Originally Posted by
kiokujai
Sorry! Somehow I totally missed your response.
I just reached out to StR's concierge team and they heard that Chef Ramirez might be away first 2 weeks of July which is when I plan to go. If that's the case, that makes my decision easier as I would only want to go if Chef was there (plus I hear that when he's away they're actually closed).
I'm actually thinking of doing Le Coucou for lunch that same day to get the wife her French fix. We did Le Bernardin last time and absolutely loved it! Met Chef Eric Ripert as well which is a bonus.
Thanks for your feedback!
Yeah Chef Ramirez is always away for 2 weeks in early July every year, and indeed the restaurant is closed while he's away. Just thought of a casual alternative, Uchu Kaiseki. The chef there (Sam Clonts) used to work at CTBF, and after dining there I felt that many of his dishes were "inspired" by Chef Ramirez' menu. His execution is definitely not in the same league, but overall still very good for almost 1/2 the cost, could be an option if you have an extra meal to fill.