I’ve never been - glad to know it’s so jolly. Was Place des Fêtes what you hoped for?
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Yup. Yup.
Still great and v much agree with your call on Trout dish.
Slightly prefer the previous version of the mussle.
Pork main was perfectly cooked and the texture of the greens that came with was weirdly perfect congruence.
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Does Henry’s End still specialize in wild game? What did you order?
https://www.henrysend.com/dinnermenu
Alas, no. I went with fried chicken. Others: burger and ravioli.
They do during the “wild game festival”/game season (fall and winter).
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Has anyone been to Meju?
Heading tonight. First time.
Is the list on their site remotely accurate? Seems very interesting, if so.
Yes. Was about 15% var.
went 1990 bdx which was great in classical vibe.
2002 auslese - was refermenting, they caught it at same time I did and como us bottle.
Finished with 1927 PX all day and very old calvados which was not to my taste, but fascinating.
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Earlier this week I had what has probably been, in my personal experience, one of the best burgers in NYC at Cafe Zaffri inside the new-ish Twenty Two Hotel and Private Club (on 16th between Union Square West and 5th Ave).
The loosenes and juiciness of the patty were sublime. The Lebanese influence comes through in the spice and the house made black and white sesame seed bun was a thing of beauty. The seasoned fries that accompanied it were also amazing. Sorry I did not take a picture of it.
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This person thinks Ops Manhattan is better than the Bushwick location.
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This was a fascinating, incongruent, and strangely compelling experience.
The food is really good. The experience waffles between schtick with an extra coat and genuine. The space is lovely. The vibe is a little awkward. The music is great.
I went for a solo late night dinner at Ci Siamo last night and food and wine always hit the mark for me, but I had a service snafu that is still bothering me. I ordered a glass of Tiberio Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo and upon initial taste could tell it had been open for too long. The bartender saw my expression and asked what was wrong, and I said it tasted oxidized. Instead of offering to open a new bottle, he told me that was the style and that I probably should taste another rose. I did that annoying sommelier thing where I started rattling off everything I know about Cerasuolo in part to defend myself, and luckily one of the sommeliers recognized me and poured me a fresh glass which was delightful! And I ended up getting a bottle of Tribut Chablis 2020 as well. But I hate imagining guests being shut down and made to feel dumb for pointing out a flaw in a wine.
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Off-thread but germane to your post, in 2022 we had dinner at a respected restaurant outside Rome. I ordered a 2017 Fiano d’Avellino from a producer I knew only by reputation. A taste was poured and it seemed more oxidized than it should have been. I asked one of my dining companions, with an outstanding palate to try it and he concurred. The server said that they serve a lot of it and ll have been that way. The manager came over, tasted it and said the same. I expressed my disappointment with the selection and subtly demonstrated that I know wine and Fiano… All he said was “sorry” you don’t like it but the bottle is correct.” It was drinkable but not enjoyable.
I don’t recall the price, which likely was neither expensive nor cheap. At the end of the meal, the manger offered us complimentary glasses of digestif from their impressive collection. It was appreciated but the meal had long since been marred by the wine and the experience…
Curious, if this happened in your restaurant, how you would handle it.
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We all try to taste so as to ensure no flawed bottles are poured at the restaurant, but if that step is missed I would want my staff to listen to the guest. I think that the sommelier (shout out Maddie!) at Ci Siamo did the right thing and opened a fresh bottle for me. I think we should listen to our guests. I get people who ask me for skin contact wine all the time, and I am not the biggest fan, but I listen to what they enjoy from it and I taste them on what I have and just make an effort to make them feel welcome.
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Yeah I sent back an oxidized glass of red at a ** in France a few weeks ago and the somm was a bit obnoxious about it. In fairness I did accept the glass initially but quickly realized it was not up to snuff. They noted it had only been opened the night before…but it was the last glass remaining from a bottle which of course is going to oxidize much faster.
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I personally think any time a guest orders a BTG and requests it from a fresh bottle it should be allowed. I rarely order BTG but when I do I prefer to see it come out of a fresh bottle. I know the economics behind BTG pours and it does not hurt the restaurant in any way. I have been at top restaurants, one that would blow your mind, and watched them marry yesterdays BTG pours into a bottle for service that day!
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I don’t think I’m off base in saying that not only does this kind of thing happen way too often, but also that it happens way more often to female guests than male. It’s no wonder that we sometimes need to “flash our credentials” in response to, or to head off, condescencion.
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generally awful but very typical service situation you experienced… but this is one hell of a recovery! Brava.
I’d have not been erudite, but I would have said “ I don’t appreciate the condescension, I’ve had the wine before, and know what it tastes like”.
Little Banchan Shop (which is the storefront for Meju) was a staple in my household when we lived in LIC and the concept of Meju should in theory be right up my alley but every time I see pictures of the food, my reaction is… this just looks like what my grandma used to cook but served one morsel at a time, and I have a mentally hard time justifying ~$300/pp after tip and tax. And I’m not one of those people who think “Korean food should never cost over [_] dollars” because I have enjoyed other high-end Korean places.
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