We were recently in New York City, and covered a lot of ground. We seriously ate our way around NYC. It was my first trip there and I would go again, just not with three kids in tow! Imagine walking from the southern part of Central Park all the way down to China Town with kids ranging from 10 months to 4 years old. Not easy, it was amusing but not easy! I didn't encounter the 'rude' New Yorker until we were at the airport checking our bags to return home! People opened doors and said hello. They gave smiles and some wished us luck with our kids, but no one was rude. The smell and sight of trash is a reason I wouldn't like to live there. It really is dirty. We were there for a week but time just flew by. Everything is on hyper speed there; when we returned home I felt like my big city was the country!
I'll write about the most memorable places first and rant about the not so great later.
Here we are after dinner at Jean George's Spice Market. (I know I said I would rant later, but this was such a horrible experience...I'll share now.)
The restaurant's decor was phenomenal! It felt like I was somewhere in Thailand! The food and service was unfortunately not as wonderful. Our server was practically rolling her eyes at us in front of us! We could tell that no one wanted us to be in there just because we had three kids with us! Whether or not it was true, that is how they made us feel and that is not very hospitable. Our server lacked basic knowledge of the beverages and how to be nice. The food was another story, this is the third Jean Georges Vongerichten restaurant that I have dined at and was again disappointed! I don't know if it is because of the high expectation or just because the food was ok. I wanted it to be something spectacular, but it was just barely edible. We went to another restaurant (Momofuku) afterward so that I could actually eat! I'm sorry Jean Georges, I really wanted to like your restaurants, but after three strikes I think you are off my list of people/places to try. I do however, recommend Spice Market as a place to go for drinks and decor. I also appreciate the idea of dressing the service staff in brown to match the wood decor and give a feel of seamless service, but again the service we received from our waitress was less than spectacular. It's too bad that her support staff/ server assistants were better than her.
I may seem harsh in my reviews, but after working in the hospitality business for over 12 years and having been everything from dish washer, waitress to a general manager, I feel qualified to be a judge of good food and service.
