83 replies to this topic

[Suzanne F]

A cocktail lounge with pretensions. That's my way of thinking of it, although of course I haven't been so don't really know what I'm talking about.

The chef used to be at Vandaag.

[Orik]

Oh, that guy.

[oakapple]

A cocktail lounge with pretensions. That's my way of thinking of it, although of course I haven't been so don't really know what I'm talking about.

Almost everyone thought Atera was a joke; now it has four NYM stars and is packed nightly. Not saying these guys will hit the same jackpot, but I'm not surprised to see others making the attempt.

[Wilfrid]

The drink choices also apply to Mr. Kirschen-Clark’s $130, nine-course tasting menu at a 12-seat chef’s table, which can offer communal seating for unrelated parties or be booked in its entirety. There will be a single seating, at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, for a meal that Mr. Kirschen-Clark described as “like what Brooklyn Fare does,” referring to Cesár Ramirez’s restaurant in a kitchen in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, which has won three Michelin stars. “The chefs will do the serving so they can interact with the guests,” he said

.

Oh really? Really? Will the interaction be different from you hanging around a nearby table bitching about the owners of Vandaag while I ate a dinner which appeared to have been thrown together by a kitchen which no longer cared? Or are we talking about a different kind of interaction for $130?

[joethefoodie]

Hopefully different. He can be a great cook... when everything is just right.

I expect the cocktails, which Alex Day has and will have a great part in developing, will be excellent, as at D & C.

[oakapple]

Cesar Ramirez's last stop before Brooklyn Fare was Bar Blanc, which I thought was just so-so. Now he's a rock star.

[Suzanne F]

The magic of PR?

[Sneakeater]

I've never been there, but isn't it theoretically possible that Brooklyn Fare (where Chef Ramirez is much less fettered than he was at Bar Blanc) is actually better?

[oakapple]

I've never been there, but isn't it theoretically possible that Brooklyn Fare (where Chef Ramirez is much less fettered than he was at Bar Blanc) is actually better?

Quite possible. I'm just saying that if you'd visited Bar Blanc during his tenure, nothing would've given you the impression that he was capable of creating what Brooklyn Fare has now become.

[Orik]

Cesar Ramirez's last stop before Brooklyn Fare was Bar Blanc, which I thought was just so-so. Now he's a rock star.

This is more Ryan Skeen, less Cesar Ramirez.

[Sneakeater]

I've never been there, but isn't it theoretically possible that Brooklyn Fare (where Chef Ramirez is much less fettered than he was at Bar Blanc) is actually better?

Quite possible. I'm just saying that if you'd visited Bar Blanc during his tenure, nothing would've given you the impression that he was capable of creating what Brooklyn Fare has now become.

Right, of course. I agree with your point. I was responding to Suzanne.

[Suzanne F]

I've never been there, but isn't it theoretically possible that Brooklyn Fare (where Chef Ramirez is much less fettered than he was at Bar Blanc) is actually better?

Quite possible. I'm just saying that if you'd visited Bar Blanc during his tenure, nothing would've given you the impression that he was capable of creating what Brooklyn Fare has now become.

Right, of course. I agree with your point. I was responding to Suzanne.

The best chef in the world is only The Best Chef In The World™ if the world knows about him/her and has been convinced of that "fact." That is the magic of PR.

But in further response to Oakapple and in support of Sneak: of course it's possible that BF is better than BB. There are so many factors that contribute to the quality of a kitchen's output (or fetters if they are negatives), many of which have nothing to do with the chef's skill, but rather the circumstances under which the chef is working: the product available (in type, scope, and quality), the staff, the kitchen setup, the support of the owner, even the service--factors that support Sneak's supposition of BF being better because "Chef Ramirez is much less fettered." Which is all to say: Ramirez's skill is not in question; certainly not by those of us who have never tasted his food anywhere.

And the same goes for Kirschen-Clark.

[oakapple]

But in further response to Oakapple and in support of Sneak. . . .

I thought Sneak and I were saying the identical things, so obviously I am not understanding the point.

[Sneakeater]

I think we were saying identical things.

As someone who ate at Bar Blanc, it would have taken more than PR to transform that food into the food of The Best Chef In The World™. It would have taken a magic wand.

[oakapple]

Also, if I recall correctly, Brooklyn Fare didn't open with a lot of PR.