PrintOn the Trail of Frank Bruni's Eighty-One Review
Having been to Eighty-One a few times, I basically concur with Frank Bruni's take. Ed Brown is a superb cook, and I have eaten very well at his restaurant. But his food is sometimes overwrought (what Bruni referred to as the "numerous trios"), and the room, with its vivid red-velvet curtains, feels oddly dated and lacks energy. I will say it's a very civilized place to dine. The tables are well-spaced, and the noise level is low. Must-haves on the menu include the lamb three ways (overwrought but delicious) and the exceptional New Bedford sea scallop and foie gras ravioli with straw wine sauce and chervil (Bruni and I disagree on this dish, but scallops and foie gras turn out to be a most felicitous combination as a ravioli filling). Eighty-One is a perfect restaurant to take your in-laws to, especially if they're paying (it ain't cheap). 45 West 81st Street, New York NY 10024 (map)
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1 Comment:
my wife and I had dinner at his disaster. Needless to say we will not be going back. The service was horrible. We had a reservation for 7:30pm and we arrived at 7:25pm. They told us to wait at the bar. Here's the strange thing...the place was empty and our table was empty the entire time. They didn't seat us until 8pm. We were beyond annoyed but it was my birthday so I didn't want to upset my wife.She thought I would enjoy this place. Things got worse from there. We ordered drinks and they literally took 15 minutes to arrive to us. Bread and butter was also another challenge. There was a 35 minute wait in between courses. The osso bucco was the blandest/driest experience of my life. Nothing went right.
Portions are really small. We left starving and annoyed. Please learn from my mistake.
melsteinberg at 10:01PM on 09/04/08