tenjune

want to get involved in a meatpacking style evening with all the convenience of a west village location. Well, if you squint, tenjune can definitely be that place. When you get past the expected door issue (i recommend you bring negotiable US currency for this), you earn the right to hang out in a reasonably intimate, eliptically shaped room, about the size of pink elephant.

Similarities and differences abound from the PE. I always liked the elephant because it has the wild abandon of a marquee with just an edge of class. tenjune also tries, and largely succeeds in this regard. getting a table seems to be pretty much a necessity, with one ring surrounding the lowered dance floor, one around the edge. i like being on the far side of the room near the dj, which leaves you out of the flow but still with a good overall view of the place.

what tenjune is missing is some of the accoutrement that can really separate it from the pack. no showcase stairs to climb, no hunting lodge decor, no dude with a trumpet to distract you from the same jukebox you heard last week. but it's a good crowd without being too good for the likes of you, and a good time without requiring a trip to 27th st.

Drink: 5/10. nothing of note
Service: 6/10 with table service at those prices you always expect better
Atmosphere: 8/10
Talent: 8/10 for how hard it is to get in, the ratio could be a tad better
Will i be back: yeah...not my usual game but pretty good time for its type

Masa

Sorry for my absence...I haven't been goin to restaurants, and I've been too drunk to remember any of the bars. But it's time to come back with a fury.

For the record, this is my 5th time to Masa. I am somewhat of a Masa snob; any trip that isn't in the late winter period when the Fugu is in season is just not quite as up to snuff. For those of you for whom Masa would be a new experience, it is omikase style japanese, with most of the stuff there being otherwise unavailable outside of Japan. It is also prohibitively expensive.

The meal this time was, as always, beyond compare. There was a lot of tilefish on the menu, including a tilefish skin appetiser, and tilefish sushi. As always, toro/caviar made a showing, as did the toro roll and several types of mackeral. We also had shabu shabu, with the others getting scallops, while I preferred to go for yet another course of toro. The best shabu shabu in the city is still the no-longer-existant hot stone version at tao (damn fire inspectors!), but this is a very close second, with the post-course drinking of the remaining broth being as excellent as the meat.

However, I felt as though the creativity was simply one notch below what I'd seen in the past. Has Masa passed it's nadir? Or is it zenith?...which one means highest point, I always mix them up...I'm not one to complain, but for the type (read:price) of meal we're talking about in the Time Warner Center, I expect to be completely blown away not just with the food but with food i've never before seen. I guess I'll have to go back a few more times to ensure that this was an aberration.

Food: 9 out of 10
Drink: 8/10. when i'm there i always wish i knew anything about sake
Service: 10/10. some people might say that a restroom escort is unnecessary...i am not one of those people
Atmosphere: 7...we had the early table, was kind of weird being the only ones in the restaurant for an hour. plus i've still never sat at the bar
Will I be back: Why, you buyin?

Japonais

Just opened up and in my hood - so when people were going there one night who was I to refuse.

Japonais is one of those places with a dining room and an upstairs lounge. With a group of 7 dudes, I was thrilled that we chose the lounge. Plushly decorated (and the decor was nice too), type of place you can sit in for a few hours.

The food was fine - not much on the menu for a nice Jew like me, seemed like everything was either stuffed with or wrapped in shellfish, but i guess that's my own fault. If i went back and ordered for myself, that would make it a bit easier. But even still, it was a mix of moderately interesting japana-fusion food, a few of which were interesting and good, but were mostly interesting in the non-gastronomical sense only.

Sake was normal, the Kirin's poured just as you'd expect them to. Service was excellent, the vittles never stopped coming.

The Bottom Line
Food: 6/10. probably would be higher if i had ordered jew-food
Drink: 7/10. quantity over quality?
Service: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Would i go back: 7 blocks away...don't underestimate how truly lazy i am

Babbo

Had to call in a favor to get the reservation here - and even then had to do so a month in advance. Can't blame the restaurant for being popular can you? However, it definitely puts you in a state of very high expectations for the night.

And Babbo does not disappoint. Start to finish, just a unique experience, even in new york. If you have a choice (which you don't), it upstairs...we had a nice corner table, and they actually space the tables a reasonable amount, so you feel like you have the restaurant to yourself.

I'm sure you've heard of some of Batali's famous dishes, like mint love letters and beef cheek ravioli - but everything we tried on the menu was excellent. For main course, possibly the best duck i've come across. Also had a salmon entree, and i guess that was the downside of the meal if you can even call it that. Sommelier was excellent - paired up some quartinos; went great and they were actually modestly priced. Service was of a "stay out of your way" sort, which was a great touch.

The Bottom Line
Food: 9.5/10
Drink: 10/10
Atmosphere: 9/10. the music was odd
Service: 9.5/10
Will i go back: Can you get me in?

Buddha Bar NYC

Went to Buddha with a broker a few weeks ago...the story on the place is always that they have a big gold buddha. But honestly, their buddha doesn't hold a candle to the one at Tao. It was an early dinner, which had kind of a cool atmosphere with some sun coming in through the huge skylights.

Now people, i honestly couldn't figure out the menu...and not to brag but i do have degree from the world's finest technological university. And I wasn't the only one...we eventually just told the waiter to order what he thought would be good. Wine list was excellent, and we had a number of bottles. Food was good, some interesting things, but it's family style so i'm always gonna come out agin that a touch. Service was good...while we were there. Apparently somebody in our group gave the waiter somebody else's card, and he proceeded to stalk our group for a while. We were all a touch weirded out by this - i think the dude was looking for work.

The Bottom Line
Food: 7/10. Too typical to rate higher
Drink: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10. Loud, but some reasonable scenery
Service: 5/10.
Will I go back: Probably not