Foreign Jackass said:
Oh, I dunno. The place is given the highest rating by every restaurant guide ever made, and is consistently on the list of best restaurants in the city. I gave you just one exemple, but there are plenty of those restaurants in Montreal. I don't think I'm being a jackass right now, I just don't think anything could justify that price. It's just a matter of setting the prices so that people actually THINK it's going to be better than another, cheaper place. I don't doubt that the food is incredible. I just doubt that any palate in the world can distinct between Toqué's food and FL's food on a scale of 10 times the price.
Yes, experienced diners and (especially) accomplished chefs really can tell the difference. And the French Laundry is about double the price of Toqué, not 10x.
Foreign Jackass said:
What makes you think that FL is actually better than every other high-end restaurant that's not as expensive?
And please don't mention NYC in a restaurant conversation. I've been there a lot of times, tried to eat in restaurants for the same price as in Montreal, and ended up eating complete shit, after following advice from both people who lived in the city and restaurant guides. Montreal is far from perfect as a city, but it's well known for being the best restaurant city in North America, quality/price-wise.
I just don't believe that a super-high end restaurant can deserve paying that much money for a meal. It's bourgeois bullshit.
Getting advice from random people or random restaurant guides can easily backfire if you don't do adequate research. Naturally, large cities will have plenty of crummy restaurants as well.
NYC restaurants are generally much more expensive than Montreal, I agree. It is also a far, far, far better restaurant city in terms of overall quality, kitchen and service talent, variety, and sheer ambition, period. I've been to Toqué, and it would struggle to get even a single star from the Michelin guide; there are at least 20 French restaurants in Manhattan alone that would crush it, and it would be a complete joke in Paris. Toqué is good, upscale French food, nothing more. Don't kid yourself and compare it to Michelin 3 star restaurants, especially world-class ones like French Laundry.
yayaba said:
I'm taking my girlfriend to
Le Bernardin in NYC next month. Anyone been to that place before? We were thinking of getting the two prix fixe menu's are sharing with each other
One of the absolute best restaurants in NYC! I've posted my suggestions in the NYC restaurant thread:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=387673
Chichikov said:
One weekend is a dream, and awesome dream, but come on now, why would you fuck the greatest culinary weekend of your life (short of getting to El-Bulli) with a cross country flight?
That being said, I like French Laundry better.
That is also seem to be the general consensus with the foodies I know that have been to both.
I think the idyllic, wine country atmosphere at French Laundry is really special, and I have a feeling that most people prefer it to Per Se's sophisticated urban setting. Relaxing in French Laundry's garden between courses is something that can't be replicated. Per Se has the clear advantage in the dining room (luxuriously spaced out, incredible view of Central Park), private dining rooms, and its enormous lounge area, where you can have drinks and even order dishes
a la carte (IMO, a HUGE advantage over French Laundry). The food approaches at both places are identical, and the overall quality of the meals at both places are as close to identical as can be. That said, my meals at Per Se were just slightly better than my meal at French Laundry.
