Del Posto

[bpearis]

There is a bit of a difference between not having an availability for three people and not accept parties of three all-together.  The poster seems to be saying they do in fact reserve tables of three but had nothing available.

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Ah yes... you are correct.

[Ore]

anyone been in for a full tasting menu?? photos??

What kind of an outcome will this venture have on Batali's Los Angeles activities if that is still going on??

Ore

[docsconz]

Andrea Strong gives her take on Del Posto here. She pretty much raves about it. Interesting that they seem to have addressed a few of my criticisms:

lounge (which is now a reservation free zone saved for walk-ins)

(As you no doubt have heard, the menu at Del Posto is pricey, but since the opening days, the prices on the dishes for the table have come down significantly.)

I hope that they adjusted the prices on the food in the lounge. In any case, I am glad that they seem to have made some of these changes. I always liked Batali's restaurants but was shocked with Del Posto when I was there. Admittedly that was before it was officially opened. More reports like hers and I might have to go back again and see for myself. I would like nothing more than to be able to change my opinion about the place.

[oakapple]

Braden Keil reports in today's New York Post that Del Posto has been served with an eviction notice for violating its lease.

Among the transgressions: taking over basement space that's not in the lease; disabling security cameras; unapproved installation of outdoor lighting; and "the installation of duct work that spills out into unrented retail space next door."

The Post wasn't able to reach Batali, but partner Joseph Bastianich says that it would cost $500,000, and the restaurant would need to close for 2½ months, to remedy the problems.

The landlord says, "There's been plenty of interest by other restaurants who would like to rent the space... We assume they're going to try to delay the process until they've had a chance to relocate."

It sounds like posturing by both sides. Del Posto can't plausibly relocate, and I doubt that the landlord has shopped the space seriously.

Edited January 27, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[docsconz]

Braden Keil reports in today's New York Post that Del Posto has been served with an eviction notice for violating its lease.

Among the transgressions: taking over basement space that's not in the lease; disabling security cameras; unapproved installation of outdoor lighting; and "the installation of duct work that spills out into unrented retail space next door."

The Post wasn't able to reach Batali, but partner Joseph Bastianich says that it would cost $500,000, and the restaurant would need to close for 2½ months, to remedy the problems.

The landlord says, "There's been plenty of interest by other restaurants who would like to rent the space... We assume they're going to try to delay the process until they've had a chance to relocate."

It sounds like posturing by both sides. Del Posto can't plausibly relocate, and I doubt that the landlord has shopped the space seriously.

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Wow and this isn't even part of a reality tv show! I imagine that there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

[oakapple]

Apologies for stealing Megan's thunder, but Del Posto now has its first mainstream media review: three stars (out of five) from New York Magazine's Adam Platt:

As dinner unfolds at Del Posto...it’s hard to know whether you’ve entered restaurant nirvana or some strange, slightly comical pastiche of what an opulent five-star restaurant should be.... For grizzled Batali veterans (like me), this is all a little strange and unsettling, like watching a troop of lumberjacks tiptoe their way through a ballet.

The offal of choice at Del Posto is calf's liver, stirred in a white-wine reduction, with a delicate combination of polenta and frizzled leeks, but the roast rabbit I sampled was bland, and the mostly unadorned serving of lamb’s kidneys looked sad and overwhelmed on its exquisite china plate.

To arrive at a rating, Platt employs a subtractive method, deducting one for the "stagy atmosphere" and another for food that's "very good, but...not Babbo in its prime," arriving at three stars—surely not what molto Mario had in mind. Edited February 7, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[Eatmywords]

I have yet to try it and after reading Platt's and other reviews, have little desire.

It seems like a pretty expensive "been there done that". This may be a crazy notion (esp considering the players and the pockets backing it) but for the scale, concept and location I wouldn't be surprised if doesn't last.

[oakapple]

I have yet to try it and after reading Platt's and other reviews, have little desire. 

It seems like a pretty expensive "been there done that".  This may be a crazy notion (esp considering the players and the pockets backing it) but for the scale, concept and location I wouldn't be surprised if doesn't last.

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Some of Platt's comments remind me of the early criticisms of Ducasse. For every patron who finds the imitation Michelin style "stagy," there may be five others who love it. The reviews I've seen suggest that the food bears considerable similarities to Babbo, a restaurant for which there remains considerable demand. Bearing that in mind, I think Del Posto is going to do just fine.

[docsconz]

This may very well do well financially simply because of the Batali name. I was expecting so much from this place. My initial impressions expressed above were certainly negative, but based on a very limited and early introduction. I was hopeful that some of the problems would have been improved upon and maybe they were, but not enough to re-ignite my interest in dining there - at least not yet.

[BryanZ]

Whatever happened to those hardcore lease problems they were having? Has that been resolved now?

[Nathan]

Whatever happened to those hardcore lease problems they were having?  Has that been resolved now?

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My working assumption was (and still is) that it was simply posturing aimed at a rent increase of some sort.

[Eatmywords]

I have yet to try it and after reading Platt's and other reviews, have little desire. 

It seems like a pretty expensive "been there done that".   This may be a crazy notion (esp considering the players and the pockets backing it) but for the scale, concept and location I wouldn't be surprised if doesn't last.

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Some of Platt's comments remind me of the early criticisms of Ducasse. For every patron who finds the imitation Michelin style "stagy," there may be five others who love it. The reviews I've seen suggest that the food bears considerable similarities to Babbo, a restaurant for which there remains considerable demand. Bearing that in mind, I think Del Posto is going to do just fine.

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Did Ducasse already have a restaurant (or in this case several) in the same city serving (somewhat) similar fare that was easier to get to and less expensive?

My idea doesn't stem from Platt, just reaffirmed by him. It's because of Babbo and the empire that the mystique of Posto may be effected and that's only because those places are so good and this place doesn't seem to exceed (other than in grandeur). Also, it is in the middle of nowhere, meaning far from corporate America. -Having worked for many Fortune 500's (in NYC), and being a part of many a business dinner, I can attest that location and proximity often go hand in hand. For the numbers they need to do, this could be a factor.

Time will tell. I hope I'm wrong. I don't want to see anyone fail (no matter how previously successful)

[oakapple]

Whatever happened to those hardcore lease problems they were having?  Has that been resolved now?

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That report was only a week ago, and there's been no report of a resolution, so I assume those problems are still out there. I agree with Nathan that both sides are posturing, and in due course there will be a resolution, probably allowing everyone to save face. Edited February 7, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[oakapple]

Eater has new reports on the Del Posto lease fiasco here and here.

According to the latter report, the unauthorized duct work for Del Posto's HVAC system spills over into the space that is supposed to become Tom Coliccio's Craftsteak later this year.

Edited February 7, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[BryanZ]

Cool, thanks for the links. Now that Craftsteak is getting involved we have another big party who is going to need to be duly compensated.

[docsconz]

This complex is starting to sound like Time -Warner Southwest. The nearby Chelsea Market is like Whole Foods. Now all they need is an upscale mall.

[Sneakeater]

The Meatpacking District practically IS an upscale mall.

[docsconz]

The Meatpacking District practically IS an upscale mall.

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While I was being a little facetious, what else is there along the lines of TWC?

[Sneakeater]

Everything there that isn't a club or a restaurant is a boutique (except for the stray remnant of the meatpacking industry). They aren't as suburban as the stores in TWC. But it's definitely like a mall (the outdoor ones we used to have out on Long Island in the late fifties and early sixties, before they all got enclosed).

Edited February 7, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[Nathan]

The Meatpacking District practically IS an upscale mall.

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well, some of the MP boutiques are much higher-end than anything in the TWC.

[Nathan]

The Meatpacking District practically IS an upscale mall.

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While I was being a little facetious, what else is there along the lines of TWC?

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nothing in NY but there are malls elsewhere that are much higher-end than the TWC with some decent restaurants as well. (Phipps Plaza, Bal Harbor and Lenox Square come to mind)

[oakapple]

I don't see how anyone (by which I mean Batalli and Bastianich) could reasonably think that a restaurant that fits the descriptions we've all heard of Del Posto could be a candidate for four stars.

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(This comes after Frank Bruni's two-star review of Gilt, another restaurant that clearly had four-star aspirations.)

Due to the extreme rarity of a four-star coronation, it's rather difficult to say what it takes to earn four stars. The last two restaurants to reach that level, Per Se and Masa, are both very clearly over-the-moon — enough so that their four-star reviews were practically anti-climactic. What it would take for any other restaurant to get four stars remains to be seen until somebody does it.

But given that Babbo is three stars, and Del Posto is designed to be Babbo on overdrive (both in cuisine and luxury), one can clearly see what they were thinking. Unfortunately, luxury for its own sake can be perceived as a caricature, which is clearly what Adam Platt thought ("like watching a troop of lumberjacks tiptoe their way through a ballet"). Platt also found the food uneven, which is perhaps a more serious problem.

Edited February 8, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[Bond Girl]

BTW, any truth to the rumour the Del Posto eviction rumour in the New York Post?

[oakapple]

BTW, any truth to the rumour the Del Posto eviction rumour in the New York Post?

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It's been reported in more than one media outlet, so I take it as true. However, I agree with the various comments upthread that the two sides are posturing. The landlord doesn't really want, or expect, Del Posto to leave. They are angling for a better deal.

[docsconz]

BTW, any truth to the rumour the Del Posto eviction rumour in the New York Post?

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It's been reported in more than one media outlet, so I take it as true. However, I agree with the various comments upthread that the two sides are posturing. The landlord doesn't really want, or expect, Del Posto to leave. They are angling for a better deal.

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I have no idea if this is the case or night, but while it is probable that the sides are indeed posturing, it is indeed possible that there is more to this situation than meets the eye and the landlord is not posturing at all. In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens here. This is beginning to seem like a sequel to "The Restaurant".