Cliche "one night" request by jaded californian

[bbulkow]

Hi,

I post a lot on the SF board. I'm hoping, once, that CH can help me instead of the other way around.

Here's the specs:

* Tuesday night (tonight). Will be ready to venture starting in midtown around 7pm, but willing to slide in late somewhere on the 10pm side. Will travel for food.

* No reservations. I've checked a lot of the common recs like wd-50 and they're booked. (Ducasse has a seat, though)

* No real price limit. $200/pp out the door might be my upper limit. Might. No lower limit, either.

* Dining alone. A fancy place with bar seating would be about right.

* I like small places.

* I eat everything. Except primate brains and poi.

What do I want?

Something innovative. Something different.

Either a high-end new place doing innovative food ("modern" or whatever you call it), or a regional place that's new to me.

No chinese. We get *great* chinese here. No mexican - I live near one of the mexican areas (Redwood City). No Korean. No indian. *maybe* japanese, but it better be the absolute best. I *love* these kinds of food, but if I'm travelling, I want something different, eh? Like real spanish.

As a reference, my best meal this year was Ubuntu in Napa. They only occasionally serve a 10 course tasting menu; I got lucky. They serve veggies from their back yard garden I'd never seen, like Beetberries. Best this month was probably the scotch egg (house smoked ham minced and pressed around a wee quail egg, deep fried so the yolk still runs, served sustainably in a cup made from yesterday's menu) at a place called Martin's West. Last month would be the tea leaf beef app at Tamerine (Cal/Viet). Best cocktail was a rosemary - honey - absinthe concoction at Serpentine, runner up was a "local Sazerac" with Old Potrero Whiskey and St George Absinthe at Flea Street. Jones of the month is the tacos maize hecho a mano at Los Gemelos for $1 each, Al Pastor. I am dying to go to Commis and try the Shizo leaf soda amuse - I'm a massive fan of shizo.

Ideas?

Will report back.

[kathryn]

BTW, you can order from the full menu at the bar at WD-50, IIRC. And since you're OK with dining late, I'd try to get into to Corton or Minetta Tavern, two of the hotter dining destinations in town (there may be cancellations on the day of).

So, what are the cuisines you'd consider, then? American (but less so the farm-to-table kind)? Southern? French? Italian? Spanish?

What about really high end sushi? You might be able to get a seat at the bar especially if it's for one person. Have you called Yasuda?

Degustation is also counter seating only, and I don't think there's that much Spanish food in SF. Prune is also quirky, pretty NY, and it has some seats at the bar where you can eat. Bar Boulud is a good choice if you like charcuterie. Also, there is a bar at Le Bernardin and you can order from the full dinner menu. Sure, you have seafood in SF, but I'm not sure you have anything that's of the same quality of Le Bernardin. Or, conversely, you can go quite a bit downscale to Redhead, that has some of best Southern food in town right now. It's a bit shabby chic/dive bar.

If I were you, I'd want to dine at the bar at Bar Room at the Modern, Scarpetta, Babbo (and Lupa and Otto and nearly all Mario Batali restaurants), Perilla, maybe Gramercy Tavern, Txikito or Casa Mono. All of these take walk-ins at the bar.

Dining at the bar solo:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/631268
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/598603

For cocktails, I'd go to Death & Co. (one of the bartenders there is actually ex-Bourbon & Branch IIRC), PDT, Pegu Club, Mayahuel (tequila and mezcal only), maybe Milk & Honey, although the latter doesn't have food.

Mixology in NYC:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/609073

[steve h.]

kathryn's suggestions are the best.

[bbulkow]

That sound really good. Thank you. I will call the places you mention after I land and see if I can sneak in.

wd-50 doesn't serve tuesday night. Is Minetta Tavern all that? The web site's very basic. Bar Room at the Modern looks my speed, even has res on opentable on the late side. I can't figure out how lat Degustation is open.

Le Bernardin - that's a hot tip. How late can I comfortably show up there? Is it a la carte at the bar?

How does sliding in late in NY work? Here, I have a sense of every restaurant, whether they're a business place that's crowded on a Wednesday or a tourist place that's crowded on a Saturday. Whether you can show up at 9:50 a 10pm close and get a surly lip or a hearty greeting and personal attention. Every place is different.

Should I just assume 9:15 ish is likely OK with a nearby backup, or make a list with phone numbers and give them a call before heading over? Or is everywere good at 10pm?

What's the highest quality cocktail I can get on a Tuesday night at 8pm _in quiet surroundings_? Death and Co, etc, all sound quite busy, but maybe not on a tuesday? Before dinner, after a long flight, I'll trade some peace and quiet for some quality.

Spanish is lacking here. Southern is getting trendy - I found killer north carolina pulled pork sliders just two days ago. charcuterie is all the rage now, I'll give it a pass. Italian is strong here, but not as strong as NY, so I'd go for that at the top places. French is welcome if it's the inventive type. Yasuda is storied, I might try that, even though my town is particularly strong in sushi (we have a number of very good places, and the #2 for the whole bay area). Farm to table is probably not a great idea, I hear NYC's a bit behind SF in that regard.

As a side note, we don't have good seafood in SF. That's a myth. Occasionally they have good stuff at Boulevard. Our salmon and crab has vanished, and everything's imported now except some halibut and sardines and sand dabs and dorado and a few others. A buddy of mine has created a fake restaurant so we can buy from the wholesalers, and even buying same day at the dock doesn't give great quality.

Thanks again.

[kathryn]

I haven't had the pleasure of dining at Minetta Tavern yet but from many reports, it's got a lot of the New York dining scene abuzz, especially regarding their steak and burger. It's by the restauranteur who is responsible for Pastis, Balthazar, etc. Very hip, very New York.

More about the Black Label burger at Minetta Tavern:
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2...

For Degustation, they don't have a web site, so I'd definitely call in advance and try to reserve a spot. For Le Bernardin, I'm not sure if they'd let you order a la carte, I'd assume it's prix fixe at a minimum. Also, if you go there, their bar snacks are incredible. Best cheese straws I've had in my life.

For most places in NYC, I'd say the kitchens start to close around 10:30, so you should be fine if you try to walk in around 9:30pm or 10:00pm. Of course it never hurts to have a list of phone numbers and call beforehand since you never know if the kitchen is going to close early, or they're handling a private party, etc.

You can get a great quality cocktail and relative quiet at Milk & Honey, PDT, Death & Co., or Mayahuel. None of these places allow standing, so there's a built in limit to the number of bodies inside. And these types of places typically aren't 100% full on Tuesday nights save for PDT because PDT is tiny. The of the 2 tables and 3 booths are reserved (call at 3pm if you wish to reserve a table) and only the bar seats walk-ins.

Milk & Honey requires a little bit more effort, you'd need to make a reservation in advance or after 7pm text message to ask if they have room at the bar. But it's VERY quiet inside and they don't even open until 8pm at the earliest. They only have 5-6 booths and allow a maximum of 5 people per booth. No menu, cash only, $15 cocktails, everything is bartender's choice. You tell them what you like (base spirit, citrusy, light, heavy, creamy, boozy, etc.)

You may read that Milk & Honey is a private/members-only bar, but that isn't true. It stopped being private some time last year. I'd email [e-mail] ASAP. (For some reason their web site appears to be down)

If you're not comfortable making reservations for a set time or rolling the dice for a M&H bar seat, I'd say that I'd hit up Death & Co. simply because it's got an incredible menu organized by spirit, great bartenders, and a sizable capacity so you don't have to worry about getting in. Sit at the bar and they'll take care of you. I highly recommend the Southern Exposure (tequila and jalapeno), Whirling Tiger (bourbon and apple), or the Winchester (a 3 gin take on a tiki drink).

You mentioned inventive French... the first thing that comes to mind is Jean Georges, which has fabulous, world-class food. And given that it's French, there's a good amount of Asian influence, and JG's food tends to be much lighter than what most people think of when they think French. If you can get in for the two course $28 lunch prix fixe, that would be a good experience. I have to assume you've already called them to ask about dinner, and they're fully committed?

[Slob]

"Is Minetta Tavern all that? "

My answer is a resounding no. It's one of those over-hyped places. I certainly wouldn't go there if I had one night in NYC. I wouldn't even go there if I had 10 nights. Maybe if I had 15.

[Slob]

"What's the highest quality cocktail I can get on a Tuesday night at 8pm _in quiet surroundings_? Death and Co, etc, all sound quite busy, but maybe not on a tuesday? Before dinner, after a long flight, I'll trade some peace and quiet for some quality."

Take a look at Summit Bar in the East Village. VERY inventive cocktails from master mixologists. Cool setting and vibe with really nice bartenders.

[bbulkow]

The bar at Le Bernardine is a particular experience. The bar is rather an afterthought in such a restaurant, about 5 seats on the edge of the waiting area. The atmosphere isn't great, because you're staring into a set of bottles and helped by a rather bored bartender (I saw only two mixed drinks in 3 hours). The main room is clearly superior, but the joy of a no-reservation meal of this category is unsurpassed. No once else ate at the bar, I would expect it's rare, and seats are usually available.

There was no problem getting in and out, even though I arrived at about 9:30. The service was quick without being rushed. Without a dining companion, I was in the mood for faster pacing; they read my mood well. I probably departed around 12, and wasn't the last person out. I think they would cheerily seat until a bit past 10, but I hit them at about the right time.

The menu at Le Bernardine was divided into 3 parts. The 4 course choices are quite broad, with a very broad "pick 3" menu for $110. There were two tasting menus, the standard tasting menu and the holiday truffle tasting menu. Although some of the "pick 3" choices were interesting and inventive, I don't get to holiday tasting menus that often, so went for that. With paired wines. Between the food, and the paired wines, tax and tip the bill hit almost $400 even.

The service was fractured. I rarely saw any single server twice, other than the barman. The experience was very different from the french laundry, where every dish is described in *excruciating* detail, with the location of each ingredient. This was much more "your fish, sir". And then the fish is great. When I asked the source of the crab, the answer was "maine". With TFL they would have told the harbor, the name of the boat, and the length of stubble on the fisherman's chin :-). I don't know if Per Se is quite the same.

The food is as great as should be expected at a three star. The star of the meal was the escolar, with its explosive juicy tuna taste. The scallops "carpaccio" (not sliced particularly thin) was also excellent. The wine pairings were generally 100% excellently wonderful, with a lot of fresh and lively whites except the two red courses, which were basically paired with the sauces more than the fish itself.

I wasn't deeply impressed with the "main dish", which was their roasted monkfish, which was on their regular menu and in the "pick 3" list, seemingly a standard of theirs.

The one fault on the food side was the wine pairing with the escolar, which was a Napa Vouvray of some sort. But the choice was heavily oaked and quite heavy, which just didn't work, in my opinion. A more standard vouvray, with the sweet / bitter complexity, would have been an interesting match. I didn't ask for a re-pair because, frankly, with that much wine I was happy to just move on to the next course. The other pairings were sublime, but I can't remember each and every.

Thus - thank you, CH, for the tip. Exactly what I was looking for. As it turned out, I couldn't have done any reservation, as when I landed I had frantic business calls for a few hours which died down exactly at 9:30 --- but unpredictably so.

As an aside, I went all the way down to Death & Co afterward, and apparently they seat only until 12:30 or something, and I arrived 15 minutes late. Denied. Drat, that would have been a good nightcap. Knowing the Death & Co hours would have saved me some hassle.

[steve h.]

Welcome to the bar at Le Bernardin. I thought I was the only one who knew about this secret hidden in plain sight. Let the record show they can also build a killer martini at the bar.

[hcbk0702]

Sorry to hear about Death & Co. Unfortunately, they close very early for a cocktail bar of that caliber (I think it has something to do with an oddity in their liquor licence). Going there at 6 PM is best IMO if you can fit it in your schedule. PDT is only a couple blocks away, so trying both is dangerously easy. The presence of many good restaurants in that area doesn't hurt either.

Glad you enjoyed Le Bernardin. Aldo Sohm is likely the best sommelier in the US, and even the likes of Per Se and French Laundry can't quite match Le Bernardin in wine pairings.

[bbulkow]

TFL doesn't do course by course wine pairings - can't say for Per Se.

One plus for Le Bernardine.

Other than that one course, the pairings were astonishing. Each one complimented and improved the given dish.

[kathryn]

Aw, shucks, sorry about that. Death & Co. used to close at midnight due to a problem with a neighbor, which has since been resolved. Now they close around 1am but last call is about 12:30am. In any case, it's so small that sometimes you can't even get in past a certain point in the name (same with PDT). For future reference PDT is nearby (they close at 4am) as is Mayahuel (all tequila drinks, not sure when they close, I think 2am).

[bbulkow]

I had asked for drinks before; good reason for you not to have posted the close time. Silly me for not looking it up, I hadn't even imagined a NYC bar with a "last seating" around 12:30.

[hcbk0702]

If you have one night, Le Bernardin would be my first pick given your preferences. The bar isn't large, but dining there is very comfortable. I don't think it would be hard scoring a single seat at the bar later at night, but I wouldn't get there too late; the four course prix fixe will take a good chunk of time. Nearly everything on the current menu is exceptional.

For Italian, I'd try Alto or Marea, currently two of the best in NYC. Both are in walking distance of Le Bernardin. On the other side of Midtown, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons may be of interest, especially considering their strong emphasis on counter/bar dining.

Kurumazushi or Yasuda would be tops for high-end sushi, but I don't know if walk-ins are accepted often at either place.

For the best cocktails, all of Kathryn's suggestions are great. I'd probably say Death & Co and PDT are the best. However, you'll want to get there early (6 PM) to avoid waiting. It should also be nice and quiet then.

[bbulkow]

Excellent. Le Bernardin seems like a great target, with backups.

What time do you think maximizes my chance at a seat, and enough time to enjoy? Is there any point calling in advance?

I'm limited on the early side by when my flight arrives. Knowing the maximal intersection of quiet and good drinks at the 8pm hour would be most welcome.

By the way, I love how you guys say "walk-ins", as if they're a sneaky, perhaps different class of patron. That terms is less in use here because there are only a handful of restaraunts in town that don't take "walk-ins". Coi has a lounge, Boulevard has three classes fo bar seating (one reserved, two unreserved).

[kathryn]

Interesting, I had no idea about the walk-in thing.

Here you'll find a bunch of different combinations. Restaurants that don't talk walk-ins and you can't dine at the bar, ones that require a reservation for a table but you can dine at the bar (albeit sometimes from a different menu), ones that have an entire front room area with both a bar and dining tables that are first come, first served in addition to a formal dining room that requires reservations, and restaurants with more of a front lounge that now has a food menu.

I suppose the late hours people work and "city that never sleeps" mentality of NYC leads to more patrons who want to spontaneously drop in and have a meal without reservations.

[bbulkow]

I meant the opposite. SF is very, very walk-in friendly, to the point that we don't have a concise term like you use. For the few spots where you'd say "no walk-ins", I would say "reservations 100% required", and I can only think of Masas, the dining room at the ritz, TFL. Everywhere else I can think of has a lounge (COI), bar seating with full menu (Boulevard, Zuni, etc). Chez Panisse has downstairs and upstairs although different menus.

If I was going to make up a story, I'd say everyone loved the old Chez Pannisse way of the formal downstairs reservations required, and the relaxed upstairs where reservations weren't taken. CP's changed a bit, with reservations allowed upstairs, but the flavor remains.

Of course there are plenty of places where you'd be a fool not to reserve, and walking in around 8 would be just plain silly.

[FrankieLymon]

"great" chinese? why is great in quotations?

[bbulkow]

Those are '*' emphasis marks.