ulysses

At the very top level (meaning Citronelle, Maestro, etc.), they can step it up A LOT on a moment's notice. It happens all the time, and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.

I have a very good story about a water pipe bursting while Sietsama was dining in a top level restaurant(not Citronelle)and the maitre'd and servers were quietly mopping water away from the dining room. As he left everyone made sure to look him in the eye and say "thank you" so that he wouldn't look down and see the water flowing along the walls.

Chef Stachowski wanted me to let everyone know that he's got some special "stuff"(even I'm a little in the dark on this one) for the bar crowd tonight.

I wonder if Meaghan will do her Coyote Ugly routine...

No but I will.

snagged a table outside on a beautiful night, started off with a bowl of the oyster soup, a scattering of plump oysters quivering in a broth of fish stock and cream, a handful of cripsy croutons...moved onto a white pizza with soppreseta. Yum. Finished off with some roasted banana ice cream.

F-U to PC, FG & BC

Curious....that means I was sitting right next to you eating the exact same thing at the exact same time. Very curious.

The last time they did this format was in '01. Then no. 1 was Chez Panisse, no. 2 Jean-Georges...no.50 Obelisk.

At the time the list was very California heavy: Lucques, Spago, Zuni, Valentino, Campanile. This one is all over the place.

Highlights:

1.Alinea

2.Chez Panisse

3.French Laundry/Per Se

4.Spago

5.Joel Robuchon at the Mansion

6.Le Reve

7.Masa

8.Alan Wong's Restaurant

9.Daniel

10.Le Bernadin

11.Magnolia Grill

12.Citronelle

13.Trotters

14.Arrows

15.Cyrus

16.Striped Bass

17.Babbo

18.Locke-Ober

19.Canlis

20.L'Auberge Carmel

21.Barolotta Ristorante Di Mare

22.Restaurant August

23.Inn at Little Washington

24.The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

25.Vetri

26.Fore Street

27.Jean Georges

28.Higgins

29.Da Marco

30.La Belle Vie

31.Parker's New American Bistro

32.Michy's

33.Frasca

34.Gramercy Tavern

35.Providence

36.Restaurant Guy Savoy

37.Zuni Cafe

38.Urasawa

39.Baccahanalia

40.Sanford

41.York Street

42.Manresa

43.No.9 Park

44.Trattoria Nostrani

45.Cafe Jaunita

46.Paley's Place

47.Lantern Restaurant

48.L'etoile

49.Herbsaint

50.Nana

51.Sushi Kappo Kawasaki

I used the '01 list as a yardstick for a long time. I'm pretty pleased with the selections, no blackbird, no WD-50, nothing to hip. Just good food.

I'm generally not in the habit of speaking poorly of restaurants but I can't hold back on this one. (as a preface I was dining with my g/fs family<whom I was meeting for the first time and trying to pitch them on the whole "I'm in restaurants for a living{not that it's bad, it's just a hard sell}oh and by the way I've shown your lovely niece the way out of public administration and right into the gritty hands of the beast">) I made primetime reservations, scoped out the menu ahead of time, used some resources to find the signature dishes and pressed my sunday best. I can't begin to describe how excited I was, this was to be the highlight of this trip. We arrived right on time for our reservation and were promptly sat......you know what it's hardly worth the words.

1. 8-10 minutes for initial greet (thumping house music)

2.greet: "welcome to ?????????, may I start you off with something to drink?" "Okay, then I'll let you peruse the wine list."(menu: "Attire provided by Joseph Boubba)

3.8-10 minutes later "did you select a wine?"..."okay, I'll be right back with that."(thumping house music)

4. 50 year old maitre'd/owner dressed like an extra from studio 54 kissing patrons asses while litterally whipping around to tell the busboy(who by the way was the most redeeming part of the meal. My water glass never got below 3/4 full and as soon as the host/uncle was done with his last bite, plates were cleared with out so much as a "klink". in fact my girlfriend made a comment about kidnapping and bringing him back to d.c.)to pull out chairs.

5. Goofy waiter in $800 suit presents me the wine and pours for the host.(house music thumping)

6. Amuse, an obvious freezer cleaner little or no thought put into this one.

7. First course, good not great.

8. Entree, again well done but not what I would expect from a restaurant with this reputation.

9. Cheese/dessert menu. G/fs Uncle "Can you tell me a little about this cheese selection?" (I know the difficulty of tracking and memorizing cheese profiles, Jesus, I worked for Dean Gold for a year and this was not a Dino 15+ selection, this was four cheeses!) "well this one taste fresh and well I haven't had the chance to try these others." Ummmm....okay. The menu says it was last updated Aug 16, I guess he must of been too busy picking out that nice suit.

10. Cheese and dessert courses....well they were "fresh".

11. I made my way to the restroom only to see 5 james beard nominations and three awards. Thats when I fell to my knees and wept like a baby.

12. Lou Mitchells has a badass breakfast.

Diner Dash (see it's not so easy)

Mcvideogame (via MEFI)

Orgasm or Excellent Marinara (is that jean-georges dongerichton?<kinda NSFW>)

Velvet Falernum.(via Brian Zippin/Bar Manager@Citronelle). Goes in anything, its like a magic potion.

boudin blanc: a hybrid of Frank Ruta and Yannick Cams recipe(more of a mousse shaped in a sausage casing)

paluni roast chicken: another hybrid of Frank Ruta and Judy Rodgers chicken. First I brine the the chicken ala Palena, then I roast using the Zuni method.

Pimms cup deconstructed: Gin, lots of bitters, a little quinine powder, ginger ale, a little lemon juice.

Not having been to Chicago before and more than likely not going back for awhile, I've found myself in a dillema. This september I'm making a three day trip: first night casual and relatively inexpensive.Maybe a rays the steaks kinda place or a Hanks oyster bar, something only to be found there and partially represenative of what is grown/raised there. Second Night: Big Dinner (Heres the dillema) Charlie Trotters(Ive been told to save my money; I feel like I need to be able to say I've eaten there at least once seeing how it was so important in contributing to the US dining scene) Le' Everestl (my co-workers and chef are really praising this one), Blackbird(I'm all about the deconstructionist/El Bulli thing right now) or Tru.

Whaddya think?

pimms cup with a little cucumber juice

I found this on MeFI:

Bourdain is true restaurant folk, still drinkin' and eatin' with the place fallin' apart around him.

It is good cooking.

For what this place is worth it really doesn't get the attention on this board it deserves.

When you look at menus across the city and see tomato salads in June and Softshells in February you realize that not that many chefs(Besides Ruta and Pastan{to a certain extent}) are in tune with the seasons as well as Drew. If its not at the peak of the season then its not in his walk-in.

He is this citys Judy Rogers. Unpretentious food that makes sense.

here is the review:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,23...2161916,00.html

I stumbled across this on metafilter and all I can say is Jesus (or Oh my god!).

Crazy chef cooks endangered and effed up animals.

tonight was an experiment with gelatin

Malpeque oysters with cubes of watermelon gelee(variation of Jose Andreas recipe)

Tomato gelee with parmesan bavrois and aged balsamic (total ripoff of Frank Ruta)

Kiwi slices embedded in Prosecco Gelatin (a few recipes put together)

IN THE YEAR 2000 ALL FOODS WILL COME IN GELATIN FORM. IN THE YEAR 2000...

Theres this little gastropub in an unusual part of town call Anice Stellato. It was owned/operated by a bunch of late 20s hipsters. They were really staying true to the Venice former maritime power/spice hub idea. All of the fresh seafood from the lagoon spiced with curries, mustards and cardamoms. It really showcases the uniqueness of Venetian cuisine.

Also while my friend(Johnny Nielsen/Dino) and I were there, we found his wet dream restauarant La Cantina: 20 seats, little raw bar, big mortadella on a tiny little bar, boutiquie wine selection and a lone waitress that looked like Paris Hilton(married to the owner/chef). Crostinis of cured mackerel with over easy duck eggs, sea bass crudo and raw head on prawns.

These two places really had no interests in catering to the tourist which was what them so special.

my hometown as well. In fact served a lot of meals there. Earlier in the thread there were questions about the dining scene; just responding to that. Wild birds, no...Im speaking of places like campolindo farms (Lathrop)who raise every type of fowl under the sun. In fact my father raised quail, pheasant and kept bees for restaurant consumption.

Im well aware of restaurants not serving wild animals, in fact I dont think I used the word "wild",Im just trying to promote the Alice Waters forager idea.

Im not trashing it, well maybe a little, but the point is that one should look for comfort foods and plastic cups rather than nouveau and polished glasses.

Strouds is definitely the best. Slanted floors, checkered tablecloths and all the michelob you can drink.

BBQ:

1.Gates

2.Bryants

3.LCs

Fine dining, well the only advice I offer is to head north towards the airport and catch the next flight to SF, NY or Chicago.

It astounds me that in the heart of the country surronded by quail, pheasant and beef that no one there has decided to adopt that. Miles and miles of agriculture, heirloom veggies everywhere and still no response. Instead the flagship restaurant of this city focuses on seafood...pan-medditeranean seafood. The fact of the matter is that there isnt a lobster, monkfish or sardine for thousands of miles around. Over Christmas I went back into town and took a look at blue stems menu: New Zealand snapper, Hawaiin Tuna and La Belle Duck. Oh my god do you know how many ducks there are around there. Its like going to Cantlers and eating dungeoness. On top of that theyre all miles behind the curve, Think NY 1984, LA 1988. I think their premier restaurant just got their first ring mold delivered by the pony express. Kansas Citians are just being dooped into thinking that it doesnt get any better.

When you go to Kansas City eat BBQ and fried chicken. DO NOT waste your money. You would be better off throwing a stick on that stretch of connecticut ave between dupont and florida.

I really don't think this board should be so quick to discount the value of the Beard awards.  For many they are confirmation of years of effort in a kitchen.  Or in owning a restaurant.  Or in wine service and knowledge.  Or in writing.  They mean a lot-I think an awful lot-to those who are nominated.

I am sometimes guilty of being an iconoclast myself. Regarding this matter; I genuinely believe in the Beard awards. Its industry people rewarding industry people for excellence. Yes, sometimes greatness is overlooked; for the most part it does a good job of recognizing the premiere. If not Beard then what.?

Thank you Barbara.

No, I dont think the industry expects you to know all of the rules and all of the exceptions. I think this conversation got a little ahead of itself.

In all honesty if someone has enough grip to buy a $1K bottle of wine then they should probably have enough to tip on that.

I think the conversation is about 100-300 dollar bottles, because in the end thats what the majority of us consider a treat to ourselves when we dine.

Im speaking strictly for the waiters on this one. Servers like it when you tip on wine.

Tips are what makes the world go 'round. In the past when certain regulars would take care of me, I would reciprocate by buying them drinks/desserts/apps out of my own pocket. Its a pittance for me 7/9/12 dollars and if skillfullly done it could make the diner look like an owner in front of his/her party. Conversly it should be a pittance for the guest if to tip 20/40/60 dollars to the server, especially if they want to to develop that kind of repoire with the restaurant/server.

But the net to the server is the same with the 20% on the $250 wine and 5% on the $1K wine.  Should I expect world class service on the $250 wine?  And how would the server know in advance how much the tip would be so that he could model his/her behaviour accordingly?

The net is not the same when a server has to tip his bussers, runners and bar staff on his/her sales.

Heres how the math breaks down on these two examples:

Gross Sales: 1000.00 / 250.00

Gross Tips: 50.00 / 50.00

Tip out 5%: 50.00 / 12.50

(based on sales)

Net Tips: 00.00 / 27.50

Tip out is the industry term for the money that servers give to the runners, bussers and 'tenders.

A 5% tip on a $1000 bottle of wine is the same as a 20% tip on a $250 bottle of wine.  Is it your point that a 5% tip on a $1k bottle of wine is stingey?

{rocks not sure how to quote multiple post into one response yet...sorry}

No, stingey wasnt the point I was trying to illustrate. The math I presented you with shows that a server is not going to get very much of that money, epecially if a restaurant makes the server tip on a sales percentage. If X restaurant makes the server tip 5% of sales to his/her help, then poof that money is gone. I mean if thats the case then why shouldnt the server just give you a map of the wine cellar and tell you that theyll bring your food out when its ready.

I would like say it again, Im not attacking only defending. Ive met most of you on several different occasions. You are all very pleasant people and as far as I can tell you do a very good job taking care of the people that take care of you. I am just trying to present a side of an debate/arguement.

As opposed to where?

As opposed to other cities I or other people I know in the business work or have worked in.

Im not trying to ruffle any feathers here or for that matter have my own ruffled.

Theres kind of a lore in the industry that LA is known for its dining establishment not tipping 15-20 on its screaming eagles and it harlan estates. I think its clear that there is some disagreement on tipping standards in DC.

Discussion of tipping practices is a very slippery slope.