Opened to much fan-fare, Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill was supposed to bring badass downtown-style eats to the culinary wasteland of NYC's Clinton neighborhood. But TONY's critic Randall Lane says the joint is only doing that half the time:
The dizzying menu--two dozen appetizers, not including 8 soups and 11 types of salad, plus steaks, poultry and tempura--proves disparately hit-or-miss...For every revelation, there were disappointments.
Lane does praise the great sushi, which we also think is terrific. And he's all for the lengthy drinks list. including unpasteurized and hard-to-find sakes. But if it's a culinary revelation you're looking for, Blue Ribbon ain't it.
And with that, Six Columbus is complete. Everything is open, everything is working and we can finally start obsessing about the Thompson Hotels co-owners instead of their eternally delayed Midtown project.
It would be unfair to critique a restaurant that's open for its first night, so we won't do that. But the bar is open, the bar is serving the full menu and the dining room is open. Hotel guests were staking it out, as were local industry workers with time to kill. We were just looking for some dinner.
We had six Barron Point oysters from the menu of daily specials, served with ponzu sauce. We also had the basic sushi platter: seven nigiri and one roll. There are a few shochu drinks, a well-edited wine-by-the-glass menu and some old-school cocktails.
So Six Columbus finally opened, and we stayed the night. And as nice as it was, we did miss the chance to eat at the new Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, which still hasn't opened.
A few weeks ago we heard it would be opening right about now. But despite having everything set up in the dining room and even liquor bottles lined up behind the bar, Blue Ribbon still hasn't opened. At this late stage, could it be a problem with permits? We already know the place has a chef.
A call to the hotel revealed little, but they did say "It's going to be opening, in like, seconds." Sounds promising. While we wait, we'll just look over the menu one more time.
Ah, Six Columbus. We checked in on your seventh night, ready to tear you down after teasing us with opening rumors for years. But as it turns out, you really came through. From a good Midtown location to quality amenities to that Thompson Hotels cache, you did us right. Sure our room was small--check out the super-short video tour--and there were a couple of things that could've gone better. But for the rate we got? What a deal.
As we mentioned yesterday, we spent a night in the recently opened Six Columbus hotel. We got a first look at the menu for the soon-to-open Blue Ribbon Sushi restaurant.
So what's on the menu? Jaunted editor Paul Brady reports that on Page 1 you will find:
Bone-in 48 oz. rib eye for two: $72. California roll with crabstick: $5.50. Toshi's Choice (Omakase): starts at $65.
The restaurant is being helmed by recently appointed chef Jose Salazar who comes from Bouchon Bakery. That said, don't hold your breath for room service--Blue Ribbon is still a few weeks off. So while guests can't yet order from this menu, we can start salivating over the offerings.
Last week we told you how a reader booked a few nights' stay at the just opened Six Columbus on Quikbook.com in a King Superior room only to discover that the hotel's own website had a slightly cheaper deal.
But when our reader contacted the hotel to book directly, he learned that the prices had gone up, despite the screen-capped prices that we found on the Six Columbus website.
Here's the note a hotel reservationist sent to our friend:
The rate for King Superior rooms which is standard King bed rooms are $555 per night, and King Deluxe rooms featuring a King sized bed is $575 per night. However, I am happy to offer you at the rate of $435 for a King Superior room, and $ 455 for a King Deluxe room per night for the requested date of October 28th through 31st.
So while the Six Columbus website is now offering $485 on a King Superior room, it looks like you can bargain with the front desk.
Yes, all of this is very confusing but considering that HotelChatter got our very own Pod room last night for $199, we say Quikbook.com is still the best place for a Six Columbus deal.
After years of waiting, we finally got to spend the night at Six Columbus. True, we love to dump on the place because we thought it'd never open, despite management claims to the contrary. So we just had to check it out now that it's open.
The hotel is definitely small, and our "pod room" wasn't the biggest space we've ever been in. But for the great opening rate we scored of $199 from Quikbook.com, it was a deal. Our room had speedy WiFi, a comfy bed and was generally cool. And the few glitches we saw were easy to overlook.
Coming tomorrow, the full review and a video tour.
Now that the hotel is open, it's time for us to cast our attention on Six Columbus' restaurant: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill. While the official line is that it should open in a couple weeks, we've learned to be skeptical. But tracking down a chef de cuisine is a good start. And a source tells us Blue Ribbon tapped Jose Salazar for the position.
He used to work across the street in the Time Warner Center at Bouchon Bakery, so he should have no trouble with the brasserie half of the menu. As for the Asian half, here's hoping he fares better than the Gramercy Park Hotel's Wakiya, which just took a zero-star beating from New York Times food critic Frank Bruni. Ouch.
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by pbb
