January 25, 2006
You may still be wondering what to believe when it comes to interpreting restaurant reviews. If you needed further proof that every critic assesses food, service, value and ambience in a vastly different manner, look no further than Frank Bruni's review this week of the Spotted Pig. Alas, the Pig scored a star in the coveted Michelin Guide while some far more upscale establishments did not (once again, TriBeCa's legendary Chanterelle comes to mind). In contrast, Bruni was not nearly as generous.
Curiously, Bruni's review recalls a mountaineering expedition traversing a narrow alpine path. He must adroitly maneuver around various obstacles: "My friends and I climbed the stairs, pushed to get within shouting distance of a bartender," etc. Or is it a punk show? "What I encountered looked less like a restaurant than a mosh pit." It seems the dear fellow has not been doing his yoga, for he suggests the Pig "should hand out a special Kama Sutra on the contortions necessary to get to and from your seat." It's fascinating to compare this harrowing journey of his through the Pig's dining room with his other article in today's Dining section, namely his travails as a server for one week at Cambridge's East Coast Grill. By Saturday night, his observations become more Zen-like, as he stands on his feet "for more than six hours." His colleague Dave notes that restaurants are an unflattering prism for human behavior: "People are hungry, and then they're drinking," he noted. "Two of the worst states that people can be in." Om ah hum, the human condition? Existentialism laced with realpolitik? His co-worker Tina also has an insight that New York City waitstaff will find all-too-familiar: "Some people are interested in having the experience of being disappointed," Tina says.
So back to the Pig: Michelin thinks it "oozes character," while Bruni finds it oozes characters. Yet his observations on the Pig underscore the ultimate paradox of dining out in Manhattan: "Like so much in life, the Pig proves contradictory truths: that New Yorkers are fools, willing to endure any manner of nonsense to run with the pack, and that New Yorkers are sages, able to divine and embrace genuine merit in the middle of bedlam."
All the more interesting, therefore, that the two sturdy anchors of the vast Chelsea Market finally unveil themselves in the coming weeks, Buddakan and Morimoto. While these two enormous restaurants could not be more different than the Spotted Pig—the Pig's April Bloomfield is more Chez Panisse, whereas the Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto himself presides over the massive restaurant named after him—we expect Bruni's wise divinations on New Yorkers will hold true for these new contenders. The human condition will come head-to-head with advanced design and Japanese-American innovation. Architecture aficionados will revel in the design, by legendary Japanese über-architect Tadao Ando, who for over 20 years has been at the forefront of designing postmodern Japanese buildings. (This is his first restaurant.) But chaos will certainly ensue, as buzz circulates widely given the massive pre-opening publicity blitz on TV and in print media. Oh yes, and on the Web. The genuine merit remains to be seen; mere mortals will have to wait for the opening.
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Posted on 1/25/2006
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