THAT OLD CÔTE BASQUE MAGIC
April 14, 1980
After just four weeks, the restaurant is decidedly Rachou's arena. But the clichés of L'Academie Pavillon, the Henri Soulé prep school that created the image of fine French feeding in Manhattan, are fading... more
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LA TULIPE IN BLOOM
May 19, 1980
It takes a blend of innocence, arrogance, optimism, and obsessed dedication to venture a French restaurant in Manhattan when you are an American groomed for the law, education, computer domination or creative playthings. “I’m going to open the perfect little French restaurant and show them all how,” Sally Darr reportedly vowed…more
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WHAT'S NOUVELLE? LA CUISINE BOURGEOISE
June 2, 1980
The nouvelle cuisine is dead. Finie. Morte. Tombée. Even before I arrived in Paris last fall, I was bombarded with the bulletins: La nouvelle cuisine is…dead. I nibbled my kiwi in puzzled dismay... more
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THE SEAWEED FACTOR: KURUMAZUSHI/SHALOM JAPAN
November 17, 1980
Japan delivers the taste of astonishment: Kurumazushi (inscrutable by design) and Shalom Japan (a kosher nightclub)... more
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GREAT CHEFS, INSPIRED FEASTS
January 12, 1981
It’s not that New York’s affluent mouths are jaded. Oh, I suppose some of ours are. But, by far, the true provocation for all the culinary high jinks and experiment is our great appetite for adventure. Self-taught chefs,yearn to grow and create. Professionals groomed in the classic French tradition leap to the challenge…more
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OF FOOD AND THE RIVER
April 13, 1981
Let me admit straightaway that my unabashed crush on New York City can't help but brighten the shimmer of an outing at the River Cafe. Still, even a jaded urbanophobe would be stirred by the diamond filigree of bridge and tower in moonlight... more
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STILL MORE CONFESSIONS OF A SENSUALIST
April 20, 1981
In praise of fried onions at Wylie's, sautéed kidneys at Maurice, salmon trout at the Palace, duck soup at Simons… more
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CHINESE: HAUTE OR HOMESTYLE
July 20, 1981
Hear the bravos at Lincoln Center. Not tonight for Baryshnikov or Beethoven. No. Tonight we salute dim sum, tangy hot-and-sour soup, eggplant as voluptuous as an overripe peach. Shun Lee West, a serious great restaurant has finally come to the Upper West Side…Stalking offal at Home Village…more
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EAT AND BE SEEN: ODEON, JOANNA, NUCCIO
August 3, 1981
There is a species of Manhattan snob who will insist he or she has never been south of 57th Street and thinks the Upper West Side is attached to New Jersey. So what, pray tell... more
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NOUVELLE BOUNCE AT LE PÉRIGORD
February 8, 1982
The new chef from has certainly revitalized the fusty Périgord. Its doddering lineup of dreary classics is gone... more
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DINNER AT THE DAKOTA
October 25, 1982
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” That’s a motto Sheila Lukins lives by. Once upon a time, Sheila was just an innocent and passionate hausfrau...more
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PLAISIR BY ANY OTHER NAME
February 14, 1983
Hard to imagine anyone recapturing the sense-dizzying electricity, the innocent eccentricity of Le Plaisir at its most glorious...more
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SHOOTING FOR STARS AT THE POLO
February 21, 1983
Spiffed up and clubby, the Polo may not be instant perfection, but there are dazzlers emerging from the kitchen…more
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I'LL TAKE ROMANCE
July 25, 1983
Fans of the Late Late Show will recognize Erminia at once. It’s that cozy little Italian joint, just down the street where Gene Kelly would woo “the girl.” ... more
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THE ICE CREAM RENAISSANCE
September 12, 1983
Surely this is what the decline and fall o f Rome must have felt like: a jaded populace, all morality abandoned, lurching about the streets in search of new sensory stimulation... more
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HALF-MOON OVER MANHATTAN
October 8, 1984
Why is Mezzaluna the hot fueling spot of the moment? It is winsome. It is clever. And sometimes the food is splendid…more
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A BREAKTHROUGH ON THE WESTERN FRONT
October 23, 1983
Oh how hungry we are, we Zip Code-hopping cowboys of Manhattan’s West Side. How we've longed for a cozy neighborhood feeding station... more
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VENETIAN VANITIES
April 11, 1984
Is it the cacophony of hell’s antechamber or Venetian carnevale?... more
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THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL
October, 22, 1984
The new Plaza Athénée is not very French and not grand enough, but its restaurant’s a hit with the neighborhood richlings…more
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THE TAPA-DANCE KID
November 12, 1984
Antoni Miralda’s calculated discount funk and witty food-art set the stage for Barcelona’s Montse Guillen and her fabulous tapas…more
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ROCKEFELLER CENTER RENAISSANCE
July 30, 1984
A power of Rockefellers and the once humbled now rejuvenated Restaurant Associates are out to woo us back to the sunken valley below the granite cliffs of Rockefeller center…A bright, skylit celebration of American dining: the posh Sea Grill, the American Festival Café, and Savories, each with its measure of alfresco. And it can be heaven. …more
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