The Wall Street Journal has an article today on four of the city's top restaurants offering wine pairings, and some of what they have to report is pretty scathing....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1204...weekendjournal

A dead-on description of our experience at Le Bernardin. I'm speaking mostly about the attitude.

In LA, we have seen a wide range in quality with wines used as pairings for tasting menus. Some seemed to us poor with every course (e.g., Patina).

It's good to see a food critic confirming our experiences. Wine pairings can be really fun, but I've felt like a fool on occasion. Sometimes it seems like they're using the pairings as a way to get rid of the surplus (or half-finished bottles from a few days earlier). We're not experts, and I'd never feel comfortable confronting the sommelier about a questionable experience.

I hope this review is making the rounds.

I've only done it a couple of times locally and have been impressed. But I could easily see how you could be mislead. Which can cost you a chunk of coin given the prices and also ruin what should be a special dinner. My only out of town one was in Brugge where they didn't do food and wine pairings - they did beer and food pairings. They took it just as seriously as places do with wine, and the beer fit the food to a T. Even the one going with dessert. ^

I was quite glad to see this article following a horrifically bad experience at Le Bernardin a couple of months ago. Having been there before, I expected a great experience. However, the wine tasting menu was matched with an obnoxious staff. When my brother removed his jacket due to the extreme heat, the staff ordered him to put it back on without explanation. Then the Ma�tre d' refused to come over and speak with us. I called the manager and left a message to discuss the worst service I have ever experienced at that type of restaurant. The manager called several days later and I missed his call. When I left another message, he did not return the call again. I am pleased that the top-to-bottom poor attitude of Le Bernardin employees is now catching up with them.

The wine tastings in New York seem to me to be a way for them to empty out whatever is left in any of the bottles they have been selling by the glass.

unfortunately it isnt limited to new york, i have experienced poor pairings in SFO, SAN, NY, ORD, and even Paris. usually if you take a good sniff of the wine being poured, you can tell if its old and if so, ask that a fresh bottle be opened.

What an eye-opening article that was! Nice to see the WSJ expose the unprofessional experience these customers endured at these outrageously priced restaurants. Just goes to show that the amount of money one is willing to pay has no correlation with the "service" and substance found at these restaurants.

Not that it excuses the authors' bad experience at Le Bernardin, but I met Aldo Sohm back when he worked at Wallse and Blaue Gans and had him arrange a wine-tasting dinner for a group of friends from wine class, and have had nothing but good experiences with him--he's a very friendly & nice guy who has amazing wine knowledge. I was upset when I heard that he'd left for Le Bernardin as I figured I wouldn't be going there very often, if at all. Can't say this makes me want to rush over.

Very interesting article. I think it is evident that these restaurants are "dumbing down" the experience because their average customer is not necessarily the true connoisseur but is more likely the "big guy in town with big bucks" that's just out to prove to his friends and family how much money he has (very similar to the SIBM in first class ) or working off an expense account to impress the clients.

Its become a trendy thing to do, so they cater the masses vs. the true patron who would really enjoy the experience. It a shame because when done right, it's a wonderful experience.

My wife and I have been treated in a similar manner at rostang, feulliants and violon in paris. never in the countryside. I would also like to mention the high probability of racial profiling. particularly at the el-primo places. nice that they snubbed the old school republicans of the wsj, and not the times or the post.

many of the dc area tasting dinners have become very disappointing and similar to the description in the article............... three ounce pours. how do you get a dozen 3 ounce pours out of a 750? 50 people, 4 bottles. you divide.

as a disclamer, the only reason i keep my subscription to the wsj is to read the wine reviews. the wash post has turned to garbage, the FT(financial times, not flyer talk) person is a dingaling. i doubt i could find the review in the times.

Available for free online every Friday.


www.wsj.com
Look for the Personal Journal section on the left. .

FYI: SO and I did the Chef's Tasting menu with paired wines a couple of weeks ago -- our experience could not have been further from the WSJ wine people. The wine was fantastic, the pairings revelatory, and the service flawless. And it took us 4.5 hours. I don't doubt that they received bad service, but if our experience was any indication, it looks like their people got the memo.

Interesting article. Mirrored my experience in the old-school restaurants. I found that they don't care much about couples table. They'd rather spend energy on people with business accounts, larger groups. I had pretty disappointing meal in Le Bernadin. Per Se is OK cause we're with a large group. I now only do wine pairing in smaller restaurants. Like Momofuku Ko, had very interesting wine tasting menu (which includes beer) and paired amazingly with food.

you have neglected to mention where you had this fantastic experience.

Jancis Robinson on Saturdays?


It's published every Wednesday by Eric Asimov. It's free online:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/di...tml?ref=dining