The Big Apple
It’s been a while…
Just returned from a mega-gastronomy trip to the Big Appple and the new gastro-empire state (Chi-town).
These are the fine-dining restaurants our tasters have visited:
1) Per Se
2) Daniel
3) Jean Georges
4) Le Bernadin
5) Eleven Madison Park
6) Bar Masa
7) Kajitsu
8 ) Momofuku KO
9) Alinea
10) NEXT
11) L2O
and some ‘fun-dining’ places:
12) Momofuku Noodle Bar
13) Sushi of Gari
14) Wonjo (Koreatown)
15) Sunda (chicago)
16) Joe’s Stone Crab (chicago)
Shout-outs to our friends at finediningexplorer.com for setting us up at ALINEA , and to the team of Chef Grant Achatz (and Amanda, Emily , Ashely if you are reading this!) for their hospitality and for arranging the most sought-after table in the world right now – NEXT!
Some unbelievable meals we’ve had, both unbelievably good and unbelievable BAD 3-star restaurants!
stay tuned for each individual reviews on sfreelife.com!
“PER SE …had high expectations.. but this BEAT all that. Perfect in every way!”= very good?
11 madison? interested in the menu interaction!
jean-georges (lunch)?
perfect in every way = > very good!
11 Madison, had the prix fixe 4-course menu. very good not (yet) great.
jean-georges … disappointing
ok cancel jean-georges then, since a bit annoyed say cant wear jeans,
KO? although cant take pictures so a bit annoyed as well!!
per se and alinea both kind of thomas keller school? kind of like dungy’s tampa 4-3 defense compare a lebuea 3-4, parcell 3-4 etc.
thnking of trying wd50, gilt, marea, prune
im sure i saw some jeans during lunch at Jean Georges.
KO is not worth it… yeah no pics. no service, normal, over-priced food. Just eat the Noodle bar to sample Momofuku cooking. The ramen and pork bun are as good as advertised.
Grant might come from Keller, but Per Se & Alinea are totally different.
Usually, im the ‘avant garde cooking’ guy but Per Se was the prob the best ‘classical’ French i’ve eaten. Nothing ‘exciting’ but just real good food.
WD-50 wanted to try but couldnt fit in my schedule. go try the Dessert Tasting for me, im very intrigued!
Marea too, wanted to go but no time, heard it’s good Pasta.
A ‘late round steal’ would be KAJITSU … Japanese Temple Cuisine … 100% vegetarian, but extremely delicious! and at $75 , really recommended!
ok swap kajitsu for jean-georges then,
WD-50 desert tasting + tasting menu too much food?
will go to milk bar, see if have time to sample noodle bar,
OK classical cool, Per Se, can order 1 normal tasting and 1 veg tasting?
Alinea look really delicate, precision, creative , while i think maybe francescana’s creative approach is more post-modern, i.e. if view without my glasses it looks like normal dishes, salad, porridge etc. but the content spatially and temporally was inspiring….. and playing with temperature was subtle
prune only have time for brunch, but need to join waiting line, so maybe not
what about GILT? any opinion?
milk bar , from what i read, is very simple. but do try and share with me.
wd-50 , yeah its usually ppl going there for EITHER tasting OR dessert tasting… but y not?
im not sure abt Per Se, u’ll have to check but usually they expect everyone to order the same menu. you’ll be wise NOT to share tho, you want more!! (as Chef Keller is a believer in diminishing returns, so the portion is small)
be warned: it’s on a diff price level from the rest..and the ‘best dishes’ like oyster and caviar require ADDITIONAL $30-$60 (don’t even consider skipping them!) . It’s definitely a splurge, but i’d say totally worth it, even if you have to skip 2 other meals to pay for this! haha….
it’s difficult to categorize Alinea and/or Francescana … except that they are both ‘top of the world’ and there’s no equal (apart from a handful at the same level) they play with everything … concepts, techniques, silverware, ingredients, presentation, ideas, photographic image, memories, references, nostalgia , temperature, reinterpretations, excitement, imagination etc … A menu as such is a culmination of a genius’s life-long creations. eat it while u can … like watching a sporting great at his prime.
Prune is comfort food right? Gilt is 2-stars but i’ve not much idea on it … overlooked it as there are so many options to choose in NYC.
Kajitsu is a ‘steal’ not ’1st round pick’ . so be warned it might not work for everybody, but it really did impress me (us). the only reason why i think one should NOT go Kajitsu is that you’ve been or have plans to go soon to Kyoto to taste similar Chojin Ryori, otherwise it’d be an eye-opener.
Wait.. so are you or are you not visiting Chicago?
my cousin recomend milk bar and this korean wings bonchon
no time to chicago, only 11 days, but 5 days in IBM upstate new york!! 5.5 days in NYC,
I want to splurge but difficult trying to get reservation for PER SE via opentable, I think they dont give dinner tables for 2 on opentable, so will try lunch saturday and sunday be ready clicking website 11:59 am,
the oyster and pearl seems included? but the caviar require supplement? Are these two EITHER/OR or an AND?
was the 100 dollar wagyu there when you tried? so i am looking at 500 per head? maybe i need to get another credit card haha!!
WD-50 Maybe 1 tasting menu + some a la carte + 1 desert tasting to share
after trying bar MASA, would you have wanted to try MASA?
so you would say daniels and jean-georges would be like lebron in nba? keep thinking about expanding empire, without solid foundation, fraud superstar?
any tips on getting table (2 people) at PER SE? shitty times are ok! 4 people are much easier, but i cant find friends willing to splurge!!
i think it might be possible to book 4 and call them for 2 … or just call them up to book 2. don’t just look at opentable .. phone calls are much more reliable .. the opentable system is ‘stupid’ , it’s not flexible.
in reality, most fine dining places do try their best to accommodate your requests.
Bonchon?! there’s one recently opening in Thailand now… korean KFC.
ok too bad … Chicago has really good stuff!
oyster and pearl for me was NOT included, im not sure if it’s becos cos Lunch or what… but i had the FULL tasting menu and had to add-on. no i did not take the Wagyu, neither should you. Request the SQUAB , one of the best meat ever entered my mouth! crazy! the best foie gras i’ve eaten too …
definitely NOT. Bar Masa is so good that i think theres really no need to try Masa! in fact, im not sure if the waitress was over-selling, but she said the food, if the item is offered at both places, would beEXACTLY the same. The sushi was NOT great, other appetizers were… good stuff, still expensive but they were good.
Bar Masa is definitely a replication of L’Atelier de Robuchon concept… you could go for fine dining but why would you when you can have the ‘best dishes’ already at your table, to share/to play around with, order a la carte, in less intimidating atmosphere, at your own pace, at slightly cheaper price. Just don’t order like i did, and it wont burn a hole in your pocket! haha…
i wouldn’t say fraud-chef but Jean Georges is clearly the most successful restaurant entrepreneur. that guy now owns a stake in Starwood!
Daniel serves around 300 covers per night, so i guess he’s successful in that sense – running such an efficient system, unheard of in fine-dining. But when you travel just to EAT, u prefer to be amongst 40 or 70 ppl per night to be looked after delicately, wouldn’t you?
i did a mock booking, got a 11:30 table yeh!!, real one tomorrow, haha!!
yeh got it!!
Aw, I’m sorry the restaurant wasn’t what you extceped. I love pickles (I’m a convert used to detest them), but I bet I wouldn’t be too pleased either. Good to see you had a good time regardless, though, and that you get to see Jason Mraz!! You’ll have to tell me all about the concert. And it seems like the list we have of things in common just keeps growing and growing, ha! Love that you love to dance & SYTYCD! So excited for these new things you’re vaguely mentioning! ; )
My final line up
Aldea
Wd-50
Kajitsu
Per Se
Marea
Eleven Madison
any opinion on Blue Hill Stone Barns? Found this place close to my conference, but could only get a 10pm dinner slot.