Deb Van D's Profile
NY first-timer with adventurous palate
Don't I know it. Makes me yearn for Rags the Tiger!
NY first-timer with adventurous palate
That's a great suggestion; a very pleasant place to enjoy a pretty day. BTW johnk I *love* your avatar.
Turkish market
I like Sweet Harvest Specialty Foods on 86th St in Bensonhurst and Yuvam Turkish Market, 805 60th St in Sunset Park. Yuvam is small and may not have what you are looking for, but it's nice.
Where to find dry Sichuan fried chicken cubes with peppers?
Another suggestion for you: at Lan Sheng try the stir-fried chicken with spicy capsicum. At Hot Kitchen, Grand Sichuan House (Bay Ridge) and at my current favorite, Famous Sichuan on Pell St., it is called chicken with spicy capsicum. Really, really good.
Japanese Restaurants in Park Slope
I don't love Jpan; sweet people, but the sushi is just okay and the place always smells a little too strongly of disinfectant. I suppose I should award them points for clean, but I find the smell off-putting.
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JPan
287 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Terroir Park Slope
I liked their grit. But I wasn't enough to keep them open, I guess. sigh
Terroir Park Slope
Eater reports the Grieco/Canora empire is expanding to 5th Ave and will take over the old Great Lakes space.
Nice addition to the neighborhood and all that, but I really miss Great Lakes.
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Great Lakes
284 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Talde
Sweet and capable service, the staff works as a team, and I think the food is good. I thought the playoffs would work in my favor and walked in at 5:05 on this Sunday night, but it was pretty well hopping by 5:15.
I started with the Hawaiian buns, sliders, really; meant to get sausage but when my server said that I could have one of each, it sounded like a fine idea. It didn’t seem like fast food to me—I rather like that rather sweet, tender bun. The veg bun was shiitake, okay, and the sausage was good, but the fish (fried flounder) was just terrific. I would have used a little salt, but the choices on the table were Sriracha and hot pepper-infused vinegar and they did the trick.
I also had the Korean fried chicken and I thought it was first rate. I can think of at least one Chowhound who would just *love* this chicken (and you know who you are). I rather like the grapes strewn overall but I am not entirely convinced by the kimchee yogurt underneath.
The booths are nice but I found the tables to be a little cramped. This was not enhanced by Entitled One who sat at the next table opposite me and asked her poor friend to stuff her fat, puffy coat nearly on my lap and later her bag (which would serve me for a whole weekend) on top of that. Her contribution to the tight space was to take plates from her server, dump the contents onto her plate and hand the empty dish back to him. Ew. There are also seats at the pass which at first glance looked like they might be fun, but looked more cramped, still, and it would be hard to enjoy the company of the 3-4 you might be with, side by side.
All in, I liked the staff and the food very much and find the space most appealing.
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Talde
369 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Friday Lunch at Sidecar
Yeah, a pet peeve (among so many, in my case) is bits of shell. My last splurge was at Aquagrill and they were pristine, but hardly as attractively priced, so you've given me something to think about.
Hope the same and look forward to catching up with you both.
Disappointed by Nicholas
Disappointing indeed since you made the effort to have it happen.
I recently enjoyed a carne cruda (tartare) with black truffle bruschetta at Manzo in Eataly and it scratched my truffle itch. It's not one big celebration meal, but when I have a big birthday (although I have decided not have any more of these), I spend the whole year celebrating. It seems like the best revenge.
Happy birthday!
Friday Lunch at Sidecar
That sounds good. What did you think of those Fngham oysters, Bboy? Creamy? Assertive?
Chinese Mirch --how hot IS it?
Yeah, Jim, another theory shot to ribbons.
Oh, frack ntvNYer--if I had read your earlier post more thoroughly I might have avoided ordering the chicken. Maybe not, though, because I am a little wrong-headed and have liked it so much in the past. Almost unrecognizable.
I didn't see the crispy lamb on the menu, unfortunately, and didn't bother to ask. I liked the bao well enough, but it didn't retrieve the evening.
Sorry, if I knew you were there I would have waved. I'm charming that way.
Chinese Mirch --how hot IS it?
We paid a visit last night and I am sorry to say that the food was nothing like what it has been. We have enjoyed the place for years, but something has changed. The Crispy Szechuan Lamb was MIA so I tried the Chatpati chicken bao; okay but nothing special. I thought the bao were carelessly steamed, a little hard in spots. The Hyderabadi Chili Chicken was pretty good, but my favorite standby chicken, the Mirch 65 was really disappointing. "Spiked with red hot chilies" my ass. Utterly characterless.
Maybe this meal was a one off, but it depressed me.
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Chinese Mirch
120 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
Yeah, I thought I had it covered with the eye contact and the emphatic nod. But, no. I don't blame them for wanting to play it safe and effectively trying to read their customer. As a result, I think I got it Irish Spicy instead of Thai Spicy. Maybe if I were to get back there with some frequency I would stand a better chance at wearing them down.
Real (and fake) Authentic Sichuan Food in Park Slope!!
Good advice. I'll use this thread and order narrowly when I go back. One nice thing is that you can't exactly make an expensive blunder.
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
I stopped in for an early dinner last nigh. It was my fourth visit, I think, and my least favorite. I ordered pork larb, not the crispy version, but the ground. When I wasn't asked about the spice level I volunteered that I wanted it Spicy. Spicy? Yes, single, emphatic nod with eye contact. Spicy. I’m not sure where the 1-5 spice levels went, but what came in its place proved disappointing. When I order "medium spicy" at Sripraphai, I usually cough for the first 10 minutes. This was pretty lame. Still, it was tasty enough, although with an overwhelming amount of red onion, about a 50-50 ratio with the larb.
I had the hor mok, too, and didn't like it as well as I have in the past. Usually subtle and tender, this time it was a little rubbery. Maybe an early weeknight doesn't show the place to it's advantage, but while the service continues sweet, the careful preparation just wasn't there.
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Zabb Elee
75 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Real (and fake) Authentic Sichuan Food in Park Slope!!
I stopped by Tofu for a late lunch of mapo tofu the other day. Hardly enough of a sample to judge the place, and not my favorite version of the dish, but I thought it was really pretty good. Nice and spicy, yes--5 on a scale of 10 and the tofu texture was lovely. I thought the sauce was a little heavy-handed with soy sauce but overall it was very satisfying. I was warmly welcomed by the kitchen staff having their meal, but to say that the service is spacey is almost a compliment. No tea, no napkin, chopsticks, fork. Room to let. But the food has possibilities.
La Mancha on Atlantic, a return visit
I'm really sorry to hear it. It's sad, an era passing, like losing a friend.
Flood damage--let's report in
Sallee Tee's was showing great signs of bustle in recent weeks and I am glad to hear that they are going to reopen at last this week. Dinner service planned for Weds. 12/14 but the real re-open to be on Thurs. 12/15. I'll be glad to have them back online.
Niko's Trapezi A Greek Taverna Long Branch NJ
We haven't been in awhile and stopped in last night. There was a lamb shank special, served over orzo, that sounded good. It was superb, just hit the spot on a night with storm clouds gathering. Cozy and warm, I don't know why we haven't been there more recently.
Woody's in Sea Bright
I have to say that I really loved the tempura shrimp tacos a lot. It was another dish that could have used a little vigor, but there were generous wedges of lime and they did the trick. Delicious. I look forward to trying other things on the menu, but it will be hard to pass these up next time. Upstairs is pretty, downstairs kind of over-bright and bumptious for me.
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
We didn't make a res because it was just the two of us. We thought it prudent to get there unfashionably early, 7-7:15, although there were still seats around 7:30.
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
It is definitely worth a visit. We went this past Saturday night and liked a lot of the meal. I really enjoyed the duck larb, although I wished it had had more zip. The yum koon cheing, sweet sausage salad was spicier, bright and fresh, lots of flavor. Loved, loved the hor muk, curried fish custard; ate the whole serving down because my date wouldn’t have touched it with a ten foot pole.
Less appealing, less interesting at least to me, were the Nuer Yang, grilled marinated beef and the Kao Mum Kai, steamed chicken with ginger rice and sauce. Good but not great, there has been some unevenness with the cooking of meats that we noticed before.
It’s hard to resist the temptation to make comparisons. The bbq beef dish at Ayada blows this one away. Similarly, I prefer the sweet summer sausage salad at Sri. The sausage has a little more frizzle on it, and it gives it quite a bit more flavor. And we weren’t asked for our preference of spicing level on this visit. We’re in the medium + camp and found these dishes to be a little too tame. Service was pleasant, except for a clumsy fellow who could not pass through a fairly decent space between tables without bumping my companion’s chair. I’ll give you once or twice, but the third time sort of gets the antennae twitching.
Still, it was a pretty good meal.
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Zabb Elee
75 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Flood damage--let's report in
They sustained flood damage, carpeting and some of the kitchen equipment has to be replaced. They are putting a happy Facebook face on, but I walked by there on Thursday and there isn't any sign of work being done. I feel really sorry for the staff that has been left without work.
French Dip Sandwich - Central Jersey
They're not open. That's why I said "when they re-open after flood damage"
French Dip Sandwich - Central Jersey
Neither in Middlesex nor Mercer, but Monmouth: when they re-open after flood damage, I really recommend the "Dip This" at Sallee Tee's in Monmouth Beach. It is my favorite sandwich there (little frizzled onions on top and respectable jus) and I like a lot of the sandwiches very much. I'm not a fan of the dinner menu but have hope that new ownership may make changes for the better. Same chef and general manager so the quality should at least remain the same.
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Sallee Tee's Grille
33 West St, Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750
