I am! But haven't been yet. Is the original Picnick still in Battery Park?
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Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't end up eating steamers out. I visited my brother in CT and we bought a big load at a local seafood shack and cooked them at home. The were delicious and I ate an embarrassing amount. It was like going back in time.
We did end up eating at Pearl one night, since we were in the neighborhood, but steamers were not on the specials that night. I had mussels. The mussels themselves were okay, but the preparation was not very good. My mother, always on a lobster roll quest, was disappointed as well. She thought the lobster was tough and there was far too much mayo. I had a really good lobster roll in CT. Instead of the more typical lobster salad roll, this was a hot lobster roll. Lot's of really big hunks of claw and tail meat on a traditional toasted and buttered bread. Nice. I'm not sure I would recommend Pearl Oyster Bar. Perhaps they've gone downhill?
There's also the fact that there are two different schools of lobster roll construction. Both call themselves "New England style" at times, just to make things more confusing. One is the salad-based version, served cold, that you mentioned. The other involves essentially just lobster and butter, and is often served hot/warm. I personally find that there's room for both, if done well, but people definitely have preferences, as they do with styles of pizza, BBQ, etc.
Sad to hear that you didn't have a good run at Pearl. The last time I was there (a few months ago) it was still good. But on any given night...
FWIW, back to your original post, I was at Ed's Lobster Bar the other night, and they had steamers galore. Not the best I've ever had, but they had 'em nonetheless, and they hit the spot.
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Yeah, I love BBQ, but as a native of NC it seems silly to visit NYC and eat BBQ.
So the kids are all from NC? Based on your original post, for all I know they are from Long Island. In which case BBQ would be fantastic. Either way I wouldn't expect them to understand the subway and buses within a short trip. Take them to John's unless you have a bus arranged....
I'm shocked that Raji hasn't suggested one of our fine ramen establishments
Would that work? -
Apropos of nothing, I just thought I'd mention that I really miss the uni tapioca dish. Like, a lot.
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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.
This is also a huge beef of mine. In fact, I think I even started a thread on it once upon a time. Or at least one in response to it.
The other factor is that we, the denizens of the city, are partly responsible. If enough of us go to these places that they're still busy enough to be open at those hours, they'll stay open. A business does lose money if they pay someone to man the ship, and no one comes in.
NFT (Not For Tourists): NYC dining
in New York: Dining
Posted
Among many others, I'd say Aldea is worth a mention.
BTW, did I read correctly above that Arturo's was mentioned as being NOT touristy???? <rubbing eyes>