Wilfrid

Nice writing, Maggie.

Then can we be your friends?

My list, my rules: No Batali. No Bastianich (not even Lidia). No "authenticity" debate. I thank you.

Since I've only been to two places so far, and it's already March, we seem to have all the time in the world. I'll take account of your negatives, Rory. I did exclude the Bastianich and Batali places at the outset, not because they are unworthy, but because I have some familiarity with them. The idea was to try to get behind the big names and try to find out what Italian means as part of New York's traditional eating culture. Which is why I hesitate to include Fiamma in this project, although I'd be happy to eat there. Any more votes for Bar Pitti or Da Silvano?

Let's be clear, I wasn't taking Mogsob, or even eGullet, as the source of this reputation. Rightly or wrongly, it's something one hears. I am glad to have reasons to reject it in future.

Well, obviously it's a bit creepy...

Thank you. And indeed the first time I had it, the menu gave it as "corn truffle". So in flavor truffly, but in texture more sort of muddy.

I mentioned this little hole in the wall on the thread about huitlacoche in the cooking forum. It's at 438 East 9th between 1st and A (212 677 5856), and the dinner menu offers huitlacoche - a dark, pungent fungus which grows on corn - in quesadillas, along with mushrooms, corn, poblano peppers and cheese, and in a corn soufflee cake. Word of mouth plus some good press (New York magazine, for example) has this place packed. After two abortive attempts at a spontaneous dinner, I sneaked in mid-afternoon on Saturday to find they were still serving brunch. They serve fourteen covers (only one table for four), so dinner reservations are essential, and indeed I found the owner/chef and server slaving over the reservation book with the phone ringing off the hook. On the short brunch menu (about $8 or 9$ for an entree with coffee or juice and chips 'n' salsa), I found the huitlacoche in an omelette with corn and cheese. It came out of the kitchen looking a bit dry and yellow, but not at all - the interior was moist and fluffy, and the huitlacoche quickly colored my plate black. It;s a bit like eating mud from the edge of a pond, only in a nice way. A big serving of mildly spicy, rosemary-flecked home fries came with the omelette. The complementary salsa which preceded it was home made. One could immediately sense that this place takes pride in it what it's doing. The decor in the tiny room was thoughtful and attractive; the owner cooked my omelette and then came out to see how it was. Altogether charming. Anyone get in for dinner yet?

Yes, all the jigsaw pieces fit together.

Since this was once a thread about Nobu, I thought I'd drop some thoughts about my first visit right about here. Bustling, busy, attractively but plainly decorated - I was expecting something more fancy, I suppose - delightful service right down to prompt wine pouring (essential, that). As first timers on a special occasion, we compromised between omakase and the Nobu classics simply by ordering an omakase dinner and requesting that the black cod be one of the courses. A lot of food. My Beloved was able to fine tune her order by requesting nothing spicy. I think all the wasabi, therefore, went into my first dish - tartare of belly tuna. Looked innocent, all pink and smooth, with a little caviar on top, but the silkiness was followed up by a sinus-clearing blast of fresh wasabi and chopped onion. Explosive palate cleanser. Since I don't take notes at the table, I can only point to highlights. A perfect raw scallop. A sashimi salad served with a rich, almost glutinous, brown dressing, so good it almost made me cry. The black cod, marinated in miso, with a wedge of seared foie gras on top lived up to its reputation - intensely sweet without being cloying. We had been drinking champagne, but paired the cod with a Riesling, which turned out to be one of the best food/wine combinations I've enjoyed in a while. Loved the sizzling beef dish (I thought it was Wagyu, but I may be wrong - the tenderness and delicious fat suggested as much). The Bento box with chocolate souffle cake and green tea ice cream was one dessert. There was also some business with bananas and birthday candles, which modesty restrains me from describing. A most memorable evening.

I'm pleased to hear their reputation is undeserved - but today's not the first time I've heard that they are not keen to cook steaks to order.

Indeed. It's not the first time I've heard this, and it's the main reason I haven't yet been. My partner dislikes rare red meat, and why would I take her somewhere the kitchen might feel inclined to insult her? I expect I'll give it a try one day, but that's why it's been several years without it coming to the top of the list.

To look at it another way: I'd like to hear from the people who find fault with ADNY exactly which restaurant in New York they think is a better restaurant in that category. I have found the overall ADNY experience to be excellent. Could I pick faults? Sure. I could also pick faults with each of the other New York four stars (I haven't yet been to Bouley, but I'm sure I'll find something wrong with it if I look hard enough). Is ADNY at least as good as, if not rather better than, Daniel, Lespinasse and Jean-Georges? Does it give you a table for the entire evening, and a considerably larger staff to diner ratio than those restaurants? If the answers to those questions are yes, what's to denigrate? For anyone thinking of eating there, $1000 for a dinner for two is a considerable overestimate of the cost. Each time I've dined there (including champagne, water, three figure wine, and so on), the check has been between $600 and $700 for two. Edit: It's also important to compare like with like when it comes to the food. Dinner at Daniel is $85 for three courses. This tops $100 if you order any one of the dishes which comes with a supplement (or insert a cheese course). The Ducasse web-site seems to be down right now - so I'm open to correction - but I believe the $160 dinner tag buys a four course dinner - appetizer, fish, meat, dessert, together with several complementary items.

How my heart warms to a restaurant where chefs will overcook food to spite the customers.

On the one hand allergies, on the other hand dietary restrictions, and on the unexpected third hand things people might not like or want. Lethal peanuts, irreligious bacon, creepy caul fat. Jeniac42 was right. Imagine your server having to pre-guess and pre-address, for every customer, even just the most likely ingredients on the menu to cause illness, religious offence or squeamish. If you need to know about caul fat, do you also need to know if something's fried in lard? By the time your server has introduced his or her self, dealt with these ingredient issues, and listed the specials, it'll be time to go home. A plea for realism.

My memory of that Wolfe piece is dim. Personally, I think it's worth reading the whole of American Psycho once, although I won't defend every blood-soaked page of it. Then it's worth going back endlessly and re-reading the chapters about food, music, New York social manners and so on which occur between the horrors. Immensely funny (and frighteningly contemporary in parts).

I wish Brett Easton Ellis would write something about food. The satire of 1980s New York dining sprinkled between atrocities in American Psycho was priceless. He has written about menswear (non-fictionally) I believe.

Not wishing to cause offence, but is it the case that Americans who like GT wish they had a four star American restaurant in New York? (I'm sure my compatriots entertain similar wishes about things British - I am not "'aving a go" at anyone.)

Not that you're asking me, but I always think the question is about whether having the table for the evening is worth the extra cost, rather than the meal. But let's hear what Ajay thinks.

I had my Di Fara baptism last night. What I liked about the Sicilian slice was that I kept coming across new flavors and textures. He builds it up in a remarkable way for just a slice of pizza. The regular slice came with delicious freshly sauteed artichokes. Best crusts I've eaten in NYC - the right kind of crispy. And guess what - pizza stays warm on paper plates! I sampled some of the home-style dishes too - chicken cacciatore, spaghetti with either sausage or meatballs (chopped up) and a hearty salad. Good, but it's the pizza that's worth the journey. With thanks to my knowledgeable escorts.

Absorbing read, Ajay. I now want to sample that pork dish, not least to compare it with the, obviously less expensive, but startlingly good tour around a pig currently being offered at JUdson Grill. Brad, I diagree with your point about the wine list. Accepting your premise about the reason people go to ADNY, the conclusion should be that they need only offer very expensive wines, not that they are entitled to price wines unfairly (if that's what they are doing).

If one laid a menu from GT side by side with a menu from Daniel or Jean-Georges, I think the different level of ambition would be apparent. Assuming each of those three restaurants execute their menus well, I think the difference in star ratings is fair. Or, in a nutshell, GT dishes generally have fewer components and fewer things going on - which doesn't, of course, make them less satisfying for many people.

I hope you enjoy it. From a number of visits, I would steer you away from lobster, which is one thing they don't seem to get right, and towards meat, especially veal sweetbreads, if that's your thing, squab and any braised meats. For a first timer, I'd recommend the appetizer which accents goat's cheese with caviar, an unusual combination which works well. Assuming it's still on the menu. Have fun.

Always works on one sucker.

Thanks. That was funny.