Adam Platt on London

[jayrayner]

Adam Platt, restaurant critic for New York Magazine, was over a few weeks back for a whistle stop tour. I take some responsibility for his itinerary, but not the fact that he ordered pig's head and bone marrow everywhere he went.

http://nymag.com/guides/london/29444/

[Matthew Grant]

Blimey! When did the River Cafe become classic French? I might have to cancel my reservation!

I'm curious where the region of London called Vinopolis is as well

[jayrayner]

Blimey! When did the River Cafe become classic French? I might have to cancel my reservation!

I'm curious where the region of London called Vinopolis is as well

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I would say the slip-ups are pretty minor for a piece of this sort and that, in the main, he's nailed it.

[Alan Smeaton]

Not having dined in NY personally, his comment about top end restaurants in London being more expensive is interesting. Overall, I think London prices pretty well at the lower to middle range, especially compared to the provinces. At the 2 to 3 star level it does become a painful experience particularly once you factor in some outrageous wine mark-ups. There again, as he points out London "fine dining" is relatively small scale in terms of numbers of covers per restaurant. Presumably he does think that it is possible in NY to do top end stuff at high volumes.

Always interesting to see how our cousins across the pond view us!

[Infrasonic]

Not having dined in NY personally, his comment about top end restaurants in London being more expensive is interesting.  Overall, I think London prices pretty well at the lower to middle range, especially compared to the provinces.  At the 2 to 3 star level it does become a painful experience particularly once you factor in some outrageous wine mark-ups.  There again, as he points out London "fine dining" is relatively small scale in terms of numbers of covers per restaurant.  Presumably he does think that it is possible in NY to do top end stuff at high volumes.

Always interesting to see how our cousins across the pond view us!

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"shocking prices" $20 Martinis...

Hmmm, he doesn't seem to have grasped the concept of currency exchange rates very well...

I think we should invade the NY board and gloat about how "cheap" their restos are currently.

I

[naebody]

I'll concede that London has no sandwich shops to compare to Manhattan's best (and fast disappearing) deli supply. I'll agree that we have no more than a couple of acceptable Mexican places, and I'll freely admit that good pizza is hard to find (just as it is, you could argue, in every city other than Napoli). We can't do cheap fast food. Never could, because when things are cheap we make do with rubbish and when things are fast we cut corners. This is not news.

However, to say that you can't get good sushi or ice cream in London is mental.

[Zoticus]

I'll agree that we have no more than a couple of acceptable Mexican places, and I'll freely admit that good pizza is hard to find ...

However, to say that you can't get good sushi or ice cream in London is mental.

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Why are sushi, Mexican and pizza significant to an assessment of London as a gastronomic city anyway?

[Nathan]

I'll concede that London has no sandwich shops to compare to Manhattan's best (and fast disappearing) deli supply. I'll agree that we have no more than a couple of acceptable Mexican places, and I'll freely admit that good pizza is hard to find (just as it is, you could argue, in every city other than Napoli). We can't do cheap fast food. Never could, because when things are cheap we make do with rubbish and when things are fast we cut corners. This is not news.

However, to say that you can't get good sushi or ice cream in London is mental.

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that was a bit strong...but the context for the sushi remark was probably that among sushi snobs today New York's top echelon is compared favorably with that of Tokyo (NY's lower sushi rungs are another matter).

[wgallois]

Interesting article. London and NY are two great food cities and I don't think that I'd swap London, but the one thing that NY has which I think is missing in much of London is f'ing great interiors. Most London restaurants are pretty dull-looking places and very few offer a real "wow" factor when you walk in, or if they do it can be for the wrong reasons. Eating in Public and Buddakan there made me realise how uncreatively most London restaurants are lit and how few aspire to really great over-the-top design.

[Andy Lynes]

It's a useful round up for American readers of the current London restaurant scene, but given the embarrassing gaffs, it would appear that's down to the author's contacts in the city rather than his own knowledge and research skills. I realise the editor probably wanted a New Yorker's take on the London dining scene, but in this instance, I wonder if they wouldn't have been better off just commissioning Jay to write the whole thing himself.

The headline "Has the food over there really become edible" is at the very least two years out of date given the March 2005 edition of Gourmet which claimed London as the dining capital of the world and more like nearly 20 years out of date when you consider that the London revolution began with Bibendum, Alastair Little, Kensington Place, Sally Clarke et al.

Edited March 19, 2007 by Andy Lynes (log)

[Andy Lynes]

Why are sushi, Mexican and pizza significant to an assessment of London as a gastronomic city anyway?

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In the context of what New York offers as opposed to London, its significant, although arguably not significant per se. This piece is from New York magazine remember.

[Zoticus]

Why are sushi, Mexican and pizza significant to an assessment of London as a gastronomic city anyway?

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In the context of what New York offers as opposed to London, its significant, although arguably not significant per se. This piece is from New York magazine remember.

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I see, so for New Yorkers a food city is assessed according to how New York like it is. Begs the question, rather.

[jayrayner]

Why are sushi, Mexican and pizza significant to an assessment of London as a gastronomic city anyway?

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In the context of what New York offers as opposed to London, its significant, although arguably not significant per se. This piece is from New York magazine remember.

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I see, so for New Yorkers a food city is assessed according to how New York like it is. Begs the question, rather.

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You have it in one.

[MobyP]

I liked the piece. But it's not just food. New Yorker's judge every category of existence by how New York it is.

The reason New York is great for food is not just depth, but breadth. It has a massive number of low end, mid-range and aspirational high end places.

That's not to say we don't have some edible stuff here. But reasonably you could work your way through it in under a year, for the price of a mid-sized car. New York would take a lifetime and a mortgage on the house, if only to keep up with the sheer number of openings there are.

[Nathan]

The article was one of fifteen articles (surveying drama, fashion, finance, pulchritude and the like) under the title "London v. New York"

edit: I should note that Platt is not taken that seriously here (he's perhaps better known for who is brother is). Its not as if Bruni or Richman wrote the piece.

Edited March 20, 2007 by Nathan (log)

[Jamsie]

The article was one of fifteen articles (surveying drama, fashion, finance, pulchritude and the like) under the title "London v. New York"

edit:  I should note that Platt is not taken that seriously here (he's perhaps better known for who is brother is).  Its not as if Bruni or Richman wrote the piece.

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What are their foodie snobs like compared to us?

Come on we can take'em

[Nathan]

The article was one of fifteen articles (surveying drama, fashion, finance, pulchritude and the like) under the title "London v. New York"

edit:  I should note that Platt is not taken that seriously here (he's perhaps better known for who is brother is).  Its not as if Bruni or Richman wrote the piece.

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What are their foodie snobs like compared to us?

Come on we can take'em

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we have eater.com

[KristainLondon]

What are their food snobs like compared to us?

I don't know if they're snobs, but I do love the serious yet ironic headlines on Grub Street...http://nymag.com/daily/food. Wish something like that existed in London.