The Single Best Bite

I've been holding off writing about Yono's and dp an American Brasserie for a while because I was waiting for the right moment. It's a hard spot to be in because I write with my heart and I'm passionate about not just food and wine, but my friends as well. So knowing that I might be criticized as being preferential or overly effusive to people that are very close to my heart I waited.....for what Foursquare tells me is more than one hundred visits. 

Yes I have eaten at dp a lot and Yono's on several occasions, so much so that it's my seven year old son's natural first thought of where to eat. It's where I hold most of my meetings, celebrated birthdays, pre-holiday dinners, entertained friends from out of town...in fact it is one of the few places I will bring people from New York. I have had some fabulous dinners, and lunches, and many a great cocktail, a scotch or two, and countless wonderful memories. 

So why, aside from my great adoration for the Purnomos, do I keep coming back. Let's start with the single most important thing. Consistency. This is it folks, whether you are in dp or Yono's it is consistently excellent from the food to the service, from the first person that greets you, to the bartenders more aptly called mixologists (although I've heard that term has become passe), the servers, the chefs, and we mustn't overlook the brilliance of the sommerlier. It is all excellent, every day, every time. The only way to achieve that is by caring and throwing your heart into your business, by living and breathing it day in and day out. That's what Donna, Nick and Yono do, each in their own way and it is wonderful to watch and even better to be on the receiving end of. 

After eating so many meals, and I have to give nods to my birthday dinner because that was pretty off the charts amazing and to Alex Ursprung whom last year gave me one hell of a spectacular tasting menu for his Rising Star evaluation, I had a moment that was just extraordinary. I looked at my dining companions, each very much an experienced diner, and proclaimed that I had just had the single best bite that I had ever had at Yono's. 

It was a simple dish, that Dominick and Chef Steve Kerzner had sent out, just a little something in between courses.  A Spring Creek Oyster with a Chili Ginger Beurre Blanc and Tsar Nicoulai Caviar.  It was one bite of simple perfection, truly like tasting heaven.