PX This.

Welcome to: Where I Spent My Day Off —by a NYC Restaurant "Insider"

So, what do you do in the industry?
I’m the General Manager for a [very popular] 160+ seater in midtown.

And you have how many days off a week, generally?
Two.

What did you do for breakfast yesterday?
I hardly ever eat breakfast; I just don’t have the appetite for it most mornings. Just two cups of my special recipe of blended espresso with a lot of hot milk, at home.

Lunch?
My friend and I went to Kelley & Ping, because we were both craving ramen. Normally, we probably would have chosen Ippudo, but I read that thing you guys had about the MSG (LOL)! Somebody should call them or something, and tell them to stop using that stuff; maybe they’re losing a lot of customers! They probably wouldn’t care anyway, though, they’re so busy all the time…
Anyway, Kelley &Ping was good; I still love that place, too.

And afterward?
Walked around SoHo and then stopped in to see our friend who’s a bartender at Balthazar. Had a couple glasses of white wine.

Dinner?
Met another friend at Perilla. I looove Perilla. They have this amazing sea urchin foam thing, and the seafood pasta dish is incredible. Sooo good. Their staff is really great, too— so professional and really nice.
Plus a lovely wine list— some good choices at decent prices. I refuse to go to places that have crappy overpriced wine, which actually, is like, half the places in the West Village.
My friend had "thai sausages" which were just OK, though. We also joked that the execution seemed more "Vietnamese" than "Thai," but whatever. And he also had the burger— was it duck? In any case, he liked it.

And afterward?
We decided to try Avenue, since neither one of us had ever been there before, and we were both curious to see what it looked like. And since it was a weekday and still earlyish, we figured we wouldn’t catch that much of a hassle at the door. Well, we were wrong. We got there probably right before 10PM, but the guy at the door told us it was a "private party" or "reservation only," something like that. We’re not the type to argue our way into places, so we just decided to have a drink at The Park next door instead.
My friend decided to order the mushroom fingers because it sounded weird and intriguing, even though we were both still stuffed from dinner. I only had a couple bites; they were eh, not bad, but not great either.

Then as we were leaving The Park, my friend saw Wass Stevens, whom he knows, manning the door at Avenue. So then we went in.
I mean, so ridiculous— clubs in NY are so retarded now— do you want us, or don’t you? Maybe that other guy was just new or something, but seriously? A guy and a girl at 10PM and you’re going to give us a hard time? Not to sound conceited, but we’re not exactly hideous, you know.
So then we get inside and of course the place is totally empty. As we’re getting drinks at the bar, a waiter recognizes my friend (who’s also in the F&B industry) and takes us to table and says he wants to introduce my friend to the Maitre d’ or whatever. And he offers to send food, but we tell him we’ve already eaten. So then he sends over a mochi dessert! I mean, this is why nightlife is so crappy now. Make up your minds— you don’t want us to come inside, but then when we’re inside you’re happy to see us? So ridiculous.
We didn’t stay very long— we just had the one round.

How much did you blow today?
About $30 during the day, including lunch and half the tip at Balthazar. My friend insisted on paying the check at Perilla, The Park, the two drinks and the tip at Avenue, but I’m going to get the next one. Or maybe I’ll just cook for him.

"What a shame. I was looking forward to trying Chef Trabocchi at FourSeasons but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Personally I think he’s very talented and I’ve heard great things about him from his staff.

Does "philosophical differences" mean "money" ?
I know a restaurateur who had pretty extensive interviews/discussions with Chef Trabocchi and liked him very much. In the end it boiled down to Chef’s salary requirements— which were astronomically high.

It would be a travesty if Chef Trabocchi were to remain unemployed for as long as his last hiatus. But I suppose if he can find someone (else?) to pay that exorbitant price, then God bless him."
– By abbe_diaz on 01/14/2010 at 11:09am

Best of luck to you, Chef. – Sincerely, Your fans @ PX This.

***MORE on Fabio Trabocchi [For Members Only]

***THIS JUST IN***
• Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 5:30PM – "At the airport watching Eric Goode and Maurice Rodrigues stalk Anthony Bourdain. I’m not kidding. Those two clowns were walking AROUND over and over looking for him after he was spotted. Then they ran into and proceeded to chat with Ted Danson, who is now Eric’s BFF text buddy. Oi."

***This has been a PX This Spotted Special Report***

The bar/restaurant at the hotel, Mama Shelter, in the 20th Arrondissement in Paris. – James Mielke

All of the rooms in this Philipe Starck-designed hotel are equipped with the new iMacs. And they’re set up so that you can take a picture of yourself, e-mail it to yourself, and also allow the hotel to use it. It is then displayed on one of the many monitors they have spread around the hotel, in the restaurant, on their website, and in your room (if you choose ‘photo book’). Pretty cool feature for your exhibitionist self. – James Mielke

The carousel near The Louvre – James Mielke

my favorite view of notre dame… a bit of snow this day – Steve Lew

outside my door in the 14th arrondissement – Steve Lew

contrescarpe square, 5th arrondissement, paris- it’s snowing – Steve Lew

The Good Thief, Layer Cake, and L’Empire des Loups

Well! Who would have thought the "Netflix This" feature would have so many fans with such raging testosterone? After our last recommendation of Bad Influence, suddenly Y chromosomes started coming out of the woodwork. It seems most of our suggestions have had a decidedly "pussyish" "feminine" bent, but it certainly was never our intention to neglect the brutisher sex. Settle down there, boys! I got something for you, too:
The Good Thief, Layer Cake, and L’Empire des Loups (not necessarily in that order).

You will absolutely love them. Trust me. So call Domino’s, grab a six-pack, snuggle into your Lazy-Boy and enjoy!
But don’t forget to take out the trash first.

• Which nightlife impresario is being "forced" to keep "embellishing" the truth? Rampant speculation has pushed him and his team into a corner, and creative storytelling is the only way to keep the dream hype alive. The truth is: despite multiple gestures and promises by a prospective deep-pocketed investor, the money simply hasn’t been delivered.

• Which well-known chef just got busted cheating on his wife again? Word on the street is his long "suffering" wife is so used to it, she doesn’t even care anymore. Refreshingly, her consistent gracious and courteous demeanor has softened the edges on sharp, snake-like forked tongues. Despite all his money and authority, it’s she who’s captured the hearts of the minions. Unfortunately, she can’t stop the tongues from wagging, but maybe she can at least take some comfort in knowing the mongering often ends, "… but she’s sooo nice… I really like her."

• Let’s play PX This – Mad Libs! From the Members Only forum (fill in the blanks):

"Now that the big day is drawing near and the hype is starting to build, can we place our bets on how long __________ and __________ are going to last with each other? Two notorious ________ under one roof yet again. This could be more fun to watch than ____________ at ____________." [Answers revealed to Members here.]

A concerned reader just wrote in to point out where we were remiss.
“…Love your site… but you forgot one picture from the Standard staff Xmas party… lol…”

You’re absolutely right, dear reader! Thank you! Who says the holidays are over? They’re over when we say they’re over. The gifts just keep on coming…

:)

***Earlier: “Celebrate the holidays… with the staff of The Standard Hotel”

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… !

Ofrenda

What was your first impression?
Everything always looks so much better in photos. But this is kinda cute, I guess.

Please rate the Bar:
The bartender is very amicable. And call me crazy, but it’s pretty refreshing to see a Mexican behind a bar at a Mexican restaurant.

Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
The wine list, although small, is better than you’d expect (albeit just slightly expensive for the offerings), and the cocktails list looks good. I opted for wine though— after all, this is supposed to be "french-handed Mexican," right? Gotta admit, I’m intrigued.

Please rate the Dining Room:
OK. Simple. Rustic. A bit more blah than it could be; it could use a heartier infusion of personality. Love the music though— the all-Spanish playlist is definitely a nice touch. A decent use of space, but it could be better. (And why did they cover over the great original tin ceiling? Is that a ‘noise issue’ thing? Bummer.)

Please rate the BOH:
Not bad. The plentiful small dishes and sides presented on the menu are smart and gratifying; it seems there’s something for everyone here. The food is good but lacks the spark I anticipated from a highly trained and experienced chef. Simple, rustic and homey is one thing; prosaic is another. Then again, at this very reasonable price point, there’s little room for complaint.

How was the staff?
LOL. Fine. Both guys were just fine.

What did you eat?/ How was the food?
Chorizo Nachos (Bar Menu) : Not bad. I would have preferred fresh jalapeño to pickled, but OK. And for $3, it’s actually pretty good. But yeah, I’m beginning to see the un-Mexican-ness, I think. Unless of course this is some deep down profound homestyle Oaxacan Indian Mexican recipe of which I’m completely unaware.
Crab Chimichangas: Looks more like a spring roll. Decent, but the ‘pre-packaged’ attributes are pretty apparent in the crab— a little bland and lifeless.
Boquerones: OK. The dressing on the salad is nice. A little sweet, somewhat Asian— is that soy sauce I taste?
Rib-eye: Not bad, but this is definitely rustic all right. Thin fillet, but tender and well-prepared. Very homestyle. The sauteed baby spinach on the side is good, and I really like that stuffed "indigenous mexican vegetable" (looks like a cactus?) relleno.
Esquites: Not on the cob, but that’s OK. Tasty. Fine.
Grilled mushrooms: Simple but delicious.

What did you like?
The cactus whatever relleno. The music. And for $36/bottle, the pinot noir from Williamette was pretty good.

What did you dislike?
Nothing in particular.

What was your last impression?
There’s room for improvement, but definitely not a hopeless cause. Plenty of potential here.

Would you come back?
I think so.

Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thanks, it was a pleasure.

Domaine Paul Blanck – Pinot Blanc D’Alsace 2007, France
Cost: $11.99/Bottle

Often overlooked at wine stores amongst a sea of chardonnays, white Burgundies, or pinot grigios are wines from Alsace, and their pinot blancs are extraordinarily good for the hard earned dollar. For about $12, Paul Blanck makes a fantastic dry white wine loaded with nice citrus, lime, and sour gummy bears flavors. While dry, it’s fruity with excellent grip on the palate. Refreshing and hits the spot.
Rating: 87

In honor of this week’s Travel Series, we present “Learn English.” Ha ha ha ha ha— go on, have a laugh; it’s a new year!

:)