High-end Dining: Expectations and Reviews

[7ontheline]

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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.

[PITTM]

el d,

looking at the menu for the ritz i was expecting the prices to be about 2x what they are. this looks quite affordable, i will probably hit that up sometime, you would actually put it above craftsteak? having an ex french laundry sous chef is quite impressive.

[El Diablo]

PITTM,

There's no comparison, it is imo at an entirely different level than Craftsteak. Ron Siegel is a truly world class chef.

BTW, you may have noticed there's no menu for the nine-course tasting menu. For that one you just sit back and enjoy, not knowing what he's going to send out. However, the theme is similar to the other ones in that you'll get a nice balanced mix of Japanese sushi themed dishes, some fish, some red meat, some other meat, etc. If you go as a couple, each of you will get a different plate each course. And like the other ones, in addition to the nine courses, you'll get a number of plates of amuse bouches to start.

[firstyearclay]

I will start with reviews on N9ne and Nove.

N9ne tomorrow.

fyc

[El Diablo]

limon,

Delmonico Steakhouse in Vegas is one of Emeril's restaurants. He was executive chef at Commander's Palace for a number of years.

[NLSoldier]

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I will start with reviews on N9ne and Nove.

N9ne tomorrow.

fyc

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if n9ne is the way you spell the one at the palms, that was my favorite dining experience ever. but i havent been to any places quite as fancy as most of the ones in this thread. also, before i was 21 i was really easy to please because any place that would serve me without carding started off at like 7 out of 10.

[Banks2334]

One of my favorite chef/authors is Anthony Bourdain. In his book A Cook's Tour, he does a good job describing what an experience at Thomas Keller's French Laundry is like. Keller gives some insight into what he is trying to accomplish and that is to create a memory. A memory that when the person goes somewhere else, they will say "This remeinds me of the French Laundry". Bourdain goes on to write-

Memory-that's a powerful tool in any chef's kit. Used skillfully, it can be devastatingly effective. I don't know of any other chef who can pull it off so successfully. When you're eating a four-star meal in one of the worlds best restaurants, and tiny, almost subliminal suggestions keep drawing you back to the grilled cheese mom used to make you on rainy days, your first trip to Baskin Robbins, or the first brasserie meal you had in France, you can't help- even the most cynical of us- but be charmed and lulled into a state of blissful submission. It's good enough when a dish somehow reminds you of a cherished moment, a fondly remembered taste from years past. When those expectations and preconceptions are then routinely exceeded, you find yourself happily surprised.

[ElSapo]

I thought I'd compare two recent experiences from Washingtno, D.C., which sometimes gets overlooked as a city with great restaurants.

My girlfriend and I ate at Citronelle, the Michel Richard restaurant in Georgetown. There are four restaurants in the D.C. area generally thought to be a true four-star experience, and this is one of them.

The food seems to step above "food" and walks easily into the realm of art. We did a three-course tasting menu that was about $90 per person (before wine) and the restaurant also offers a $160 per person menu for secen courses.

The dishes ranged from something done in a more "traditional" style, but fantastically -- duck two ways, for instance, cooked perfectly but with a relatively simple plating. Or a dish they call the "surf 'n turf moasaic" which used thin slices of carpaccio (eel, beef, pepper, tuna, beet and so on... ) to turn the plate into a stained glass window. The most stunning plate I've ever been served, and I was amazed to find out later the dish originated as a way to use scrap.

Service was flawless except for a misstep at the end — we ordered a coffee that went to the wrong table.

The wine list ranges from about $60 to $5,000, but it's weighted around the $100-range and seems to have a lot of good value on the lower end. They have a "coffee list" which struck me as a really nice touch — the downside, was that at the time it listed only one coffee.

All total the bill ran somewhere over $400 after drinks and tip and more drinks and tax and so on. Frankly, I felt a little out of my element here and wasn't 100 percent comfortable but I think that's mostly because the place has so much hype surrounding it. It was an amazing experience - Richard seems to be a very playful chef who is known for making one thing that looks like something else: using, say, mozarella and yellow tomato to make what looks like a hard boiled egg. Touches like this elevate the meal.

On the flip side...

Shortly after we ate at Citronelle, my girlfriend and I ate at Obelisk -- a really small place near Dupont Circle. Chef Peter Pastan offers a five-course meal for $65; his food is considered "Italian New American," whatever that means.

Obelisk is a great contrast to Citronelle's formality - tiny room, smaller cost, less flare. Pastan seems to do as little as possible with his ingredients, but what he does is amazing.

The meal starts with an Italian anti pasti that goes six dishes: light cow's milk cheese, lightly topped with olive oil. A kind of meat, "like bologna, but better," the waitress told me, and it was delicious and light. A bean salad with crab meat, some sort of croquette, and so on...

Second course is a pasta course with three choices; the pasta is all made in-house.

Third is a "main" course that usually involves meat: I opted for the grilled pork that had been brined with salt, sugar and star anise - this was amazing. The taste had a sort of shape and texture to it, and by the next weekend I was trying to brine my own chops in anise.

Fourth is a cheese and fig course - three cheeses, sweet fig jam. Desert was a couple of choices including strawberries over vanilla ice cream with balsamic vinegar. I'd never had this before, but it was amazing.

Total bill ran $235, and it just seemed like such a great experience and value - especially when compared with Citronelle.

Pastan is not Richard, and doesn't claim to be. So much of what he does, he does by doing so little. But the food was really fantastic, the restaurant understated and the service was excellent (the servers in both places knew the menu perfectly).

On the one hand, I don't think you can compare the two places. They have completely different aspirations and deliver very different experiences. Citronelle met expectations, for sure; but Obelisk crushed my expectations, and now I can't wait to go back.

Some restaurants, I think you go to be wowed — the chef is offering a performance as much as a meal. I think that's the direction high-end dining has gone in the last few years. The New York Times had a great column by Frank Bruni on this recently... bruni's column

...I agree with some of it, but don't have the same perspective. It's a very NYC-based column, for sure.

Just some thoughts...

[govman6767]

Review,

Before I left for Iraq me and the girl decided to make reservations for the newly renovated restaraunt on top of the Space Needle..... (Picture top of the world type rest.)

Final dinner tab was 300 with tip.

App. I had the Kobe Beef Strips (Outstanding beyond all belief) 20 bucks (Small portions)

My girl had the Crab cakes 25 bucks.... Bigger portion. I did not taste but my girl said it was the best she had ever had.

Dinner.

My girl had Lobster fettuchini type meal and it was great 50 bucks or so.

I had the 8 oz Filet Migenon with a potato WRAPPED in a bacon strip. I can say with no ego it was the best steak I ever had.

They say the new chef they hired for the grand reopening is one of the top 75 in the world.

The waiters were the best I've ever had water never got to 3/4ths of a glass.

The View is awsome (not as good as vegas view) but still great.

The only problem I had was the menu was WAYYYYYYY TOO SMALL if they did not have the steak I would have not had anything to eat. (I'm not a big seafood fan) Though my girl was in heaven.

Also the light at our table was a bit too bright and tables not made for FAT PPL [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Other than that I would say this was one of my best dining experiences ever.

The wait staff said since they just reopened they will have growing pains.... (Tables and lights etc) but they even gave you a survey to fill out on the cook and staff.

Reservations were required but you get a free ride to top of space needle.

Top notch.... Top Notch

[hyde]

I spent 20 years in the restaurant industry. I am one picky bastard. I am personally drawn to country atmosphere. I have not enjoyed my New York 'fine' dining experiences.

The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk Maine. The finest atmosphere ever. The barn must be 150 years old. Beautiful and unusual antiques adorn the lofts. Lots of wood everywhere. The tables are well placed for privacy, the lighting perfect. Too many places either require a lantern to read the menu or sunglasses. The owner pays attention to detail like no other restaurant I have been to.
The owner instructs his staff that the customer experience is theater. Perfect awareness of customer status, while absolutely non-intrusive. The pacing is perfect, always. The simultaneous service is a nice touch. As with all first class dining, you leave feeling satisfied, not full.

The Jackson House in Woodstock Vermont. The finest meal ever. I chose the 13 course chefs' something or other. ($105).
The dining room manager explained each course as it came to the table. He had to. There were some strange things I was sure I was not going to like.....unusual combinations that just didn't sound right( I wish I could recall details, but it was a couple years ago). Every dish was incredible, the blending of ingredients not usually associated were just plain great. Again, the portions were such that we left satisfied, not full.

The Longhorn Steak House, everywhere. They have a fried cheesecake with ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries...JHC what a tasty artery clogger.