WHERE ARE MY FOOD PEOPLE?

Tao.

Oh my God, bro. I ate at the one in Las Vegas. AMAZING. One of the best meals/experiences I ever had. Was even better because it was F.R.E.E. They bang you out, but boy is it good eating. I havent had the pleasure of going to the city one yet. Im sure its just as good, if not better.


I just saw youre in Westfield and you work at JMK. Im in Clark and at Planet Honda. Dont suppose you know Rick Weber?! Hes a Westfield guy and as far as I know hes still running the backend at Maxon.

 

John, lets hit up tao one night in NYC. If you think the vegas one was good, lets go balling at the NYC one. So much eye candy, although the place isnt what it used to be before it got famous. Still the wasabi filet or the kobe by the ounce is to die for

 

I know David Noto has a very close connection at Barolo and they've treated us wonderfully every time we go there (and fed us and fed us and fed us and ended up with a a bill fit for appetizers), but I imagine that may be because we've got David organizing everything. The waiters are a bit slow, but it's usually such a relaxed dinner it never really bothers anyone...

 

Im down. I have a tough schedule though. My free nights are very few and far between.

 

Hey guys...
Just got back from Austria... tell you about it sometime. Re TAO -- I'd be down for that too. Have a friend in town until Sunday night, was just telling him we should go there, the room is INCREDIBLE. Last time I was there (couple of months ago), I was about 3 feet away from Petra Nemcova throughout dinner. She's, um, HOT.

Let me know. Any runs in the schedule...? Just logging on to Fchat for the first time since last Tuesday, so I'm a bit out of the loop.

Cheers,
J.

 

jawad,

i am currently in vegas and then heding to germany next week. I will be back on the 17th. I am free anytime after that. I know your friend probably wont be in town, but we should def do the nightclub, tao, and a run or something.

 

Absolutely. Look forward to it. Have a good trip to Germany.

J.

 

I consider myself a huge foodie, and I have been to some of the top restaurants in major cities around the world.
Let me tell you, NYC, is one of the few places, that restaurants can get away with crap food & service at a hefty price.

NYC is a unique city, there is a huge traveller/tourist population, who need to eat out, and people who live in city, most do not cook either. Majority of people who eat out for the sake of eating, they are easily satisfied. A regular restaurant almost has no need to strive for great food/service because there are plenty of customer flow.

There are many regular restaurants, I finish my meal and walk out, thinking why anyone would spend around $75 a head(without liquor & wine) to eat that junk, but guess what, the place is probably a full house anyway.
There are other places, for example Tao, they are the trendy places, where you go to see and be seen, the food is ok, but certainly do not warrant the price tag. I do not know any foodie who actually like Tao for its food.
Then there are few celebrity joints, for example Morimoto, where you drop $500 a head for the chef's table, if it's not for the fact that Morimoto is cooking for you himself 3 ft away, I would not pay over $200 for it. Food is good, and it ought to be when you are using ingredience like black winter truffle, caviar and wagu beef.

The above being said, here are few places that are on my good list:
--- Per Se, probably the top place in every way. Great food, impeccable service. Can run you $500 a head with wine/liquor, but it's worth it. 9.5 out of 10 in my ranking.
--- Aureole, Deniel's, Atelier and etc, those are the well-known places that actually have the great food to back up its reputation, run you about $200 a head with a la carte or customized prefix menu. 8 out of 10 in my ranking.
--- Chanterelle, 11 Madison Park, Union Square Cafe, Babbo, Payard and etc, where run you about $100 a head, safe bets you can always count on, not fancy, not great in any aspect but pretty good in all aspects. 7 out of 10 in my ranking.
--- The cheap places, where you can get away $50-$75 a head, Balthazar, Capsouto Frères, Les Halles, PO and etc, those are the places that are 5 or 6 out of 10 in my ranking.

When you travel aboard, cities where are known for food, Hong Kong, Paris, Vancouver, Montreal and etc, you will find that food are in general very good, the famous spots are certainly great, while many local favor joints are also excellent. IMHO, that's where NYC pales in comparison, the lacking of middle-tier restaurants that are solid for food and value.

Hope it helps.

 

I'm headed to Vegas next week. Should Tao be on my list to check out?

 

No.

 

Hey Clyde -- Sorry I can't give much of a recommendation on Tao Vegas (never been). Truth be told, Tao's food here is good (some things are quite good, really), but not stellar and you can get comparable quality for less here. But the Tao NYC *room* itself is truly something to behold (especially for out-of-towners -- I always take them there and they've always been impressed). Soaring ceilings, a giant Buddha statue with candles on the front wall, a koi pond, huge scrolls on the ceiling, dining room suspended on the back wall... All in all, I enjoy myself when I go there. Sometimes the front desk staff is a bit snooty, but hey, it's New York.

Have a good trip to Vegas!

J.

 

yeah the food at tao LV is not as good as NY. I hit up the nightclub last night and got a table. Girls were nice, although one very drunk one fell on my table and had to be taken out on a wheel chair It was very sad and yet one of the funniest clubbing moments I ever had. Def stay away from tao and nobu in LV, they are no where near as good as the ones in NYC. If you want asian food shintaro at the bellagio is pretty good and offers good views of the fountains.

Also check out the ferrari room at the wynn. Your key or FCA membership gets you and a friend in for free (normally 10 dollars to get in). They have a really nice 575m for sale.