"Undervalued" restaurants

[raji]

Daisy Mae's BBQ, but only until freakin' Oprah did an entire show with Adam Perry Lang, and now the place is Exit 0.9 on the Jersey Turnpike....

In the Japanese category (of course I can't help myself), Soba Totto I feel is undervalued vs. Matsugen, Sake Bar Hagi in the izakaya category, because it's stoopid cheap and pretty good if you know what to order - altho this now falls into the category which LPS and FG have ruled out

But when it comes to fine® dining and more expensive places, I think people now are far less willing to risk significant financial investment on a place that isn't packed or raved about, so those swimming are really swimming, and those sinking are REALLY sinking

[daisy17]

Craftbar is very good. Is it in the underappreciated category?

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Since Craftbar moved I have not had a memorable meal there, nor have I heard of one. 'Tis a shame, I used to love it. Now I love Terroir, where Marco serves his original Craftbar dishes at excellent prices.

People have raved about Tocqueville for years (and 15 East, is that the name?) and it's still not on my radar at all.

Perilla and Peasant are always packed, and I recommend them and go to both frequently, so to me they are properly appreciated!

I'm with Sneak on Kuma Inn. Never got it.

[Fat Guy]

Since Craftbar moved I have not had a memorable meal there, nor have I heard of one. 

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On the Craftbar topic, Dave (the Cook) recently filed a very positive report. I've only been once to the new location but my meal was also terrific.

[daisy17]

Good to know, but like we were saying before, I'm selecting specific information from a very limited sample. These two threads are making me think about why I *love* certain places and never ever go to others. Much of it is based on what I read (mostly on here) and some of it is just entirely random. Hence my Peasant is your Craftbar.

[ckkgourmet]

Both Matsugen and Allegretti have been mentioned above: they're all great restaurants. Wonder what happened?

Another, I'd submit, is Pamplona. Does anyone go there anymore? Chef Urena works miracles, at least on occasion, and although the atmosphere there is still bad (same space as its chef-eponymous predecessor), I've had some sparkling meals there.

[Sethro]

Tailor.

I'm sure this is polarizing, since so many NYers hate modern cooking. They have done such a good job of hating it that we are down to two restaurants in which it is showcased. Three if you count Corton.

By showcased, I mean the main attraction, which is what it is at WD and Tailor. Of course every 4 star kitchen now has a colloid/gum shelf in the dry storage, but the usages are intentionally sly and subtle.

Tailor also has an extremely low price point for all the labor cost. Also it has the best cocktail program in the city, in my opinion.

[KateinChicago]

I travel to New York City on a fairly frequent basis and almost always stay in the area of 55th and 5th. This is a problem when it comes to dining because I don't want to rely on cabs which can be worth their weight in gold at certain hours (think dining). I am always on the lookout for places that 1) I can walk to 2) are seriously food worthy and 3) won't otherwise offend my SO. Mumber 3 is a huge concern as he is not happy with very loud places and those that seemed designed to keep you there for hours. Hence we have never been to Per Se but it is now on the radar with their bar menu policy. We tend to go to midtown haunts like L'atelier de Joel Robouchon; the Modern (dining room and bar); Le Bernardin, Jean George et. al.

One recent find that we both enthusiactically enjoyed was "Seasonal Restaurant and Wein Bar" an Austrian restaurant on 58th between 5th and 6th. I could eat their spaetzle for the rest of my life either as an entree or as a side dish. The weiner schnitzel is amazing as are the the stuffed pasta with mountain cheese, butter sauteed morels and peas. I have never seen this place reviewed. I literally stumbled across it and thought my SO would like this food. It might be undervalued (whatever the hell that means) but it is worthy of attention.

Kate

[ellenost]

One recent find that we both enthusiactically enjoyed was "Seasonal Restaurant and Wein Bar" an Austrian restaurant on 58th between 5th and 6th.  I could eat their spaetzle for the rest of my life either as an entree or as a side dish.  The weiner schnitzel is amazing as are the the stuffed pasta with mountain cheese, butter sauteed morels and peas.  I have never seen this place reviewed.  I literally stumbled across it and thought my SO would like this food.  It might be undervalued (whatever the hell that means) but it is worthy of attention.

Kate

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I am thrilled to hear such a glowing review of Seasonal since I'm dining there tomorrow evening.

[oakapple]

Tailor.

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I agree with this one, though as you note it's polarizing because the people who don't like Mason's cuisine are rather vocal about it. The place changed considerably after the reviews, but unfortunately there's usually no way to get the critics back again.

Seäsonal is another great example. The Times didn't review it at all.

[Fat Guy]

I've never even heard of Seasonal, so if it's good it's undervalued for me at least.

[WK2]

Good to know, but like we were saying before, I'm selecting specific information from a very limited sample.  These two threads are making me think about why I *love* certain places and never ever go to others.  Much of it is based on what I read (mostly on here) and some of it is just entirely random.  Hence my Peasant is your Craftbar.

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This is an interesting point. So much of our experiences of restaurants are quite subjective, especially with a limited dining dollar. For example, I had one bad experience at Peasant, which really wasn't the restaurant's fault. (an obnoxious customer). Will I return? Probably not, but mostly because it is New York and I can move on with almost no consequences.

I promise you if this were Wilmington DE, where I lived for a year, a place like Peasant would get a second and third and fourth chance.

[Sneakeater]

Seasonal is DEFINITELY undervalued.

It's ridiculous how little notice it's gotten compared to its quality.

[Fat Guy]

Seasonal sounds like potentially the great discovery of this topic.

[daisy17]

Seasonal is DEFINITELY undervalued.

It's ridiculous how little notice it's gotten compared to its quality.

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It's too bad they picked a name that's similar to a trademark used for birth control pills. Other than that, I'm sure it's great. (I've never heard of it till now - that's a rarity for me.)

[Ochowie]

Tailor.

I'm sure this is polarizing, since so many NYers hate modern cooking. They have done such a good job of hating it that we are down to two restaurants in which it is showcased. Three if you count Corton.

By showcased, I mean the main attraction, which is what it is at WD and Tailor. Of course every 4 star kitchen now has a colloid/gum shelf in the dry storage, but the usages are intentionally sly and subtle.

Tailor also has an extremely low price point for all the labor cost. Also it has the best cocktail program in the city, in my opinion.

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I've said this in another thread and I will say it again, I don't think Tailor is undervalued at all. I love "modern" cooking and truly enjoyed my experience at WD as well as Alinea, and I wish that Corton was even more in keeping with those restaurants (like Gilt and Atlas were). However, like I said before, I was really excited by reading the menu at tailor and was as disappointed afterwords as I was excited beforehand. While the menu seemed like it would be interesting, the food was very bland to my taste. Also, the menu hasn't seemed to have changed since I went there last (8 months ago) so I see no reason to revisit it.

[KateinChicago]

One recent find that we both enthusiactically enjoyed was "Seasonal Restaurant and Wein Bar" an Austrian restaurant on 58th between 5th and 6th.  I could eat their spaetzle for the rest of my life either as an entree or as a side dish.  The weiner schnitzel is amazing as are the the stuffed pasta with mountain cheese, butter sauteed morels and peas.  I have never seen this place reviewed.  I literally stumbled across it and thought my SO would like this food.  It might be undervalued (whatever the hell that means) but it is worthy of attention.

Kate

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I am thrilled to hear such a glowing review of Seasonal since I'm dining there tomorrow evening.

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I hope you like it as much as we did! We went there twice in one week. I also ordered the lamb loin with the maiutake mushrooms. The lamb was great but the mushrooms were unbelievable. I am still craving them! I think that it is between 6th and 7th not 5th and 6th. Certainly worth the walk and a little hard to find because of scaffolding which obscures the signage but on the south side of the street. A lot of German speaking people seem to eat there but of the young and hip variety which my SO and I are definately not No one seemed to find us offensive though

Kate

[Sneakeater]

It's definitely between 6th & 7th.

[Eatmywords]

Ooooh, that bar app of wild boar prosciutto and entrée of veal cheeks sounds mighty good.

On a separate note, and this is based only on one experience (though reliable sources have confirmed it’s always empty) I’d nominate Rhong Tiam as underated. No place serving food as good as theirs should be so empty.

[Pan]

Has there been any press for Cantoon Garden?

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But how does this qualify as an undervalued restaurant?

Was it empty? Was it significantly different in price from, say, Congee Village?

I think what the OP is looking for is restaurants where you walk in, have a meal,

and then lean back and say, "why isn't this place packed?"

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It's packed at peak times, with Chinese people. Few non-Chinese people seem to know about it. Its price point is lower the Congee Village, because the quantity of food is greater, and its quality is way better than Congee Village.

[LPShanet]

Both Matsugen and Allegretti have been mentioned above: they're all great restaurants. Wonder what happened?

Another, I'd submit, is Pamplona. Does anyone go there anymore? Chef Urena works miracles, at least on occasion, and although the atmosphere there is still bad (same space as its chef-eponymous predecessor), I've had some sparkling meals there.

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Good one. I'd almost forgotten about it, and I ate very well there. I'd say the same for its predecessor version: Urena.

[LPShanet]

Good to know, but like we were saying before, I'm selecting specific information from a very limited sample.  These two threads are making me think about why I *love* certain places and never ever go to others.  Much of it is based on what I read (mostly on here) and some of it is just entirely random.  Hence my Peasant is your Craftbar.

←

This is an interesting point. So much of our experiences of restaurants are quite subjective, especially with a limited dining dollar. For example, I had one bad experience at Peasant, which really wasn't the restaurant's fault. (an obnoxious customer). Will I return? Probably not, but mostly because it is New York and I can move on with almost no consequences.

I promise you if this were Wilmington DE, where I lived for a year, a place like Peasant would get a second and third and fourth chance.

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I'm with you on the subjective factor and how it can affect your perception even when you know it isn't fair. I, too, had a bad experience at Peasant, which was so shocking and off-putting to me that I haven't been back, even though the food was excellent. (The experience in question concerned the service and their response to it, not the food.) I have, however, recommended Peasant to others since then (in fact, I just endorsed it on another thread....go figure)...I just can't bring myself to go again after what happened, even though it was probably an isolated incident.

Edited June 26, 2009 by LPShanet (log)

[LPShanet]

Tailor.

I'm sure this is polarizing, since so many NYers hate modern cooking. They have done such a good job of hating it that we are down to two restaurants in which it is showcased. Three if you count Corton.

By showcased, I mean the main attraction, which is what it is at WD and Tailor. Of course every 4 star kitchen now has a colloid/gum shelf in the dry storage, but the usages are intentionally sly and subtle.

Tailor also has an extremely low price point for all the labor cost. Also it has the best cocktail program in the city, in my opinion.

←

I've said this in another thread and I will say it again, I don't think Tailor is undervalued at all. I love "modern" cooking and truly enjoyed my experience at WD as well as Alinea, and I wish that Corton was even more in keeping with those restaurants (like Gilt and Atlas were). However, like I said before, I was really excited by reading the menu at tailor and was as disappointed afterwords as I was excited beforehand. While the menu seemed like it would be interesting, the food was very bland to my taste. Also, the menu hasn't seemed to have changed since I went there last (8 months ago) so I see no reason to revisit it.

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Just to support the nature of polarization, I'm going to chime in my support for Sethro and others' viewpoints on this one. I find Tailor very underappreciated, and like the food a lot.

[Sethro]

Tailor.

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I agree with this one, though as you note it's polarizing because the people who don't like Mason's cuisine are rather vocal about it. The place changed considerably after the reviews, but unfortunately there's usually no way to get the critics back again.

Seäsonal is another great example. The Times didn't review it at all.

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I thought they got one star?

[oakapple]

Tailor.

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I agree with this one, though as you note it's polarizing because the people who don't like Mason's cuisine are rather vocal about it. The place changed considerably after the reviews, but unfortunately there's usually no way to get the critics back again.

Seäsonal is another great example. The Times didn't review it at all.

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I thought they got one star?

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Nope. Not reviewed in The Times. I am positive. It was covered only in Dining Briefs.

Edited June 26, 2009 by oakapple (log)

[taion]

Tailor.

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I agree with this one, though as you note it's polarizing because the people who don't like Mason's cuisine are rather vocal about it. The place changed considerably after the reviews, but unfortunately there's usually no way to get the critics back again.

Seäsonal is another great example. The Times didn't review it at all.

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I thought they got one star?

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Nope. Not reviewed in The Times. I am positive. It was covered only in Dining Briefs.

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Platt gave them 3 stars, though: http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/56729/