Go on…
Ha! I would have said a null set, but apparently there are some exceptions through tremendous effort.
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My first post and embarrassingly it’s non-wine related such were my strong feelings about this particular experience. Visited 2018 with 3 friends on the basis of my friends NYC food blogger mate who rated it highly. Expectations were high. Menu was heavy on seafood and bland. When meat came I ended up leaving half my wagyu. I’m not sure how it’s possible to screw up cooking wagyu. Was memorably expensive and underwhelming which was probably compounded by having high expectations going into it. NYC blessed with many great restaurants but this albeit dated experience was one big miss. Clearly others not agree but can only share what I experienced as did my three other guests
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NYC is not great for the high-end multi-course tasting experience. Most of the one-star restaurants are better than the three-stars (and the other one-stars are benefitting from star inflation in the NYC guide).
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Wow, that stinks to hear considering it’s on my visit list for the future. Hopefully just an outlier experience.
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Based on all the reviews / stars we probably got unlucky plus it was way back in 2018
When y’all go to the number one restaurant can you tell me which number one wine I should order too? TIA
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Most nice places screw up cooking wagyu all the time. TFL (among other high end restaurants) had served it simply seared and medium rare when fatty wagyu should be prepared differently for better fat rendering. In Japan they rarely serve such fatty wagyu rare and often use a binchotan charcoal grill where it perfumes itself when the fat renders onto the hot coals. There seems to be a misconception among a lot of American chefs that wagyu has to be served like a med-rare steak, which I never really understood!
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Speaking of Brooklyn - Oxalis has fabulous food.
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As someone who has eaten at Brooklyn Fare more than 15x and eats out regularly around the world your review makes absolutely no sense. I have never heard anyone that was disappointed with a meal there. Chef Cesar uses the absolutely best ingredients and unlike other Chefs of his calibre only runs one restaurant and is always in the kitchen. The fact that you said that the menu is mostly seafood clearly shows you don’t understand the restaurant - that is the point, he gets the best seafood money can buy. It would be like complaining that a high end Sushi Omakase was mostly seafood. I hope other readers will take the OP’s review with a grain of salt.
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Maybe you are a little slow… person goes to a restaurant with 3 friends, they have memorably bad meal, writes a review. Maybe you should question your own taste if you chose to go there 15x
My knowledge of restaurants and 10 year track record here of giving good recommendations can stand for itself.
Those who want to take your review into consideration are welcome.
And those who want a rebuttal from someone who is known here now has mine.
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It was a review from 2018, not that I don’t dig your point.
Robert knows NY restaurants , that’s for sure .
When I want to go to a top top place ( like you called it ) , I would focus on the food , the wine is not so important and probably overpriced anyway . And all of these top restaurants have good wine lists but expensive and quickly out of stock for the gem category ( Coche Dury etc ).
My top for the real best : Atomix , Masa , Chef’s Table , Jungsik , Atera .
For wine : indeed the Grill .
My favorite for fun : the Modern Bar .
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Why is 11 Madison not being mentioned much? Last time I ate there (years ago unfortunately), it had an excellent wine list with grandiose food. Has 11 Madison gone south somehow?
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Probably because they switched to a plant-based menu a few years ago. Who wants to drink their Musigny with vegetables? I have not been since the switch but I have been eating mostly vegan at home and I find it tough to pair red wine with anything vegan. I could see how it would work well with whites, but I have not found a good red pairing yet. However, I am not Daniel Humm and he may have created dishes that do work with reds.
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I believe you can still request a regular menu after making the reservation. I was never impressed by EMP even before they switched over to the new style of menu. Their food was never that comforting/delicious and the theatrics were not as good as other restaurants of the same caliber.
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I haven’t been to the vegan version of EMP, but we ate in the lounge after the redesign, and weren’t that impressed. V.1 after Humm took over was really great (and with Leo Robitschek at the bar). It started going sideways for me when they went for the “NYC” themed tasting menu. But even then the lavender duck was always mind-blowing. Now, I can’t say I care enough to go back and check it out.
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Supposedly they will still make meat dishes for private events. According to Pete Wells’ last review, anyway.
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The Grill is a really great restaurant when also wanting a wine experience. I usually get the squab which is delicious and the duck press pasta which is also hedonistic. I have tried the hen as well and that was pretty decent for white meat poultry dishes! Added some more pictures and a picture of the Yquem flight they were offering (I believe $150 for the four vintages).
Keep in mind this is a Mario Carbone (MFG) restaurant, so it’s similar to Carbone in the sense where the ambiance and service is over the top and not akin to modern Michelin white tablecloth experiences.
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