188463 Mon Nov 09 14:28:14 -0800 1998 1 18 Manhattan 0 1006206 Has anyone else out there had an experience at the newly opened American Brasserie (off Broadway in the sixties)? I'm usually willing to give a new place the benefit of the doubt, but my experience there on Saturday night was horrendous. A louche-looking character who appeared to be one of the owners spent most of the evening stationed inside the door checking out women as they walked in (my friend and me included- no greeting, just an appraising stare). He paused long enough to chew out the maitre d', long and loudly, in front of customers waiting at the bar. Pretty tacky. While we were seated promptly, it took twenty minutes plus to be given bread (while it flew past to all the tables surrounding us) despite repeated requests. My friend's appetizer never arrived. She was luckier than the couple next to us, who never got their entrees and had to leave to catch their movie with two beers each and one absurdly small salad to sustain them. That salad, which I ordered, consisted of three teeny croutons (described as anchovy croutons, they were lavishly buttered pieces of stale baguette- the dressing tasted as if an anchovy may have had something to do with it) placed around a few pieces of lettuce. The lettuce could not have been more than two or three leaves of a medium-sized romaine. For $6, it was less than inadequate. More like insulting. My pasta entree, billed as pumpkin raviloi with sage butter, was even more anemic than the salad. About four or five incredibly limp and translucent ravioli sat in a puddle of warm water that tasted as if a stick of butter may have been dipped in it. Each raviolo contained a small smear of absoluely tasteless filling. It may have been pumpkin. It may just as well have been squash baby food for all the taste and seasoning (none) it contained. The overwhelming flavor of this dish was the acrid one of fried sage(bad idea- makes it taste musty-much better to steep the sage in the butter as it heats in the opinion of this amateur). The sage had been heaped on as a garnish. None was discernable in the sauce itself. My dining companion's salad Nicoise was the sort one gets when ordering in at the office from a coffee shop. But it was twelve bucks. Two wines each, two salads, one pasta- seventy dollars including tax and tip. As inept as the kitchen and busing were, we did not want to stiff the completely overwhelmed waitress- she was kind and apologetic. And how could we blame her when the boss man never budged from the bar when what he should have done was get off his butt and pitch in for heaven's sake? Now that I've delivered my screed, some positive comments are in order. This is my first posting to this site, but I've enjoyed it immensely the past few months and found it most useful in my quest for good eats of all kinds. Some advice to those trying to get a reservation at Babbo- perservere- it's fabulous and they can be awfully nice and accomodating once you breach the gates. The wine steward is particularly helpful in a low-key, unpretentious way. I've eaten there several times and while it's not perfect it can be damn close. The fresh anchovies are a revelation and all pastas I've tried have been top-notch- the ravioli with brains is a standout. Surya, while it won't knock your socks off, is worth a visit. It's pretty and fun, as are the staff and the crowd. And the food is quite tasty and certainly a change from the Indian food we downtown dwellers are accustomed to. It's not cheap but is good value for the money. I find the cocktails weird, but that's the only criticism I can muster. Mon Nov 09 14:28:14 -0800 1998 0 Martha Gehan 1 1006208 >A louche-looking character who appeared to be one of >the owners spent most of the evening stationed inside >the door checking out women as they walked in (my >friend and me included- no greeting, just an >appraising stare). He paused long enough to chew out >the maitre d', long and loudly, in front of customers >waiting at the bar. Pretty tacky. This guy is the sleaze of all sleazes, and all the grease he uses on his hair is probably enough to supply the kitchen for a week. I forget the guy's name, but he also owns Lucky's Bar, a sleazy restaurant on 57th and 6th Ave (?). I only know him from an interview I recently went on (conducted by someone else) and he kept on rudely interrupting the controller who was really getting rattled. I'm not sure of the ownership situation, but the new place is owned by a group based in Florida. Btw, the attorney he was with at the time was almost as obnoxious as he was. -jook, who still needs an accounting job Mon Nov 09 18:03:05 -0800 1998 1006206 0 jook