Posted on 03/11/2013 12:39:41 PM PDT by US Navy Vet
I would ONLY eat @ MAYBE 3 or 3 of these "places"!
I mean 2 or 3..
I call BS. You have to get a reservation a month in advance and that's nearly impossible.
Why? I’ve eaten at several of them, including 5 of the top 15 (didn’t go through the whole list) and while some are certainly absurdly overpriced, they were all fantastic.
Except Shake Shack. That’s an odd choice. It’s good, sure, but it’s Shake Shack.
Best resturant in merka?
My kitchen... with my wife making the ‘catch of the day’. Ain’t nothing sweeter than a house filled up with the smell of a mess of crappy frying. There’s few things on this earth I like better than my wife’s cooking.
And you wouldn’t catch me in any of those fancy resturants. I’d stick out like a sore thumb.
Tha’ts the case for many of these... All of Keller’s places, David Chang’s places... though it can be done with luck and diligence.
minibar looks stupid to me. I like Andres’s other restaurants, but this one is too over-the-top for me.
It’s next door to my wife’s office and we’ve tried many times to get a reservation but can’t. We pretty much gave up. It was on Anthony Bordain’s “No Reservations” show and looked really interesting.
I’ve been doing the 101 Chowdown Countdown from the Travel Channel list. Real food. None of the restaurants on this list look like restaurants I’d choose.
Quickly scanning the list, I’ve been to about 20 of them. Glad to see The French Laundry still at the top. I was finally able to make it last year.
Babbo is very over-rated. Other than that, the ones I’ve been to definitely fit in that list.
And a good hotel concierge. That's how I was able to secure The French Laundry last year. Hotel Palomar in San Francisco. Happened to make a passing comment at the desk and they called to my room 15 minutes later and said 'how does tomorrow night sound, can we get you a car too?' I was shocked.
So funny you called out Babbo, as I had the same thought. (Batali opened up a place very near me and yeah, it’s Italian at a premium. Bah.)
Great story and lucky you!
I got in the old-fashioned way: I think it was 3 months out they take reservations and I was on the horn that morning at that minute knowing I’d be out there for work that day.
I went to Bouchon just showing up at the door - and Bouchon in Vegas too. Per Se was a business thing that I had nothing to do with ... haha, this is a first in 12 yrs here - namedropping stupid expensive restaurants.
Keller kowtows to famous and known people, which sucks for you and me.
David Chang, however, does not. His system is 100% democratic and I love him for it. (Online, 30 days out, starts at 10AM, go for it no matter who you are.)
I thought the bookending of Lola and The French Laundry as #103 and #1 was fascinating. Michael Simon of Lola was 'introduced to the public' in a three-part book titled "Anatomy of a Chef." Keller and The French Laundry are profiled in the last third of the book.
I find I can get Sunday lunch reservations at Keller's Per Se (NYC) with relative ease. I signed up for Open Table and on Friday mornings I check the Internet. Almost invariably some (other) tourist has canceled his or her luncheon plans.
Have you tried the tasting menu at Daniel?
I’ve eaten at two of them. Il Forno in Providence and Pepe’s in New Haven. Both are wonderful. Pepe’s pizza is simply the best there is.
WTF....No mention of Casa Bonita!
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