Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

ABC, WD-50 or Del Posto


Busboy

Recommended Posts

So, it seems that the above-mentioned places are among the few places open Sunday nights (Per Se being out of budget. Stupid kids). Obviously, they're very different establishments but each seems like a fine place to spend a Sunday evening. So, imaging you're in New York for four days, most to be spent with friends and relatives, but you have carved out one night or a long, slow dinner with the family -- college kids, not little ones. Where would you go? Is WD-50 too frenetic? Del Posto too formal? ABC too precious?

Just curious to hear from the locals, this is a pretty fun dilemma to have.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suggest Del Posto. Best pasta in the city (perfectly sauced and served hot) and excellent service. I took family, grandparents and kids (10 &12) and we were seated upstairs in a seculded area. Yes there is the white tablecloth but wait staff is gracious and both attentive and good natured without being overbearing. Great conversation, food and wine - a memorable evening.

As to the others -- WD 50 would be a bit loud for group conversation -- although plenty to talk about as food on plate is as much a conversation piece as food itself. I haven't been to ABC but I've never been to a Jean-Georges restaurant that I didn't like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, it seems that the above-mentioned places are among the few places open Sunday nights (Per Se being out of budget. Stupid kids). Obviously, they're very different establishments but each seems like a fine place to spend a Sunday evening. So, imaging you're in New York for four days, most to be spent with friends and relatives, but you have carved out one night or a long, slow dinner with the family -- college kids, not little ones. Where would you go? Is WD-50 too frenetic? Del Posto too formal? ABC too precious?

Just curious to hear from the locals, this is a pretty fun dilemma to have.

I like all three places a lot, and think you'll have a great meal at any of them, but have to agree with Howard. Since you're looking for a long, slow evening as a respite from the frenetic pace of the other days, Del Posto will provide the most memorable "occasion"-type dining of the three. Although it's fairly formal-looking, service there is friendly and attentive, but not stuffy. I'm a huge proponent of WD-50, and don't think it's frenetic at all (especially on a Sunday), but its casual tone means that it doesn't have the escape quality that a meal at Del Posto does. Also, if any of you aren't into the modernist cuisine thing, then it loses some appeal. ABC is somewhere in between in terms of tone, but why not go for something more special.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've only been to two of the three, but both on Sunday nights, and I agree, Del Posto is the way to go. Really lovely experience and a great meal. (And more space between tables than you'll see anywhere else in Manhattan!) Don't miss the caramelle.

Cooking and writing and writing about cooking at the SIMMER blog

Pop culture commentary at Intrepid Media

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're over in NY for a long weekend and had lunch at del posto today. It was fantastic, truly memorable - great service, beautiful room but above all some really really good food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, most sensible people hit the mountins or the beach during the dog days, but I enjoy the ease with which one can snag a coveted NYC reservation on a holiday summer weekend and nailed down Del Posto without hassle one calendar month before July 4th.

How uppity is the preferred garb? Personally, I prefer to put on the Ritz and the whole family (after years of training by me) defaults to over- rather than under-dressed, but assmbling a wardrobe for the college kid sometimes takes a little advance planning ("Do you own any leather shoes without holes?", "Did that blazer make it to the new apartment?").

One nit in advance: the "application to eat at Del Posto" that you have to print out and fax back is ungracious. And, they could at least put it in a format where you can fill it out on your computer.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One nit in advance: the "application to eat at Del Posto" that you have to print out and fax back is ungracious. And, they could at least put it in a format where you can fill it out on your computer.

I hadn't heard about this. Is it like the credit-checking scene in the movie "L.A. Story"?

Hello, L'Idiot? Yes, I'd like to make reservations for two for Friday. Saturday? Sunday? Ah good. Eight-thirty. Five-thirty or ten-thirty? Um, five-thirty. Visa . . . I'm a weatherman . . . yes, I'm on TV! Renting . . . I just sold a condo . . . yes, in this soft market . . . well, I don't see how that's any of your . . . the low fifties.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One nit in advance: the "application to eat at Del Posto" that you have to print out and fax back is ungracious. And, they could at least put it in a format where you can fill it out on your computer.

That does sound off-putting. I reserved on OpenTable and had no such requirement. Or maybe it's a function of party size?

Cooking and writing and writing about cooking at the SIMMER blog

Pop culture commentary at Intrepid Media

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One nit in advance: the "application to eat at Del Posto" that you have to print out and fax back is ungracious. And, they could at least put it in a format where you can fill it out on your computer.

That does sound off-putting. I reserved on OpenTable and had no such requirement. Or maybe it's a function of party size?

I wonder if going to 5 people somehow triggers the bureaucratic response.

Any response to the attire queries?

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't say a tie is necessary at Del Posto - I think jacket/buttondown/slacks is most typical there, with some people less dressed than that. In my opinion, there are few places left where ties are common... I'm thinking Daniel, Per Se, etc. but even in those places I've seen quite a few people who were tie-less (although those who were had pocket squares if memory serves correctly).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One nit in advance: the "application to eat at Del Posto" that you have to print out and fax back is ungracious. And, they could at least put it in a format where you can fill it out on your computer.

That does sound off-putting. I reserved on OpenTable and had no such requirement. Or maybe it's a function of party size?

I wonder if going to 5 people somehow triggers the bureaucratic response.

Any response to the attire queries?

I didn't experience the bureaucratic form, either, so I'm guessing it must be a 5+ thing (as odd as that seems). As for dress, they don't have an actual code, but I agree with above posters that having a jacket will make you more par with the room than going casual (those some people definitely do). Definitely no tie required.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...