Extremely famous Mr Chow brings his executive chef, David Hor, to his latest venture, an over-the-top restaurant of 12,000 square feet in Tribeca. With seating for 130 inside, an outdoor terrace for 40, and a private dining room for 40, Mr Chow himself selected the fascinating and lavish furnishings. From the black lacquer bar to dining room signature center lit table with Hoffmann chairs, guests will doubtless be impressed by the many silver trolleys and exquisite floating-panel ceilings with dots of crystals and off-white limestone from France. David Hor's Beijing and Shanghai specialties will consequently seem even more lavish in such a setting. You will absolutely want to be seen here, but the question is: Will Mr Chow want you to be seen? Even in a city where it's always about YOU, here it's more about Mr Chow than you, unless of course you are very famous. In that case, you will get great service and likely a very interesting selection of dishes brought to your table, assuming you are neither anorexic nor allergic. In any event, the artwork is stellar, as are the place settings and fixtures.

For actual aficionados of the great dishes of Chinese cuisine, far more interesting selections served on plain white porcelain at roughly one-fifth to one-tenth of the price can be had approximately eight blocks to the east in a neighborhood called Chinatown. Given how fine dining at lavish top-end restaurants has evolved to an art form in the big cities of today's China, Mr Chow seems to have gone astray. We are reminded of a famous Latin phrase: art to deceive art. If the stilted artifice of Mr Chow Tribeca turns you on, then clearly Mr Chow has succeeded once again as one of the great sorcerers of gastronomy. Many hopeful diners have tried to ingratiate themselves with the Mr Chow system, and few have succeeded. Treating the non-famous so roughly (and at such high prices) recalls a previous regime: Gruff gastronomy—when restaurant food was actually available—was the hallmark of Mao's China. But in today's heady atmosphere of unbridled Market Leninism, the edict to serve the people has come full circle. Our final advice when dining with Chairman Chow? If you ask for a menu, you are already doomed.