jean georges dinner in less than 2 hours...possible or too rushed?
my wife and i have reservations to jean georges at 6pm. we are celebrating our anniversary. i just found out that my brother-in-law got us tickets to broadway show at 8pm.
having never eaten at jean georges, is this possible or too rushed? i don't want to feel rushed but really also want to try jean georges. big dilemma.
let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
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Jean Georges
1 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023
By sapiansays
on Nov 9, 2011 08:49 AM
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in case it's not possible to do jean georges in less than 2 hours...here's something i'm thinking of. have lunch at jean georges (keep reading that it's a splendid deal). then have dinner at one of the following places that have earlier dinner reservations.
--the modern
--ai fiori
--dovetail
--gramercy tavern
--sugiyama
thoughts?
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I think Jean Georges is the kind of restaurant that should be the "entertainment" for the entire evening. So, I would never dine there pre-theater. I feel the same about two of the other options you mention, The Modern Dining Room and Ai Fiori.
While I liked Dovetail, I think it's more convenient to dine there when going to a performance at Lincoln Center.
I'm not a fan of Gramercy Tavern.
When we have evening theater, ballet, or concert tickets, we do a long, leisurely lunch and then go for a meal after the performance. Imo, that work's out far better than having a pre-theater dinner.
http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com
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i appreciate your thoughts and opinions. i agree that jean georges should be the "entertainment" for the night. that was my plan from the get-go. finding out my brother-in-law got us broadway show tickets through a curve ball. especially since i was lucky enough to get 6pm reservations at jean georges (less than 7 days in advance).
so i see that the modern has 5pm seating and ai fiori has 5:15 seating. worth pursuing you think? or still not enough time to relax and have memorable meal?
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5pm seating for The Modern Dining Room is perfectly enough time for a relaxing dinner in my opinion. The last time I was there for dinner (the 4-course prix fixe), we ate leisurely and took our time, got out in 2.5 hours.
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Is it possible for you to call JG to make your dinner earlier? Dinner in one and a half hours is do-able, but I'd feel rushed for my anniversary dinner. If you eat at 5:30, you'd be able to enjoy the meal much better.
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i called and put in a request. but at the moment...there's nothing for 5:30. the person i spoke to said 2 hours is possible but definitely cutting it close. she even recommended changing the reservation to nougatine since it's paced a bit quicker and they have 5:30 opening.
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Nougatine's more casual and the service can be uneven. I wouldn't choose it for anniversary dinner.
I agree with seeking alternate restaurants. The Modern Dining Room, especially, is one of my favorite restaurants in the city and since it's in the Theater District vicinity, perfect for pre-show dinner. Ask for one of the two-tops by the window, near the center of the room if possible.
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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
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I agree with Cheeryvisage, Nougatine is nowhere near special enough for a celebratory meal. I think you should do a late (but not too late - maybe 1:30) lunch at JG, take a couple hours to leisurely dine, walk off a couple calories in the park and then go to La Silhoutte for a wonderful dinner but don't go over board.
I love The Modern Dining Room, but we've never taken less than several hours when enjoying meals there and I think you would easily feel as rushed there as JG.
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Nougatine
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023
La Silhouette
362 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
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that's a delightful idea. i might do that. i almost wish my brother-in-law didn't put me in this predicament by getting us broadway show tickets. but oh well haha.
btw, there's a 5pm seating for the modern. would that be enough time to make 8pm show? or still rushed?
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Which theater? And will you be doing a tasting and 4 course prix fixe? And would you still do JG for lunch?
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good question. not sure. my brother-in-law says it's a surprise but said it's in times square.
i'm leaning towards the 4 course prix fixe but that could change. if i do the modern...i probably will skip jean georges this time and try again in the future.
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ok, if theater is near MOMA then the 2.5 should be fine if you are going 4 course. and good idea to skip JG if going to The Modern, the gap between meals isn't enough (IMO).
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No way can you do this - you would have to leave J-G at 7:20 to comfortably get to your theater by let's say 7:40, and that's actually cutting it close. That gives you an hour and 20 minutes for dinner. If you eat at 5:30, that would do it but still rushed in my opinion. Save J-G for when you have time to relax and enjoy.
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yeah i started to calculate the timeline and came to the same conclusion. it'll be very difficult to have relaxing dinner without having to worry about getting to the show on time. not my idea of a special anniversary dinner.
gutsofsteel...did you happen to see my list of restaurants that i'm considering? any thoughts? do you have any other suggestions?
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Ask your brother in law to tell you what street the theatre is on. You need to choose something close to the theatre. Your list doesn't work.
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thanks for everyone for your advice and ideas. i decided to cancel my jean georges reservations at 6pm. i was fortunate enough to get a 5pm at the modern. so it allows a bit more time to wine and dine with the 8pm show. i went back and forth between the modern and ai fiori but was salivating over some of the dishes and drinks at the modern :)
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The Modern has some wonderfully creative cocktails. Did you specifically request a table along the window, preferably center, best table in the place.
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i didn't through opentable reservation. but i will definitely call and see if it can be accommodated. thanks for the reminder.
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pardon me for re-opening this thread. having already cancelled the jean georges 6pm reservation and going with the modern at 5pm...i thought i was good to go. i just got a call from jean georges host and she said that they had 5:30pm open up. so tempting. might still be a bit rushed but makes for a dilemma again.
i'm so torn. it's not often that my wife and i have babysitters for the night so not sure how often we would get the chance to try a 3 star michelin restaurant. what to do what to do!
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Others might have different opinions, but I say go ahead and take the 5:30 Jean Georges reservation since you obviously want to eat there very much. If you order the 4-course prix fixe and not the tasting menu, you should have no problem finishing the meal in 2 hours. Of course, you should always let your server know you're trying to catch a show.
In my experience, as long as I don't linger, it's never taken me more than 2 hours to eat a 4-course meal at a fine dining restaurant. I'm a slow eater compared to most people and like to take my time chewing. Even I never feel rushed with 2 hours to eat the meal.
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thanks cheeryvisage! is it that obvious that i want to try jean georges? :)
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sell the tickets!! go to JG.
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