# My husband made reservations here for my birthday
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 4, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310 "2010-05-04T18:14:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/21 "2010-05-05T07:01:50Z")
What a treat and what a sweet husband! Definitely go for the tasting menu, and definitely let us all know how it was!
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/22 "2010-05-05T07:23:16Z")
The [picture of their Eggs Benedict](http://www.wd-50.com/images/food5/eggs.jpg) leaves me dumbfounded. In what way could that be called eggs benedict?
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/23 "2010-05-05T10:40:56Z")
> [@squeegee](#):
>
> The [picture of their Eggs Benedict](http://www.wd-50.com/images/food5/eggs.jpg) leaves me dumbfounded. In what way could that be called eggs benedict?
It’s deconstructed.
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/24 "2010-05-05T13:01:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> Well, I tend to disagree, except knowing how the fine-dining industry works in general, I suppose I shouldn’t act surprised to see those prices in New York city.
>
> Vin De Pays wine has only recently come into vogue. It literally means “country wine”, which implies inferior wine. I know for a fact that Vin De Pays wine has made leaps in quality within the last 15 years or so, but that’s still a premium price to pay for a less-regulated and inconsistent region. I don’t think there’s any way a NYC restaurant that has any volume at all is buying that wine for anywhere near the $35/bottle price. They are just marking it up that much.
>
> And what about $17 for an appetizer-sized bowl of gazpacho? Insanity. And again, as I said, the entrees seem weirdly in line with pricing I’ve seen in a lot of other places.
>
> Anyway, it still looks like a gorgeous place with stellar food. I hope the OP enjoys it and takes copious food-porn photos!
Standard restaurant wine markups have been 2-3 times what I’d pay for it retail, at least in my experience. So the price works for me.
And I think you’re discrediting Vin de Pays. Only the French consider it inferior 😃 That’s northern Rhone (Collines Rhodaniennes), and 2005 was a stellar year for that area. If I’ve found the right wine, it’s made by 3 pretty well respected winemakers in Rhone. That ain’t no ordinary wine, and is probably a pretty good value at what they’re selling it for.
Appetizer prices? Those are a lot more variable. Suffice to say WD-50 ain’t cheap!
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/25 "2010-05-05T13:34:47Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#):
>
> It’s deconstructed.
Which is another way of saying “We’re going to take (ridiculously small amounts of) the ingredients for this dish and present them on the plate separately so we can look edgy and stylish.”
I’m happy you’re happy about going to this place, **LavenderBlue** , but it’s definitely not my kind of eatery. I’d have to go to a diner afterward for real food.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/26 "2010-05-05T14:02:59Z")
Wow. I’ve always wanted to try some of Wylie’s food. For those who don’t know, Wylie Dufresne is considered by many to be the world’s master of Molecular Gastronomy.\*
Comparing prices for one of his meals to an unrated local eatery is like comparing a personal performance by Itzhak Perlman to a “pretty good” musician. This is a chance to experience what “world’s best” is like.
Happy birthday LB! I would definitely go for the tasting menu to get the broadest possible experience - why limit yourself?
\*I’m not trying to start a hijack here, can we please just stipulate that _many_ do consider him as such, without getting into a whole “what about Ferran Adria” thing?
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### Author:  [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/27 "2010-05-05T14:33:21Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#):
>
> It’s deconstructed.
It looks like it’s about three grams’ worth of food! Are those _croutons?_
**jayjay** , I’m with you! Let’s go find a good greasy spoon diner or a steakhouse or something!
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/28 "2010-05-05T14:35:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Which is another way of saying “We’re going to take (ridiculously small amounts of) the ingredients for this dish and present them on the plate separately so we can look edgy and stylish.”
>
> I’m happy you’re happy about going to this place, **LavenderBlue** , but it’s definitely not my kind of eatery. I’d have to go to a diner afterward for real food.
You’d be surprised. After 16 courses at Alinea, all of which looked tiny when served, both me and Mr. Athena were stuffed. I don’t know how people can do the 21-course. We’re hardly tiny people or tiny eaters. 15 small courses is actually quite a lot of food.
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/29 "2010-05-05T14:42:52Z")
> [@a35362](#):
>
> It looks like it’s about three grams’ worth of food! Are those _croutons?_
>
> **jayjay** , I’m with you! Let’s go find a good greasy spoon diner or a steakhouse or something!
I really don’t want to hijack **LavenderBlue** ’s thread to bitch about Nouvelle Cuisine or New American or molecular gastronomy, though. And I’m not passionate enough about the subject to start a new thread. So I’ma shut up now. 🙂
> [@Athena](#):
>
> You’d be surprised. After 16 courses at Alinea, all of which looked tiny when served, both me and Mr. Athena were stuffed. I don’t know how people can do the 21-course. We’re hardly tiny people or tiny eaters. 15 small courses is actually quite a lot of food.
I’ll admit that I hadn’t factored that many courses into my reactions.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/30 "2010-05-05T16:30:37Z")
I think I would love a 15 course dinner with 15 tiny courses; I love new food and trying new things. I would love to just have the chef make something he thinks I would like every time I go out for dinner (I do all the cooking in our house).
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### Author:  [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/31 "2010-05-05T16:38:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Which is another way of saying “We’re going to take (ridiculously small amounts of) the ingredients for this dish and present them on the plate separately so we can look edgy and stylish.”
>
> I’m happy you’re happy about going to this place, **LavenderBlue** , but it’s definitely not my kind of eatery. I’d have to go to a diner afterward for real food.
🙂
I am the sort that likes just about all food. Almost anything from a fresh, crisp apple eaten moments after being picked from a tree to the perfect dim sum to nouvelle cuisine is fine by me.
I alas have the backside to show for it 😉 but that’s another thread.
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### Author:  [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/32 "2010-05-05T21:32:03Z")
You got yourself a keeper, **LavenderBlue**! The foie gras, passionfruit and chinese celery dish looks intriguing. Please let us know how the dinner went. It looks like it’ll be an experience to remember.
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### Author:  [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/33 "2010-05-05T22:28:28Z")
> [@Athena](#):
>
> You’d be surprised. After 16 courses at Alinea, all of which looked tiny when served, both me and Mr. Athena were stuffed. I don’t know how people can do the 21-course. We’re hardly tiny people or tiny eaters. 15 small courses is actually quite a lot of food.
I’ve done the 21 course, and it actually wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t stuffed, but I was comfortably satisfied. It helped that it took us four hours to do. And the wine pairings definitely took all four of those hours to get over.
When we went to the French Laundry, it was highly amusing to see my wife (all 120 lbs of her) power through the seven wines in the pairing selection. Since we are from altitude, we can handle more alcohol at sea level, but she got drunk, then sober, then drunk again, all within the space of the meal. 🙂
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### Author:  [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/34 "2010-05-05T22:32:58Z")
What’s WD-50 minus 10?
Think I’ll skip dinner there. 😉
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/35 "2010-05-05T22:51:41Z")
Have a great time. I’m a bit envious actually - do the wines too - they’ll be _so_ picked to go with the food.
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### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/36 "2010-05-05T22:58:28Z")
As a one time experience it sounds pretty exciting. The food does seem a bit bizarre, with tiny portions and high prices. Especially that eggs benedict. I don’t know if I could fill up on one of the entrees. The tasting menu does seem the way to go for multiple reasons. I don’t understand what “We ask that the entire table participate in the tasting menu” means though. Is the tasting menu supposed to be shared by multiple people? I don’t think more than one person could try any of those dishes. I’m also a little confused about how you go about actually consuming some of those. Do you just kind of try to scoop everything onto a large spoon? Or do you really eat a tiny speck of something and then a tiny speck of something else?
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### Author:  [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/37 "2010-05-05T23:04:52Z")
It means either the whole table does the tasting menu or no one does. You can’t have one person do the tasting menu and someone else just order an entree.
Often with molecular gastronomy, how to eat each plate is not obvious. In those cases, your server guides you.
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/38 "2010-05-06T01:51:10Z")
Plus the tasting menu usually takes quite a while.
If others at your table just order an app, saled, entree and desert they would most likely be done with thier meal and sitting watching you for a good while. This is no fun for them and more importantly to the restaurant it distracts you from your experience, and it IS intended to be an experience.
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### Author:  [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/39 "2010-05-06T02:34:14Z")
> [@Necros](#):
>
> I’ve done the 21 course, and it actually wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t stuffed, but I was comfortably satisfied. It helped that it took us four hours to do. And the wine pairings definitely took all four of those hours to get over.
>
> When we went to the French Laundry, it was highly amusing to see my wife (all 120 lbs of her) power through the seven wines in the pairing selection. Since we are from altitude, we can handle more alcohol at sea level, but she got drunk, then sober, then drunk again, all within the space of the meal. 🙂
Four hours? Wow. So do they bring you a new course every ten minutes or so?
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-made-reservations-here-for-my-birthday/538310/40 "2010-05-06T10:58:48Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#):
>
> Do you just kind of try to scoop everything onto a large spoon? Or do you really eat a tiny speck of something and then a tiny speck of something else?
Usually the idea is to get s “perfect bite” a little of everything in each. But as someone else said, the server should be advising you on each.
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