jon's Profile
La Vara
Tried La Vara the other night for dinner. For those that don't know, it's in the restaurant next to Ted & honey which has gone through a bunch of restaurants recently.
Food was generally very good but the portions are tiny for the price. Three cornmeal empanadillas filled with razor clams and crabs were delicious but $9 for 3 pieces the size of my thumb. Yes I know empanadillas means small empanada but this was a little ridiculous.
The bric de alcelgas filled with kale, raisins and pinenuts was awesome, like delicious mini spanikopita, but again very pricey at $9 for 4 tiny pieces.
Fried artichokes were good but I've had better versions at maialino and even bar stuzzichino.
The fried fish plate was awesome. Pieces of skate, squid, and needle fish. I can see ordering this and a glass of wine or sherry and sitting at the bar on a late afternoon. Greaseless and tasty Probably the best thing we ate.
Lamb meatballs with mint yogurt were good but the first batch they brought out were cold in the middle and again 5 meatballs smaller than ping pongs for $12 felt like a rip off. Admittedly they were very juicy and tasty.
Finally, the fideua. Again, small portion, big price and honestly just ok. The fideuas were a big over cooked and the seafood was a bit boring (shrimp clams, etc). The version at casa mono blows this out of the water.
All in all though, the food was very good. I'd definitely go back and try some more dishes but the price tag is a little high to make this more than an occasional meal, unless you're sitting at the bar and only ordering a dish or two. Oh, and the wine pours are definitely not generous.
Saturday Brunch in on Smith St./Cobble Hill/Red Hook
i'm a big fan of fort defiance on van brunt in red hook. great brunch and great drinks.
FINALLY! Good Chinese food to order in , in Park Slope (Michael and Pings)
i happen to think michael & ping's is pretty gross. Nothing I've ever ordered from them has been good. In fact, we stopped ordering from them altogether and now just order from Tofu on 7th.
Recommendation for husbands birthday - we are foodies but i am pregnant
here comes the EMP cult again.
highly suggest The Modern instead. It was a truly special meal, with a fantastic view, and my wife and i went there while she was pregnant, called beforehand with certain minimal dietary restrictions, and they made the night absolutely perfect.
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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Donuts
what's disappointing is that brooklyn farmacy used to carry peter pan donuts on saturday's but now they have switched to dough donuts. definitely not as good.
Brooklyn - Gowanus -Park Slope
the ramen place (zuzu) happens to be pretty decent. their buns and dumplings are great. sheep station is just ok, unless of course you like pineapple and beets on your burger and then maybe you'd like it.
one suggestion that was left out for someone staying at the super 8: four and twenty blackbirds. you're basically right next to it. do yourself a favor and make it a priority to get a slice of salted caramel apple pie.
also, pizza cotte on 3rd and carroll makes a real great slice, along with good sandwiches and pastas. it's fairly standard italian-american food, but it tastes a lot better than your corner pizza place should.
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Sheep Station
149 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Zuzu Ramen
173 4th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Four & Twenty Blackbirds
439 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Cotta Bene
291 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Report before I forget - Tofu on 7th Park Slope
fyi, they deliver to cobble hill (at least to henry street) and the food arrives fast and hot. bar none the best chinese delivery in the neighborhood, and their chicken with hot sauce was fantastic.
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
actually i said it was a strip mall that reminded me of the americana, which is a high-end strip mall. also, people should know that if they go there and request a table outside, their view may be the same as mine, which was of two commercial overflowing dumpsters, alley litter, a chain-linked fence, and a hair salon.
Reviews of our dining experiences in Key Largo, 3/22/11-3/24/11
thought i'd add to this since we just got back from a vacation in key largo.
breakfast two days at henriette's. this is a great roadside diner. excellent hostess, good eggs (even if the hash browns look like the pre-formed Sysco-type that you dunk in the fryer), excellent biscuits and good pancakes. Great place to relax and bolster up for whatever you are doing the rest of the day.
dinner at calypsos. funky place in a marina outside behind a deserted bar. shared a great platter of peel and eat shrimp dusted with old bay seasoning and excelled cracked conch deep-fried in what seemed to be tempura batter. both were excellent. my rare ahi-tuna sandwich with wasabi aioli and slaw was excellent as was my wife's fried shrimp and mahi mahi platter. excellent time, great company, and cool place. and super cheap. $70 for all that food (plus beers).
dinner at pierre's (islamorada). good, but expensive. $20 for one stone crab claw. $40 entrees. great service and a great setting. my grilled mahi mahi was perfectly cooked, my wife's maine lobster tail was poached in an awesome butter sauce. only disappointment were the key lime ice cream sandwiches. they were too messy to pick up and too small to cut with a fork.
dinner at morada bay. we went the night of the full moon party. let me just say that charging a $15 cover to get in to the beach area when you have to then scrounge for a table to eat at (mind you, at the bar, not at the restaurant since the restaurant stops serving at 8:30 pm) is just them picking on the tourists. for $15 you get a few cash bars and low level performers (really, a cover charge to listen to a guy croon wish you were here and brown eyed girl on an acoustic and a third-rate reggae band massacre bob marley standards). dinner was fine, but pricey. stone crabs were good nothing special and the conch fritters were tough. my blackened mahi mahi with coconut rice was excellent but my wife's pasta with grilled shrimp was boring. at least we got to watch the linsanity manhandle kobe bryant.
lunch at fish tales and eatery near duck key. passable fried hogfish sandwich, inedible grilled chicken sandwich (obviously). lunch the next day at hawk's cay. wow: this food was just bad. dry and tasteless mahi mahi fish tacos, terrible burgers, and mean seagulls. would not recommend eating anything here.
breakfast at mrs. mac's. another good diner-ish type place. funky decor, serviceable eggs and coffee. there seems to be two of these, we ate at the smaller one on the southern side of US-1. good if you need to eat breakfast.
all in all, our favorite place was calypsos. low-key key's vibe, good food, not pretentious and not expensive. would highly recommend checking it out.
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
figured i'd let everyone know where we did end up eating while in miami. had one dinner, one breakfast and one lunch.
good but uneven dinner at michael's genuine food & drink. not sure what i was expecting, but i wasn't expecting eating in an alley in the middle of a strip mall that reminded me of the americana in manhasset. anyway, to begin, we had the onion dip with chips, the crispy rice with chorizo and fried egg, char-grilled octopus with stewed tomatoes and gigante beans, and the greek farro salad. the onion dip was good, a bit fancier than what you would eat at a football tailgate, but i was hoping the chips would be hot, which they weren't. the crispy rice was a standout, especially after cracking the yolk and mixing it was the crispy bits of rice. octopus was good, tender, but the tomatoes were overpowering. the salad was a huge disappointment: run of the mill kalamata olives and feta and the farro was so dry we needed water to wash it down.
for the main, we split the chicken for two with pinenuts and raisins. this was great. nice, juicy chicken, cut-up and presented on a small butcher block. only complaint: when i make a roast chicken at home, i like to pick at the bones and the underbelly but those parts weren't presented. we had roast cauliflower with parsley butter as a side. these were spectacular. nicely charred and the parsley butter added a great dimension to the vegetable.
for dessert, we split the tangerine creamsicle pot de creme with warm donuts and jam. ethereal. according to the waitress, these were featured on some food network show. i could have ate a dozen of the donuts and a pint of the creme. excellent.
service was very good and my sonny collins cocktail (bourbon and lavender tea) was excellent. however, we left feeling there wasn't any difference between this restaurant and any of the dozens "farm to table" places we find back in nyc and brooklyn. don't get me wrong, the food was good, and i appreciate the use of local ingredients, etc., but the concept didn't seem that new or exciting to me.
breakfast at the dutch. this place is an embarrassment. the food was so bad and expensive that it makes me question whether to return to the original in nyc. it seemed like such a blatant cash-grab. $26 for 2 eggs, potatoes, toast, bacon and coffee and oj? $6 for oj? $16 for a breakfast burrito with no sides. $12 for a plate of fruit that looked like it was taken out of a container found at checkout at winn/dixie? i get it: you're a restaurant in a hotel/condo on the beach. but come on, have some respect for your diners. watery eggs, soggy waffles, jarred maple syrup and jams (the kinds you get at a holiday inn breakfast) and awful attempts at upselling (really, do i need toast with a burrito?). and $65 (without tip or tax) for breakfast. i would have expected this from one of the places with the menu-hawkers on south beach but not here. unconscionable.
lunch at joe's stone crab takeaway. excellent. we split an order of 7 selects, 1 lb of steamed shrimp, and a key lime. could not have asked for a better way to end our trip. the stone crabs were great, expertly cracked, sweet, and the mayo-ish dipping sauce was spectacular. the shrimp were great and made even better with the cocktail-like sauce. and the key lime pie was divine. wish we had been able to eat at the actual restaurant, but we sat at the horseshoe counter and devoured our meal before our flight. as i said, a great way to end the week.
thanks for the recommendations.
L'auberge Basque, Outside St Jean de Luz/San Sebastian
i remember it being very close to st. jean de luz; in fact, we went there one day to walk around and eat lunch. honestly, i don't remember if we took small roads or a highway this was 2 1/2 years ago), but if you can find it, i would highly suggest going. i wish i was going back tomorrow!
Fine Dining with a pregnant wife
congrats! my wife (who is 6 months pregnant) and i just went to the modern this past weekend and they did a great job of accommodating us. my wife called the restaurant earlier, told her what she preferred not to eat, and they made changed up the menu. we had different amuses (most of mine had raw fish, hers were mostly vegetarian) and they made sure to tell us that all of the cheeses and butters were pasteurized.
incidentally, i highly recommend the modern (dining room). haven't been to le bernadin or per se, but we have been to EMP and in my opinion this meal blew EMP out of the water and was much more pleasurable.
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Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010
The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Cobble Hill favorites...so far!
anything at hibino (especially the fresh tofu)
chicken parm or italian combo at esposito's
basil and garlic pizza at lucali's
olive bread at mazzola
tagliatelle with brussel sprouts at brucie
chicken sandwich at van horn
lobster tacos at strong place
zucchini at boca lupa
rainbow cookies at caputo's
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Hibino
333 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Lucali
575 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
G. Esposito and Sons Pork Store
357 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Mazzola Bakery
192 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Caputo Bakery
329 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Bocca Lupo
391 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Strong Place
270 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Brucie
234 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Van Horn Sandwich Shop
231 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Blue Smoke Battery Park
i happen to love dinosaur. their wings are awesome, the fried green tomatoes are good, and the ribs are great. i also really like their brisket. my wife loves the chicken at dinosaur. and the atmosphere is always fun.
i think blue smoke is good for everything but ribs (except the salt and pepper ribs). their fried chicken is amazing, the burger is excellent, most of the appetizers are great, and their drinks are great too.
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Blue Smoke
116 East 27th Street, New York, NY 10016
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
777 W. 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
Hero Sandwiches and Cornetti Needed - Carroll Gardens
esposito's is great, but i don't think they deliver. there's usually only 2 guys working there.
los paisanos on smith street will deliver and they make excellent hero's as well (although i prefer esposito's).
you could also get sandwiches from frankie's 457, but there a bit of a walk from clinton and carroll.
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Paisanos Meat Market
162 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Frankies 457 Spuntino
457 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
Price is important, but if it's delicious then it's less important. How is this place?
Blue Smoke Battery Park
i think the issue is that the menu appears to be for a friends and family dinner. i can't imagine that a restaurant would prevent you from ordering more than 1 entree or dessert per person if you wanted it (other than say at a restaurant that only has a tasting menu).
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
thanks tpigeon. we have joe's high up on our list and are interested in hearing about other places. i've read that michael's genuine is great too. anyway, yes, we will have a car and we're willing to go anywhere.
as for our range, we're good really on anything, from a little hole in the wall place that serves the best [something] to an over-the-top blow out dinner. frankly, would prefer to have a fancier dinner than lunch.
and i think it's helpful to say where you're coming from so posters can make better recommendations (meaning, you may suggest one place if i'm coming from colorado but another if i'm coming from new york because i can get the same or similar thing in new york but i couldn't in colorado; apologies; i digress).
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
my wife and i are staying in miami one night and half a day on our way down through the keys in february. we're staying at the hotel (collins and 8th street). where should we eat for one dinner, one breakfast, and one lunch? we'll eat anything, cheap or expensive, provided that it's awesome.
not really interested in anything we can get back in nyc (i.e., the dutch, nobu, scarpetta).
thanks!
One night in brooklyn?
i'm a big fan of prime meats and buttermilk channel, so there! the sausages and the steaks at prime meats are awesome, their drinks are great, and it's always a fun time.
i actually think buttermilk channel is better for brunch than dinner.
battersby is a great rec, as is the grocery, colonie, and al di la. i found the food to be borderline inedible at chestnut (and their c rating doesn't help). colonie is pretty great (and then you can go to either floyd for a beer or henry public for great cocktails).
a little further out is the good fork in red hook, which i think is a very good restaurant with interesting food.
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Chestnut
271 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Al Di La
248 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
The Grocery
288 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
The Good Fork
391 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Floyd
131 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Buttermilk Channel
524 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Prime Meats
465 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Henry Public
329 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Colonie
127 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Battersby
255 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
It's my wife's 50th but she doesn't like Lamb's Brains
what about capucine's on 19th and 1st or sam's place on 37th and lex?
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Capucine's
327 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Sam's Place
132 E 39th St, New York, NY 10016
Not To Boast Or Anything...
is he bigger than jay-z and beyonce? because i ate lunch next to them at frankies 457 over the summer and nobody said a word.
Chinese in Manhattan for a mixed family- Dilemma!
what about something in brooklyn chinatown? some place like pacificana? food is great, and it's clean.
Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill - best delivery options? (any cuisine)
we don't get too much delivery either, but we like calexico for mexican, waterfalls for middle eastern, and savoia for italian. we've also had delivery from michael & ping's (chinese). needless to say, i wish there was good chinese delivery in the area.
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Waterfalls Cafe
144 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Savoia
277 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Calexico
122 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Michael & Ping's
437 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
John Andrew's in Egremont....really?? Need some CH's opinions please!
i had a terrible experience at JA the one time i went and vowed never to go back. had ordered a pork chop (after, like you, waiting forever to get seated, to get menus, to get silverware, to get drinks, etc.) and it came out raw (not rare) in the middle. i had to send it back 3 times. for high-end dining in the berkshires, we go to the old inn on the green in monterey.
Scholium Project in NYC?
brooklyn wine exchange on court street and atlantic ave in cobble hill has it.
Eleven Madison Park - Same Place, Similar Time but Still Fresh and New
let's take it easy: if you're eating at EMP (and revisiting it) you're closer to the "1%" than you let on. there's nothing in any of the countless reviews here that you couldn't have already reasonably deduced from a review from NY Magazine or the NY Times so it's not like any of the chowhound reviews add much more than what you would have read there. perhaps they are more timely, but the menu does not change on a day-to-day basis; in fact, it seems very similar to the menu i was served when i went there last january.
i'm not saying that there should be a moratorium on EMP reviews (i'm glad everyone has a voice) it's more of a general rant that this board has become more focused on the EMP's and Per Se's of the city than, for example, the amazing doner at Bi Lokma or the awesome off-menu new england clam chowder/maryland she crab soup mix at the take out counter at the grand central oyster bar (sorry, writing this from near my office), two great cheap bites at two places that either get little attention or the wrong attention.
now if you were going to tell me i could get a great off-the-menu hamburger by sitting at the bar at EMP, that would be a different story, and more in line with what i thought the original intent of chowhound was: finding great/interesting food where you wouldn't expect it.
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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Bi Lokma
212 E 45th St, New York, NY 10017
Eleven Madison Park - Same Place, Similar Time but Still Fresh and New
this is a great review and i'm happy you enjoyed the meal, but i wonder if there haven't been too many posts about EMP recently. i mean, there must be at least 2-3 per week, with long threads included. i get it: people like EMP (i did, but not as much as everyone else here) but there are other high-end restaurants in manhattan that don't get nearly as many write-ups as this place. there is no way that EMP is doing something "more right" than any other high-end place.
incidentally, what happened to the old chowhound, the one where someone would give you a tip for a great bowl of soup in the diamond district, or the best deli in alphabet city to get a great variation on an egg & cheese sandwich? honestly, that stuff is much more helpful than hearing yet again how delicious the petit fours are at EMP.
"Tommy Lasagna"??...ugh...Irving Place area needs better restaurants! (long)
i used to live in the area and was always surprised there weren't better options on irving proper (other than casa mono and bar jamon which i actually do like). yama isn't terrible but admittedly it's not great.
however, venturing to lower lexington, on the other side of the park, you'd hit maialino, novita, and blt steak, not bad options, and you get to walk around the park (or through if you have a key!)
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Casa Mono
52 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003
BLT Prime
111 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010
Bar Jamon
125 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003
Yama
122 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003
Novita
102 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
shelsky's smoked fish// 251 smith st// carroll gardens brooklyn
I like it but it's no Russ and daughters. Their bagels/ bialy's are from kossars in the city and they are fine but far from the best. Also, since kossars is closed is closed on Saturdays, the bagels shelsky's serves on Saturdays are frozen and then heated up. That is a bit ridiculous, considering they could just pop over to bagel hole in park slope or Windsor bagels for great bagels.
Also, I got their belly lox once and it was so salty that it was Inedible. In fact we had guests over and they couldn't eat it either. They do have pretty good baked salmon.
Fact is, I want to like it more than I do, especially considering there's nothing else like it in the neighborhood.
