Bond Girl

I think what is happening here may be a cultural issue. In New York City, if I am late to a reservation, I call the restaurant, tell them we are going to be late and all is well. On the night in question, we were stuck in traffic for most of our trip there. None of us have ever been to Chicago, so none of us were able to guage the state of traffic at 4:30 on a sunday afternoon. When I did call the restaurant to inform them that we are stuck in traffic, we were put on hold for so long that I ended up hanging up as the taxi turned into North Halstead. Interestingly enough, we were told at the restaurant that had we arrived on time at 5pm, we still would not be able to get the "Tour" menu. In addition, it raises the question how did the restaurant decide which 21 people to turn? While we were very grateful for the extra items, we don't expect the special treatment, but simply the ability to order what is on the menu. It is an unfortunate turn of event. And, ultimately, this is not serious because it is just dinner after all. Thanks for the explanation and we will do our best to avoid mishaps as such next time. edited by BG

There are always mishaps in management and services...and I'm no stranger to them (having eaten at more restaurants than I care to remember). A very popular 4 star place in NYC once told me that "Yes, they can squeeze me in at the last minute, but they would need the table back an hour and a half later..." and I'm okay with that. Another dining establishment in Napa Valley once told my friends that they have mistakenly over booked, and would need us to be done by a certain time, while apologizing profusely, and that was okay too. I even once volunteered to move to the bar so the table could be given to a couple that was waiting a long time. What I found most troubling about this most recent experience was the "If you don't like it, you can leave" attitude.

Because Alinea is ultimately not about the customers, but about the creator. When I made the reservation to eat there two weeks ago, I specified that the whole party wanted the long tasting menu. When we sat down, we were told that we couldn't order it because the "Tour" menu takes too long and they needed to turn the table. When we complained, we were told that "if we were unhappy, they could always help us find a reservation elsewhere". I feel like I was not a client of the restaurant, but a mere mortal being given the priviledge of worshipping at the great temple of Alinea. I can accept that these days, chefs have become such "artists" that the restaurant has become an expression of their creativity, and to hell with people who don't understand that. But, it should still be about the customers, at least some of the time. While most of the food I ate there was very good, and some very gimmicky, I would rather go to some place where they actually give some shred of respect to the people they serve, or at least give a good pretense of it.

You are too nice!!! Thank you.

If they have an oven, it is certainly not reflected in any of the entrees Yes, they did serve coffee in a paper cup. It is vile even for a coffee novice like me.

fish tank decoration!

Fresh terra chips might. Those were Terra chips that has been sitting around in water forever.

The chips are horrendous!!! Tasted like it came out of a bag of Terra chips. The lobster rolls are great and while the oysters were nice, they weren't worth $24 a dozen. The worst was the dessert. Go to Pearl, better food, cheaper price. I'll stop ranting, for the full review of my dinner at Ditch Plain see here.

7 out of 11. The Polish one stumped me...

I think the extra difficulties is compounded by the fact that it's Memorial Day.

Reduced to NoMi, anyone know anything of it? All the restaurants on Ronnie's list are closed. Avec is not answering.

Oh yes. Must be open on Monday, the memorial day weekend. So far, Spring and Tru is out! We could throw in Butter and Blackbird too...Schwa is closed as well. Arrrrrgh.

No Parameters. I am open to everything except steak houses. I tend to prefer sleepers to big celebrity chef places, and unusual flavors to tried and true french cooking. I forgot about Tru...is it difficult to get res. on a short notice? Also any drink spots and lounges? I'd ask about Jazz clubs but that would be way off topic.....Also if any eGers wants to get together, drop me a PM.

In chicago from sunday to tuesday. Eating at Alinea on sunday night but looking for recommendations as well. I heard Vermillion is quite good, anywhere else that I should not miss?

Word has it that Sam's place is going to be in SoHo on Thompson and Broom. That one I'm looking forward to.

Now they are open on Sundays.

Chicken, duck, fowl, goose...anything that formerly has wings....I don't even like seeing feathers (down comforters and pillows puts me in a bad mood and I can smell them froma mile away.) Bananas. Hate them raw but like them when caramelized, and love plaintains. Raw bananas taste plastc like and slimey...yuck.

As a germ obsessed Taiwanese, I can say that shop keepers are not in the habit of paying better attention because culturally, the shopper didn't really care. When I was growing up, back in the stone ages, the Taiwanese didn't go to supermarkets or shops to buy their groceries, they go to markets and food stand, where displays are not possible. As everything is normally laid out on a blamket on the floor, dusting is really a moot point. Having said that, years of shopping in American supermarkets have gotten me rather squimish about germs. I never bought into the "your immune system should take care of that" argument. I am infamous for shopping at places that charges 2 to 3 times the prices I would be paying at Chinatown, just to feel that I get cleaner groceries.

Yes.

I had limited impressions of Chinatown Brasserie from being in there at CNO. The place is huge, with state of the art bi level kitchens and private dining rooms. The decor is on the opulent side so it'll be interesting to see it in the heat of the summer. All the food sampled seemed very good and Tyson Ophaso is certainly a very competent chef. I will have more to report if I get invited to friends and family. But, for now it's one of the places I am excited about as it will give me nioce alternatives for sunday morning dim sum

Okay, I can't do this.

Okay, I'm being a ditz.... I forgot about the spices and the oils, and the sugar and rice...I was only thinking about the main ingredient source like vegetables and fish, which is usually local. Cheese from Vermont isn't bad....I don't really drink so that's okay, and long island has pretty okay wines, not that I can tell the difference.....Yep, definitely a ditz moment. Now that I've been corrected, anyone think they could do this?

I've got one for American restaurants. If you like, I'll email it to you. Send me a PM.

According to this web site when the average american sit down to dinner their food has traveled an average of 1500 miles from its source to the plate. So, this couple from canada has decided to spent a year eating from within the 100 miles radius of their home. Discounting the fact that I sometimes crave for an occasional Scottish langoustine fished from the water 6000 miles from NYC, I really don't see how this is so difficult to do. Any thoughts?

I was talking to Andrew Carmellini about that as well....as I would be dining alone if I do return to A Voce, he said there would be no problems at all if I eat alone. In fact, in a few weeks, A Voce will have outdoor seating, and on a nice summer evening, it would be the most perfect place to eat alone and people watch or hang out with my dog on the sidewalk.