LPShanet

Except it isn't, and I've read a ton of reviews of this place, besides visiting myself several times. Corton isn't the same genre. ← I have to concur with Oakapple and Taion. I've been a number of times [not sure how many visits the dissenter(s) have made], and had numerous interesting, tasty and worthwhile dishes that were unlike anything you can get anywhere else in the city. Even if the food weren't the most delicious, I think one could argue that the restaurant was worth having around just because it does things no one else does, but I don't think you even have to get to that argument, since in my experience the food DOES taste good in addition to being innovative.

Just went to Degustation with my mother and had twin 5 course tasting menus (i.e. we each ordered the tasting menu and they brought us different dishes from each other for each course). Overall, I'd say the food was a full level better than the previous time I went, which was over a year ago, and was an incredible bargain for the level of food being created. The previous visit suggested that the value was strong, and the food good, but the overall meal wasn't that memorable. This time there were really vibrant flavor combinations, great textures and skillful presentation. I also feel like the Spanish influence, while still present, was maybe adhered to a little less strictly than on my last visit. This evolution seemed to be to good effect. The seafood was especially notable, with some fantastic quickly fried chopitos (like sepia), a great crudo and some lovely cooked fish dishes. A cold almond soup with grapes was also really memorable. Overall, if they continue to cook at this level, I think it is one of the great foodie bargains in NYC...and I had almost forgotten about it.

I second that. I ate there a couple of days ago and had a great meal. Creative and flavorful.

How can we find out more about the NY events?

That's a shame I really hope they stay open. I just took my parents last week to show them an example of the type of food I would like to cook in the future. We loved the meal and the cocktails we're out of this world. I was hoping to stage there as well. ← Just visited Tailor on Wednesday for the first time in a few months. Drinks (rhubarb gimlet and raspberry whip) were very good as usual, and the food doesn't seem to have slipped at all. They've continued the more traditional starters and mains approach, as opposed to the one size small plates they started with. We began with seared red snapper/watermelon/olive/ramps, which was very nice, and crescent duck/spaghetti squash/mushroom broth, which had a great umami quality without being overly rich. We then followed up with cocoa gnocchi/butternut-parmesan puree, which was surprisingly chocolcatey, and waylon braised brisket/parsnip puree/burnt carrots/orange, which was really rich, and had aspects of real homey comfort food, despite the modern appearance. Prices were a little steeper than I remembered, but that may just be my error in recall. We were there late (after 10:30), and there was only one other table present. It seemed totally dead, which is sad, and I had the impression it hadn't been much more crowded at prime time. Let's hope they make it through chapter 11 and get some buzz again. NY really needs Tailor to round out its dining scene...there's really nothing else that fills the same niche. Still, all signs still point to NY being more conservative than we might guess in terms of accepting modern/molecular cuisine. Fingers crossed.

I've been to both Kyo Ya and Sugiyama in the last few months, and while I still like Sugiyama quite a lot, I'd say Kyo Ya is operating at the same, if not higher, level. They don't always have a full kaiseki option available, but even if they don't, there's enough there to put together a similar meal from their regular selections, all of which are VERY well prepared. Back to the more formal choices, I'd definitely back going to the main dining room at The Modern, and also Annisa. And if you're looking for a change of pace, I didn't say any of the "modern" places on your list. So WD-50 is always a fun shot in the arm, and Tailor is well worth checking out, for really inventive food and great cocktails to match.

Based on Bruni's known preferences, it doesn't seem likely that L'Atelier remained on his radar after his initial series of visits. One never knows, but it's not a place he ever mentions, even in passing. ← Add to that the fact that they have just had a chef change. And not only a chef change, but one that seems to be, at best, a step sideways (and in many people's eyes might be a slight step backwards), though the jury is still out.

I agree that it would be a fascinating experiment, but as you say, until that happens we have only the examples that exist, despite their limitations. Mariani is actually a great example of the pitfalls of the above-stated approach. Even if you don't have an issue with his alleged behavior (which I personally don't), I've read many a glowing account from him about the skills and special qualities of a kitchen, the enviable sources of their ingredients, and the gentility of a restaurant owner's hospitality only to be disappointed by the food on my own visit. Sometimes a good sell job DOES influence how the diner perceives the food, regardless of professionalism. Tastes aside, it's pretty clear that Mariani raves about many spots that are consensus flubs among the food community and doesn't hesitate to issue a take-down on those that are less hospitable to inspection and visitation from the press. He is clearly frequently taken in by a restaurateur's or chef's patter and hospitality, as are most of us, if the patter is skillful enough. To suggest that any writer could be so impervious to good showmanship and verbal/visual "selling" of a restaurants merits that he/she can't be biased is simply unrealistic in terms of human nature, especially if the system invites that. There is no way to avoid having some benefit going to the nicer folks and some penalty levied on the nasty ones, even if the nasty ones are the best cooks. To suggest otherwise does a very real disservice to the front-of-house skills of some of the best restaurateurs. And most food readers want to find out the place that has the best food, thus the success of Chang et al. That's not to say that there isn't a benefit to having some behind the scenes intel or information about how the restaurant conducts itself inside the kitchen. I just don't believe that the transparent "review and tour" system suggested would be the right way to get that information. Maybe a different person could do all of that on behalf of the reviewer AFTER the review meals had already been conducted (and some publications already do that). Without a somewhat anonymous system, how would we ever have learned that Le Cirque in the old days famously coddled their VIPs while snubbing the average visitor? We wouldn't. And no amount of touring their kitchen with Sirio would have uncovered this fact. If you want a better predictor of what the AVERAGE diner will experience on visiting the restaurant than what the current system provides, the best way to do that is to either increase the requisite number of anonymous visits a critic must make before writing a review, or to employ more than one qualified reviewer to compose each piece. Getting the grand tour or any other form of the "restaurant's side of things" makes for good television, but I still don't see how it can predict the quality of the food rather than the ambitions of the chef and owner. And sympathy for what the kitchen is up against only works against the objectivity of whether or not they can provide a great meal. We might as well tell scientists that they should simply ask their rats how the experiment is going.

What you've described is not an evaluation, but a puff piece. If you believe the review is tainted once the reviewer is recognized (which I don't), then he'll be extra-tainted when he does this: It's no contest. The former. The latter approach might produce some interesting feature articles, but there's a 100% guarantee that the average diner will never be able to duplicate that experience.Bruni's current approach may have its flaws, but at least it's not 100% flawed, as this one is. ← I'm with oakapple. That approach would dash any last hopes of an objective review and end up conferring the most favorable words on the ones who are best at spinning a good PR yarn and being a "people person". I can't tell you the number of restaurants I've been to with admirable and impressive intentions and ambitions that simply didn't make interesting food. There are quite a few in this town already. Not to mention the fact that the sort of approach described would result in many of the top restos in town being Chodorow joints. If there's anyone in town whose words taste better than his food on average, it's the Chod.

I agree with all that's been said upthread with regard to price level, etc. However, I'd like to throw another (I think better) Asian big box into the considered mix. En Japanese Brasserie. In my opinion, the space is VERY attractive, and the food there is better than Buddakan's, and a lot better than that at Japonais or Tao these days. It's also more authentic, more elegant and less crazy in terms of noise and other undesirable factors. The price would still be a little above your stated range (unless you were talking about food only), but less so than EMP and some of the others upthread.

To be fair, we didn't order dessert, as none of us are big sweet tooth types, and the whole table would have had to order them. But they did give us a few little bites, all of which were good, but not that memorable. I'll have to pay more attention to the sweets next time I go. Cool. Thank you. I really enjoyed the pastry chef's desserts back when he was in NY. ← Wow, didn't occur to me to look it up until you mentioned it. Didn't realize that it was Jordan Kahn, or I would have gone ahead and tried dessert!

To be fair, we didn't order dessert, as none of us are big sweet tooth types, and the whole table would have had to order them. But they did give us a few little bites, all of which were good, but not that memorable. I'll have to pay more attention to the sweets next time I go.

Pretty sure it's just called fourteen, actually. No pretentions of being French. I ate there a month or so ago, and had a very nice meal. While there are certainly the trappings of a style over substance kind of place (Philippe Starck interior, Sunset Strip address, etc.), I found the food to be both inventive and often quite good. Not every dish was a winner, but since you are likely to taste a bunch of things due to the format, you'll have more hits than misses in my experience. The format is sort of a forced tasting menu for the table that you design yourselves. In other words, when a dish is selected from the myriad small plates on the menu, everyone must have it. I didn't mind this at all, but you should go with people who share your adventurousness in eating. They also have an analog vegetarian menu. Cocktails are tasty and for the most part well-prepared, and there is a decent if not amazing wine list. I definitely recommend trying the place.

If you're a city dweller, you may not have a sense of just how much walking it would entail to get around that way. And you're not staying in an area particularly close (by foot) to useful stuff, nor one particularly conducive to walking. You may just have to relent and take transit as mentioned, or cabs (or rent a car). Think of it as a series of suburbs rather than a traditional city. That said, not far from you (by car/cab) is one of the best restaurants in all of LA. If you're going to do a tasting menu, I'd highly recommend Sona over Spago, though Spago is still pretty good. I'd also put Providence (mentioned upthread) ahead of Spago, and they specialize in seafood, though the tasting menu there runs the gamut. Other fun experiences are the molecular angle of Rojo y Blanco at The Bazaar, which is pretty close, and XIV (Michael Mina's small plates venture). If you get to the Farmer's Market on 3rd, try La Loteria for great authentic Mexican fare. And for a dash of "old school", the lunch counter in the basement of the Beverly Hills Hotel is a fun place to get breakfast.

I'm fairly certain that any confusion has been mostly the result of language barrier issues, as there are essentially no native English speakers on staff there. I'm sure that the tall, blond hostess who gave us this piece of information and who is from Texas would object to your theory. ← Hmmm, interesting. My bad, as she wasn't there the times I've been.

I'm fairly certain that any confusion has been mostly the result of language barrier issues, as there are essentially no native English speakers on staff there. They intend the 20% service charge to be like Per Se's (and various others) and you can add additional tip if you like. If it is stated anywhere that this is not a tip, it's an effort to let you know it's not optional and that you can add to it if you like. This was instituted, I'm pretty sure, to safeguard their servers against foreigners not paying for service, as the Time Warner Center is visited by an increasingly foreign audience. As for the highest Masa ever charged, the highest here in NY, I'm pretty sure, was the $450 level, apart from any particular specials that may have happened based on a temporarily available ingredient. However, the person may have been referring to the fact that at his last restaurant (Ginza Sushiko in Beverly Hills), the charge used to vary nightly based on ingredient use, and there were definitely instances when the menu cost $600 there.

I've been to Crema two or three times, though none in the last year. I really enjoyed it, and would put in on a par with the most ambitious "haute Mexican" places in town (Pampano, Toloache, Suenos, etc.). It's a little more modern than some of the others, and a bit less authentic, though not in a bad way. I'd say the style is one of the most refined of the modern upscale Mexican places. Plating tends to be more ambitious than others in the genre, and portions are certainly sufficient, but not huge like those at the burrito and enchilada mills. Hope this helps. I've been meaning to get back there and will report in if I get the chance.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Mas fans, I'd say you should expect very serviceable/pleasant if unremarkable food, and prices that are about 25% higher than they should be for the level of place it is*. You should also expect a really nice room that's great for a date, and service that's almost as good as it thinks it is. If you get lucky, you'll get very a very competent server with solid knowledge and the ability to guide you away from the price mines on the wine list. If you're less lucky, you'll get a little bit of condescension until they realize you know as much about their food and wine as they do. I've had it both ways there. NB: the prix fixe was a good addition to their menu, and was desperately needed. * They used to be about 40% too high a few years ago, but they've tamed their act a bit. Also, beware of specials that can cost WAY more than the regular menu (e.g. $10+ more per dish), with prices they don't disclose unless you ask.

Does anyone here happen to have an email address or direct contact info for Frank DeCarlo? His restaurant sites' email addresses are all general addresses, and often not monitored, and I was hoping to write him directly. The old address I have for him doesn't work.

As suggested previously, it's definitely worth calling restaurants to find out their corkage policies. Some places in NY don't allow outside wine in at any price, and others have been known to charge well upwards of $50 in some cases, and there are even a couple above $100! On the good news side, several top restaurants have recently announced greatly reduced or eliminated corkage fees in the last few weeks/months, especially on specific nights of the week. As for your specific questions, here goes: 1. The meals I've eaten at Perilla have been VERY good. And Perry Street is consistently good as well, if not quite at the level of Jean Georges' flagship. La Sirene has a very different vibe from the other two, but has its merits. It's a local, very casual bistro, with a chef owner who is passionate and quirky. The choice will be dependent on their mood, as the comparison is a bit apples/oranges/kiwis. Tribeca Grill is definitely a solid choice as well, though some of the work there may seem familiar. What some earlier posters refer to as "dated" probably has to do with the fact that while the dishes seemed innovative conceptually a number of years ago, they are now more familiar and have been knocked off at countless other restaurants. That said, it's still a solid choice, if not groundbreaking. 2. I've heard good things about Chris Lee's work at Aureole, but haven't been there since he took over. Still, I'd be surprised if it wasn't good. As for Telepan, I'm sure this will raise some hackles with its supporters, but I happen to think it's one of the most overrated restaurants in the city. Its localvore style is admirable, but the food just isn't that consistent or exciting to my palate. Alto is first rate, but if they're looking for another splurge, I'd probably recommend trying Corton or The Modern ahead of it. And if they'd like to save a little cash, then Convivio (operated by the same chef as Alto) is an excellent choice...less formal than Alto, but the food is just as good in my opinion. 3. I think they could do a lot better than La Grolla on the Upper West Side. While it's not a neighborhood known for great dining, La Grolla isn't even one of the better places in its immediate area. Dovetail, Cesca, Eighty One and Ouest are all MUCH better, albeit a little pricier. And Celeste, Kefi, Spiga and The Mermaid Inn are all arguably better, and similarly or lower priced. Hope this helps.

Hey Raji, How long you in the area for? I'll be headed down there from the 2nd through the 6th. Let me know if any of the places you tried were outstanding....

A couple of points to be made here. I don't have the impression that the format of the restaurant attempts to use the "privilege of interacting with the chefs" as a major benefit or selling point. Rather, it's one of the ways Chang uses to keep the costs down and the atmosphere informal. And his aspirations aren't luxurious...quite the contrary. As for the displeasure at being charged for an espresso, I'm not sure where you've been dining, but I can't think of many high-end restaurants in New York offhand (or anywhere in the US for that matter) that comp their coffee service. I'm pretty sure all the restaurants at this level, as well as those that aim even higher (Jean Georges, Daniel, Adour, Le Bernardin, etc.) charge for coffee...and most charge more than $4. Do you always get upset at them, too?

For what it's worth, I had a similarly lackluster experience there a week or two ago. I think their effort level went down quite a bit after the decision to close had been made, and it showed in both food and service. After having had several fairly memorable and well-crafted meals there over the time they were around, we were surprised at how noticeably the food had dropped during that last visit. Like your experience, a lot of styles, ingredients and flavors were repeated over the course of the meal. We were especially put off by an absolutely awful pastry crust (that would have been more accurately called a "pasty crust") used in not one but two savory dishes...a pot pie and the above-mentioned empanada...so surprising a failure from a trained pastry chef. Even though there's no restaurant left to defend, I have to say that I think your experience there was probably not at all indicative of what the restaurant was like when it was at its best.

The place best known for their charcuterie may be Bar Bouloud. Other good house made charcuterie options include Babbo, Lupa, Eleven Madison Park and even Irving Mill.

I wish they had done that for the table we were waiting for! We had to wait for ages after our reservation time to sit...