January 1, 1975 |
Vintage Insatiable
Vintage Insatiable Critic: 1975-1979
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CAFE DES ARTISTES: IF IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR GEORGE
January 19, 1976
Then came a letter with the striking asparagus logo of restaurant consultant George Lang. “To abandon or mistreat a child is bad enough,” it began. “But to do the same to 36 old ladies, especially when they are nude, is totally deplorable…more
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THE PALACE: SPLENDOR IN THE FOIE GRAS
April 5, 1976
The Palace hustled into being one year ago with an acute sense of terminal decadence. Was there ever more an obscene moment to launch the most expensive restaurant in town? Even the very rich economized, patching the old Porthault sheets to make them last another season, limping along in last years Mercedes, canceling summer in Cap d’Antibes…Would anyone be crass enough to boldly patronize the Palace’s Trimalchian bouffé… more
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THE MOST SPECTACULAR RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD
May 31, 1976
If money and power and ego and a passion for perfection could create this extraordinary pleasure… this instant landmark, Windows on the World… money and power and ego could rescue the city from its ashes. What a high...more
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WINDOWS ON THE WORLD: A SECOND VIEW
November 15, 1976
Too many items are more interesting in the concept than in the mouth. Still with intelligence and luck you may dine very well…more
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I LOVE LE CIRQUE, BUT CAN I BE TRUSTED?
January 31, 1977
I wasn’t going to tell you about Le Cirque. The trouble is, I know more about Le Cirque that I want to know… more than Le Cirque’s brass would like me to know… more than you may care to know... more
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WONDERFULLY PREPOSTEROUS LUXURY AT THE BOX TREE INN
May 16, 1977
What could have inspired Augustin Paege into believing he could merchandise overnight accommodations in his small country inn at $400 a night? Even if the tariff does include Roll-Royce pickup, a lazy dinner before the fire, champagne breakfast-in-bed, your own butler and valet…and the chef standing by to indulge 4 a.m. whims… more
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QUILTED GIRAFFE: A CELEBRATION OF AMATEURS
July 7, 1977
No wonder the grouch is tamed on finding in some bucolic corner a restaurant as ambitious as the Quilted Giraffe in upstate New Paltz... more
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SUPERSONIC GASTRONOMY: CONCORDE CUISINE FALLS FLAT
July 11, 1977
Just for now, let's not brood about decibels or frazzled nerve endings or rattling melmac in the air corridors of Queens. Let's explore what it feels like to fly the Concorde. Well, it feels a little bit like being rich…but not enough. ... more
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REGINE: FEEDING THE NIGHT CRAWLER
October 31, 1977
I know I ought to hate Regine's. It’s all so precious and pretentious and outrageous. The décor: a curious mingle of elegance and tawdry flash. The food: so many misses. The wine: I've yet to sip a stirring bottle. The people: all that posing. So much chichi…more
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FREDY GIRARDET: THE MOST EXCITING COOKING IN THE WORLD
November 21, 1977
The great excitement in French cooking is not to be found anywhere in France, but in Switzerland...in a tiny crossroads suburb of Lausanne called Crissier... more
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ZABAR'S IN EXCELSIS
December 11, 1978
Once, Zabar's was just a little neighborhood deli, known for the haunting tang of its lox and the perfume of the nobler pickle... more
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HARLEM ON MY MIND
March 12, 1979
I wasn’t sure a duo of aging blond preppies and I would be all that welcome ribbing and chicken-hopping in Harlem. Not that I’d tried it since Rosa Parks refused to sit down in the back of that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and the civil-rights struggle began... more
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A SCRUTABLE GUIDE TO NEW YORK'S CHINESE RESTAURANTS
April 2, 1979
Trek to the Great Wall. Explore the mythic kitchens of Shanghai. Make the gourmand swing of Hong Kong. What adventurer could resist? Not I. But when I hunger for supernal Chinese food, I don’t have to stir…more
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PURE PLASIR
July 9-16, 1979
From its stormy, doomed infancy, Le Plaisir has emerged as one of the great joys of Manhattan dining... more
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DODIN BOUFFANT: CUISINE FROM A MARRIAGE
September 10, 1979
“...Dodin-Bouffant gets better all the time. The fits of brilliance are more constant. The flubs are fleeting and fewer... If the youthful Pritskers can marshal their talent and fanatic dedication to overcome mere human frailty, they might soon be among the most celebrated... more
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THE JOY OF SUSHI
September 24, 1979
I was a novice in the sushi faith. I had dabbled warily in sashimi -- exploring raw tuna and mackerel…toying with salmon row on sticky rice in seaweed ribbons…quite pleased with the sweet subtlety of raw fish. And I had eaten here, one beautiful briny morsel after another. Still I had a sense that beyond the supernal tuna and the crunchy sea clam were mysteries… more
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THE DARING YOUNG MAN ON GRAND STREET
December 31, 1979
It's like a mirage…a stage set…a teasing dream. Black streets desolate and littered against the shadowy cast-iron facades on the outer edge of SoHo... more
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