rdg

shooting in front of this place last night (saturday) at 1am

i was so excited when i heard this place was opening. couldn't wait to go. wanted so badly for it to be good -- it is exactly what's missing in my rotation. here's what i found: the food is similar to what you'd find in a japanese izakaya (at least the yakitori and sushi bits). there's a lot missing from the menu (no curries for example). the food is not really comparable in terms of quality, would probably make the bottom 25% of izakayas in tokyo. it's basically "ok", and potentially satisfying if you are jonesing for that type of food. the space is nice. there were a lot of people showing off fancy haircuts and clothing. but it's ridiculously expensive for what it is. dinner for 5 (beer only) came to well over $550, with only a couple of sushi orders . i don't care how organic-and-locally-raised the chicken is, when it's $5 per small stick it better be the most delicious chicken i've ever tasted. it's definitely not that. you can save money with a prix fixe at any of the top restaurants in town. at that level, kushi simply cannot compete. i would go here all the time if the prices were about a third of what they are, but they're not, so I can't see it being worth it. not going back unless it's on an expense account.

is the magic oven (the one they use to cook the chickens for the cafe) fixed yet?

the overuse of "bistro" is remarkably trite.. especially when combined with non-european menus.. a la "asian bistro" chipotle american microbrews with cutesy, stupid names pabst blue ribbon "infusions" fried calamari sangria adding "asian" to the name of a dish to indicate that a spice (or soy) has been added

this is unfortunate. any news on the space? it'll probably end up being chain and awful.

they are enforcing it much more assiduously these days. people do indeed go and not buy beer, especially since some games start as early as 8am. as for the food.. well, it's.. not good.

was pleasantly surprised by the food here. everything we had was well executed, though portions can be a bit small. no wine list. just "merlot and chardonnay by the glass". which just seems dumb on all sorts of levels when you have $20 entrees--people would buy it if you sold it. that they included the pronunciation of 'oaxaca' IN THEIR LOGO (which appears on their uniforms, awning, and menus) is annoyingly patronizing. i'll probably go back. i'd be much more inclined, however, if they got some decent wines. maybe i should ask about corkage.

i was in hungary this january, and had some fabulous merlots from szekszard. have no idea where to buy it here; it's probably not imported much. would buy cases if it were.

wow this place is getting a lot of hate i'll stick to burgers if i go back..

a few thoughts: this place is getting good business, and will be around for a while the burgers are very very good, and half priced on wednesdays (all night) the wine list is adequate, but nothing special the "poached pear" dessert is interesting, but not worth $7 have not yet tried serious entrees or the creme brulee

the $5 burgers are the only reason to visit. i'd never go in the place if it weren't for their happy hour.

It's a bar downstairs. Maybe an "ultra-lounge" or whatever the cool kids call them these days (yuppie factor was through the roof). In any case, the draft beer ($6 40cl Stellas, oof) is only upstairs, which kind of kills it for me. I've had a lot better, for a lot less money. It's certainly different. Food is a bit better (than BdC, not your cooking). Decor is, well, something else.. (I happen to like it) I think the soup was $7. $22 for the ribeye, $22 for the steak frites. Lamb a bit more. I don't think the moules come in a giant Belgian-style pot. Probably smaller, thus the lower price.In any case, other places--esp. Montsouris--are better IMO than Napoleon, even though the portions at Napoleon are somewhat larger. Don't know. Pleasant neighborhood, no?

I just live nearby. I ate there Saturday night. Wasn't that impressed. Food was above average (though overpriced for what it is), while the service wasn’t very good. Called at 7pm, made a reservation for two at 9pm. Showed up on time, was told it would be a few minutes (looked quite busy). Sat at the bar downstairs because there wasn’t any room at the bar. Unfortunately I was waiting for 45 minutes. Had to remind the hostess twice times that I was still there, the second time she told me that I could eat downstairs. I’d normally be fine with that, but there’s no tables downstairs. Just couches and small leather poofs. We finally got a table at 9:45, waited until 10 for a waiter to come by (I started timing at this point). We asked for bread and water. Waiter brought the water at 10:15, no bread. We asked for bread again, and ordered dinner. Bread came around 10:25, but without breadplates. We didn’t bother to ask for any (though someone brought by another basket of bread and two saucers (not bread plates?) after we had our main courses). Service stopped being annoying after that. I had the French onion soup and the ribeye w/mustard sauce. Steak and sauce were very good (not amazing though). Soup was average; nothing special, nothing to complain about; hearty. Fries were good, but again, nothing special. Friend had the steak frites. Good beárnaise, but not much steak (certainly less than my 8oz ribeye). Had the nutella crêpe, which, while simple (just nutella and powdered sugar, as far as I could tell) was decent. One curious thing about it, though. It didn’t come to the table hot (like crêpes should, right?). So either it sat somewhere for 5-10 minutes, or they don’t make them fresh. IMO, there’s simply no reason for either when you’re paying $9 a pop. I swear I sound like a finicky, whinging, complaining sort. I’m not. I promise. I enjoyed the meal. I did not enjoy the service. I didn’t think it was worth it (most items are probably 20% too expensive), but I would think about going back for lunch. One other caveat: when ordering wine, only do it by the bottle (they have a small but decent list). The single glass pours aren’t very generous.

it's open now..