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Keithstg

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Everything posted by Keithstg

  1. I think that Bouley and Daniel were likely demoted because they were both closed for a period of time this year while being renovated / moved (in Bouley's case)
  2. Craft and Babbo lost their stars this year, along with A Voce, and probably some others that I can't remember. Honestly, I don't think Craft, at least the meal that I had there two weeks ago, deserves a star. I think you have a point with Hearth, though.To waitman's point, I think that the NYT ratings carry far more weight than guide michelin right now, foreign tourists excepted.
  3. They are out again... 2009 Michelin Guide NYC 3 STARS Jean Georges Le Bernardin Masa Per Se 2 STARS Adour Daniel Del Posto Gilt Gordon Ramsay Momofuku Ko Picholine 1 STAR Allen & Delancey Alto Annisa Anthos Aureole Blue Hill Cafe Boulud Cru Dressler 81 Etats unis Fiamma Fleur de Sel Gotham Bar and Grill Grammercy Tavern Insieme Jewel Bako JoJo Kyo Ya Robuchon Modern Oceana Perry Street Peter Luger Public Saul Spotted Pig Sushi of Gari Veritas Wallse wd-50 Thoughts? IMO, Eleven Madison Park not receiving a star (or two!) is a travesty.
  4. Hunter's Head in Upperville, VA. Just past Middleburg. FWIW, the food is very good.
  5. Nope. EMP is as good as it gets right now, and is an easy walk from 28/Park. Go for the gourmand menu, and enjoy!
  6. I'm sorry to hear about the food poisoning. If you head back to hot dogs in the future, the Kosher cart around the corner from the Red Porch and across from the playground cooks hot dogs up fresh each game...
  7. Union Meats in Eastern Market has them - last I was there they were under $10/lb, but I can't recall the exact amount.
  8. The bar at Palena would work very well. You should be able to get out under, or around, your $50/person.
  9. As we sit on the balcony and watch two beams of light rise over Lower Manhattan - to Richard Keane and Bill Meehan. We miss you both, and remember you, and all those effected by the events of September 11.
  10. Poste also has a private room that may suit your needs. I have done a birthday dinner there for about 20 that was great - ditto Central.
  11. Close in, Ray's the Steaks. In town, what about Hank's?
  12. Stayed in the city this weekend, and had some out of town guests. Some meals of note, some not. Friday night, my client invited us out to dinner. Tough timing with the holiday weekend, but what can you do? Went to Patroon. Mediocre at best, and the wine list was crazy (Coppola Diamond Series Claret at $65?!?!). Fortunately, we weren't paying. Apps of Crabcake and ceasar salad (salad made tableside -ugh) were competent, as were the pork chop and sirloin steak. Walk about ten blocks further to Sidecar if you want a similar meal, prepared better, and a decent wine list. Saturday was Shake Shack. I love this place - my cholesterol count will not love that we can walk here from the corp. apartment. They also have a webcam pointed on the line that can be viewed via their website, which is great for judging wait time. This burger is a perfect "fast food" burger. For me, it crushes In and Out and Corner Bistro (although the latter may be the most overrated burger in the city, if not the world), and stands up to more "fine dining" versions like PJ Clarke's / Melon's. Add cheese fries and an Arnold Palmer, plus the ability to watch the US Open on a big screen in Madison Park, it was great. Sunday lunch was Union Square Cafe, with some friends from out of town. The service was wonderful, and very accomodating of our three month old (as was Artisanal, fyi). MAybe the best thing I can say about USC is that it remindes me of Corduroy. Every time you go, you can rest assured that you'll have a wonderful meal, perfect service, and will feel better walking out than you did walking in...
  13. Had a birthday dinner last night at Le Bernardin. Not that the place needs any more press, but - we had the chef's tasting. Began right around 8:30 - were out at 11:00. Given that this was a tuesday night, the pacing was appreciated, and we did not feel rushed. I had the selected wine pairings along with the tasting, and my wife asked the sommilier (one of four on the floor that evening) to pair three glasses with the meal as opposed to the larger pairing. The meal and pairings were as follows: Amuse: Tuna tartare with daikon and dashi broth - very good. the broth added a nice smokiness to the dish. Salmon-Caviar: Salmon carpaccio, surrounding a thin brioche, cream cheese, and caviar. Pairing: Shizuku - Junmai Daiginjo Sake -This was excellent, and the sake paired well with the dish, adding almost a hint of ginger on the finish. Kindai-Maguro: we were told that this is the first sustainably raised Japanese Blue Fin Tuna available, and was paired with parmesan crisps and sun dried tomato, along with a black olive tapendade Pairing: Vina Godeval Godello, Valdeorras 2006. -This dish was my favorite of the night. The tuna was amazing - there was also a bit of micro basil on the plate, and the tapenade has a bit of lemon to add some acidity - fantastic. The wine pairing was not as successful, I don't think. The chablis we had for the next course may have gone better. Charred Scallop: braised morels and chanterelles Pairing: Etienne Defaix, Chablis 1er Cru Vallions, Daniel, 2000 Normally I'm not a fan of scallops, but these were great. The mushrooms added a tremendous smokiness, and the braising jus was used as a sauce. The chablis was fantastic paired with this, likely due to the minerality. Baked Lobster: Asparagus and Sauce Gribiche Pairing: Domaine Boyer, Mersault, Martenot, 2006 This was probably the richest dish of the night. After this, some fatigue set in. After spending the past week in Maine, I don't know if I was tired of lobster, but the star of this dish was, to me, the asparagus as a means of scooping up the sauce, which was phenomenal. The Mersault again paired well - it stood up to the richness of the dish without being overly flabby. Escolar: Poached in Olive Oil, Sea Beans, and Potato Crisps, red wine bearnaise Pairing: Daniel Rion, Nuits Saint Georges Vieilles Vignes, 2003 The escolar was very good, the wine sauce was fabulous, and this paired well with the pinot - the escolar and the sauce were rich, and the more assertive pinot worked well. Thoughts on the meal become a bit more sparse at this point... Striped Bass: Crispy, with braised celery, Iberico Ham, Green Peppercorn Sauce Pairing: La Rioja Alta, Reserve Vina Ardanza, 2000 On the a la carte menu, this was the one entree that interested me the most. The preparation was a bit different than I expected, however. The Ham and braised celery were on a separate plate, almost like a side salad, and the green peppercorn sauce was not very assertive. The striped bass was a substitute for Black Bass, which was unavailable. The fish was perfect, and paired with one of my favorite rioja's (in DC, I believe that the 1999 version is on PS7's wine list) was a great final savory course. This was a close second to the bluefin as my dish of the night. Fourme D'Ambert: Bacon, Caramel, Gingersnap Pairing: Domaine de Montbourgeau, L'Etoile Savagnin, Jura, 2000 Cheese course. A bit too rich for me at this stage of the meal. The wine was my first from the Jura (as opposed to Jurancon), and it was interesting, but not my cup of tea. The somillier did a good job Chocolate - Olive Oil: Dark Chocolate Ganache, Toasted bread with Olive Oil and Sea Salt Pairing: Alois Kracher #4, 2002 This was the best pairing of the night for me. The Kracher was fantastic, and balanced the salt, olive oil, and chocolate beautifully. Despite being full, and tired, we managed to finish these up! In sum, the meal was fantastic. Everything was cooked perfectly, and service was efficient, friendly, and unobtrusive. Chef Ripert was in the kitchen, although I don't believe that experience would have suffered were he not present. We asked for a copy of the menu at the close of the meal, and were presented with a signed copy, along with a 2008 Zagat Guide for NYC (embossed with Le Bernardin's review on the cover), which was extremely nice and thoughtful. Next time we return, we'll order from the a la carte menu - there is a whole roasted snapper that looks very appealing, but requires 24 hour's notice...
  14. Not sure if anyone has seen this, but RR is sponsoring a "Burger Bash" in NYC (Brooklyn) on October 10th. Surprisingly enough, actual chefs have entered (well, except for Al Roker and Katie Lee Joel).Burger Bash Contestants Bonus for RR fans, the article includes a pic of Rachael shoving a burger down her gullet.
  15. Ouch! Oh well, I suppose this has been coming for a while now. I still remember the fantastic meal we had at Union Pacific when Rocco actually cooked for a living. What a waste...
  16. Agree as well, never mind the presumption that something can be improved here based on a first post....at least wait until clam!
  17. Met a friend in town from DC at A Voce last night for dinner. If any buzz has died down since Andrew Carmellini left, it wasn't apparent in terms of number of diners - the place was packed - despite it being restaurant week up here and A Voce was not participating. We had grilled octopus, and lobster risotto for starters. I did not get a chance to have the octopus, but the lobster risotto was excellent. There were ample chunks of lobster, asparagus, a nice addition of lemon for acidity. Very nice, and at $18, I thought a pretty good deal. Mains were veal agnolotti with lemon and capers, and white tuna. The Veal agnolotti were very good, and filling. I was only able to finish about half of them - but the white tuna disappeared completely. Total, along with dessert (bombolini - pretty good), two glasses of moscato d'asti and a bottle of barbaresco was $125 per, including tip. Given the price differential between A Voce and Alto, I'd seriously consider A Voce at the lower price point, if a quiet dinner isn't a necessity - it wasn't deafening in A Voce, but it came close.
  18. I guess Sonoma, Locanda, Belga, Levi's, Market Lunch, and Montmarte don't count? Just to name a few.
  19. Sunday brunch at Artisanal this past week. Nothing fancy, just good, solid bistro cooking at NYC prices, right around the corner from our new place. Had a pretty basic escargot en croute, which was served piping hot - lately I have had the misfortune of some lukewarm snails (Les Halles DC), but these were good. Hangar steak was cooked medium rare as requested and well-seasoned. Frites were just ok. My wife had a watermelon salad, which she enjoyed, and the "egg frites", which had much better frites than my steak came with. No cheese for us this time, although we did walk in and buy some last night. Kid (stroller) friendly - don't know if I'd make a special trip to do anything but buy cheese there were I visiting, but a good, solid bistro nonetheless. On a side note - qwertyy, glad you liked the copain. Wells is one of my favorite california producers, bar none. Sadly, my bottles of tous are sleeping at the Wine Rack...maybe I'll pull one the next time I'm home.
  20. I find RR repugnant - no secret there. If she is really giving all proceeds to shelter and animal rescue related causes, even I can't find fault with this - and neither can our adopted shelter dog, Fred. In fact, this may be the only thing that I've read about RR that didn't make me queasy.
  21. Highlights from a busy week in NYC. Alto: Great dinner at the bar. Two courses a la carte - mackrel crudo with basil oil and fennel. Very clean flavor, could have used a little more acidity, but very good. A welcome change from the week's insipid business dinners. The pasta carbonara was also great - guanciale instead of pancetta, and asparagus rounded out the rich dish. Not cheap - two courses plus three glasses of wine was $98, but a serene experience (even during restaurant week) + the company tab = priceless. Last night: Craftbar. Whoa, was this place packed, and loud! Risotto balls were very good, and a generous portion (3) for $7. Roasted Daurade with pea angolotti, speck, and pea shoots was also very good, and also very reasonable at $24. Since we'll be moving up to NYC for the next 6-8months, I'll hopefully be getting to some more interesting places - right now it seems like work has me in a rut of caruso's pizza and les halles downtown (which I think is better than the DC version, for what it's worth)....
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