Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- When President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle dined at Blue Hill in New York last May, they made a statement by skipping over restaurants that have hosted past presidents like the Four Seasons or the ‘21’ Club. Instead, they chose a small venue where steak and foie gras are almost never served and where the meat comes from humanely treated animals.

But here’s my gripe: He chose the lesser of chef Dan Barber’s two Blue Hills restaurants. The better one is at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, just north of the city.

Not that either is an easy table to score. To get a Saturday spot at the West Village location, I called an hour after the books opened up -- a full month in advance. Result: 6 p.m. seating. To get a Saturday table at Stone Barns, I called for 54 minutes straight to get past a busy signal. Then I was placed on hold. So I took a shower with my phone on speaker. That was two months in advance. Result: 5 p.m. seating.

My late October dinner in Westchester confirmed that Blue Hill at Stone Barns ranks with Per Se as New York’s best for formal American dining, making its tasting menu-only format feel like a bargain at $105 and $135. But the focus of today’s critique is Blue Hill in the city, where my meals over the past two months made me doubt whether I should call a month ahead for $30 entrees.

Open since 2000, Blue Hill lies just below street level near Washington Square Park; it’s rather quiet inside given the low ceilings, and the tables for two are close, cramped.

Where’s the Beef?

Expect a menu featuring the “bounty of the Hudson Valley.” As such, Blue Hill sometimes serves as many as four out of six starters without any fish or meat (the fall menu is heavier on animal protein). This is not a problem for omnivores who’ll enjoy the simple sweetness of corn soup in the summer, or the complex sugar-acid balance of smoked tomato soup in autumn.

If you want to head there tonight, I should warn you: Walk- ins are generally relegated to the bar before 10 p.m. Fight for the bartender’s attention or your wine might not come until you’re halfway done with the al dente corn ravioli (sweet potato ravioli in October). Or the barkeep might forget your dessert freebies, as you leave wanting for coconut marshmallows.

Food tastes better when you know where it comes from -- that’s a precept of localism I generally agree with. Accordingly, Blue Hill lets you know that the chicken and pig you’re eating come from its own farm. Their preparations have been flawless at Stone Barns, uneven at Blue Hill -- we had a textureless chicken breast with rare thigh meat. Ho-hum pork is saved by a giant plate of beans in a sweet-tart tomato-curry sauce.

Mystery Veggies

Food also tastes better when you know what you’re eating; every course at Stone Barns is described in detail. But waiters at the New York location don’t offer much usable information upon the dish’s presentation. What’s that vegetable on my raw, creamy Spanish mackerel? My server couldn’t say. I’m not a fan of lengthy tableside recitals, but at a fancy restaurant with multi-component cuisine, more guidance is necessary than “capon with fall vegetables.”

Barber, who penned a 2,000 word op-ed piece in the New York Times about tomato blight (makes you want to savor every bite of his excellent tomato salad with peaches and sorbet), said that the Obama visit has exposed Blue Hill to a broader clientele and it might have helped business “a little.” As that happens, he should pay more attention to his kitchen there and to Trevor Kunk, chef de cuisine.

Striped bass, which sits in a corn-clam chowder, can be great when rare, but not here, where it’s assertively salty, tough and gelatinous from undercooking. Stick with the quinoa, a stealth entree that’s less about grain, more about lamb belly swathed with melt-in-your mouth fat. Blue Hill needs work. Then again, you can’t blame Obama for choosing a restaurant whose phone number ends in 1776.

Rating: **

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Most entrees over $30; $72 tasting.

Sound level? 70 to 80 decibels, like a city block.

Date place? Ask Michelle Obama.

Inside tip? Skip dessert.

Special feature? I’m told Obama had the tasting menu; the five-courser left me hungry enough to contemplate another dinner.

Will I be back? To Stone Barns.

Blue Hill New York is at 75 Washington Place. Information: +1-212-539-1776; http://www.bluehillfarm.com.

Update on Larry

When I called Oceana restaurant yesterday, I was pleased to learn that Larry, an 11-pound lobster who was likely born before the beginning of World War II, had been sent back to Maine and released. I had called for his freedom in a late October column. May he continue to dodge lobster traps for another 70 years.

What the Stars Mean:

****         Incomparable food, service, ambience.
***          First-class of its kind.
**           Good, reliable.
*            Fair.
No stars     Poor.

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 00:01 EST