Felonius
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Posts posted by Felonius
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I'd be interested to know what fields have seen the comeback of the "suit/uniform."
law and banking, according to one poster.
Now that FG and Sam are completely off-topic, I suppose I might as well indulge myself....
Around 1999-2000, all the big investment banks on Wall Street switched from suits/ties to a minimum requirement of "business casual". This relaxed policy only applied to home office settings where bankers weren't in front of clients. Every one I know still dressed up in suits/ties when meeting with clients. This policy was largely a knee-jerk response to the mass exodus of talent to dot-com and tech companies with more laid back cultures. The HR honchos at the likes of Merrill and Morgan figured they'd attract and retain more talent if they let employees loosen their ties a bit. Plus, once one big firm did it, the others followed like lemmings (as they always do). While it certainly made the 100 hour work weeks more comfortable, the retention idea was silly. The only thing that keeps on people on Wall St. is the almighty dollar, and bankers would go to work in tailcoats or Elmo costumes if a firm paid more than its competitors.
Many law firms also followed this trend, one notable exception being Cravath where suits/ties have always be de rigeur. Some banks have recently nixed their "business casual" experiments, with Lehman Brothers leading the trend if I remember correctly. This retrenchment from business casual not surprisingly coincided with the post 9/11 period of massive layoffs on Wall Street, when retention of talent was no longer an issue in the industry.
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Lutece. I dined there as a boy with my parents when Soltner was at the helm and these evenings were forever etched in my young mind. I suppose I can partially blame Soltner for what has become a full-blown high end food addiction in my adult life.
While Lutece was never a contender in NYC after Soltner left, I still loved it. I miss the $26 prix fixe lunches, the crusty old waiters who suffered through my rusty French vocabulary with a smile, the gracious FOH staff who always made me feel like an old friend , the classic Bourgundies by the glass from great producers like Roumier and Leroy, the absolute bank-vault quiet of that prehistoric dining room, and most of all the ridiculously good apple tart.
Their brand of old-school service and style is a thing of the past in NYC as far as I know. La Grenouille is the next closest thing, but has always been a bit too flashy for me to tolerate. It will probably be gone soon too, given the fact that most of their regulars are already partially fossilized.
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Via Quadrono (73rd just West of Madison) has the best cappucino and espresso I've tasted in NYC. The superfine almost meringue-like consistency of the steamed/foamed milk has to be seen to be believed. They also make their "mochacinos" with freshly melted semi-sweet dark chocolate, which to my taste is far superior to the overly sweet mochas made by nearly everyone else. This place is expensive, but I'm addicted enough to make the 15 minute walk from my apartment and fork over $5 for a mochacino whenever I get the jones.
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At Grand Sichuan (51st and 9th Ave. loccation).
Sichuan dumplings in chili oil
Cold spicy sichuan noodles
Kung Pao Chicken (ask for the "fresh chicken")
As noted in other posts, I'm addicted to these three.
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I was in NOLA last week and ended up eating at K-Paul's no less than three days in a row. It reminded me just how good this sort of food can be, and put the food currently being served at Jacques-Imo's in perspective for me. At K-Paul's I was positively addicted after a few bites of fried rabbit and a taste of dark roux gumbo. No doubt, Jacques-Imo's isn't remotely in the same league. Maybe I'm lucky it isn't, because I'd probably drop dead from clogged arteries in a year if I had daily access to superb nouveau Cajun cooking here on the UWS.
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My favorite California Chardonnays are from Peter Michael and Aubert. I don't think the Peter Michael vineyard is open to the public though. Either of these wines would be a special treat for a California Chardonnay enthusiast if you can get your hands on them. These wines sell for around 50-60 dollars a bottle, though some of the Peter Michael cuvees can run a bit more.
Other notable big-styled California Chardonnays you might consider are those from Kistler and Marcassin. These wines are also quite sought after and difficult to find at retail on the East Coast.
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If you don't mind spending 150 bucks or so, my choice would undoubtedly be the Krug brut 1988. Acker Merrall has it in stock. I had a bottle a few weeks ago and it was stunning - perhaps the best Champagne I've ever had.
I don't put that much value in wine press ratings, but for what it's worth, this vintage scored 98 points in the most recent Wine Spectator rating, one point below the '88 Krug Clos de Mesnil (around $400 if you can find a bottle). For around 100 bucks you can get Krug's Grand Cuvee, which others here have recommended. In my opinion Krug tough is to beat, as they are fanatics for quality control.
I also had a bottle of Dom Perignon 1996 on Sunday, and it was drinking very well. Not sure if this is readily available or the current price though.
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if you'll read a later paragraph of my post you'll see that i pretty much concede the point to restaurants of the type you cite.
i'd love some responses to the non-markup part of my post--about the question of wine and food: is wine best enjoyed with food? is food best enjoyed with wine? and in either case what about people who eat cuisines that don't "go with wine"?
I just read the post and apologize if I was off the mark here.
Getting back on topic, here's my opinion.
Wine is best enjoyed with food, if the pairings are well thought out. The right synergy can make both the food and the wine more enjoyable. Personally, I can't imagine eating a truly great meal without wine, nor would I want to drink an exceptional bottle of most wine varietals without a meal (or at least cheese) as a compliment.
Having said that, I'd rather drink wine by itself than with a bad food pairing. Acidic foods, sweet foods, etc. can absolutely ruin the taste of even the best wines.
As I mentioned before, there are a few wines that I am just as happy enjoying by themselves. Sauternes and other dessert wines are a notable example. On the other end of the scale is Bordeaux/Cabernet, which I don't enjoy at all without food.
As for food that is hard to pair with wines, I haven't experimented much (and maybe I should). I love spicy food such as Indian, Sichuan, etc. but nearly always skip wine and go with beer in such cases. If the food overpowers the wine, why spend the money when beer is cheap? I'd be interested to hear what wines others Egulleteers enjoy pairing with this sort of food.
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Another thing I forgot to mention, which I think is fairly little known, is about those small boutique producers you're caring, loving and gouging restauranteur happened across.
These places are often offered this wine, to increase visibility. I make a few hundred cases, I can never satisfy demand, but if I can maximise the amount of people who see it by placing it strategically in certain restaurants.
When I worked retail, one importer of some super US wines wouldn't let us have some things because they were only designated for the on trade.
He hasn't worked hard to find this, it's probably landed in his lap.
Note to self, must stop ranting
Like it or not, most of the allocation for some small and highly sought after producers like Peter Michael or Turley will go to restaurants. I've been trying to get on the retail distribution list for some of these for years with no luck. There's just not enough supply. If I want to drink one of these wines, I'll likely have to go to a place like Cafe Boulud or Daniel, or scan the wine auction pages for the next six months and place my bid on the few bottles that may or may not show up, and that may or may not have been stored correctly. I have less of a problem paying for access to these wines than I do paying the ubiquitous 300 percent markup for something I can readily buy myself.
As for the "up and coming" wineries seeking out these restaurants to market their wines, I agree to a point. They all do this of course. However, a truly knowledgeable sommelier can sort through the hundreds of up and comers and find some real gems that I might not find until they are discovered by the wine media (at which point their prices usually skyrocket and/or they become impossible to find at retail). An example for me last year was Aubert Chardonnay. Mark Aubert worked for Helen Turley at Peter Michael and later ran the vineyards. His first independent offering was snapped up by a few top restaurants, one of which introduced me to this exceptional wine. They bought it at about thirty dollars a bottle and sold it both by the glass and the bottle for the usual 3x New York city markup. The wine subsequently earned a 95 point rating from Wine Spectator and if you're lucky enough to find it at retail, you'll likely pay sixty or seventy dollars a bottle for it. In retrospect, the restaurant price was somewhat of a bargain, as I was drinking a spectacular wine at a price I didn't mind paying given the quality level.
I'm not saying this is a usual occurence at most restaurants, but that the few places that put a serious effort into their wine program can indeed add value that in my mind justifies the markup. I think such places deserve some credit for their efforts. However, you will never see me willingly pay a 3x markup for mainstream wines offered by the majority of NYC restaurants. I usually just order whatever is least offensive by the glass, and save my money for a place like Veritas or Cafe Boulud that has an interesting wine list.
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this is all true but it still doesn't work as an analogy. doubtless care and selection goes into a restaurant's wine-cellar--i am not knocking either the vintner's or the sommelier's craft. however, people who couldn't microwave a frozen pasta meal can still open the same bottle of wine they might get at a restaurant with no effort
It may not take much expertise to open a bottle of wine, but in many high end dining establishments, a tremendous amount of time and expertise has gone into stocking the cellar. For example, there are small production wines on the list at places like Cafe Boulud and Daniel that a retail consumer will never get their hands on at any price (except perhaps at Auction). These sommeliers have often spent many years traveling the world's wine regions, building relationships with top vintners and trying to identify up-and-coming stars. They also go to great lengths to procure wine with a meticulous provenance and storage record (this is especially important for older vintages), and may even be able to procure older vintages directly from the cave of the producer. I don't mind paying a fairly hefty markup in exchange for access to an exceptional collection of wines built by a top sommelier.
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Great thread! Thanks for bringing this back.
What's the best way to get to Arthur Ave. on public transportation from the UWS? I've never been out that way, so detailed directions would be greatly appreciated.
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I love food, but usually choose food to go with my favorite wines instead of the other way around. I also enjoy opening a good bottle to be enjoyed by itself. However, there are many wines that I think taste much better when accompanied by the right food. For example, I don't particularly enjoy tannic or heavier wines such as Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon without food. They seem to need something to balance them out, and can taste a overbearing if consumed alone. If I'm not in the mood for cooking or eating a whole meal, I find that a few good cheeses can be a good accompaniament for these wines.
As for drinking wines solo, I prefer lighter wines such as Red Burgundy/Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. I also think some of the sweeter Rieslings and white dessert wines such as Sauternes can be quite pleasant just to sip by themselves.
Food and wine paring can be tricky, and despite years of experience with this, I still have much to learn. I am always thrilled when a knowledgeable chef or sommelier guides me to one of those elusive perfect food and wine matches. It's amazing how much more a wine can offer if balanced by the right food. This has been particularly evident at some wine tasting dinners I've attended, where a chef has put a great deal of thought into exact pairings. Even wines that I am very familiar with can show a whole new side or depth in such circumstances.
A bit off topic, but one more thought on this. I have also found that ensuring wines are served at the optimum temperature, decanted or allowed to breath for a suitable time, and served in good stemware can give a lot more pleasure than if they are just opened and poured without care. I'd encourage anyone interested in wine for its own sake to experiment with these other variables and see if it makes a difference for them.
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They are not open for lunch, so made my first visit for dinner last night.
Arrived at about 7:30 to a packed house, but was able to grab a less desirable table for two by the door right away. Jacques was there in the flesh, and came by to greet us after we were seated.
Here's what my date and I tried:
Fried cheese grits with shrimp and a mushroom ragout. This dish was somewhat of a disappointment. The fried grits didn't have much of a cheese taste, and were rather bland. One of the three shrimp was bad and inedible. The mushrooms in a creamy sauce were the best part of the dish. Overall I would liked to have seen bolder flavors here.
Paneed duck with shrimp and sweet potato sauce. I enjoyed this dish. It's sort of like a duck version of the classic Southern "chicken fried steak", with shrimp bits surrounded by a rich cream based sauce. Still, I thought it could have used more spice in the batter. Sides of mashed sweet potatoes and coleslaw were good.
Blackened redfish. This was the best item of the evening. A Paul Prudhomme classic (Jacques was trained at K-Pauls), and one of my favorite comfort food dishes of all time. I forget the sauce it was served with (crawfish maybe?), but that was secondary anyway. The fish was perfectly cooked with just the right spice in the blackened crust. A side of collared greens was excellent, as good as I've ever had outside the South.
Key Lime pie. This too was excellent, and served with delicious fresh whipped cream that had a hint of vanilla, citrus and maybe bourbon?
The hot cornbread brought to the table was the other highlight of the evening. The real thing, and by far the best I've had in NY.
Service was prompt and very friendly, though still needs a bit of polishing. The young busboys are trying so hard that they sort of hover around asking you if you're done 2 or 3 times before you've cleaned your plate. No one rushed us through dessert or coffee though. Jacques continued to work the floor all evening, and when we left he was braving the cold outside in his ubiquitous shorts and chef's smock to get a picture with some admiring fans in front of the place.
Overall, a fun and pleasant experience. Not as good as his NOLA location, but I suspect the food will improve as they work out the kinks in the new kitchen. I would also like to taste a bit more spice, and am wondering if he has toned down the heat for NYC tastebuds. The portions also seemed smaller than usual (with the exception of the redfish), but since I'm not a fan of large portions, I didn't mind.
Total tab for the meal for two, including two beers, two glasses of wine and a coffee was just under $100 with tax and tip. It would have been much less ($65 or so) without the drinks.
There are so many menu items I'd like to try (next up is the Jambalaya), that I'll be back soon. An extremely welcome addition to the UWS. Good food, reasonable price point, friendly service, and killer cornbread.
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- a bottle of wine was presented to me *after* being opened. i've never, ever, ever, had this happen unless the place totally sucked. i don't characterize Veritas as "totally sucking". i was at a loss, but accepted the bottle and moved on.
That's especially bizarre considering that Veritas is a wine-driven restaurant, very small, and that one of the sommeliers usually handles every wine order other than the more inexpensive bar pours by the bottle. What sort of wine was it that had been opened? Did they apologize or acknowledge the mistake in any way?
This happened to me once at Bouley, and they had brought the wrong damn bottle! They opened a Peter Michael Chardonnay rather the than the Sauvignon Blanc I'd ordered, brought it to the table without showing me, and then poured it for everyone. My first sip had me wondering if I was losing my taste buds or my mind, until I saw the bottle. When I brought it to their attention, the captain implied that it was my fault for ordering the wrong wine and refused to bring the wine I'd ordered (Peter Michael "L'Apres-Midi" Sauvignon Blanc). This was doubly annoying given the fact both wines were over $100 per bottle. This was the final straw in a long series of service gaffes at Bouley. I've never been back.
Having said that, I've never had other than exemplary service at Veritas.
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Anyone know if this place is open for lunch and/or how late they serve dinner?
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Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't forsake Mix just on account of Psaltis's departure. The whole Ducasse system is engineered to avoid particular dependence on the chef-de-cuisine. If Didier Elena left ADNY to become the chef at some restaurant back in France, and Ducasse replaced him with a top toque from one of his other establishments and made the proffer that it will be business-as-usual at ADNY, I'd say fine, I'll keep going to ADNY because the Ducasse system is more important than any one chef. But here we have a bizarre situation where the chef on the scene, who was doing great work, has been unceremoniously dumped and scapegoated, the PR apparatus is generating suspect explanations, and there is a strongly developing presumption that dumbing down will be the order of the day.
I agree. Also, in my opinion the influence of Chodorow may be good for managing cash flow, but not the cuisine. I've had a few meals at Tuscan (on an expense account, thank goodness!), and if that's any indication where Mix is headed, I'm not interested. Severely overpriced yet average food, poor service and wacky bathroom designs seem to be Chodorow's specialty.
Wasn't Chodorow also behind the restaurant at the Hudson hotel? Another nightmare.....
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There are far too many places in Midtown where I can spend ridiculous amounts of money for lunch or dinner. I will reserve my dollars for the few places where I know there is someone with exceptional talent in the kitchen giving their best effort. Mix used to be one of them. Cafe Boulud still is. Mix without Psaltis is a done deal for me....
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I heard a rumor that this favored haunt from New Orleans is opening a location on the UWS (Columbus maybe?). Could this be true? Does anyone have the scoop?
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I dined there once three years ago and had a very expensive and truly awful meal. The only remotely enjoyable item of the four courses ordered was the chocolate soufflee. It still stands in my memory as the worst price/value ratio I've ever encountered in NYC. In contrast, I've enjoyed meals at the other French dinosaurs (Lutece, La Grenouille, La Caravelle), despite the fact they were not a good value for the dollar.
Sorry to kick a dog when he's down, but the $300 La Cote Basque removed from my wallet left a permanent scar on my memory.
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I'd guess that Ducasse is still interested in getting rich as much as the next guy, and that the Chodorow partnership is probably an easier way to do it than a place like ADNY. In a similar vein, John Malkovich did that horrible action movie (I didn't see it, but I think it involved an airplane and terrorists) for something like $10 million, and used the money to finance his own independent film projects. Malkovich actually claimed in an interview that he had never even been to a screening of that action flick. So what's to keep Ducasse from selling out to some degree at Mix and Spoon, so that he can keep his cost-no-object obsessions at his namesake restaurants awash in positive cash flow. Mix was probably doomed from the start anyway. While I thought the food was first rate, the atmosphere and the price point didn't seem to jive in the minds of the public or the critics. I suspect that Mix didn't fit the mold for older wealthy clientele that support places like Daniel, ADNY, and Le Bernardin, and was either too expensive or not "hip" enough for a younger audience. I wonder if it would have done better had they opened Mix in Tribeca or Soho.
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I ate there at the bar once last fall and thought the food was excellent. I was quite surprised at the quality of the meal, as I'd never heard of the place before and assumed it was more about the setting and hype than the food. I'll have to give it another try.
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Bummer. I wish I'd had an opportunity for a final meal under Doug's watch.
If anyone know's where he's headed, keep us posted. I'll be the first one to line up outside the kitchen.
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We joined friends for their birthday celebration at Jean
George. Althoug the room was as pretty as always and
our service was quite good, we felt that the cuisine was
in serious decline and no longer worthy of its stars.....
The desserts were of poor quality and totally uninteresting.
Perhaps the chef is too busy opening other restaurants...but this
formerly impressive restaurant is now depressing.
Wow, this review comes as quite a surprise to me. I dine at JG fairly regularly (though admittedly haven't been yet this year), and have never had a less than excellent meal in the main dining room. Flavor combination misses or dishes that didn't suit my tastes, yes, but poorly executed food, never in four years. I'm especially surprised by your comment, "desserts were of poor quality and totally uninteresting." I have always thought Iuzzinis' desserts to be consistently on the cutting edge in terms of creativity, and can't imagine he's offering a boring dessert tasting. What desserts did you have and what didn't you like about them?
If I visit JG again some time soon, I'll be sure to post back with updated impressions.
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Okay... seriously. We need to get together a GSIM feast of Biblical proportions.
I would love to join you in a group dinner and expand my horizons at GS.I always seem to order the same 3 dishes with same 2 friends. Count me in anytime.!
Count me in too. Had lunch there yesterday by myself and damn it was good! The bright side of a solo lunch with several menu items is fridge full of GSI leftovers. I'd really like to go with enough people for once to be able to try a wider array of dishes at one seating.
Weird Restaurant Blunders
in New York: Dining
Posted
Some favorite moments from my childhood, growing up in a family in the restaurant/hotel business.....
During a gueridon service (waiter cooking tableside on a trolley), the waiter got a bit too heavy handed with the brandy. The ensuing flames set off the the fire sprinkler system above, which promptly hosed down a full house of Saturday night diners.
To kick off a Hawaiian "luau" themed dinner, two waiters dressed in grass skirts arrived in the dining room with a very large roasted pig on a sort of stretcher/plank thingie. One of the waiters had insufficiently adjusted his skirt, which fell to his ankles as he walked across the dining room. The waiter valiantly held up his end of the plank, and continued across the packed dining room in his tighty-whities.
An obnoxious celebrity customer repeatedly complained that his food was not hot enough, no matter how hot it was upon arrival at the table. The frustrated chef finally put a cast iron skillet in the salamander on high heat for twenty minutes. He then put the food in the white-hot skillet, and personally carried it to the table with gloves (some kind of asbestos pot holder things used for grilling). He calmly set the skillet in front of the customer, and as it burned through the tablecloth with smoke rising from below, he politely asked with a smile, "Sir, is that hot enough?".