Restaurant Recommendations

Michael_Bowden · September 6, 2017, 7:14pm

While I understand you went with the pairing…did you look at the wine list any? Thoughts, etc…

Jeff_Rosenberg · May 27, 2018, 11:00pm

Looking for a restaurant with a good wine list in NYC tonight. We are at the theater near 49th and Broadway. Any recommendations?

Michael_O_Brien · December 9, 2018, 5:56pm

Last week we had dinner at Eloise Chic Cuisine in Mexico City. Excellent food. Decent wine list. And by U.S. standards, quite reasonable.

http://eloise.rest/

Jay_Selman · February 22, 2019, 9:04pm

Have you tried Chaak in Tustin? Theme is Mayan food. Superb!

alan_weinberg · February 23, 2019, 4:14pm

one data point. Lousy service. Same people who own Gabby’s in Orange. Will retry.

Jay_Selman · February 23, 2019, 8:05pm

Thoughts on the food?

alan_weinberg · February 24, 2019, 1:03am

wasn’t impressed. Pork meatballs were bland, pork shoulder tough, chicken overcooked and dry, cauliflower good but not special. Must have picked wrong menu items. Friends liked the octopus, something I don’t eat. Gabby’s is better though loud and the food very sweet. Chaka Kitchen is also very, very loud.

Second data point—wife went w 8 other girlfriends. They unanimously decided never to return, as service and food were substandard.

Jay_Selman · February 27, 2019, 5:43pm

Wow, that sounds horrible. My experience was vastly better. Have you tried Sichuan Impression or New Taste?

alan_weinberg · February 28, 2019, 1:25am

neither.

Jay_Selman · February 28, 2019, 10:43pm

Try them. A bit hardcore (frog intestines) and spicy

stevetimko · February 28, 2019, 11:04pm

I see Sichuan Impressions in Santa Monica and near Monterey Park. Is this one of those or is there one behind the Orange Curtain?

Jay_Selman · February 28, 2019, 11:08pm

Lol. Both in Tustin

Matt_M2 · June 24, 2019, 8:01pm

Just came back from NYC: Nomad, Atera, Marea, Batard and Casa Mono. All fantastic.

Atera is three star worthy…Casa Mono was a surprise find for spanish tapas (1 star). Batard does a fantastic Quail.

All places had great wine lists.

Pastis also just re-opened and we popped in for a quick lunch. Solid… Sugarfish in SOHO was also great for lunch. Great value and no line-ups or wait.

Jay_Selman · June 24, 2019, 8:11pm

BTW, a new restaurant opened called Knife Pleat (where the old Marché Moderne used to be located in Costa Mesa). First class restaurant in every sense. $35 corkage.

G_Keeler · July 29, 2019, 8:19pm

We went to Knife Pleat this past weekend and I would say they are aiming for first class but have missed the mark on the food. Things start a bit strange at Knife Pleat, our server and the servers at each table around us start by asking each table if they have heard of chef Tony or been to one of his restaurants. Then they go into some history about chef Tony and its all a bit staged and they are obviously trying to make a brand out of chef Tony.

For the food, I started with the Langoustine and while plated nicely, this was a perfect example of sous vide gone wrong. The texture of the langustine was pure mush and just didn’t work at all. The rest of the components were good but the star of the show was off. Same can be said for my duck breast main. Another sous vide prep but the actual texture of the meat was nicely done this time but the skin was a flabby mess and tough to eat. In addition, they provided a massive portion of duck confit that was pressed into a square. Tasty but the portion was way out of balance for how rich it was. My wife’s crudo starter was solid but main of braised rabbit pasta was soupy and messy and didn’t fit the style of the rest of the dishes. Also, it’s really odd to charge $2 for an individual piece of bread. I don’t care about the money it just seems strange to have the customer even have to think about that. Just mark up every other dish by $1 to cover the bread.

We won’t be running back. It’s a bummer because it would be nice to add another higher end spot for OC but this isn’t it unless they make some changes.

Jay_Selman · July 29, 2019, 8:31pm

BTW, a new restaurant opened called Knife Pleat (where the old Marché Moderne used to be located in Costa Mesa). First class restaurant in every sense. $35 corkage.

We went to Knife Pleat this past weekend and I would say they are aiming for first class but have missed the mark on the food. Things start a bit strange at Knife Pleat, our server and the servers at each table around us start by asking each table if they have heard of chef Tony or been to one of his restaurants. Then they go into some history about chef Tony and its all a bit staged and they are obviously trying to make a brand out of chef Tony.

For the food, I started with the Langoustine and while plated nicely, this was a perfect example of sous vide gone wrong. The texture of the langustine was pure mush and just didn’t work at all. The rest of the components were good but the star of the show was off. Same can be said for my duck breast main. Another sous vide prep but the actual texture of the meat was nicely done this time but the skin was a flabby mess and tough to eat. In addition, they provided a massive portion of duck confit that was pressed into a square. Tasty but the portion was way out of balance for how rich it was. My wife’s crudo starter was solid but main of braised rabbit pasta was soupy and messy and didn’t fit the style of the rest of the dishes. Also, it’s really odd to charge $2 for an individual piece of bread. I don’t care about the money it just seems strange to have the customer even have to think about that. Just mark up every other dish by $1 to cover the bread.

We won’t be running back. It’s a bummer because it would be nice to add another higher end spot for OC but this isn’t it unless they make some changes.

Third report I have heard that echos yours. I am going on Wednesday and am less than enthusiastic. Corkage is $40 not $35 (sorry about that). The nickel and dime approach is something that I detest.