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Skip Tres Agaves. Ame is the best of the rest in my opinion, their pork chop is like no other, their sweetbreads are fabulous, and their black cod is heavenly. Would also second the recommendations for Bong Su, Two and Salt House, but I think Bong Su most heavily. But for sitting at the bar - stick with Ame or Two. Salt House's bar is a madhouse and Bong Su you want to be able to eat family style and try a lot of things. Their bar is beautiful though, and if you're limited to only a couple things, I'd recommend the Imperial Roll, the quail, the lamb chop, and the Com Dep prawns. :-)
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bbulkow
Apr 22, 2007 04:18 PM
Bong Su deserves mention, especially if you've got a lunch free. The other recommendations here are probably better for dinner, but ymmv.
In any case: walking distance, upscale, the wine list you can judge for yourself. http://bongsu.com/
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re: grubber4
Robert Lauriston
Apr 25, 2007 03:16 PM
They're upscale compared with other nearby restaurants such as Chaat Cafe, Cha Am, and Pazzia.
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sgwood415
Apr 22, 2007 09:22 AM
Since you'll be there for a few weeks you'll have time to check out several good places in the area. Salt House is good. TWO is new and has received some good reports. Tres Agave is a little bit further away, but well worth the walk on a nice evening.
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re: sgwood415
lotta_cox
Apr 23, 2007 07:50 PM
i am love love loving all the recs...as i used to live there and the culinary scence has changed immensely. now i am so looking forward to my one night there alone...treating myself to a beautiful dinner...and sleeping with no interruptions.
thanks all!
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re: Paul H
Robert Lauriston
Apr 22, 2007 08:41 AM
Have either of you been to Fifth Floor since the end of last year, when the chef left?
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Carrie 218
Apr 21, 2007 09:05 AM
Ame - just around the corner from the W. Don't bother with the W itself.
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re: Carrie 218
vincentlo
Apr 21, 2007 07:40 PM
Don't rule out XYZ right inside W. I used to, and was pleasantly and stunningly surprised during the DAT month:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/359110Vincent
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re: vincentlo
Carrie 218
Apr 21, 2007 08:36 PM
Mine is the opposite - I was hoping to be pleased and was not. Thought I had posted before but can't my March 2nd visit in the search function:
The menu at XYZ is fairly limited; half-a-dozen appetizers and an equal amount of entrees. However, for entrees, half of those are fish courses and the remainder include one each chicken, beef, and lamb. Interesting considering the bulk of their 600-count wine list are Cabs which barely accompany the bulk of their menu.
Also showcased was their "Citrus Menu" - a prix fixe of four courses for $55 with wine pairings for an extra $28. Since most of the menu included heavy fruit components anyway, having the tasting menu was an easy way to get the bad wine taste out of my mouth, having just come from a mediocre wine tasting.
The meal started with an amuse of seared cold scallop served atop brioche, Picholine olive tapenade, and a sliver of fresh crab. Not a bad start as the olive tapenade was not too overwhelming and there was just enough crab to push that taste through. I think, however, I would have preferred the scallop freshly seared and warm instead of cold.
The first course was ahi tartare served with grilled toasts, and "tangerine with yogurt citrus frisee." Well, for a "citrus" menu, this was not starting off well. The ahi tartare was decent enough -- if not on a bit on the spicy side, but the tangerine component was nothing more than two sections served on the frisee; hardly an integral flavor to the ahi but a mere garnish. This dish was served with 2006 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand and was quite nice. While dining on the whole meal, I noticed another appetizer which would have seemingly been a better choice for such a tasting menu, oysters on the half-shell served with cara cara orange and citrus mignonette. Very surprised THAT was not part of the tasting menu as this ahi dish just didn't work.
Next was foie gras with kumquat marmalade, brioche, and duck jus served with a 1999 Welshriesling Weissburgunder, Heidi Schrock, Beerenauslese from Austria. The initial reaction to a bite of all this was "way too sweet." The duck jus was just too syrupy with sweetness. The kumquat marmalade was actually slices of kumquats so I'm not sure where the marmalade came in except maybe as a sweetener in the duck jus. The foie gras was adequately prepared and worked well with the wine, once the sweet factor settled down. It is really hard to ruin foie gras...
The third course, entree really, was lamb t-bone with gnocchi, broccoli rabe, topped with a Meyer lemon gremolata all served with a 2005 Brick House Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. This dish, again, had an initial flavor of too much sweetness but tamed down considerably into the second bite. The 2"-round lamb t-bones were perfectly prepared and I like the greens and sauce they were served with. The gnocchi addition seemed to be added only as a carb and to carry the sauce.
The dessert course served was poppy seed-crusted crepes topped with blood orange segments and a scoop of yogurt sorbet accompanied with a 2005 La Spinetta "Bricco Quaglia" Moscato d'Asti from Italy. This was a rather nice finish in that it was not too sweet and not too heavy (considering how sweet the rest of the dinner was). The crepe itself had obviously been made several hours before and the existence of poppy seeds seemed pointless, but the yogurt sorbet was a pleasant bitter taste against the sweetness of the blood orange sauce.
So I am essentially glad I went to the restaurant, but will definitely stick with the bar menu which I have found to be far superior. The downside of the restaurant -- besides the limited menu -- is the barage of industrial house music that is far too reminiscent of that which I have been subjected to in Panamanian strip clubs with a steady thump-thump-thump pervading one's senses. The waiters are extremely attentive and pleasant and the setting is quite nice. It just misses the mark on too many points. Bauer gives this place three stars but I'm hard pressed to give them much more than two.
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