Comments on: Restaurant Review: Tao (Restaurant Week Summer 2009)

By: Tracey

Tracey — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:13:33 +0000

I love this idea! Everything is important, and everything should be noted.

An example from the beverage menu:
“Coca Cola, served in a glass with freshly cubed ice and plastic straw”

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:41:32 +0000

Oooh, I’m so excited for you. Let me know how it goes, if you think of it.

I see by your blog that you’re a healthy eater, but don’t let that salad suck you in!

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:38:55 +0000

Do you ever watch “Hell’s Kitchen”? We were watching it last night, and some girl was on the “garnish” station during dinner service. They have someone there every time, but it never struck me as odd until last night. I asked Kamran what garnish is, and he said, “Are you serious?” But I think of garnish as, like, parsley, and it doesn’t seem like they need a whole station nor a whole person for that. But you just referred to onion rings as garnish, and now it makes sense to me. The steak was the only important thing on the plate, evidently, because they didn’t even put the onion rings on the menu. Which effectively makes them garnish.

That was a lot of story, I know, but what I’m saying is–if I ever have a restaurant, I’m putting things like parsley on the menu so they don’t feel left out.

By: Eve

Eve — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:45:23 +0000

I’m going there tomorrow night and just found your blog when I was searching for reviews. I think I will order the potstickers and sea bass, I’m a fish lover! Thanks for the review.

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:00:52 +0000

I think maybe the place thinks it has an awesome atmosphere and is working really hard to attract the sort of people who go there. Someone on my chowhound.com post about it said it’s for the “Sex and the City” set, which is true. Not the original “Sex and the City” set but the post-”Sex and the City” set who think it’s all about dressing trashily, drinking too much, and contracting STDs.

Actually, you might enjoy a lot of the comments that people posted there. If you’re bored.

By: plumpdumpling

plumpdumpling — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:55:52 +0000

I know you’re right. Every time I’ve actually gotten a steak medium-well and Kamran’s made me try his medium-rare, I always agree that his texture and flavor are better. But as a farm kid, I grew up on homegrown steaks that my dad grilled BLACK. And I thought that’s how steak was supposed to be eaten, and I have an affinity for dark and chewy now. Medium-well is really giving in for me, because I want it extra-well.

Where are you leaving to?

By: Tracey

Tracey — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:17:29 +0000

What a clever way to serve onion rings! I guess most places just don’t take enough time to make and place them in size order so that they form a garnish-cone.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:49:34 +0000

Your patience and/or optimism (or maybe just your hunger and unwillingness to trek all over Manhattan to find another restaurant) paid off. I would have heard the thumping club music, turned around, and walked out.

On the other hand, it seems, from your description, like the sort of place that KNOWS its atmosphere is grating and works very hard to make up for it.

By: jim

jim — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:15:01 +0000

my chef insists there’s no such thing as medium-well. if you want your meat cooked so much you may as well go for something else, maybe a burger, because you’re missing out on most of the flavour, not to mention the texture!

this looked like a fantastic meal. shit. i need to eat at a nice place in edinburgh before i leave.