NY Times. Alain Ducasse, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin and Per Se received three stars; Daniel, Masa, Bouley and Danube received two.

Rating WD-50 with one star makes it clear that the whole thing is ludicrous. WD-50 is one of the worst restaurants I've wasted my money on in the last several years. Service is fascist; they do what they want. They will NOT open a bottle at your table, no matter what you ask. If the chef "suggests" something be served rare, then you will get it rare, no matter what you ask for. and the food is not as good as what the people on this BB eat most every night.

What BS

I agree completely with Randy. We went there with business contacts of Wylie and it did no good. Having our wine opened and sniffed off far from our table was inexcusable.

I loved WD-50 when I dined there. Sorry to hear it didn't meet your expectations. I thought the food matches were inventive and fantastic.

jb

I am surprised Babbo only got a single star.

TJ, I know you love Babbo and most others do as well, but my wife, my daughter and I put Babbo on top of our most disappointing restaurant list. I've been trying to figure this out, but after some fantastic Northern Italian meals near Treviso last month, I think it is because the food at Babbo is over salted for our taste. BTW, if you are north of Venice, a great place to eat is Gellius Il Restorante (www.restorantefellius.it). Fantastic food in a great atmosphere where you dine around and above Roman ruins.

Neither do I.

jb, this is very consistent with reviews of WD-50. When it is on... its great. When it isn't... its a freak show. When I was there, the food was intellectually fascinating, but crap.

At the end of the meal, no one at the table wanted to go back. Price is irrelevant. If I paid $20 for that meal, it would not have been worth it a second time. It was certainly interesting the first time, however.

Even with one star Babbo is full. I couldn't get reservations with 3 weeks notice. I think Mario will be able to afford tennis shoes for another year.

We're going to check out Jean Georges next week. I'll let you know what we think.

Over-rated, just like Vong's.

We shall see....

I'd agree with Board-o. We were thoroughly unimpressed with Jean Georges.

Fair enough, Randy. I can only go by the one time I was there and I was really impressed.

My next big dinner in NYC, I hope to go to Le Bernadin.

jb

jb, funny thing. We were discussing our experience with friends at Le Bernardin. We made two mistakes. We let them sit us at the kitchen door, and I let the waiter talk me into something that didn't sound good to me. I wanted to try the skate, but it came with a foie gras/lentil sauce. The combination didn't sound good to me but the waiter said it was excellent. When I got it, the skate was perfectly done, but I didn't like the sauce at all. My fault on both accounts.

It has been at least 5 years since our visit to Le Bernadin, and I can still remember it vividly. Wonderful food, service, and table....easily one of our top 10 experiences.

Look forward to reading about your visit, JB.

MTpockets: I look forward to your review(s). That is my next major dining destination in NYC.

I started hearing a few years ago the Le Bernardin was slipping. Lately, I have been hearing great things again.

JB, you should go soon so we get the up-to-the-minute scoop