PX This.

PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW

Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of lucks[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !

Faustina

What was your first impression?
oh was there always access from the bar to the dining room? i didn’t notice that before.

Please rate the Bar:
spacious, clean. a little cold though— both figuratively and literally. the bartenders are nice enough, but they do have a pretty awkward and cumbersome set-up here. that shit would drive me crazy.

Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
overall? i’d say… well… it is a hotel. hotels tend to do things differently. i’m sure they have their reasons.

Please rate the Dining Room:
same as the bar. and… well… it is a hotel. hotels tend to do things differently. i’m sure they have their reasons.

Please rate the BOH:
it’s very good. but umm… hmm… personally i predict they’re going to have some difficulties somewhere in the forseeable future… ?

How was the staff?
the front desk needs better training. the bartenders are good, but seem to still need more time with the POS system. the runners are adept. and they have at least one manager who’s pretty on the ball.
don’t know about the waitstaff— to me, the dining room is uninviting enough that i chose to dine at the bar on both my visits.

What did you eat?/ How was the food?
the ciabatta with fonduta and poached egg, the pork belly, the rock shrimp, balsamic spare ribs, black truffle risotto, fried chicken, and truffle cabbage, and it was all very impressive (particularly on my first visit), especially because i really hated Scarpetta. fascinating, yes?
i’m curious to see how it plays out. i would venture so far as to say Faustina is my new favorite restaurant since Grayz. the only other restaurant i liked as much as Grayz was Maze (at GordonRamsay’s@theLondon). but as we alls know now, the NY Times hated chef de cuisine neil-ferguson at GordonRamsay but loooved him at Allen&Delancey (where poor neil-ferguson also didn’t last very long). conversely, i loved Maze, but despised Allen&Delancey. the NY Times also hated Grayz, which i loved— but loooved Scarpetta, which i detested.
so haa now with Faustina, i’m dying to see whether the NY Times food/restaurant critic bullshit is all just politics as i suspect, or really is just plain ole regular stupidity after all.

What did you like?
the menu, the food. the location.

What did you dislike?
uh… well… truth be told, scott-conant has always just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. his persona, i mean; i’ve never actually met him. so maybe i disliked the fact he disproved my hypothesis that he sucks? just kidding.

What was your last impression?
i’m glad i live close by.

Would you come back?
already have. and yes.

Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
thanks, you will.

One Response to “F&F: Faustina [CLOSED]”

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