bobg01

discussion in today's ny times: what does $5 slice mean, is it worth it? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/nyregion...za.html?_r=1&hp

weird; ko's reservations system has been down all morning, can't get on to try and make a reservation. (EDIT: 10:20 - the site reservations.momofuku.com is actually down now) (EDIT: up, a couple spots left)

nice job, deathmatch ppl! and did he have to ask for the special stuff from hugo's? i didn't remember seeing it on the menu that night...

place to go is big w's in wingdale. up route 22, reviewed by the times when it was just a truck on the side of the road. the q is quite smoky, the sides aren't very good, but the main stuff is great.

so THAT explains what he was doing on saturday... he (and the crew) were at hugo's on friday night, where he was speaking quite favorably about 2 courses he had; the first was shrimp crackers? where he said something like, "i've had these all over asia, and these are the best i've had".

just a follow-up to my post above; got a message back from hugo's, in which they stated that the tasting menus / chef's menus will still be offered, but they'll be offering dishes during the evening from those menus, rather than their former 4 course / 8 course / 10+ course menus. now i've just got to call back and make my reservations. and, johnny, those pix of your japanese evening looked amazing; kudos to all who were involved with making them. and i'm no fan of food p*rn...

adam platt gives ko 4 of 5 stars: http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/45942/

quick question...may be going to portland in june. went to hugo's last year, had the tasting menu, thought it was amazing. but now i see the restaurant is closed for a month, and see that they're going to have a new menu (and "new concept" as mentioned above). can anyone give more information on this? i loved chef evans' cooking and selection, but hope he doesn't change things up too much. thanks for any information / help...

it's ok, i wasn't ga-ga over it either. went a couple weeks ago, had the pork belly / watermelon dish and the fatty sliders. and though i thought they were nice, i didn't find it something to rave about or as something as a destination point.

no, it's not; the only item the same on both is pork belly / butterscotch, which is a bit smaller at the bar. it's a 'sweet' place, but i've thought the courses which aren't dessert are much better as a whole than the dessert ones.

went last night with a friend, we were both blown away. there was some variety between our dishes. i requested that i not be served the egg in the egg dish. all from memory, there may be some small details and order slightly wrong. it's just the simple comments: 2 amuses: chicharron and english muffin. fluke sashimi / pork belly oyster - both really good. scallop dish. really good. foie gras - wow. blew me away. and i'm not a big foie gras fan. each of the previous 3 course (or 4 dishes) i could have multiple times and be real happy. the egg / caviar dish. mine had tofu substituted instead of egg, which was a perfect choice - visually, texturally, and in compliment to the rest of the dish. short ribs - he thought this was his least favorite dish, the interesting part; the worst dish here was still really solid. miso soup / rice. this was my least favorite, then my friend mentioned this was probably meant as a palate cleanser. he was spot on, but to me, it was still a letdown compared to all the other shining stars i was eating. pineapple sorbet / another sorbet. the other sorbet was much better than my pineapple one. i'm not a pineapple fan, so take that into account. panna cotta / apple pie. mine was good, the apple pie was great. things were served initially a little faster than i'd have liked, but it slowed down. it was neat to hear the callouts for each number. my friend kept saying "they're reading my mind" for the next dishes. the funny part, every time there was one of the split courses, 'his' was better than mine. but since we shared on those, it was all good. there was a ribeye which was cooking after we had eaten, my friend was jealous for whoever was getting that served. the wine / sake pairing went very nicely with the dishes. i am NOT a wine expert, and usually turn down pairings because i don't really appreciate most wines and their subtleties. meal was 85, wine pairing was 50. i would definitely go again at some point in the future. if i can get lucky with reservations again. the person next to me asked if this was a once in a lifetime meal, and i said "i've had 1 or 2 others that were comparable", we talked briefly about how much we both love noodle bar and ssam bar, and how the food is so clean but cut perfectly, i said to him that it was simple but brilliant. and his reply? "simply brilliant. i like that".

i'll report back after tomorrow; i strongly prefer no egg (unfortunate in this case!) and requested same. i'd be happy with the dish without egg, and i'll mention it again when the meal starts...

i'm in the area of tailor's early tomorrow evening, and am thinking of stopping in for a cocktail or their solid cocktails. i'd be there @5 or so. my questions: do they serve their bar food @5 (specifically, the pork belly) are any of their other bar foods in the same stratosphere as the pork belly? i've been before and loved the food, just curious about the bar options. thanks...

i did it last sunday; had tried on friday and saturday (and before) withou success; i just got lucky. opened the site in a couple windows, have cable modem, refreshed, logged in, got a 2. but when i got in, i clicked on my first choice (green) and then it brought me back with an X through it. i then did it with another one, and this time got through. i think all reservations were red Xed within 1 or 2 minutes.

the tree is better this year than last, which was the worst i can remember. we went with the kids to 9th ave, chanpen thai (and 51st). i know that it's a little walk, but as long as you don't mind that, 9th avenue is great for food places to eat at, there's usually enough space in most of the restaurants, and there are plenty of choices. also, if you need a quick snack, dean and deluca is there for pastries. btw, i prefer chanpen to pam's real and the other one whose name escapes me.