192453 Fri Oct 05 08:58:46 -0700 2001 9 18 Manhattan 0 1027708 I am in NY at the end of the month on one of my visits and as ever will be staying with long suffering relatives. My usual way of putting a salve on the chinese burn that is my presence is to take them somewhere spectacular. Past venues have included JG's ( ugh! ) Gotham, Grammercy, Union Square, Esca, L'espinasse, Blue Ribbon and Boulez etc etc. I am really looking for somewhere new and interesting. think less chowhound and more schmancy Location does not matter although they are extraordinarily boroughphobic and rarely cross the B&T's. Money ( within a budget of c$400 for three ) is not too tight, so any and all suggestions much appreciated Thanks Simon Fri Oct 05 08:58:46 -0700 2001 0 Simon Majumdar 1 1027715 Have you taken them to Chanterelle? On Hudson and Harrison, in Tribeca. Yes, I know there are some people who think the food is a bit boring, but I have always loved it (especially the stuffed squash blossoms!). And it is a very calming place, with lots of space between tables, excellent service, and a real focus on the food. I've heard that right now, because of the difficulties of getting business downtown, they are even offering a low-price prix fixe "Market Basket" dinner option. The better to spend your $$$ on wine, then! Fri Oct 05 10:19:06 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Suzanne 1 1027724 Simon, have you ever been to Aquavit? It's within your budget (even if you go all out), the food's really quite good, and the space is very nice (the soaring ceiling, decently spaced tables, hushed atmosphere, lots of huge plants and a two-storey waterfall that takes up an entire wall really do make up for a lack of windows). (And if they don't already know, you can impress your guests by telling them that it used to be Norman Rockefeller's townhouse.) The most impressive thing about Aquavit, IMO, is the service. Parties of more than two seem to be assigned an entire army of servers. They swoop down en masse to deliver everyone's entrees (or take away their plates) simultaneously, but somehow they're also eerily quiet and completely unobtrusive. It's almost as though food appears and dishes disappear magically. It goes without saying that they pass the napkin test (folded neatly and carefully draped over the arm of your chair). Go for game (arctic reindeer if they have it), sweetbreads or fish and you'll leave happy. I also recommend the tasting menus with the wine compliment. Fri Oct 05 11:34:33 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Beth P. 1 1027746 I second the nomination of Aquavit, and have a couple of others: Craft - certainly new and interesting, you can peruse the archives for the discussion this has generated Metrazur -- I've found the food great, and the setting (Grand Central balcony) spectacular. Park Avenue Cafe -- not new, but still interesting, IMHO Fri Oct 05 16:17:25 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Elizabeth E 1 1027756 I'd recommend Town,on 56th street.It's the best new shmancy restaurant that I've been to in the past year.The room is attractive,the service is very professional,and the food is damn good-I guess best described as modern,American,ingredient driven.... Fri Oct 05 19:17:29 -0700 2001 1027708 0 M.K. 1 1027759 I guess all I am going to say is - Aquavit. The best retaurant space in Manhattan combined with different and very good food. It won't blow your socks off but is sufficient to dazzle you. Make sure you get a table in the main dining room. The foie gras ganache with mango sorbet is highly recommended. The Atlantic Char is excellent (been there twice). Fri Oct 05 21:57:10 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Vivin 1 1027781 Although i do it with trepidation -- making recommendations to the prodigous simon majumdar should be an endevour to make all but the most fierce of chowhounds quiver -- and thank you by the way for many very useful and always witty posts on the international board -- i would heartily second the recommendation for Craft (Tom Colicchio) (19th btwm Bway & Park), in a year that has seen many good places open, it is, IMO, the best of the yearling crop; only exceptional ingredients presented with intelligence and respect, and with just enough fuss; very good, interesting winelist from the $55-500 range --ask for Matthew if you want reliable help chosing. You might also consider Ilo in the Bryant Hotel (E.40th st btwn 6th and 5th; some could quibble that the some of the preparations have a bit too much going on, but most succeed brilliantly and the room is a great mix of casual elegance and "schancy" (to use your word) cool. I, for one, love the "tidal pool" starter -- exquisitely light saline hinted broth with imecicable oysters, seaweed, barnicles and sea urchin; the charred pork loin is worthy of a 2 star provincial french restaurant, and the rabbit - a sih usually to be avoided at all costs in NYC, is superb, sweet and yet flavorful, just a bit "sauvage", and not stringy or dry; very good (for NYC) cheese board if you have room (silly caveat for a trencherman of your standing) and very good desserts (try the citrus sampler). Chanterelle has been our favorite french restaurant in NYC for almost 15 years -- when it is good, it is like eating at the hypothetical love child of Chez Panisse and Maison Troisgros (with Gerard Boyer as god-father?), but the last 3 meals (in the late winter and early and late spring of this year) ranged from truly bad to merely good; we're going again on the 12th as a final attempt (and a bit of charity to support a neighborhood institution that has given us more pleasant memories than i can count), and if you're not coming this way till the end of the month, I'll post notes next week. had appetizers at the bar at Town a month or two ago and it seems promising; certainly has gotten very solid reivews. Finally, people i know and trust have raved about Le Bernardin consistently for the last year and half (a marked improvement)-- you should search this site and others to see what you think; assuming an all seafood meal with wine prices that might blow your budget is potentially appealing. (I have never been that found of Acquavit, b-t-w; certainly friendly staff and good food, but nothing I think you'd remember as too special a month later; oh, and b-t-w, it was Nelson Rockefeller's town house, not "Norman".) cheers Sat Oct 06 18:04:26 -0700 2001 1027708 0 kirk wallace 1 1027835 I haven't made it to Aquavit yet, but I do love Eleven Madison Park. The foie gras, the lobster and the lemon asiette dessert. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it and I've just eaten dinner. The decor (a converted art-deco bank) is also lovely and the wine list is very comprehensive. Good luck! Mon Oct 08 22:22:47 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Lina 1 1027848 VERITAS . . . excellent wines, great food, great service . . . small place w/ good atmosphere - the halibut is excellent - tremendous deserts. FOUR SEASONS is a great call . . . pricey yes - great for cocktails prior - superb room - national architectural landmark by phillip johnson w/ food to match . . . BLUE RIBBON SUSHI . . . wait yes - but they call your cell and you can get a beer at THE ROOM Tue Oct 09 12:46:29 -0700 2001 1027708 0 Pimmel 1 1028054 Great news (well, at least for long-time chanterelle fans,a nd maybe for others); after 3 truly disappointing meals in the late winter and early fall of '01 (see post below), dinner last night (10/12) perfect reminder of what this place does bettter than any other in NYC when its on -- and all signs are that this was no fluke, or merely a valentine for old friends. So, Simon, please, put this one on your visit list, for the food, for the service, for the decor, for the extra bitter-sweetness of supporting a WTC neighborhood institution. here are some details: cold app's (after beautiful amuse of delicate fried calamari rings) A. cold raw/marinated/cured fish plate (cured tuna, gingered raw pemequid oyster, marinated and cured salmons, raw hamachi shopped and made in to a delicate roll, and 32 forkfulls of zesty, briney sweet wakame salad-- a long time standard on the menu, last night sang wish renewed vigor --tiny gingered pickled beets & japanese muchrooms added to the balance and zing B. jumbo lumpfin crab salad with cilantro and clam vinagrette served with sort of papadam-like cracker -- unbeleivablefy fresh crab rich and sweet without heaviness -- perfect flavor harmony with the cracker adding, if you wanted, a textural contrast. warm apps: A. salmon "blintzes" -- deepfried blintz with a sooked (steamed? salmon filling) -- big hit with me, less satisfying to my partner; i though it played to the stregnth rather than fought) the oily richness of the salmon; rich but not cloying eggy sauce accompanied; great texture play with the crisp but non-greasy blintz wrapper and the rich soft flaky fish filling. B. pemiquid oysters in lemon beurre blanc wiht white truffles shaved over top; again a menu standard, but brightened up by the new sauce-- not too lemony but just enough to marry the briny freshness of the barely cooked oytsers and the earthy richness of the truffle shavings -- luxury without excess (!) fish: sauted char in a grapefruit flavored butter sauce -- sounded like a disaster waiting to happend -- but instead, was probably the dish of the night -- the char delicate and clean, but rich, cooked just enough to literally melt in the mouth and the grapefruit addition to the sauce (reduced juice and some strips of zest) was simppply stunning, and again brought out flavors i never new char had; a study in sweet and tart, that left you with an overall finish that said "FRESH!" B. wild striped bass with braised (almost melted leeks) with cummin seed (!) -- seemed at first just like perfectly braised leeks in a medium rich redwine suace with a very nice delicate pieced of wild striped bass, which would've been all welland good, if a bit disappointing next to the superlative char, but then a cumin seed hit the tongue, and everything chaged -- all the flavors came cascading together with new intensity and one was powerless not to gobble down the rest of the plate as if possessed; a hint of salt, a hint of spice and the sweet, sour earthy taste of the leaks mains: A. neiman rach loin of pork, chervil timbale and snow peas -- (getting a bit full by now) perfectly cooked, charred on the outside white at the rim still pink at the center of each disk of pork; rich cean flavor; true mastery of less is more; intense but but not heavy reduction sauce accompanied. B. "salmis" of muscovy duck (leg confit, breast in a duck blood and bone enhance sauce); very very good; the confit almost Trou Gascogne quality-- the whole plate just was a wonderful. adequate/good cheese course -- only the 5 yr Gouda really stound out we were full so didn't do justice to desserts (but there was a nice choc. bombe and a play on "canoli" that was very nice. Especially nice to see smiles on all the faces of diners at other tables and that evryone, regulars and newcomers, were being cared to with the great intelligent sensitive, famed Chanterelle service. (can you tell I am happy?) Sat Oct 13 19:15:19 -0700 2001 1027708 0 kirk wallace