Steve R.

One of the Somms. (the guy with an accent) is pretty amazing. A year ago, we went with Rich & Peg and Rich ordered one of two remaining bottles of some esoteric white wine that the somm. thought was a pretty good find on the list by Rich. We went back 6 months later with them & Rich joked to him about that & he came back to the table with the other bottle, which he had tucked away with Rich's name for when he returned (unasked). He's also been particularly helpful to me and Ginny at the bar, looking over our shoulders and steering us to by the glass choices he thinks we'd like.

Truthfully, I wasn't impressed with its former self either.

Walkable in 5 minutes to the Barclay Center, there's now a cluster of hotels within blocks. This section of Atlantic Ave will, no doubt, become more of a credible restaurant row over the next several years &, with Downtown Bklyn's upscale "development" again underway & also only blocks away, this location is gold. Not that this immediate area has been ungentrified and undiscovered by restaurant owners: its the original location of Brooklyn Fare & had Krescendo (Eliz. Faulkner's pizza place) years ago, with Rucola & Mile End still around. And Gage & Tollner of course.

Okay, so as you know, I'm an idiot when it comes to cocktails. But I generally know names/reputation. Like, I know who Julie R is & have been to many of the cocktail bars in NYC. And, since we live 2 blocks away, we're pretty much regulars at LI Bar, where we eat, drink wine and beer & watch the cocktails go by - with the exception of the frozen Pina Coladas that I drink in warm weather. This probably should be in the "Learn Something New Every Day" thread (or "Dingbat.."), but I never realized that Phil was THAT Phil. I just did some google searching. Boy, does he lay low.

no chicken?

As an "old-ish" guy, part of me cries out "that's not pizza!". But, I just don't feel that way. I may not like some combinations or riffs on traditional ingredients, but I applaud the attempt to stimulate my tastebuds with new ideas. I may not have wanted to order the taco or pineapple bagels I found in L.A. 40 years ago, but I no longer think of it as blasphemy. Maybe the turning point was 20 or so years ago, when I actually liked Paulie Gee's pizza with honey on it or discovered that Nutella was on dessert "pizzas" in parts of Italy. Whatever. Go for it Wylie.

Passing thru Savannah for a few days, we had dinner at the insanely booked up Olde Pink House. They were quoting 3 hour waits for a bar seat & absolutely no chance at a table, but I had made table reservations weeks in advance so we were in. We’ve been there before and enjoyed it, but our expectations were not set too high as we didnt think it was “special good”. While Ginny had very good breaded fried oysters & a texture-less pork tenderloin (sous vide’d no doubt), I intentionally ordered the She Crab Soup & the Fried Chicken, since that’s my usual at G&T. As expected, bot

As I so often do, I’ve (over)thought about this & think that the problem, for me at least, is the contrast between the two places. You walk into this beautiful restored space that is G&T, then go upstairs to a dark room with, as I see it, faux “atmosphere” and get cute drinks. I think they would’ve done better to create a more cosmopolitan lounge setting. This place would do better in an East Village location — or maybe not, as didnt Julie R. try that already with her Hawaiian Tiki bar? Once was enough - if I want drinks before dinner there, I’ll have them at the G&T bar.

We like the Pork Pot Pie. And the wedge and the she crab soup and the fried chicken and the chicken liver pate and the creamed spinach and the NY Strip Steak and the ice cream and the ambience and… Unfortunately, we’re not enthused by the Sunken Harbor Club.

Depends on where in (or around) the Marais you are & what level/type of dinner you’re looking for. Places that we’ve gone to (& liked) that are open on Sunday include Aux Bons Crus (traditional-ish), Bofinger (big bright room that we like to the chagrin of more knowledgable folk), Korus (nice chef driven tasting menu, originally recommended to us by voyager), Amarante (as mentioned by Dilley - really good meats, especially offal) & Le Marie Celeste (a cocktail bar w/good food), all just outside different parts of the Marais.

2 blocks in each direction to the 2 apartments we’ve rented, I wondered if it was a good place. Hollywood: its not in the Marais but just off the boundary and a couple of minutes walk away. And probably a better location due to its several Metro stations nearby and a shorter walk to the many good places to eat in the 11th.

$600-700/night + tax. Looks interesting.

When we walked to the market in the Upper Marais (Enfants Rouges), we kept passing the Hotel Sookie (www.hotelsookie.com/en/). Not a clue other than I just looked it up and it seems reasonable. Was in a pretty busy intersection, if I remember correctly.

Hotel Turenne (https://turennemarais.com) is, I think, around $300/night and is literally the only hotel I’ve heard decent things about in the lower Marais. Jessika or Joe might know more, especially about the upper Marais. It may be worth checking out apt. rentals as well, even for a couple of nights. The Marais is full of them.

Yeah, we were with you. I remember marveling at the warren of artist studios, bicycle repair shops and other assorted entrepreneurial ventures that were in each room of the building. Years later, we went to an Italian restaurant (sister to Rucola I think) that I realized was in the same building, now occupied by tech start ups, looking very spiffy and upscale.