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Steve Plotnicki

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Everything posted by Steve Plotnicki

  1. Cabrales - We toured the cellars at Troisgros the next morning. The sommelier just let us in and left us to wander around in there for a good 15 minutes. It was amazing. I didn't get into the kitchen though. Having had the '90 Jayer Cros Parentoux at Ducasse 2 months earlier, I was happy to be able to find the '90 Echezeaux to compare them. Speaking of Jayer, I know where there is a magnum of '85 Cros Parentoux in Paris for a very fair price. But I won't post where it is on the board because I want to drink it ;). I understand that one day a year Troisgros invites all the Burgundy growers to Roanne and he closes the restaurant and makes them lunch while they sample the new vintage. Now how does one get an invite to that meal? I'm thinking about compiling my wine notes for the year and posting them on the wine board. It would take more effort than the restaurant notes but if I can figure out a way to do it that won't take too long I'll give it a shot. (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 6:41 am on Jan. 4, 2002)
  2. Thanks to the eGullet staff for giving closet restaurant reviewers like myself an outlet where they can offer their experiences and opinions about food. All I can say about what I ate this past year was that it was a lot. So here they are, listed by my own funny categories, with a few words that will hopefully impart enough opinion so you can make up your own mind whether you want to go or not. Before anyone comments, I’m doing this mostly from memory so a few of these meals might actually have occurred in 2000. And I hope I don’t have to field too many questions about why certain restaurants were grouped the way they were. It’s just my gut about what they stand for. Not some secret, scientific method I used. And as for the ratings, the ratings are relative to expectations. For example, the fact that Le Bernadin gets the same rating as Aureole means I think it is underachieving. But a B+ at a bistro styled place means they are cooking with fervor. I also must add that although I write up restaurants that extend well beyond New York City, I decided to post them all in the New York forum because they are a New Yorker's point of view. Well at least one New Yorker's point of view. Okay, I hope you all enjoy it. <p> <b><u>Traditional and Formal</b></u><p> <b>Aureole</b> - I hadn’t been to Aureole for a good three or four years but it felt like an old glove when I had lunch there this past summer. The food was really delicious, better than I remember it. And it had a classy, ladies who lunch, posh tourist crowd feel to it which was a pleasant surprise. This restaurant is comfortable with itself. I kept waiting for Elaine Stritch to start singing <b>B++-</b><p><b>Le Bernadin</b> - I attended a wine tasting of DRC wines in a private room on the second floor which was my only visit this year. The food was good, with a few dishes being really good. I’m in no rush to go back as I don’t think they are slaying any dragons there. The feel is a bit clubby for me <b>B++</b><p><b>Café Boulud</b> - I’m a confirmed Daniel Boulud fan. He actually thinks his restaurants through so each one is a unique dining experience. I had a number of pretty good meals here and I like those four different menu strategies. But one complaint is that it’s a bit fussy. It’s also a bit too cramped and Upper East Side-ish. I wish Daniel had a place that was less froufrou where he just cooked. <b>B+</b><p><b>Cello</b> - I recently attended someone’s 60th birthday party in a private room on the top floor and they did a very nice job. My first experience (last year) was less impressive. <b>B+</b><p><b>Le Cirque 2000</b> - Similar to my experience at Le Bernadin, I attended a wine tasting in a private room at Le Cirque. There were 17 of us, and the meal they served us was great. Nothing daring, but well cooked dishes served in copious portions. I had never been to their new location but the food was in keeping with my idea of what Le Cirque is about. Which is a European restaurant that has been stylized to fit NYC. <b>A--</b><p><b>Daniel</b> - When the kitchen is on, Daniel can be the best restaurant in town. But I have to admit that in my experience it’s on only about 2/3 of the time. I don’t think there’s a better space in NYC. And I’m not focusing on the décor, but the layout of the room. Even the tables raised around the perimeter have good views of the action. It’s too bad they serve so many people each evening as I’m sure the food would be better. But Daniel is a real gentleman and I think he really wants you to have a good time. And I can’t say enough good things about the sommelier Jean-Luc Le Du <b>A</b><p><b>Alain Ducasse</b> - Ducasse brings the 3 star experience to NYC. Did we really need it? The jury is out but my gut tells me no. We need our own experiences, built on our own culture. But putting aside the Las Vegas we can put snooty France anywhere aspect of the place, you can have a very good, and certainly a very refined meal there. Okay, maybe I am being a bit too harsh, but maybe I’m not <b>A-</b><p><b>Jean-Georges</b> - I’m a confirmed J-G man. I think he gets more flavor out of a few simple ingredients than any other chef in town. I’ve found the cooking to be consistently at a higher level than almost any other place in town. Not every dish works, but every dish is intended to make some sort of statement. And I think that Nougatine goes completely unnoticed. I’ve had some sublime dishes there, throwaways to the main restaurant. <b>A+</b><p><b>Le Perigord</b> - Another private wine tasting dinner brought me to Le Perigord for my first ever experience. Well I was quite disappointed as I found it second, possibly third tier old school French. <b>B--</b><p> <b><u>Contemporary European and American</b></u><p> <b>Babbo</b> - Is offal all it takes to get high scores? Not that I didn’t like my two meals at Babbo. I just didn’t get the same thrill that other people seem to get from the place. It feels slightly homogenized in a way that Po never felt. But I have to say that most people rave about the pasta tasting menu which I haven’t had. I dislike the room, especially if you sit upstairs. But I’m open minded and will return. Especially since I saw Mario playing the blues with that guy who owns that famous Salumeria in Bologna on the Food Channel <b>B</b><p><b>Craft</b> - How to deconstruct a restaurant. It’s good, but I was expecting more. If you go and the food is on, it’s extremely enjoyable. But if the food is slightly off, it seems gimmicky. The photos of the Diver Scallops and Mushrooms in this weeks New York magazine said it all. This is a restaurant that is good for intellectuals, but bad for gluttons. <b>B++</b> and I was hoping for an A<p><b>Eleven Madison Park</b> - Three meals. One excellent, two that were fair at best. But one was a Saturday night and I tend to discount Saturday night experiences. Beautiful room. The menu seemed to be more interesting awhile back when they had different foie gras preparations that were available as a tasting. My biggest nit to pick is that it’s hard to say what the place is about. <b>B+</b><p><b>Esca</b> - I had an enjoyable lunch back in November. My initial reaction is the same one I had about Babbo. They have taken an original dining concept and lowered the standards just enough to feed too many mouths. For those who know the place, Alberto Ciarla in Rome was the original new wave Italian seafooder and he experimented with all types of raw fish and seviche style preparations. <b>B</b><p><b>Gotham Bar & Grill</b> - Tall food, very tall. I never could understand what the fuss is about? You can get a reasonably good meal here but nothing close to a great meal. Yet I still go back from time to time because I feel like I’m missing something. And Alfred Portale is such a lovely guy. But I feel like grabbing him by the arm and whispering in his ear, “I know you can cook with passion, show me.” <b>B-</b><p><b>Gramercy Tavern</b> - I had an exceptional meal at GT over the summer. The best I ever had. But a different meal I had earlier in the year was average. Still, I enjoy eating at GT and I love being able to drop in at the tavern without a reservation and get some honest cooking for not a lot of money. Clearly the best of the bunch in the tier just below the big French places. </b>A-</b><p><b>March</b> - I’ve only been once. Well there is no shortage of trying here. Wayne Nish certainly tries to make the food interesting. But I thought it more interesting than delicious. They get an A for effort but <b>B</b> for the food.<p><b>Olive’s</b> - There was a time where I was convinced that the original Olive’s in Charlestown, Mass was the best casual restaurant in the country. One night they served me a double cut, double smoked then grilled pork chop atop cabbage braised in apple cider studded with lardons and painted with three different types of mustards that just knocked me out. It was really a choucroute turned on its head and it exemplified what I thought great American cooking was about. Todd English has deconstructed/reconstructed other classic dishes as well. But then fame and fortune came upon Todd and he became, well a chain of restaurants. And though I will always have a soft spot in my heart for anything named Olive’s, I have to admit that both in NYC and at the original location they do not cook with the same level of intensity that served up that pork chop. <b>B</b><p><b>Town</b> - I had two very good meals at Town but I have to say that Geoffrey Zakarian’s style of cooking is a bit subtle for my palate. The meal I had last summer when he had access to fresh fruits and vegetables was better than the meal I had a few weeks ago. I’m sure the place will be humming come spring<b>A--</b><p><b>Union Pacific</b> - I love Union Pacific. I must have eaten there a dozen times. I have learned that if you stick to the dishes that appear Asian fusion on their face, you will have a far more enjoyable meal than if you get something that is simply French. Rocco’s Taylor Bay Scallops with Uni in Mustard Oil (they add tomato water too the kitchen told me) is as classic as Nobu’s Miso Rubbed and Roasted Black Cod. And nobody makes slow roasted salmon like Rocco. It is the consistency of a warm pudding. <b>A-</b><p><b>Veritas</b> - As a wine collector, how can I not like Veritas? Unfortunately the list has been picked over so the bargains come up far less often. And despite the fact that Scott Bryan cooks some lovely food, it gets overshadowed by the wines. But I have a great time every time I go and Tim Kopec the sommelier is a lovely guy who really cares<b>B+</b><p><b><u>The New Wave</b></u><p><b>71 Clinton Fresh Foods</b> - I wish it wasn’t so hard to get in. All three meals I had were terrific. Wylie Dufresne shows true Jean-George ingenuity with dishes like his smoked salmon covered in fresh avocado. <b>B++</b> <p><b>Annisa</b> - I’m quite fond of Annisa. Anita Lo’s Asian fusion cooking stretches beyond the typical Southeast Asian/French spicing you see elsewhere and she has delved into the Middle East for inspiration. Honorable mention for having the guts to open a place this size. Great staff <b>B+</b><p><b>Atlas</b> - I had the good fortune of dining at The Fat Duck in Bray before eating at Atlas so I was prepared for the weirdness. It’s hard to describe my meal. Only 6 months later I can’t remember a single thing I ate. I do remember liking my meal but I remember thinking it more technical than delicious. Despite all the originality, I haven’t had the craving to go back. And now the chef has moved on. A+ for sheer technique but more like an overall <b>B-</b><p><b>AZ</b> - How Grimes ever gave this place three stars boggles my mind. It was so pedestrian, so not from New York. I felt like I could have been in Cleveland, no make that Dayton. Sometimes I walk into a place and the management seems like they are from management school central casting and it turns me off right away. Blech. And the food matched my feelings about the vibe. Annisa blows this place out of the water. They should dismantle it and move it to the Newark Sheraton.<b>D-</b<p><b>Blue Hill</b> - My first experience at Blue Hill didn’t move me. But a few friends I trust told me they ate some great meals there and I tried it again. Well I’ve been back twice and both times it was terrific. The menu could be slightly larger, but their thrust for innovation while intending to maximize flavor suits me well. <b>B++</b> I give 71 Clinton a slight nod over this.<p><b>Canteen</b> - Gee the food here was really awful. Cool 60’s décor though. <b>D-</b><p><b>Chicama</b> - Love the seviches. Hate the décor. Hate that eucalyptus grill too. It makes me feel like my whole body has a cold and they are slathering Vicks on it. It makes the food taste like it’s been in camphor. It’s too bad because I think Rodriguez is a great chef and I have been following his career since he was at Yuca in Coral Gables<b>B--</b><p><b>Chow Bar</b> - Another Village entry in the we can be affordable but interesting derby. Affordable? More so than others. Interesting or delicious? No <b>D</b><p><b>DB Bistro Moderne</b> - Is the DB Burger the dish of the year? I can’t think of another creation that will most likely become a permanent part of NYC culinary culture the way it did. The European style boutique hotel décor makes you feel like you are on vacation (or maybe that was the Roumier Chambolle-Musigny that did that?) <b>B-</b><p><b>Dim Sum GoGo</b> - I had lunch there after jury duty one afternoon and I was by myself so I didn’t get to taste very much. But clearly steps up from your basic dim sum slingers who all seem to get their shu mai from the same place. And the small dishes of dipping sauces are a great touch, especially the killer XO sauce. <b>B++</b> and I am primed to raise the score after another visit.<p><b>Dinerbar</b> - The Lower East Side comes to Spanish Harlem. A great addition to the neighborhood as we think of it as almost Carnegie Hill. We needed a hip coffee shop. And they deliver too. <b>D+</b><p><b>####’s Kitchen</b> - Excellent contemporary Mexican in Clinton. Three meals have all been wonderful. <b>B-</b><p><b>Inside</b> - Ann Rosenzweig’s new place. Gee what a downgrading for her after Arcardia and then The Lobster Club. Is there more money serving ภ chicken to 25 year olds then there is ษ chicken to 55 year olds? <b>D</b><p><b> Marseille</b> - I was excited to read about this new place in the Film Center building which features the cooking of Alex Urena (ex Blue Hill.) Well there is no need to rush there. The place seemed more like a bar than a restaurant. And add one more NYC restaurant whose Bouillabaisse seems like it has been juiced up with Pernod to make up for the lack of availability of Rascasse <b>C--</b><p><b>La Palapa</b> - I loooooove La Palapa. For my money it’s better than either Maya or Rosa Mexicana. Their Chalupa (grilled pork chop) could be the single best Mexican dish in the city. One night in December they served it grilled and then topped with sliced quince and crema. Perfect. <b>B++</b><p><b>Sugiyama</b> - I go every 3-4 months religiously. In fact, it’s the most spiritual place to dine in the city. It’s best to sit at the kaiseki bar and forge a relationship with Chef Nao. The food is minimalist so you need to hit it on a day when they have the top ingredients <b>A</b><p><b>Virot</b> - I’m sorry this restaurant failed as it was obvious from just one visit that Didier Virot could really cook. But a project of this size is too ambitious for a new name on the scene unless you have the goods to wow the critics immediately. And that neighborhood. Drab. He needed to open a 71 Clinton size place to make a name for himself. A posthumous <b>B+</b><p><b><u>Old School</b></u><p><b>92</b> - I was disappointed when after putting in a beautiful French deco installation what opened here was just another Carnegie Hill catering hall with poached salmon in dill sauce. My mouth was watering for some expertly grilled salmon with a perfectly whisked Bearnaise. Boring <b>D</b><p><b>Beacon</b> - I’m a big Beacon fan although I must say they make some odd choices. The swordfish I had recently was cut like a filet mignon, which made it almost impossible to cook properly. But other things are simple and done really well. Their Charred Filet Mignon Tartar is one of the better dishes in town. <b>B</b><p><b>Blue Ribbon</b> - I love Blue Ribbon. Not necessarily for the food which ranges from average to good at best. But the place has more spirit than ten other places combined. And there isn’t any other place I know of where sharing a paella and a steak in mushroom sauce makes sense. <b>C</b><p><b>Blue Ribbon Bakery</b> - A big step down from it’s older brother, especially when it comes to cooked food. Ordering cheeses and charcuterie ala carte is a nice touch but I find the portions to be wanting and the prices to be high. <b>D-</b><p><b>Bouchon</b> - One more French bistro type of place that people I know liked which I found inferior. Cheap is good, but not when the food tastes it. <b>D--</b><p><b>Butterfield 81</b> - A favorite local haunt for my wife and I before the chef left (forgot her name.) Her New York Strip Steak Frittes was amongst the best in town. But our one meal after she left was a big step down. <b>C</b><p><b>Café Loup</b> - Generic French bistro food in the Village. Good space but I wish the food was better <b>D</b><p><b>Caviateria</b> - What’s not to like? The perfect place for a luxury lunch when power shopping. <b>B</b><p><b>Delegate’s Dining Room at the United Nations</b> - I had a friend from the Bahamas who worked at the U.N. until recently and she would invite me to lunch whenever they were featuring the cuisine of a country we found interesting. While the food was generic Restaurant Associates fare, the setting is so light and pleasant that the few nods they would have at the buffet table to whatever nation’s food they were featuring would make for a satisfying lunch experience. <b>D+</b><p><b>D’Artragnan Rotisserie</b> - I ate there only once when they first opened and I found it extremely disappointing. My garbure had nothing to do with the garbure I get in Paris. It seemed like they opened a package of the stuff from the D’Artagnan plant and heated it up. I also found the Gascon and Basque décor heavy and out of place for NYC. <b>C</b><p><b>The Dining Room</b> - I had two good meals at The Dining Room. Their raw fish combination platter is a great dish, and copious at that. Once I had the lamb prepared two different ways and the other time the beef prepared two ways. Both delicious. A good addition to Upper East Side dining, as the choices are mostly poor. <b>B</b><p><b>Elio’s</b> - Upper East Side celebrity haven with solid Northern Italian food. On one night this past September we dined with Pete Samprass, Alice Waters, Vernon Jordon, Barbara Walters and Tom Selleck . Okay, my kids go to school with one of the owners kids so there’s my full disclosure. But the food is really solid considering that with that clientele they could serve what they serve at Elaine’s <b>B</b><p><b>Estatorio Milos</b> - I would never turn down an invitation to dine at Milos. They do a great job with the simplest of ingredients. Their grilled calamari stuffed with feta is one of the better appetizers in town. And if you hit the fish right, perfection. Great side dishes too. <b>A-</b><p><b>Grand Central Oyster Bar</b> - I’m a sucker for an Oyster pan roast. It’s a dish that reeks of yesteryear. I mean clam broth, half and half, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, who eats like that anymore? Clearly something to go into the NYC food museum along with the original broiled clam bellys from Gage & Tollner<b>B-</b><p><b>Jarnac</b> - I’m a committed Jarnac fan as the owners are people who really care about the food. They are also not happy serving only traditional French bistro fair and are looking for ways to stretch the genre. I wish it was in the neighborhood I live in. <b>B</b><p><b>Judson Grill</b> - The best midtown lunch? I’m quite happy with Bill Telepan’s cooking but I have to admit I don’t always find the menu interesting. Nice room and always friendly and proficient service <b>B</b><p><b>The Palm</b> - What can I say? I have to admit I love The Palm. Not Palm Too, not the one on the West Side. The cruddy original one. I don’t know what it is. Maybe their broiler has more schmutz on it but I’ve had some mean steaks there this year. A must visit for people on the Atkin’s diet. <b>B+</b><p><b>Payard Bistro</b> - I like the café better than the restaurant. I’m sure Christian Payard could cook with more gusto had his audience been a little more robust and a little less Palm Beach. <b>B-</b><p><b>Quilty’s</b> - The food is okay, but another place that doesn’t project much purpose. Drab dining room could use an overhaul. Now I heard they closed Jan 1, 2002. I’m not really surprised <b>B--</b><p><b>Strip House</b> - Good job for a generic steak house. Stick to a strip steak and don’t get suckered into what they call their rib chop, which is something like a 32 oz prime rib. Great décor and tables spaced far apart. A good addition to Greenwich Village dining. <b>B</b><p><b>Union Square Café</b> - I have recently made my peace with USC after years of avoiding it. The need to reserve 30 days in advance for a place of its caliber was something I couldn’t reconcile. But I’ve learned that if you get a steak or the lamb chops scotto ditto you can have a fine meal. And the Creamy Polenta and Garlic Potato Chips are among the better side dishes in this town. <b>B</b> and the staff deserves a plus all for themselves.<p><b><u>Bistro, French and otherwise</b></u><p><b>Artisinal</b> - Well here’s a lot of hullabaloo I can’t figure. It’s the good old cheese diversion trick. Maybe my most disappointing meal of the year. And I like Picholine so much (though I haven’t been this year.) I recently went back for lunch and it had improved somewhat (the multi-cheese chapeau on the onion soup is a winner) but it didn’t make we want to go have dinner again <b>C-</b><p><b>Balthazar</b> - What can you say about Balthazar other than they serve better food than they have to. Its functionality transcends the food so I’ve never left there less than satisfied. <b>C</b><p><b>The Grocery</b> - One of the darlings of the Court Street/Smith Street resurgence. They write about those places as if they serve the same quality food you get in Manhattan, only for less money. Well I can assure you that despite the fact that The Grocery served good food, it was not at Manhattan level and if it had opened here it would probably not have made it. <b>C</b><p><b>Lupa</b> - I’ve had a few lunches at Lupa and of the three Super Mario places I sort of liked it the best. It is certainly senza pretenzione. One can forge a good lunch out of a bunch of small plates. Nice wine list. <b>B</b><p><b>Orsay</b> - Posh, posh, posh. That’s two poshes too many. Okay maybe one. You can eat really well here. Or you can have a poor meal too. I wish the kitchen wasn’t so uneven. On two different occasions I’ve seen tables leave the restaurant because the food wasn’t acceptable. It’s too bad because the strategy of separate fish tartars was a good one. But you can’t eat the menu <b>C</b><p><B>Prune</b> - There was a time when I was eating at Prune once a week. It’s a place that people who like both meat and French food shouldn’t miss. It’s a bit cramped, but I’ve never been where I don’t have a great time. Gabrielle Hamilton has to get a special award for having the guts to serve Grilled Marrow Bones<b>B+</b><p><b>Quatorze Bis</b> - I have an on and off relationship with this restaurant. On paper, it’s the best French bistro/brasserie in New York. And some time it tastes that way (like my last visit.) And sometimes it just falls short and it seems like a copy of the real thing, but not the real thing. <b>B-</b><p><b>Rene Pujol</b> - Tired French in theater district. A friend touted me on it as they said they had a list of great old wines. Well both the list, and the food seem picked over. <b>D</b><p><b>Rhone</b> - Those of us who are Rhone wine fanatics can’t help but love Rhone. The food is just mediocre. But it’s a different story once truffle season starts and the special list of truffle dishes they offer are all terrific. <b>C+</b><p><b>Le Zinc</b> - The Waltuck’s have done a good job with Le Zinc. They managed to serve a good version of classic French bistro food without having to rely on a promise of authenticity. So certain dishes were New Yorkified which is fine with me as long as it works. But on a recent visit, I found that the Entrecote was no longer on the menu. When I asked the waitress why, she told me that too many people complained that it was too fatty. Well Le Zinc served it cut the same way one might find it at La Coupole, thin with a wide streak of fat surrounding the eye of the rib. I guess NYC isn’t ready for everything. Dommage <b>B--</b><p> <b><u>Italian</b></u><p><b>Bamonte’s</b> - 100 year old Italian in an old Wise Guy section of Williamsburg. I’m a sucker for these types of places but this one is resting on reputation. Far better versions of red sauce slinging joints around. <b>D--</b><p><b>Beppe</b> - Okay what am I missing? Or is the Tuscan thing just played out? Is it me, or is it the fact that one needs to be in Tuscany with actual Tuscan ingredients for this style of cooking to show properly? Fish out of water syndrome? I would go back but I’m having trouble convincing my wife. But I know that this place is the darling of foodies in the city. Hmmm. <b>C+</b><p><b>Campagna</b> - Steady as they come. I used to be a regular but only go on occasion these days. Mark Straussman (a friend from my college days) does great Italian/Jewish fusion food. I don’t mean Roman Jewish. I mean Potato Latkes with grated White Truffles for Hanukah <b>B</b><p><b>Chingale</b> - Mid-price, trendy Italian wanna-be on Gansevoort. Trying to deliver good food at this price point is difficult. <b>D</b><p><b>Cucina</b> - Hamische, Northern Italian in Park Slope in great Art Deco room. Sunday dinner is full of Brooklyn families. The cooking has aspirations that go beyond your basic red sauce joint you typically find in the boroughs. I wish there were places like this in Manhattan. <b>B-</b><p><b>Da Silvano</b> - The best outdoor dining in NYC. I’ve been eating at Da Silvano for more than fifteen years and I can’t say I ever had a bad meal there. It’s solid Tuscan fare without any surprises, aside from the few innovations that Silvano lists as specials. A solid <b>B</b><p><b>Dominick’s</b> - Famous Arthur Avenue Calabrese. I hadn’t been in years, having been a regular more than 10 years ago. Well either the quality of the food has dropped or my palate has become more discriminating because my wife and I found this to be a second rate version of an old school red sauce joint. <b>D</b><p><b>Don Peppe</b> - South Ozone Park Italian where big hair is the fashion. If you are looking for red sauce and garlic heaven this is the real deal. I’ve been eating there since the mid 70’s and they consistently turn out food at a high level of intensity. The place that Carmine’s copied but the food is ten times better. I would lay a pretty large bet that this restaurant uses more garlic per pound of food than any other place in the U.S.A. Linguine and White Clam Sauce to die for and the sauce the Chinese Chicken is served in (the house name for Chicken Cacciatorre) is the single best red sauce I have ever tasted in my life. <b>A</b><p><b>Ferdinando’s Focacceria</b> - Brooklyn landmark Sicilian café that has been at the same location for over 100 years. I’m a sucker for an order of Crespelle (chickpea fritters) that are served with a cloud of fresh ricotta and some shaved fresh parmagian. Stay away from the steam table stuff <b>C</b> <p><b>Manducati’s</b> - Killer wine list. Italian food is good at best. But ’78 Conterno Bussia Soprano makes up for a lot. Stick to simple things like the grilled meats. <b>B--</b><p><b>Parma</b> - Where my family often takes their Sunday dinner. The food is nice and steady. They can make a mean veal chop when the spirit moves them. <b>C+</b><p><b>Piccolo Venzia</b> - Upscale for Queens Northern Italian with an emphasis on steaks and chops. Top notch wine list at good prices. Not worth the schlep unless you need to be in Queens or you want to drink a few good bottles <b>B-</b><p><b>Roberto’s</b> - What is undoubtedly the best restaurant in the Arthur Avenue section of the Bronx. But that isn’t saying much as the kitchen doesn’t really have the skill to churn out top notch Italian food though they try to. It gets high ratings but another place I’m convinced would fail against Manhattan competition <b>C-</b><p><b>Scalinatella</b> - Excessively priced, grotto-like Northen Italian in a basement near Bloomingdale’s. I think the food here is a notch or so above the other places. Their warm Carpaccio with White Truffles grated on top is a masterpiece. One night we were in the hunt for the carpaccio followed by a seafood risotto and we showed up with important bottles of Barolo and Batard Montrachet. The waiter had the presence of mind to realize that the tomato sauce in the risotto would be too acidic for the Batard and he had the kitchen replace it with bits of fresh tomato instead. I’ve been in 3 star restaurants where they weren’t as tuned into my meal <b>B+</b><p><b>Tommaso’s</b> - Old school Italian in Bensonhurst with one of the countries great wine lists. But you will eat and drink better if Tomasso himself is there as the rest of the staff doesn’t seem to know where he has hidden many of the great bottles. <b>D+</b><p> <b><u>Ethnic</b></u><p> <b>Arte’s Deli</b> - Too bad pedestrian deli is de rigeur these days. I mean if you can’t go to Katz’s where can you get a good sandwich that isn’t the same meat you get everywhere else? Don’t tell me Pastrami Queen as I have been a Pastrami King eater since they were in Williamsburgh 35 years ago and the Queen just ain’t the same thing. But Arte’s does a much better job with things like chicken in the pot. <b>D</b><p><b>Ada</b> –If not the best Indian meal I ever had in NYC it certainly was the most interesting. Their decision to open on 58th street was a poor one as the night we ate there it was empty. Friends of mine who went a few other nights reported the same. They should move to 22nd Street and get themselves a good publicist. Oh, somebody already did that <b>B-</b><p><b>Barney Greengrass</b> - The only thing that tops Sunday breakfast at Greengrass is takeout from Murray’s. I can’t think of a bad meal I ever had there. <b>A</b><p><b>Carnegie Deli</b> - Is it my imagination or has the quality of the food gone down since Leo died? <b>C</b><p><b>Dalga</b> - Turkish fish joint on E62nd Street. Is the fact that it is Turkish fish supposed to make it taste better? I was trying to figure out what about my Dorade was Turkish. As my wife said afterwards, “no need to go back there.” <b>C--</b><p><b>Dosa Hut</b> - Another darling of the boroughs foodie crowd. This vegetarian dosa slinger gains authenticity from being down the block from the Hindu Temple. It’s good, but I can’t figure why people swoon over it ?<b>C+</b><p><b>El Charro Espanol</b> Another indistinguishable Village/Chelsea Gallician. Okay tell me, can’t any of these places make paella that isn’t dried out? It just means adding more fish stock to the pot. <b>D</b><p><b>El Faro</b> - Probably the best of the Gallician bunch. I go once a year to scratch my paella itch. It would be better if they cared more. <b>C-</b><p><b>Emo’s</b> - Modern Korean on the Upper East Side. My one meal this summer was enjoyable with a beef tartar in a spicy sauce a standout. But I’m not sure we are ready for modern Korean or has traditional Korean infiltrated our lives yet? <b>C</b><p><b>La Esquila Criola </b> - Bargain priced Argentinian Parrilada specialist in Corona. Another place that is popular with the eat in the boroughs crowd. Well I find that you get what you pay for. Cheap meat is just cheap meat. Much better Argentinian and Uraguayan steak places within a mile in almost any direction <b>D</b><p><b>Great New York Noodle Town</b> - Another favorite of foodies but I never got it as I thought they were other Chinese noodle and BBQ places that were better. I much prefer to eat just down Bayard Street at Win Hop. I guess being open 24 hours brings notoriety <b>D</b><p><b>Hallo Berlin</b> - Please bring back Zum Zum. </b>D-</b><p><b>Havana Chelsea</b> - Best Cuban sandwich I know of. And maybe even better than anything in Miami. It’s the fresh roast pork they use. Easy to double park too while running in to get some sandwiches to take out. <b>B-</b><p><b>HSF</b> - I attended a party for a newborn so I got the whole banquet experience. Well I’ve had better elsewhere. This seemed a bit of a watered down experience <b>C--</b><p><b>Jackson Diner</b> - Queen’s best Indian is the best no more. This place lost it after it moved to a more comfy space a few years back. It’s a pity as I used to love it. <b>D</b><p><b>Japonica</b> - Among the top of the second tier sushi places. They like to cut the pieces large there. I’m not sure why. <b>B</b><p><b>Joe’s Shanghai (Flushing)</b> – A bit tired and the quality has lessened somewhat since they opened additional locations. But it’s usually tasty enough and perfect for a pre Met game meal. <b>C</b><p><b>KB Garden </b> - Gigantic Flushing, Queens dim sum palace. Nothing earth shattering but good enough standard issue dum sum to make for an enjoyable meal. The size of the place means they are carting around more choices than you would get in other places. They even have a cart dispensing my favorite Chinese breakfast dish of steamed tofu with a sweet sauce of sugar and molasses. They have the best version I know other than the stand on Mott Street which makes a fresh tub of the stuff every day. <b>C</b><p><b>Katz’s Delicatessen</b> - I don’t know what happened to Katz’s. It went from tired old pastrami to absolutely killer pastrami. Other things like brisket and corned beef and nothing to write home about. But the pastrami, to die for. <b>B+</b><p><b>Mombar</b> - 1001 Arabian Nights at this Steinway Street Egyptian. They try so hard here but all too often their lack of experience makes them come up short. But you couldn’t find nicer people who aim to please. If the score was only for effort they would get A++. Unfortunately you have to eat there too <b>C--</b><p><b>Nazar</b> - Recently opened progressive Turkish on Queens Blvd in Sunnyside with mostly terrific food. Good enough to be in Manhattan, and better than the Turkish restaurants that currently populate the borough. Worth the trip. Lovely people too. <b>B-</b><p><b>Pampa</b> - Second rate Argentinian on the West Side. A number of places in Queens blow this place away. Crowded and noisy too. <b>D--</b><p><b>Pasha</b> - Better than average Turkish on the West Side. Good appetizers but my Iskender Kebab wasn’t killer. Better Turkish in the Boroughs. <b>C-</b><p><b>Ping’s Seafood</b> - I ate at the original branch on Queens’s Blvd in Maspeth on two occasions. Once for dinner where it was sort of strange. And once for dim sum where it was terrific. I understand that when Ping used to cook at the Queens branch the food was phenomenol but now that he opened the Chinatown branch the quality fell off <b>C</b> for dinner but <b>B+</b> for dim sum<p><b>Rice ‘n Beans</b> - I can’t let a year go by without making my way over to Clinton to have a Fejoida at one of the few Brazilians in town. They make a mean version here. Full of all sorts of fresh, smoked and preserved pig parts. Faroafa (toasted manioc flour) is one of the great, unknown ingredients still out there. Great on a cold day <b>B-</b><p><b>Sahara</b> - Killer Turkish kebabist in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. Kofte, Sis Kofte, Adana, Iskender etc.are the best I know of until you get to London. Worth the schlep. <b>A</b<p><b>Sripaphai</b> - Other worldly Thai in Woodside, Queens and if you have never been there I suggest you immediately get in your car, or on the # 7 train and hurray on out for what is clearly a contender for the best ethnic restaurant in the city. The Banana Sticky Rice is a must have although they often run out of it before dinner. <b>A</b><p><b>Sunrise 27</b> - Good Asimov tip about this Chinatown seafooder on Division Street that serves food that is somewhat better quality than the standard Chinese seafood fare <b>B-</b><p><b>Sushisay</b> - Did I hear anyone say old school sushi? Great quality fish but I don’t think it’s the top. Surly greeting which I think bleeds into having less than friendly service. <b>B</b><p><b>Sushi Yasuda</b> - In the mood for five grades of tuna? Or seven grades of salmon? Well this place is for you. I prefer the sushi bar to a table here. And the fish, from another planet <b>A-</b><p><b>Sweet and Tart Café (Flushing and Chinatown)</b> - I kind of like this Chinese version of Junior’s that is full of young couples on dates. They make pretty good Congee too and I’ve had a Steamed Chicken with Lemongrass Sauce that was noteworthy. And all of those funny drinks. A good place for a quick dinner before the Met game. <b>C+</b><p><b>Taco Cart on 97th and Second Avenue</b> - Best street Mexican food I know of. Her Gorditas are sublime. And if you have patience, she will make you sopes. <b>B</b><p><b>Tamarind</b> - A good addition to NYC Indian dining. Well thought out food but I thought it needed a little more fire in the belly. Not as in hotness, as in the intensity of the cooking. They unfortunately they do not allow BYO and the wine list is sorely lacking in the type of sweet wines that go well with Indian food. <b>B+</b><p><b>Tomoe Sushi</b> - For many years my office was near Tomoe so I used to have lunch there on the average of once every other month. People complain about the lines but getting there at ten to one assures you of a table. I don’t know how they do it because places at almost twice the price serve inferior fish. <b>B+</b><p> <b><u>Other Points in the U.S.</b></u><p> <b>Della Femina (Easthampton)</b> - My number one choice for dining in the Hamptons. The house signature dish of a Grilled Double Cut Maple & Soy Marinated Pork Chop is great. And the kitchen ages their own beef and their New York strip has just the right amount of funk for me. <b>B+</b><p><b>Hampton Chutney Company (Amagansett)</b> - I love this dosa purveyor. Don’t stone me for saying this, but I like their dosas better than the Dosa Hut in Flushing. They opened a Prince Street branch this year too <b>B</b><p><b>Nick & Toni’s (Easthampton)</b> - The food here varies from season to season but when it’s on it can be great. This year they added a Stuffed Niman Schiller Pork Belly to the menu that was as good a dish as I’ve seen in a U.S. restaurant for quite some time. Stuffed with minced pork, cheese and spinach garlic and nutmeg, roasted in the oven and then finished in the wood burning oven. It had a caramelized exterior that defied description. Absolutely melt in your mouth <b>B+</b><p><b>Pacific East (Amagansett)</b> - The quality here deteriorated from summer of 2000. Nice terrace dining on warm summer evenings. But since the owners bought the building at auction they don’t seem to be working as hard. </b>C-</b><p><b>Tsunami (Easthampton</b> - This Asian/Fusion menu seemed tired too. What’s the big deal if you switch some ingredients around guys? This year the Thai Chili sauce can go on fish, next year on beef. It’s boring if you don’t makes any changes <b>C+</b><p><b>Chez Sophie Bistro (Saratoga Springs)</b> - Because of sleep away camp visiting day, I’ve been fortunate to visit this country style French bistro in a renovated diner every summer for the last five years. They serve some of the purest food around. They have a select group of local farmers growing produce for them and I can literally say they serve the best salad I ever had on these shores. The food is nothing fancy, maybe some pan sautéed lamb chops or a nice sautéed trout. Excellent wine list full of bargains from Alsace and the Rhone. But Sophie passed away last winter leaving her husband Joseph and their son to run the place. It didn’t seem like anything had changed. I hope it never does. <b>B</b><p><b>Miss Hattie’s (Saratoga Springs)</b> - Legendary soul food restaurant in Saratoga Springs. I had read an interview with Danny Meyer where he said that he likes to eat Fried Chicken here when he visits. Well our visit was disappointing. Dry chicken and all. More fun than good. <b>D</b><p><b>Simon Pearce (Quechee, Vermont)</b> - Behind the Simon Pearce outlet shop they have this lovely restaurant on a beautiful setting on the Quechee Gorge. Excellent wine list, which I guess makes sense as wine glasses are one of the shops big sellers. I had a nice Cumin Spiced Hanger Steak for dinner <b>B-</b> <p><b>Maine Diner (Wells, Maine</b> - A place right out of Jane & Michael Stern Roadfood heaven. Heaping plates of food filled with Lobster Rolls, Fried Clam Bellys, Meat Loaf or just a plain ole New England Boiled Dinner. And of course pie for dessert <b>B+</b><p><b>Ogunquit Lobster Pound</b> - Pick your lobster and steamers by the pound. Lobster was delicious, but the steamers even better. Hope for a good night as you can BYO on the benches outside. <b>B</b><p><b>Biba (Boston)</b> - What a bust this was. We were there on a Thursday night in July and the place was deserted. It seemed like the kitchen was deserted too. How the mighty have fallen. <b>C--</b><p><b>Radius (Boston)</b> - The word is out that Radius is now Boston’s finest. Well I had some business up there in October and I took some old friends out to dinner. Things started off well but they couldn’t maintain a high level of consistency throughout the tasting menu they served us. In NYC this place would not receive the raves it gets in Boston. Even Michael Schlow the chef/owner admitted to me that aside from fish and seafood, the Boston area doesn’t get the same quality produce and meat that is available in NYC and as a result the restaurants suffer <b>B-</b> <p><b>Sugar Shack (Cambridge) </b> - Jasper White’s new venture. A theme restaurant version of Legal Seafood. Really poor food. But I hope Jasper becomes rich from it. <b>D--</b><p><b>Bizou (San Francisco)</b> - In the book “Chef’s Night Out”, quite a few chefs named this restaurant as one of the places they like to eat when they are in S.F. My meal was so blah. Another piece of evidence that being a “chef’s chefs” is not something to aspire to. <b>C</b><p><b>Ritz-Carlton Dining Room (San Francisco)</b> - One of the worst meals of the year. I had eaten Sylvan Portray’s food when he was the chef at Le Cirque. He used to cook really well in those days. What happened?<b>C-</b><p><b>Yuet Lee (San Francisco)</b> - Funky old timer on the corner of Broadway and Stockton. Their Salt and Pepper Dungeness Crab is one of the greatest Chinese dishes you will find. And one of the most expensive too. It was something like ะ for a whole crab. Considering we are talking about a restaurant in Chinatown, that would be the equivalent of paying 贶 for it at a fancy place who wouldn’t make as tasty a preparation <b>B+</b><p><b>Avenue Room (Ritz-Carlton Kapalua) </b> – Of course this was supposed to be the best meal on Maui and it was fair at best. It provided my favorite anecdote of the year as the wine list had 1961 Latour twice. Once for 񙎼 a bottle and once for 񚅨 a bottle. When I asked the sommelier about it, he told me that he sells two bottles a year, one to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. I’m certain he must buy the 񚅨 bottle <b>C--</b><p><b>Pacific Café (Kaanapali in Maui)</b> – Another Asian fusion chain. The best thing here was a Double Cut and Smoked with Kona Coffee Pork Chop <b>B-</b><p><b>David Paul’s (Lahaina in Maui</b> - More Kona Coffee cooking with Rack of Lamb roasted over Kona Coffee. A a nice way to use local ingredients. <b>B-</b><p><b>Roy’s (Kahana branch in Maui)</b> - Chainlike Asian fusion. It made sense that Roy is franchising these places around the country. A step up from Houston’s <b>C</b><p><b>Sensei (Kapalua Resort in Maui)</b> – Nobu-ish Japanese serving things like foie gras sushi (lightly sautéed and served atop nigiri rice and Seared Ahi Roll with Thai Chilli Sauce. Best meal we had on the Island <b>B+</b><p><b>Roy’s (Hawaii Kai in Oaho) </b>– The original location and like night and day compared to the Maui branch. I can get down with a Miso rubbed Butterfish with Wasabi Cream sauce when it’s made correctly. Can’t you? <b>B+</b><p><b>Alan Wong (Honolulu)</b> - Asian fusion cooking at it’s best. Great modernized takes on classic Hawaiian dishes like “Da Bag”, roast pork and clams steamed in a tinfoil bag. <b>B++</b><p><b>Chef Allen (Aventura Florida)</b> - I think Chef Allen has gone way downhill. Everything about the place needs a revamp, from the menu to the décor. I think he found that he had a good thing with the platinum hair crowd from North Miami so he isn’t pushing it. It’s too bad because I ate some good meals here a few years back <b>C</b><p><b>Joe’s Stone Crabs</b> - Now this is the true Florida experience. People wait up to 2 ½ hours for a table. Fortunately I have a friend with juice so we wait less than five minutes. Everyone should eat here at least once in a lifetime. And if you’re there on a day when the stone crabs are good it’s a great experience. Amazing side dishes. I think there are 10 different potato preparations and whenever I go I want to order every one of them. This years meal wasn’t as stellar as past years though <b>B</b><p><b>Norman’s (Coral Gables Florida)</b> - I think Norman Van Aiken is the best chef in South Florida. Of the three heralded chefs, Norman, Allen Susser and Mark (can’t remember his last name), he is the only one whose cooking is of sufficient scope to be able to offer a proper tasting menu. When he is on, it is among the best restaurants in the country <b>A--</b><p><b>Osteria del Teatro (Miami Beach Florida </b> - This restaurant is the perfect example of Zagat at it’s worst. It gets something like 26 in the Miami guide but NYC has a Northern Italian of this quality on almost every block. Here it would be lucky to get 19. <b>C-</b><p><B>Tuscan Steak (South Beach Florida</b> - An upscale theme restaurant done right. We go every year and the food is consistently good. I hear the NYC version is less good. This one is perfect when you are on vacation with your kids <b>B-</b><p><b>Wish (Miami Beach Florida)</b> – This was the hot new restaurant on South Beach last year. A number of friends raved about it. But you can chalk it up as one more place I just shrugged my shoulders about <b>B--</b><p><b>Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House</b> - Old school Jewish diner/deli in North Miami Beach. Another must visit for my family when we are down there. If you are ever in the mood for an old fashioned yiddishe cabbage borscht, this is the place for you. They bring you a pot the size of Warsaw that has a piece of flanken in it that must be a foot long. From a different time and place <b>B-</b><p><b>Versailles</b> - Cuban diner on Calle Ocho. The Chicken Versailles, which is just chicken grilled while pressed flat and served with garlic butter is stupendous. And it cost something like Ű.98! Near the airport so it is always our last meal before we drop off the rent-a-car. I wish there was Cuban like this in NYC <b>B</b><p> <b><u>Meals in Europe</b></u><p> <b>Al Waha</b> - London’s best Middle Eastern? I try and eat a Middle Eastern meal every time I go to London and this is the best meal I’ve had so far. They have a nice wine list with numerous vintages of Château Musar and Chateau Kefraya. <b>B+</b> Honorable mention must go to the café of Al-Dar on the Edgeware Road where the waiter keeps trying to get me to smoke a hookah filled with shishah while sipping my mud thick cup of coffee. I keep telling him I only smoke kosher shishah but he doesn’t know what I’m talking about.<p><b>The Fat Duck-Bray, United Kingdom</b> - I have a group of wine tasting friends in London and one evening this past May I found myself in Paddington Station boarding a train for a 22 minute ride to Maidenhead which is a 5 minute taxi ride to Bray. My friend Robert convinced the restaurant to allow us to BYO and the ensuing carnage was monumental. I have to say it was an A+ experience but I might be exaggerating due to the shock value of the food. Let’s call it an <b>A-</b>. <p><b>Nobu</b> - Nobu Matsuhisha is becoming the Alain Ducasse of the sea by packing up his Peruvian/Japanese cooking concept and bringing it to London, Paris and Miami Beach. My lunch here was fine, but seemed a little restrained compared to my memories of dining in the Manhattan branch. <b>B</b><p><b>Le Suquet</b> - My old standby in London. You can always get a table, and they do a good job of recreating a meal from the South of France. They prepare Coquille St. Jacques a half dozen different ways, all delicious. And if I want a simple and honest grilled Dover Sole with Bearnaise Sauce, their version will always satisfy. <b>B-</b><p><b><u>France</b></u><p><b>Brasserie Lorraine</b> - How disappointed was I when we arrived at the old Lorraine only to find out it had been sold to the Freres Blanc and had been converted to a seafood brasserie. I used to use this brasserie located on the beautiful Place des Ternes as my Paris coffee shop. Will there be any brasseries left that aren’t part of a chain? <b>D</b><p><b>L’Ambroisie</b> - My first time and a very disappointing dinner. We had run-ins with Madame in regards to the menu as well as the Sommelier on our choice of wines. Before writing this I reread my original notes and my first comment that my Crayfish soup lacked the intense “Gout des Coquillages” that I expected says it all <b>B</b><p><b>La Regalade</b> - Now here’s a chef who cooks with passion. I’m sure he could be wearing a prettier apron while garnering a few Michelin stars if he chose to. But he probably makes more money turning the tables 3 times a night. My Hachis Parmentier made with Boudin Noir was stunning. And the dessert of Brebis served with AOC Espelette Jam was special <b>A</b><p><b>Troisgros</b> - This was a near perfect experience in every way. Every little detail in both the hotel and restaurant was thought out. The texture of my pork chop was something other worldly and later in the evening Michel Troisgros paid us a visit and spoke of the farmer in the Limousin who raises pigs for the restaurant and how special they are. And any restaurant that has a 1992 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres and a 1990 Henri Jayer Echezeaux on their list at the same time is alright with me <b>A++</b><p><b>La Pyramide</b> - My urge is to say that the food was inedible but that would be an exaggeration. I reread my notes and they say the food was so ordinary it wasn’t worth writing about. I do remember some uneaten dishes though. <b>C</b><p><b>Leon de Lyon</b> - I quite liked my first visit here. It’s a two star restaurant and it does not have any aspirations to get its third star. The result is a relaxed dining room offering a refined version of Lyonaisse comfort food. The house version of Poulet Demi-Deuil (truffles stuffed under the skin) will make you smile. Correct and friendly service and Jean-Paul Lascombes is a gentleman <b>B++</b><p><b>La Voute (Chez Lea)</b> - On a drizzly Saturday afternoon last January, we had one of those glorious lunches that can inspire a good nap. You know, plump and meaty slices of truffle laden sausage in a butter and lemon sauce served with some steamed potatoes and then a Piece de Boeuf in a truffled gravy served with a gratin of cardoons. It ‘s meals like this that make me daydream of France. <b>B-</b><p><b>Cote Rotie</b> - Smack in the middle of the town of Ampuis and a great place to dine after visiting Cote Rotie producers. Manuel Viron is an ambitious chef who served a lovely terrine of oxtail and foie gras when I was there after the Marche au Vins in January. Killer, I mean killer wine list of all sorts of Rhone wines <b>B+</b><p><b>La Cave</b> - Where the locals eat in Cannes. I’ve eaten here a good 15-18 times and I love the joint. They serve simple Cannoise cuisine (bet you didn’t know Cannes had an indigenous cuisine did you?) Delicious, butter laden, stuffed cabbage. Creamy scrambled eggs with grated truffles in season. Or a fresh goat cheese omelet when not. Precious wine list of Cote de Provence, Bandol and Bourgoise Cru Bordeaux for not a lot of money. Marc the chef owner is a big wino and he will steer you to just the right bottle. <b>B-</b><p><b>La Palme D’Or </b> - Beautiful terrace restaurant in the Martinez Hotel in Cannes. The highlight of this year’s meal was a Carpaccio of scallops on a dry minestrone that had so much flavor it just exploded in your mouth <b>B+</b> this year but I’ve had A meals here in the past.<p><b>Chez Dumonet (Chez Josephine)</b> - Old school, fairly dry and boring bistro on rue de Cherche-Midi that serves a special truffle “carte” when they are in season. I can’t do it better justice than my original notes which said “<I>There must have been near a dozen different truffle preparations and we settled on a salad of potatoes, mache and truffles to be followed by truffle omelets. While the salad was really good, with the mache speckled with chopped truffles and truffle oil, the omelets were over the top. Fluffy, ethereal masses of egg swimming in pools of cream and butter with bits of truffles everywhere. Pure decadence.</I>” A bottle of 1979 Hermitage La Chapelle made this a two nap lunch <b>A</b><p><b>Taillevent</b> - My first visit with the new chef. I found the cooking correct but a bit hesitant. My sense is that the food will become a bit more daring as soon as the chef gets his ladles wet. But I looove dining here. They make you feel so good. And the wine list is full of little gems that are more than fairly priced. <b>A-</b><p><b>Le Passage</b> - Bistro/wine bar written up by Frank Prial in the Times. Good list of Rhone wines but in reality too young to drink. Their speciality is andouilettes made by different artisans thoughout France. I think they need better food <b>D</b><p><b>Helene Darroze</b> - Delicious and unusual food. The menu had an entire page of Foie Gras preparations and an entire page of truffle preparations. They even have a signature dish, l’Escatoun which is white polenta, hazelnut butter, fresh brebis curds and truffles. And my roast rack of lamb with an anchovy crust was to die for. This meal was back in January but I understand the place has been overrun with American tourists since then. But more places like this please. <b>A-</b><p><b>Le Dome</b> - I’m a confirmed Dover Sole fan and Patricia Wells has raved about their Sole Meuniere so many times that I had to try it at least once. Well aside from the fact that the place is old and stodgy and could use a scrub-down/redo, you get a nice, firm piece of fish that is absolutely swimming in melted, salted butter. I’m glad we went because now we don’t have to go back <b>C+</b><p><b>Timgad</b> - Just like I eat Middle Eastern in London, I love to eat North African in Paris. It’s like eating Chinese food here. My wife and I love acting Parisian and usually go to a movie and then have a late couscous. This time it was Wonder Boys (the topic of the film made us even hungrier) and then Timgad. For years we ate at Charlie el Bab-el Ouad but they sold their lease to Leon de Bruxelles. We’ve been looking for a replacement ever since and we can’t find one that is up to snuff. Timgad was good, but without the fire they had at Charlie. <b>B-</b><p> (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 7:18 pm on Jan. 3, 2002) <p>(Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 7:33 pm on Jan. 3, 2002)
  3. Steven - Forget it. The French can't learn a new cut. If they butchered New York Strip Steaks they would probably have to throw away the rest of the cow. Andy Lynes - It isn't that Ducasse isn't American, or that he is French. Daniel Boulud and Jean-George Vongerichten are both French. So was Andre Soltner from Lutece. But those three chefs built their businesses from the ground up. They worked the room every night and they became bona fide NY personalities as a result. Ducasse, rightly or wrongly felt his concept was so polished and organized that he would garner great reviews without having to put in the requisite sweat equity by learning the city himself through trial and error. It was a risky strategy that he paid dearly for. His gross miscalculation was that the issue was one of culinary performance. But the issue was really one of cultural acceptance. You know dinner at Ducasse should be the big meal in town. It should have supplanted Daniel etc. as the optrmal choice for important celebrations. But I can tell you that it has hardly pervaded our culture at all. Now this might be a sidenote but not an unimportant one. You can be in a place like Troisgros or Auberge d'Ill and you will often see locals dining who do not look like they eat 3 star meals very often and to be honest, look somewhat out of place. But those restaurants, despite their lofty status recognize their function in the community and are happy being local in that way. And in our own sophisticated urban way, Daniel etc. serves that function for New Yorkers but Ducasse does not, at least not yet. And my wife and friends, who take my word for it are a bunch of accomplished worldwide eaters, are not nudging me in the arm to make a reservation at Ducasse for the next important date on the calender.
  4. Bux - Everything is a matter of degree. And I think Meyer's restaurants are better geared for tourists than most other places are but I think he has sliced the hair thin and they just appeal to a more discerning tourist. Maybe it's that Danny himself is from St. Loo and that creates the vibe. It's different in each restaurant too as I find USC more touristy than GT and Eleven Madison Park less touristy than either place. I can't get a good feel for Tabla but the cuisine is more difficult so they start with a more hard core clientele. As for Paris, Benoit is a good example of a place where despite the number of Americans, they still can cook well. But Bistro da Cote in Paris is a perfect example of a place overrun with tourists where they dumbed it down for the beaucoup francs, or Euros I should say.
  5. Ron - Don't take my comment personally. It is directed at people who are less discerning, not at people who are from any place in particular. But, I would be telling a fib if I didn't say that in my experience it is more likely than not that people from outside the city are on the whole usually less discerning than people who live here. Personally, I would prefer to eat a meal in the presence of locals. And that goes for wherever I am in the world not only NYC. In my experience restaurants that cater to too large a percentage of tourists often do not maintain the same level of quality as places that do. And if I was in Kentucky and after some local country ham, I'd much prefer to be eating with the locals than places the tourists flock to.
  6. Carbrales - It just goes to show you that things do not change. The meal I had at Blanc was in 1985! It's like Paul Simon said, "Still mediocre after all these years. Ohhhhh, still mediocre." But in his defense, I have friends who used to swear by the place. And his cookbook is terrific. But I'm a sucker for a good wine list, especially on that is populated with old Burgundys.
  7. Steven Shaw - But you can't say what you just said and not allow for the fact that looked at in a certain way, Craft IS dull. Regardless of how good a job they do there. And as it being "retro" as in Delmonico's, that is the last vibe I get from the place. Andy Lyne's comments are more in line with what it's about. Craft is conceptual. Delmonico's was just a fancy version of a roll your sleeves up and eat type of place. As I said earlier, nobody realizes it but Le Cirque is more likke Delmonico's than Craft is. All you have to do is ask them to do it for you. Andy Lynes - If you had the chance, you should try both places. But to be honest, The Connaught Dining Room with it's ala cart menu listing every vegetable known to mankind is not dissimilar to Craft. But what makes Craft different is that the portions are sized in a way that encourages you to get many different dishes to split. To me it's more like tapas than ala carte. In fact I've never been but I bet Club Gascon serves similar sized portions. Mao - Your bow to going back to Craft is more about having to put up with the travails of what others think is appropriate NYC dining than anything else. Not that I wouldn't like to go back myself after a decent interval. But for years I refused to go back to Union Square Cafe because I found it so ordinary. But so many people want to go, both out-of-towners and New Yorkers that I couldn't avoid it. I have sort of made my peace with the place and have found that if I order the lamb chops or steak I can have a satisfying meal. But if you ask me, if Craft wasn't Collichio's place, it would have gotten mediocre reviews and gone out of business faster than you can say Virot, which by the way was probably a more interesting restaurant than Craft.
  8. I have to add that Collichio's work with pork belly, or what he calls bacon at GT is innovative in the way I am describing. And the he paired it with mostardas is a classic "Amercanization" of a traditional European concept. Unless I am wrong, he is the one who championed the cut first and now you see it on menus prepared in a few different styles. Unfortunately it is such a fatty cut that I don't think the dish will ever become as famous as Valenti's lamb shank when he was at Allison on Dominick.
  9. Steve Shaw - Our disparate viewpoints about both Ducasse and Craft need to be sumarized so we stop meeting like this :~). I have to point out what I believe is a difference in the way we analysis both of those places. The best way I can explain it is as follows. I have a friend who is an importer of French wines. He has a remarkebly good nose and palate. So good, that he can smell and taste a wine and identify within a reasonable number of meters the exact parcel of land the grapes come from. And while that is an exceptional talent for someone in the trade, it is of little use to consumers. In fact, I have been with him where we have poured what any other person who is expert in wine would call great only to have him pick out a flaw and announce he doesn't like it. And I can cite similar examples to my own business which has been the music industry for the past 20 years. I can't tell you how many concerts I've been to where everyone else loved it and I am stuck on the few wrong notes that were played. Of course, the opposite is true as well and there are examples where my importer friend loves something because it's a perfect expression of some terroir, or I love a concert because someone took a solo that reharmonized a passage in a way that didn't seem humanly possible only to have normal human beings dislike it. So regardless of their discipline, I have come to look at what we all call a chefs chef, or a musician's musician, or a winemaker's winemaker in a different light. And while I still take notice of all the technical vituosity someone might display, I have concluded that what is most important is what Macrosan calls the "yumminess factor" or was it Mao who said that. It is this issue that always makes me be critical of places like Gotham, Union Square Cafe, GT, Craft and others of that ilk. Not that I think they are bad places. They are very good places, even excellent at times. But what I usually want when I go out to eat is innovation, chances, risks. I want Douglas Rodriguez's Sugar Cane Tuna in Mojo much more than I want the Filet Mignon of Tuna at USqC or tuna in any style from Craft. And that goes even if those places get better tuna than Patria did because the difference in quality is incremental and not enough to sway me into liking plain tuna better than a version that is souped up thorugh innovation. So I feel the same way if you tell me that Craft gets better quality Dover Sole than Le Cirque does. The difference in quality isn't enough to make my meal at Craft better. So I guess I've said that there is more to cooking than simply ingredients and technique. There is soul. Craft, seems lacking in that department. And it isn't surprising since the emphasis is on the craft of how one puts a meal together. This might sound silly but he could have called the restaurant "Flavor." Now I'm not going to say that one approach is better than the other. But if you are from the school that wants innovation when they go out to eat, it is too easy to go to a place like Craft or GT and shrug and say what's the big deal about?
  10. 861728 - Gee let's tell the truth here. There isn't anything that they offer at Craft that they won't do for you at Le Cirque if you ask them to. At Le Cirque, they will make you any meat, fish, fowl they have in the house in any style you want. Same with vegetables. It's just that their menu isn't written in a manner to prod you into doing that and Craft's menu is. If the Le Cirque menu deconstructed the meal and made you think your way through it a certain way, voila, you would have Craft. I think if you took the menu gimmick away from Craft all you're left with is the same roast lamb they have elsewhere. And to be really honest about it, whatever I ate at Craft was not really different than the food I can get in dozens of places that use top quality ingredients. Of course none of this doesn't mean it isn't delicious. But I personally award points for creativity and I tend to shy away from places that offer food that is similar to what I can cook at home. So on the vast majority of days, I would much rather eat at GT than Craft.
  11. Dim Sum GoGo is great. But I can't say I enjoy it as much as Yank Sing in San Francisco. As for Ping's, I ate great dim sum at the original location on Queens Boulevard. But had a less than fantastic dinner there.
  12. I have been to Craft twice. Once for lunch and once for dinner. It was better for lunch. I like the place but found it a bit confounding. Some days I have the energy and desire to plan a meal out of lots of little dishes and some days I just want to eat. Craft is not a place to dine if you just want to eat. The most typical complaint I've heard about Craft is that you are still hungry when you leave. That's because even though you get lots of little things to eat, I don't think you get a single satisfying portion of anything. The other problem I have is with their strategy of serving perfect ingredients perfectly prepared. Well in my experience you get perfect ingredients 50% of the time if you are lucky. So when I had roasted soft shell crabs for lunch they were perfect. But my leg of lamb for dinner was tough. I think that Mao's criticism of the kitchen acting tentative goes to the second point, They aren't really tentative. They are trying to coax the maximum flavor from the food. When the ingredients are up to snuff, they practice a well needed very subtle art (or craft if you like.) But treating less than tender lamb that way sort of makes the whole experience a little precious.
  13. Bux - Your story about the truffle is the classic example of a chef rising to the occassion and accomodating his diners. And I don't think that you needed an introduction to Orsi for him to respond that way. I think if you phoned the restaurant and were able to communicate it properly they would have told you to bring it on in. And while I can't pinpoint with accuracy the number of chefs in NYC who would do the same thing, it's far less than in Europe. But I could see Daniel doing it if one had a way to get to him. David Bouley would do it too. I think even J-G would do it if he was there and you could get him to come to your table. As for chefs visiting my table. For me it's a simple issue. If I loved the meal I want him to visit. And if I hated it I want him to stay away. The worst thing in the world is having a poor meal and having to have niceties with the chef about the food. My classic story is a meal we had at Georges Blanc that we found mediocre at best. We must have had too much wine because we were having a bad case of the giggles. All of a sudden he showed up in the dining room amd we were the first table he visited. It took all of our composure not to tell him how bad we thought the boney ass piece if chicken he served was. And to make it worse, he was a sincere guy who really seemed to care. It was really awkward and we laugh about it to this day. (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 1:47 pm on Dec. 29, 2001)
  14. Sorry I didn't respond sooner as I was sunning in South Beach all week. "<i>I suspect most NY diners would credit Danny Meyer for both raising the level of the food available in the upper middle and for raising food consciousness among new diners in the city. </i>" Bux - I agree with this whole heartedly. And I think Danny Meyer is the greatest. But, there's too many people from Arkansas there if you know what I mean. Look it's the same objection that I have when there are too many Americans in a restaurant in Paris. But do you think travel is more boring because we are all jaded? Or is it something else? Do too many people know about the good places? Steve Shaw - I don't think my opinion of ADNY lessened. I keep saying I would like to go back. It's just that the memory of the food didn't hold very well and my memory of the other things held better. I have to tell you that the memory test is the most important one. I can remember the great meals in my life. There's nothing about my meal at ADNY that is memorable except that it's the 3 star experience in NYC which feels weird to me. But I have to say that the day I was leaving I got their menu in the mail. It certainly didn't make my mouth water. As for the 3 star experince in NYC, I don't think that Ducasse is the only that can do it, I think he's the only one who wants to. I'm sure Daniel or J-G can do it if they want to. I'm sure they can do it at Le Bernadin if they want to. They don't do it here because the economics don't work here. I'm surpised they worl for Ducasse.
  15. Steven Shaw - I think Robert makes the point well about sushi. There is nothing to stop it from tasting the same here as it does there. Sushi is a cuisine of texture with subtle differentiations in flavor. I think the burden of presenting Grade A tuna is far less of a burden than cooking a Bresse Chicken properly, and knowing how to adjust if the next day the chicken is from the Landes. If Georges Blanc had to switch to chickens from the Landes, I bet you he would have to somehow adjust his Poulet Bresse avec Creme recipe. So Ducasse could use all of the local ingredients he can find. But he hasn't impressed me that he really knows anything about them. Trotter by the way impresses me as being the same. Acrobatic cooking skills but lacking the pizzazz that expresses the local terroir (to borrow a phrase from the wine world.) Mind you, I would be the first person to admit that you can get a wonderful meal at Ducasse. But I will probably find it less than completely satisfying for this reason. Robert Brown - Gee I think Daniel & Jean- Georges rock to the beat of this city. I think Danny Meyer's restaurants are less good at it. They make me feel like lots of out of towners are there. Olive's in the W Hotel feels like it could be in Indianapolis. Yet Olive's in Charlestown feels unmistakingly Boston. And DB, Daniel's new casual place does not have a NY feel to it. It could be the dining room of any contemporary boutique hotel in any major European city (save for London) that has a thriving art and fashion business. If you haven't read it already, you should pick up a copy of Patick Kuh's book "The Last Days of Haute Cuisine." While the book is wanting in many respects, it does a very good job of describing how the Soules and Soltners of the world created a more casual version of a classic French restaurant while maintaining an air of formality. But this quote from Steven Shaw sums it up the best. "<i>To resent him for trying to bring a Michelin three-star experience to New York strikes me as perverse, as though it's the complaint of a self-hating New Yorker who thinks we don't deserve the best. </i>" But why should we applaud him anymore than we would applaud any other chain for invading our turf? Do we applaud Hilton Hotels for bringing us the same exact installation they have everywhere else? What makes us a great city is the same thing that makes London, Paris and a few other places great cities. One of the ways we express the vitality and vibrancy of our daily life is through the food we eat. And maybe that's what lessens the Ducasse experience for me. It's more about him accomplishing it, than it is him noticing something about my life and reducing it to a dish. And I guess that is where the accusations of arrogance come from. This conversation made me dig up the review I wrote and posted on a few wine boards after eating at ADNY. Maybe it will add something to the conversation. "<i>Date: Wed Apr 18 10:43:35 2001 Around about the time that it became known that Alain Ducasse was opening his New York restaurant; friends of mine began asking me how I was going to wangle a reservation. It didn’t take me long to figure out how to do it. Within a few days of being challenged, I found the answer was no further away than my mailbox. For it was there on a Monday in July that I went to get my mail and much to my surprise, Alain Ducasse had sent me a letter inviting me to make a reservation. Ah, he and I were going to be on good terms. I immediately booked a table for my wife’s birthday that September. But then after they actually opened we started hearing not such good things. We heard tales of mediocre food as well as stories of frightening cost. And so it came to be that we gave our table for six away and we did our celebrating at Daniel instead. But I had not written it off completely. I was certain that our paths would cross again. It was just a matter of time before I got an invite, or an out of town guest wanted to go. Well it finally happened. And it was neither of the above that did the trick. What finally moved us was another clever mailing from Mr. Ducasse. This one listed two menus they were serving for the spring. A special Asparagus and Morel menu and a Shellfish menu. Both looked awfully tasty and since my wife is a big fan of asparagus, we decided to take the plunge. We arrived at 8:00 and were seated immediately. There is only one seating each evening (at least that is what we were told) and until parties are complete, diners can wait in a small but comfortable sitting room or they can choose to go directly to their table which is what we did. Within moments a sommelier appeared (it couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds) and asked us what type of water we wanted. I asked if he had Badoit and he said no. When I told him I have it at home he asked me if it was glass or plastic bottles and upon hearing plastic he said that the water tastes different and they didn’t carry it for that reason. Upon further inquiry of what type they did have, he proceeded to tell me there were thirteen different choices available. As he rattled them off to me including their country of origin, I was amazed at how many I had already had. Finally a new one came along, Alpenrose from Switzerland. They had only begun importing it into the states a month ago. How could I not? A few minutes later he returned with our water and a wine list. The wine list is separated into two different lists. There is a list; it is more like a carte, of only young wines. There is an additional list of older wines. I can easily describe the list as “staggering” but the prices? Ouch, someone just stick a dagger in my heart. There were pages of wines so I realized I would have to dig in to find the bargains. When one is confronted with a list of this dimension, a bargain can mean something that costs 躔 because it is selling at auction for 񘋰. At first I looked at the Rhone wines and there wasn’t a bargain to be had. I flipped over to Burgundy and there was 1990 Henri Jayer Vosne Romanee Cros Parentoux for, about half the cost at auction. There was also some 1990 Jayer Echezaux at about 70% of the auction price. What was unusual was that they had the ’88 and ’89 vintages of both wines for nearly twice the price. I called the sommelier over and expressed my confusion as to why that might be (after all, isn’t ’90 supposed to be “better”), and he launched into a dissertation of the “magical” qualities of the 1988 vintage. “Monsieur, if you come back thirty years from now zee wine will still be drinking well, zee ’90 I don’t know. He left and I tucked my skepticism away and continued to pour over the list. Our dining companions arrived and we discussed the wines with them and then I summoned him back. “We will start with the 1996 Coche-Dury Meursault Perrieres and then we will have the Jayer Cros Parentoux.” The ’88 he asked? “No, the ’90, merci.” By now we had two types of Alpenrose water flying around our table, still and sparkling. Shortly thereafter he came over, no bottle in hand and said “Monsieur I am sorry but we have run out of the Coche-Dury.” I immediately switched to my number two choice, which was 1996 Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet Vergers. “Sorry monsieur, it is closed right now and it is not attractive.” After a pitch on his part for a bottle of 1996 Meursault Goutte d’Or from Domaine d’Auvenay which I rejected out of hand, I asked for the list again. I quickly zeroed in on a bottle of 1996 Guy Roulot Meursault Perrieres, which was half the price of the Coche. A few minutes later he arrived to show me the bottle as well as a sticker on the back of the bottle that said it came from the “Cave Privee” of Alain Ducasse. Hoohah. He decanted the bottle, gave me a tiny sip and put it on ice. He returned shortly thereafter with the Jayer which had a tattered label. “It eez my last bottle monsieur and eet comes directly from zee cellar of monsieur Jayer.” Shortly thereafter they were placing a small soup dish in front of us, which turned out to our Amuse Bouche. It was frothy but you could see small bits of morels sticking out of the center. It turned out to be a Brouillade de Morels which is basically morels and cream. When you put your spoon into the broth you found the entire bottom of the dish was coated with a layer of pureed morels. Sort of like how they would coat a dish with hummus before putting falafel on top. It had the most intense morel flavor which was complimented by the morel infused broth and the spongy crunchiness of the mushrooms themselves. A big bowl of this along with some crusty bread and a bottle of good Chablis would make a great Sunday lunch. They began setting the table for our first course. My wife and I were having the asparagus to start and they put the strangest device at our place settings. It had two silver rectangles about the width of a cigarette and they were connected by a hinge so it could open and close. Then there were silver bands attached to the top and bottom, one with two rings and one with one. Everyone was looking at them and playing with them until I grabbed them and placed them on my hands and started playing them like castanets. The captain saw he and me ran over. We asked him if it was for the asparagus and he said “but of course, and monsieur (meaning me) you are holding them exactly zee right way. You pick up zee asparagus, dip zee point in zee sauce and take zee bite.” Then it came to me. This was how Moe, Larry and Curly ate asparagus. 1996 Guy Roulot Meursault Perrieres- I’m a fan of this Domaine. He is an underrated producer. But you get what you pay for. This started out very nice, a little fat with a good dose of sweetness. Surprisingly open for a ’96. That decanting must have done it some good. With time it started getting brighter and a little bit cloying. Is this the teeniest bit overripe? But while nice and enjoyable it was ultimately a B effort. Just not enough clarity and delineation of flavors for me. A bit sloppy on the finish and follow through. Good enough to keep the case I have in my cellar but a disappointment especially after I had calibrated my palate for the amazing precision of Coche-Dory 90 points The asparagus arrived and it was 5 spears with the bottoms cut off and they were sitting in a pool of what appeared to be hollandaise and morel sauce. I took my special asparagus apparatus and dipped a point in the sauce. Just then the captain ran over with a little saucepan and said, “ah monsieur, you must have more sauce” and proceeded to cover the tips in the brown and yellow sauce. The sauce was extremely tasty but the asparagus was a bit of a letdown. When we sat down they had explained that this was the first of the season asparagus, which was hand, picked in California blah, blah. Well I’ll take the stuff that comes from Germany any day. Our next course was an asparagus veloute with morels, Parmesan crisps, some julienne vegetables and an egg (broiled?) atop. First of all the soup was green. You don’t get good green soup often. But it was also an amazing combination of tastes and textures. It seemed like it was getting thicker with every spoonful. This was the best dish of the night. 1990 Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanee Cros Parenthoux- Well, what can I say. I had never had this wine before but I’ve seen people chase it at auctions paying prices into the stratosphere. It was amazingly young for a ’90. Still working on primary fruit, lots of it. There seems to be some “sauvage” lying underneath that fruit though. Some cinammony bramble. It was just an immense wine for a pinot noir, maybe the biggest I’ve ever had save for Ponsot Clos de la Roche and Leroy Beaumonts from the same vintage. And opulent? Sheesh, one of the other diners made rhapsodic noises after each sip. This was drinking perfectly (if you don’t mind primary flavors) but it needs at least another 5 years and could probably last another 10. The sommelier and I had a discussion about it and he wasn’t so sure as he finds that some ‘90’s are starting to turn. 96+ points and those of you who own this wine at the release price should give yourselves a big round of applause. Up next was a nice sized cube of codfish sitting atop some asparagus spears sitting in an intense sauce of coquillages and topped with what else, some chopped morels. Beautiful lobstery flavor to the sauce and the fish cooked to the point where it was slightly flaky. This was followed by a veal picatta in the shape of a small platter (like CD size) atop more asparagus and morels. I must admit that we were having trouble getting the food down at this point. The portions were huge for a tasting menu and the food was incredibly rich. I was so stuffed that I had to get up and walk around 56th street to get my second wind. I came back a few minutes later to find the cheese cart positioned in front of my table. Why bother sitting down? I could just hang with the cheese guy and talk about the choices. They offer a nice selection of mostly French cheeses with some domestic cheeses mixed in. After making my selection (of which the St. Felicien was my favorite), the sommelier came over and offered us a surprise wine to go with our cheese. He returned with a bottle that was draped in metal mesh. He poured this deep blood red colored wine into our glasses and we unsuccessfully tried to guess its origin. I have to say my wife was more interested in the mesh covering which looked like the curtains at the Four Seasons restaurant. After she asked him about it he actually offered her one and I am now the proud owner of the most posh brown bag that will ever be used at a blind tasting. 1997 Arano Recioto Della Valpolicella- Lovely body to this extremely young wine. I love a good recioto because of the taste of the earth. This one was still mostly puppy fat and he predicted that in time it would pick up that earthy quality and a bit of animale. “Like jambon” he said. I never saw this producer before (Luca, Jean Fisch, Helms?) but he said it was extremely difficult to find and that he brought two cases into the U.S (which is all he could get) on a direct import basis. I need to find me some because this will last for eons 93 points and there is a dearth of good red dessert wines. My dessert was this fantastic concoction of caramel spice cake with caramel ice cream. Just super. It came with an entire box of miniature vanilla and chocolate macaroons and an assortment of homemade chocolates. Then they appeared with a tray of pear, pineapple and strawberry confits de fruits and as if that wasn’t enough, a cart with four different flavored caramels. Pistachio, mango, passion fruit and my favorite, salted butter along with homemade lollipops in two different flavors. A person could bust a gut. All in all it was quite good, much better than I expected although I have to say I’m not rushing back. It was really serious, more of a 3 star dining experience than I can ever recall having in this country. Though that aspect of it made it seem somewhat out of place. It was more an experience one would have in Paris or London than New York where even the most formal place has been toned down to reflect the more casual mood of the city. And the cost, ugh, out of control. But I can’t say they aren''t trying to offer value for the money. The portions are copious and there is no expense spared in ingredients or preparation. The waitstaff was the best, most professional, friendliest and helpful staff I have come across anywhere. On par with the Connaught Hotel and Taillevent. True pros who are at your beck and call. What I could never get past is the lack of Ducasse’s presence in the room. I haven’t heard of a single story from anyone about his actually being there . Even a nice painting of the maestro himself hanging in the dining room would help. Maybe if he hadn’t called it by his own name I would feel differently. But without his direct presence felt, it is sort of the same as the places that the top chefs have opened in Vegas and other cities. Kudos to Ducasse if he knows how to box up the formula for a 3 star restaurant and assemble it elsewhere. But it will always be weird to me and I’m not sure I can fully get over it. </i>"
  16. Steven – I’m honored to be worthy of my own strain of Ducasse criticism :). The pen problem is just a metaphor for the place being more attentive to cosmetic details than they were to substantive details about the entire dining experience. If everything else had been perfect, it would have caused less of a to do. But when everything was less than perfect, the critics latched onto the pens. From my perspective the pens were just something to point to that demonstrated that they were attuned to the wrong types of details. They needed to expend their efforts making people feel comfortable. The pens only made people feel more uncomfortable and it served to highlight how they didn’t understand their customers. This issue segue ways into the entire International/Michelin style vs New York style debate. I think that it’s a huge issue. Let me try and do my best to explain it. I never eat at any of the top French restaurants in London. I’ve never been to Gavroche, Nico, Koffman etc. Why? Because I am usually on my way to or from France and I don’t want to eat the same exact food I would be served in France. But I have gone to Marco Pierre White a few times because my perceptions about him were different. He appeared to be making an original statement <I>that was unique to his environment</I>. The others could have been 2 star, possibly 3 star restaurants anywhere in France. The statement they seemed to be making had more to do with the wealth of London than anything else. Marco’s statement appeared to include its vibrancy. Now you might not find this an issue when you dine out but it is a huge one to me. It’s like going to a New York style steakhouse in London. Why do it? I don’t care if they serve the best NY Strip Steaks around. It’s not why I dine there. But I’d be very happy to travel to Lillingoth to have the Angus Beef at the Champanny Inn. I’ve never had it but, I’m sure it expresses something local with just one bite. This problem is not something a chef can overcome only through the use of local ingredients. You have to understand those ingredients in their proper context. Thomas Keller can take local Oysters and combine them with tapioca and come up with his classic Oysters & Pearls dish. Ducasse using the same ingredients would have missed that boat. He would have tried to take local oysters and express them as if they had come from Brittany. The chasm caused by this approach is measured by how zealous the local cogniscenti is about their cuisine. And we are zealous. So given the opportunity, everyone made Ducasse pay dearly for that blunder. I think that great restaurants are a good combination of the chef’s expressions and who their diners are. The successful chefs somehow seem to combine what they need to express with what their customers want to, and are capable of tasting. Hey, just like great musicians. I don’t get that from Ducasse. And in my one meal at Trotters 12 years ago, I didn’t get it either. Now they might both be capable of it but I have to admit that I run into quite a few people who feel the same way about it. I’m wasn’t sure how to end this but reading it back before posting made me remember the rest of the conversation I had with the chef I ran into at KAL. This is someone who had worked at many of the top places in town. They said the real difference between a place like Ducasse and another one of the top rated places in town is how discriminating they are in preparing the food. If someone at Ducasse is preparing a chicken, and does the teeniest thing wrong, it gets thrown out and they start again. It HAS to be perfect. But at any other place in NYC, the chef will come over, look at it, and 90% of the time suggest a solution to save it. And the compromised version gets served. Now that’s what you are paying the extra โ a meal for. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it. But more than that, I'd rather have it delicious than perfect and too many people feel that Ducasse when given the choice, opted for the look and feel over the taste. To me, that was his biggest blunder. And once again, the approach to how one solves that type of problem is a metaphor for the daily life. Insisting on straightening everyone's tie so it lies perfectly isn't the best approach in a town that is getting out of the habit of wearing them. (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 10:01 am on Dec. 23, 2001) (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 10:40 am on Dec. 23, 2001)
  17. Steven Shaw - I'm no apologist for the early criticism of Ducasse. I wasn't a Ducasse fan to begin with so I didn't pay much attention to it myself. My one meal in Monte Carlo about 8 years ago was as mediocre a 3 star meal as I ever had. Those were the years when Ducasse was trying to pass off Italian food as Haute Cuisine and it was a huge success with the press. We went to dinner expecting that he revolutionized the stuff and we were served the same truffle risotto and roast veal chop for two that you can get in about 25 places on the Upper East Side. Despite my first experience, I had tried to go back to Monte Carlo a number of times. I have probably been in the South of France 15 trimes since then and I'd figure I'd give it another shot. But I could never get a consensus on going because no matter who else we were with, everyone had their own bad to mediocre experience there and they weren't interested in going back. This malaise towards Ducasse extended to Paris where I have never even had the desire to go. But when he was opening here I figured I'd give it a shot. Reservations were extremely difficult to get and people were calling me asking how I was going to manage to get one. But then one day the mail came and it was a letter from Ducasse inviting me to make a reservation. And that's what I did. It was June I think, and I made a reservation for my wife's birthday in September. In the interim the place opened and a number of my friends who are knowledgable about food went. To a person the reviews were all the same. Mediocre food, crazy prices and a ridiculous experience. So we cancelled our reservation and went to Daniel instead. Still I had an urge to go. My gut told me that it couldn't be as bad as what people were saying. And when I got an advertisment for the Morel dinner in the mail the following March, I decided we should take the plunge. To me Ducasse is the French Charlie Trotter. Amongst the most famous of chefs but known for....... I can't quite figure it out. He certainly offers a luxurious experience. And the cooking is certainly refined. And the service when we went was splendid. Better than any other service you can get in NY. But like I said earlier, it didn't feel like it was New York. Look if you want to divorce a restaurant from the local culture it resides in, you can look at Ducasse one way. If you don't think that is possible (and I'm in this group), you look at it another way. To say that it is the best of it's kind in the U.S. and the rest is forgiven misses the point. Being the best is irrelevent if people don't want to go there because it has asked diners to reorient their view of what a NYC restaurant is. If you are going to ask people to do that, you better have thought through a winning formula. Ducasse didn't. Whether it was the fact that the decor felt like you were in Monte Carlo and not NY, or the pricing, or the fussy service, or the affectations like the pens and the water, or just the simple mistakes the kitchen and waitstaff made, it all added up to bad vibes. Now I have no idea exactly why the critics have resolved their difficulties. It is most probably a combination of Ducasse making certain adjustments and their getting used to the place. I would tend to agree with you that Ducasse offers an experience that is superior to a place like Jean-Georges. But I think he offers food that is less delicious than J-G's. It just has more technique applied to it.
  18. Bux - So true. If I can get the meal I want, I'm happy. And if others are getting a better meal, I'm not envious. I want to know how to get it. I'm always surprised when people choose the pettiness of acting like they were snubbed to simply asking how to improve things. Steven Shaw - I can see Collichio doing that. He is into his craft (no pun intended.) And the difference between a place like Gramercy and Le Cirque, is that in Gramercy they assume you know what you're talking about. At Le Cirque, you have to prove yourself. Steve Klc (too many Steve's) - There's a reason that Le Cirque doesn't have to strive for that type of acclaim anymore. Their business is based on socialites. The food that socialites eat has been codified by guys like Sirio, Soltner, etc. and they just serve the stuff without a lot of variation. In their defense, I recently attended a private wine dinner in a banquet room on the second floor. There were 17 people and we were allowed to bring our own wine. We had a preset menu that our host organized and I have to say the food was delicious. Not daring but correct, the portions were copious portions and everything about the night was top notch. Good enough to be a 2 star anywhere in France.
  19. 861728 - Hey that was a great rant. I know exactly what you mean. I used to have a business partner and we would be in France together once a year in Cannes for nearly a week. So it wouldn't be unusual to go to two to three 3 star restaurants while we were there. At each meal we had the same ritual. I would translate the menu for the table. Usually somewhere near the middle of my recitative, the captain would appear to make sure I wasn't screwing it up, or to help out on dishes that were idiomatic where you couldn't tell what was in them like Poulet Jean-Louis (take Jean-Louis and put him in the cavity of the chicken. Sorry French joke). Usually after he saw I had it under control, he would flit off to attend to other matters only to return five or ten minutes later to take our order. Then this is what happened next, and it happened 100% of the time we went out. And since we did this trip together as partners for about 7 years, it must have happened at least 20 times. My partner made the captain translate the menu all over again. He was a cheeseburger kind of guy. He wasn't really comfotable putting on a suit and being in Moulin de Mougins. So the way he overcame his anxiety at actually having to choose something to eat was to delay it, and that was the easiest way to do it. It always threw the captain's rhythm off as the time he had allocated for translating at our table was past. When he saw I could do it he thought he found an extra few minutes to do other stuff. Now he had to reallocate the time from elsewhere. So he translated the whole thing over again while the rest of us were groaning with our heads in our hands. And after the captain finished, my partner asked the same question, 100% of the time "<b>Should I have the beef or should I have the Chicken?</b>" And when I tell you that I lived through this a few dozen times, I'm not exagerating. Another person who came with us every year would also ask the same silly question, "Do you have any pie?" I'm sorry this type of thing happens to you. May you accept my apology on their behalf. Steve Klc - You know I like special treatment. And it never bothers me that others get special treatment on a greater scale than I do. As long as there is a balance between the highest and the lowest I am happy. But to be honest, having 8 guys show up at Gramercy with a case of wine and having Collichio come out to the table to plan the menu with you, including his brainstorming to find the perfect dishes including things not on the menu is a great experience. It's the type of custom service that turns most of us on. And it's much more readily available than people know. (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 6:36 pm on Dec. 22, 2001)
  20. Robert - '81 Beaucastel is the really good one and really underated too. Cases still come up for sale all the time in Europe. I buy wine at auction but buy most of my wine from brokers in Europe or auction in Europe. The quality of auction wine in Europe is much better than here because of poor shipping and storage conditions imposed on wines by Amercican importers until the industry wised up which was not that long ago. '82 La Chapelle isn't a wine I've had. '79 La Chapelle is very good. If you like truffles, they have it at Chez Josephine in Paris with that great truffle menu they serve durting season. Did you post on your truffle trip? Where did you go? We are serving Nantucket Bay Scallops with the Combettes and then some Filet Mignon with a Portugese styled sauce of raw tomato, lemon, anchoveys, garlic, parsley etc. Will probably serve either a Rioja or a Chateauneuf. I haven't zeroed in on the red wine yet. (Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 3:34 pm on Dec. 22, 2001)
  21. Robert - I was just in the cellar pulling a 1990 Leflaive Puligny Combettes for tonights dinner when I saw the notification. For a long while I followed the general rule that wine was something to drink everyday and I purchased accordingly. But I have found that it is more like a 2-3 time a week thing for me and as such, I have pretty much eliminated buying everyday wine and have concentrated on the big guns. So I don't really want to drink anything but Grand Cru and the very top Premier Cru Burgundys. And if I only drank Burgs it would be too expensive a habit. But I can buy great and mature Cote Roties or Chateauneufs from the 80's for ๛ a bottle. They are not as refined as a great Burg but offer a robust and complex drinking experience. And the flavor profile is competely different than Burgundy. They are sort of savory to Burgundys sweet. Speaking of the '89 Homage, we brought the regular '89 Beaucastel to dinner at Marseille this past monday night. Great bottle but at least 5 years away from reaching a drinking window. The Hommage must be a good 10 years away. But one day I can regale you with a great tasting I had at Beaucastel in March of 2000. In fact, a bunch of us are going on a truffle/wine tasting weekend this coming Febrary and we will revisit Beaucastel.
  22. "<i>Instead, they mostly criticized the prices, Ducasse's arrogance, the fact that he's not in the kitchen enough (a criticism that applies just as much to Jean-Georges Vongerichten), etc.</i>" Steve - I think I pretty much said the same thing. It's priced like a restaurant in Paris. When I was there the morel menu cost 赀 or you could have had the seafood menu for 趚. The tasting menu at Jean-Georges last week cost me 贓. Ducasse thought he could charge French prices, not New York prices. So they nailed him for it. His arrogance really goes to the same exact point. When you decide to charge 50% more than J-G for a meal, it better taste 50% better. I think you would have the vast majority of people saying that Ducasse charges 50% more for a less enjoyable experience than you have at J-G or Daniel. And as for J-G not being in the kitchen that's now. Not when he was building his reputation at Jojo. Or even when he first opened J-G. If you come to a new town, have a snooty installation and charge snootier prices to go with it, and you don't have Wolgang Puck's personality to overcome those obstacles, and your food isn't that original or drop dead delicious, or something we've never seen before, you are a dead duck. The critics like nothing better than to be able to wield their power against someone who doesn't seem like they are going to be a permanent fixture. Ducasse thought he could come to this town and open a French restaurant. And I don't mean a place that serves French food, I mean the French dining experience. He didn't do it in a humble way either. It was like, this is going to be something we don't have here. Well d'uh? Didn't he realize we don't have it here because we choose not to? You know there's a place in this town for Ducasse. But somehow he needs to make the restaurnt seem like it's an outgrowth of our culture, not just an export from France. He is trying to do that by featuring dishes using indiginous ingredients like soft shell crabs. But you can't overcome the cultural divide by just throwing American ingredients on a plate, even if they are delicious. Your customers need to feel that you've spent the requisite time in the states working with soft shells so that they think <i>you really understand them</i>. You know how the old saying goes. Understand my crabs and you'll understand me.
  23. I have only eaten at Ducasse one time, for the morel mushroom menu. I had a very good , but not great meal. But regardless of the quality, I competely understood why the reviews were so critical of them when they first opened. The biggest gripe I had, and what I think all the professional criticism really comes down to when you sum it all up is that the place doesn't have a New York feel to it. It's sort of a generic version of a 3 star restaurant that Ducasse unpacked from a bag and set up in NYC. Nothing about the place speaks NY to you. You could walk out of there and be in any city in the world. It gives that effect for a number of reasons. One, the number of people it sits. Ducasse is sized like l'Ambroisie or Gagniere, etc. Here the restaurants are sized like Jean-Georges or Daniel. And this issue has far more to do with the number of people, it has to do with the rhythm of the place. It's a single seating restaurant. New York is a town where they turn the table 3 times in a night if they can. All of the affectations it had, like the fussiness of the pens or the ridiculous choices in water were just filler to eat up the clock. People just don't spend that much time on food here. So they needed diversions. The exact same critics who panned those types of eccentricities could laud them if they were done in a remote place in the Auvergne where they served you the meal of your life. And I think they had marketing problems too. Ducasse never seemed accessable the way Daniel or Jean-Georges are. They are more than chefs, they are personalities who became part of the local fabric. Ducasse never attained, or even tried to attain a personality as being part of the city. He was always the outsider. And then there is the food. Somewhat too fussy for this town. But even more problematic, it was of high technique, well executed, but it didn't have much soul. The soul or the personality of a place means so much to its success. I mean how much did Pasta Primavera capture the imagination of New Yorkers? Luxururious and seemingly dietetic was exactly what the ladies who lunched needed to eat in those days in order to be able to spread its reputation beyond this city. Was Jean-Georges Goat Cheese/Potato dish any different? What is it exactly that we go to Ducasse for other than 3 star treatment? In NYC 3 stars means about as fussy as the old Lutece, not Tour d'Argent. The day after I ate there, I was in Kitchen Arts & Letters and one of the sous chefs happened to walk in and the staff of the shop knowing I ate there the night before introduced me. So the person asked me what I thought and I paused and then said, "it was good but it was like being at a 3 star chain restaurant." And the person looked at me and raised their eyebrows and said "exactly." I've been meaning to go back because I did enjoy myself although it was frighteningly expensive. But the right occassion hasn't come up because I associate the experience with going to a place like Boyer. Not like going to Daniel or J-G where I'd feel alot more comfortable picking up the phone at the last minute to try an get a table.
  24. Steve Shaw - I hear you about this lowliest customer thing at Le Cirque. I've had mixed experiences with them myself. But in general, I have found that if you can impress on your captain that you have a reasonable knowledge of food and wine, then to a large degree the service will improve. The restaurants you call the midtown dinosaurs operate more like private clubs than restaurants. Some of them do a better job of dealing with John Q. Public than others. But none are really great at it. I wonder if they have a different attitude now that business is down from 9/11.
  25. Steve Shaw - The difference between a place like Le Ciqrue and GT is that the VIP's at Le Cirque are buying Petrus, d'Yqueem etc. At Gramercy, 跌 bottles are an expensive purchase. As a sommelier at a Le Cirque equivalent told me, he has a client that comes in and has to drink 1947 Petrus whenever he's there, and he comes often. That adds something like ŭk to the check. And he can drink more than one bottle and other wines as well. Otherwise, special treatment in restaurants is the best. It is why we go. To be served. There is no better service than custom service. Cabrales - The following tale comes to mind. I was at a business diner in January of 1988 or 1989 at Chantecler in the Negresco Hotel in Nice. Maximin was the chef. The captain came to the table to take our order and a friend who was dining with us couldn't make up his mind. So the captain started to reel off the various things they could make him. All of a sudden my friend cuts him off and says "I want truffles." So the captain starts reeling off various dishes that feature truffles and my friend says "No I want only truffles, nothing else." So when our pasta course came (the rest of us were eating either the lobster menu or the Nicoise menu and it was ravioli stuffed with either foie gras or lobster,) my friend was served a truffle that was braised in some trype of stock until it cooked through. It must have been the size of a tennis ball. I dare you to go into Jean-Georges and tell them that's what you want.
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