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FORBES.COM MARCH 20 20FACT&COMMENTIntroducing
What’s Ahead,
the new podcast hosted
by Steve Forbes.
Subscribe now on iTunes
or GooglePlay Store. FRESTAURANTS:
GO, CONSIDER, STOP
Edible enlightenment from our eatery
experts and colleagues Richard Nalley,
Monie Begley and Randall Lane, as
well as brothers Bob, Kip and Tim.z Caviar Russe
538 Madison Avenue, between
54th & 55th Streets ( 212 -98 0 -59 0 8)This small second-floor restaurant is a civi-
lized oasis where you can enjoy a conversation
on comfortable banquettes surrounded by
lovely murals and hushed and helpful service.
Such pleasure does not come without cost:
50 grams of osetra logs in at $190 but arrives
with crème fraîche, chopped chives and your
choice of tiny warm blinis, slivers of toast
and sliced potatoes upon which to spread it
all. While the rich smoked salmon is plenti-
ful, the dry-aged ribeye with celery-root
puree and small potatoes leaves one hungry
for more. The basket of miniature mad-
eleines is so good you can skip dessert.z Knickerbocker Bar & Grill
33 University Place, at 9th Street
( 212 - 22 8-849 0 )
Classic, comfortable neighborhood fixture
serving hearty American fare. To start, try
the crab cakes, which are star-worthy, or the
shrimp cocktail, which is straight out of the
1950s. The chicken pot pie, which could feed
four, is as tasty as it is plentiful. Ditto the
barbecue ribs. Bread pudding or a slice of
carrot cake—enough to feed an entire bridal
party—will put you over the top. It’s all good
and all reasonably priced. And you can still
converse when the musicians are playing.z Land of Plenty
204 East 58th Street ( 212 - 30 8-8788)
Great spot (a short walk from Blooming-
dale’s) for a delectable Chinese meal for
two—with wine—for under $80, including
tip. When the word amazing is in front of
a chicken or shrimp dish, expect your taste
buds to be warmed by a very hot and spicy
sweet sauce. The crispy shredded sesame
beef crackles, and there are braised fresh
mushrooms with bok choy for those look-
ing for “healthier” fare. Plenty to like and
plenty to eat in the land thereof.z TAK Room
20 Hudson Yards (9 2 9-45 0 -4 050 )
This is the anchor restaurant in an over-the-
top mall, and it’s clear who will be paying for
all this “luxe.” Though good, the food lacks
the flourish of chef Thomas Keller’s usual
creations. The menu is fairly classic Conti-
nental cuisine, but the prices are colossal (and
the service is never attentive). Many plates are
offered for “two”—Dover sole for two for $110;
New York strip steak for one or two for $160,
with a variety of sauces at an additional $7 to
$12. There are less expensive offerings, but not
by much; a lone crab cake is $27. Desserts are
quite good—try the coconut or chocolate cake.Steve Forbes Cont.candidates who each received, say, 10%
of the vote in the first round. To win a
runoff, contenders would have to bar-
gain with the field’s losers for support in
the final round. The horse-trading and
outright payoffs this new system would
encourage would make today’s political
bargaining look tame in comparison.
Then, of course, you would have cru-
cial, nitty-gritty details to resolve. Who
would police the 175,000 voting districts
to avoid chicanery? Who would ensure
that absentee ballots were not tampered
with? All of this could involve a major
expansion in the central government’s
power. Each state today has its own rules
for voting. Some states, for example,
encourage early voting; others do not.
Under a direct-voting system, these rules
would have to be uniform—again, an-
other extension of Washington’s power.
Democrats hate the Electoral Col-
lege because in both the 2000 and 2016
elections they lost the White House
even though their candidates received
more popular votes than their GOP op-
ponents. This ignores the fact that if the
College hadn’t existed during those con-
tests, the candidates would have waged
entirely different kinds of campaigns.
Donald Trump, for instance, would not
have taken precious time near the end of
the campaign to visit Maine in the hope
of garnering an electoral vote in a con-
gressional district (which he did).
Our Founders knew exactly what
they were doing when they created the
Electoral College. We ignore their wis-
dom at our peril.Don’t Ground
These Sneakers
Bloomberg Blows It
Nike has produced a sneaker called the
Vaporfly that is roiling the sports world.
Its technology, according to critics and
competitors, gives users an “unfair” ad-Mike Bloomberg proclaims he can best
beat Donald Trump. But he made a
blunder that will hurt him badly if he
is the Democrats’ nominee this Novem-
ber: He came out for raising economic-
growth-killing taxes on a scale that
would ostensibly raise almost 50%
more revenue than Joe Biden’s suppos-
edly more moderate schemes. Bloom-
berg’s nostrums would crush capi-
tal creation and business investment
and tank the stock market. Econom-
ic growth would stagnate, and wage
growth would wither, if not decline.
By contrast, the president will be
unveiling another round of tax cuts to
be enacted if he’s reelected.
Bloomberg and the rest of the
Democratic field have forgotten what
happened the last time their party
standard-bearer so loudly trumpeted
raising taxes: In 1984, pro-tax Walter
Mondale carried only one state and the
District of Columbia against the tax-cut-
ting incumbent, Ronald Reagan.vantage in elite running races, thereby
threatening the integrity of the sport. It
appears the shoes won’t be banned in
this summer’s Tokyo Olympics; how-
ever, the world governing body for track
and field is trying to curb further im-
provements in this technology.
Huh? What’s the big deal here?
We’re not talking about drugs. Isn’t
sports equipment supposed to get bet-
ter? The way Vaporflys are constructed
reduces a runner’s “energy cost.” Run-
ners love them. Winners of recent
marathons, at which records were set,
wore versions of the sneaker. Natu-
rally, Nike’s competitors are unhappy
that prestige (and amateur) athletes
are flocking to Vaporflys. They would
be delighted to see Vaporflys banned in
competitions—for now. They’re scram-
bling to create their own versions—
free-market competition works!
Over the years sneakers have made
quantum leaps in comfort, style and
durability. So have sports fabrics and
other kinds of equipment. Isn’t this what
progress is supposed to be all about?