New York City Restaurants

[MBerto]

Zuma last week - the one on Madison Ave. Pretty impressed! Didn't do any sushi per se but did few a few of the sashimi style dishes, along with a lobster dish, soft shell crab, and a big ol ribeye. A few of the small starters were misses but overall was pleasantly surprised. Service was fairly glacial, though - you might want to ask for a larger water glass.

[R@y.Tupp@+sch]

It's not high end but it's solid. I go to Zuma a couple of times a year when Acker holds their wine auctions there. Can't speak to a regular dinner there, but for the auctions they bring a ridiculous amount of food and almost everything is at least good to very good.

[MBerto]

Assuming reservations aren't a problem, please choose between: EMP, Momofuku Ko, or BF - Chef's Table.

[WvanGorp]

EMP. No contest in my opinion among the ones you listed. There are others I love but among those EMP wins hands down imho.

[Robert Dentice]

Assuming reservations aren't a problem, please choose between: EMP, Momofuku Ko, or BF - Chef's Table.

Brooklyn Fare would be my #1 followed my Momofuku Ko with EMP a distant 3rd.

To be fair I have not had the current menu at EMP. It would probably help you to explain why I put it a distant 3rd. I feel that the overall experience at EMP is too contrived for me the hospitality is fake and a holdover from the Danny Meyer way of doing things. There are always a million people circling around yet there never seems to be anyone there when you need something. And the food just does not do it for me. My last meal there (January 2018) was for a wine dinner (abbreviated menu) and it was one of the worst meals I have ever had at a high-end restaurant, one person actually got up and walked out. I do understand a lot of people love EMP; however, I have noticed not many of the hardcore foodies do.

Cesar Ramirez is one of the only *** Chefs in the U.S. who is always in his restaurant and he greets me with genuine enthusiasm. I like his style of cooking use the absolute best ingredients with simple but perfect preparation

And Momofuku Ko is simply all around fun, loud music, great food with inventive technique, enthusiastic and knowledgeable wine service with some steals on the wine list (keep in mind the prices include service).

[G. Keeler]

My list would be the same as Robert. My only 2 experiences at EMP were disappointing. I thought the service was fine overall (if a bit over the top) but the food was really uninspiring for me and both times I thought they sacrificed flavor in favor of presentation. Brooklyn Fare is just an awesome experience and right in my sweet spot for both style and type of food I really love. Ko only 1 reference point for me but really enjoyed everything about it. The highs were just not as high as BF.

[R@y.Tupp@+sch]

EMP. No contest in my opinion among the ones you listed. There are others I love but among those EMP wins hands down imho.

Wilfred,

You seem to have made a second about face regarding EMP. I was never a huge fan and haven't been there in a couple of years, so I'm curious as to what changed and then changed again?

[Sarah Kirschbaum]

I would not choose EMP either. I have not found the food anything but good and very pretty over my last 3 meals there. And, like others have said, it's just not a fun experience. I'm not opposed to "fancy" spaces, either, and can really get into it when done right. EMP has just been dull to me. I look around and no one is smiling at their tables. Everyone at Ko and BF seem to having a good time, though granted I've only been to BF once.

[Ethan Abraham]

Haven't been to any of these in years, but an acquaintance who dines out a lot has been saying that Per Se has gotten very good recently (working hard to gain back status?) while EMP has not been exciting....

[scott c]

Can anyone explain to me what the deal is with getting a table at 4 Charles Prime Rib? I had an assistant log on at the appropriate time (midnight 30 days in advance or whatever) and there was nothing available between like 5:30 and 10:30pm. Tried the next night and got a 9:15pm reservation (on a Sunday) -- the only thing available. Do they save tables for friends of the restaurant or something? Or is there some secret I don't know about?

[Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡]

Finally!!! Una Pizza Napoletana is open! They are still awaiting their liquor license so no wine or BYOB (this can't be allowed when you have a license pending).

And it is just outstanding. You can see pictures on my IG

Eater reviewed it on day 1 (which is a total joke).

https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/1/17306570/ ... t-look-nyc

And I liked the two non pizza dishes particularly the asparagus dish much better than eater although they are really not the point.

The Pizza is perfect for my tastes!

Any update on the BYO situation? Anyone done corkage there? Grazzi millé

[Robert Dentice]

Finally!!! Una Pizza Napoletana is open! They are still awaiting their liquor license so no wine or BYOB (this can't be allowed when you have a license pending).

And it is just outstanding. You can see pictures on my IG

Eater reviewed it on day 1 (which is a total joke).

https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/1/17306570/ ... t-look-nyc

And I liked the two non pizza dishes particularly the asparagus dish much better than eater although they are really not the point.

The Pizza is perfect for my tastes!

Any update on the BYO situation? Anyone done corkage there? Grazzi millé

I know they do have a small winelist. I have not asked about corkage.

[Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡]

Called, it’s $50. Probably taking a cue from the wildair boys.

[Mike Cohen]

Finally!!! Una Pizza Napoletana is open! They are still awaiting their liquor license so no wine or BYOB (this can't be allowed when you have a license pending).

And it is just outstanding. You can see pictures on my IG

Eater reviewed it on day 1 (which is a total joke).

https://ny.eater.com/2018/5/1/17306570/ ... t-look-nyc

And I liked the two non pizza dishes particularly the asparagus dish much better than eater although they are really not the point.

The Pizza is perfect for my tastes!

Any update on the BYO situation? Anyone done corkage there? Grazzi millé

I know they do have a small winelist. I have not asked about corkage.

I know that I’m in the minority here, but I thought UPN was very good but not earth shattering. And it’s very much at the top end of the price spectrum.

[Robert Love]

I know that I’m in the minority here, but I thought UPN was very good but not earth shattering. And it’s very much at the top end of the price spectrum.

Went last week for the first time. I thought the dough was excellent but the pizza overall was quite bland and undersalted. The cheese in particular was tasteless.

[Jonathan Kalman]

Just returned from NYC and a few notes. Marea as always excellent; the noise level at Maialino reminded me why I had not eaten there for a few years, wanted to like King but the tables were too small and crammed together to make the experience pleasant. Looking for a convenient place to have dinner before going to see John Hiatt at the City Winery (great show incidentally), we ate at the Bombay Bread Bar which was fun. In the same vein, looking for an early dinner in the theatre district before seeing Springsteen on Broadway went to La Masseria on 48th St, which although not stunning was decent and better than many similar places I had been to in the area in the past. Springsteen was even better than when I went last year...there is some added passion that wasn't there last time.
The stand out of our visit was Gabriel Kreuther. My wife and I went there for lunch on our first day in town and had an excellent experience. After talking with Philipe, the Sommelier, we returned a few days later with our son (who cooks in Banff when he is not being a snowboard instructor) to give him (and ourselves) a birthday present of the nine course tasting menu at the Chef's Table in the kitchen. We have some quite restrictive dietary requirements (kosher fish only, no meat or poultry etc.) but the kitchen dealt with these with enthusiasm and produced a wonderful lunch for us with the nicest service I have experienced in recent years. We will be back.

[Mike Cohen]

Just returned from NYC and a few notes. Marea as always excellent; the noise level at Maialino reminded me why I had not eaten there for a few years, wanted to like King but the tables were too small and crammed together to make the experience pleasant. Looking for a convenient place to have dinner before going to see John Hiatt at the City Winery (great show incidentally), we ate at the Bombay Bread Bar which was fun. In the same vein, looking for an early dinner in the theatre district before seeing Springsteen on Broadway went to La Masseria on 48th St, which although not stunning was decent and better than many similar places I had been to in the area in the past. Springsteen was even better than when I went last year...there is some added passion that wasn't there last time.
The stand out of our visit was Gabriel Kreuther. My wife and I went there for lunch on our first day in town and had an excellent experience. After talking with Philipe, the Sommelier, we returned a few days later with our son (who cooks in Banff when he is not being a snowboard instructor) to give him (and ourselves) a birthday present of the nine course tasting menu at the Chef's Table in the kitchen. We have some quite restrictive dietary requirements (kosher fish only, no meat or poultry etc.) but the kitchen dealt with these with enthusiasm and produced a wonderful lunch for us with the nicest service I have experienced in recent years. We will be back.

Wow...sounds like a great visit. Totally forgot that John Hiatt was in town and bummed that I missed him. FWIW, I understand your criticism of King. It is small and cramped. Both meals that I've eaten there, I've had the back corner table next to the pass so there is some extra space. I absolutely love the food and the atmosphere. The tiny, well curated menu reminds me of bistros in the south of France where if you don't like what's being cooked today, you should probably go elsewhere because there really isn't any choice. I'm actually a bit surprised, given your dietary restrictions, that you chose King. As an aside, Charlie Bird is across the street for the next time you visit. I absolutely love it there too...but very loud.

[WvanGorp]

EMP. No contest in my opinion among the ones you listed. There are others I love but among those EMP wins hands down imho.

Wilfred,

You seem to have made a second about face regarding EMP. I was never a huge fan and haven't been there in a couple of years, so I'm curious as to what changed and then changed again?

No change. EMP is not among my top 5 (10?) restaurants in NYC. But that wasn’t the question. I love Sean Gray and think he’s profoundly talented at Ko. I love Cesar Ramirez and have many friends in Chicago who count him as a dear friend from his years there. My last meal at Ko was pretty ordinary and Sean was there. BF was fine but not thrilling. George Hejna and I had what I would call a thrilling lunch at EMP a couple of months ago (he posted on here about it). But I’d pick EMP in a minute over Ko or BF. Those were my choices. It wasn’t how do I feel EMP ranks in NYC.

[Jonathan Kalman]

Just returned from NYC and a few notes. Marea as always excellent; the noise level at Maialino reminded me why I had not eaten there for a few years, wanted to like King but the tables were too small and crammed together to make the experience pleasant. Looking for a convenient place to have dinner before going to see John Hiatt at the City Winery (great show incidentally), we ate at the Bombay Bread Bar which was fun. In the same vein, looking for an early dinner in the theatre district before seeing Springsteen on Broadway went to La Masseria on 48th St, which although not stunning was decent and better than many similar places I had been to in the area in the past. Springsteen was even better than when I went last year...there is some added passion that wasn't there last time.
The stand out of our visit was Gabriel Kreuther. My wife and I went there for lunch on our first day in town and had an excellent experience. After talking with Philipe, the Sommelier, we returned a few days later with our son (who cooks in Banff when he is not being a snowboard instructor) to give him (and ourselves) a birthday present of the nine course tasting menu at the Chef's Table in the kitchen. We have some quite restrictive dietary requirements (kosher fish only, no meat or poultry etc.) but the kitchen dealt with these with enthusiasm and produced a wonderful lunch for us with the nicest service I have experienced in recent years. We will be back.

Wow...sounds like a great visit. Totally forgot that John Hiatt was in town and bummed that I missed him. FWIW, I understand your criticism of King. It is small and cramped. Both meals that I've eaten there, I've had the back corner table next to the pass so there is some extra space. I absolutely love the food and the atmosphere. The tiny, well curated menu reminds me of bistros in the south of France where if you don't like what's being cooked today, you should probably go elsewhere because there really isn't any choice. I'm actually a bit surprised, given your dietary restrictions, that you chose King. As an aside, Charlie Bird is across the street for the next time you visit. I absolutely love it there too...but very loud.

Mike, I had wanted to eat at King based on reviews I had read. I thought that the menu was exactly bistro cooking and said so to my wife at the time. The menu wasn't a problem; there only has to be one dish I can eat and there were two! We also enjoyed Upland for Sunday brunch with a group of friends.

[Herwig Janssen]

Hi Wilfred , what would be your top 5 of Manhattan restaurants ? ( maybe we could go there together.. ) Hope you are well .

[MBerto]

Got reservations at both Ko and Chef's Table, leaning heavily towards Ko because a) we got counter seating at 6 vs table seating at 9 b) it's literally $300 cheaper and c) always been intrigued by David Chang on his various netflix shows, but never tried his restaurants. If anyone wants a table seating for 2 reservation at CT, 9 pm December 1st let me know, I'll cancel within a week or so.

[WvanGorp]

Hi Wilfred , what would be your top 5 of Manhattan restaurants ? ( maybe we could go there together.. ) Hope you are well .

Done. Sent you a private list. Let’s go together soon to at least two of them.

[mark rudner]

how about a non-private list for the rest of us?

[Faryan Amir-Ghassem¡]

I know that I’m in the minority here, but I thought UPN was very good but not earth shattering. And it’s very much at the top end of the price spectrum.

Went last week for the first time. I thought the dough was excellent but the pizza overall was quite bland and undersalted. The cheese in particular was tasteless.

Quick recap of the dinner for 3 at UPN.

Rundown:
Bottle of Nebiollo which was quite nice but a bit above the comfort of 3x markup.
2 apps:
Burrata special (wonderful)
Mescolanza - meh, kind of too cute for its own good
2 pizzas:
Margherita - thought I'd start with the staple. Excellent in its own right
Bianca - Also good, but I prefered the marg.

I didn't find the cheese under-seasoned, but I'm sensitive to salt. Doughy, puffy, well done pies; very classic Italian.
While I enjoyed it very much, I feel that pizza is a competitive blood sport in NY across a spectrum of styles, and it's really hard to justify the price point just for notoriety.
The interior was a bit less inviting than I hoped. The hipsteriness felt a bit more sterile than energetic, but hey maybe I'm getting old.

F

[mark rudner]

faryan
your review seems to be the consensus of most people i've spoken to
i guess i'll still go but i'm certainly in no rush to get there

[Michel Abood]

faryan
your review seems to be the consensus of most people i've spoken to
i guess i'll still go but i'm certainly in no rush to get there

+1

Several friends have been to UPN and reported the same thing. Pizzas are good, not great, and certainly not worth the coin.

Funny enough we did a pizza crawl last Saturday and hit Ops and Emmy Squared (Paulie Gee was supposed to be #3 but we got distracted at Denizen by their reserve list with 2005 Grange des Peres and Bois de Boursan Cuvee des Felix 2010 at interesting prices). Ops has been our favorite, even over Roberta's (and I do love the pie and the people there), for a while now, and luckily is still not swamped like the latter. I found the pie at Emmy Squared good for what it was but slightly oily (especially, as you can imagine, the bacon one), but their burger (which we used as a palate-cleanser) was outstanding.

Damn, now I need pizza.

[Robert Dentice]

I love UPN pizza. I will concede not everyone does. I think Anthony has a very specific style of Pizza that does not appeal to all. I did finally try Ops and thought it was very good.

[Ethan Abraham]

Very random, but if anyone else is planning on going to atomix this Saturday and is also a Riesling fan can you shoot me a pm?
Thanks

[Robert Dentice]

Very random, but if anyone else is planning on going to atomix this Saturday and is also a Riesling fan can you shoot me a pm?
Thanks

Interested in the Keller Magnum?

[Jay Miller]

North End Grill is going out not with a bang but with a whimper. Had Thanksgiving dinner there last night and the kitchen was really phoning it in. If they had put out a sign saying "we're closing in a month so we don't care what you think about the food" it couldn't have been clearer.

A pity, as it's a restaurant I've really loved over the years.

[Ramon C]

Sunday brunch at Simon & The Whale.

Enjoyed the space, service and the food. Liked my Pork Hash dish, but wife's hamburger was better.
I'll definitely be back.

https://www.satw.nyc/

[Sh@n A]

Attended an offline recently at Batard. Great wine list, wine service and food. Pretty busy on byo Monday’s but would return.

[Paul Jaouen]

Dinner at Sushi Kaito on UWS last night was very good. Tiny place with only 13 counter seats. Two menus based on number of selections. Higher menu is 16 pieces plus hand roll and soup for $120 with tip for staff included. They were BYO but now have a license. They still allow BYO for champagne only, for $40 corkage.

[Mike Cohen]

North End Grill is going out not with a bang but with a whimper. Had Thanksgiving dinner there last night and the kitchen was really phoning it in. If they had put out a sign saying "we're closing in a month so we don't care what you think about the food" it couldn't have been clearer.

A pity, as it's a restaurant I've really loved over the years.

Jay,

I'm sorry to hear about it. That said, none of this surprises me. First, it's Thanksgiving and I'm sure that all the senior staff were off. Second, as soon as the restaurant announced it's closing, the talent ran for the door. Eating out on major holidays is tough.

[ybarselah]

They still allow BYO for champagne only, for $40 corkage.

you'd think by now we'd see all the crazy corkage policy variations, but that's a new one.

[R@y.Tupp@+sch]

They still allow BYO for champagne only, for $40 corkage.

you'd think by now we'd see all the crazy corkage policy variations, but that's a new one.

They're trying to cultivate me as a customer.

[mark rudner]

They still allow BYO for champagne only, for $40 corkage.

you'd think by now we'd see all the crazy corkage policy variations, but that's a new one.

They're trying to cultivate me as a customer.

smart operators

[MBerto]

Here's the rundown from last week - was there 7 days between biz and pleasure

Mike's Bistro - Pretty good! Never done a strictly kosher place before, but that didn't appear to be a significant obstacle for them. A squash with white truffles dish was excellent. They appear to specialize in big cuts of meat, which just wasn't in the cards for me that night. Sever was pretty candid too - I always appreciate when they say "don't get that it's crap" as he did to a request for the kosher port

Il Postino - Did not care for it, in no small part due to the way in which we ate, which was brining small amounts of various hot and cold antipasta, followed by a pasta course, and THEN we ordered entrees. Someone highly recommended the grilled squid (you read that right) which was completely whatever.

Pera - Really enjoyed this. For corporate type places in midtown, this is one of the few I'd consider going back to on my own dime. We did a whole slug of starters - crudo, hummus, grilled octopus - some kind of weird lamb taco but it worked really well. Then I had a seafood salad for entree which was pretty good, better looking things on the menu but as you can see from all this eating out I was trying to keep it lighter.

Smith Restaurant at Nomad Hotel - A cut above for late night dining. The spicy blue cheese chips were the latter but not the former. A crispy rice with raw salmon starter was interesting. We shared the veggie bibimpap which was well executed if not exceptional.

Forager's Market - Brunch - Welcome to NYC here's pancakes, avocado toast, green juice, coffee, and a salad, $75 please! Good stuff but I can get this for $40 2 blocks from my house

Marseilles - I know not to go to restaurants within 5 blocks of Times Square. I know it. Yet I've walked by this place like 15 times and always been curious. The Yelp reviews were solid, which I also shouldn't trust, but I did. I full acknowledgement of my errors, it was just OK

Finally - Momofuku Ko. No regrets here. The food is a bit more "accessible" than your average 2/3 star place, no "goose heart with rare turkish mushrooms en crepinette" here, but they still broke out the caviar, foie, uni, etc to make you feel like you're getting your money's worth. The first few start bits were extremely tasty, a sea bass crud was nice if a little plain, the beef was pretty cool - 8 week dry aged strip (the strips are all dry aging in a freezer you can see, and you can see the progression from week 1 to week 8) was sliced super thin on the long axis, creating dollar bill sized strips, then frozen, then placed frozen on hot coals and cooked for a few seconds on each side. A pork dish was likewise excellent. The wife is still raving about the wild rice ice cream dessert. There were a few misses - a pineapple/basil/razor clam soup was a little odd, and a sea bass/butternut squash dish with fish stock sauce was pretty pedestrian, but nothing that we said "this is not good".

Counter seating is perhaps not totally unique but a great experience. Plenty of space. Service was solid - the chefs are doing it right in front of you so not much room for error there, everything was well paced. Will recommend to people who ask about NYC high end places but don't want to do the Per Se/EMP white table cloth deal.

[mark rudner]

berto
sounds like the pleasure was a lot better than the business!
nice write up on ko

[Ramon C]

Sunday brunch at Simon & The Whale.

Enjoyed the space, service and the food. Liked my Pork Hash dish, but wife's hamburger was better.
I'll definitely be back.

https://www.satw.nyc/

Went back for dinner the Friday after. The fish sandwich was very good, killer fries, and delicious croquettes. Beer choices were good, too. A fine spot for solo dining. A neighborhood gem.

[p@ulbortin]

Frenchette - Solid old school French Bistro feels like Paris.

Hunan Slurp - Sichuan heat and flavors, nice noodle soups great quality.

Roku - Terrific Japanese Udon and non sushi dishes.

Via Carota - Another virtually perfect experience.

Te’ Company - Comprehensive Taiwanese Tea House one of the city’s best. Small but excellent food and desert menu to boot.

[Jay Miller]

We found ourselves in the Time Warner building yesterday after some shopping. Momofuku Noodle Bar was closed on Sunday, Landmarc was out of half their menu and Marea was booked solid so we tried out Bluebird London, a branch of the (duh) London restaurant.

This is in the old location of Cafe Gray which closed back in 2008. There was an Italian place there in the interim which I never visited.

Cocktails were fine though unexciting. Ditto for the decent wine list which nonetheless had a few well priced options. If I was there by myself I probably would have ordered the 2017 Thevenet Morgon for $60.

Service was excellent. We were seated at a window table with a great view of Columbus Circle. I would have loved to have been there around sunset. When I think back to how Cafe Gray blocked that view with the kitchen I just shake my head in amazement and am not surprised they failed.

We started with a delightfully bright and delicious dressed crab and a leaden artichoke and foie gras dish about which the best that can be said was that it was filling. Someone needs to tell the kitchen that serving an ice cold block of foie is not the way to win friends and influence people.

For our main course we had the Beef Wellington for two. This is a dish that disappoints more than it wows so I am very happy to report that their rendition was the best I've ever had. It's exactly what I always hope Beef Wellington will taste like but it almost never does. I was longing for a rich Burgundy with this.

One of waiters commented that the BW and the Fish & Chips are his two favorite entrees.

Dessert was a pleasantly light persimmon carpaccio served with a juniper simple syrup and clementine sorbet. Perfectly fine but nothing I'd bother ordering again. Though I'll certainly steal the simple syrup idea for the next time I buy persimmons.

Towards the end of the meal we had an unexpected show as the Chabad Lubavitch Mitzvah Tank started circling Columbus Circle followed by a string of vehicles holding huge neon menorahs in all the colors of the rainbow. It was a delightfully whimsical way to end the evening.


I would certainly go back for the crab and the Beef Wellington and perhaps to try some other dishes.

[M.Kaplan]

Jay,
This looks to be the ticket for Sunday roast dinner on the Sunday before Christmas. Do you know their corkage policy? Thanks.

[Jay Miller]

Jay,
This looks to be the ticket for Sunday roast dinner on the Sunday before Christmas. Do you know their corkage policy? Thanks.

As I was typing up the review I realized I should have asked but I didn’t think to do so at the time. Sorry. I’ll try to remember r to call tomorrow and ask.

[Jay Miller]

The person I got had no idea what a corkage policy might be but I was eventually able to explain it and she went to ask a manager. The answer was $65.

Disappointing but not out of line with high end Manhattan restaurants.

[M.Kaplan]

Thanks.

[John Davis]

how about a non-private list for the rest of us?

Just saw this and agree!

JD

[Bdklein]

Anybody try Crispo ? Menu looks good and good reviews.

[Sarah Kirschbaum]

Anybody try Crispo ? Menu looks good and good reviews.

Wow, didn't know it was even still there. I used to live one block away and went there with some regularity, always bringing my own wine. It's been years and years - at least 10, I'd say - but the food used to be satisfying, if never remarkable. More like a solid and easy local standby. Service was always competent and they were nice. Again, no recent experience, but I used to frequent and enjoy it.

[Ramon C]

With Cosme, Atla, Lalito and now Oxomoco, as far as I can remember, NYC had never had a bountiful of honest, yet creatively good Mexican eats.

Our dinner last night at Oxomoco was very good with delicious tacos and a very tasty Pollo a la Brazas.

https://www.oxomoconyc.com/