Dorsia

Supply and demand works wonders for any type of business and product. The restaurant is a prime example. If it’s the only one and there is a dying need to go, people will flock towards it. And in this case the said restaurant is Dorsia. A restaurant that conjures up an unattainable mythical place. A restaurant where the mere utter mention of the name makes people freeze and cancel all their other plans just to go. 

Unfortunately, it’s hype. It’s a vibe. The pledge and turn to a magic trick without the prestige. And people buy into it because they think they can go somewhere others can’t. Some look at it as access to a private members-only club. Restaurant Fiction looks at it like it is, another Manhattan restaurant. 

Because Manhattan always has had over-the-top-hard-to-get-into celebrity, billionaire, and politician-only restaurants. But at least Dorsia’s main competition had a little bit of substance. The Four Seasons helped transform dining with seasonal menus. Le Pavillon made maître d’s the most powerful person in the restaurant (at least at one point). Even The Quilted Giraffe had The Beggar’s Purse, it’s signature dish, which stands the test of time well after the restaurant permanently shut its doors.

But Dorsia has none of these qualities. No one knows what it is, what it represents, yet everyone wants to go there. It could very well be a restaurant that serves the finest cocaine on a bed of caviar or it could be a Sabretti’s hot dog stand slinging wieners on a corner somewhere.

On a good note, what Dorsia does represent is the present moment. It feeds into the subconscious zeitgeist of whatever veneer is going on.

And with all that said, and Dorsia still entices you, no matter what the food is, the price point, or who is the chef, have some perseverance if you get laughed at for trying to get a day-of 830 rez. Find the back door or staff entrance, put on a chef's toque and jacket, slip a waitress and a waiter a box of Marlboros and walk right in. There’s always another way. And once you’re over it, people always come to that conclusion, go to Sylvia’s in Harlem. A place that’s real, has roots, and a lotta bit of soul. We’ll save you a seat.