High-end Dining: Expectations and Reviews

[citanul]

El D,

Indeed the thread originally had pretty bad and nebulous specifications. I thought your post in the middle somewhere where you clarified for me was very good though with respect to what types of place I actually intended. I think that keeping wine/drinks out of the equation is helpful, but basically, I wanted to talk about the class of restaurants that are above the standard:

$8-$12 appetizer
$25-$35 entree
$8-$12

=~$60 for food alone type places that are incredibly common everywhere and the standard of "Friday Night Date for yuppies around the world.

I wanted primarilly to talk about places that are "destination restaurants," usually with tasting menu options, but leave room for other things above the "norm" as well.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

Cit, Diablo,

I didn't mean to nit up this thread with meal definitions. I will be sure to post a review of a fine dining experience I have had lately!

and Cit I think Radius is very expensive and just ok. I think it's more about "hey look at where I take my clients so I can impress them", not in a "it's all about awesome food and service " way.

[Aloysius]

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and Cit I think Radius is very expensive and just ok. I think it's more about "hey look at where I take my clients so I can impress them", not in a "it's all about awesome food and service " way.

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Kind of reminds me of Sucker's post... and to the idea of "value".

There are prolly very few, amazing restaurants throughout the country and world that are uncommonly good, with perfect exeuction and service, these "destination restaurants".

But (I haven't been to Radius, but having been an i-banker and VC in NY and SF, and now working in H'wood, have had opp to eat many dinners on the company dime at "fine dining" establishments in 3 major cities) - and alot of these places are only OK to not that good, and you can find comparable to better service and food at more reasonable prices.

This is based on the price range you gave in the OP, and sort of clarified in your most recent post.

-Al

[El Diablo]

All,

Let's get this thread back on track w/ less discussion of what qualifies and more posts about what you love/hate about high-end restaurants and reviews.

High-end is going to be different for everyone. But in general, we're talking about "special occassion" or maybe "once a month date" or "expense account business dinner woohoo!" type places, not the "go out to a nice dinner on Friday night" places.

A ballpark price range for this is something like over $100 per person bill with a basic bottle of wine. But don't get hung up on that, it'll be more expensive in SF and NYC, less expensive in the midwest and south. By now I think people should know what type of places we're talking about here - if you have a gem of a place that is a real dining experience, review it.

OK, enough discussion on this crap.

Quince and Michael Mina reviews from me shortly.

[citanul]

El D,

Nicely put, thanks.

Tru review and probably Spiaggia review coming from me tonight.

[60Vauban]

Due to the nature of my work, I was in a position where I was invited to A Voce by someone who works there. It was a Friday night, and just me for dinner. The menu was chosen by them and I tried everything they put in front of me! I'll list how they came out of the kitchen as they brought me a lot of food. I felt a lot of pressure to eat as much as they sent out because I was there as a guest.


To start - Sardinian sheep's milk ricotta with fresh bread. This tasted like nothing I've ever had before. Fluffy white clouds and it melted in my mouth. I also had their Salami appetizer which was sliced Tuscan sausage. Just like it tastes in Italy.

Next was a surprising mix of mussels with a sausage marinara sauce. I would have never thought these could go together, but the sausage bits were the perfect "kick."

Then I had one of the house specialties, the meat ravioli. These three ravioli were amazing. Just parmesan and tomato and a rich combination of flavors.

The "main" dish was the Quail saltimbocca. Made with lentils, proscuitto and fig this was another combination I hadn't ever considered. They wrap the quail meat in a little roll and then fry it for a second like a spring roll. At this point I was already getting stuffed so I soldiered on through this one, and I wished I could have it the next day.

They let me breathe for a few minutes before serving me the cheese dish. This was served on a japanese style wooden block - 3 choices of cheese and 3 sweet/savory compliments. the compliments were 3 perfect walnuts, 2 dried apricots and a dollop of honey.

For desert the insanity really set in. Three waiters came over, each with a different dish. They brought a cup of sorbet - banana and grape, hot beignets with chocolate and creme fraiche AND a beautiful pannacotta in fig sauce. I ate about half of each of these even though there really wasn't any room to spare. The sorbets were delicate and unusual, and very refreshing after the cheese course. The beignets were like they were in France, so perfect and thinly coated in granulated sugar. The pannacotta was delicious and I would order it again.

I finished the meal with espresso and Faretti Biscotti liqueur at the bar.

Throughout the meal the sommelier was attentive with wine choices. I started with Bortolotti Prosecco and with each dish change a new choice was presented. I would type out the full list but I can't read my writing very well as I was pretty tanked by the end of everything. I do remember the Maculan Dindorello with desert. A sweet wine that went well at the end of the meal.

This is a great restaurant and Bruni's review in the NYT nailed a lot of the high (and low) points. I had amazing service but the two ladies next to me were not happy. It was probably 20 minutes until someone took their order and admittedly they didn't receive the attention they deserved. At one point they asked me if I was a food critic because of the volume of food that was being brought out for just me (and the fact that with each course I had to ask exactly what it was they had just brought). I shared my deserts with them and they were happy again.

I like the decor - Eames management chairs and crimson walls, but it is very loud in there and I think it would be difficult for one to carry on a conversation with a group of more than 4. I would definitely go again even if I wasn't on business.

[Mermade]

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this is classic southern style service. commanders palace new orleans is the best at this.

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I'm pretty sure this is not restricted to the southern U.S. Not exactly the paragon of classic fine dining culture, restaurants like Commander's Palace notwithstanding.

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i would disagree w/ you on this. service at private clubs and many great public establishments in the south is attentive bordering on ridiculous. many times i have thought they were going try to give me a slave in a doggy bag to take home. its embarassing, the south is another planet.

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I feel I must say that I was treated abominably at Commander's Palace and will never go back. I understand that my treatment there was an exception to an overall impeccable reputation. I have had others return from Commander's with amazing stories of kitchen tours, interviews with the executive chef and owners, special courses, etc. My experience was so far from that as to almost seem to describe a different restaurant. My visit was eight years ago and just thinking about it can make my anger rise.

I made reservations months in advance and confirmed twice: once a month after I made the reservation and once the day we left on our trip. The trip was planned to celebrate a special occasion and was my birthday gift to my boyfriend (now turned husband). He'd never been to the city and I was excited to see him experience New Orleans for the first time.

We arrived in the city and I called a final time to let them know we'd arrived. They required this final confirmation from their out of town guests. When I called I was informed that our reservation was not for 11pm but 9pm. They'd bumped it up 2 hours. However, they didn't say that. Instead they tried to tell me I'd mistaken the time of my reservation . This was impossible as I'd made the reservation myself and confirmed twice including the day before. They insisted that it was my mistake and they couldn't accomodate for customer error. They'd seat us at 9pm or not at all.

We got into town at 8pm, so they expected us to be at the restaurant in an hour. We had planned it so we'd have 3--time to get showered and ready at a leisurely pace. Instead we threw on our clothes and jumped in a cab.

We got there on time, when we entered the restaurant we had to stand around. Two front house staff were talking at the front desk. I had to interrupt to tell them our name. Now this next thing had me seething... They said "You? YOU'RE Ms. Mermade?" They repeated my last name several times sort of incredulously. Tacky and culturally insensitive. I've born better treatment growing up with a Brazilian surname in the rural Midwest than I did at this high end restaurant. They sounded positively backward.

After this they lead us to our table. We saw now why they bumped up the reservation, the place was empty but for 2 tables. Obviously they didn't want to stay open until 11 just for us. Now restaurants sometimes ask customers to make these adjustments, but they ought to be apologetic about it. I've certainly never had a restaurant so clearly lie about the situation. They should say, "I'm sorry we are now unable to seat you at 11, but can take you at 9. We apologize for the incovenience." They had plenty of opportunity as well to let me know in advance and did not. They damn well should have been honest, they should have made it up to me, instead they lied to make it appear my mistake, and I was not even treated civilly.

Our table situation was at the front of the restaurant rubbing elbows with the people next to us. We could hear every word of their conversation and vice versa. We were cramped in an empty restaurant.

We ordered the full tasting menu with wine pairings. Our server showed visible displeasure. The entire vibe of the whole evening was that the place was dead and they wanted us out of there as soon as possible. We were in their way. They then proceeded to make our experience miserable.

Our courses came out as fast as they could get them out. They tried to pull plates while we were still eating off of them. They brought the next wine while we were still eating the previous course. They actually pushed my salad course to the side to set down the next course. We tried politely to ask them to slow down service, but they did not.

The fish course had been steamed in parchment. When the server brought it out he was accompanied by 3 or 4 other people. He announced (did not ask) that he would be demonstrating the technique for these other servers. He then proceeded to botch it badly, sawing at the paper with a knife, at a stand set too close me as I was sitting at the table. In graduate school I was a server at a high end restaurant and had done this tableside myself many times before. It was just completely amateur.

This was eight years ago and I'm still spitting mad. I had set it up for night to remember and my husband found the food average and experience unpleasant . There was no upside to this story either. The trip was planned around this one restaurant experience. Our time in New Orleans was brief. I had no opportunity to rescue the trip from being a complete disappointment.

Cliff notes: Commander's Palace is place of great reputation, but my experience there makes me justifiably hate it with a fierce passion. I feel I was treated abominably and will never go back.

[El Diablo]

Mermade,

That sounds horrible. Did you speak to a manager about it afterwards or were you too mad/disappointed to even think of that? Honestly, if I were you, I'd print out that post and send it to them now, 8 years later. Just to let them know.

[Mermade]

El Diablo--

I didn't speak to the manager. I was just too angry to speak about it in the moment. I was also trying to keep it as light and as enjoyable for my boyfriend as I could. I didn't want to further damper what was supposed to be our special night with an unpleasant exchange.

Later, I wasn't in the mood for hollow apologies and there was nothing they could do to rectify the situation. We left New Orleans the next morning, and I had already resolved never to set foot in the restaurant again. Of course, it would have been nice to have the meal comped. That is the least they could have done, but I believed at the time and later that it just wasn't worth it.

[PITTM]

My girlfriend and i are going to the melting pot (pdf menu) for our 6 month anniversary. It was her idea but i think it sounds really awesome, not only as a delicious dinner, but as a kinda romantic thing. I've read some reviews, and while it seems to be a chain it typically seems to get great reviews, especially for the service and atmosphere parts of the meal. has anyone been here before? Or any fondue restaurant? I'm pretty excited and i would like to hear a bit more.