A Prince's birthday

[angelsfan]

Alright,

First of all Im new around these parts my name is Nixon and I hope to be posting often.  Introductions aside let me introduce you to a certain Prince that i know (old Korean Royalty) going to school in NY, we will call him RTM.  Just yesterday RTM told me that it was his birthday on friday (10/26) and that "he trusted that I would find an adequate place for a birthday dinner".  Like the pushover I am I said sure but as soon as I hung up the phone I was in a cold sweat.  All of the places that I could think of going: Lespinasse, Daniel, Jean Georges and Le Bernardine, seemed ridiculous to call on such short notice.  And the places I really want to go: Tasting Room, Sushi Yasuda and others, really didnt seem like the right environment to take royalty.  So now I am in a Royal dilemna (pun intended).  Its thursday night and I need a place with fancy decor, excellent food (im thinking french because it seems the most regal), and most importantly a place i can get into tomorrow.  Please Help!

A side note: Steven I followed your Guerrilla Sushi Tactics at Sushi Yasuda and have made quite a good friend in Yasuda-son and the food is amazing.  In comparison to Tomoe Sushi in the village [rated by zagats (what a fraud) as like the fifth best place for food over all]  The food just doesnt compare, not even in the same league, the stoves for fried foods are near the sushi bar giving the fish and rice a slightly oily flavor. As for the Sushi Chef, he cuts the fish with reckless abandon not even looking at what hes doing this leads to huge cuts but the lack of care is evident in the taste.  AND as Yasuda-son says "This is not the way of the Sushi Man",  Yasuda insists that his fish must be stored away from everything that may contaminate it and even the rice must be covered.  These little things and great, carefully cut sashimi, leads me to two conclusions: 1. Zagat Sucks  2. If youre in the vacinity of Sushi Yasuda stop in it is so choice

[Fat Guy]

Welcome. And thanks for the praise. I love praise!

First of all, call all those restaurants. You may be surprised at where you can get in.

Second, there is a universe of great restaurants that always have a few tables available. Right now I have my eye on Bid, which I wrote about in a recent newsletter. I can e-mail you that issue if you need. I just sent my absolute pickiest gourmet friends there the other night and they were very happy. Some other fine-dining places that are unrecognized: Petrossian, where David Cunningham and Christopher Broberg (both ex-Lespinasse) are really shaking things up; Marika; March (seems less difficult to reserve than the other places on that level); Park Avenue Cafe; Sea Grill; Veritas (it's a possibility).

Third, I'm glad you liked Sushi Yasuda. Try Kuruma Zushi for an interesting comparison. Two wonderful places with very different styles. And yes, Tomoe is massively overrated by people who don't know any better.

[Bux]

Tomoe neither deserves its Zagat rating nor the scorn of this group. Yes, it's overrated by those who don't know any better, but it's not to be scorned. Save the scorn for Zagat and his system as well as for his raters who think they are qualified to render an opinion.

As Steven says, go ahead and call. If they don't have a table they won't ever remember who you are the next time you call, and if they do have a table, they'll be happy to have someone eating at it. Things have been a bit slow at the top places, but I hear it's picked up considerably and Friday night is alway a tough reservation to get. Any chance of celebrating on Monday or Tuesday? I'm inclined to agree with your four choices, (by the way, there's no "e" at the end of le Bernardin) but just in case let me add a rew more names to the Fat Guy's list. Start with Cello. I really love the food at Blue Hill, but it's not the same ambience as the big French places or even Cello. Then three places on my must eat at list, but at which I have not yet eaten--Craft, Town and Ilo.

[Wilfrid]

One more tip on reservations.  Even the hot spots often have tables (especially for two) at a later sitting, say 9.30 or 10.  You may have to hang around the bar while the people at your table have another round of digestifs, but if you're a nightowl, why worry?

[angelsfan]

Thank you for the suggestions and encouragement, (mainly the encouragement) because as soon as I finally picked up the phone and started calling restaurants, it took me only two calls to get in.  I first tried Le Bernardin which was full (except for really late, i.e. 10:15), but I got back on the phone and tried Lespinasse, which suprisingly had a 7:30 time available, I was nearly beside myself.  I took the time and later that evening when I told my friend where we were going he was quite impressed.

We got the Tasting Menu which at the time seemed exorbanitly priced at 130 dollars but with 3 meat courses, 1 fish course and a half dozen more dishes served it turned out to be, if not a bargain, then a reasonable price to pay for the quality and amount of food served.  The wine list was great, we got the '98 Chateauneuf du Pape but there were probably 20 other wines we just didnt get to in their wine bible.

Overall a very good dinner and a hit with the Prince.

[Fat Guy]

I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner, and I'm doubly glad that you see the concept of value as getting what you pay for, rather than as an absolute measure of price. Too many people, when they see the menu prices at the best restaurants, just assume they're ripoffs. In reality, you may get better value on a 财 tasting menu at Lespinasse than at many restaurants where entrees are ย. At the very least, I assure you that Lespinasse operates at a loss -- so think of it as the restaurant paying you to eat there. :)

[angelsfan]

Too true ~ my only qualm would be that they gave me too much food.  I skipped lunch and still had a tuff time eating everything.  Plus the menu used extensive use of rare ingrediants truffles (white and black) and quail egg.  Next time I will have to skip breakfast too!  But you are dead on about the real (economic) price of the food compared to the actual price listed.

If that sounded like an overblown "right on!" it really was.

[Felonius]

Steven - you mentioned that Lespinasse operates at a loss.   Why are they still in business then?  Is it subsidized by the hotel (i.e. a prestigious restaurant on location helps them to sell more hotel rooms)?   Please explain.