One-star Le Cirque Review in the NY Times

[Emily_R]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/dining/reviews/le-cirque-in-manhattan.html?smid=pl-share

Wow. He makes it sound like they're serving one step above banquet hall food. Has anyone here been recently?

[ScottyBoy]

Oh wow, they got torn up!

[pastrygirl]

Ouch. I'd hate to be in that kitchen right now.

[ScottyBoy]

Yeah could only imagine. I've only been working at places that were climbing the ladder or who kept their status. Poor guy is gonna have a heart attack!

[Mjx]

Still, they were happy with the front of the house, and they didn't think everything was lousy..?

[gfweb]

The criticisms were very very vague. With the exception of the note about lacking seasoning, the objections were on the order of "the souffle lacked conviction." What the hell does that mean? NYT reviewers are usually better than this guy.

[weinoo]

Le Cirque will, I'm sure, retain its coterie of blue-haired regulars no matter how many stars it has or hasn't.

I can't remember if I've ever been (maybe a luncheon at one time or another), and certainly never in its heyday.

[mkayahara]

The criticisms were very very vague. With the exception of the note about lacking seasoning, the objections were on the order of "the souffle lacked conviction." What the hell does that mean? NYT reviewers are usually better than this guy.

FTFA: "[...]the restaurant’s chocolate soufflé, which has become floury and crumbly, a dry cupcake hiding out in a soufflé mold." Is that better?

[ScottyBoy]

It did feel a bit like a Yelp review. The service was top notch, interior a bit outdated, some of the food was good some was bad......1 star

[Mjx]

The criticisms were very very vague. With the exception of the note about lacking seasoning, the objections were on the order of "the souffle lacked conviction." What the hell does that mean? NYT reviewers are usually better than this guy.

Well, there was also:

Beef carpaccio, the chilly maroon flesh stretched out below . . . radish and celery slices that had started to curl, tasted of refrigeration and surrender. . . a white flap of flavorless squid was pulled over a length of octopus leg like a shroud; . . . frigid white beans . . . were crunchy at the center.

Roast chicken tasted . . . (like nothing) . . . a muddy, shapeless swamp of porcini. A long log of Dover sole under a sheet of bread crumbs had neither the texture nor the flavor that might justify charging $49 for a fish stick.

Soft green bell pepper and watery peeled tomatoes . . . were draped like old newspapers over and around a chunk of striped bass. Summer corn soup . . . tasted almost nothing like corn.

[gfweb]

Ok ok. You win. Some but not all of the criticisms were vague. Some but not all were unworthy of an NYT reviewer.

[patrickamory]

I've never been, but the review pretty much exactly summed up what I'd expect Le Cirque to be like in 2012.

[janeer]

All good things must end

[ellenost]

I had a RW dinner back in January that was a major improvement from my previous meals at Le Cirque (the food was "good" and service was attentive. The sad part is that the Le Cirque in Las Vegas is wonderful! Gregory Pugin who was the former chef at Veritas in now out in Las Vegas; the food is wonderful (had a recent dinner at Le Cirque LV in mid-March). Service in LV is friendly and attentive. Sounds like Le Cirque NYC should take lessons from Le Cirque LV.

[David Ross]

I had a RW dinner back in January that was a major improvement from my previous meals at Le Cirque (the food was "good" and service was attentive. The sad part is that the Le Cirque in Las Vegas is wonderful! Gregory Pugin who was the former chef at Veritas in now out in Las Vegas; the food is wonderful (had a recent dinner at Le Cirque LV in mid-March). Service in LV is friendly and attentive. Sounds like Le Cirque NYC should take lessons from Le Cirque LV.

I was at Le Cirque in Las Vegas in May--the highlight of the trip. Never been to the New York Le Cirque, but the Las Vegas branch is exceptional. In fact, the only other restaurant in Las Vegas in the same class is Robuchon. Le Cirque Las Vegas beats Guy Savoy, Twist, Mix and every other dining room hands down.

[ellenost]

I had a RW dinner back in January that was a major improvement from my previous meals at Le Cirque (the food was "good" and service was attentive. The sad part is that the Le Cirque in Las Vegas is wonderful! Gregory Pugin who was the former chef at Veritas in now out in Las Vegas; the food is wonderful (had a recent dinner at Le Cirque LV in mid-March). Service in LV is friendly and attentive. Sounds like Le Cirque NYC should take lessons from Le Cirque LV.

I was at Le Cirque in Las Vegas in May--the highlight of the trip. Never been to the New York Le Cirque, but the Las Vegas branch is exceptional. In fact, the only other restaurant in Las Vegas in the same class is Robuchon. Le Cirque Las Vegas beats Guy Savoy, Twist, Mix and every other dining room hands down.

Agree with you 1000% that Le Cirque LV beats Guy Savoy and Twist. Haven't been to Mix yet. Based on my most recent visits to Le Cirque and Robuchon (March 2012), I think I even prefer Le Cirque to Robuchon for convenience since I stay at the Bellagio, and cost. My beef course at Robuchon, while lovely to view, was too chewy to be enjoyable. Heard Le Cirque LV has brought back Kobe, so I'll definitely try the Le Cirque been dish next time I visit LV (which may be sooner than I had originally planned ;-)).