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Originally Posted by gengar
(Post 31785841)
The whole reason to go invite/connection-only is precisely to avoid all the legions of lazy tourists who pick restaurants just based on stars.
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Originally Posted by sophialite
(Post 31788576)
Pretty excited for the next few weeks—
Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare - First time going. Partner and I by tradition do EMP every year but since it’ll be our fifth time in NYC this year there’s no point. Gramercy Tavern - we’ve done this quite a few times but it fell off the list after 2014 for no particular reason. Ate there back again in July and regretted not eating there 5 years in between. Going again in a few weeks. Arpege - one of our close friends is joining us. He’s vegan and so I thought it would be a cool New Years gift. next year I’m aiming to do Tickets again, as well El Cellar again. Will try Mirazur for the first time. did Osteria Francescana, Bo Lan, and Gaggan over the summer. OF was excellent but not amazing enough for me to try to go again. Bo Lan sucked and I regretted wasting time on that place. Gaggan will always confuse me, but is up there with my favorite experiences. Would go again if I didn’t have to fly all the way to BKK for it. |
At my birthday I had booked a table at Alain Ducasse. The called me a few days beform to confirm the reservation (not a fan of this) and asked if we celebrate something special. I´m not much after such things but I told them about it, normally it means an additional cake or so. In an email they wrote they are very experienced in celebrations…..
I always thought the restaurant is designed in a very nice way, perhaps the most elegant in London. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dd8f83fffe.jpg When I visited in 2012 there was still another chef and I was quite disappointed. This day I was excited to see how they developed, as they still hold their 3 stars at Michelin. First some snacks, bread and butter. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b73c4fc2bd.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3dfc2ba4d8.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...14fec8072b.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3d74c3ee77.jpg We took an adapted tasting menu. It started with Dorset Crab, Celeriac and Caviar. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1fb18ba614.jpg Marinated wild Sea Bream, citrus and seaweed broth https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a6fa2ea0b9.jpg Native Lobster, celery and homardine sauce https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...71101b825a.jpg Line-caught Sea Bass, crapaudine, Immortelle Flower and sorrel https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3381793f75.jpg Dover Sole, watercress and hazelnut https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...645d3174ee.jpg Cheese (no choice given). As I love British cheese I found it sad they served only French Cheese https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...745d5a8bb3.jpg Petit fours https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...30ca12cc58.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5bb793eceb.jpg Pistacio souffle with ice cream https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7ee905ca17.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...db8074b422.jpg Exotic Fruit contemporary vacherin https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4aebfb92aa.jpg From the dessert trolly: https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...82de40a9b0.jpg Any Birthday surprise? Nope, nothing. I don´t have a problem with it but a little wired if they do such a deal about it before. How did I like the dinner? It was good, a notch above Gordon Ramsay. But I´m not convinced what I got was on 2 star level. Again I found both Ledbury and Core foodwise better. |
Originally Posted by sophialite
(Post 31788576)
Gaggan will always confuse me, but is up there with my favorite experiences. Would go again if I didn’t have to fly all the way to BKK for it.
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Originally Posted by DeathSlam
(Post 31678545)
I'm still looking for the perfect roast chicken. Can French Onion Soup, Roast Chicken and Creme Brule ever make a Michelin meal? I live in hope. Bouillabaisse has made it. Bao of various descriptions have made it. Food done to perfection will always be worth a special trip for me :)
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Originally Posted by jbeans
(Post 31796213)
Just got back from BKK and dined at the new Gaggan. Price has doubled since the prev spot, at 12k thb (~$400) for a seat at G's spot. The experience was very fun and unique, food had some wonderful hits and some confusing misses. Overall I found that it's a try it once type of place. During the meal Gaggan told all of us "you can't come back here even if you wanted to, I'm all booked up." Interesting experience, but nothing else calls you to come back, not the food and not even the chef himself.
Apparently 2 different restaurants and a 100k ?private table and "All booking requests can only be made online via the website. Apart from standard questions about allergies and food preferences, you will also have to answer a list of fairly unusual queries (what is your favourite band, cuss word, what your plans are before dinner at the restaurant), etc. A reservation team then confirms the booking. " He seems not at all humble (well I guess he earned the right to be arrogant), and VERY expensive. |
duplicate
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Originally Posted by estnet
(Post 31798985)
Do you mean Gaggan Anand which just opened since the original closed a few months ago.
Apparently 2 different restaurants and a 100k ?private table and "All booking requests can only be made online via the website. Apart from standard questions about allergies and food preferences, you will also have to answer a list of fairly unusual queries (what is your favourite band, cuss word, what your plans are before dinner at the restaurant), etc. A reservation team then confirms the booking. " He seems not at all humble (well I guess he earned the right to be arrogant), and VERY expensive. TLDR: Dinner and a show -- loud rock music, lots of crass jokes, and semi-decent interesting food. I personally thought the desserts were the stand-outs of the entire meal. |
Originally Posted by jbeans
(Post 31799722)
Yes Gaggan Anand the new restaurant. A private table, a chef's table/bar, and a main dining room, all in the same building though just on different floors. We dined at the chef's bar (G's spot). He stated that it's not a first come first serve reservation system, and you have to give him the "right answers" to get a spot. I suppose he can do whatever he wants it's his restaurant. All the fame has definitely got to him, that was painfully obvious when he talked about how he could've charged 10% more and we all would still be there.
TLDR: Dinner and a show -- loud rock music, lots of crass jokes, and semi-decent interesting food. I personally thought the desserts were the stand-outs of the entire meal. |
Originally Posted by HKTraveler
(Post 31792673)
Any special reason you wanted to visit Brooklyn Fare? For set menu counter dining, I find Blanca’s food to be more interesting and tasty. Also find the use of acidity to be over-bearing in several of Brooklyn Fare’s dishes
Looking forward to the start of next year, when I will finally visit Atomix (newly-minted 2*) and take the plunge to celebrate a long-overdue promotion (hope I didn't jinx it) and see if Masa is really worth lighting that much money over. |
Originally Posted by HKTraveler
(Post 31792655)
Credit care concierge aren’t that helpful especially for the really to tough to book restaurants
(I guess if you're just a random person calling they don't trust you to stick to your word as much as if it's through a credit card concierge, because people who use concierges have a better track record? No clue.) |
I've been eating at EMP at least once every year since 2010. Every experience has been amazing and it's consistently in our top 5 of dining experiences. Am looking forward to Davies & Brook next week, where Humm has taken over as chef. I'm sure it will get at least one star.
Still am excited to try Chef's Table for the first time in a few weeks. When I lived in NYC I knocked off EMP, Le Bernardin, Per se, the usual suspects. The latter two, especially Per Se, didn't impress me. I'd be willing to try LB again but I'll never part money to a Thomas Keller restaurant if I can help it. I remember the days when Jean Georges had the $29 lunch tasting menu. Superb value. Price has obviously gone up since then and, it seems, quality a fair bit downhill. |
Originally Posted by sophialite
(Post 31812197)
I remember the days when Jean Georges had the $29 lunch tasting menu. Superb value. Price has obviously gone up since then and, it seems, quality a fair bit downhill.
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Originally Posted by sophialite
(Post 31788576)
Pretty excited for the next few weeks—
Chefs Table at Brooklyn Fare - First time going. Partner and I by tradition do EMP every year but since it’ll be our fifth time in NYC this year there’s no point. Gramercy Tavern - we’ve done this quite a few times but it fell off the list after 2014 for no particular reason. Ate there back again in July and regretted not eating there 5 years in between. Going again in a few weeks. Arpege - one of our close friends is joining us. He’s vegan and so I thought it would be a cool New Years gift. next year I’m aiming to do Tickets again, as well El Cellar again. Will try Mirazur for the first time. did Osteria Francescana, Bo Lan, and Gaggan over the summer. OF was excellent but not amazing enough for me to try to go again. Bo Lan sucked and I regretted wasting time on that place. Gaggan will always confuse me, but is up there with my favorite experiences. Would go again if I didn’t have to fly all the way to BKK for it. I really enjoyed Bibendum. Will probably not go there again as I'm so rarely in that part of town, but thought it was great. I've had better in London but it was a great, but not superbly excellent dining experience. Definitely worthy of the star, but not sure how many stars. |
Originally Posted by sophialite
(Post 31812197)
I've been eating at EMP at least once every year since 2010. Every experience has been amazing and it's consistently in our top 5 of dining experiences
Dinner @ Chef’s Table last night - amazing as always. It’s less courses / bites than it used to be, but it’s still very good. The first bite is now a mousse topped with a generous amount of caviar - just take a look at this beauty! And one of the last desserts - frozen soba tea topped with a faint dusting of sugar: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3a9362655.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0e08fa238.jpeg |
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