Immaculate Infatuation

On a recent weekend night, a disastrous attempt at having dinner at Landmarc in the Time Warner Center resulted in an impromptu visit to Bar Boulud. Let me set the scenario before I get into the Bar Boulud review. The Time Warner Center Landmarc is essentially New York City’s Rainforest Cafe … true mall dining at its finest. It was an absolute zoo, there were tables crammed into every square inch of available space, and the hosts and bartenders clearly hate their lives. I’m pretty sure they would have asked us to have dinner on the floor if the place got any busier. Needless to say, we closed out our bar tab and got the cuss out of there. Desperately looking for a civilized meal and a drink, we wandered over to Bar Boulud, sure that a Friday night walk-in would illicit some French snobbery. Surprisingly, they politely sent us to the bar for a quick glass of wine and we had a table within ten minutes.

Bar Boulud is Daniel Boulud’s “casual bistro”, but by Infatuation standards this is a fancy restaurant. It’s an older crowd, but a seemingly loose one as the restaurant feels upbeat and lively. The service is first class, but not the slightest bit stiff. As for the food, you’ll find a long list of pates and terrines, but otherwise, it’s a pretty straightforward bistro. Pay attention to the specials, and the fish selections are spectacular. Salads and starters are tasty, and the wine list is well priced and full of lesser known varietals that will have you taking notes and chasing down bottles online. What‘s the takeaway here? Don’t let the French formalities scare you off. Bar Boulud is fantastic.

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It’s rare that I, or anyone else in NYC for that matter, actually venture to the UWS to eat out. Those treks north are usually reserved for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, chocolate chip cookies (I love Levain Bakery and Jacques Torres), and takeout essentials from Artie’s Delicatessen or Fairway. Thanks to Dovetail, there’s now another reason to make the trip.

Dovetail has been written up everywhere as one of 2008’s best new restaurants, so when it came time to pick a place to go with Mom and Grandma for my brother’s birthday, Dovetail was the call. Though I’d read a bunch of reviews that said the service at Dovetail was terrible, we experienced the complete opposite and were treated like royalty from the moment we stepped foot in the door. Our server was the man, and it felt like we had three of our own bus boys taking care of our every need. Left over crumb on your lip? No worries, they got it. The food was consistently great across the board and everyone at the table enjoyed their meal.

Dovetail is expensive, but not obnoxiously so, and once you’re inside you won’t remember you’re on the UWS, as the exposed brick and rustic artwork give the restaurant a very downtown feel. The food and service are both great, and overall, Dovetail is highly recommended.

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When you wear a yarmulke, your culinary options are pretty limited. While New York is one of the few cities in the US that actually has a handful of kosher options, at their price points, they are competing with the most expensive restaurants in the city. That’s pretty rough given that the rules of the kosher diet limit how meat can be prepared (no butter, no milk). While you know you’ll be guaranteed a quality piece of meat when you go kosher, the execution can at times fall short, making it difficult to justify the high price tag.

Since I have a number of kosher friends in my life, I’ve dined at places like Tevere (easily my favorite), Solo (where Top Chef winner Hung had a stint as head chef) and Prime Grill (most overpriced, average steak in Manhattan), all of which generally left me feeling unfulfilled and, well, broke. For the price of a lot of these places we could be eating at Eleven Madison Park and properly indulging. Always keeping an open mind however, when a Kosher friend and devoted Infatuation reader wanted to take us to her favorite Kosher spot to see how it measured up to our standards, we were down to give it a go and head to Mike’s Bistro on the Upper West Side.

Mike’s Bistro is a big deal in the world of kosher restaurants. Although its appearance might suggest differently, this is a popular special occasion spot, especially with the younger generation. It’s plain and rather boring decor give Mike’s the feel of a glorified basement. Excessive wood (not in a cool rustic way, but in an ordinary kitchen cabinet way) and bright lights are a bit of a turn off. Good thing the food isn’t. A clear Italian influence makes this menu more ambitious than most kosher spots and I’d happily return.

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A recent road trip to Citrus reminded me why I don’t ever go to the UWS to eat. Of course there are better restaurants on the UWS than Citrus, but it’s a perfect representation of everything that’s wrong with restaurants in this area. Citrus has been a neighborhood staple for years now; the place is overflowing with people 24/7. The space is huge, loud and as cheesy as it gets. Fluorescent lights illuminate the walls while the room comes fully equipped with a stone waterfall and enough plants to pass for a Rainforest Cafe. There is nothing NYC about this place; you might as well be eating in Texas. While the food isn’t terrible, their Latin meets Asian menu is just too far-fetched. If they tried this downtown, the restaurant wouldn’t last more than a year. Do you really want chips and salsa before your sushi? That’s just strange. Also, if I’m paying $15 for a margarita, I expect that drink to be labor intensive, not just some tequila tossed in with a pre-made mixture.

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