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 luck[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… !
What was your first impression?
Wow, the hostesses (an army of them!) are really friendly.
And also: Huh, this is… different? Especially for this part of town.
Please rate the Bar:
Not bad. Spacious, clean, commodious. If I lived and/or worked in the area, I’d come here.
Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
Fine, I suppose. The cocktails list is relatively diverse, if not exactly inventive. Odd choice of "calls" mentioned in the recipes, though. Then again, it’s a W— so there is that.
Oh damn, I forgot to look at the wine list (the space isn’t quite conducive to it). Then again, it’s a W— so I’m sure I’ve already seen the list in some other hotel.
Please rate the Dining Room:
I gather there must be a whole other dining room upstairs, because the "dining room" downstairs is rather small (the bar takes up most of the expanse).
But as for downstairs, I rather like it. Personally, I find the artwork doodles on the walls really appealing (very Mama Shelter. Or ya know, Trattoria Bagutta maybe).
Please rate the BOH:
Very good. Sorry, Laurent! I was wondering if I’d detect your umm "absence," but uh… no, I don’t. Granted, the menu is hardly creative, but the execution is outstanding (particularly for a place that just opened). It’s probably not everybody’s cup of tea— if you only dine out once a month or less, it’s likely not the place for you. If, however, you eat out nearly every day, it’s perfect. Any place that has the balls to serve sandwiches for dinner is OK by me. (Then again, it’s a hotel… and a W no less, so maybe I’m giving the BOH too much credit for their courageousness). But seriously though, I don’t know how many nights I’ve said to myself, "I wish there were a nice quality place where I could go and just have a really good sandwich (and no, I don’t mean a fucking burger) and a solid first-rate drink. In a cool environment." I defy you to come up with a place. E-mail me if you think of one.
How was the staff?
Very good. Overall, enthusiastic, proficient, and conscientious. Everyone. Even the busboy.
What did you eat?/ How was the food?
Deviled Eggs with Tabasco : Scrumptious. Fresh. Flavorful. And not a bad price at all for three (overstuffed) halves.
Caesar Salad : Oh, be quiet. Caesar Salad is a great way to evaluate a BOH’s standards. You would be amazed (or not) how many places can fuck up a Caesar Salad, and badly. Especially hotels.
But, this one passes the test with flying colors. I mean, are those actually finely chopped white anchovies mixed into the dressing? I was starting to think they threw out that recipe in all the culinary schools.
Even the croutons are good.
Tuna Tartare : Yah, are you seeing the pattern in the menu here? Whatever, it’s delicious. Very fresh. A little overkill on the ice platter maybe, but I can live with it.
Strip Steak : Very good. Nice quality, tender, perfectly cooked. Tasty "cognac green-peppercorn sauce." Pretty fairly priced at $34.
Sauteed Creamy Spinach : Not so creamy actually. The only item that didn’t quite impress me. Decent flavor but too-mushy texture. I mean, come on— anybody who orders creamed spinach is obviously not afraid of cream, butter, or calories. Don’t get all scaredy-cat and wishy-washy with the stuff. Better to offer the options of "with cholesterol" or "without" instead.
What did you like?
It was pretty much all satisfactory.
What did you dislike?
It’s sooooo far away! What the hell is Albany Street?
What was your last impression?
Oooh, Paul Liebrandt! Third time now…
Would you come back?
If it weren’t so far away, I’d probably come once a week. No, seriously.
Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thanks, it was a pleasure.
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… !
What was your first impression?
Swanky.
Please rate the Bar:
Interesting set-up. Clean, spacious, elegant. An army of a staff (for now, anyway).
Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
Not generally one for cocktails, but couldn’t resist the enthusiastic sales pitch. Thoughtful cocktail list, brief but expertly crafted. Drinks are well-made, with fresh ingredients and a proficient hand.
Spent so long discussing the cocktail list, completely forgot to look at the wine list.
Please rate the Dining Room:
Grand and commodious, but somewhat austere. Very Las Vegas.
Please rate the BOH:
The BOH is in the FOH. I think. For such a showy, opulent kitchen, are they even cooking on that line? It’s oddly pristine. And awfully quiet.
How was the staff?
Oh, they try so hard. So hard. I don’t think I’ve ever hoped for a restaurant to succeed more; that’s how hard they try.
They’ll learn to relax over time, I assume.
What did you eat?/ How was the food?
I had the Seasonal Mushrooms, Romaine Lettuce salad, the Braised Veal Cheek and the Prime New York Steak, and they were all rather disappointing. Trite presentation, prosaic execution, overcooked, undercooked, you name it; there it was. There’s a lot of great potential here, though. I hope they fix it— quickly. As I said, I really want them to do better.
What did you like?
The staff (except for possibly the first hostess in the main foyer with the clipboard). They’re eager and enthusiastic but a little displaced.
What did you dislike?
Sadly, the food.
What was your last impression?
I’m crossing my fingers for them.
Would you come back?
Yes. I’ll give them some time to settle in, but— yes.
Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
Thank you and best of luck.
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… !
What was your first impression?
how adorable is this street?
Please rate the Bar:
nice! upscale and elegant but cozy and inviting. love the "hidden gem" vibe and ambience. beautiful, really.
Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
very extensive and eclectic, a real aficionados’ domicile. the wine list leans heavily toward the more reputable labels, though— lacks adventure and imagination and consequently, the averaged price point is skewed toward the higher end. overall, impressive. oh but, does anybody ever really order the 2oz "tasting" size? that’s so 1980’s.
Please rate the Dining Room:
n/a. but there’s a fair amount of "communal" table seating, particularly given the spare square footage.
Please rate the BOH:
better than i expected— pretty creative, even. a definite step above most bar/lounge fare.
How was the staff?
friendly and considerate, yet polished and professional. quite accommodating, refreshingly comfortable, and confident.
What did you eat?/ How was the food?
"the egg" : great presentation, completely unexpected. $4/egg seems highly priced on the menu, but when it arrives, you "get it." in a more pretentious/pompous place, this would probably be a $6 or $8 egg.
knishes with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and caviar : not bad. the knish is maybe a weeee doughy, but points on style and flair. i don’t know why i’m so into cute little bite-sized food these days.
veal meatblalls : okay. pretty generous portion. a little on the bland side, though. the sauce seems fine (but could use more punch) so i guess it’s the balls themselves. seasoning would help. plus, are they nuked? why are they so hot on the inside? that’s slightly disappointing.
mozarella and basil panini : good. love the bread. and the sprouts are a nice touch. tasty. and again, i dunno— somehow i could really get into everybody pre-cutting my food all up for me like i’m a toddler.
lobster stuffed mushrooms : points on ambition and beauty, but negative points on substance and personality. maybe a littlle too ambitious. but A for effort!
What did you like?
the crowd and ambience. this area is so much cuter than i ever imagined. i love it. there are no foodies, poseurs, or hipsters here! just well-dressed well-groomed peoples with jobs and nice apartments. and bankers are supposed to be like the dregs of humanity now, no? why is it so pleasant to be around them? maybe these are just low-level clock punching bankers.
What did you dislike?
that it’s so far from where i live. oh but i guess if it were closer, the foodies, poseurs, and hipsters would totally ruin it.
What was your last impression?
could i live down here, i wonder… ?
Would you come back?
if i moved down here, definitely.
Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
thank you, it was lovely.
joshua.david-stein’s (typically oblivious) grubstreet.com rumination on SHO ShaunHergatt today reminds me all about my visit there last week.
unlike joshua.david-stein (who, undoubtedly, has never even been to SHO but dislikes it intensely anyway), i really loved it— it’s my newest favoritist restaurant since Grayz and Maze.
yah so
originally i tried to go on a sunday night but they’re closed sundays (just so you know). so i went on a monday instead.
since i figured it would be a slow night, i didn’t bother to make reservations or anything like that. i’d also heard SHO was “gigantic” and “dead” so that only added to my confidence i’d definitely get a decent table.
and i sure did all right!
oh lemme backtrack for a second. firstly, i wanna say SHO is really elegant. it can be kind of intimidating, because it’s so grand and plush and swankeroo and whatnot— but the hostess (or maitre d’ or whoever) is very professional in that she makes you feel welcomed right away. she doesn’t say any of the unexceptional asinine things like “can i hellllp you?” or “do you haaaave a reservation?” which is the type of stuffs (as a former “professional”) that drives me up a fucking wall.
she just smiles all warmly and sweetly. even when you imply you haven’t yet decided whether this joint is worthy of your benjamins and you just “want to have a drink” first.
on the other hand, the bartender, for some reason, is a little timid and apprehensive. maybe she’s new.
anyhoo. one look at the menu (enthralling and reasonably priced!) will likely convince you it could be worth at least a benjamin and a half. it convinced me, anyways.
luckily, the warm sweetly smiling hostess is all too happy to accommodate your impulsive, presumptuous, spontaneous, classless ass. so good for you!
as she walks you to your table, you (also a consummate “professional,” yes?) cannot help but notice— homegirl’s got it all going on. she does the whole bit: the contrivedly and painfully sloooow but confident gait, the occasional glance backward (are you dimwits still there? have i lost you? have you paused midway to to take a phonecall or some shit?), the meticulous care not to clatter the floorboards with those sky high laboutins.
god damn, who’s the service coordinator up in this muhfuh?
either these people are all graduates of the University of Three Star Service, or somebody’s been working overtime to train these bitches.
ya know— i could go on and on about every other staffer i encountered at SHO, but i think you get the picture. these people are the shit. i was really impressed.
they were attentive without being overbearing, experienced without the attitude [see: Batali/Bastianich, BR Guest], and knowledgeable without the arrogance. in short, they were pretty much every operator’s dream staff, no joke.
secondly: the food (?!) my gawd, the FOOD
didn’t miss a beat.
can i ask you something? when was the last time you had a decent “mixed vegetable” side? i don’t know bout you, but whenever i see “mixed vegetables” offered on the menu, i want to guffaw like a jackass and hurl the menu out the window.
but NOW, i can say i have had the perfect side of mixed vegetables that can possibly ever be executed.
maybe that will give you some indication how good the food was.
lastly, the only other thing i want to comment is how i didn’t mind at all having almost the entire dining room to myself, but i did thoroughly enjoy the conversation drifting over from the big loud “mafia” table right smack in the center. until they started talking about all their bar mitvahs and yom kippurs or whatever and then i felt pretty stupid for stereotyping them.
= "personne extraordinaire"