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gmi3804

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Posts posted by gmi3804

    Milwaukee Restaurants

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    My favorite restaurant is 'Pieces of Eight' right on the lake in Milwaukee. The food is very good; but the best part is the beautiful view- 2 sides of the dining room are glass which gives you an incredible view of the city. Nice romantic spot. They also have an impressive Sunday brunch (need reservations).

    POE has a nice atmosphere, but the food is rather ordinary and high-priced (someone has to pay the rent!)

    Instead, go for sunset cocktails - it's a wonderful location.

    Milwaukee Restaurants

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    I went to Marquette in the early-mid 80s, and used to LOVE the pizza and pastas at Al Calderone, at 2498 N Bartlett (not the downtown location.) It's on the first floor of the family's corner house in a residential neighborhood. "Mama" Rose (no, not from Gypsy) makes the best fried eggplant and manicotti. Ask for things that aren't on the menu - she's always just whipped something up in the kitchen. The room is essentially a big bar with zero atmosphere (unless "dated" is considered atmosphere), but the food is wonderful and the huge thin-crust pizzas heaven. Watch Mama when the check comes, however. She usually just presents a slip of paper with a number on it - and that's what you owe; call her on the carpet if she tries to charge too much! And be sure to check out the jukebox and play "Shaddup You Face (Whasamatta You!)" - I'm sure it's still on the list!

    On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sanford Restaurant ranks among the best fine dining in the country - with prices about half of what you'd pay for similar in NYC or LA or Chicago.

    Enjoy!

    NYC Food Tours

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I seem to remember reading something about a food/history tour of the Lower East Side which included stops along the way to sample food from the famous (and not-so-famous but good) establishments.

    Does anyone know about this?

    And is there a group that will do this tour of Brooklyn as well, to include some of that borough's highlights (i.e., Nathan's, Junior's, etc.)

    Thanks!

    George (gettin' hungry before lunch)

    Bouley

    in New York: Dining

    Posted · Edited by gmi3804 (log)

    I still think the true test of a Great Restaurant is how everyone is treated.  I remember a couple years back in the NY Times Ruth Reichl's two reviews of Le Cirque:  one if you were "somebody" and one if you were "nobody."  They were two different reviews altogether.

    It's funny - I mentioned the Ruth Reichl review of Le Cirque 2000 tonight in another thread as being one of the great restaurant reviews of all times. For precisely the reason you stated. On the one occasion I went to Le Cirque 2000 - I happened to be a guest of someone special - and I got lots of lobster in the lobster risotto (everything else was wonderful too). I've been afraid to go back there on my own - fearing that Ruth Reichl wasn't wrong - and that the lobster risotto won't have any lobster in it.

    The "somebody"/"nobody" dichotomy is interesting. We have sometimes been on the winning side - sometimes on the losing side - of restaurants that make a distinction. In the best of all possible worlds - all fine restaurants would - as you suggest - treat all customers the same. But - unfortunately - that's not the case.

    Most recently - we were at a restaurant in Miami a few weeks ago - and were treated with unusually great care by the chef in the hotel restaurant. We couldn't understand why. Turns out that I had spent a while talking with the head concierge at the hotel - exchanging stories about local food/restaurants - and he had told the chef to take care of us. That little extra attention goes a long way in my opinion - and it's too bad that only a fraction of high end restaurants deliver it to all customers. Robyn

    I believe Reichl's famous double review was of the old Le Cirque.

    She later gave a four-star rave to Le Cirque 2000. In this review, she visited several times, once with padding under her clothes, huge glasses, and a wig. She was treated like royalty!

    Robyn, we ate at Le Cirque 2000 (as nobodys, naturally), and had an extraordinary experience. We were celebrating the ordination of our friend to the priesthood, and none other than Sirio himself came to the table and bought us a round of drinks! He also told us it was his secret wish that one of his sons had become a priest! Such a small gesture elevated the evening from superlative to unforgettable.

    Bouley

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    ...Did we do wrong by not ordering water?  Should we have just been grateful to have gotten in on a Saturday night?  Were they that desperate to turn over our table?  Were we typecast as Hayseeds from Chicago and treated accordingly until we "proved" we were worthy to be there?

    Yes, they made efforts to make ammends, but the overall taste brought away from the evening was ruined early on.

    I'm not sure whether you forgot emoticons after your questions.

    You order a $245 bottle of wine - and worry about not ordering water? You think that perhaps you should have to put up with garbage because the restaurant allowed you to eat there on a Saturday night? I say phooey (to the restaurant - not you).

    And yes - perhaps the restaurant was just trying to turn over the table as many times as possible that night - regardless of who you are (I don't think people from Chicago are "hayseeds" - note that I am from a city much smaller than Chicago).

    By the way - we had an experience similar to yours at MK in Chicago a couple of years ago - and I think it was solely a question of turning over the table as many times as possible. But - like you - even after we managed to slow things down somewhat - we considered the evening ruined from the very beginning. Robyn

    But you see, we turned down the water pitch before ordering the wine.

    And my questions, I should have clarified, were rhetorical. We've dined at some really fine restaurants around the world. I'm a trained (CIA) chef who doesn't cook for a living, so I'm familiar with the ins and outs of restaurant etiquette. I'm all too familiar with the notion that sometimes one must have "connections" at some hot property establishments. But it still irks me when I'm set to enjoy a "four-star" restaurant and I immediately feel as if we're typecast and treated accordingly.

    And Robyn, you may take a bit of solace in the fact that mk is no longer the hot place it was when you dined there a couple years ago. I like mk (we were never rushed there like you were), but it took a couple of meals there before we were "recognized."

    I still think the true test of a Great Restaurant is how everyone is treated. I remember a couple years back in the NY Times Ruth Reichl's two reviews of Le Cirque: one if you were "somebody" and one if you were "nobody." They were two different reviews altogether.

    Bouley

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Should we have just been grateful to have gotten in on a Saturday night?

    The only time you should be grateful to be in a restaurant is when the meal is free. He should be grateful you handed him -- what? -- $500 for that less-than-impressive dinner.

    But of course. And we did tip well, despite the problems, because by the end of the meal we had some new best friends. :unsure:

    Bouley

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    During our recent trip to NYC, we were lucky enough to snag a reservation at Bouley on Saturday, March 27, at 8:00.

    We arrived precisely at 8 and were shown to a banquette in the "White" room. I'd requested the "Red" room, but was told upon my arrival that it was full.

    With FIVE MINUTES of sitting down: Our cocktail order was taken; a water order was solicited (we declined, preferring to spend our duckets on wine in a city where the tap water is more than adequate); our amuse bouche was presented; our cocktails arrived; the amuse dish was cleared before I swallowed; and menus were offered (which we declined, needing some time to process the whirlwind past five minutes). I asked the head waiter to slow things down a bit, and he complied to the point of not returning for 15 minutes with the menus.

    We placed our orders, appetizer and entree for both of us, and ordered one of our favorite wines, a Gaia & Rey ($245).

    My partner ordered the foie gras appetizer, which was listed on the menu as containing fresh rhubarb. It arrived containing red grapes. We asked the waiter what was supposed to be in the dish, as there was no rhubarb to be found. Not sure, he dashed off to the kitchen only to return to tell us we were right: the chef had decided that the ingredients were not "up to standard," and a substitution was made. (The man at the adjacent table didn't notice the change in the same appetizer.)

    Maybe a combination of our wine order and our calling the waiter on the foie snafu awakened something in the staff and/or management, because from then on enough couldn't be done for us. A second appetizer was brought for each of us. After we ordered desserts, three extras were brought, after a dessert amuse. There were all most gallant and much-appreciated, and we left the restaurant satisfied, if not wholly impressed. We'd been to the old Bouley as well as Bouley Bakery in the past and expected better.

    Did we do wrong by not ordering water? Should we have just been grateful to have gotten in on a Saturday night? Were they that desperate to turn over our table? Were we typecast as Hayseeds from Chicago and treated accordingly until we "proved" we were worthy to be there?

    Yes, they made efforts to make ammends, but the overall taste brought away from the evening was ruined early on.

    Per Se Fire, Reopening, Rescheduling

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Clearly, there is enough media interest here for Page Six to be running items about Per Se's reopening, and there is enough consumer interest that such reports get discussed on eGullet. So why not just provide the information?

    That would make too much sense. :unsure:

    I live in Chicago and am planning a trip to NYC 5/7 to 5/9. I probably shouldn't even hope to get in then, but I will be back over Thanksgiving week, if not sooner.

    Per Se

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    Turning half the tables means, simply, that any reservation before time X (say, 6:30) will have another reservation behind it (after, say, 9:30). The tables booked after time X can't accommodate a second sitting -- an 8:00 table would de facto be a single sitting...

    Thanks for a fascinating post, FG!

    Which is the other restaurant in NYC which you consider has Michelin 3-star quality?

    And what is "ADNY"?

    Does anyone also watch "Check, Please"

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    I applied to be on Check, Please!, and actually got called several months later. They were interested in my application because I'd mentioned Gabriel's (in Highwood). They said they may call me back, or they may not. Well, Gabirel's was featured a month or two ago, so I guess I won't be on anytime soon! What happened is that they taped the Gabriel's segment last season. It was featured with two other restaurants which had since gone out of business. Since they didn't want to feature places that were closed, they scrapped the original Gabriel's segment. Well, I guess they got the original guy to come back to the studio. Oh well, I'll have to try again!

    Best of Cabo San lucas

    in Mexico: Dining

    Posted

    We stayed at Esperanza(worth every penny) and found the food much improved over last year(although I think the main restaurant at Ventanas is better than the main restaurant at Esperanza) The palapa grill is a greatl alternative at Esperanza for those who want to have a meal at the resort, without springing for the dining room.

    So is Esperanza THE place to stay? I've heard it's toss-up between here and Las Ventanas. How was your room at Esperanza? Anything else to share?

    Thanks!

    Best of Cabo San lucas

    in Mexico: Dining

    Posted

    Thanks for the advice, Mark and 9lives! It's scary to be going to a place like Palmilla before reading about the success of the renovation. But the way I see it, I'll have a nice, relaxing time. I love "local color" too, but don't necessarily want to stay in the midst of it!

    Grand Lux

    in The Heartland: Dining

    Posted

    I've been to Grand Luxe a couple of times. While it's not, of course, a paragon of fine dining, there is something to be said about the quality of the food (which is consistently very high, an admirable feat given its "chain restaurant" classification) and the beautiful views of North Michagan Avenue from the treetops that can be had from its window tables. At that price point, one could do a lot worse.

    Balthazar

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I visited Balthazar about a year and a half ago for lunch.  Crowded, noisy, but altogether delicious food.  One person at our table had the most incredible macaroni and cheese, with gruyere cheese and lardons!  The glycerine pill was extra...

    Danube

    in New York: Dining

    Posted

    I'll be visiting NYC in a couple of weeks, and wanted to make a reservation at Danube, but there's no answer when I call the published number.  Is Danube closed due to its proximity to the WTC?  Any plans to re-open?  Thanks.

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