Country

Do not stop, do not go, do not make a reservation at Country. 

We lived in the neighborhood of 28th and Madison back in 1983 and what a neighborhood it was.  Our friendly whores who came out at night.  The SRO’s that were being funded by the city where mayhem was taking place.  But we could afford it and walk to work. Now the area of Madison between 23-34 is changing.  The Carlton is a huge hotel on 29th and Madison.  There are also a few other hotels and restaurants.  The renovation of Madison Square Park is starting to seep out past the immediate surrouding area.

We walked into the Carlton, which was vacant in the lobby of any help.  No one at the door greeting.  The only person we found was one sole woman behind the reservations desk.  I thought that was sort of strange. 

Country is located in The Carlton although there is access to the restaurant from the corner of Madison and 30th.  My friend told me the place was awful but I just had to see myself.  She was right on the money.

We sat at the bar located on the ground level in the middle of the restaurant.  The downstairs restaurant is a cafe and the upstairs restaurant is more formal.  The 2 men working the bar really had very little interest in taking our order or even giving us a check when we were getting ready to leave.  I had to flag them down both times.  The food was certainly not worth $28 an entree.  It was just bad food, I don’t know what else to say. 

What shocked me was how busy the place was.  So, if you happen to be in that new and blossoming neighborhood interested in checking out the latest and greatest, take a big pass on Country.  Stick to the restaurants surrounding Madison Square Park where they are happy to have you as a patron.