jpeso's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Communal Table Downtown
hundred acres on macdougal has a nice one and a back semi private area.
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$1 oyster question
a very small profit if they are lucky. oysters that places like 28 degrees get are costing them around $0.80/ea for the island creeks and they have to pay for labor, rent, etc. its not really a money making thing just promotion.
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Recommended dishes at KO Prime
rubee those have been the standouts for me as well. Jamie's charcuterie is off the hook, best in boston as far as i am concern. His willingness to be adventurous is great and always turns out delicisiously. I dont really care for the sweetness of the okinawa sweet potatoes, but the evas pea greens are the best ever.
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Gaslight question....
i am with you shisan - very disappointed by burger for the same reasons.
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Savant Project? The Beehive?
I wont comment on Beehive since i already have, but i will comment about Savant project. The place seems very disjointed, cement bar and metal walls, seeming very much modern and old fashion at the same time. The cocktails are perhaps serious but they do not have a liquor license only a cordials permit so you be the judge of how serious the coctails are. Also everything was purchase from Ikea and they are not shy about it. The silverware says ikea on it. Menu seems very nice but perhaps too upscale for the atmosphere of the place itself. The place seems like it will do well in that location though (a neighborhood setting).
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Bar dining at Sage
Can you prove the value with your unscientific look at Wine prices? why would it be a bargain for food at that level?
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O-Ya last night WOW!!
I too enjoyed o-ya, but my one gripe was that when you get an omakase they do not do anything cooked. Last time i went I asked for a few cooked courses and did not receive any, and dessert courses were not include. I also wish the service was more knowledgeable for the money spent. Places that charge around that much for a dining experience have much better, more professional, and more knowledgeable service. Places i put in that category are Clio, No 9, Radius.
Chowhound Post
Can't get in to Union or Pops tonight...
why cant you get in? I am willing that both places have open table/seats at the bar for walk ins, especially if you go early or late. As for Beehive, the crowd seems lame on the weekends (but i guess its all subjective) and the line has been long, but seems to move fast. I was there earlier in the week and it was dead and the band was making me fall asleep.
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anyone been to 'clink' in new liberty hotel?
All of the Eating and Dining establishments in the Liberty Hotel are run by the Lyons Group and Lydia is partnering on the one restaurant.
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Omakase - O Ya vs Uni
I would have to say Uni would be the better bet, here is my take on both places, I dine at both fairly frequently (usually about 4 times a month between the 2). I would consider myself fairly well versed in raw preparations
Uni - Now that Yuji is back as the chef things are awesome, but leave some time. I have had some chefs in the past not cut the fish the way it should be cut, but the flavors are great. The selection of fish is fantastic, and the service is unparalleled compare to any other japanese place in the city (the place is small). time is taken with the staff to make sure they know the food and there is usually only one chef that is very approachable. The wine and sake list are great, especially if you can order wine from the Clio list.
O-ya
Great atmosphere, although it can seem a bit distant if the the place is not full. Service is just a touch better than what you would find at any other Japanese place in the city, some college kids that dont really know the little details of the food, wines or sakes. I have had some service issues regarding omakase before and i attribute them to communication with the chef (i even speak a good amount of japanese, but ironically alot of sushi chefs in town are Chinese). Overall the food is executed very well especially the non traditional stuff. The wagyu isn't as great of a cut or quality of the ones at Uni. One visit i watched them pull piece after piece of frozen wagyu out of the freeze on the sushi line. But they do have a menu that has lots of different tastes to have your palate dance. Their traditional preparations are a bit expensive.
I would pick uni, but if you are looking for more non traditional choices O-Ya might be the way to go. You really wont go wrong either way
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South End Dining
hsquare, it seems like you named the entire neighborhood
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Review: Gaslight last night
The place looks nice. But doesnt it look like a complete replica of Pastis, Balthazar, Schillers? It does to me down to the uniforms too. I know that those place are mere replicas of parisian classics as well, but perhaps a slightly new take on it. Do you think it will hurt aquitaine's biz?
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The Beehive
Beehive has figured out that there is a market for 35-45yo single people that want a cool place to hang out. The club scene is too young in this city. While mostly square people, i would have to say that it attracts one of the most diverse groups of people in Boston. I have been there a few times and every time, about 8 guys hit on at least one of the girls in the our group relentlessly, it is kinda humorous.
I think that not having wine glasses is a bit ridiculous though, as is some of their prices for the wine and drinks.
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barbara lynch-STIR
Thee are three concept slotted for the congress street location. A fine dining restaurant (I don't beleve 9 is moving), a kinda speakeasy bar, and a more casual concept.
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Neptune Oyster lobster roll -- a report
they absolutely use fresh lobster, meaning delivered that day. The dont have live tanks. It would be fairly easy to judge the amount of lobster they need to buy on a daily basis, based on the fact that their business is incredible consistent (busy). i am surprised they run out regularly.
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Addis Red Sea last night
They just opened the cambridge location very recently, so i would expect them to have some sizable service issue. I bet the are much busier than expected too.
The kifko is soooooo tasty!
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An unscientific look at local by-the-glass wine pricing [moved from Boston board]
I would have to disagree that restaurants pay 50-100% less than retail, i would say maybe 20%, or 30% on big case drops. If it were true that it was 50% - 100% less than retail then a $15 bottle would cost between $23 and $30 retail. It is true that the more expensive the wine on the wholesale cost that generally the markup is less. Could a restaurant really move a wine that costs $200 wholesale for $650 (which is what Slim suggests markup averages are), the answer is No, unless the demand is there. But generally as demand increases for a particular wine, especially producers the following vintages go up in price. Demand is generally what dictates what BTG prices are. Same thing happens with everything that has a low supply and a high demand, think playstation 3 or anything that is new and hot on Ebay.
WineTravel, Restaurants do not get favorable treatment direct from winery either in the way you mentioned in MA anyway. Here everything comes from distributors so they more or less control what is going on. Wineries might have good relationships with some wine personnel and offer other thinks like their own personal wine label, which often translate to being more expensive on a list due to their exclusivity.
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An unscientific look at local by-the-glass wine pricing [moved from Boston board]
those things that you mention also can make a wine interesting.
Chowhound Post
An unscientific look at local by-the-glass wine pricing [moved from Boston board]
Limster,
Something that is difficult to get retail or maybe an obscure grape varietal you have never heard of. There are a lot of things that might make something an "interesting wine." Have you ever heard of a Gelber Muskateller or Furmint or perhaps Petite Arvine. These varietals to some might be known, but to most CH's i would say perhaps "interesting"
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Toro for brunch?
the food is delicious for brunch. The setbacks are that they dont serve alcohol until noon, but they only seat until 1:30. So if you are a late riser it may not work for you
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An unscientific look at local by-the-glass wine pricing [moved from Boston board]
I think that if you we are going to start talking about restaurant by the glass prices that we must take the intangible aspects into account. Things such as atmosphere, unique/unusual selections, staff knowledge, accompanying food, etc. are a factor as is such things as rent, labor, etc. All of these things take time, and time is money (most of the time). If you wanted wine without these things you could buy retail and drink at home, and you would have a much better value. I think that a useful comparison tool would be to compare the same wines by the glass across several restaurants to determine which value is better. Although i think that you would have a hard time due to the fact that some restaurants pours exclusive wines, which is another factor in pricing. I think another factor in this comparision should be value of the entire wine list. There are very few restaurants that have thoughtfully selected wine list that have a lot of time and energy put into them. The above mentioned place all do, along with places like Bin 26, the rest of lynch's empire, clio, and a few others. This should be a direct factor as to the price of the wine. But so many places pour terrible wines by the glass.
A couple of other things come to mind with this thread.
1. Another thread could be differences in retail wine pricing. Why are places like Brix more expensive then most others.
2. Should we start to compare cocktail prices. I know a lot of people on this board value the cocktail chefery that takes place at a few area restaurants and there is value to that, correct? Is it still a value at $11 a drink for something like an Aviation.
Chowhound Post
An unscientific look at local by-the-glass wine pricing [moved from Boston board]
Slim,
Nice thread here. Now you may remember me from the earlier thread on this topic. I think a more reasonable approach to this would be to compare the exact same wines at different restaurants. Forget retail altogether. Just by starting a thread about the value of wine in restaurants you have to factor in the intangibles. If you want value wine, buy it at retail and drink it at home, then you wouldn't have to worry about the intangibles at all. I am one person of many that is from the camp that atmosphere, unique/unusual selections, staff knowledge, accompanying food, etc. all make it the total experience, and I have thought that way since honeys was wearing sasoons. I know from earlier threads on similar subject that you too are from that camp. You are a big fan of the stellar bartender in this city if i remember correctly, places like no 9 for their unique cocktails and service that accompanies them, but, are they really worth $11. An $11 cocktail has less than $2 of product in it. I think we should start a thread about liquor markups because they are truly absurd.
Places like Coda that you mentioned about could care less about what their wine cost is like compared to a place like a wine bar, because they have liquor to make the money from. Restaurant cost is not well below retail either.
I also think that you have to look at value from an entire wine list standpoint. Too many places in this city serve absolutely horrid wines by the glass and only a few places actually put a lot of time and effort into their wines by the glass selection. Places like The Butcher Shop (actually all of Lynch's places ), Troquet, Bin 26, and a few and I mean few actually put some thought into their wine lists and do not let the sales people from the distribution companies push crappy wine on them so they make more on commission. I do not wanna drink $12/gl Kendall Jackson Chard, i wanna drink tasty, refreshing wine.
There are alot of issues that can be discussed here like The Euro, prices of all European wines are rising due to the Euro. Also 2005 Burgundys are all going to be much more expensive than recent vintage because the vintage is said to be stellar, that might scare most Chowhounders away, but nevertheless there will still be value in some of the wine, like Macon. Should we be scared?
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Taberna de Haro: worst dining experience ever
I have been several time recently and had some of the best dining experiences that i have had recently. That is too bad they have one bad pickle that spoils the rest. Last two times I have been there, Deborah has come over and talked to us and she is fantastic. She is one of the most knowledge and hospitable people in the business, she know the food, and the wine inside and out.
She is now the Sole owner of the restaurant now, BTW and yes she is in Spain for a few weeks.
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South end walk-in (on a Saturday)??
MC - I know you love the Franklin, and I will say that have great wine prices (while not a greatly varied selecting) and so does Silvertones, but these places are mostly liquor places so they have some more flexibility. If they had what you think of as high wine prices, people would just drink liquor.
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CODA
Went there earlier this week and have to agree with BostonBarGuy's statement - "It's a nice neighborhood pub with slightly above-average food("cheap eats")."
Food was good, service decent and wine list is great (I attribute this to DEborah De haro doing the list), but i really doubt that the servers could tell you anything from the wine, maybe thats why they put the descriptions right on the list.
i just read the 4-star review in the Digg - MC Slim - you think its better than Franklin?
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Looking for the best cuban sandwich
Miami Cafe in the south end on aquadilla street is pretty good (especially if they know you) very simple, but the meats are great. Chez Henri is well worth it. Sam Lagrassa's in Downtown Crossing has an amazing cuban but i think it may only be a Thursday Special. Montrose is decent too, on Mass ave just beyond Harvard Sqaure
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Cheap Oysters in Boston?
if its monday, i bet they are oysters from Friday and Saturday they did not sell, because i doubt there are deliveries on sundays.
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service at the Franklin
was at the franklin recently and I would have to say that I have been unimpressed with the service on every recent visit. From the moment I walked in its a very unwelcoming feeling. I have had great service on the bar most all the time on the past and keep going back because of the rave reviews it gets here. While I feel the food is good in concept, its never executed that well. What is the appeal of this place, I know that they open late but they have the clock set way ahead and rarely are freindly if you wanna sit down.
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Quite liked Coda
I am surprised that so many people think that the Franklin has good meatloaf, everytime i have had it, it is virtually inedible. The rest of the food is lacking at the very best IMO.
