vivin

It is astounding to me that there is this much debate on Benoit by people who have not been yet. I would urge you to go. Even if Bistro food is not your favorite. For this price, there are literally hundreds of mediocre restaurants in NYC that put out sub standard ingredients which are over cooked and under seasoned. Benoit uses excellent ingredients and puts out honest food that is not the fad of the month. I don't like mashed potatoes. Yet their version is absolutely yummy. Can't argue with my palate. The wine list is on their site. It is reasonably priced.

Went ther Saturday for lunch. Nothing was bad. The Baba was ok. Durade tartare was good. Spring vegetables very fresh and of a higher quality than most restaurants. Lobster Ravioli and lamb chop were excellent. Mashed potatoes side with lamb was outstanding. They were out of chicken by the time we got there. Nougat Glace was outstanding. Definitely going back. Excellent bistro.

Still BYO for tomorrow - I was just informed.

How about the liquor license? Are they still BYO? Thanks for the nice report.

Agreed. Bouley has become my primary provider of sugar.

Another vote for Tribeca/Chinatown/Soho. I lived on the east side (more mid town than upper) for years. No contest.

kathryn, don't overlook the specials. they are always good.

Went to Tailor twice last week. Enjoyed both times. I have now been 4 times. This restaurant is getting better and better. The French Toast from WD is back. The Olive dessert was the best on the last trip.

I went on their web site to see if I could remember what I had. It was the Argan oil in the dessert - White chocolate cream, black sesame, argan oil, carrot. The second was probably Soft chocolate, avocado, licorice, lime. If you have had them and like them, your palate is obviously more forward than mine.

Right. Just too forward for my palate. I go to WD not just to exercise my mind but also to satisfy my palate. There were two desserts that I remember - one tasted like castor oil and other had some combination of avocado and some other strong taste that was completely revolting. Technically, they were well executed. But please, don't just try to shock me into saying they are good.

LPShanet My comments over the years about WD have always been experimental concepts but delicious. Your less than stellar experience almost mirrors my most recent visit. Conceptually good but fell flat on the palate. Nothing was really delicious. The latest batch of dishes seemed to loose the yumminess. I still remember lamb medallions with banana consomme among a dozen other amazing dishes. My wife agrees. The other big difference was a complete lack of satisfaction from the desserts. Just miss Sam Mason. The new desserts at WD just lack soul.

I was informed that they are serving food in the bar area but starting soon (he might have said as early as Wed this wk - but I forget now) that there will be a separate food menu for the bar area consisting more of bar/snack foods. That would be interesting in itself.

I can report similar findings to Nathan and company. Had the entire menu (salty and sweet) on Sat night. Not one flop. The foie gras was better than the version I had on Sep 1st. The service was impeccable. Whoever said any of the staff was less than courteous has not been there. Great meal. Ended up ordering multiples on some. Arctic char, pork belly and duck in that order were my favs. Seriously good. I was expecting good sweet dishes but the consistency in the savory dishes was outstanding. Go now. Few things of note: 1) This resveration was made on the phone. 2) I took a couple of bottles of wine as their wine list is not up yet. just a few by the glass. 3) They informed me of 25 dollar corkage but was never charged a cent. On top of that they gave us free wine. Blow away experience.

I have been calling but no one picks up. Guess you have to walk in there to snag a reservation. Can someone confirm this?

Went in about 3pm on Sat, 1st. That was indeed the first day open. They said it is open only for dinner.. Managed to get in at 6:30pm. Had the Foie and the Arctic Char. The Foie was very good but the Char was outstanding. Followed by panna cotta and tomato peach. both delicious. I think they reopen on Tuesday.

I just read this. I have learnt that my British friends' idea of curries are slightly different than what I grew up with. Anyway, this is a nice place for fiery curries. And I mean seriously hot. Good stuff though. http://www.bricklanecurryhouse.com/

We were recently told while making the reservation at Le Bernadin that we would have to vacate our table in 2.25 hrs. Upon arrival, no one knew of any such limitation. I am confused.

I could not have put it better myself. We have experienced this at Daniel ourselves. Go there with someone connected and the experience is 2-3x the normal. We have been in both tiers and experienced the difference. To be fair, if you know the restaurant owner, you will be better served at pretty much any restaurant. But the difference seems to be bigger at Daniel. Appreciate the thread and the perspective much. Glad you guys enjoyed your stay.

Larrylee, I was there about a month ago. I would say about 75% of the menu was the close to the one on menu pages. FYI-The descriptions on menu pages are abbreviated. hope this helps.

Have not been yet. I tend to think that I would like Mike Anthony's food. However, the revieew is overall negative. Richman doesn't like GT's relaxed style of service. Bruni does not like formal service. But both don't like GT. So can't just pin it on their biases, I would think.

Sneakeater, I also had the degustation at Guy Savoy when they were 2 stars. We counted 7 separate sweet courses. I was dying. The number of courses has halved and the price has doubled since they got their third star though. So don't worry about your next trip. It seems like Per Se is going the other way though.

Bruni was negligent in not informing the public about the changes taking place at GT. I agree with that. However, the comparison was not entirely misplaced or wrong. Having said that, I am really excited to hear Fat Guy's review of GT under Mike Anthony. I am also a fan of Blue Hill.

One has to wonder why you didn't write about your feeling about GT under Colicchio before today. ← I also don't understand Fat Guy's opposition to similar comments (about general complacency and slipping standards) made about GT on the Bruni thread. If the restaurants had slipped, why the opposition to a suggestion that its star rating should be revised downward?

WD-50 is very accomodating to dietary restrictions/preferences when ordering their tasting menu.

Another reason why restaurants seem to be pushing the longer tasting menus might be price. Up until not too long ago, the tasting menus at even the four stars were relatively reasonable. I remember 120 7 course at JG and 110 at Bouley four or five years ago. Ducasse upped the ante and now things seem to be on Paris's level. Seems to me that profit margins at 125 dollar level just aren't there to aggressively push the product. But 275 is another matter. The Per Se model makes sense but only at an elevated price level. Anyone else think that?