Have you noticed a change in Tacos Nuevo Mexico over the past year or so? Since they changed their menu, it seems that their food is more bland. I don't know if they're catering more to the changing demographic of the hood, but it doesn't seem the same time to me.

To the OP: Guiseppina in South Slope for pizza and calzones. From the same folks as Lucali but no wait. I went in for brunch recently and we were the only people in there. I'd like for them to keep opening during lunchtime on weekends. So I hope it gets busier.

I find that a lot of people like to do one-stop shopping (including me if I'm pressed for time). I can see a lot of folks buying their mozzarella at Whole Foods Bowery or Tribeca.

Luckily there's a small Italian grocer near where I live where I buy my fresh mozzarella. Turnover is good that it's always warm when I get it.

Probably my favorite new restaurant I've eaten at this year. Service was really lovely and everything I ate was stellar (with the exception of the suckling pig as the skin was chewy and not crispy -- but still good). My favorite dishes so far have been the tempura egg, octopus bolognese, uni and pork and piri piri shrimp.

I kind of get what you're saying about the place. It has annoyed me when I found them closed during their posted hours. But I've encountered that a lot in the Carribbean so perhaps they are on "island time."

I once ordered hot tea to go from there (around 11A). No sizes or prices posted. They charged me $2 and gave me a teabag with hot water in an 8 oz sized cup. I didn't say anything at first because I thought that's all they had. I then spied larger cups in the back. I really wished they asked me what size I would like. I was going to be late so I had no time do try to get a larger size.

Yup, I hear you. I'm pretty choosy about where I get my salmon. I got a bit peeved when I went to Fish Tales in Brooklyn and they had no idea what sushi grade salmon was.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/798732

Now I generally have some packets of Vital Choice wild salmon in freezer at all times.

A couple of places very close to the 2/3 train side of the garden:

Bar Covo - Italian
Islands - Carribbean

I found that part really funny because this is the exact reason why my parents hoped that I wouldn't marry a Korean or Korean-American guy -- not very good to their parents, demanding and I would have to deal with a difficult mother-in-law as Korean mothers tend to idolize their sons. Actually my mother said that she would hope I would marry a Chinese guy (which I ended up doing, not because I was being obedient but because that's who I fell in love with)!

I can understand why some people find it hard to believe, but these things are part of the culture that an outsider may have difficulty grasping. It is what it is, and I found this episode refreshingly frank.

Try not to go during Sunday brunch. Even though it was the first time I went there I'm pretty sure our experience would have been different if I went there during dinner time. People were very nice but there were some issues with the food. I ordered a small BBQ shrimp. Instead of the head-on huge shrimp I was expecting I got four little overcooked shrimp (sans head) with hardly any sauce. This was the small size. The ribs were not glazed as in the pictures I've seen as it just looked like it came from the steamer and the slaw tasted like it was leftover from Saturday night. It looked limp and not as crisp as in other photos. The duck egg cheese broil was good but lukewarm. In fact, everything was lukewarm. It wasn't quite the experience that I had hoped for, especially based on the praise they've garnered. I'm sure their food is good but it seems that there's a big difference with the Sun brunch cooks. 90% of the orders that were coming out were for burgers. I think that is probably a safer bet if you're there for brunch.

Funny, the Brooklyn location has ham on the menu for calzones. Maybe there are regional differences on the menu -- or they haven't found a good supplier yet.

I've never seen a calzone with sauce inside in NYC. It's either no sauce or tomato sauce on the side.

My CH ads generally revolve around what I've been googling lately. Today it's been Japanese train pass, La Mer, Aveda and Seamless web (though I haven't ordered any food lately). Ashley Madison has never made an appearance for me.

But what I found funny was that I recently purchased a new computer. When I first got on that computer and went on CH, I kept getting ads for plus size clothing!

Thanks for the link to the original article. I agree with you about Bigler's interpretation of Hagerty's review. Totally off-base.

Just came across this:

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaur...

How did you choose your teammates?
So, after the last challenge at Craft, we flipped a coin and Brooke got to choose first. We got to choose two people and she chose Stefan [Richter] and CJ [Jacobsen] and I chose Sheldon [Simeon] and Lizzy [Binder]. Then later on we were informed we could choose one more, and that’s when I picked Josh [Valentine] and she took Kuniko [Yagi].

Thank you! I was wondering if I was the only one who wasn't thrilled with Carboncito and La Pesca! The food was OK, but that was about it. I'm thinking I may have been spoiled as I was in Mexico City for a few days before my trip to PDC.

When I was in the PDC area, my faves were:

Los Aguachiles -- only for their seafood tostadas (their fish tacos were chewy and served cold)
Luna Maya -- upscale
Cetli in Tulum -- I really enjoyed the freebies and the appetizers but was more meh on their entrees (shrimp in huitlacoche and chile en nogada)

Hope you get to try your chapulines one day! I find that it adds more texture than anything else. Had it in taco form and crumbled on top of guacamole in Mexico City.

Coffee and cigarettes on the throne are a perfect combination.

Compared to others I know who bike 80 miles a day, my ride is pretty tame. I also take my time so I can enjoy the scenery. And I also don't feel as guilty about eating the khachapuri.

In the other format, the judges would count the # of courses won by each contestant. But they would also take into account by how much the contestant would win by. For example, if Contestants #1 "won" 3 courses out of 5 but totally bombed on the 2 losing courses with the 3 winning courses being close, the judges most likely would have picked Contestant #2 as the winner.

You must not be as timid as I because 5th Ave Sunset Park freaks me out with all the buses and double-parked cars. I generally ride down 5th Ave until I hit the beginning of Sunset Park and head over to 7th Ave where it's not as busy.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park area is a great suggestion. I haven't been there, but have good things about Pok Pok.

I was pretty surprised that Josh was on Kristin's team. During the Andy Cohen show, when asked who stayed longer than he or she should have, her response was Josh, not Josie!

Are you sure you did an appropriate search? Change the parameters to further than 1 year.

I love Tocqueville. Service is really polished. The food is delicious and make sure you save room for their bread. Bonus for those who like larger portions as they tend to be on the generous side.

Please note that I haven't done this since Hurricane Sandy so many of the places may be closed.

I don't like dealing with crazy cars and buses so I try to bike on the safest roads possible which sometimes means getting to things in a roundabout way. I've done this route a few times. I live in Park Slope so that's where my trip starts. If you're in Park Slope there are many things that may interest you such as Beer Table, Talde, Ladybird Bakery. I bike in Prospect Park exiting to link with Ocean Parkway. Then I go on Ocean Parkway (dedicated bike path), stopping at Georgian Bread on Neptune for khachapuri (humongous cheese bread). Georgian Bread is a few blocks left of Ocean Parkway. You can continue exploring Brighton Beach Ave where there are many interesting markets and restaurants along the elevated subway line. Personally I just lock up my bike to a pole and walk around that area on foot as traffic can be a bit gnarly.

After my snack, I head back on Ocean Parkway and bike to the boardwalk at Coney Island, exploring the area a bit. You've got the famous Nathan's hot dog place, Totonno's for pizza -- though I have a feeling that both may be closed right now. I the continue on the boardwalk heading east until it ends. I then head north on one of the streets til I hit Emmons where I make a right. You'll be in the neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay. There's Randazzos for clams if you're inclined. I keep heading East on Emmons until it links up to the Belt Parkway.

The Belt is a freeway but there's a bike lane to the right of it. I ride long the Belt, passing by Plum Beach, Brooklyn Marine Park til I hit Flatbush Ave. On Flatbush is a bike path as well. I make a right on Flatbush and ride until I hit Marine Parkway Bridge. Go over the Bridge (you'll now be in Queens) then head over to Rockaway Beach Boulevard (no bike lane but very easy to ride as it's very quiet), passing through the residential neighborhood of Belle Harbour until I hit the Boardwalk.

You'll now be in the Rockaway Beach area. There's been a change in Rockaway Beach over the last few years. Establishments such as Rockaway Taco, Caracas Arepa Bar and Blue Bottle Coffee has opened up.

Biking is a great way to see Brooklyn (less so for Queens). In the above mentioned bike route you get to see neighborhoods that would have you thinking that you've left NYC. Also it's a good amount of biking so you have a better excuse to eat all that food. Unless you're hearty bikers (I am not), I would recommend doing the route one way but taking the A train back at Rockaway Beach. The first time I did this route it was a round trip ordeal -- unfortunately I was "traumatized" by the experience that it took me a good few months to get on the bike again!

I'd work in a kitchen first before going to culinary school. One of my friends (at the age of 40) started staging at a restaurant and had plans to go take some culinary classes at the community college. She quit after a couple of days because she didn't realize what cooking entailed. Her "a-ha" moment came when she had to haul up huge sacks of potatoes from the basement. Now she just cooks for fun but doesn't plan on making a living from it.

I've found that unless you stay in the neighborhood of South Beach, you really do need to rent a car unless you stay at an airport hotel (where they probably run shuttles to the airport). South Beach has numerous taxis to the airport. There's also a public bus that runs from the airport to South Beach (you'll save money but not time).

To keep this post food related, good stone crab claws are probably difficult to find your area (well, they are in NYC). Joe's in South Beach is famous for them but you can find them at other places as well. They are pricey and Joe's has a ridiculous waiting policy for dinner though you can go to the takeout next door with no wait. Not sure when you're arriving but stone crab season ends around May.

Last time I was here I really enjoyed El Chalan on the Beach, a Peruvian restaurant (mostly seafood) in South Beach. Very economical -- nothing really over $16 or so. You're definitely not paying for ambiance.

I haven't been there yet but Florida Cookery in South Beach is a more upscale restaurant supposed to be concentrating on foods from the region. So that may also be of interest to you.

Off the beach, I've really liked El Mago de Las Fritas for a cuban hamburger -- highly seasoned ground meat topped with shredded fried potato sticks. Never found anything like it in NYC.

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/el-mag...

KFC is awesome! I still love southern fried chicken but KFC is up there as well. In NYC's Momofuku they've got a fried chicken dinner where they serve both!

But back to KFC in S. Florida, I haven't had it there but Sakaya Kitchen does it.

ETA: I just found my Sakaya post. I didn't order the KFC but tried the samples they offered outside. I found that it wasn't quite the same as the KFC I've had in NYC as the crust was on the heavier side. The main point with KFC is that it has a very light battered crust.

Oh, I've always hated the napkin on the lap bit. Not that I fidget but I like to move around a bit as I eat at home. Sometimes I like to cross my legs or shift them to one side on the seat and the napkin just gets in the way. Maybe that's why it's considered good manners to place a napkin on the lap -- to prevent shifting around in chair.

But at restaurants I generally put a napkin on my lap as soon as I'm seated unless it's a very casual place where they have tiny paper ones. I've seen people put it on their laps but I don't really understand it at that point. It just falls off from the slightest movement.

I just discovered that if you watch the previews carefully (one at the end of Last Chance Kitchen and one for next week's episode on Bravo's website), you can pretty much deduce who won LCK. There was an unintended shot of the third finalist. For those who are really interested, pay attention to who's grating carrots (video at end of Last Chance Kitchen) and the person handling the sweetbreads (next week's preview).

I guess all the time not tweeting is being spent overanalyzing this show! I don't think I have room in my life for both.

This is a total hypothesis but I think it will be Kristen. There was a lag in twitter postings from all finalists. I'm assuming that's when the finale was taping. Then the contestants started posting again. Kristin posted something about it being a very successful trip. She probably wouldn't think it was successful it she didn't win Last Chance. So I think at the very least she will make it into the final 3.

Kristen hasn't really been strongly campaigning Fan Favorite as much as the others (especially Lizzie). In fact she even tweets something about just voting, whether it's for her or for the others. I have a feeling Kristen will go on to win the competition.

What I'm more surprised by is how often the chefs are tweeting. When do they find time to do this? This is coming from somebody who doesn't tweet.

Based on the editing it could go either way. But reading both of their twitter accounts (yes, I have no life) I'm leaning towards one of them.

Never had a nasty experience, but the last time I was there with my husband (a few months ago), we had this older Italian (?) waiter who ignored me the entire time. When I asked questions about the menu he would answer to DH, not me. When he presented the food he would only address DH. I even asked for the check and paid the bill and I was still ignored! I wasn't upset but merely amused by the waiter's bizarre behavior. I don't know if it's a cultural or generational thing but it was quite odd.

I don't see bread pudding on the menu. Were you referring to the banana pudding?