Brian23

Also, there is a vendor in the Union Square greenmarket that garies game and on saturday they had venison. I assume they'll be in the market on monday.

Alain Ducasse 0 - (but I've been 2 times and greatly prefer his place in Monaco so I find it hard to go back) Artisanal - 1 Babbo -2 Blue Water Grill -2 Bouley -1 Chanterelle -1 Craft -3 Daniel -0 (I swore off all Bolud restaurants after some awful service abd very avegae food at my last meal at daniel) Four Seasons -1 Gotham Bar & Grill -1 Gramercy Tavern -6 L'Impero -1 March -1 Montrachet -1 Patria -1 Peter Luger -1 Picholine -1 Sushi Yasuda -6 Town -1 Union Pacific -1 Union Square Cafe - 20+ (I'm a regular for weekend lunch) WD-50 -1 I usually eat out 4-6 times a week and usually 1-2 star type places in the union square area (where I live) or further downtown. I probably make it to a 3 star place once a month and 3-5 4 star meals a year. I try to visit lots of different places and am a regular at a few top places and few more neighnorhood casual type places. There is also a long list of places that I won't pay to go back because I just don't think its worth the $$$ (Daniel, Bouley, Le Bernadin, AZ, Esca and many others). Also, some of my favorites, Blue Hill and Tasting Room should be on this list.

The La Dorianne is a really good wine. I just had a bottle of the 1999 from my cellar a few weeks ago. However, its a wine that you can find for about $50 at a good price, so the mark-up is steep.

generally I follow the following rules: 1) If I know the restaurant permits corkage, I will just bring a bottle. Also, I will try to research the list in advance so that I do not bring something from a producer that is on the list. For instance, I thinks its bad form to bring a 1985 bordeaux when the restuarant has the 1989 of the same producer. Now if it was a 1961 or 1970, I would find it more acceptable. 2) I'll always offer a glass to at least the somelier and others depending how many are in my party. 3) The hardest decision I always have is deciding what is acceptable to bring. Generally, I try to bring soemthing that I think would cost in excess of $150-200 if it was on the restaurant list. Some of the recent things I have brought to a restaurant are a 1981 Margaux; 1986 Talbott; 1990 Pichon Baron and 1984 Insignia. 4) I normally take the inconspicuous approach and bring the bottle in a small shopping bag. 5) I generally add whatever the corkage fee is to the tip. 6) In NYC, I've generally encountered a $25 fee. However, I would pay more (upto $75) in order to bring a special bottle to a restaurant and avoid being raped on a 3-4 times mark-up. I find it hard to walk into places such as daniel and you look at the list and everything is 3+ times the price that one can find it for with minimal effort. For me, it takes away from the enjoyment of the experience.

jaybee - what was offered on the 20.02 lunch? I echo Steven's comments. I happen to live right by USC and frequently eat lunch there. Steven definitely hit on all of the right dishes to order. Also at lunch they usually offer a variety of specials which are generally very good, especially the soups. For many years I have been raving about lunch at USC and many of my friends who have only been for dinner just didn't get why I liked it so much I agree that if you're going for dinner - Gramercy Tavern is a better choice, but when it comes to lunch USC is one of my favorite spots. While it is not the best restauarnt in the city - it may be the best place for lunch.