I have not been to either but from what I know of them I would do Crevette which I have heard very good things.
1 Like
That was my first inclination, until I became burdened by choice!
Iāve also heard great things about Crevette. Will be going in the coming weeks! You should grab a bottle at Parcelle or Lelabar before going 
1 Like
I actually managed to go to Crevette when I was in town a few weeks ago ( I have been remiss in getting back to you all with the results from your kind recommendations). I had a good meal there. There is a real sleeper of an appetizer they simply call āPetit Aioli of Spring Vegetables & Skate Cheeksā. I ordered it because I donāt get to experience skate cheeks where I live but it was so much more than that. It had very fresh just blanched veggies and the skate cheeks, but the star of the plate for me was a sous vide egg draped in anchovies. I told my server at the bar that I thought they could do a much better job describing it to sell more of it and he agreed he pushes it to people all the time.
Had a Red Shrimp Carpaccio which was lovely, and for the main I had Bouillabaisse of John Dory, Monkfish, Tilefish and Black Bass. The fish was cooked perfectly (my server told me they cook each fish separately to perfection then drop it in the soup just before serving). The only thing that didnāt make it totally amazing for me is that the broth was rather thick and heavy. It was delicious, and perhaps the right thing on a wintry night, but it was certainly the richest Bouillabaisse Iāve ever had.
Nicely creative BTG list for those of us who like unusual: I had a Clandestina Xarelo and a Clos Venturi Biancu Gentile from Corsica that was fantastic with a briny character that worked perfectly with the fish.
3 Likes
OMG. I thought I was the only one who remembered The Bagel. I was there 4 days a week in the early 90s.
While Iām at it Iāll catch up with my weekend of eating well on a short visit the end of April.
@gavin.f recommended Noreetuh as a lunch option and it was a great suggestion. Nicely done tiki cocktails, many kinds of musubi (I had a great Japanese scallop musubi that was great) and I loved my main course. I got the Peekytoe Crab Fried Rice with smoked salmon and salmon roe. The flavors were perfect together and the little bursts of salmon roe as you eat are kind of like seasoning on the fly.
Finally got to do the pasta tasting menu at Rezdora and I did the wine pairing as well. 2 of 5 five courses were exceptional and I liked all the others. The wines were good with the exception of a Barbera that the somm described as āa little umaniā. After a sip I had to point out to him that the āumamiā was really a brettanomyces infection and how Iām unfortunately more and more adversely sensitive to it after decades of wine making. It wasnāt terrible, and I pointed it out merely to let him know in a friendly way. The somm went home before I was done and when the bill came there was no wine pairing fee on the bill. I pointed it out and the server said the somm said that since I didnāt like one of the wines that he comped the entire thing! Way above and beyond so I over-tipped to make up for it.
Then I also finally got to go to La Bernadin after years of trying to fit it into my short visit/working schedules. I did the lunch menu and was quite impressed. Not usually one to dine at this level, I was a touch worried about being hungry after the meal but I found the portions were appropriate and all perfectly executed. I got to go with a friend so we could try more things. Just got a bottle of wine rather than spring for the wine pairing. Might have to do that sometime though.
The best news for me is that during this trip I finally managed to get a new distributor for our wines in NY after losing mine almost 3 years ago. So Iām very excited to now have to come back much more frequently again and eat well while selling wine.
9 Likes
Congrats on getting a distributor. No easy feat in this market.
2 Likes
Thatās the understatement of the year! I had over a decade of steady sales in NY, customers calling me weekly to ask how to order more wine, and no distributor would take on a ānewā winery to their book. I talked to over a dozen distributors, from larger to smaller, and no one would bite. Itās a pretty stark marker of how bad the wine business is right now. Iām just grateful to be an older, established brand - I canāt imagine trying to break into markets with a new winery right now.
3 Likes
huge congrats and love to hear some ITB success from this community. can you share who it is?
also, please consider doing a dedicated thread describing this journey, pitching partners, etc. iāve long felt thereās an immense amount of great and valuable info from the ITB part of this community that can really add an important perspective.
4 Likes
Thatās a great suggestion
Interesting article about Resy vs Open Table in the NYT. I get why the two platforms are competing for restaurant clients, but is there really any basis for expecting diners to prefer one platform over the other? Is that anywhere near the top 50 reasons one would choose where to eat?
1 Like
As I high volume user this really annoys me. I donāt like opentable and now I am forced to use it. It is not really a big problem just an annoyance. I have a feeling this is not going to end well.
I hear you. There is nothing about this that I appreciate.
I only eat out maybe once a week so maybe I donāt get it but whatās the difference which app you make a reservation on?
Huge difference. Resy is set up for high volume users who frequent a certain type of restaurant. Their notify function works very well for tough reservations and I often get contacted by restaurants that know me when they see my name on the notify list. Restaurants can also designate regulars to get priority times which is really nice. They have good content, good events etc. Just an overall better product for the serious food person. I am waiting to see what Resy does in response to Opentable.
4 Likes
Interesting. Seems like those functionality features should be easy to implement anywhere, the code canāt be that difficult to write?!
Maybe events are a different thing.
Iāve had two high profile (Michelin star) restaurants in Atlanta and California email me this month saying they were switching to Opentable (one from Resy, one from Tock). It is definitely gaining traction, and I certainly understand restaurants jumping at a big cash offer to switch.
at one point >10 years ago opentable seemed like the only game in town. i recall they had reward points that could be applied to your bill. definitely drank some nice champagne at maialino courtesy of my opentable account. another nice feature was some international availability in places like london, milan, etc. no real complaints about resy but it seems like it is a bit more gamified. waiting lists do not appeal to me. also i have no desire to use tock, prepaid or service fees, no thanks. i am wondering what the net impact to the dining landscape has been due to these services. i see the utility, but they also feel a bit rentier. frankly i love places that still require a phone call to reserve.
2 Likes
It is never a good move when a business makes a big change without asking their most loyal customers!
Like Deltaās recent move to take away priority boarding for 360 members. It is just stupid as it is such an easy perk that is valuable.
1 Like
dead serious, you should reach out to https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablotrivero/ and make these insights and concerns known.