Cite (NY - Midtown Manhattan)

In Soprano's parlance, Cite is dead to me.

I am as big a fan of unbridled capitalism as there is, but in the restaurant business, the pursuit of profit alone is a dangerous thing. Cite used to be an average steak house, but an extrordinarily fun place to go (catch my drift?).

The real draw (besides the fries) were the famous nightly "wine dinners," where for $69 plus tax and tip, you got an appetizer, an entree and a dessert along with all-you-can-drink of four wines that changed quarterly (always a sparkling, a white and two reds). This policy fueled a bacchanalian festival every night of the week where over the course of the night, the bachelor party in the back room would eventually meet up with the bridal shower across the dining room while tables of young investment bankers mingled with roving female bands of B&T.

I admit that over the years, the overall level of decorum dropped significantly. The slightly amusing elderly gentleman who was too drunk to find his table upon returning from the men's room was replaced by the college coed taking a header down a flight of stairs. And yes, while a glass of red wine disgorging its contents all over white tablecloths (and nearby diners) used to be a serious gaff, eventually it was replaced by vomiting in public and departing via stretcher and EMT.

The current rendition of the $69 wine dinner consists of decent enough wines, but stingy pours, burned pieces of the lesser cuts of meat and a conspicuous absence of the once revered "fries w/ filet." Seriously, they used to serve a juicy filet with a mountain of fries and practically open a case of wine onto your table. Now, they serve charred skirt steak and a cone of fries alongside empty wine glasses.

No wonder the place has twice as many empty tables as occupied tables - in midtown Manhattan on a Friday night in December. . .