Places NOT to be curious about

[relbbaddoof]

As @MitchW splendidly said "I love being able to say fuck you to a place before I even have any desire to go." In that spirit I submit Jaz (813 9th, Manhattan).

 

[relbbaddoof]

But, there's this:

[Wilfrid]

That reminded me I was looking at the menu(s) for The Edge Harlem yesterday. I expected a Caribbean menu, and they do have one. I didn't expect also a "New York" menu (bagel w/ smoked salmon, yes, but shrimp and grits?) and an "England" menu (fish and chips, of course, pie, egg on toast).

I'd be more compelled to try it if it was aspiring to do one thing well.

@The Flon Have you been yet?

[Wilfrid]

I don’t know where else to drop this. Night after Thanksgiving I wanted a restaurant meal but not something multi-course and fancy. I went for the first time to a cute little place I had often walked past.

The food was just fine. The service, despite all kinds of niceness, execrable. Wrong drinks, long absences. I ended up sitting at my table waving my arms in the air to get attention.*

No servers in sight, bartender came out to help. He took my espresso order and I also asked for just a regular cognac or Armagnac or something (there was no list).

At the bar, I saw him scale the heights and pull the Remy Martin XO off the most top shelf. I got up and went to the bar, signaling no.

The manager, who had sat all night at the bar on her laptop had a word with the bartender and they comped me a very large pour of the XO. Not their money, of course. Around fifty bucks I guess.

I can imagine the service might be better if it was busy. 

*One other time I recall doing that was, of all places, Le Cirque in its penultimate location. We had food but no silverware and I could not get a server’s attention. The arm waving triggered a manager to get to us at Usain Bolt speed.