Submitted by Rich Snyder, Nov 22, 2006 10:55

Paul,
Sorry for the initial impression you had of our restaurant, Goblin Market. Our policy is that on busy nights if you are a walk-in or make a last minute reservation we will give you the option of eating within a certain time frame or not eating at all. I would opt to keep the table empty rather than have a later reservation wait or be inconvenienced. Is this notion unreasonable?

Hopefully, you have been doing this, reviewing restaurants, long enough to know that a half-full dining room does not mean that tables are not already spoken for. I would expect this from a guest who has never worked in a restaurant, but not from a "seasoned" reviewer. I did not miss the point that you took issue with my tone and for that I apologize. I will not attempt to refute this accusation because it was your perception and even though many of the guests I have discussed this review with find your point hard to believe, it was how I made you feel and I thank you for making me aware.

Regarding the "dead mussels," - interesting word choice - when in actuality the ones you ate were the dead ones. I know the laymen's rule of thumb is "unopened shellfish are spoiled," but in this case the unopened ones just take a little longer to open or cook. We serve the mussels as soon as most of them open, to not risk over-cooking them like many other restaurants. Yes, a few mussels may not be open, but the rest of the mussels taste so much better this way. Many of our guests have said they are the best mussels they have had in NYC.

Please see the link to the Bruni Blog below on the subject of seating, timing and restaurants as a business. Also, please see our latest review in Time Out NY. It reads as if Randall and you ate at two completely different restaurants. I would like to invite you and a friend back to our restaurant as guests of my partner, Chef Pelz and me. We will make you a reservation and implore that you stay as long as you like.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=149#comments

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.