LPShanet

I've said this in another thread and I will say it again, I don't think Tailor is undervalued at all. I love "modern" cooking and truly enjoyed my experience at WD as well as Alinea, and I wish that Corton was even more in keeping with those restaurants (like Gilt and Atlas were). However, like I said before, I was really excited by reading the menu at tailor and was as disappointed afterwords as I was excited beforehand. While the menu seemed like it would be interesting, the food was very bland to my taste. Also, the menu hasn't seemed to have changed since I went there last (8 months ago) so I see no reason to revisit it. ← Just to support the nature of polarization, I'm going to chime in my support for Sethro and others' viewpoints on this one. I find Tailor very underappreciated, and like the food a lot.

This is an interesting point. So much of our experiences of restaurants are quite subjective, especially with a limited dining dollar. For example, I had one bad experience at Peasant, which really wasn't the restaurant's fault. (an obnoxious customer). Will I return? Probably not, but mostly because it is New York and I can move on with almost no consequences. I promise you if this were Wilmington DE, where I lived for a year, a place like Peasant would get a second and third and fourth chance. ← I'm with you on the subjective factor and how it can affect your perception even when you know it isn't fair. I, too, had a bad experience at Peasant, which was so shocking and off-putting to me that I haven't been back, even though the food was excellent. (The experience in question concerned the service and their response to it, not the food.) I have, however, recommended Peasant to others since then (in fact, I just endorsed it on another thread....go figure)...I just can't bring myself to go again after what happened, even though it was probably an isolated incident.

Good one. I'd almost forgotten about it, and I ate very well there. I'd say the same for its predecessor version: Urena.

I regularly dine at Ko, and the reason I go back so often even though there are no tangible benefits is for the single reason that I love their cuisine. Since I usually space my reservations to no more than monthly and alternate between lunch and dinner, I am always pleased with the changing menus. My favorite (the shaved foie gras) is always on both menus. Unlike other posters on this board, it was only recently that I had the deep fried short ribs at dinner; I loved it so much I've been back for dinner twice since. Sometimes there will be a course that I don't care for (sweetbreads/rabbit--just a personal dislike as opposed to Ko's preparation), but I would say that I love probably 90% of the courses. Sometimes I'm sad when Ko retires a favorite, but there's always a new favorite. ← I think the fact that Ko's menu is constantly evolving/changing also makes it a good candidate for revisits. This, of course, applies to any place that varies its menu frequently, but Ko is REALLY good.

Well, I'd expand on this a bit. It definitely pays to be a regular at Tsukushima. Sushi bars, it pays to be a regular. As a general rule, the closer you are to the person serving your food, the greater the potential hookup, but the rest really depends on the particular sushi chef or server. A far far greater asset is language... ← As usual, Raji sums up the situation with respect to Japanese food better and more concisely than I did. +1 for the point about language. I don't speak a word of proper Japanese, but just the fact that I know so many FOOD words in Japanese has been a boon to my cause.

I've had good ones at Pearl Oyster Bar. They don't always have them, so call ahead to check if they're available.

They're very similar. The main point of difference is the country of origin.

As mentioned, there are good food STORES in Little Italy...or at least there's Di Palo, which is worth a visit. There's also a sense of history, which is fun. But the restaurants are pretty much all mediocre. However, Peasant, mentioned in an earlier post, is in the neighborhood just adjacent (north) to Little Italy (called Nolita), and has very good food. I'd say Emporio, also in Nolita, is pretty decent, too, although the same owners have a better/more ambitious place in Soho, called Aurora.

I support Daisy and Pan's thoughts. I think Falai is also worth a try. And I had a very nice meal at L'artusi last night that would put any in Little Italy to shame.

If you want to see it, take a look http://eater.com/archives/2009/06/happy_en...ouse_charge.php ← Exactly. It clearly states that it is not a tip. ← I could be wrong, but I was led to believe that they did this for legal reasons related to whether or not you can place a service charge of the other type on a check. Again, I'm not an authority, just know what I was told. When I ate there a couple of years ago, there was no such charge.

Europeans still don't know to tip? Their guidebooks and years of American movies don't tell them so? It's kind of funny that a Japanese restaurant, the #1 non-tipping culture on earth, would be the pioneers in forced tipping. ← At the risk of offending members of other (especially certain European) cultures, my observation has been that those Europeans that don't tip are often willfully ignorant rather than oblivious. In a number of cases, it's become clear to me that even though they've been made aware of the custom, they still don't follow it, either because they object to it in principle, or because they think they can get away with not tipping. Either way, the servers get stiffed, or at least underpaid. In the offenders' defense, I'm sure paying for something that they're used to getting free doesn't sit well with them. Your point about the irony of the Japanese enforcing it is well taken, though:)

Any word on how the steak and sauce in NY compare to the ones in Paris?

I've heard tell of this phenomenon. Luckily, I don't think the world would trust me to raise anything more complicated than a dog.

I'm curious about your (strong) feeling about Mas since I have always wanted to try it. I was a fan of Galen when he was at Bouley. Would you expand on your feeling that Mas is over valued. ← My attitude towards Mas is probably overstated for the sake of comedy in my post. But my experiences there (two of them) left me feeling underwhelmed by the food, and outraged by the prices. The food was acceptable, if a bit unmemorable. One of the four things we ate was really good, the other three items just standard and not very seasoned. I much preferred his cooking when he was at Bouley. But the prices were so far out of line that I couldn't believe that anyone paid them unless they were drunk. I went back just to make sure I hadn't been on an off night. I didn't return after that. I'm assuming they may have tamed the price points since, but at the time, the mains were all in the high $30's to mid $40's, which was higher than many of the top restaurants in all of NY at the time. And that was at a venue I perceived to be in the category of "good local restaurant". I certainly didn't get the impression that it was a high profile destination restaurant, nor that it could become one. They also did a few other things that put me off. They purposely didn't reveal the prices of the day's specials, which despite using standard ingredients (halibut, if I remember correctly) were a full $10 higher than the already overpriced regular mains. To pay almost $50 for a dull halibut main was shocking, and deserved warning. Then there was the wine service. I was familiar with many of the bottles on the list as they were fairly standard. But the markup was between 4 and 5 times, rather than the usual 2-3. Also, they had exactly no bottles on the list under $65. Again, I'm guessing all this has changed, but the pretense was off-putting enough that I wasn't eager to return. And finally, the service (which I've heard from others can be quite good at times) was VERY condescending, and they tried several times to "sell me a bill of goods" with respect to wines that they clearly didn't know anything about themselves. They gave me a bunch of made up false info and were quite snotty about it. They were faking it, under the assumption that I didn't know better. So all that said, just the fact that they're still in business suggests that many of these things must have changed since, as very few places get away with that level of Emperor's New Clothes in this town without a lot of help from out of towners.

Meaning you didn't think they were underappreciated or that you were unfamiliar with their reputations at all? I always think of you as someone more in the food loop than almost anyone:)

I realize this was meant tongue in cheek, but it's worth noting Rao's for a moment. The only way to eat at Rao's is if you're a regular or a guest of a regular. So nobody really knows how non-regulars are treated. It makes the analysis difficult. I was a regular at Il Mulino for about a year in the late '90s, when I worked downtown and had the budget for that sort of thing. I'm not sure there's any food benefit to being a regular there. It's just easier to get in. But you get offered the same stuff as everybody else, and you pay the same. ← Actually, we do know how non-regulars are treated...they can't get in. Entry is the ultimate perk. Waverly Inn is experimenting with a slightly kinder/gentler version of this philosophy. Le Cirque in its heydey was slightly comparable, where the perk of being a regular was that they treated you like a human being. Yes, I'm kidding...kind of. To answer an earlier poster's question about Japanese restaurants, I'd concur with FG's statement. They very clearly appreciate your business, and are friendly and offer you input about what's best, but there are very few comps. You may get offered great things that aren't on the menu, but you'll pay for them. I think it's just a cultural difference. This, however, doesn't apply to Americanized Japanese restaurants, or "nouvelle" style ones like Nobu, where being a regular can result in the usual comped dishes and quick seating even without a reservation. On note related to this thread's topic, I can recount a story of essentially the opposite of what the thread is about. We were completely duped by an slightly unscrupulous (or just cheap) restaurateur a few years ago. I'll leave names out, but the place is no longer open anyway. When we arrived, we found out that my date had been an old friend/acquaintance of the chef/owner, from a time when they had both lived in another country. He welcomed us warmly and brought us several items to try in addition to what we had ordered, asking for our opinions of them. He also brought us several glasses of wine, dessert wine and other add-ons. We were really enjoying our meal, and were chuffed enough about all the extras that we decided we would become regulars even before the meal had ended. So on the surface it would have seemed that the chef/owner's actions were an excellent business decision. He had won over a bunch of future business by being so generous. Except for one thing. When we got the bill, we were charged for every single one of the things he brought us that he we hadn't asked for. (And no, we hadn't requested that he should just give us whatever was good or anything like that. We had ordered a la carte.) He then made a lame and nervous joke about how he had considered comping us for the stuff he had brought, but decided against it "because he was cheap". He laughed, but wasn't kidding. (Fair disclosure: we liked the food enough that we returned once or twice anyway, but he lost a ton of patronage that way.)

Nope, the price of the meal has been lowered, most recently from $450, to $400. I'm not sure the baseline price was ever at $500, though the hostess seemed to be under that impression. ← I'm pretty sure $450 was the peak for the regular prix fixe in NY.

I still think this is primarily a misunderstanding/communication issue. From all the conversations I've had, it is intended as the equivalent of any restaurant's service charge, meaning that it's there as what we think of as a tip, but you are welcome to add even more if you choose. They don't call it a "tip" because they don't want it to be optional, but they don't expect you to leave an additional gratuity unless you've had an unusually good experience. Maybe specific people at the restaurant are saying otherwise (or being unclear) in the hopes of upping their take even more, but my understanding was that they originally added it because of the many Europeans and others from non-tipping cultures that frequent the restaurant. Per Se has a similar practice. The TWC is a major destination for out of towners.

1. Mas (farmhouse) 2. Pastis (can't believe no one else has mentioned this yet...it's the king of overvalued. For the record, I like Balthazar, however.) 3. Mas (farmhouse) 4. <wincing in anticipation of the flaming I'm going to get> Hill Country...I just don't get it. 5. Mas (farmhouse) 6. Devi (quite good, but not THAT different from other high end Indian I've had for 2/3 the price.) 7. Per Se (great execution, but flavors didn't amaze) 8. Telepan 9. Cookshop (I like the idea, but the food bores) 10. What the hell....Mas (farmhouse) Hope I don't make too many enemies with this list.

I'd concur with Degustation based on my recent meals there, and agree about Monday Room, though I think that may also be due to an effort by fans to keep it on the DL. My current vote is Elettaria. And a few worth discussing are En Japanese Brasserie, Matsugen (which is good value if you get the prix fixe), Toqueviille, Perilla, and Annisa. There were a few that closed already that some on the boards might have listed, such as P*ong and Gilt, though both would get polarized responses (love and hate). Just to clarify here, my understanding is that we're using the term "undervalued" to mean underappreciated rather than being a good financial value. A few of the posts seem to assume the latter (that "undervalued" refers to price-related value), which I'm guessing is a misunderstanding.

At which one? ← Many reports have indicated that the experience at Masa often leaves people cold and feeling indifferent, while Hiro Urasawa is warm, gracious, and generous with his spirit. ← Ah, thanks for clarifying. For what it's worth, I thought the experience at Masa was great. He was very friendly, generous and interactive, and seemed to be enjoying himself. Nothing cold or indifferent about it. Then again, since it's live humans we're talking about, so I'm sure the experience varies from visit to visit. Looking forward to Urasawa in the near future!

At which one?

That's pretty curious about the wine - At ssam bar, I've always been served wine in a normal wine glass. At noodle bar, however, wine has been served in a small juice glass. ← That's been my experience as well. I've always had full size wine glasses and reasonable pours. To be fair, I haven't been in a bit, but never saw the juice glass. And the selection of by-the-glass wines, while limited, usually has a few things that go well with the food, including some interesting sparkling reds, and some food-friendly whites.

Cheers, Carolyn. That is a true shame! I have been enjoying reading about your latest eating too and look forward to the Bazaar write up. ← Great report Food Snob! Have you been to Masa in NY? I was curious how the two compared these days, as I think Hiro was Masa's former assistant.

I dont get what niche they are filling. You already have pretentious cocktail bars. You already have forward thinking restaurant like WD50 that has this type of food but, not done poorly. This place was a disaster from the start. If the chef wasn't so "cool", who would care about this place. This place is a joke on every level. ← With all due respect, it sounds like you had a specific bad experience that has left you with a chip on your shoulder about Tailor. The argument that the presence of WD-50 makes this restaurant unnecessary is a weak one. Even if they were similar (which I don't find them to be), since when is already having a restaurant in a particular genre a reason for closing that genre to others? Should we only have one Mexican restaurant in the city? Only one Italian? There are no other casual restaurants that serve this style of cuisine in NY. In fact, it would be tough to name another one on the whole East Coast. In my experience, they've always been friendly and helpful, even when the place was packed, so I didn't notice pretense from any of the people involved. And Sam Mason shouldn't be judged for his tattoos...he's always been friendly and never condescending in any way in my dealings with him. The real disaster was how long it took to open the place, which must have cost them a lot of money.