That’s the thing about the Williamsburg crowd
You keep gettin older’ / they stay the same age
(I last lived there in 2013 lol)
4 Likes
Had a great meal at Sakagura while trying tons of excellent sake in all kinds of styles. Impressive selection, and highly recommended for anyone hoping to dive into the category.
3 Likes
Nice to hear that name. I used to go 25+ years ago because it evoked the Tokyo vibes with the office location. A lot more competition these days, but nice that they can hang.
2 Likes
Finally hit Yamada and it was absolutely wonderful. Everything you hope for with a Kaiseki meal. Extraordinary pairing with dry German riesling. If I had one knit I hate the add ons and on top of add ons they keep bringing out wines in a coravin. You can just feel them intentionally trying to run up the bill. I know it is 100% discretionary but it just kills the vibe…especially when the bill drops!
Up next the Cheval d’Or x Four Horsemen lunch! Going today and tomorrow which will have to be a Bang Bang because I have to go to the Smithereens Joe Beddia lunch!
p.s. for those counting Yamada is #54 for me on the NY Times Top 100. I am cheating a little as I have done take out at a few. Once I get to 70 I will release my list!
The 4H x Le Cheval d’Or lived up to the hype. The room was packed with industry people from all over the world. Great energy / vibe and the food was excellent. Le Cheval d’or is one of our favorite restaurants in Paris! We are going again today before the Beddia x Smithereens collab!
5 Likes
significance of the chard?
never heard of it, and know it’s not your usual flavor (unless it’s german)
Excellent wine. I put a note up on the main board.
Quick notes from a few days in NYC
Borgo - Good, but hard not to feel like you were paying more to be in the space. Everything was fresh and really well executed, but I sometimes struggle with higher end italian because I’ve had so many of the classics at home.
Four Horsemen - Outstanding per usual. Went early to put a name down and get drinks with a friend nearby while waiting for my wife, but ended up doing drinks at 4h and pivoted into dinner so got to try a lot more of the menu and hang out for most of the night. Oeuf mayo eggs were better cooked this time around, seafood rice paired well with a jura savagnin, overally a great evening.
Smithereens - Another great meal, had a reservation on the earlier side and was a little worried about their time restrictions but nothing felt rushed. Buckwheat pancake is a classic, my one gripe is that they mostly cleaned the head of the bbq mackrel so there was no cheek meat when it hit the table!
Realized it after the fact, but I don’t think we ordered a single meat-focused dish while we were in NYC (not counting bec), this time of the year is the pinnacle of dining on the east coast to me with so much great fish and produce in season!
7 Likes
need a last minute dinner idea for my wife’s birthday. we’re traveling for much of august so dont want a big splurge.
anyone been to arthur in greenpoint?
we enjoyed dinner at arthur last night and would recommend it overall. not sure if its destination worthy or merely great for the area but the food was quite solid. we ordered some of their skewers (a nice starter), the arthur salad (sleeper hit on the menu), the popover (pretty self explanatory), and the beef and tile fish for our entrees (i prefered the tilefish more). i thought their chocolate tart was a nice dessert to end the meal.
service was sincere but had some awkward moments. empty plates were left on our table for a very long time and no one ever replaced our water…not once. service was included and we were given a lengthy explanation as to why they do this but made us feel like we should tip more. it was a very awkward end to a good night out.
$30 corkage with decent glassware certainly makes this a good option for us.
5 Likes
We finally made it to Yingtao. Excellent meal. Even though they are doing restaurant week we opted for the full tasting menu to try the full gamut. It’s Wednesday, so we brought a bottle of 2015 Dom P with us, with no corkage. Highlights were the egg custard dish with abalone and sea urchin, and an exceptional chicken broth with wontons. Good and efficient service, and I was pleased to see that the place was very busy. Hopefully it has some legs and can stick around. They also take inKind, which is nice. We’ll definitely be back.
1 Like
Cool. So happy you liked it.
We occasionally order from Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria but we have never actually eaten there. We were in the neighborhood and wanted a light, quick meal. It was excellent. A perfect bowl of past with sun gold tomatoes and a wonderful Branzino. The wine list was cool with lots of geeky options. They have a large section of wines under $100. It leans Italian but it is overall diverse. Selosse Substance for close to retail. Commando G. Lots of Cameron. We are definitely going back.
2 Likes
We have a reservation for Claud in two weeks, looking for a wine bar in East Village before/after dinner - any recommendations? I was thinking Stars, but looking for a few more options if that is full. We are limited in the sense that we need to stay in the area (work trip).
1 Like
Since Robert mentioned Il Buco Alimentari, there is a wine bar across the street from it called Elvis. Casual and has had a younger crowd when I’ve been. Relatively close to Claude.
And speaking of Il Buco, their location in Amagansett is worth a visit should anyone find themselves out there!
1 Like
Tell the Claud team you would like to go to Stars post dinner and they might call over to reserve you seats.
I would highly, highly recommend Bar Kabawa they have an excellent wine list.
4 Likes
(Though you’ll really want a daiquiri. 
)
1 Like
Or their off menu frozen pina colada
2 Likes
I have been beyond excited for the recent wave of Japanese Pizza spots in NYC. Pizza 4PS is a Japanese pizza spot with several restaurants in Vietnam. It is located in the absolutely wonderful Japanese complex at 50 Norman in Greenpoint. It now has several different shops and at least five or six restaurants. From the jump the menu looked impressive but also ambitious. When we sat down at the pizza counter at 12 noon (when they open) we noticed the kitchen was in a bit of a disarray and clearly not ready for service, mostly due to the cramped quarters which is odd because the place is huge. The pizza makers were struggling and we saw them throw out several pies and there was a lot of discussion. Our salad came out and it was excellent followed by a very good Lotus root dish. The first pie had a bit too much going on for my tastes but it was good and the second pie, a mushroom special, was excellent. Excited to go back and see what they can do when they get the kinks ironed out. Small all natural wine list. I would say it is equal to Pizza Studio Tamaki but both appear to still be perfecting making pizza in NYC and are not even close to my beloved Una!
5 Likes
For a place that is still a work-in-progress, PST is solidly booked online as far as the eye can see. Do they hold a lot of seats for walk-ins?