Matthew D.'s Profile

One of the better sushi places I've been to in New York. Could have had a hot dish or two more than they offered, but it would churlish to withhold a fifth star for that...

Beppe is a solid choice for the neighborhood.

* a fairly creative menu for a place so narrowly focused on northern Italy,

* a friendly and solicitous staff at the bar, host stand, and dining room

* a room that is just right -- not so big as to echo, not so small as too seem tight for a big party or crowded for any party

Thrilled to have this theater on the northside of Hoboken!  

Great  seating, ultra-friendly staff, and a snack bar with some nice choices.  So far the projection and sound have been immaculate -- which can't be said about the two nearest theaters, in Newport Center or the 3.5% sales tax complex at the 495 and Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen.

Had a delicious business dinner here a bit ago.  Everything well executed.  The intimate dining room is a great venue for a mellow evening out, and the crowd is a great mix -- neighborhood restaurant plus.  For such a place, the menu was on the innovative side, which is not a criticism by any means.  Great service as well.

This is a review of the stand-up bar and the front / bar dining room.  I have not eaten in the rear / formal dining room, which has a different menu and ambience.

The stand-up bar has not yet picked up a typical midtown after-work crowd -- packed by big, loud groups, friendly with the bartenders.  Each time I've been the bar's had breathing room, and the groups tend to be 2 or 3 folks who arranged to visit as a one-off.  A nice and not absurdly-overpriced wines-by-the-glass and a very tasty set of standing-up appetizers.  We had the cheese-dusted fries (good, but not mind-blowing) and the sardines on flat-bread toast (deliciously retained a hint of the fishiness without which a sardine is nought).

We moved into the bar's dining room, which is bigger and more crowded than the formal dining room.  The ambience once seated is entirely pleasant, even cheerful.  Might be a bit loud if the bar ever got crazy, but I don't know if / when we'll get to that point (see above).

The menu which had a number of the standing-up bar's appetizer choices, and a nice array of other apps and mains.  Still quite pricey on the mains ($19 burger, $5 more with fries; everything else in the basic fish and meats ranging from high $20s and over to low $40s) and VERY pricey on the apps: $18 for the crab-cake unless I recall incorrectly).

The burger looked great.  The crabcake was tasty but not revelatory, and a small portion for the price tag.  The swordfish, on the other hand, was absolutely perfect.  A nice (but not choking-you-big) sized piece of perfectly grilled fish, accented by a delicious and subtle tomato-based broth.

Service was uniformly friendly and attentive.

Does what a storefront Thai restaurant is supposed to do.  Pad thai was done right, and the ginger fish dish surpassed expectations: the centerpiece was a good piece of fish, and the spicing / broth was tasty and even a bit delicate.  

NB: we chose it for proximity to UCB for an after-show meal, and two of the six cast members of the troupe we saw dined next to us -- always good when the locals endorse your choice...

A business lunch at MSG - quite satisfying.

Nice lively room, friendly and opinionated service.  

To begin with the bread bowl was commendable but the fried oysters, touted as a house specialty, lacked subtlety.

For the rest of the meal, the food was reasonably well-executed but didn't have a lot of spark.  I had a standard french onion soup and the chopped salad which was a bit heavy for that designation, along with a fairly sparse bit of blackened chicken.  

The hamburger looked mouth-wateringly-good and I think that will be the way I go on my next visit.

My firm does an annual client dinner here every year.  They always do a nice job, but this year they really brought it up a notch.  Absolutely delicious appetizers, well-executed mains, good crusty bread, and can't-say-no deserts.  Ours was an event menu, but if the polenta with truffle oil is on the menu in the dining room DO NOT MISS!

Although I've had many business lunches at the Four Seasons, this was my first time for dinner, and on a date night.  Quite a different exerience!

First, of course, The Four Seaons remains physically gorgeous, and a wonderful environment in which to dine: formal but in a way that it more celebratory than it is hushed or serious.  The space and light helps with that, but also the friendly and relaxed, but in no way sloppy, service  -- we were taken through a standard dinner for two over well over two hours.

The menu was, for a tier one NY restaurant, at a B+/A- level.  To start with, the bread basket selections were tasty but not revelatory, the table-side Caesar salad did not live up to the promise of those very holy words (in my book), but the raw platter was superb, if expensive.  We agreed that sea urchin was the best we'd had, and everything else was just perfect.  For a main we did the coq a vin for two which was coq a vin -- rustic as should be, and yet not without subtlety.  The deserts and petits four were above reproach.

The wine list was reasonably priced as these things go.  We had a mid-priced (for the list) cabernet which was a bit off the beaten path but tasty, and a Moscato d'Asti which was, literally, the least expensive bottle on the entire list ($36, which I thought at first had to be for a split), and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

This is a report on fairly quick business lunch at the "21" Club.  We did a single course -- a grilled char special for me, done just right I must say, over a lobster risotto, about which any complaint would be entirely churlish.  Fairly stern lunchroom crowd -- suits and ties even on a Friday. The classic cheeseburger, ordered by a fellow-diner, looked delicious.