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louuuuu
Mar 4, 2009 05:54 AM
GQ's Alan Richman reveiws TL.
http://men.style.com/gq/blogs/alanric...
I agree with most of it. And I must confess, their clam pie with shelled manilla clams bursting with brine even outshines Pepe's, because the Pepe clams do get a bit rubbery.
And yes, Virginia, there is a Siberia. Richman quotes a waiter.
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steve h.
Jan 22, 2009 11:03 AM
dropped in for lunch today. a friend and i sat at the beautiful marble bar (no reservation) and were warmly greeted by the barkeep. i had a glass of prosecco while reading the menu. the wine was pleasantly dry, almost flinty. the pour was extremely generous.
we split a very good salumi platter (made by batali's dad in seattle) and followed that up with individual pizzas (margherita for me and prosciutto for my colleague). the crust on my pie was chewy and had a bit of a tang to it. the crust would have benefited from another 30 seconds in the oven. the sauce was mostly crushed tomato (san marzano?) with a bit of acid (maybe fresh lemon juice). fresh basil was added on top after the pizza came out of the wood-fired oven. the cheese was a fresh mozzarella that was quite creamy. that was one tasty pizza.
all-in-all, it was a fine lunch at a reasonable price. tarry lodge met all my expectations. one final note: i don't recall hearing any music being piped into the bar area.
i'll be back to try the pastas but getting around the pizzas and the salumi will be difficult.
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rifkind81
Jan 21, 2009 06:18 PM
I just finished dinner at Tarry Lodge. Had the Burrata & Root Veg salad, Gnocchi & Oxtail and Cheesecake...
Must say this was not a very good meal. I could not figure out what the burrata cheese brought to the dish with the root veg. It was mostly bland except for the large pieces of sea salt on top. I tried the cheese with the root veg but found the cheese overpowered by the sweet flavors of the roasted veg, although the creaminess of the cheese complemented the creaminess of the roasted veg. Still puzzling though...
The gnocchi reminded me of the 1 time I tried to make gnocchi at home: mushy to the point of inedible. I am no fan of pizzeria gnocchi (leaden and brick-like), but give me some structure to the gnocchi!!! The oxtail ragout was a muddle of flavors and nothing really stood out. As disappointing as the gnocchi with duck ragout at A Voce.
Finally, the Lemon Cheesecake...All I will say is it came out extremely quickly and the cheesecake was room temperature. Other than that totally unremarkable.
Overall I can't imagine how this place garnered a "very good" from NYT. I wish I had the urge to flush money away trying to find the great dishes at this place....but its more cost effective to just drive to Otto and order anything.
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re: rifkind81
I had the Papardelle Bolognese last night which I thought was outstanding.
My 1 complaint was we ordered the Planeta Chard by the glass which was no longer available at 6PM!!! We asked why and when the "by the glass list" was printed and the list was printed just before they opened for dinner. The wine they substiuted was way too warm and just not good.
We did get sat in Siberia, the section over the hostess stand, which was not bad at all. A small baby was at the table next to us so I shoved a foccacia in it's yapper to keep it quiet.
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jfood
Jan 18, 2009 02:03 PM
Jfood thinks Gabriel was very fair in her analysis, but was probably a little liberal giving a Very Good instead of a Good given the shortfalls she found. With only an Excellent above this rating, jfood would have assumed there were minor guffaws that lowered it from the highest notch.
But if you look through the review there are more than minor guffaws:
1- Many of the offerings were stone cold
2- I was willing to overlook an oily blend of leathery octopus and bland baby potatoes
3 - ...carbonara, which lacked the force of a deeply flavorful egg yolk that makes the dish special
4 - On two of the nights our second courses were very slow in coming
5 - there was no escaping the spicy heat of the toasted fregola.
6 - Fluke franchese...was a concept in need of better execution
7 - Seated in Siberia (Jfood would have stopped at the top of the first flight of stairs and waited for the seater to come back down. No chance jfood sitting up there.)And for this they receive on notch down from Excellent?
So jfood thinks the owners got another break from their lineage. And after a couple of months jfood is ready to go back, would definitely take the recommendations of others on CH. Stick with the pastas and apps, be selective on the entrees, if any and make surethey do not sit him and his colleaugues in Siberia.
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re: jfood
Jfood, thank you for that analysis. It is why I prefer MH Reed's reviews - she is much tougher. Like you, I would expect a Very Good to be just a few minor misteps from Excellent. It's why I always take her reviews with a grain of salt. If MH Reed had said it was Very Good, she wouldn't have had the same experience.
Wonka, what do you not like about MH Reed's reviews? -
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re: dolores
roxlet
Jan 19, 2009 05:03 AM
Have to agree with you, dolores, and not with jfood, but I wonder about the seating. We were seated in the area that was a few steps above the main level, which I would hardly describe as Siberia. This leads me to believe that there is another dining area that I did not see, which is entirely possible. We recently had dinner at Rosie's in Bronxville, and they put us in a room that we had not idea existed, even though we have eaten there quite a bit.
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re: roxlet
I would certainly hope so, roxlet, although from the description -- looks like I am going to have to call TL today myself and ask -- I doubt she could see the main dining room from another section in the restaurant.
There was a main dining room, a back room, and a second level that was alllllllll of three or four steps above the main room, as you know. When I find out if there is indeed a Siberian room, I'll come back and update everyone.
Sheesh. All Gabriel had to do was DEMAND to be moved to a table of her liking.
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re: jfood
As suspected, Alice Gabriel is all wet about the Siberian room. I just spoke to the T/L, and there IS no other room than those I saw. She was apparently in the same section I was, and it was fine. If there were kids there and that was a problem, that it understandable, but Siberia? Not even close.
Get a grip Alice. Next time demand (if you really hate where you are) to be seated on the main floor, very simple.
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re: roxlet
We ate there last night, and I have to say, the food was wonderful. I had the pasta bolognese which was etherial!! And the prices were certainly right - rack of lamb was $24 and there had to be 8 chops on that plate. That being said, I did have some problems with the place. The main one was that, even though they called to confirm our 6:30 reservation for 6 at 3 that afternoon, our table was not ready. Not only was it not ready, they had several discussions back and forth as to where they could "fit" six. They knew we were confirmed - the table should have been ready. A group of four walked in and they clearly knew the host and they were seated immediately - at a really good table, BTW that could have held our group. The service was professional and, to say not rushed is a bit of a euphemism. It was slow - but, again, we were six and talking so we were happy not to be rushed. Had it been just me and hubby, we would have been nuts!!! We probably left the table at 9:30, but then, guess what. We waited another 1/2 hour for the car and, oh, my coat, which was separated from the rest of the groups and upstairs somewhere where I guess there is an overflow coat room. As for Siberia - I saw 3 levels. We sat at the top of the stairs on level two. But, up another not so steep flight was another large, very noisy room which I would not describe as Siberia. I am grateful that the room we sat in was not as noisy as the rest of the place and we actually could hear each other talk. In all, I really liked the food but they do have a few kinks to iron out.
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re: dolores
jfood
Jan 19, 2009 08:00 AM
Jfood did not postulate any opinion of Tarry, he merely quoted the NYT Reviewer and addressed her single-point "Very Good" conclusion. You may wish to re-read the NYT review to see each of jfood's bullets were pulled directly from that review, not jfood's opinion.
As far as consensus related to the topic of this thread, and that is the review of TL, not TL itself:
1 - Jfood gave his opinion of the review as “Jfood thinks Gabriel was very fair in her analysis” - jfood Jan 18, 2009 05:03PM
2 - "I totally agree that it is a fair review." - tito Jan 17, 2009 08:32AM
3 - I believe Alice Gabriel is one of the best reviews The NYTimes has. I always found her to be fair. - wonka Jan 17, 2009 11:15AM
4 - Alice is good, but I find M.H. Reed to be the best. She is tough, but I appreciate her very critical tastebuds. - pobo Jan 17, 2009 01:23PM
5 - Nice review. - dolores Jan 18, 2009 12:39PM
That's about as close to a consensus as any jfood has seen on these boards.
Wrt the Siberia comment, that was Gabriel's analysis and quote. Jfood ate on floor #2 and this was a full flight of stairs above the reception desk, not a few steps and jfood did not mind at all.
Jfood has never and will never eat on the fourth floor of any restaurant and would characterize that trek as Siberian as well. If others like it up there, more power to them, but jfood would leave versus being shlepped up there.
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re: jfood
Tarry Lodge identified the area to me as 'up a few steps'. I remember walking up just a few steps when I ate there, I don't recall a trek.
I am not qualified to dispute the estimation of the height of this section of the restaurant as described by the Tarry Lodge representative.
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re: jfood
jfood
Jan 21, 2009 03:31 AM
Oops, link never appeared:
Third photo down shows one long stair case on the right. This photo also has a staircase on the left side in the back of the room that appears to be the few streps people might refer.
There is also another that goes over the coat check area which jfood took to his seat immediately above the coat cjeck/reception.
http://lizjohnson.lohudblogs.com/2008...
Ciao
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re: jfood
steve h.
Jan 19, 2009 01:30 PM
jfood: sunday brunch on the fourth floor of cafe atlantico (dc) will give you a whole new attitude about marching up four flights of steps. i had blown out my knee four weeks ago and insisted on making the climb. best seats in the house. well worth it.
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re: steve h.
steve h, there really isn't a fourth floor in Tarry Lodge. Try it out, it really is a Very Good restaurant, as the reviewer notes. Be sure to try the clam pizza, it is outstanding. If you like Manhattans, they make an excellent one.
Their service is very good and the parking is free. Taken together, I'm surprised Tarry Lodge only got a Very Good. Especially in view of the dearth of reallllly good restaurants in Westchester.
I can't wait to go back. Oh and when I asked, they never heard of us.
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re: dolores
roxlet
Jan 21, 2009 04:23 AM
I have to agree with dolores on this one. If the reviewer was calling the area up a small staircase and to the rear of the dining room "Siberia," I feel that she is wrong. We sat there for our dinner, and I have to say that for me, it was the best seat in the house. The main floor was very, very crowded and we felt that we were in the cat bird's seat, able to look out over the crowd and to observe everyone who was there. From the description, I thought that there was a second floor somewhere that I hadn't seen. Hardly Siberia, IMHO.
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re: roxlet
jfood
Jan 21, 2009 04:49 AM
For the record, jfood sat on the second floor directly above the coat check/reception, up a full flight of stairs.
Where you sat sounds almost like a raised portico on the first floor and sounds lovely if it overlooks the main DR (Jfood would love that section). It appears Gabriel characterized your experience as... "the recessed mezzanine affords fine views of the commotion below".
Jfood's second floor experience was also pleasant (albeit they could use something on the walls to absorb the noise) and he found that space very nice as well, and wrote such in his review many weeks ago and Gabriel characterized jfood's dining space as "a small midlevel dining area reached by a flight of stairs". And yes it was a full flight of stairs.
She continues with..."and even higher up, a full floor of tables that can be used for overflow and private parties". It appears that neither you nor jfood were seated in that room so for jfood a personal viewpoint of that space would be heresay and jfood is not interested in getting in that sandbox; he only comments on true knowledge. If Gabriel found it Siberia, others may find it off the beaten track. Different strokes analysis
So there is a second floor, and possibly a third level (not sure if that qualifies as a floor with 12-13 steps or another level with 4-7 steps) but jfood appreciates Gabriel's review of both the space, service and food.
Ciao.
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re: jfood
We were seated in the same area as jfood. I also thought the space was nice, and also appreciated that we could hear ourselves talk up there. The main dining room seemed very loud. But again, as other posters have said, quiet and pleasant to one person is Siberia to another, and if you don't like where you are being seated, don't agree to sit there.
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re: jfood
momof3
Jan 21, 2009 11:07 AM
I totally agree with you jfood. This is why I always read the context/content of the review vs. looking at the rating. If I went solely on the text of the review I would have assumed it rated a fair or good at best. Other times the review reads glowingly and is given a much lower rating.
Thank goodness for our good buddies here on CH that I feel always give a more accurate review based on aspects of the dining experiences that I care about.-
re: momof3
I agree, the review itself sounded like a "good" rather than a "very good". I actually wrote up a post on Sunday saying as much, but since we haven't eaten there yet I didn't feel like I should chime in. However, most of the reviews here, even the positive ones, have had many "buts" in them, so it seems as though perhaps they have some work to do.
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Roxlet,
I totally agree that it is a fair review. Alice Gabriel did the review. I agree with one of our fellow Chowhounders comment a few weeks ago concerning Patricia Brooks.
PB's reviews are questionalble at best. I hope to see more on Alice's work in the future.
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re: wonka
Nice review.
Although -- "Siberia"? I sat in that section and it was fine. I don't know what she means by "chirping", but I didn't find the overall atmosphere especially quiet, even without kids in that particular section.
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re: dolores
Nancy C
Jan 18, 2009 09:51 AM
"Chirping" is probably re: small kiddos voices yacking along at other tables when adults make reservations weeks in advance and hope for a sophisticated, quiet evening out, sans twittering from kiddos. But it does sound like noise is perhaps the rule, rather than the exception at Tarry Lodge?
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re: demifast
I agree, demifast, but does a restaurant accomodate someone who asks not to be seated near children? And what if there are children in all parts of the restaurant? If there were seats available, then the reviewer should have made it clear, sotto voce, that they did NOT want to be near children.
And the upper landing is so far away from the idea of a Siberia as to be laughable.
And here I am, once again defending a restaurant I'm not even that crazy about! But hey, I'm all for restaurants that have free parking so I'm happy to set the story straight about the reviewer's Siberia remark.
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re: demifast
I know, I agree. As I said, the diner should have inSISted that she and her party be moved, rather than enduring the situation and then complaining about it. I would have done so, and would have been moved, no question.
My objection was the reference to that section of the restaurant which is a whole three steps above the main dining room. Siberia -- what a dramatic description -- it is not.
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re: dolores
Gabriel states that she was "marched up to the top floor". In her earlier description of the restaurant she describes 4 levels: a main room, a recessed mezzanine, a narrow front dining room behind the reception area, a small midlevel dining area reached by a flight of stairs, and even higher up, a full floor of tables (which sounds like the top floor to me and justifies the Siberia description).
I doubt anyone would know that floor existed unless banished to it.
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re: demifast
Siberia? Banished?
I sat on the second floor. I believe they have a private room for parties, but it is not visible.
Why not call TL and ask if they have a Siberian section?
I doubt the reviewer could 'see' the empty tables on the main dining room below if she were shunted in the dark recesses of the restaurant. I too was able to look upon the main dining room and didn't get a nosebleed from the height of my location.
Much ado about nothing at all. Next time, just demand to be moved, poor reviewer.
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