tastyeating's Profile
Great pizza in Hell's Kitchen?
I enjoy Hell's Kitchen Pizza (47th St & 10 Ave) quite a bit. It's not specialty pizza like Co or Motorino but more like your NYC type pizza. I'm a huge fan of their Hellfire slice which is spicy in a good way. I think the toppings are hot italian sausage, pepperoni, and cherry peppers. I'm unsure if they offer salad though.
Do you have to pay for wedding caterers' tastings?
I'm getting married next year and of the places that I looked at, it's a mixed bag. Some places offer tastings before you book, some after, and some not at all. The ones that offer tastings before you book are random items. The ones after, you pick. However, all were free. I would think that some places would charge to prevent people from randomly tasting food without even thinking of booking nor planning to get married.
My advice, ask if you could pick the items in the tasting. Make it known that you are definitely interesting in booking them but just want to make sure the food is to your liking.
Anyone tried Cer Te's Peking-Duckish Midtown Sandwich Winner?
Chubby Chinese Girl is the name of the person who created the sandwich. They had a contest.
Trip Report - October 2009
I just went to Corton and loved it! I went in knowing that I would like it. My favorite cuisines is fine French. But this completely surprised me in a good way. I was ecstatic in the end.
Trip Report - October 2009
I went to Ko months ago near the summer and my menu was different from yours. I really liked my experience there. But seeing your menu, I don't know how much I would have liked your food.
Birthday tasting lunch - Bouley or GT?
I completely agree about Gramercy Tavern and their different dining rooms. The Tavern side was much better.
Suggestions for a 16 yr old and her friends in Manhattan - not a chain
If the teens like meat, you can do Brazilian BBQ/Churasschia at Plataforma. Lunch is cheaper than dinner.
Review of Corton
I went to Corton this past Saturday for dinner with my best friend. It's a quaint place in Tribeca and it's easy to miss. I know I walked past it before circling back for the door. Once inside, it's quite nice. The clean, crisp whiteness of the place is elegant and sophisticated. It's small and intimate but the high ceilings makes it feel bigger.
Through the door, I was quickly asked for my coat and the host knew exactly whom I was. My friend had already arrived and was sitting at the bar enjoying a glass of wine. We were quickly escorted to our table and our waitress approached us. We were greeted and given the menus. Our choice were either a 3 course prix fixe at $85 or the tasting menu at $145. We looked at the tasting menu but I was excited about all the choices. We opted for the prix fixe instead.
When the waitress came back, we placed out order. Quickly after that we were presented with some amuse bouche. One was a gougere type bite was a soft, and delicious cheese in the middle. It was fantastic. Ather was a bagel like bite but was quite forgettable. Another had some kind of blue cheese on a pastry. I liked this one too. But my favorite was a soup with foie gras in the bottom. Delicious!
Afterwards, our appetizers came. I ordered the foie gras and my friend had the farm egg. Both were beautifully presented like artwork. And the tableside service pouring the sauce/soup was great. Each dish came with a few small side dishes. They were surprises that we happily accepted.
I loved my foie gras that came as a ball in a beet gelee. The accompaniment were fanastic and I ate all of it. My friend loved her egg which was runny and soft. She had a slew of extra dishes and couldn't finish it all.
For entrees we had the lamb and the beef, both medium rare. They came out cooked perfectly (I assumed they were souv vide) and the sauce poured on tableside. Again, a slew of accompaniments. They were so many that I can't even remember them all. I felt overwhelmed but not in a bad way. I was happy to have received so much delicious food. We both started on our dishes and loved every little bite of it. Again, we finished off our plates. We were so happy with the food. Although, it seemed like a lot we had room for dessert.
I picked the chocolate tart and my friend had the clafoutis. Again, delicious. The tart was rich and decadent but not too much where I couldn't finish it. It was delicious. The clafoutis was light but buttery at the same time. It reminded me of a madeline but much better.
After dessert we were presented with a couple of gelees. Normally, I don't like gelees and wouldn't really care for them. But these were nice. They were soft and citrusy.
Then came out the truffles and bon bons. They asked which one would we like to try. And of course we had one of each. There were 3 types of macaroons: chocolate, lemon, and passion fruit. The last one was our favorite. Lastly, we had a slew of chocolates of different flavors. Our favorite was the simple dark chocolate ganache.
We really enjoyed our meal. So much so that we didn't even notice that it took 4 hours. I don't think all the diners took that long since some showed up and left before us. But we were having such a good time and the timing of everything was fantastic.
I don't have a single bad thing to say about Corton. It was just lovely and would absolutely go back again without a doubt. Service, food, decor, just everything was great.
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Corton
239 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Review of Locanda Verde
I went to have a group dinner at Locanda Verde last Friday at 8:30pm. When we arrived, the place was packed. There was literally no standing room near the bar nor near the host. People bumped into each other as they passed. When I eventually got up to the hostess, I announced that I had a reservation for 8 people at 8:30pm. They quickly found it and asked if everyone was there yet. I said no but it was still before 8:30pm. We waited 10 minutes for everyone to get there. Once our party was complete, I told the hostess that we were all present. She checked again and the table was still busy with patrons. I waited and waited and checked every 15 minutes. Once with another host. At 9:00pm, I was a little annoyed because the place had cleared out a bit and I could easily see tables available now. I asked another host (Iram) about it and he said that they were waiting for our whole party to show up. I had told him that we have been here for about 20 minutes now. He apologized and quickly led us to our table.
We all sat and were relieved to finally get a table. The waitress comes over with the menus and tells us a little about how she thinks we could order: family style. We thought about it but decided to get our own appetizers and entrees instead. As she left for us to peruse over the menu, the host (Iram) comes over with 2 plates of the ricotta appetizers. He apologized again for the wait. He was really gracious to us. I was happy because I was nothing but patient and nice the whole time. We thanked him. Then we dove into the warm ricotta cheese and toast. We needed more bread because they give you a lot of cheese. A bread basket of foccacia came in quite handy.
Now on to the food. We all ordered a variety of the menu. For appetizers, we had: steak tartare, priest collars pasta, lamb sliders, tripe parmagiana, burrata salad, beet salad, and blue crab crostini. I tasted everything except for the burrata, beets, and crostini. But everything tasted really good. My own dish was the priest collars which had pasta rings with calamari is a pesto like sauce. It was really filling for an appetizer but delicious. It wasn't spicy at all though. The lamb sliders were highly praised. I really liked my friend's steak tartare. It had black truffles mixed in with the meat and on the toast. You could smell it. And it tasted mighty fine.
Now onto the entrees which I thought were better. We had the duck, buccatini, porchetta sandwich, pork chop, priest collars, and grandma's ravioli. My dish was the duck and it was cooked beautifully. The duck was still nice and pink but the fat had rendered. It was delicious. A lot us liked the porchetta sandwich. It tasted very tender and the flavor was good. I wish there were cracklings in it though. There could have been but I didn't have any in the bite that I tried. The pork chop was enormous. It could have easily fed two people. But we're big eaters and finished them. Also, the ravioli was filled with veal, pork, and beef (I think) and was very rustic and old fashioned.
We didn't have room for dessert because the portions were pretty big.
I really liked this place and would definitely go again aside from the crowdedness and the wait time. But they apologized and made up for it. Otherwise, the service was very good.
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Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013
Sunday Night Dining
I think the closest you'll get for a decent steak at a low price will be at Le Relais de Venise which will give you 2 servings of steak for $24. However, you don't choose the cut. There's only one. And they come with sauce and fries.
Last minute! Dinner for 9 - Saturday.
I second Sala 19. They also have a group dining menu that provides all you can drink Sangria for a certain amount of time.
Trip this weekend
If you are willing to head out far west there's a craft beer bar called Pony Bar on 45th St and 10th ave.
Solo take-out in Hell's Kitchen, $5-$10?
Pam Real Thai Food on 49th and 9th
Hell's Kitchen Pizza on 47th and 10th
Food for 7 in Tribecca or West Village, last minute reserv. Critical, foodies in attendance. Help.
Sala 19. Spanish tapas with lots of sangria or wine to go around. There's one downtown too.
Wow lunch spot, but not too stuffy
Just had lunch at Gramercy Tavern. Definitely casual dress code on the Tavern side. And food was great!
Crafsteak moving??
It is said that Tom is closing Craftsteak to open a more defined plates restaurant. He said he liked Tuesdays with Tom so much that he wants to continue that idea.
Over the top indulgent foods in NYC
I know this isn't fancy at all, but I have a soft heart of Korean BBQ with all the fixins.
Yasuda with Deep Pockets - What to Order?
I recently went a couple of weeks ago and did the omakase at the bar. I wasn't in Yasuda's corner but my chef was fantastic none the less. He asked what we disliked. We told him both dislikes and likes. He pampered us with a great variety of fish. The uni I had was fantastically fresh and buttery. The chef was very attentive and made sure to ask us if we wanted more. They will charge by the piece. We had just one repeat from our own request because the toro was just that good.
In the end, it was the best sushi and service I've ever had. I recommend making reservations for a seat at the bar and do the omakase.
Oh and for price point, we each had 22 pieces of sushi and paid about $300 (including tax, tip, 1 beer, and 1 sake).
Restaurant recco for marriage proposal
When you make your reservations, make sure to tell the establishment about your intentions. They'll go out of their way to make it even more special.
Angelica Kitchen
Although I think it's a better place for vegans, I personally thought it wasn't that great. I'm a omnivore, btw. It is interesting and they definitely try to make things taste better for vegans. But I would never choose to go here again.
up to me,as always and i'm not motivated - seafood in manhattan
Harbour is closed/closing soon.
Birmingham, Alabama - Five points area
Thanks everyone! These are really great tips! Keep them coming!
Birmingham, Alabama - Five points area
They're coming from NJ. But they aren't very adventurous with their food. They only truly like American food like BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, and pizza. The most exotic they will go is Chinese food and that's Americanized Chinese food.
Need help planning my own birthday
Yeah, my friends pay. It's a glorious time of the year! But I always return the favor when it comes to their birthdays.
Btw, I only break up the dinners into smaller groups because these people don't particularly like each other. In fact, they have told me that they'd rather not be around each other. I don't want to be perceived as greedy or selfish.
Birmingham, Alabama - Five points area
Hi all,
A few friends of mine are going down to Birmingham, AL on Jan 1-3 for watch the bowl game. They're looking for a good time with good food. They're real simple and prefer more casual places than fancier, expensive places. Oh and BBQ is a must.
They're staying in the five points area at the Residence Inn at UAB. However, they will NOT have a car. So anything within walking distance or a short (10-15 min) cab ride would really help.
I've searched this board and found the following:
Dreamland for BBQ
Jim & Nick's for BBQ
Bottega Cafe for Italian
Cosmos for pizza
26 for seafood
New Chinatown for Chinese
Original Pancake House for breakfast
ZaZa Trattoria for breakfast
For bars with food:
J Clyde's
Dave's Pub
If anyone has any suggestions or comments about the above places, please do! I would really appreciate any help!
Oh and any place to grab something quick like burgers, hot dogs, or the like would be very helpful as well.
Thank you all in advance!
