vivin

Oh! I apologise about that. My fault.

Went to WD-50 on Sat night. Tried the all new tasting menu. I will not go into a lot of detail. 1) Wylie is probably cooking the best food he has at WD. Quite remarkable after nine years. I tasted new flavors and spices. He continues to expand and grow. Hats off, sir. Should I even bother waxing about tuna ngiri at WD brushed with hazelnut oil instead of soy? It was utterly delicious. 2) The service is better than I have ever experienced at the restaurant. I have gone many times starting with two weeks after they opened. It keeps getting better. I think WD's service is now up there at the three star level. 3) Once you start counting the dishes that were memorable, you start getting into double digits. That is remarkable for one meal. There was a lot of overlap but given my allergy to shellfish (I hate it), others in my party got to taste extra dishes. 4) Desserts remain the weak point. Which is a disservice to the pastry chef because she gets to go after all the stuff that Wylie gets to throw at you. Even so, the palate cleanser of cucumber was superb. 5) Last time the four of us went out was to EMP in Dec. That meal does not even come close.

Pure Thai Shophouse on 9th Ave (52nd?) is terrific. From the owners of Land, but this is more authentic.

Patrick, are you telling me the smaller Wondee (I have not been to that one) is better than Pure Thai? Yikes. I need to go.

Pam's Real Thai is good. But Pure Thai is really a lot lot better than Wondee or Pam's. Pure is owned by the people who own Land Thai. Wendy brought chefs from her dad's restaurant in Thailand to cook at Pure Thai. These guys dont even understand the concept of modulating heat in a dish. But the food is superb.

Not sure if you consider this theater district. But this is the best Thai around there. Call ahead as they may be short on space. Excellent food. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/pure-thai-shophouse/menu

Very simple. Go to Corton. It will also take care of the jacket issue.

I am extremely sorry to hear about this, chef. I live in Tribeca and Tailor was one of my favorites. My frequency of visits was kept down only by the fact that everytime I went, I would end up consuming vast quantities of sweets (I ate four desserts on a single visit once). I loved the concept. best to you.

sethd I have had a similar experience at a different four star. Problem is when I went with someone who was known there, the experience was radically different (in a good way). That pissed me off even more. What is the point of being a four star if you walk off the street, pay just as much as the next guy and get half the experience?

Congratulations to Chef Humm and the staff. They deserve it. My experience is that it is ENTIRELY possible to have a less than inspiring meal at a four star restaurant. Jean Georges and LeB have almost always delighted while others have been less than consistent. I do not know, similar to the naysayers in the above discussion - why people rave about Daniel. Unless you are a celebrity or a critic or drop thousands on wine - Daniel is just - ok. or the old Bouley (not been to the new one yet). Consistency tends to fall with age too I think in most cases. Why would you question EMP's fourth star but hold Daniel or Per Se as sacrosanct. Is it more probable to get a divine meal at EMP or Daniel? EMP more likely in my experience.

I second the Corton idea. Forget about everything else. Right now, this is the place.

Land Thai Kitchen upper east and upper west sides http://landthaikitchen.com/

One dish only....tough question. I agree the foie terrine with beet juice and pea soil at WD was memorable. so were several dishes at Le Bernadin. Corton is fresh in my memory because of the recent visit. Masa's toro was from nirvana. BUT at WD-50, Baby spring lamb with banana consomme and bok choy (it might not be bok choi but some other green). It was so simple and so profound. Still burnt in my memory. Sick.

I am not an expert on noodles by any means. I had been to Hanmura An twice. However, I have been to sushi places a lot and also like cooked Japanese dishes a lot. I went to Matsugen for a second time this past Saturday. 1) The appetizers are very good but expensive. People enjoyed the uni dishes a lot. Also love the grilled eel app. Pickles and tofu are nice as well. 2) Noodles are very good and NOT expensive. 3) Level of service is quite high. 4) Did not try the sushi/sashimi. 5) My wife ordered the vegetable tempura and liked it a lot. 6) The miso cod was outstanding. Better than Nobu's in its heyday. So I am not sure what the gripes are all about. If you like Japanese food, this place offers a lot of variety so that pretty much everyone can find something that is to their liking. Prices are not that high given the quality of ingredients. I agree with Bruni's three stars although I was guessing he would give it two given his tastes. My advice, if you do not like Japanese at all, don't go. If you want to try Soba and don't want to spend too much, eat at the bar. Is it the last word in Japanese? Maybe not. However it costs much less than, say, Sugiyama.

Good suggestions all around. Karim's is a good solid choice but I have not been in years. Another one for mughlai food near the airport is Kabab Factory. Sagar is very good for South Indian. It is in Defence Colony market. They also deliver (if you cant make it there - call to see if they will deliver to the Taj). Although dosas won't travel well. enjoy...

Put Bukhara in Hotel Maurya Sheraton on your list. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/delhi/D53811.html Do you know where you will be staying? I can recommend South Indian places depending on that information.

I do think it was some kind of break down. That is evident. I understand it is a business. My family is in the business. I would do as Fat Guy suggests. Offer the table and say we need it back by 4:30. I have no problem with that. It is a busy restaurant on Sat. But making the excuse of policy (which I know is not really a hard policy) OR the reservations coming soon (which did not seem the case given the host looked like he was ready to seat us) is just a bungle of public relations. Walking out of the restaurant and then talking to the manager just made me feel like they let me go because they did not think I would spend enough and take up their table.

Fat Guy, I asked that exact question of the manager. She informed me that had I gotten a table, the server would have to get permission to serve me a less than full meal and they would have evaluated the situation. Would they have asked me to leave after seating me? I can't see that happening. I completely discount that possibility. Becase I have had wine bottles and apps at Lupa around the same time of the day on a weekend. I was completely taken aback because this seems like it stemmed from me volunteering information up front.

I sort of agree that it would make sense for some restaurants not for others. This case is harder to establish. The restaurant in question is Lupa. I did not want to come off as trying to slander a restaurant, especially given that I really like the restaurant and have been there so many times.

I walked into a well respected restaurant (which will remain unnamed at this time) around 3:30 pm on Sat afternoon with my wife and an out of town guest. We had been walking around for a while It seemed like a good idea to stop for a while, enjoy a bottle of wine with some nibbles and introduce our guest to a very good New York style eatery. I had immensely enjoyed a bottle of a 10 year old wine there a couple of weeks ago and was going to have it again if something else did not catch our eye. I made the mistake to volunteer that information to the host when I walked in. He seemed to hesitate and asked us to wait. He kind of went around the bar and returned after a couple of minutes later. “It is not the restaurant's policy to offer seats to anyone who does not want to have a full meal. You are welcome to wait for an opening at the bar.” It was 3:30 and they had around 15 seats open but nothing at the bar. No deal. He had three menus in hand – seemingly ready to seat us – only if we committed to a full meal. We walked out bewildered. I called the manager 10 minutes later to complain. She said that they had a lot of reservations coming in starting 4:30 and could not offer us a table. This seemed to be a convenient after the fact argument. However, she also confirmed that it was policy to not offer tables to people who are only there for wine and appetizers. One, we have done this there at the same restaurant (also in the afternoon). Two, the host seemed ready to seat us only if we had opened out mouth and committed to a full meal. I let her know that I have been visiting the restaurant 3-4 times a year for 7-8 years and was not happy. She said if I had been a regular, it might have been different. To me, this seems like a case of a straightforward business decision. If you are going to eat a full meal, spend 40-50 a head, they will give you a table, otherwise not. I let her know that between the wine and apps, they had lost at least a 200 hundred dollar tab. However incensed I felt at having been treated like that at the time, I would like opinions on the issue.

I have never been to Aburiya Kinnosuke. Sorry can't compare. We stayed away from the expensive tuna and wagyu offerings. Also did not indulge in sushi sashimi. But at 5-8 dollars, it did not seem ridiculous for what they are aiming for quality wise. The good thing here is - There are a lot of a la carte options that are not very expensive but the quality is high because of who they are. You can walk in, sit at the bar and have one starter and a bowl of soba for not that much money. That is my point.

Went to Matsugen Sat night. It was about 3/4 full around 8pm. In addition to tables, it has a nice long communal bar (probably seats 40 people if I am not wrong). Decor fairly minimalist but nice. They recommend getting a small plate followed by something from the grill and finish up with soba. The soba dishes are good sized.. Three of us shared as it as a last course. Homemade Tofu - very fresh. THey make it once an hour, I was told. Good sized portion for 8 dollars. accompanied by light soy based sauce. Fluke sashimi cured in Nori - very interesting dish. Sashimi was almost a little too dry. With a little bit of nori salad. extrememly good. Steamed Eel - Revelatory. Subtle, delicate yet very very tasty. Kyoto style pickled vegetables - excellent. Chilled asparagus with sesame sauce - good. Oysters – I did not have them but my wife said they were good. Matsugen special soba with egg and variety of vegetables. Good way of ending the meal. Overall, the quality of ingredients was very high. Preparations were extremely precise. It is not that outrageously priced. Quality reminds me of the likes of Sugiyama in their hayday. I can confirm that it is under JG management. Briefly met one of the Matsu brothers. Extremely nice gentleman. We were asked by three separate people on how our food had been. Overall, a really nice experience. Definitely going back.

I went a couple of years ago. Worth going.

It is called inflation. And it is not just evident on restaurant menus.

I hear you. Took me an just over an hour to get there on Sat afternoon from Tribeca. Had to walk the final 20+ blks.