PrintEarly Verdict on Robuchon: Not Worth It
I went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the Four Seasons Hotel on E. 57th St. last night for dinner. Spent $250 for dinner for two and was certainly not stuffed. Thank God my brother was paying. The dinner included two glasses of wine, one dessert, and six small plates. No coffee, not even iced tea for me.
A few amazing dishes; languostine fritter, gazpacho, sea urchin cauliflower cream. Others were merely good, and in no way special. One dish, foie gras ravioli in chicken soup, was deadly dull.
We got major attitude initially until I hit it off with one of our servers who used to work in a pizzeria in Staten Island. We compared Staten Island pizza notes. We both declared our love for Joe and Pat's. Said server even gave me a taste of the Alsatian pastrami cured and smoked in-house that's served with potato salad and foie gras. Katz's has nothing to worry about.
Maybe it was just too early, maybe we ordered wrong, or maybe this is another misguided line extension of one of the world's great chefs. At this point I don't feel the need to return. I would much rather eat at Daniel or Jean Georges for its incredible $28 two course lunch. You even feel full after you eat it.
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2 Comments:
"say it ain't so, ed"!!!! 1st, ducasse, now jöel; what's going on? why is it these incredibly highly thought of chefs fall flat in the U.S.??? are they resting on their laurels? did they simply earn their spurs on 1+ restaurant, then try to sell their wares to the world for fame & profit? it seems pretty clear, ducasse does not travel well, regardless of the immense hype. robuchon's reputation is held in such high esteem, he has too much good will --- so far. both are now businessmen, salesmen, no longer artists-n-the-kitchen.
actually, the real reason, is we are still a bunch of boobs, & "we" buy into the hype. for "IF" we were to say publicly, ducasse & robuchon have sold-out, it would lead to too much retribution by those who believe they know good food, but really don't. too much invested in their own ego. these are the same who go to le cirque to be treated like well-mannered children, or be banished to siberia; these are the same who pay up for very expensive burgundies, but who, in a taste test, couldn't tell the difference between la tache - versus - a morgon!
baruch at 2:02PM on 08/24/06
Hi Ed ... I agree with your perception of L'Atelier in terms of cost, but don't you think cost vs. value is relative? I agree that you definately could enjoy a celebrity chef experience in cuisine and ambiance for $28 as you said, but I also think that Manhattan is a huge market and chefs can charge what they like. It's up to the customer if they want to return.
And you also probably noticed from your visit that the restaurant is small, and to me, is meant to appeal to guests of the Four Seasons, usually there on business, on expense accounts, and who look forward to a quality food experience with entertainment (the open kitchen) and frankly don't care about the cost. This is especially true of Europeans, since our prices probably strike them as very low.
Good blog!
Marisa D'Vari, http://www.NYFork.com
nyfork at 12:01AM on 08/27/06