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Lespinasse (Closed)

voberoi

By voberoi
in New York: Dining

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ali

ali

Posted
Posted
Perdreau - foie gras - choux blanc.  Pieces of partridge breast cooked rare, layered with very rare slices of foie gras, wrapped in a cabbage leaf package.  Neat and clever, and with a richly aromatic steam emerging with the first cut.  Reminded me of the excellent squab and foir gras in b'stilla-style pastry being served at Atelier.  A good dish.

Mmm, my friend Vieva made this for me in my own kitchen at home. One of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

  • 4 months later...
docsconz

docsconz

Posted
Posted

It is a sign of the economic times. It is no longer difficult to get a high end reservation in NYC.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

Lespinasse was always a money-loser. Its fortunes depended more on the priorities of the hotel's owners than anything else -- not just in terms of whether it survives or not, but also whether it is open for lunch and dinner or just for dinner, what kind of wine purchasing can be done, etc.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Wilfrid

Wilfrid

Posted
Posted

Several of us had a very disappointing meal in a half-empty (Saturday night, I think?) Lespinasse just a few months back. While I am not celebrating the news, it relieves me of the nagging temptation to go back and see if we were unlucky. Dimitri, I would tread with caution.

Anyone know whither Delouvrier?

Bux

Bux

Posted
Posted

I suspect I'd like to see Delouvrier go to a small place where he can control the staff, although I have no idea why the restaurant is closing or why it didn't deliver as it should have. I doubt that the final days will be a blaze of glory. If someone has friends on the staff, they might give us a better idea.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Bux

Bux

Posted
Posted

I was thinking a bit larger and a bit more formal. Say a Cafe Boulud or Cello type of place, but I could use more down scale myself these days. :biggrin:

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

ballast_regime

ballast_regime

Posted
Posted

although i respect delouvrier, i was never a fan of lespinasse's setting, and i wish him well in his search for better digs.

i will mourn lespinasse's loss as i did cello's, and hope he resurfaces in a place that is more "him," whatever or wherever that may be.

iml

ballast/regime

"Get yourself in trouble."

--Chuck Close

mogsob

mogsob

Posted
Posted
I was thinking a bit larger and a bit more formal. Say a Cafe Boulud or Cello type of place, but I could use more down scale myself these days.  :biggrin:

YES YES YES!!!

Delouvrier has in my opinion always been hurt by always being associated with hotels. Maurice was perhaps the best of the three, but the room was so impersonal. I'd love to see him take over the Cello space.

Simon Majumdar

Simon Majumdar

Posted
Posted

I am very sad to hear of the closing of this place. Although I had not been for a while and had heard reports of a decline, I had two VERY memorable meals there in years past.

The first was when kunz was in the kitchen and was remarkable enough, but better was the tasting menu I tried in the first month or so of Delouvrier's occupation. A staggeringly good meal.

I wonder if this closure is comparable to the "re-invention' of The Connaught restaurant from the genuinely Haute of Bourdin to the Ramsay/Harnett place and the closure of Tante Claire to be replaced by another Waering diffusion place?

The old places, while superb, depended upon the influx of business people with expense accounts a demographic which has withered in recent years. The new places, while not much cheaper draw in more of a local crowd due to intense publicity and hype

Perhaps GR will open a place in the St Regis.

S

mogsob

mogsob

Posted
Posted

From the NYT article: "Tim Zagat, founder of the restaurant guide, said he was not shocked at the announcement of Lespinasse's closing. "The food was very, very good," he said, "but the décor was a bit too ornate, and the furnishings were outdated and heavy." "

You know, fuck Tim Zagat. :angry: He has no formal training that I know of that would qualify him to opine as an expert on dining and his publications are based on the most unscientific form of statistical survey. The fact that the NYT would even consider, let alone publish, Zagat's "expert" opinion is testimony to the decline of the Grey Lady, which now teeters slightly above the NY Post and USA Today is journalistic standards.

The Zagats could better contribute to the world of gastronomy by slow-roasting themselves over an open fire.

Simon Majumdar

Simon Majumdar

Posted
Posted

The Zagats could better contribute to the world of gastronomy by slow-roasting themselves over an open fire.

I knew there was a reason I respected your opinion

and I have to agree about the NYT. I thought their "coverage" of the war was risible when I was forced to pick up the rag on a recent stopover

S

Fat Guy

Fat Guy

Posted
Posted

Mogsob, have you read my fuck Tim Zagat article? I think you might enjoy it, given your stated proclivities.

What surprised me was the lack of a William Grimes byline on the report. I assume he will chime in later with a more thorough eulogy.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

Roger McShane

Roger McShane

Posted
Posted

One of the problems with Lespinasse and similar places in their heyday was that they had a very clear 'two-tiered'ystem. Regulars and 'the glitterati' were treated with overwhelming attention and 'the general public' were treated with contempt. I say this because my experience was far from satisfactory. Food varied from excellent to pathetic. Service varied from poor to very poor.

These places have to realise that they need to treat everyone as though they are a valued customer. If they do then their customers talk to their friends and recommend the place to others. The glitterati soon mobve on to the latest 'hot' place and have very few allegiances.

That is why I am much more sympathetic to Cafe Boulud where the service and attitude was exemplary.

Roger McShane

Foodtourist.com

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