Rao's and Nobu, NYC, June 2004
OK, I am going to combine Nobu and Rao's into one review... Don't ask why, I'm in a fucked up mood... Oh, and ignore the blurred faces in the backgrounds of the Rao's pics, Bruce was there with his kids and you know how it goes, gotta show respect and keep that shit private... and don't email me asking about Rao's reservations, there is no secret, no nothing, you just have to know someone, period, no exceptions, so save your keystrokes...
So I picked Rao's and Nobu as my two restaurants for my two nights in NYC in June... I did a long weekend, started Thursday, and did NYC Thursday and Friday, then Philly on Friday (see the Django review for that)... Why did I pick Rao's and Nobu? Plenty of reasons... Go read the Rao's sauce interview and you'll know why I did Rao's... I did Nobu because supposedly it's one of the hardest reservations in NYC... I didn't have much trouble, and got a phat daddy 9PM res for 4 and a sweet table... I was hoping Howard would be there but no such luck, maybe I took his table... Anyway, I spilled some Sake on the ground in his honor since he wasn't around... ;-)
I enjoyed the drive to Rao's... East Harlem is a pretty phat hood, I mean, call it a ghetto, call it whatever the fuck you want, I enjoy that shit... Now, granted, if I had walked around the way I was that night I probably wouldn't be here writing this today, but I suspect I could hang if I needed too... I'd love to hit some of the restaurants and bars in that area, but I'd have to have my crew and come prepared.... Now, the corner that Rao's is on is a totally different story... It's almost like an oasis, even the sidewalks are clean... People in suits outside of the restaurant, BW on his cell phone chilling outside, lots of limos, nice parking for the customers, and well lit... Frankie et al. command respect, and I give it in abundance to him and his crew for everything they do... Speaking of Frankie, he left early that night (maybe 10PM or so) so there was no singing, but it's OK, I'll be back... Anyway, he was ordering and drinking red wine, and so I decided to indulge in the same stuff... GOOD WINE... I'm not that big of a wine drinker, but it just felt right...
So anyway, as I'm waiting around at the bar, I get to chatting with the bartender, N. the V., totally cool guy... I ordered a few martinis and pulled out a dwizzo wad and asked him how I can open a tab, and he replied "You've opened a tab." From that point on, I knew it was going to be a memorable night... So I asked him about the vests, he said he has 142 vests, and people call him Nicky Vest, and that I could call him Nicki Vest. Cool guy, makes good drinks, and as far as I could tell, he takes care of all the booze in the place, even when you are sitting at a table, and you order a bottle of wine, he comes to your table and opens the bottle for you and so forth...
So, at Nobu, you totally want to get a booth... Most of the tables there are pretty shitty, especially any of the ones on the right side of the restaurant... They are close to the kitchens, serving areas, and sushi bar... So tons of traffic and undesirable noise... The best seats in the house are definitely the first 3 booths directly in front of you (behind the hostess stand) when you walk in... Out of those three, the most desirable I think, is the one closest to the entrance, or maybe the middle one, but that's all personal preference... I personally don't like being flanked by booths, I prefer the "end-unit"... And the 3rd booth, the one farthest from the entrance, is right next to the touch-screen that the servers use to place orders so there's tons of traffic there... So anyway, the first booth is my favorite, although we were in the middle booth, but the girls liked that cause it was cold and rainy and they thought that the booth behind us was too close to the door, but whatever, it's still my fav...
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