Landmarc at the Time-Warner Center

[emsny]

Come November, there'll be the Daniel Boulud wine bar / bistrot / charcuterie right near Lincoln Center, and apparently it will be open late enough that we opera goers can actually get something to eat after the show. I do hope it's good.

[Todd36]

I've eatern dinner there half a dozen times. Its fine, not worth a trip. Its also fairly cheap by location standards.

[markk]

Come November, there'll be the Daniel Boulud wine bar / bistrot / charcuterie right near Lincoln Center, and apparently it will be open late enough that we opera goers can actually get something to eat after the show. I do hope it's good.

←

I forgot about that !!

[Fat Guy]

For what it's worth, I had a strong meal at Landmarc Time Warner tonight. Walked in, got a table right away, told them we were in a rush and got appropriately accelerated but not frantic service, they were nice to our kid, the meal was very satisfying, the space is great and the price was incredibly reasonable.

We shared the foie gras terrine, which was textbook. No technical flaws that I could discern (appropriate salt level). I had the hamburger, which was beautifully composed on its platter (generous green salad, crispy fries, a pickle condiment, onions, tomato, everything) and cooked precisely as ordered. A very high quality burger. Ellen had the tuna steak, which was a thick, good piece of tuna seared rare. Can't complain there. PJ had the fish sticks and fries from the kids' menu -- we tried this on a lark (we almost never order from kids' menus) thinking maybe Landmarc would be doing something interesting. But they were sucky fish sticks (pucks really) like you'd get from any kids' menu. Same great fries as from the real menu, though. Blueberry cobbler and three sorbets for dessert -- the tiny cobbler was quite good, but the sorbets while flavorful had too icy a texture and serving them in cones is awkward. They bring free lime-green cotton candy for kids. We had a half-bottle of a pleasant New Zealand sauvignon blanc, from Dashwood.

We were in and out in under an hour (again, at our request). Subtotal before tax and tip, for all that food and a half-bottle of wine: $88.

[markk]

Which reminds me that I forgot to post that we gave it a second chance and went back two weeks after our lousy meal, again before the opera.

Starters were Lyonnaise salads with poached eggs, and we reminded them beforehand that the previous time our eggs had been way overcooked - they came nice and runny this time, and the salads were delicious (textbook, too, as I've had tons of these in Lyon).

My smarter half had the Steamed Mussels this time, which were delicious.

I ordered a strip steak (because the last time, when I saw a great looking steak go by, I asked the waiter what it was, and told it was a strip). I think I was told wrong, becuase what I got didn't resemble the great looking one I had seen, but oh well, that's life. Next time maybe I'll try the ribeye which is what I thought it was. I asked for it crispy on the outside and rare inside.

It came just really overcooked. However, I opted to eat it and not say anything, because we had a curtain to make, and my expectations really weren't that high anyway. A wine person (not our waiter) came over to serve the wine, and she asked each of us how our dinner was, so I told her that my steak was way overcooked. Instantly, she reached down and took the plate off the table, ad said with a smile "if you'll tell me how you wanted it, I'll get you another one done properly". I mentioned that we had an 8 pm curtain, and she said not to worry. And I really liked that she whisked it away and then asked what I wanted, instead of leaving it there and asking "did you want something else". She returned quickly enough with a steak that was much better, and with a fresh basket of extremely crisp and delicious fries (the ones that had come with the first steak were soggy).

Dessert was a shared blueberry crumble and two vanilla ice cream cones to melt in the crumble.

The tab? Reasonable enough that we will go back there again before the opera.

Funnily, I had been looking forward to having the liver and onions again and asking them to cook the liver a little less, and they had taken it off the menu.

Does anybody know when Daniel's place opens? After my recent mediocre dinner at DB Bistro Moderne, I'm not holding very high expectations, but I'd give it a try once.

[bergerka]

For what it's worth, I had a strong meal at Landmarc Time Warner tonight. Walked in, got a table right away, told them we were in a rush and got appropriately accelerated but not frantic service, they were nice to our kid, the meal was very satisfying, the space is great and the price was incredibly reasonable.

We shared the foie gras terrine, which was textbook. No technical flaws that I could discern (appropriate salt level). I had the hamburger, which was beautifully composed on its platter (generous green salad, crispy fries, a pickle condiment, onions, tomato, everything) and cooked precisely as ordered. A very high quality burger. Ellen had the tuna steak, which was a thick, good piece of tuna seared rare. Can't complain there. PJ had the fish sticks and fries from the kids' menu -- we tried this on a lark (we almost never order from kids' menus) thinking maybe Landmarc would be doing something interesting. But they were sucky fish sticks (pucks really) like you'd get from any kids' menu. Same great fries as from the real menu, though. Blueberry cobbler and three sorbets for dessert -- the tiny cobbler was quite good, but the sorbets while flavorful had too icy a texture and serving them in cones is awkward. They bring free lime-green cotton candy for kids. We had a half-bottle of a pleasant New Zealand sauvignon blanc, from Dashwood.

We were in and out in under an hour (again, at our request). Subtotal before tax and tip, for all that food and a half-bottle of wine: $88.

←

FWIW, from the kids' menu: get the pigs in blankets. Seriously.

[weinoo]

A wine person (not our waiter) came over to serve the wine, and she asked each of us how our dinner was, so I told her that my steak was way overcooked.  Instantly, she reached down and took the plate off the table, ad said with a smile "if you'll tell me how you wanted it, I'll get you another one done properly".  I mentioned that we had an 8 pm curtain, and she said not to worry.  And I really liked that she whisked it away and then asked what I wanted, instead of leaving it there and asking "did you want something else".  She returned quickly enough with a steak that was much better, and with a fresh basket of extremely crisp and delicious fries (the ones that had come with the first steak were soggy).

←

Sounds like the service has improved dramatically, from both your experience as well as FG's - though obviously the kitchen still seems to have it's issues. Also sounds like your steak and fries were sitting under a heat lamp for way too long.

I guess the mantra is keep it pretty simple here, and enjoy the wine program a lot.

[slkinsey]

I thought I'd revisit this thread.

Like many people, I have had a great fondness for the original TriBeCa location, which I though was distinguished by interesting, very good food (some outstanding) at a good price, the amazing wine program, and wonderful service.

Also like many people, I was a bit disappointed at the somewhat inevitable dilution of service and kitchen consistency that resulted from opening a much larger outpost in the Time Warner Center. Even in 2008, by which time one would hope these things could have been ironed out, I've experienced disappointments with things such as pasta dishes that had clearly been left to congeal in the pass while waiting for a steak (perfectly cooked, I should hastend to add) to be ready, the occasional inexplicably long waits for service, etc. It's not as smooth and consistent as their operation in TriBeCa, and I imagine this dichotomy is going to persist. On the other hand, I've also had meals there with spot-on food and great service even when the place was jam-packed. In a restaurant of this size, at this price point, with this clientele and in this location, I think a certain amount of variability is perhaps inevitable. Regardless, the great experiences there have certainly outnumbered the so-so ones, and they care.

What made me decide to re-post on this topic is that, by chance more than anything else, I've been to Landmarc TWC a few times recently during the lunch/brunch hour. And their sandwiches are just so off-the-chart delicious I just had to post about it. Two are worthy of particular note: Their smoked tuna sandwich starts with house-smoked high-quality tuna that is shredded (some big hunks, some small pieces), combined with capers, celery, red onion, and (I assume) some mayonnaise. This finds its way in a seriously thick layer between two pieces of excellent ciabatta. Ordinarily I don't appreciate things like this in a 2-inch-thick layer, but this was delicious and a bargain at 14 bucks. Big enough for two normal people to share, really. My favorite, however, is their braised lamb sandwich. It uses the same ciabatta, filled with ridiculously silky, unctuous, delicious braised lamb, redolent with rosemary and dripping with sauce, then gilds the lily with a slathering of aioli. Bread & butter pickles are there as well, to cut the richness. I can't imagine not ordering this when it's on the menu. My idea of afternoon heaven is that braised lamb sandwich followed by their (ridiculously delicious, ridiculously rich) pain perdu.