I’ve been to St Julivert early when it wasn’t too crowded about 6-8 months ago and liked the food and atmosphere a lot. Went more recently during prime time when it was packed and very loud and liked the food and atmosphere much less. Not sure about the correlation, but I would only go back on the earlier side, unless I’m alone and don’t need to talk to anyone. But maybe that’s just me.
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I went to Saint Julivert a year ago and it was very good. I also went on the early side.
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Just had a most excellent meal at La vara…a restaurant my wife and I went to semi regularly in 2013-2014 and haven’t been back since.
We have had rare nights out over the past few years and tend to visit the new spots. Lately, we’ve had more opportunities and opted for dinner here and we were both hugely happy we did. Service was perfect…crowd was great…some older folks at first (ending their meal when we arrived at 7pm) and an eclectic group after. We were surprised how lively it was after 9pm as most Manhattan restaurants are dying off by then.
Food was awesome. We had croquettas (fine), fried delicata squash, a particularly delicious preparation of pan con tomate with amberjack crudo, a special of shrimp and chicken and the best version of fideua since being in costa brava.
$35 corkage and very friendly about it. Great night and score one for the classic restaurants in the city.c
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FInally made it to Wayward Fare last night with friends. It’s really good! Thanks for the recommendation.
The room is pretty and has a warm, wintry glow; seating is fairly tight and the energy was high and the volume rather loud, making it feel more like a downtown hotspot. The food was terrific and we enjoyed everything we had, including the house-made focaccia with three spreads (whipped ricotta, roast eggplant, chicken liver mousse), the fantastic chicory salad, grape leaf-wrapped prawns, lamb merguez ravioli, skate cheeks with saffron risotto, and the roast chicken. We had cocktails (great) and I had a glass of Calabretta’s Cala Cala (a favorite producer of mine, a plus). Would happily return.
Thanks for the write up! Chef Alex Raij used to cook for us at the Tasting Room. She is extremely talented. I am going to make it a point to get to La Vara. Thanks!
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Speaking of classic, we were at Blue Ribbon Sushi the other night, which echoes so many bygone eras. It was a delicious meal, but such a mind trip because now you can get comparable meals all over the city. BRS in the 90s occupied a different zone. But time marches forward.
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Many good memories of Cafe Gitane. I never knew Cat Power was a waitress there in 1994. I might have been there.
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I called it Café Hairdo, since everyone was always so fabulous there.
Is the Gitane in Brooklyn (Vinegar Hill) still open?
According to the article yes. It says they called the Vinegar Hill location to confirm the Nolita closure.
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My wife and I finally got to try Saint Urban (20th/Park) last night after several recommendations in this thread and seeing Bordeaux & truffle month pop up on the rotating menu.
We went for the 6 course tasting menu so we could each pick one of the options and try pretty much everything on the menu. My wife also did the caviar/truffle supplement and we went for the cru classe pairing.
Overall it was a great experience; we liked the concept of the monthly rotating menu and the atmosphere was elevated without being too pretentious. The service was impeccable; we are fast diners but never had any awkward waiting times and wasn’t a dirty plate or glass in front of us for more than a minute. We saw a few different servers/somms and all were extremely friendly and knowledgeable.
The food was good. Portions were moderate which is fine for a 6course tasting menu. As expected there were some highlights (Nantucket scallops with leek, potato & passionfruit; pigeon with turnips and candied orange) and also some misses (Duck Garbure was bland and uninspiring) but overall the quality was approaching 1* which is clearly what they are aspiring for with the level of service and pricing
We really enjoyed the wine pairing. They have 3 pairing options and I like that they tell you up front what you’re going to get. So many times I’ve been disappointed with a reserve/premium pairing but this one had decent labels and strong vintages (helps that we are big Bordeaux fans of course). Highlights were an ‘05 Giscours, a ‘96 Latour and an ‘86 d’Yquem. I did browse the full wine list and thought the pricing was very reasonable - great wines can be found for 1-2x markup which is much better than than most places in NYC now trying to get away with 4x. Case in point - they have a 2018 Rousseau Chambertin for $2478 which is actually lower than anything I see on WS (excl. tip + tax of course)
In summary, great service, great wine and pretty good food. They are pricing it like a 1* so if I’m going to be super critical the food isn’t quite there yet, but I would definitely go back and try some of the other regions/months. We’ll worth a trip
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so happy to read this - and thrilled you liked it. the menu has pivoted since opening to a hopefully more local-friendly italian theme.
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I’ve had some family business that has brought me to UES a bit the past few months. Didn’t feel like traveling much last night and Thanks @Shan_A for heads up on Al Badawi on 89th. Solid middle eastern food. Zero corkage. Byob only. Several tables of wine geeks with bottles. I’ll go back
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what did you think of the roulot?
worth the tariff?
Not quite the deal it once was, but it’s a good wine and shows JMR style. Showed very young last night- chiseled and clean.
They were pouring that in JetBlue mint a couple of years ago.
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Had a nice long weekend recently in NYC… Here are my highlights.
CHEAP EATS
Chang Lai Fish Balls - Been coming here for years and love it. A huge tub of dense chewy noodles and eight fish balls smothered in sesame, peanut sauce, and chilis. Perfect food to eat on a slow train uptown.
Xi’an Famous - Still slaps. Hot spicy lamb broth goodness. Would do nasty despicable things to have them in LA.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory - Coffee with Xi’an Famous Chili Crisp stirred in. One of the most insane ice cream flavors I’ve tried, but god damn it was irresistible.
Zuckers - Large and diverse fish selection for their bagels, like wild caught salmon and black cod.
FANCIER STUFF
I Cavallini - Disclosure I’m biased, they use my glassware… This did not disappoint. The philosophy of Nick’s deceivingly straightforward cooking continues across the street from Four Horsemen. My girlfriends hates beets but these converted her. The pesto troffi lives up to the fanfare. And you should 100% order some amaro to go with your tiramisu. I have a feeling that I Cav will only get better too.
Lei - The hype is real. I feel like everyone I know and their grandmother is talking about this extraordinarily tiny little wine bar… And I get it. Really smart menu with well executed food for a microscopic kitchen and an out of this world wine list with diverse price range. $75 for Madeira from 1875? GTFO, that’s a crazy deal.
Che Li - Baller Shanghai spot. Steamed yellow croaker, crispy sizzling clay pot mushroom rice, and the highlight - crab tofu stew. I genuinely think this one of the top Chinese restaurants in in NYC! It’s outside of Chinatown though, so it gets overlooked by tourists which is an extra bonus.
Bar Contra - What a vibe, was very happy to finally try the new spot. They are weirdos. Potato chip and concord jelly ice cream sundae freaking rocks, I have to go back for dinner. All the cocktails are interesting and dialed in.
As usual, I will also make the disclaimer that these are my highlights. I had one meal this trip at a notable spot that was very disappointing. I do not want to name it as I know this could have been an off night. The industry is hard enough as is, so I want to focus on the postiive instead. Bless y’all. Eat well.
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Thanks for the new ideas. Chinatown Ice Cream Facroy sounds as revelatory as when the first nice gelato spots opened 20 years ago.
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Reservations seem non-existent. Did you walk in?
They book two weeks out and they’re usually gone in 30 minutes or less.
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