good reasonable restaurants - UES
I am staying at 72nd and 3rd. next week and need some good dining advice in the neigborhood - both bars you can eat at and restaurants. thanks.
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What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
I frequent city Bakery in Brentwood and have become friendly with the owner who now lives here and is opening a second one in the PAlisades. I would not count on City Bakery- N.Y. improving anytime soon. sorry!!
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What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
Perhaps he reads 'Serious Eats'? ;)
Hey, stranger things have happened!! When TVFN had message boards, mysteriously Sandra Lee would make all the changes we discussed on those boards. Coinkydink? Nope. When TVFN nuked their boards, they took away her primary source of constructive criticism.
As for Maury Rubin - wow. That's a disappointment. I remember a couple of spots he did on Martha Stewart building the most beautiful little tarts. As a matter of fact, I have his book of tarts and have prepared several of them.
It sucks when an otherwise dependable place goes downhill - which seems to usually coincide with expansion (to another city or another building - no matter). How can someone be in several places at once?? Yet in each place, patrons expect the same high level of quality on which the proprietor has built his reputation.
What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
Tom: that is in fact no longer a consistent truth.
When I lived in NYC, I definitely qualified as a regular, and even now, when I'm not in NYC very much, I still make at least one visit per quarterly trip, although admittedly these days it's more to see if things have picked back up or not. I tend to be acutely aware of variations in quality, and things are distinctly not what they were. Of the last half dozen or so occasions that I went there, on only one was the pretzel croissant what I had previously relied upon it to be. It was still okay, but undistinguished. A bit heavy and greasy, nothing to go out of one's way for.
I freely admit that I'm probably hypersensitive to these nuances, but my sister, who is far more down-to-earth about these things, was the one who first asked me if I noticed something 'different'.
I have the feeling that the success of the location was very contingent on the owner's presence, and his absence means that staff are just not keeping on their toes.
I'd love to email him, but couldn't find a contact email address; there is one for catering, but it seems inappropriate to use a dedicate address for another purpose.
Perhaps he reads 'Serious Eats'? ;)
What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
I have been eating at City Bakery since it opened on 17th street and I have yet to have a bad experience. I was just there last week and everything was swell. I also go to Birdbath which has also been fine. I saw Maury at the 18th street location sometime this Fall but there is also a woman, perhaps the manager, who is usually on hand. Sorry to hear that you have had such bad experiences. You should email them to let them know.
What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
I must confess...and I was ashamed to say it anywhere else...I have had stale baked goods at City Bakery within the past year. And I mean crack-a-tooth stale.
I always did find the hot chocolate too sweet, but i thought that was just my taste.
Didn't Rubin also open a "green" bakery in NYC?
What has happened to 'City Bakery'?!
So Maury Rubin moved to Brentwood? I haven't been to City Bakery in a while, but I went there a lot when they were on 17th Street. They had the best croissants in America, especially if you got them while they were still warm. And in February, they had the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. Are these no longer food truths? That would *really* be a shame.
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