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Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30427623)
Good luck! FWIW, you can book Benu from OpenTable if necessary. I was just back there in Sept and loved it. It’s still my favorite in the city, right along with Atelier Crenn (we get back there in Dec). |
Originally Posted by estnet
(Post 30214829)
Don't know if they're open those dates but highly recommend Le Sputnik Tokyo!
I would also comment that the concierge at the Prince Gallery hotel in Tokyo is incredibly slow at responding - the level of service compared to the Peninsula or the Four Seasons is quite a step down... |
Originally Posted by PsiFighter37
(Post 30443224)
I would also comment that the concierge at the Prince Gallery hotel in Tokyo is incredibly slow at responding - the level of service compared to the Peninsula or the Four Seasons is quite a step down...
theluxurycollectionhotels.com whereas before the integration it was luxurycollection.com and that may be part of the challenge. FWIW, the Prince Gallery concierge team was incredibly responsive with me for our May 2018 stay, and also managed to get us bookings at Yoshitake, Narisawa, and Sawada. They got game. They just may not be receiving your emails. |
Originally Posted by Bohemian1
(Post 30429272)
Still trying to flip a coin between LAX and SFO for our annual Spring mini-break restaurant tour of new places (to us) and maybe some old faves. But you got me thinking about Benu again ...
Between FT and Opinionated About Dining, we are now digging through the recommendations. Saison is most certainly high on 'haven't been yet' list. |
I was just at Kojyu in September, and it was one of my favorite meals in Tokyo. I was curious about the Okuda outpost, which is actually just downstairs from the main restaurant I think. Hope you enjoy it, and let us know how it is!
Okuda's NYC shop just received a star. After my experience in Tokyo, definitely looking to try it out at some point here. Funny side note, our meals on ANA flight back to NYC were curated by Chef Okuda as well, and we actually received these free drink vouchers at Okuda NYC during the flight. I totally want to use the vouchers when we visit Okuda, but my husband thinks it's *weird* to bring coupons to a nice meal. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Haha. What do you guys think?
Originally Posted by PsiFighter37
(Post 30443224)
Sadly, Le Sputnik is not open at the end of the year :( So far, I have booked Ginza Okuda (1*, the second outpost run by the folks running 2* Kojyu) for dinner on 1/1, and Ryo (1*, unagi) on 12/30. Trying to see what I can do for 12/31...lots of choices seem to be closed.
I would also comment that the concierge at the Prince Gallery hotel in Tokyo is incredibly slow at responding - the level of service compared to the Peninsula or the Four Seasons is quite a step down... |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30443567)
I think you may discover that new email addresses and server issues due to the Marriott IT integration fiasco may be at play with communication. I’ve also had issues getting responses from my contacts at hotels which normally respond ASAP—because they aren’t always receiving the emails I’d sent. You may want try calling or otherwise reaching out to customer suppprt to confirm the email domain. It’s now theluxurycollectionhotels.com whereas before the integration it was luxurycollection.com and that may be part of the challenge. FWIW, the Prince Gallery concierge team was incredibly responsive with me for our May 2018 stay, and also managed to get us bookings at Yoshitake, Narisawa, and Sawada. They got game. They just may not be receiving your emails. That said, I did go on OpenTable this morning and snagged a 7PM reservation at Benu in a couple months, so I have that going for me :) |
Originally Posted by PsiFighter37
(Post 30450562)
That said, I did go on OpenTable this morning and snagged a 7PM reservation at Benu in a couple months, so I have that going for me :)
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Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30450667)
Told everyone! It’s the only 3 star I know that can be so easily booked. It’s my fave in SF, so I hope you love it as much as I do. If you like wine, don’t miss the pairing. |
Ate Thanksgiving Dinner at Bouley at Home (1*) in NYC...not impressed. Service was well below par for what I would expect, and while the turkey was exceptionally done, everything else was quite mediocre. Disappointed since Bouley's main restaurant does French cuisine quite well.
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Booking for my trip to Basque country in February...unfortunately, some of the high-profile spots are closed during this time of year. So far, I have Arzak (3 stars), eMe Be Garrote (1 star), and Azurmendi (3 stars, for lunch) in the books. Looking forward to them ^
Next Michelin bites will be at Carbone and Ai Fiori (1 star, NYC). Carbone is phenomenal; I have not been to Ai Fiori recently - had a great experience when I first went, but my wife tells me that the quality has gone down since. |
Dani Garcia Marbella **/***
We decided sponteneous the day before to eat dinner at Dani Garcia and got a table without problems.It´s was the only 2 Michelin star restaurant at Costa del Sol and on the paper its best restaurant. I just saw today that it now got 3 stars in the new guide so I´m especially happy I tried it (3 star restaurants are normally must visit places).
The restaurant is not easy to find. When we arrived it wasn´t clear were to find it, it´s in the courtyard of the Hotel Puente Romano. The restaurant is "cool" with a green wall. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...65f35acc93.jpg We decided to eat a la carte as we didn´t like the fixed menu. First Amuse Buche: https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cfc75244c3.jpg Our non-alcoholic cocktails: https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...61a1646809.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7a02936c65.jpg Second Amuse Bouche: https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5631b50b81.jpg Bread weagon and 3 kinds of butter: https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f45ae3ffcd.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a829af3e6c.jpg First regular course was for me "Red prawn carpaccio with truffle honey" https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...92858eb439.jpg I absolutely liked the carpaccio. Very Fresh. Starters were "Seasonal vegetable garden, butternut aquash & orange puree" https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5eb4cdbf7b.jpg and "Lobster salad, leaves, vegetables, herbs, nitro-popcorn & RAF tomato" https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...05073fd5b7.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...48624e8450.jpg While the vegetable garden was a very good dish the lobster salad was spectacular. Main courses were "Roasted sea bass, gourd seed Juice, White prawns, paramentier potatoes and papayo cheese" https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...acbbcdf58c.jpg and this dish which is no longer on the menu and I can´t properly remember: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3fc5429088.jpg I can remember that both dishes were of high quality and really enjoyable. One dessert were "textures of almond". They did a big deal of it as they "produced" the plates on the dish at the table. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0a7f1a0513.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f31987ccfa.jpg It wasn´t my taste as they used some alcohol for it. I had "Al-Andalus dew, orange blossom and pistachio" https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8852acd226.jpg An absolutely great dessert, one of the best I can remember. Petit fours https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...296765b0c3.jpg A very enjoyable meal! It´s always hard to see the difference between a good 2 star and a 3 star but some dishes were definitively "world class", the rest very good. I can imagine in the future it will be hard to get a table the day before. By the way they raised ther prices after they got the 3rd star. |
I wonder if we can take advantage of the Expert Review formats to write reviews/summaries of our Michelin restaurants for this thread. It would make searching for the summaries a LOT easier. :) |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 30477822)
I wonder if we can take advantage of the Expert Review formats to write reviews/summaries of our Michelin restaurants for this thread. It would make searching for the summaries a LOT easier. :) |
Nothing like a great dinner at SingleThread last night...with the inimitable Dominique Crenn dining at the next table! For me, it was like a celebrity sighting, no less than the night before today’s Michelin announcement for the SF Bay Area. We even had a chance to chat and hang a bit afterward with both Ms. Crenn and Mr. Connaughton while waiting for our Uber. Both class acts and so approachable and welcoming people. |
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