Out and About
In a city of thousands of restaurants and bars, some here forever and some gone before the first review, even with daily scrutiny of the Post, and Zagat access on our iPhones, it is impossible to keep up. In the city that never sleeps, eating is a 24/7 adventure. Perhaps that's what makes the selection process so daunting for some yet exhilarating for others. I receive regular requests for restaurant recommendations and I take these requests very seriously. A recommendation is very serious business indeed and requires a thorough knowledge of the requestor and the occasion. Agreed, that while I may be a little more obsessed with this selection process than the average diner, unlike a book or movie, every meal at a restaurant is a unique experience with the potential for endless variables. How many times have you gone to a place everyone is raving about that you booked a month in advance only to leave with disappointment and feeling like your palette needed to be recalibrated?
The factors affecting a dining outcome are countless, and the vast majority are all in the hands of many different individuals. Not to mention we do have different tastes that while guided by our cuisine of preference may extend beyond our actual palettes. In this great melting pot where one man’s Porterhouse dream is a vegan’s worst nightmare all restaurants are not created equal. While I have had the opportunity to dine at restaurants upon which Michelin has bestowed the holy trinity, some of my best “experiences” have occurred where no tire company dare tread. Just because your favorite neighborhood restaurant isn’t “rated” doesn’t mean it isn’t worth sharing, and conversely if asked few of us would turn down an invitation to a three-star evening. On night’s when the daily grind has gotten the best of us there is nothing like the welcome face of our favorite bartender, who has our drink poured before we hit the barstool. But when it comes time for the big celebrations - anniversaries, graduations, promotions - all year’s in the making - they are worthy of a at least a month’s planning to guarantee that reservation. We could go out every night for year’s and not even come close to exhausting this city’s menu options, so whether you are looking for the perfect date night or pizza late night you will find it here. It is clear New Yorker’s need no occasion to go out to eat, we have perfected the culinary junket and no jacket is required.