teaeye's Profile
Innovative Dining Group?
We received a $200 gift card that's good at one of their restaurants - Sushi Roku, Boa, Katana.
This isn't the type of establishment we normally go to - much more of a Park's BBQ kind of couple.
Any recommendations?
TIA
Holiday Lunch - 12 on Westside
Looking for a venue to host 12 for a holiday weekday lunch on the Westside. Beyond the food quality the most important criteria is a SQUARE or CIRCULAR table - Rectangular for 12 just doesn't facilitate the kind of celebratory interactions we are hoping for.
TIA
Daughter's Birthday - Decor vs Food - Yikes!
Thanks for all the input. Yesterday I went to Jar and got her a gift certificate, then I headed over to the Hollywood Farmer's Market. Tonight I'm cooking her a meal that I think will approach Jar and have a much larger component of love: Burrata with heirloom tomatoes and 40yr old Balsamic, blanched asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with a mint puree, roasted salmon with roasted tomatoes on pearl couscous with lemon-basil oil, caesar salad and Beard Papas for dessert.
Daughter's Birthday - Decor vs Food - Yikes!
I live in Santa Monica. My daughter wants to go to Jar for her 23rd birthday dinner. She says, "I just think it looks really cool and I am more interested in décor then food, I know that we are not alike in this way! "
I don't want to spend $100+/pp when she doesn't even care about the food.
My new idea is to take her to a stylish bar for a drink - let her soak up the coolness and decor and then go somewhere I like (say Rustic Canyon) for an excellent, but closer and more reasonably priced meal.
I'm thinking of the Huntley Penthouse bar - any other suggestions?
TIA
Guangzhou - Help!
My wife and I are going to be Guangzhou for 24 hours due to a last minute change in our flight home to the US from Vietnam. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm guessing Dim Sum might be a good choice since this is after all Canton.
Thanks in advance.
On Our Way
My wife and I are leaving Friday for 16 days in China - Shanghai & Nanjing for sure and then around Jiangsu - Yangzhou, Suzhou, Tongli - we're not sure - maybe down to Hangzhou and Moganshan. Any and all recommendations are welcome. Looking for not to miss street food - not high-end dining - thanks for Gary Soup for his great posts.
I found the attached photo on Flickr - I think it is in Yangzhou - any idea where to get this?
Thanks
Crabcakes for 80th Birthday
We are going to celebrate my father-in-law's 80th birthday with 11 people on Sunday night. His only request is that we go someplace where he can get good crabcakes. We're in Southampton so Bucks County or NE would be ideal, but would travel for something extraordinary.
Thanks in advance.
Need to find a very nice restaurant in the Norwalk area
Glutton,
I work in Norwalk too - looking to add to my current lunch rotation of : Golden Triangle, Sushi Max, Senor Baja, Hwang Hae Do, Ambala Dhaba, Pho Pioneer & Little Bean - really missing Renu Nakorn!
TIA
Late Dinner - Upper Westside
My wife is flying into NYC tonight. Her hotel is at 75th & Broadway. She may not be ready to eat until 10pm and is looking for something delicious. We are LA-based hounds - she loves interesting ethnic foods - but not too heavy for tonight given the late hour. Any suggestions?
Family Gathering - Westside
We are getting married in August and have 14 relatives from Philadelphia arriving on the Thursday prior to our wedding. These are not chowhounders - their concept of fine dining is primarily related to portion size and how warm the food is. We are looking for a place to host the lot of them for under $15/person. Our best idea to date is a lunch at Lilly's in Venice. Comments on that idea or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Upper East Side
I'm a Los Angeles hound who will be staying in NYC on E 96th this week. Looking for a place to eat dinner in this neighborhood. Elsewhere in town I'm fond of Barney Greengrass, Congee Village, GCS Oyster Bar...
TIA
Blackberry Mole at La Casita
The link didn't work for me. Where is this place? Sounds fantastic.
Wat Thai - This Saturday?
Is the fact that there is a Thai New Year event in Thai Town going to have any impact on the food offerings at Wat Thai on Saturday?
Thanks in advance.
Nanjing + - Can we recapture the magic?
We've decided that it will chew up too much travel time to go all the way to Yunnan. Any tips if we stay in the Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou areas? The hairy crabs at Yangcheng lake sound like a destination - is there any escape from urban sprawl and tourism in this region?
Thanks
Nanjing + - Can we recapture the magic?
My wife and I are going to Nanjing at the end of Sept (she is speaking at a conference) Before/after that we plan on spending 2 weeks in China.
6 years ago we went to Guilin and still treasure sitting at a corner noodle shop on little pre-school sized stools slurping down noodles in delicious broth topped with chopped crispy/fatty pork, peanuts and scallions.
But the best memory of that trip was the following:
We wanted to get outside the city for an authentic meal - someone at the hotel wrote the name of a village on a piece of paper and directed us to the bus station. After a 45 minute bus ride we disembarked - nobody spoke English and as we wandered through the market and town we didn't see anything that looked like a dining establishment. We were getting really hungry when my wide saw a young college-aged man and guessing/hoping he spoke English told him of our predicament. His English wasn't much, but he got the message and we followed him as he led us down to the river.
We got the message that we were going to take a ferry to an island in the middle of the river where we were going to be able to get something to eat. When the ferryman tried to overcharge us for the crossing our new friend decided that he would accompany us.
At the island we walked down a narrow footpath to a small cluster of houses. We entered one where we sat on the floor and a woman brought us tea. Our friend chatted up our hosts and then turned to us and asked if we would like chicken. At this point we would have eaten anything and we nodded vigorously.
Up and out of the house we were back on another footpath. Somehow we came to understand that this island was an agricultural cooperative and that often city folks would come out here to recapture the country lifestyle. We came to another compound where a bunch of chickens were strutting around the yard. Our friend said they wanted us to pick the one we wanted for lunch. I pointed at a likely suspect, a brief chase ensued followed by the beheading and plucking. We adjourned to a room where the 3 of sat on cushions around a low table while 5 or 6 members of the family stood around and watched us.
After a couple of beers the meal arrived - a large pot of delicious chicken soup.
ANYWAY:
We don't expect (or want) to duplicate that experience, but that is the kind of memories we hope to create on our return to China. What should we do? We want to experience great food, we love big cities, small villages, festivals and natural beauty (but we're not trekkers). We have little desire to visit major tourist destinations.
We have stayed in contact with our friend from the story - he now lives in Shanghai - so we plan to vist him there. From reading the boards that looks like a place where many a food dream can come true.
What else should we consider: Beijing? Yunnan? Wherever we go we want to spend time there - don't want to hop from place to place.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Westside banh mi?
We had the banh mi at Pho 99 - a very pale imitation what you get in Little Saigon (Top Baguette!!!!)
Philly - Special Occasion
A dear friend who lives in Philly is having a special birthday. We live in Los Angeles and would like to get him a gift certificate to a resturant in Elkins Park, Germantown or Jenkintown. Looking for something in the $50 range for 2 - not super high-end fine dining, but something memorable.
Thanks in advance.
Tacos in Long Beach?
A bit far from Lakewood and Del Amo, but for the best taco truck style in Long Beach try the stand on 4th street just west of Redondo - Tacos la Mexicano? Always a line and it's fantastic.
Vegetarian - Westside
Taking SO's 23 y.o. vegetarian daughter out to lunch on Saturday. As confirmed carnivores we are somewhat at a loss. As I understand it she's not vegan, but any "face food" is verboten.
TIA
Delicious Late Supper?
I will be arriving in the city on a Thursday night around 10pm and hungry after a long drive - staying near Union Sq. - Any suggestions?
TIA
Yosi on Main in Santa Monica
Mentioned by a friend - chef named Bomin? Anybody know anything?
Gift of Italy
My son attends NYU Law and loves Italian food. I live in LA and I wanted to get him a gift certificate to a authentic Italian meal for Christmas. He speaks Italian and recently spent 6 months in Rome - food was one of his favorite aspects of the experience. I'm more interested in the quality of the ingredients and preparation than in a fine dining experience. Actual Italians would also be plus.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Where are the great steakhouses in LA?
Throwback to the 60's - red naughahyde booths, low lighting, serious drinkers at the bar, waitresses and patrons who have been there forever. I get the filet. Classic tableside Ceasar salad preparation - the night I was there it was performed by the founder's grandson (one of 2 brothers who are the current owners)
