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Perhaps the confusion arises because there are new optionsplaces like Momofuku Ssamwhere you get haute European cooking without most of the trappings. But it's a misconception to suggest that places like Ssam have displaced upscale classically luxurious restaurants. They haven't; they've merely supplemented them, providing an option that never existed before.
Indeed, as far as formal dining goes:
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(I)n absolute numbers, the genre has at least held steady over the last few years, and I think it's actually expanded a bit.
Thus oakapple, on the Country threa