Ochowie
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Posts posted by Ochowie
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So finally after much reccomendation on these boards I am going to try Degustation tonight and plan to do the 10 course tasting. I recently returned to Ko and it will be interesting to compare the tasting menus.
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Tailor.
I'm sure this is polarizing, since so many NYers hate modern cooking. They have done such a good job of hating it that we are down to two restaurants in which it is showcased. Three if you count Corton.
By showcased, I mean the main attraction, which is what it is at WD and Tailor. Of course every 4 star kitchen now has a colloid/gum shelf in the dry storage, but the usages are intentionally sly and subtle.
Tailor also has an extremely low price point for all the labor cost. Also it has the best cocktail program in the city, in my opinion.
I've said this in another thread and I will say it again, I don't think Tailor is undervalued at all. I love "modern" cooking and truly enjoyed my experience at WD as well as Alinea, and I wish that Corton was even more in keeping with those restaurants (like Gilt and Atlas were). However, like I said before, I was really excited by reading the menu at tailor and was as disappointed afterwords as I was excited beforehand. While the menu seemed like it would be interesting, the food was very bland to my taste. Also, the menu hasn't seemed to have changed since I went there last (8 months ago) so I see no reason to revisit it.
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I think he is more bashing us in the face with technique and combinations for the sake of it.
Again, this is one persons opinion and I am very outnumbered. Not one person on this board dislikes this place?
I wouldn't say I disliked the place on my visit I just thought it was nothing special. I read the menu prior to going and was excited about some of the interesting flavor combinations that were listed on the menu. However, everything I had the night I went (including the pork belly with butterscotch) was just bland and uninteresting. Sure he used some cool techniques but unlike at places like Alinea and WD-50 it didn't enhance the flavors of the ingredients rather it dulled and subdued them.
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But getting back to the food part of Corton: for those members who had eaten at Gilt under Liebrandt's hand as well as at Corton, I'm curious to hear comparisons between his food there and his food at Corton. Sadly, I never went to Gilt (still haven't). I've heard some say that Corton is Liebrandt's Gilt dialed back a few notches.
I never had a chance to go to Gilt or Atlas when he was the chef there. However, it seems to me that he is a very heavily distilled version of his previous posts. The food at Corton really just makes me long for some of his more experimental cuisine at his earlier restaurants.
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Bruni's Charles review is just plain painful to read. Ow.
Umm seriously. What the hell was that? Did Maureen Dowd guest write for Bruni on this article? This was just plain terrible.
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I was there this Friday with my parents and aside from an annoying hostess the meal was very good. We particularly enjoyed the chicken pate as well as the bone marrow. The only dish we thought missed the mark was the fried sardines.
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I believe that Corton is closed on Sunday as well.
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I always have trouble getting a seat at Death & Co on a Friday or Saturday, so I've stopped trying. Last call is some time between 11:15 and 11:30 because they close at midnight. If you try to stop by after dinner and the list is already long, you won't get in before closing.
I've found the same thing. However, Sundays or pretty much any time early in the week seems to have worked for me.
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It seems unreasonable to claim that Mr. Cutlets is a "shill" or in anybody's "pocket." Those are serious accusations of unethical conduct, which don't even remotely reflect his work or approach. I am confident that he is neither accepting bribes nor acting as a plant for anybody.
The absolute worst thing that can be said about Mr. Cutlets is that he is, possibly, sometimes influenced, by his relationships with the people and restaurants he's writing, to be more positive than he should be. I'm not even saying this is true. I'm just saying it's the worst-case scenario.
Me, I sometimes agree and sometimes disagree with what Mr. Cutlets likes. He definitely has his favorites, as do we all. My favorites are not always the same as his. That's normal. It has never led me to question his sincerity or motives. There's room for simple disagreement in this world without the need to personalize it and label it unethical.
For what it's worth I actually really liked the Perry Street fried chicken and agree with him on the quality of Michael White's pasta. His whole ABC(?) burger special really hit a wrong note with me though.
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Is this that different qualitatively from the debate regarding reviewer anonymity? I do think it's appropriate to expect that readers of most of the food blogs to not expect completely unbiased coverage; if nothing else, though, they serve quite nicely to give interesting starting points for doing further research before dining out.
I think it is, and if people thought that, for instance, Bruni was inflating his reviews for places that recognized him and gave him lots of extras/comped his (rather than just for Italian restaurants) then I think the comments would be similar and just as valid.
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So to follow up on Sickchangeup's post, this was my first time at Per Se and I was really blown away by everything the restaurant had to offer. Not only the food, which was great, especially the scallop and horseradish creme fraiche dish, but also the service and the ambiance of the restaurant.
Not having been to the restaurant I had no idea what to expect of the room and was really impressed when I saw the view of central park that I would be looking at for the next few hours. The food was top to bottom excellent especially as sick mentioned the egg truffle custard, the aforementioned scallop dish, and the cheese course. Also, as far as dessert goes, I really enjoyed the coffee and donuts dish. I am usually not a huge fan of dessert but this was a neat dish that could only be improved (as was the consensus at the table) by some kind of play on a cigarette to accompany the dish. As far as the service is concerned, this is bar none my best experience. Since this was my first trip to a "true" Michelin 3 star restaurant I had high expectations and they were met and exceeded. I thought the service was great not and what I really enjoyed was how personal it was while being formal at the same time.
Finally, I just want to say thank you to the 3 other eGulleters who made this a fun and enjoyable Sunday afternoon. This came together on short notice and like Sickchangeup I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I ended up enjoying this experience very much as it was great to share this experience with people that enjoy food so much. All in all I don't think this experience could have gone much better (without a female dining companion involved) and I look forward to more meals at Per Se (wallet permitting) and hopefully more eGullet meetups in the future.
PS. On the subject of the poulard I think the consensus was that it would probably be used at a future staff meal, although no one asked so it remains a mystery.
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I think the videos on Feedbag -- and indeed almost everything on Feedbag -- are pure hype. Josh is simply in those people's pockets. If it mattered at all (which it doesn't), it would be kind of disgusting: hype masquerading as journalism (except that it isn't masquerading as journalism: it's hype masquerading as hype). (So why do we bother to read it?)
(I don't mean to suggest that Josh/Feedbag is the only culprit among the "professional" foodblogs. Only that he's the most naked.)
Yeah, after seeing that whole burger video he did and his (IMO) shill for Pat Lafreida really turned me off to his site.
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So who's bringing the camera?
Won't be me. The only thing I have is my cell phone camera (which I am still mad at for ruining my picture with Padma Lakshmi).
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Well, I would prefer to do a slightly later reservation but if 11:30 is what is available for more than one. If anyone does want to do this, PM me your contact details and we can work it out.
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You guys should all sitemail each other and get a table together!
I wouldn't object to a mini EG meet up. Any idea how many people the 1 tops seat?
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This is the first reunion show I don't really care about since I barely remember the cheftestants other than the last few. The tee shirt will probably be hooty-hoo or something about monkey's ass or it's top chef not top scallop! I too agree about Jamie.
But you don't want to hear whether or not Hosea and Leah are really dating now?
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So I am looking through opentable and while there are quite a few tables for 2 people it seems that when I switch to looking for one person all those tables disappear. Do they really split 2-tops out for 2 people and 1 person? If I call them directly would they be able to accommodate me at one of those 2 person slots?
I've noticed the same thing too on OpenTable for a few restaurants. From other postings I am certain that if you call Per Se directly they can accommodate a solo diner. It may be a "quirk" in the OpenTable system that some restaurants don't permit a party of one reservation.
The OpenTable system can accommodate solo diners if the restaurant allows it, but evidently Per Se has elected not to make such reservations available online. The dining room at Per Se has very few true "two-tops" (I believe only a couple of them). Both times I've dined there as a party of two, we were actually seated at a four-top with two chairs missing. I suspect they are loath to commit one of those tables to a solo diner, as they're effectively getting just a 25% yield out of the space. So they probably don't allow that option on OpenTable, figuring that a more lucrative booking (for at least 2 diners) will probably come in later on. If it is still available on the day, then I am sure you could call them and they would give it to you.
Just got a reservation for 12:15 for lunch on Sunday! They mentioned that it is easiest to get a lunch reservation and since they mentioned they serve the full 9 course menu for lunch I decided to go or it.
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So I am looking through opentable and while there are quite a few tables for 2 people it seems that when I switch to looking for one person all those tables disappear. Do they really split 2-tops out for 2 people and 1 person? If I call them directly would they be able to accommodate me at one of those 2 person slots?
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One thing that felt that it had been "fixed" prior to Season 5 was casting. Off the top of my head, the competitors seemed weak in Season 5 compared to previous seasons (I'm certainly not the first to state this). For example, IIRC, didn't they go out and recruit Blais to compete in season 4? Did they do that in Season 5? Other than Jamie, none of the season 5 competitors seem that they might have been recruited?
I guess my point is that better casting can make a difference. Having said that, could the previous couple of season's casting been due to good luck in casting? Perhaps, but the Blais anecdote seems to suggest otherwise.
EDITED: corrected obnoxious use of quotation marks
I read an interview with the casting director where he stated that Jamie tried out for every season. I wonder why she wasn't picked in the earlier seasons. If it was because she was weaker than the contestants they picked for the previous seasons, it would say a lot considering that she was one of the strongest of season 5.
I know people keep saying Jamie was great but i thought she was pretty one note okay maybe two notes.
She made creamed stuff a couple of times and used scallops in one way or another on every show.
she may be good but she doesn't have much creativity.
I never said she was great. I said she was one of the better of the season. I totally agree with your assessment.
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One thing that felt that it had been "fixed" prior to Season 5 was casting. Off the top of my head, the competitors seemed weak in Season 5 compared to previous seasons (I'm certainly not the first to state this). For example, IIRC, didn't they go out and recruit Blais to compete in season 4? Did they do that in Season 5? Other than Jamie, none of the season 5 competitors seem that they might have been recruited?
I guess my point is that better casting can make a difference. Having said that, could the previous couple of season's casting been due to good luck in casting? Perhaps, but the Blais anecdote seems to suggest otherwise.
EDITED: corrected obnoxious use of quotation marks
I read an interview with the casting director where he stated that Jamie tried out for every season. I wonder why she wasn't picked in the earlier seasons. If it was because she was weaker than the contestants they picked for the previous seasons, it would say a lot considering that she was one of the strongest of season 5.
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Does anyone read the top chef recaps on eater? Those are the best part of this season IMO.
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So with all the fair prices going on at Beacon, what is the deal with the price for the Beefsteak being hiked to $200? At first I was excited about this event, but the more I thought about the kind of meals I could get for $200 the less I wanted to go.
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Chef Blais weighed in on this episode on Bravo. Here's the link - "Chicken and Caviar"
I think he nails it all around.
*edited link cause it was going to page 2.
Yeah I was going to come in post this. I miss him and Stephanie from last season. They both seem like class acts, who cooked food that looked (and probably) tasted awesome. I wish I had some excuse to go down to Atlanta so I could at least hit his burger joint.
The five best cocktail destinations in NYC
in New York: Dining
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Does this mean that Death & Co will now be open past midnight! When I asked the bartenders about this they mentioned it had to do with the community boards rules but if this is about to change then I am really excited.