Category Archives: Lounges

Cielo

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**** (4 stars)

Great service is the highlight of this elegant restaurant that overlooks the Four Seasons pool and the Gateway Arch.

The menu offers some Italian classic dishes, well prepared. I enjoyed the branzino entree, but the highlight was the flexibility to select a starter plate of high quality meats and cheeses, and especially the large selection of house-made gelatos. This was a good choice for hotel dining.

Cielo
Four Seasons Hotel
999 N 2nd St
Saint Louis, MO 63102
(314) 881-5759
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cielo-saint-louis-2

The Aviary

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**** (4 stars)

I went on Nomad cookbook release night, so things were a bit different. The space is fairly open, so it can get pretty noisy, and there are a few pinch points which makes it a bit problematic for a party event.

The food being served was from the Nomad cookbook, and most of it, by necessity, was pretty simple.

The cocktails were great. I’m not sure whose recipes were at work, because I couldn’t find them in the Nomad cocktail book, but I loved the use of bitter ingredients in several of them. The Yaya Colada was a standout.

The Aviary
955 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 226-0868
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-aviary-chicago-2

Travelle

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salmonbenedict

***** (5 stars)

Beautiful space with high ceilings and lots of light. We went for a Saturday brunch. There is an extensive buffet, but we ordered off the menu.

The skillet we had was good, but the highlight of the meal was the Benedict. We selected the salmon, and it was an amazing blend of ingredients. The sauce was not a standard Hollandaise as is usual on a Benedict, but rather something much more citrusy and a perfect accompaniment to the salmon and the beautifully cooked eggs. Wedge potatoes had a strong herb flavor but were unremarkable. Service was attentive.

It should be noted that, although we did not have wines (since it was 10am), the wine list here is perhaps the most interesting in the city, with a very broad range of selections ranging from extravagant to affordable, and all very interesting.

Travelle
330 N Wabash Ave
2nd Fl
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 923-7705
http://www.yelp.com/biz/travelle-chicago

The Library

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***** (5 stars)

We absolutely loved this place. It has all the advantages of the food from the Gilt Bar upstairs, but without the noise.

I’m surprised they don’t bill this as a speakeasy, because it has that atmosphere: a twisting passageway downstair to find the almost hidden door, and lighting that takes a few minutes to adjust to. Candles on book shelves provide part of the illumination, and the fancy bar at one end looks like it’s straight out of the 20s.

We tried a large portion of the menu, and loved everything except perhaps the bone marrow and the rib eye. Mussels were a standout.

Of course with this theming there are cocktails, and many fine choices among them. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks, so I was delighted to discover many bitter ingredients available, and even finished with an Amaro Nonino.

Service was friendly and helpful.

The Library
Gilt Bar
230 W Kinzie St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 464-9544
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-library-chicago

American Gymkhana

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**** (4 stars)

If you’re looking for an incredible Indian fusion experience that combines traditional dishes with complex influences from other cuisines in beautiful presentations, proceed directly to American Gymkhana and don’t even bother to read the rest of this review. You won’t be disappointed.

If you’re the owner of this restaurant, please read on.

Your chef and her cuisine are wonderful. But if you want to succeed, you need to fix some things soon. The restaurant has been open two months, which is plenty of time for there to be someone working in service who knows what they’re doing.

Sadly, this is not the case. The food is so good that people will try again, but at some point we’ll give up unless basic levels of service can be achieved. It’s as if the whole staff has never been in a table service restaurant (not counting Denny’s) before.

On our Saturday brunch visit there were at least 15 servers huddled near the entrance, and exactly two patrons. Yet we were interrogated for five minutes at the front desk by three people before finally being shown to a table. Why do you need our names and phone numbers to serve us food?

We asked our server several questions about the food and beverages (let’s face it, the brunch menu isn’t exactly self explanatory, and contradicts itself regarding what the meal includes). The answer to every question was “well, I don’t know what’s in that, but we do everything very special here so it has lots of wonderful ingredients.”

Before you blame the server for this response, let me note that I overheard this same conversation at two other tables with two other servers and the response was essentially identical. If you ever get a patron with a food allergy, they’re dead.

There were a dozen other minor issues with the service provided by everyone who visited our table: inability to clearly explain what came or did not come with various dishes on the menu, wrong drinks served with no one noticing, no one offering dessert before the check–nothing show-stopping or that prevented us from enjoying the truly wonderful food. But there is no excuse for it.

You own a Michelin listed restaurant in New York, and I know this isn’t what the service is like there. Someone needs to move to Orlando and take charge. It would be a shame for one star service to kill a restaurant with 5 star food.

American Gymkhana
7559 W Sandlake Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 985-2900
http://www.yelp.com/biz/american-gymkhana-orlando

Bösendorfer Lounge

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**** (4 stars)

If you enjoy the sound of a great piano, you won’t find a better one than here. This Bosendorfer is magnificent. The lounge itself is divided into two parts, the round entry area, where you can’t get away from the piano, and the more intimate bar area. However we like to dine at the adjacent restaurant. If you request a table near the entry, you can hear the piano just fine.

Bösendorfer Lounge
Grand Bohemian
325 S Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 313-9000
http://www.yelp.com/biz/b%C3%B6sendorfer-lounge-orlando-2

Top of the Mark

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*** (3 stars)

Sad to say, this favorite haunt of my youth has fallen on hard times, and now just seems a bit seedy. The views are still great, except that the former dark and romantic lighting has been replaced by a brightly lit (and completely empty) dance floor and a big screen TV, both of which are brightly reflected in all the windows. Drinks are decent if pricey (presumably to pay for the view), and the menu is basic bar food, although nicely presented. Service was efficient.

Top of the Mark
1 Nob Hill
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 392-3434
http://www.yelp.com/biz/top-of-the-mark-san-francisco

54 Below

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**** (4 stars)

This is a excellent intimate live music venue. Acoustics are very good, and there is a pretty good lighting system as well.

The majority of the seating is at long tables pointed toward the stage, so some seats tend to be faced away from the performer, and those seated in the first few slots (and I do mean slots) may find the lighting in their eyes. A few booths along the back provide the most comfortable seating.

Food is adequate. The french fries were excellent, and the Caesar salad was fresh. The ratatouille shepherd’s pie was a bit disappointing. There’s a nice selection of moderately priced wines.

Service is friendly and unobtrusive.

54 Below
254 W 54th St
New York, NY 10019
(866) 468-7619
http://www.yelp.com/biz/54-below-new-york

Hanson’s Shoe Repair

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* (1 stars)

This place is taking itself way too seriously. Someone needs to explain the difference between theming and snootiness. If you want to play their game, call (407) 476-9446 and leave a message and maybe you’ll be graced with a call back to get their password. Otherwise you’re out of luck, because they won’t let you in. They’ll tell you how to get the password but not what it is. Rather puerile, isn’t it? But if that’s your thing (and bearing in mind they won’t serve drinks to anyone still in third grade) then go for it. Otherwise, there are a LOT of other bars that DO want your money nearby.

Hanson’s Shoe Repair
27 E Pine St
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 476-9446
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hansons-shoe-repair-orlando