Hill Country
30 West 26th Street (between Broadway & 6th)

It's been awhile since I've had good barbeque, and when my friend suggested this place I thought why not. It is a busy, raucous place with live country music -- and they don't take reservations. It was packed and I was having a crap day, so was not thrilled about the wait. I had the first of many double Jack's then...

The music, albeit not bad, reminding me of those odd nights in Virginia when I used to escape the refinement of DC for the hills, was way too loud during dining hours. No one can hear each other downstairs, too loud. Plus, we shared a table with an unnamed former cast member of that horrible TV show "Saved By The Bell" if you can believe our bad luck.

The barbeque was actually pretty bad. I had 2 pieces of beef ribs, which had a heavy, smoky flavour -- not a natural smoky flavour, but a "processed" one. It reminded me of the "barbeque" I used to buy back in Eastern Europe. How very unlike Texas!!! And they had the worst selection of sides.

Maybe it's just me, but when I eat ribs I want it with a side of greens. I guess they kept bringing me triple Jack's was a compensation. So that's that.

Good for music, and maybe a fun night out, but not good barbeque food. If you miss certain elements of live away from NYC, great. But if not, you'll cringe at the atmosphere and grumble about the food.

Food: C
Atmosphere: B/D
For Lone Diners: D (*)

Benjamin Steakhouse
52 East 41st Street (between Madison & Park; at the Dylan Hotel)

After a really bad day, I needed a good, solid meal. And once in awhile, I get this itching for a big piece of meat, so... Having found Benjamin Steakhouse a few months ago, it has become a "safe" bet for me, a local regular that I can depend on. Sadly, those are few and far in between here in New York...

This, again, will be my last review of this place -- just like my "other" regular Villa Berulia -- because they are places I frequent it would take up most of these pages. So for this last time, I have to applaud this place. Service is always a bit shaky and slow, but it's compensated by the food.

I once again ordered the huge lamb chops, which is a major treat. A side of broccoli and a nice bottle of Sicilian red, the night was perfect (albeit alone). The meat is cooked expertly and the cut is excellent. It is a place to really go fully into a meatfest, if you are inclined to have one.

Although it is a hotel restaurant, it is a popular place for all clientele. This time it was packed but the food was still excellent -- something that fails many busy steakhouses. Sad this is my last review of this wonderful steakhouse -- the best in New York -- but happy that I have this as a safety!

Food: A--
Atmosphere: B
For Lone Diners: B+

Eatery NYC
798 9th Avenue (at 53rd Street)

Sorry for going out of order, as I had lunch with another friend at Eatery a week earlier. Again, as my friend works in the area and I had to drop papers off at my lawyer's around Columbus Circle, so I said sure to this West Side eatery.

It was blazing hot inside the restaurant...why is it New Yorkers react so badly to cooler weather with this onslaught of heating? I barely survived, but it was a nice time. The place is obviously a popular lunch place, and it was relatively packed.

We had a simple lunch there. I had the steak wrap, which was rather good -- the meat cooked right, and the mix perfect. The plate was overrun by fries, which I can't stand, but I kept picking off at it.

It's a fast and simple lunch, so this place is good for that. A safe Midtown West place with quick turnaround.

Food: B
Atmosphere: B--
For Lone Diners: B (*)

Insieme
777 7th Avenue (at 51st Street; at the Michelangelo Hotel)

Just like that wonderful dining experience at the always-reliable Esca, I needed another sure bet. One of my closest friends is moving across the country, and I wanted to give him one last great taste of New York dining. So I chose the other always-reliable place, Insieme.

The last time I needed this when my friends from London visited, and it was spectacular. And this time it was spectacular as well. We had an early booking as everyone was tired, so we went in before 6pm. With a nice bottle of Sicilian red, we embarked on a wonderful tasting journey.

The place was relatively empty when we came in but it filled up through the evening. We both started with a nice starter; he enjoyed the fish crudo (a sampler ranging from oyster to yellowtail, from scallop to branzino), I had the smoked back cod...oh, that was just fantastic in taste and texture. Mmm...even better than the previous night's Esca crudo feast!

The mains were as awesome as usual. I had my usual lesso misto, which had some excellent cuts of meat once more. Delicate and wonderful. It was so good I honestly don't remember what my friend was eating...mmm...

We were both spent, so we bypassed dessert. As we headed out, we ran into the chef and had a nice long chat with him. What a nice way for the evening to end... And as I said, Insieme is always a sure bet in New York -- as long as you can get a table at this ultra-popular place! Two in a row, wow!

Food: A
Atmosphere: B+
For Lone Diners: A- (*)

Esca
402 West 43rd Street (at 9th Avenue)

My readers know how highly I rate Esca as a dining experience. The food is fantastic, the wine is amazing, and it is just a fun place for a night out. A bit loud and crazy at times, but all in good fun. My previous visit encompassed all that...plus a nightmare of a hangover...

This time I went with a friend of mine, hoping to break a trend of several bad meals (such as Five Points, Cafe Gray, Euzkadi and so forth...), and Esca was about as safe as it goes. We enjoyed a nice bottle of Lagrein, one of my favourite reds, and enjoyed a wonderful meal.

My friend went with the crudo tasting of various raw seafoods, from sea urchin to yellowtail. I chose two a la carte -- the razor clams (delicious) and the swordfish (absolutely dreamy). We were more than happy by then with the excellent starters, the definition of fresh and tasty.

My main was the usual maccheroni alla chittara -- with sea urchin and crab. Fabulous as usual, with ample crabmeat. It could have been a bit saltier (sea salt would have been great), but it was excellent I shared half of it with my friend as he gave me half his spaghetti neri -- with ink and cuttlefish. Excellent.

We were both happy and spent, but went with a dessert -- he had the gelati and I had the sorbetti. All very creative, from a cheese-based sorbetto to exotic fruits. Fantastic. And with a wine-glass of grappa (!!!) and espresso, we left this place full, happy and finally satisfied from this string of bad luck!

This place is always safe for a great meal. I always recommend this place. If you can get a table, do it. You won't regret it. The awesome selection of crudo is enough to bring anyone into this place. It does get noisy and boisterous (like the table next to us), but it's all in good fun.

Food: A--
Atmosphere: B
For Lone Diners: B (*)

Five Points
31 Great Jones [3rd] Street (between Lafayette & Bowery)

I was curious when my friend told me Five Points, a place he knows as a great weekend brunch place, didn't have a table until quite late. I looked at the menu and it was not very inspiring. But I went with it as I wanted a nice walk down there.

We had to wait quite a long time as we were early, but were finally seated. The service was confused and the waiter was completely lost when I asked him questions...not a good sign. There just seems to be utter staff confusion and sheer lack of staff...which made a busy brunch period rather annoying.

The menu was pretty lame and I ended up going for the burger...a total cop-out. But nothing really jumped out. The burger came and it was not very good, quite bland. Sad to say, McDonalds is better... My friend looked like he enjoyed his eggs and smoked salmon, but it looked like a mess to me.

It took ages to get coffee and they kept trying to take things away...it was just annoying. I was not a happy camper as I left this place. Why is it popular? It sucked, badly. Just to show you how gullible diners can be...

Food: C
Atmosphere: C-
For Lone Diners: C- (*)

Villa Berulia
107 East 34th Street (between Lexington & Park)

Again, when I need a good meal, I have a few choices within a 10-minute walking radius. One sure bet is always Villa Berulia, the excellent Italian-Croatian place in Murray Hill. I always have good meals here, and feel totally comfortable chatting with the staff. It is probably a place I can call one of my "regulars" -- so this will be the last time I review it. After all, it'll always be a good review...

I had a terrible day and I needed this. After listening to the long list of specials, I went with my usual, the double veal chop. A nice bottle of Croatian red with it, a side of broccoli, I was in heaven. I dragged out a meal with nice chats with various waiters who know me, and it really felt like a home away from home.

I couldn't finish so had to take the extra large chop. This means no dessert, so a nice home-made after-dinner drink from the "specialty" part of the bar made this a wonderful dining experience...one that I truly needed.

If you need a good, solid meal in a friendly and happy atmosphere, Villa Berulia is your best choice. Even if you don't live nearby, this is perfect.

Food: A-
Atmosphere: A-
For Lone Diners: A-

Megu - Midtown
845 UN Plaza (on 1st Avenue off 47th Street)

It was a Friday night and I wanted a good meal out with my girlfriend (yes, thank goodness we are happily back together, better than ever), and for safety reasons I chose Megu. It has a good reputation and I had a great meal here before (even if I was a bit inebriated...). Though I usually don't like going to busy restaurants on Friday evenings, we went for it.

She liked the interior, and so do I. The high ceilings and modern design is nice, though what made things bad was the length of the 2-seat tables...it was so narrow (people adjacent were nearly on top of you) and long it was hard to talk. The high ceilings, although aesthetically nice, also made it horrible acoustically.

The night started badly as the hostess argued in Japanese with someone for several minutes while we waited. We were seated and out coats were not taken -- and I had to pull the heavy table out for my date (they didn't bother). That was really ridiculous. And of course, it took 10 minutes and much prodding for them to give us menus and take a drinks order. This was not starting off good at all.

It just got worse. The starters we split. The "special" asparagus looked good on skewer presentation, but was a cheap fry and pretty ridiculous. The spicy unagi (eel) was not bad, but nothing special.

At this point they also brought out my date's main course, her sushi roll, off-time. They are so confused. Then they bring out my wagyu chateaubriand...and it was a total insult. At a $180 they should know how to make it. I ordered it rare rare, and it came out medium well. I nearly vomited...I argued with them and they said they'll do another one.

If you know about wagyu, it is so marbled it really cannot be cooked much. It melts at such a low temperature it melts in your mouth. If you cook it beyond a very tiny sear, it turns into a crust and eventually sawdust. Disgusting. And they screwed up such a wonderful item. How can a place that specialises in this fare screw up so badly? Friday, of course. They had 1 waitress working an entire section (explaining the poor service) and the sommelier was just going around chatting and not doing his job. Then the busboys dump tap water into our glasses full of bottled water. This was just horrible.

My girlfriend told me to calm down. The new steak came and it was done really badly. One side was raw and the other side medium. I ate half of it and bitched them out. The adjacent tables were complaining too. This was turning ugly.

We shared a dessert and it was extensive, so that was nice. But we left pretty unhappily with this place, but happy we were with each other...that was the saving grace. But I will never come back to this sham of a restaurant again. Friday night or not, this is just unacceptable. Shameful.

Food: D
Atmosphere: D+
For Lone Diners: D-- (*)

Devi
8 East 18th Street (between 5th and Broadway)

I don't know what is going on, maybe it is an autumn funk, but I have been having really, really bad meals out. I was with a friend (the same one as the bad Cafe Gray meal and the horrible Euzkadi disaster) Sunday evening and we decided on Devi. As you know I have commented on the lack of a good Indian place in New York (being a London transplant, of course I complain...the only good one is Tamarind), so we risked this place.

I did not know this place was in the middle of a very odd transition...otherwise I would not have agreed. It was not a good meal. Mediocre at best. The staff was confused and really didn't know what they were doing. The place was dark and nicely decorated, but that's about it...

For starters we split two things -- the mushroom toast (boring) and seafood croquettes (also boring). When the complementary canapes came earlier, its blandness should have given some clue to this place...oh well.

The menu is too odd to have a good, normal Indian meal that can be shared. It just seemed so mixed up, and confused. I chose the tandoori venison...and goodness was it cooked badly. I think it wasn't a real tandoor in the back, but probably microwaved or badly broiled. It was cooked very unevenly, nearly raw at points. At least it was a good piece of venison...

We passed on the dessert as the adjacent table had some real odd characters...so we got the hell out of there. Transition or not, this was rubbish...

Food: C
Atmosphere: B-
For Lone Diners: B- (*)