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Buddakan

jeunefilleparis

By jeunefilleparis
in New York: Dining

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jeunefilleparis

jeunefilleparis

Posted
Posted

I m not sure if this has been mentioned here yet, but I read recently that Stephen Starr from Philly, of such "wonderful" restaurants as Pod, Tangerine, Continental, etc is opening Budhakan in NY where the old Budha Bar was supposed to be. I ll try and get some more details as that is all I remember right now,,,,, Katie L. do you know anything?

L

"Is there anything here that wasn't brutally slaughtered" Lisa Simpson at a BBQ

"I think that the veal might have died from lonliness"

Homer

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Andrew Fenton

Andrew Fenton

Posted
Posted
Lauren, I assume the quotes around "wonderful" are meant for emphasis, not to call the wonderfulness into doubt (as in, "popular or critical opinion has it that they're wonderful, but I disagree")?

I would very much call the wonderfulness of Starr's restaurants into question. Not least, the wonderfulness of the original Buddakan (note spelling).

Cf. this recent thread.

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davidbdesilva

davidbdesilva

Posted
Posted (edited)

Stephen Starr may copy other restaurants but Tao in NYC is a direct copy (and a poor one at that) of Buddakan in Philly. Say what you want about his restaurants (I think it's very popular to bash places like his in a knee-jerk purist kinda way) but there is a time and a place for his restaurants. While I tend to like small, intimate BYOB's like we have here in Philly, his Alma de Cuba and Tangerine are very good restaurants, IMHO. I have also heard very good things about Angelina, the new Italian place that is where Blue Angel was. He has also bought out the Stripped Bass (one of the better restaurants in Philly) from bankrupt Neil Stein and I have heard good things about that as well. So, while Mr. Starr does perhaps deserve some of the criticism he receives, he is also over-criticized by people who don't fully know his retaurants. Sorry for the rant

Edited by davidbdesilva (log)

"Nutrirsi di cibi prelibati e trasformare una necessita in estasi."

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slkinsey

slkinsey

Posted
Posted

FYI, from The Villager:

In July of 2001, the former lumber company space at 75 Ninth Ave. was being proposed for the New York version of Buddha Bar, a fashionable Parisian hangout. The Ninth Ave. Buddha Bar was intended to have a retractable roof and French doors along the 16th St. side; features that neighbors in the Robert Fulton Houses to the east feared would be noisy on summer nights. Conversion of the space began by the project was abandoned and the space has remained vacant.

--

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akwa

akwa

Posted
Posted
Stephen Starr may copy other restaurants but Tao in NYC is a direct copy (and a poor one at that) of Buddakan in Philly. Say what you want about his restaurants (I think it's very popular to bash places like his in a knee-jerk purist kinda way) but there is a time and a place for his restaurants. While I tend to like small, intimate BYOB's like we have here in Philly, his Alma de Cuba and Tangerine are very good restaurants, IMHO. I have also heard very good things about Angelina, the new Italian place that is where Blue Angel was. He has also bought out the Stripped Bass (one of the better restaurants in Philly) from bankrupt Neil Stein and I have heard good things about that as well. So, while Mr. Starr does perhaps deserve some of the criticism he receives, he is also over-criticized by people who don't fully know his retaurants. Sorry for the rant

Where does this information come from?

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jeunefilleparis

jeunefilleparis

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
Stephen Starr may copy other restaurants but Tao in NYC is a direct copy (and a poor one at that) of Buddakan in Philly. Say what you want about his restaurants (I think it's very popular to bash places like his in a knee-jerk purist kinda way) but there is a time and a place for his restaurants. While I tend to like small, intimate BYOB's like we have here in Philly, his Alma de Cuba and Tangerine are very good restaurants, IMHO. I have also heard very good things about Angelina, the new Italian place that is where Blue Angel was. He has also bought out the Stripped Bass (one of the better restaurants in Philly) from bankrupt Neil Stein and I have heard good things about that as well. So, while Mr. Starr does perhaps deserve some of the criticism he receives, he is also over-criticized by people who don't fully know his retaurants. Sorry for the rant

If Starr copied places and had great food then i wouldn't be so annoyed. The truth is that Blue angel ( now Angelina) had horrible food and copied everything from Balthazar. Alma de cuba, while the space may be very attactive has, IMHO, mediocre food, over priced drinks and it seems kinda generic considering its an exact copy of Petria's menu, including the drinks, I think that Pasion(sp?) has great food in a much nicer environment and the prices are much more reasonable.

Pod has never gotten any rave reviews. Tangerine, I ll say that I love the candle wall and I don t believe that he actually copied it from anywhere that I have seen. The food when i ate there in 2000 was pretty good. I wouldnt say it was amazing though.

Again, copying of restaurants is no new thing, however, Starr's restaurants seem to just be trendy, of the moment places, with no remarkable food.

Edited by jeunefilleparis (log)

"Is there anything here that wasn't brutally slaughtered" Lisa Simpson at a BBQ

"I think that the veal might have died from lonliness"

Homer

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sara

sara

Posted
Posted

Starr generally doesn't do good food, but there are two notable exceptions imo-- Morimoto and El Vez. El Vez was just recently featured in Esquire by Mariani; it's quite good, tho pricey. Morimoto is outstanding sushi.

I just don't know why Starr feels the need to penetrate NY, unless it's to swagger with his nemesis, Chodorow. Which is a dumb dumb reason. But it'll be nice to have him divert his attention from Philly; give someone else a chance to open a new restaurant and have an original idea.

Food is a convenient way for ordinary people to experience extraordinary pleasure, to live it up a bit.

-- William Grimes

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sara

sara

Posted
Posted
I have also heard very good things about Angelina, the new Italian place that is where Blue Angel was.

I think that Pasion(sp?) has great food in a much nicer environment and the prices are much more reasonable.

I went to Angelina recently and found it highly mediocre. Starr should know better than to try and do Italian in NY...

You need to revisit Pasion--I think it's slid tremendously in the past few years. My last meal there was simply awful. Ever since Guillermo Pernot got involved with Trust...which is now a Starr restaurant. Will we soon be able to say that about many of Philly's restaurants??

Food is a convenient way for ordinary people to experience extraordinary pleasure, to live it up a bit.

-- William Grimes

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

Posted
Posted
I have also heard very good things about Angelina, the new Italian place that is where Blue Angel was.

I think that Pasion(sp?) has great food in a much nicer environment and the prices are much more reasonable.

I went to Angelina recently and found it highly mediocre. Starr should know better than to try and do Italian in NY...

You need to revisit Pasion--I think it's slid tremendously in the past few years. My last meal there was simply awful. Ever since Guillermo Pernot got involved with Trust...which is now a Starr restaurant. Will we soon be able to say that about many of Philly's restaurants??

Sara:

Guillermo cut his ties with Trust and presumably Mr. Starr ages ago. If you've experienced a downslide in your experience at Pasion, that isn't the reason. There may be other reasons, but that particular dog doesn't hunt.

I confess I've not eaten a full scale dinner at Pasion in some time. I used to eat there every day when I worked there (one of the perks of being Office Manager) and I will occasionally sit at the bar and have a few glasses of wine and an appetizer. I haven't noticed any decline in the food or the service, but perhaps that's due to the limits of my experience.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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slkinsey

slkinsey

Posted
Posted

Guys... Understanding that Stephen Starr's star looms large in the Philadelphia restaurant scene, I can understand that there is some temptation to discuss his Philly restaurants in this thread. However, please resist that temptation and keep in mind that this thread is about a New York restaurant. Discussion here should be directly relevant to the New York restaurant Buddakan and the New York restaurant scene. If members would like to engage in discussion about Mr. Starr's Philadelphia restaurants, we have a great forum for just such discussions.

--

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KatieLoeb

KatieLoeb

Posted
Posted
Guys... Understanding that Stephen Starr's star looms large in the Philadelphia restaurant scene, I can understand that there is some temptation to discuss his Philly restaurants in this thread.  However, please resist that temptation and keep in mind that this thread is about a New York restaurant.  Discussion here should be directly relevant to the New York restaurant Buddakan and the New York restaurant scene.  If members would like to engage in discussion about Mr. Starr's Philadelphia restaurants, we have a great forum for just such discussions.

Bad Katie! boese036.gif

Sorry Sam.... :sad:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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SethG

SethG

Posted
Posted

[idiotic joke below.]

All I can say is that if Cheap Trick will be playing at the opening of Buddakan, I'm so THERE.

"This next one is the first song... on our new album. It just came out this week, and the song is called.... Surrender!"

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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slkinsey

slkinsey

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:laugh: That's what I said when I walked by there with Herb and JJ on our "NY Offal Tour." I was like, "who knew that Cheap Trick recorded their first US hit album in such a small place." They looked at me like I was from Mars. I said, "you remember... Cheap Trick Live at Budokan?... 'I want you to want me' and all that? Came out in the late... 70s... when... neither of you guys had been born. <Grumble> Forget I said anything."

--

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  • 1 year later...
Vadouvan

Vadouvan

Posted
Posted

Took a tour of the facilities yesterday.

Restaurant opens monday.

I have to say, design wise it steps it up a notch for NY restaurant design.

Bar and cocktail seating with a few low communal tables upstairs and a lovely Matsuri-esque subterranean dining room.

As for the food, we shall see, different menu from Philly but not a whole lot "new" that Nyers havent had before.......but then again what havent we had before...

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oakapple

oakapple

Posted
Posted
I have to say, design wise it steps it up a notch for NY restaurant design.

Recent history suggests that there is often a significant backlash against these "designer's wet dream" restaurants. The price of the design is inevitably reflected in the prices. After the novelty wears off, people realize that they're paying extra for something they can't eat.

Also, the big-box designed-on-overdrive Asian restaurant isn't exactly news any more. Buddakan joins the likes of Ruby Foo's, Spice Market, Ono, Matsuri, ENJB, Nobu57, Ninja, and Stephen Starr's other NYC entrant, Morimoto. (Have I left any out?)

Marc Shepherd

http://nyjournal.squarespace.com/

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Daniel

Daniel

Posted
Posted (edited)
I have to say, design wise it steps it up a notch for NY restaurant design.

Recent history suggests that there is often a significant backlash against these "designer's wet dream" restaurants. The price of the design is inevitably reflected in the prices. After the novelty wears off, people realize that they're paying extra for something they can't eat.

Also, the big-box designed-on-overdrive Asian restaurant isn't exactly news any more. Buddakan joins the likes of Ruby Foo's, Spice Market, Ono, Matsuri, ENJB, Nobu57, Ninja, and Stephen Starr's other NYC entrant, Morimoto. (Have I left any out?)

Ruby Foo's isnt a restaurant is it? :biggrin: I thought it was a bar with a lot of wasted space..

Edited by Daniel (log)
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herbacidal

herbacidal

Posted
Posted (edited)
:laugh:  That's what I said when I walked by there with Herb and JJ on our "NY Offal Tour."  I was like, "who knew that Cheap Trick recorded their first US hit album in such a small place."  They looked at me like I was from Mars.  I said, "you remember... Cheap Trick Live at Budokan?... 'I want you to want me' and all that?  Came out in the late... 70s... when... neither of you guys had been born.  <Grumble>  Forget I said anything."

Hey, I resemble that remark.

I even am flattered. But I was so born. Just not in snyc with the music.

Too busy enjoying my thumb and my diapers.

Or maybe that was the other way around.

Edited by herbacidal (log)

Herb aka "herbacidal"

Tom is not my friend.

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dbrociner

dbrociner

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Posted
:laugh:  That's what I said when I walked by there with Herb and JJ on our "NY Offal Tour."  I was like, "who knew that Cheap Trick recorded their first US hit album in such a small place."  They looked at me like I was from Mars.  I said, "you remember... Cheap Trick Live at Budokan?... 'I want you to want me' and all that?  Came out in the late... 70s... when... neither of you guys had been born.  <Grumble>  Forget I said anything."

This is sort of off topic but I was just thinking about that Cheap Trick album and I know that Ric Neilsen has a restaurant in Chicago so I think that gives me license to make the following comparison: Cheap Trick was a band trying oh so hard to be the next big thing back in the late 70's. Critics used to say things about the group's "Beatles inspired pop" etc. and they, the band that is, saw "Surrender" as their break out hit and they were taken completely off guard when the live version of "I want you, to want me" became on over night sensation. So much so that their label had to delay the release of their next studio album, "The Dream Police", which probably wasn't such a bad move. Anyway, the food connection here is this: imagine if you'd worked hard on your culinary chops only to become famous for the "bloomin' onion" or some such.

"Now, I'd heard the WAC's recruited old maids for the war"....

Blackeyedpig
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