mashpee's Profile
Makkoli?
Thanks so much -- I think that I have been having trouble since I don't read Hangul and it gets transliterated into English very differently in different restaurants.
Makkoli?
Hi,
Can anyone recommend a place where I can buy the Korean wine makkoli?
I understand that 8th Street Kitchen will serve it, but I was hoping to buy a bottle. Planning to wander around Ktown and see what I can find, but any leads would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Sarah
Makkoli?
Hi,
I am hoping to locate a restaurant that serves the Korean wine makkoli. I'm willing to travel!
Thanks,
Sarah
Eating vegetarian (seafood OK) in Koreatown
Miss Needle is right that soon tubu chigae (soon tofu) often has meat-based broth. I can't vouch for the ingredients in BCD's version, but I think that it is the best soon tubu chigae in Manhattan. Hope that you are able to eat it! I think that their bibibim naengmyun is also great and could potentially ordered without beef.
Enjoy your meal!
Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca -- June 2009 report
Another anti-Babbo curmudgeon coming out of the woodwork... I just don't think that the food deserves the attention that it receives on this board. It is competent, but far from remarkable, imho.
Eating vegetarian (seafood OK) in Koreatown
Hangawi isn't the best food, but it is vegetarian Korean: http://www.hangawirestaurant.com/ Otherwise, I think that you are going to have a really hard time staying away from all meat products in Ktown. If a particular restaurant serves japchae, kimchi pajeon or soontubu chigae, those dishes would be would be good bets, but you will have to speak with your server to be sure that there is no meat or meat broth involved.
Dosas near Grand Central!!
I can confirm the name -- it's Grill 44. I tried a Masala Dosa and a mango lassi today and thought that they were both good, if a tad pricey. I would like to go back to try the Kathi rolls and idli. The more traditional Indian buffet staples -- channa masala, saag paneer, etc. were less enticing.
Definitely worth a try. Thanks for the tip.
The Perfect Storm - Celebratory Dinner for 15 Downtown
Thanks for the suggestion, but I think we would prefer an indoor space.
The Perfect Storm - Celebratory Dinner for 15 Downtown
Hi Everyone:
I have been tasked with suggesting a venue for a celebratory dinner for 15 people. This is a business dinner, but will be attended by a group of people who know each other well and are friendly, which makes it a somewhat tricky hybrid between "boring business midtown" group dinners and "OMG I am turning 26 and want to blow it out and get drunk with my friends!!!" group dinners.
My boss definitely prefers downtown locations (though we are flexible on any longitude from midtown south to Tribeca) and wants something "fun." That being said, it shouldn't be too casual or too adventurous cuisine-wise. I am thinking something that would be appropriate for a 40th birthday would be along the lines of what we need. Fun, but not too fun.
In an ideal world, we could have drinks/mingle in a bar area before sitting down to dinner. We'd actually prefer NOT to eat dinner in a private room if possible.
I have not confirmed the exact price range, but believe that something in the range of $100-$150 pp with drinks would be the sweet spot. We have a range to work with...
I have spent the past two hours searching the boards and not a lot jumped out at me. Even though we are not really in the market for a private room, the wine room at Public seems interesting, though I have not been. I'm really at a bit of a loss here.
Many thanks in advance,
Sarah
Korean Sub Launches Missile at Vietnam
I also enjoyed the sandwich at Seoul Station and wanted to note that you can choose the filling -- beef or pork. (maybe tofu as well?) I was there this weekend and the "korean tacos" and Kimchi fried rice worked for me as well. The kimchi chigae was not good and, on a prior visit, I found the kim bap lackluster.
This place is not aiming for authenticity in any way, but I think it's a good snack option and, given the popularity of the Kogi truck in L.A., is probably on the right side of a korean fast food trend.
Worth a stop by.
Recommendations at Dhaba in Curry Hill?
I'm planning to try Dhaba tonight and was hoping to get some feedback on the dishes that they do best from 'hounds in the know. Although Dhaba is mentioned favorably here, I haven't been able to determine much about what they do best and their menu is quite large.
Many thanks in advance!
Absolute best Mex restaurant in Manhattan?
I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience at Tulcingo del Valle. I am originally from Texas and consider myself picky about Mexican food, and I like Tulcingo. I have had beef and pork tacos, tamales and hurraches there and enjoyed them all.
If it's helpful for context, I do not like Los Dos Molinos at all. To my tastebuds, the menu is about being "show off spicy" without substance (this is coming from a woman who keeps hot sauce in her bag at all times). It's a gimmick without soul.
Tulcingo is much more authentic than LDM.
Not sure what you ordered, but hope you'll give it another shot. For those who haven't been, I think it's worth a visit.
ukrainian national home - yum!
Thanks for publicizing Ukrainian National Home, Big Jeff -- it's an overlooked gem in the neighborhood in my humble opinion. I believe that the tango lessons happen every Friday night and it's worth checking out for the food as well as the experience.
Arirang - New "must try" restaurant in ktown (kal gook soo)
Thanks so much for passing along the info on Arirang, Lau!
I went last night, and my dining companion and I had the kimchi kal gook soo, chicken kal gook soo and kimchi jun. I preferred the kimchee kal gook soo, but it was nice to have both. They are quite different and offer a nice contrast to one another. I agree with others who have pointed out that both the banchan and kimchi jun are a cut above average Manhattan K-town fare. I will definitely be back to explore more of the menu.
It's always refreshing to have this level of houndishness on the Manhattan board!
Question About Noodle Dish at Quinto Pino
I tried Quinto Pino last night and had a noodle dish that consisted of short noodles in a brown sauce, pieces of white fish and what tasted like mayonnaise. I truly enjoyed the dish but am not familiar with any similar dish in Spanish food and was curious whether it has a predecessor in Spanish food, or if it was a new creation of the kitchen.
Many thanks in advance.
Corn Dogs
I am from Dallas originally and have certainly had my fair share of corndogs. They aren't anything special, but Bamn! the automat on St. Marks in the EV has them. When they are fresh, I do enjoy them.
Nirvana Cafe & Bar: Sri Lankan nr Gramercy Pk
This sounds great -- I look forward to trying it. Sigiri in the EV was my first exposure to Sri Lankan and I am eager to try more.
2nd Avenue Deli Reopening
The matzo ball soup at 2nd Ave deli was my favorite in the city. Perhaps Simon had a single bad experience?
Pinche Taqueria
Thanks for reminding me about the 14th street truck, tripleB. I have been meaning to check that out. Do you know what time they generally open? Are they around on weeknights and weekends?
Thanks in advance!
Guh Sang in Queens -- Question for Korean Cuisine Experts
I really appreciate everyone's replies and I will definitely return to Guh Song.
Guh Sang in Queens -- Question for Korean Cuisine Experts
As a hard core jajangmyun afficianado, I finally tried Guh Sang on Bell Blvd and 48th Avenue in Oakland Gardens.
The jajangmyun was excellent and the jjampong looked great too (although I was too full to try it.)
I'm writing because I was served a dish at the end of my meal that I have never seen before and none of my friends who have actually been to Korea have been able to identify it either.
We were offered a plate containing many small pieces of potato (I am 99% sure it was just normal potato) coated with a sauce that looked like brownish lacquer and tasted sweet. The waitress also brought a bowl of ice water. Several of the potato pieces were pre-speared with toothpicks and the waitress showed us that we were supposed to dip the potato pieces in the icewater using those toothpicks. When we did so, the sauce hardened and was almost like a candy coating on the potato. It was really delicious and totally unique in my experience -- not like any banchan I have ever had.
Anyone know what this is?
Thanks in advance!
Pinche Taqueria
As a Texas native and a Manhattan resident, I have long bemoaned the state of Mexican food in NYC. I'm happy to say that Pinche Taqueria scratched my near constant itch for tacos.
The menu is small and everything that I tried was quite good. I started with the elote (corn on the cob with sharp white cheese and cayenne. I could barely detect any mayo.) Then I tried a trio of tacos -- tender, flavorful carnitas, savory, multi-dimensional carne asada and simple but satisfying frijole. I had a bite of my companion's fish tacos and thought that they were excellent as well. The staff casually mentioned that their burritos (not on the menu) had been popular, so we decided to split a beef burrito as well. This was not your typical football-sized monstrosity filled with cheese, sour cream, rice, guacamole and every other condiment under the sun. It was rather small for the genre, and filled with mind alteringly tender beef, beans, raw white onion and cilantro. I loved it.
Pinche Taqueria was one of the better meals that I've had in recent memory and the staff was warm and convivial. Soho is not exactly a chowhound's paradise, but I think that Pinche is worth the trip.
Mott between Prince and Spring.
TIDES
I like Tides a lot, but the last couple of times that I went, there was no one there... I mean NO ONE. Plus they switched to cash only. Seemed like a deathwatch candidate.
Are there signs of life?
Hate to see a place with good food and a really nice owner lose out.
DFW -- Kozy Kitchen on McKinney -- Avoid
I had one of the worst dining experiences of my life at the Kozy Kitchen on McKinney today.
After an enjoyable "healthy" brunch at Dream Cafe yesterday, we were in the mood for something similar today and the description of Kozy Kitchen online seemed to fit the bill.
What ensued after we arrived at the restaurant was a service nightmare of such unswerving outrageousness, that I felt it needed to be described here.
Menus failed to arrive after 15 minutes of being seated.
Then a long, awkward period during which we repeatedly tried to make eye contact with various staff people followed.
40 minutes after being seated, our orders hadn't yet been taken. They were not in fact taken until a member of our party approached a waitress to ask if we could place our order.
After various requests for water and other drinks were made and ignored and we watched multiple diners who had arrived well after we did finish their meals and leave, we began to debate the ethics of getting up and leaving.
Our meal didn't arrive until a full hour after we were seated and nary an apology was offered.
My buckwheat pancakes were flavorless and uninspired. The breakfast tacos resembled public school cafeteria fare. The "fruit plate" was wholly composed of watermelon.
It. Was. Unbelievably. Bad.
... and when we requested the check and it wasn't ready, they didn't offer to comp a single item or otherwise offer recompense for what happened.
Needless to say, we do not plan to return.
Sesame Ice Cream at Sundaes and Cones
On my one visit, I enjoyed their corn flavored ice cream.
I think that this place is definitely worth a visit. It's nice to have in the neighborhood when I don't feel like venturing to Cones, Il Labrotorio, Chinatown Ice Cream factory...
Good, fresh, inexpensive Mexican?
Downtown Mexican Bakery on 1st Avenue around 5th street. 0 atmosphere. Great food.
tamales
I think that the tamales at Downtown Mexican Bakery are good. However, DMB is more of a take out place, so if you need sit down tamales in an more upscale atmosphere you might try Mercadito.
Reasonable Mexican
Mercadito actually does a prix fixe for larger groups (we did it with 7 people) that is very reasonably priced. You can even choose "all you can drink margaritas" which were $20 per hour per person, if memory serves. It was a great deal and the food is good. You'll have to call to get the details.
