That is about how I felt. Overall B/B+ The chicken was just ok, my wife makes one of the best roast chickens in the world so that is my baseline! We got there 30 minutes before opening and were 2nd in line. Gabe came out and poured everyone standing on the line a glass of wine in a cup and thanked us which I thought was a cool move.
I just got back from 5 days in NYC for work and family. I made a point of hitting a few new places, and was not disappointed.
-DEMO= really fantastic, and a great cap to a long day of work and culture (I hit up the Banksy Museum on Canal before heading over for dinner). I met my business partner there for dinner on Tuesday night and from start to finish everything was on point. My one comment would be a few of the dishes were slightly salty, but Iâm super sensitive to that. Not enough to make me stop eating them, however. We started with a glass of Cava, followed by a bottle of Paraiso Natural from Portugal. Bright and vivacious, it was a lovely foil to most of the dishes, especially as we were having such an eclectic mix of flavors and textures. Pierre, the floor somm, guided us well and was attentive to the challenges our food selections might present. As for the food, we started off with the Lengua Tonnata, which is a favorite of mine. Crab Casino, with its Ritz crackers and guanciale, was delicious, followed by the Arroz a la Plancha, whose aromas were heavenly (this dish was slightly saltier than I would have preferred but I still dug in happily). Next up was the Lobster au Poivre, which was a splurge but oh-so worth it (weirdly, the accompanying fries were so-so). The miso sauce it was in was also slightly salty, but again, this did not stop me from using the fries to sop it up. We ended the evening with the Banana Pudding, which my business partner dove into. I tasted it and thought it was good if slightly too sweet, but then again Iâm more savory than sweet. Next to this we had a glass of slightly sweet sake whoâs name escapes me (Iâll post a pic on my Instagram account on Tuesday). All in all, this was a fantastic evening, especially as the weather was incredible so I walked partway back to the Upper East Side, reveling in the night sights and sounds. Places like this remind me why I miss NYC.
-Ravagh Persian Grill= I was supposed to take my mother to The Supper Club on the UES, however I found out that they had live music on Wednesdays. Neither of us likes that while eating, so I canceled that RSVP and we decided to visit this Persian place next door to Sushi Seki on 1st Avenue between 62nd and 63rd. What a discovery: the decor was muted and relaxing, the seats super comfy, and the food surprisingly well-done. Service was a bit slow, and the wine list is atrocious (I need to find out how much BYO would be, sorry), but their beer selection, while tiny, is decent. We decided to order several apps and split a main, so we got the Hummus, the Babaghanouj, and the Kotlet (fried chickpea and ground beef patties with a yogurt dipping sauce). All of these, BTW, were enormous in size. Our main was the Lamb Shish Kebob Koobidoh, alongside basmati rice, which like the apps was an incredibly generous serving. The meat was well-seasoned and very good, but at this point we were both full and called it. I left there with a very large doggy bag. I donât know if Iâd make a special trip, but itâs nice to know this place is in the area if youâre on far UES for some reason.
-The Foul Witch= after drinks at Ella Funt, I headed over here on Friday night to meet an old friend. What a treat. Here again, service was on point, and the wine selection, while mostly natural, leans towards the cleaner side of the dial (I am super sensitive to VA and mouse, so I always inform the somm of that at these places - 9 times out of 10 they get it right, and here was no different). We started with a glass of sparkling wine from Luxembourg, which was crisp and tasty and went nicely with our starter apps and lovely bread. We began with the Scallops (buttery and balanced by rhubarb and citrus) and the Grilled Tripe (well, I ate the tripe, she doesnât eat tripe - it was good if ever so slightly earthy/funky, I would have preferred it to be a bit crisper). Next came Linguini with Hokkaido Sea Urchin, a dish I would happily drape myself in if it was socially acceptable. This was followed by a glass of red from the Canary Islands, which was bright and smoky at the same time, a lovely match for the main course of Guinea Hen. We were stuffed at this point and waddled out into the cool evening, marking the end of a whirlwind visit to my home city.
I am already thinking of what RSVPs to line up for my next trip in mid-June. Iâm hungry alreadyâŠ
Cheers!
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Similar to you on natural wine spectrum and also thought the list at Foul Witch was really good.
The opening list was essentially the Blanca list. I too like their list and appreciate that they always have some German wines.
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Going to Fulgurances Laundromat tonight for Nate Kuesterâs popup. Robert, I remember youâve been a couple of times. Whatâs the wine situation there? Do they allow corkage?
Natural wine with lots of options is if you prefer something on the cleaner end of the spectrum. I think they have a corkage policy but I am not sure.
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That makes sense.
When I went a Cahors from Ostal Levant (Un Coeur Simple '22) that blew my mind. Also, a skin contact viogner, as aperitif, surprised very much to the upside, but lost the name.
Iâve been tasked with picking a venue for a friendâs 50th in late October on a Saturday. What he would like to do is a dinner for 5-10 people, followed by a bar area where 20-40 people could show up. He would like to provide a minimum food/bar guarantee of $4,000 - 5,000 for his group. My thoughts are any place that has good food (maybe a private room, but not required) + a very large bar area afterwards⊠or split it across two places that are really close to each other (e.g., in the same block). Ideally it would be a venue he could just buy out, but I donât think thatâs necessary. Heâs not looking for anything stuffy⊠I think the requirements are (i) good-to-great food, (ii) large bar area, and (iii) fun vibe vs. too stuffy.
Sincerely appreciate any suggestions to look into!
I have two ideas for you. I think Legacy records could potentially be great for this. They have a wonderful private room where you could have dinner in the restaurant and then head to the private room for a post dinner party. I did a closing dinner in the room for about 20 and they did an amazing job. It can fit much more than 20. If I remember correctly it also has a lounge type area. And considering its NYC the cost was very reasonable.
The other idea would be to go to Four Horsemen and then go next door to Nightmoves. This is my move when I am entertaining out of town guests. You would just need to prearrange something with them far in advance to make sure all of his guests got in because sometimes the door is tough.
For my 50th I set up a sound system in the private room at Di Faras!
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I have been for brunch and lunch and liked Sailor very well and am eager to have dinner there. I love the room and the vibe, and it immediately joined my list of best restaurants in the neighborhood. Is it worth the hype? No, and I wonât kill myself trying to get a reservation.
As an aside, itâs kinda crazy how vibrant and intense the NY dining scene is. Itâs gotten to the point where what are basically very good neighborhood restaurants are impossible to get into. I resent it, but am happy for the people who own and work at the restaurants.
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To tack onto thisâŠis Adaâs Place open? Dinner at Legacy Records and move upstairs to Adaâs afterwards for cocktails.
The 4HM/Night Moves idea would be great, but Iâm guessing itâs harder to pull off/reserve.
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Speaking of vibrant and intense, I snagged an outdoor table reservation 2 hours before we sat on Sunday @cervosnyc.
We arrived and the long lineup for those without reservations, we were told, was at least a 45-minute wait.
Delicious comfort foods for an early summer evening meal. The byobâd 2004 Lopez Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva was in great form and was a hit with our mostly-seafood plates.
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Iâm such a huge fan!
I donât have the courage to eat the shrimp heads though.
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Your comment about how intense the cityâs dining scene is on-point. I am thrilled for the people I know in the business who are benefitting, however I am frustrated that I canât get into so many places I want to try. I only come back every 5-8 weeks and rarely stay more than 5-7 days, so when Iâm in town I need to be efficient with my time and stomach. Trying to snag a table at a popular place becomes a true quest sometimes, even with Resy Notifications and other resources.
As someone who lives in a relative dining wasteland, I cherish my meals in NYC and want to (re)visit so many restaurants but sometimes canât.
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I believe that Resy etc. make the situation more difficult, as everyone has endless notifications set so very few casual diners ever get the chance to dine at even their local restaurants.
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itâs that everyone is trying to go to the same 50 restaurants and they know about them instantly because of social media. most restaurants are still struggling, including the busy ones.
resy notifications donât change anything. if you have an extra table available, it doesnât matter if you have 5 on your waitlist or 500.
I live in Houston but dine out in NY regularly (including a couple days ago at Union Square Cafe), but Iâm hardly on the pulse of the dining scene. So I have a question:
In about two weeks, Iâll unexpectedly have one night in NY with my wife, and Iâd love a great meal. Weâve been to many of the traditional top spots (Bernardin, Per Se, Daniel, Modern, Marea, etc.) but havenât dined widely by the standards of those on this thread.
Any recommendations for something very high quality and nice (i.e., genuinely good and not tourist crap) that we could conceivably get a reservation at without a ton of notice. My wife loves Bernardin, if thatâs any help. Probably not sushi, as much as I love it. Any thoughts appreciated!
(I may be able to finagle a Per Se or Bernardin reservation, so I might just do that, but would love to go somewhere new.)
join the waitlist at Atomix. frequent cancels. thatâs for high end. if youâre looking for more casual, then probably need more guidance or just scroll up for inspiration.
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More casual with a total neighborhood vibe and easy reservations - Chambers. Theyâre on OpenTable and open up 2 weeks in advanced
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Also god-tier (both interesting and deep, not just baller bottles) wine list and one of the best somms in the worldâŠ
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