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sethd

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Everything posted by sethd

  1. Per Se, Le Bernardin, and Jean Georges
  2. sethd

    Per Se

    First welcome to the new york board. There has been absolutely no change in quality at Per Se over the last year.
  3. Congratulations. Recently, we were at Adour and noticed a wedding dinner being held in the wine room. Other possibilities include the east room at Per Se. Jean Georges also has a small private dining room on the second floor.
  4. How many meals do you think Platt had at Lincoln before his review. I get the sense that he eats at a restaurant once and then writes his review. As I have mentioned, I have eaten every savory dish save the salad and the steak and my only complaint is that both times the cavatelle came out way too hot. I have noted that some of the dishes have changed or have been replaced altogether. I have also found that the service has become much more polished since its opening. How fair is it to publish a review so soon after opening. I mentioned that Sifton has been to Lincoln frequently to a Restaurant Manager at a nearby ny times 4 star restaurant who said that it is unfair to review a restaurant so quickly after opening: that a restaurant needs at least a couple of months to get up to speed and work out any kinks.
  5. I think Platt's review is ridiculous. I have had 6 wonderful meals there including one last night where I ordered many of the dishes Platt didn't like. In fact, I have had most of the dishes on the menu at this point. I think if a scallop dish is perfectly prepared, (as mine was), then it is well worth $24. The question that i have is What makes for innovative cuisine. Specifically, what would make italian cuisine innovative. Are they any Italian restaurants either here or in ITaly that produce innovative food.
  6. The Main Dining Room at the Modern is another excellent option.
  7. I would agree with your choice of LIncoln. . WHy did you choose to return to EMP. There are much better meals to be had in the city
  8. I was referring to one specific British chef, whose name need not be mentioned. Though, I have never had anything but wonderful interactions with the famous 3 star chefs I have met over the last decade.
  9. I actually find it quite strange to see the the use of "Chef XXXX" as a term of address. "Chef" isn't an academic qualification like a Doctorate or a professionally certified qualification like an Architect. Yes, many chefs have gone to college and have trade qualifications but lets not inflate their ego's any more by pretending it is an "accredited" title. I have no problem addressing a chef as chef. I use it as a term of respect because i have great appreciation for what the greatest chefs accomplish. All the great chefs I have met, in New York and in France have been humble gentleman. I include Chefs Savoy, Passard, and Ducasse in France and Chefs Keller, Ribert, etc in New York City. Perhaps egotistically chefs are just found in the U.K.
  10. Per Se is always awesome: the best in the city!!
  11. Bobster, I had the opportunity to have all the items on the tasting menu during two meals at LIncoln last week. Delicious.
  12. Yes! The somm remembered my friend from a prior meal. Gave him a big hello and had a running discussion with him about his cocktail selections throughout the entire meal. Though, I ordered a half bottle of champagne and then a glass of red wine(ordered through my captain) the somm NEVER engaged me in conversation. Much the same lack of interest shown me during my preceding two meals there as well.
  13. It takes chutzpah to look down upon your betters. I had plenty of time to reflect on this wisdom as I languished through another expensive, mediocre, and disappointed meal at EMP (to be fair, my dining companion, an experienced dinner and frequent contributor to this forum, enjoyed his meal much more than I). Once again i found the food to be uninspired and the service less than what I would expect at a 4 star restaurant. They were too many misses among the canapes. My first course showcased perfectly cooked langoustines ruined by an awful sauce. My second savory course, the sole, couldn't compare to the wonderful dish i had last year (the only course of the gourmand that i thought worthy of 4 stars) nor to the superb sole dish I had at Per Se just days later. The venison that followed was easily the best course of the evening. My last savory dish, the muscovy duck, was good but was not the best duck dish ever as described by the captain. (can a dish be considered a "signature dish" if it so closely mirrors that of many other chefs?). Once again, the pastry kitchen proved why it is the weakest of any fine dining restaurant in the city. The pre-desert malted mild sorbet was too salty, the chocolate grenache was terrible , and the post desert treats were vile, especially the black truffle infused chocolate truffle. Once again, the service was mediocre. I received barely a hello from the hostess upon arrival; the bartender did not say thank you when I paid my tab, the captain was terse when she described the menu, and i was ignored by the sommelier who spent the entire meal conversing with my friend. Not once did he attempt to engage me in conversation. It was indeed a pleasure interacting with the chefs as the canapes were presented. I thought my meal was good, definitely not 4 star. I am shocked that EMP is ranked as the world's 50 best restaurant on the world's best list; Higher than Jean Georges, Michel Bras, and Louis XV. No way. Last week, I also ate at LIncoln, Per Se, the Modern, and Jean Georges. EMP, by a good margin, definitely came in last. As if left, I thought of another quote, "three strikes and your out"
  14. I read your critical review of your meal at Marcus Wearing and I don't understand what was so terrible that you posted such a scathing review of your meal and received such a personal call from the chef. Are you such a good customer or friend of the house, that M. Wearing might have taken your review as a personal insult.
  15. Is Sutton considered an important reviewer?
  16. The disparity between the two reviews really doesn't matter since the New YOrk Times review is still considered to be the most presigious and important review in the city. Del Posto is now a New York Times 4 star restaruant and will keep that rating for the forseable future.
  17. Just a thought, but isn't $45 per person for sirloin close to the standing price in the city's steakhouses? Oakapple, have you eaten at LIncoln yet?
  18. LP Shanet, First, I enjoyed reading your posts. Second, I will say again that I enjoyed my 2 meals at Lincoln and thought both meals were on par with the best in the city. For me, the issue of "creativity" is a crucial one. I don't believe that creativity or innovation should be the important criteria in reviewing a new restaurant. THey are very few restaurants in the city or elsewhere that are truly creative, especially if one uses Chef Maximin's definition that "Creativity is the lack of copying". Perhaps, by that standard the only 4 star restaurant that can be called innovative or creative is Jean Georges . There is absolutely nothing innovative or creative about Chef Humm's cuisine yet EMP possesses a four star review from the New York TImes.
  19. Irs Nougative a "high priced bistro"because the tables aren't appropriately dressed. As i mentioned, Noma, the best restaruant in the world has no tablecloths. There is no true seperation between the bar and main dining room at Le Bernardin either. There will be a tasting menu at Lincoln shortly if it hasn't already made the menu. (i haven't been in a week). I have eaten at four star restaurants where I could have joined the party at the next table the tables were so close together. I agree with oakapple: there are very few, if any, new restaurants that open without a hitch.
  20. The "vibes" at AVoce (at least the downtown version) and Lincoln are completely different. The one meal I had at AVoce was ruined by the noise in the dining room: I couldn't hold a conversation with the person sitting next me, much less the person sitting opposite me. Lincoln affords a very pleasant and quiet space to have an excellent meal. Oakapple, I do agree that service errors shouldn't occur at any 3 or 4 star restaurant; Unfortunately, service errors do occur even at 4 star establishments renown for giving wonderful service and that have been open a lot longer than Lincoln.
  21. I have very pleasant interactions with the sommelier throughout my two meals at Lincoln. I found him pleasant and extremely knowledgable. My first meal he chose a 2006 trebuabi d'ambruzzo by EMile Pepe that went superbly with my dinner. The second time he paired each course with a appropriate glass of wine.
  22. Oakapple, when you finally eat at LIncoln, I would like you to report what four star standards aren't being met at Lincoln. Perhaps, the lower menu prices are related to the deal Benno has with The Patina Group. I doubt he is using lesser quality ingredients then his competition.
  23. First, There is a Bar at Lincoln and you can eat at the bar. Second, the food and service is definitely 4 star caliber.. As i wrote on another thread, I don't think Patina Group hired the chef at the country's best restaurant to open a restaurant in a prime location, spend millions of dollars on said restaurant, and had the chef and general manager travel throughout Italy looking for the best Italian produce and not have aspirations for achieving a 4 star rating in the new york times. Wouldn't it be nice to have a four-star restaurant that doesn't cost and arm and a leg yet holds itself to the highest standards?
  24. I believe that Per Se does what it does better than any other restaurant in the city. The level of precision and innovation of the kitchen is brilliant, the service at all levels faultless, and the restaurant is blessed with wonderful dining spaces. Recently, I had the opportunity to eat at Per Se four times in 3 weeks ( i am a regular at the restaurant). I was served over 60 dishes over the course of those four meals, only one of them was repeated. All were delicious. I don't believe that those meals could be replicated at any other 4 star restaurant in the city or elsewhere. I am very interested to see how Lincoln evolves over the next few months. The restaurant has started at a very high level. I expect it to get even better.
  25. I second Per Se. Daniel also has a vegetarian menu.
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