davidbdesilva

Considering eating here but am always hesitant to go after a chef leaves, especially someone like Neil Ferguson. Anyone been lately? Opinions?

Thanks for the suggestions! This is somewhat surprising since I asked a similar question last year when we were visiting for Valentine's weekend and many people said The Harrison was "meh" (and btw, I like the use of the newest word put in the dictionary). Chef change? Any particular reason that it is "currently" terrific?

Coming from Philly to see a show at the Beckett Theater on Dec. 13th (Chekov's The Black Monk) and then want to have dinner at a moderately priced restaurant serving very good food in at least a somewhat romantic setting. We will be spending the night in Manhattan and I am fairly familiar with the various areas. Proximity to the theater does NOT matter. BTW, I had my heart set on eating at Little Owl and called on Nov. 13th only to discover that they are closed that evening for a private event! That would have easily been my first choice. I created a short list and would like help narrowing it down but am also open to other suggestions as well. As always, thank you Manhattan egulleters, you have NEVER steered me wrong! Jarnac Le Jardin Bistro The Red Cat The Harrison Compass Perilla Allen & Delancy The Orchard ilili Whatya' think???

I did receive an e-mail from the manager (after sending an e-mail to the restaurant), he said he could have handled th situation better (I'll say) and that he would be speaking with the owner and get back to me. As of yet, I have not heard back from them and don't expect to. I told them where I was posting my opinion so hopefully they'll look and see what kind of effect one customer can have on business. We ended up eating at Minar Palace. I grabbed a bottle of wine from the state store on Chestnut (though small bottles of spirits seemed to be popular that day) and had decent Indian food on plastic plates and sauvignon blanc in plastic cups. It was a somewhat disappointing experience in that I was in the mood for some French bistro fare and a few glasses of Chinon but from what you are saying Caribou woul have been disappointing as well. So much for trying to plan ahead! Positively though, that was one hell of a parade and I've never seen Philly quite like that before!

Knowing that Friday was going to be a very crazy day in Philly I decided to make a reservation for lunch at Caribou Cafe for after the parade. I called TWICE, once to make it for 5 people and the again to change it to two, both times the girl wrote it down. Well after the Phantastic parade we headed to the restaurant and I overheard the manger telling someone in front of me that "every table was taken and that it would be at least an hour wait". I told him I had a reservation to which he laughed and then said "oh really?" I told him I called the day before, but to no avail. Then I got angry an told him that it was poor business to take and then not honor a reservation, even on a day like that. He said there was nothing he could do and did not seem upset when I said I would never return. Granted it was a very crazy day but he should have honored the reservation by at least offering me the next available 2-top.

I am glad I found this post, for a fine cigar and a fine glass of wine are two things I adore amongst the best things in life. But alas, never together for me. I agree that it ruins both, especially a fine red (but even a white gets all muddled up too). Plus, I have found that, in combination, my mouth becomes SO dried out that it is quite unpleasurable. I prefer spirits with my cigars and have moved through them all with much pleasure. Single malt Scotch first, moving onto Bourbon, then wonderfully smooth Rye, then into the sublime world of cognac and armagnac, incredibly viscus Port (esepcially Tawny), and more recently into some great Irish whiskies, finally coming home to what I think is THE best drink with a fine cigar: RUM. Not just any rum mind you, but the finest of the sipping rums that I prefer to drink neat (as I drink all my spirits). The rums that are cognac-like at times. Rums like Anniversario, Flor de Cana, Pyrat, and my absolute favorite, Zaya (a rum from Trinidad that has a wonderful but not over powering sweetness to it). And, BTW, I never dip my cigar in anything. Yes I tried this when I was younger and it makes a mess of the cigar and the drink and ruins both.

That truly is a shame. I feel that Django, under Bryan Sikora, brought Philadelphia into the forefront of the restaurant scene. It was surely not the first BYOB in Philly but one of the first to really take things to the upper echelon's of dining. I returned to dine there after Bryan left only to find that the food was indeed still excellent and that Django was still at the top of the restaurant scene, BYOB or otherwise, in Philly. I liked everything about that place.

Just avoid Patou, which I've come to the conclusion after eating there a number of times, that they serve average food (at best). Went there last year for their Bastille Day deal, and while sipping wine on the sidewalk while watching the city go by on a lovely evening was quite enjoyable, the service and food were not. Wonder if Caribou Cafe has anything?

Lets hope this atones for his closing of the Bleu Angel, from which I only had one (excellent) meal, cooked (I believe) by Shola Olunyolo himself. 'Bout time we had a REAL French bistro in Philly, will hopefully save me trips to NYC to visit one of my favs, Le Gigot.

Thanks for the heads up on both these places. As it ends up, we will be going to Buddakan, a place we've never been to in all these years. It fits the bill for sleek an sexy, Asian fusion, and from what I've heard, good food. I think a meal there followed by some dancing and then retiring at the Sofitel will make for a good anniversary.

Spending the night at the Sofitel and taking the wife out for an anniversary dinner. I have read some pretty positive reviews of Kaizan and have looked at their website. Our 24th anniversary is coming up on the 21st and I was wondering if it is at that level? For our anniversary I usually take my wife out some place that is both visually beautiful and has very good food (recently took her to XIX (again) for her birthday, which she loves). Kaizan looks beautiful and the multi-course menu's sound really interesting. Pearl also looks visually nice but I'm actually less impressed with their menu. It seems to perhaps be a step down from Kaizan? So, are either at the level that you would take your beautiful wife of 24 years who has great taste to for you anniversary? Other suggestions welcome (but please, spare the Le Bec, Fountain, etc. suggestions). Thank you!

I need to get back here ASAP. After a very disappointing meal at Cuba in Chestnut Hill I'm jonesing for some REAL and authentic Cuban food (as is my lovely little half-Cuban wife). Time to trek to North Fifth street and soon!

Ate here recently and had a fantastic meal. It is a Spanish/Portuguese restuarnt and BYOB. The dining room is lovely and the owner is very nice and a real hoot. Had (finally!) very good empanada's and outstanding mariscada verdhe, a heaping stew of scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels, and a large lobster tail all in an excellent broth of cilantro. A steal at $25. It was difficult to choose our entree from the many delicious sounding plates, ranging from pork to steak to fish ad seafood dishes, all reasonably priced. They made very good sangria with the wine we brought (for $8) and the flan for dessert, while expensive ($10) was huge and more than enough for two. Total including tax and tip was about $90, a deal in my book. I would highly recommend this place.

Actually Rich, I saw your glowing endorsement in a previous thread and that was enough for me! A great place with a quirky but very fun vibe, our friends loved it as did we. For apps we had a fantastic seafood salad with incredibly tender sauteed calamari, scallops, etc. Very fresh and very good. We also had capallini with a ricotta blush marinara sauce, heavenly. For entrees I had an orange roughy puttanesca, Judy had red snapper in a pesto cream champagne sauce (we decided this was the entree winner), friends had linguine in clam sauce (a pound of pasta perhaps?) and a fish (forget what kind) in a honey, tequila, lime sauce. All very good. Desserts were peanut butter ice cream balls and butterscotch ricotta cheese cake, both excellent. Way too much food! The husband of the couple we were with was born and raised in the Italian section of Trenton and he was very impressed. It reminded me of my grandmother's house on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks again, we all want to go back again.

Fork? Blah! Recent and expensive wine dinner there was absolutely terrible, well the wine was good......

I'm not sure if these places could handle a party of 10 and may likely already be booked up but some good suggestions would be: Marigold Kitchen; Southwark; Cochon; Matyson; Little Fish (tiny but great); Overtures. These are all over the city but all serve very good food, are moderately priced, and nearly all are BYOB (not Southwark).

Thank you Jeff L for the link to the previous post. I called Chef Vola's Thursday night and somehow got a reservation for the following night at 8:30. The four of us had a fantastic time and a great meal. A small little place with a great atmosphere and wonderful vibe to it. Will definitely go back next time I'm in AC. Thanks again!

Friends, I need your help you help and fast! Will be spending tomorrow (Friday) night in AC with friends and have been put in charge of where to eat. I have never eatan in AC before so I need some recommendations. My friends have eaten at Buddakan and liked it. I'm looking for either flashy and upscale (like Buddakan) or out of the way and lid back. Any cuisine. I did an internet search and saw places such as Girasole, Lefty's (which sounded interesting) as well some smaller Vietnamese and Indian places. I thought I saw a Cuban place (not Cuba Libre) bu I could be mistaken. My friends know good food (as do I) so I want some place where the food will be at least above average. I need these rec's tonight so I can plan for tomorrow night. Thank you!

Thank you. I knew what I wrote was wrong but couldn't remember the correct spelling. That price-fixe is hard to beat in my book, thanks for reminding me.

I have been to Marigold Kitchen under each of the three chefs they have had: Steven Cook (who still owns the place), Solomnov (Sp?) and now Erin O'Shea just recently. The latest menu change I thought a bit odd, with its Southern influence, but I will say we enjoyed our meal very much last week. It is very much more casual (and I believe less expensive) than under the first two chefs, both of which brought a heavily French influence to the menu. Our recent meal consisted of the following: Appetizer: Turnip Soup with Virginia Ham and Apple Biscuit ($6) Entrees: Flounder with Basmati Rice, Roasted Scallions and Lemon-Glazed Sweet Potatoes ($20) Cured Pork Tenderloin with Collard Greens, Pickled Peaches and Ham Hock Vinaigrette ($)17 Dessert: Banana Bread Pudding with Coffee Ice Cream ($7) Everything was quite delicious. The Turnip soup on the cold and rainy night was perfect and very tasty. The flounder and pork were equally tasty and we split the bread pudding, which was also very good. It was good to have La Colombe coffee as well. The Sancerre we brought went well with everything. Total cost? With tax and tip we spent $77, very much worth it. They have painted the walls a warm red (no longer the odd and cold lime green). Service is still excellent and Jonathan Marker is still aptly managing. While I have to admit that I miss the previous style of cooking (Solomnov being my favorite), Marigold Kitchen is still a very worthwhile place to go for a very good meal at an excellent price point.

Wanted to follow this up by saying that Ellen Yin herself responded to my e-mail, apologized that we didn't like the dinner, and sent a gift certificate for dinner for 4. At least she handled this situation professionally and personally, lets hope the subsequent dinner from the regular menu will be better.

Fork has been doing this dinner for at least a few years now so I finally decided to go. Being of Sicilian decent and dearly missing my gramdmothers cooking, my wife and I along with good friends went last night. The dinner is hosted by Fabrizia Lanza of the Tasca d'Almerita estate and Regaleali winery in Sicily. Well, what a real disappointment and at a hefty price! The predominant taste of the entire meal? SALT SALT and more SALT. Everything was SO salty that by the end of the meal we were parched and downing glasses of water. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE my food with a good amount of salt, especially Italian food, but this was ridiculous. The wines were all good, the reds being much better than the somewhat boring whites. Service was pretty bad and came with a somewhat snooty attitude. The first course was bland and fairly tasteless antipasti or teeny-weeny snails. Two of us got each. The snails were so small and required so much work that they weren't really worth it. Combined with the fact that the majority of the shells were empty and it was pretty embarassing. The next course of Spelt soup with beans was good but again, WAY too salty! For mains, 2 of us got the lamb, one the pasta and one the rabbit. The lamb, while fairly tasty, was also somewhat dry. The pasta was eh, and my rabbit in sweet and sour sauce, while somewhat tasty, was again WAY too salty (the olives and capers not helping at all). Desserts of profiteroles were small but pretty tasty. The cost of this meal you ask? $65/pp, so with tax and tip the four of us spent $350!!! WAY too much for the lacking quality and weak service that we encountered. People next to us were ordering off the menu and we overheard one of them complaining about how fatty his piece of meat was. I had heard that Fork was way past its prime, this encounter surely proves that that is definitely the truth. I would avoid this place, a shame because it is such a nice space. I stated my dissatisfaction on their website, I shall see if I hear anything back from them.

Well, I prefer my lovers without mental illnesses, especially dissociative disorders (I am a psychologist ironically). And, for $300 I especially don't want to take the chance that she'll be out of touch with reality when I'm at her place. I'll take a fantastic lover who is consistently fantastic anyday. If Bouley isn't in the groove on a Saturday night after Valentine's Day, when is it? It's hard for me to fathom a better meal at any restaurant in NYC than what we had at EMP. Daniel Humm creates artwork like I've never seen before and tastes like I've never tasted before. Don't get me wrong, our meal at Bouley was very good but based on it's reputation and cost, it should be far beyond very good. Bottom line for me: I would not return to Bouley; I would go back to EMP tomorrow if I could.

Interesting comments. We just had a weekend get-away (from Philly) in your fair city and ate at Bouley one night and EMP the other (see my review above). EMP was culinary perfection from start to finish and was easily the best meal we've ever had. The service was impeccable as well. Bouley, on the other hand, while very good, was a let down. The amuse was indeed not very nice at all. Service was snooty "you should be glad we're waiting on you" and not friendly at all. We will not return to Bouley, our $300 meal was definitely not worth it while the $350 we spent at EMP was worth every penny.

I agree with your take on the cabbies. I quickly learned, albeit too late, that I needed cross streets and not exact addresses. Very different than here in Philadelphia, where cabbies often know the place by name even. For example, "I want to go to Le Bec Fin" is often understood without saying 16th and Walnut. I wrote down all addresses and didn't know the cross streets, obviously necessary in a city as large as Manhattan. And BTW, while I did find to rooms at Bouley to be beautiful, there was something more elegant and refined about the room at EMP. Perhaps it was the whole experience that made the place so "beautiful" to me? Upon leaving at Bouley, they gave us a beautiful very impressive brochure all about their upcoming move around the corner.