lnedrive14's Profile
Eats for bike tour of brooklyn/queens
Karczma and Blue stove look awesome! Already had pies n thighs on the list, so glad to see some confirmation on that - is the soft shell crab sandwich better than the chicken biscuit?
This is very helpful -- thanks!
Eats for bike tour of brooklyn/queens
Plan right now is to go from 25th and 6th in Manhattan straight to John Brown, then bike south as far as we need to in brooklyn before coming back to manhattan via the brooklyn or manhattan bridge. Obviously we can be flexible as need be.
Eats for bike tour of brooklyn/queens
Hi guys -
A couple times a year my buddy and I like to do a bike tour of brooklyn and queens hitting up a bunch of different places along the way. This time we are starting to run out of ideas. Only requirements are: (i) the place has to let in two sweaty dudes not dressed particularly nicely and (ii) can't be tooooo far out in the boroughs (e.g., chinese food in flushing is too far). Any cuisine, including desserts, are fair game.
Previous iterations of the ride have taken us to Lucali, Mile End, Dough, Sripraphai, and M. Wells, just to give you an idea. On this trip, the only place we know we are going for sure is John Brown's.
So if anyone has any ideas, it would be much appreciated!
Portugal Trip Report
Ugh, so sorry to diminish your expectations, but I went in with a similar mindframe and was left sorely disappointed. I wish I could say that it was just strange flavor profiles (e.g., fish with green sweet potatoes and dried strawberries), but to be honest I also thought the cooking and plating techniques were far below that of other places we ate in portugal. in fact, aside from assinatura, we couldn't get over the fact that we did not eat a single other thing on the trip that was not cooked perfectly, which was somewhat of a shocker given the variety of proteins we had.
In any event, curious to hear your experience if you go. Maybe the answer is that we should have ordered a la carte instead of the tasting menu? Anyone else have a view on this?
Portugal Trip Report
Apologies in advance that this is not as detailed as I'd hoped it would be, but I hope it nevertheless will be useful. What follows is, in chronological order, a brief summary of the various establishment we hit during out trip to Portugal last week.
Pedro dos Leitoes (Mealhada) - A good first stop on the drive from Lisbon to Porto. The suckling pig wasn't quite revelatory as I'd hoped, but it was very good. The skin was crispy and the meat was incredibly juicy and flavorful. I haven't a clue how they imparted so much flavor into the non-skin pieces. Rest of the food is serviceable. Good prices and very nice service (despite the fact that no one there spoke a word of english).
Pedro Lemos (Porto) - Best meal of the trip. Truly revelatory. Appetizer of scallop, lobster, caviar and white truffle foam was decadent and delicious. I thought it was just using fancy ingredients just for the sake of using fancy ingrediants, but everything came together beautifully. The suckling pig entree was almost as good, sitting atop an amazing array of mushrooms (chanterelle, black truffle, trompet, etc) that were the perfect compliment to the earthy saltiness of the pork. Service was excellent and wines were well chosen. (Sad that our best meal of the trip happened on the second day.)
The Yeatman (Porto) (lunch) - Second best meal of the trip. Had the lunch special, which was 37e for amuse, appetizer, entree, dessert, a glass of sparkling wine, a glass of regular wine, water and mignardises. A ridiculous steal. The quality of the food was worthy of its michelin star and the dining room and view were incredible. There is absolutely no reason to ever miss this lunch opportunity. I cannot wait to plan my trip back. (Also, the Yeatman is a gorgeous hotel and I plan to stay there next year.) For me, the app/entree did not come together quite as well as Pedro Lemos, though the dessert was the best banana dessert I have ever had. Certainly the best meal for the money...
Don Tonho (Porto) - Mediocre service and mediocre food. There was nothing wrong with the food per se, but it was boring. It was one of those places that installed nice decor to distinguish itself from the myriad of other restaurant options, but didn't upgrade the food as well. It wasn't expensive though, so no big loss.
Majestic Cafe (Porto) - We had heard good things about the Francesinhas here, but were sorely let down. Awful; just awful. Complete tourist trap and waaayyyyyyyy overpriced. (Most expensive espresso we had in Portugal.) Get a francesinha at a little nothing place on the street for half the price and it will be just as good.
A Grade (Porto) - Get the octopus cooked in the oven. Have a glass of wine. Thank me later. (The rest of the food was fine, but the octopus dish ranks in my top 5 ever -- doesn't quite surpass Le Bernardin, but for about 1/20 the cost, still a pretty good achievement.)
Casa Aleixo (Porto) - Cute mom and pop place with quality, cheap, homemade food. Won't blow your mind but is a nice break from the decadence of places like Lemos and Yeatman. For what it's worth, I ordered a veal steak which was huge and perfectly cooked to rare (as requested) -- it was 13e. And absolute steal. (Worth noting at this point that I was very impressed with the cooking skills I encountered throughout Portugal. I never once received something over or undercooked.)
For those interested in Port tasting, we hit about 10 houses with our favorite being Ramos Pinto (get the 20 year aged Tawny). We also enjoyed Ferreira and Noval, with the latter not really being a house per se, but the port is excellent.
Largo (Lisbon) - Amazing scene. Think fish tank filled with jelly fish. Good service, good bread. Well cooked food, though somewhat uninspired and boring. My duck and risotto were both well seasoned and cooked, but certainly weren't wowing in any way. I was disappointed after the great nouvelle portuguese food we had had at Pedro Lemos and Yeatman in Porto, though in hindsight this wasn't such a failure.
Cervejaria Ramiro (Lisbon) - I admit to not having other similar places to compare this too, but we loved Ramiro. Super nice and welcoming staff. As others have mentioned, come here for fresh shellfish and that's it (as that's all they serve). Beautiful salty, sweet prawns and crab, and the garlic bread wasn't half bad either. Also try the barnacles if you have never had them. Warning that this place is by no means cheap, but is reasonably priced for shellfish. (Maybe someone can answer this, but does Portugal have a different shrimp species than we get elsewhere? Throughout the country, but especially at Ramiro, we though the shrimp were far better than what we are used to.)
Assinatura (Lisbon) - WORST meal of the trip (at any price point). Most expensive restaurant we went to and we went with high hopes. It was an epic disaster from every perspective. We had the 5 course tasting menu and each course was a failure, texturally and flavor-wise. No texture contrasts and very, very strange flavor profiles. It couldn't decide whether it was classic portuguese food or something more. Given that i liked 90% of the food I had in Portugal, quite shocking that I found each of these dishes so awful. Looking only at the food, this was one of the worst restaurant experiences I have had in years.
Lisboa a noite (Lisbon) - Fine, but extremely overpriced. Wine here was 30-40% more expensive than any other restaurant we went too. (Quite shocking that the Yeatman had such cheaper wine.) In any event, I would skip this one.
Ibo (Lisbon) (lunch) - An excellent way to end the trip. Sat on the water on a beautiful day and drank delicious wine matched by equally delicious food. Not the most inventive cuisine, but the flavor profiles are spot on. We stuck to the mozambican food and, while we thought it wasnt quite as different as we expected, we were nevertheless impressed. Think very high-end Indian food. Mango salad with crab meat was a perfect light starter (with oh so sweet crab meat in bountiful proportions) and a spicy goat curry was a nice contrast.
Alma (Lisbon) - The savior of modern portuguese food in Lisbon. While not as good as Lemos or the Yeatman, this at least redeemed Lisbon to some extent. Appetizer of scallops with Iberian ham was more like 5 different components that didn't fit together, but each component was amazingly cooked. (4 huge scallops for an appetizer was also a pleasant surprise.) Entree of suckling pig didn't quite reach Lemos' levels, but was excellent as well. Excellent wine and service as well. Note that it is a bit out of the way.
Anyway, that's my trip. We were quite surprised to find that the food in Porto was better than in Lisbon. I don't hesitate to say that Lemos and Yeatman can compete with anywhere I have eaten elsewhere in the world.
In conclusion, please please avoid Assinatura :) but otherwise enjoy as the food in portugal is so great!
O Paparico in Porto - Has anyone actually been?
Thans Monchique. I found the same review. (I spent more time than I care to admit researching this, but did not quite venture to trying to learn portuguese...) It just always worries me when there are no negative reviews. If there are negative reviews of Per Se, Noma, Fat Duck, etc, there should certainly be some everywhere!
So far we are planning to go to Pedro Lemos, Foz Velha, Casa Aleixo and A Grade. We have room for one more dinner so we will see whether I cave and choose Paparico...Have you been to any of those mentioned above and either recommend for/against?
O Paparico in Porto - Has anyone actually been?
Reviews on tripadvisor are a little "too" good if you know what I mean. That being said, I obviously don't want to miss it if it is actually that good. Whenever people seem to ask about it on this board, no one seems to provide a response, so I just wanted to see if anyone has actually been and, if so, if it is worth a stop.
thanks!!
Late dinner near Mandarin oriental
Was considering Sou'Wester but (unless i am told otherwise), would prefer to eat outside of my hotel. Won't be able to get to dinner till around 9:30-10 or so (on a thursday). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!!!
One night in brooklyn?
Well gosh, now i feel horrible for setting forth a dated list. Was in no way intending to be anti-hip or geriatric with my choices -- they simply betray my limitations when it comes to dining outside of Manhattan. (Though I am slowly but surely trying to rectify this.) So please, don't hold out on hipper restaurants :)
i really like the henry's end idea as i am a huge game lover, but not sure my dining companions are as adventurous -- is the rest of the menu worthwhile?
edit: and i have been to luger numerous times, but otherwise a good option.
One night in brooklyn?
Friends have offered to take us out to dinner anywhere we want to go, with the one stipulation being that such restaurant is in Brooklyn. (offer excludes brooklyn fare and roberta's tasting menu) I am thinking either Prime Meats, Vinegar Hill House, Convivium Osteria or Saul. Any of these stand out, or is there something I am totally missing? Thanks!
Pre-opera dinner, BLT Market or....?
Girlfriend's parents are coming to town Saturday night and we are going to the opera at the met. Looking for nice, but simple food, preferably heavy on the salad and fish. Best idea I have come up with thus far is the pre-theater menu at BLT Market. Anyone have any other better ideas? Considered bar boulud, but gf thought her parents would like the blt market menu better.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
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BLT Market
1430 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Mark Joseph's Steak House
I actually ate here and at "the place in Brooklyn" on back-to-back days and without question preferred MJ, taking solely the food into account. While I thought the bacon was better at PL (the MJ bacon was waayyyy too big, a shocking complaint from a bacon lover like myself, and not nearly crispy enough), the steaks at MJ easily surpassed PL, in my opinion. I tried the ribeye and the porterhouse at MJ and had only the porterhouse at PL. The ribeye was one of the largest steaks I have ever been served for 1 and the char on the outside was amazing and it was perfectly rare (as ordered). my PL experience this time had been similar to previous experiences - the steak looked grilled rather than charred and came one level over cooked (medium-rare instead of rare). i can't comment on which sides i liked better, since my palate is not near discerning enough to distinguish between (what i thought were) delicious fried and creamy thing.
anyway, not a PL bash, just support for having enjoyed MJs.
Fine dining in Copenhagen other than Noma, AOC and Geranium
Hi all -
We are coming to Copenhagen for 4 days in late July and were hoping to hit one of the top fine dining/michelin-type places. Sadly, Noma and AOC are closed (and Geranium is either closed or just booked). Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with other similar places they'd care to share? Any advice would be much appreciated.
On a slightly less important note, any other mid-priced recs would be appreciated. I've read all of the posts thus far on this board and have made a res at Fiskbaren, which is the only place that seems to get a lot of praise on here.
Thanks!
~Michael
Oyster happy hours?
BLT Fish @ the bar has $1 blue points as well.
Second Mermaid Inn or Mermaid Oyster Bar as my fav. happy hr oyster special.
Though I went 2 weeks ago and ate a few too many oysters and now need a break (i can't stop eating when they are only $1!!!!).
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Mermaid Inn
96 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003
BLT Fish
21 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011
Mermaid Oyster Bar
79 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012
In search of the best chicken parm
Second rubirosa. Also piccolo angolo's was pretty good from what I remember (but it's been a while).
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Piccolo Angolo
621 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
Reasonably Priced Italian East or West Village
Agree with the Supper recs, and emphatically agree with the Rubirosa rec (the black and white tagliatelle was fantastic). Not sure if this fits in price point, but I have always been a fan of Piccolo Angolo, though admit I haven't been in a couple years (recommend the Cannelloni Bolognese Stuffed with Spinach & Chopped Beef & Veal with a Meat Sauce - one of my favorite pasta dishes in NYC).
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Piccolo Angolo
621 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
Rubirosa
235 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
EMP Dinner: 4 Courses plus Duck or Tasting Menu?
I went about a month ago and had the 4-course + added duck as a course. if you go with 4 people it isn't a ton of extra food and is highly recommended.
also, get the carrot!
Scarpetta
sad they got rid of the goat, but at least they replaced it with something equally good (the duck).
Michy's or Michael's?
If you had to pick one, based solely on food?
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Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33138
Thoughts on Ola?
Thanks for the reply. Is it typically a quiet restaurant on a Saturday night, or is it somewhat lively?
Scarpetta
Anyone heard anything about Scarpetta doing an anniversary meal again this year? I've gone two years in a row and was hoping for a third but it doesn't look good as far as I can tell....
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Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014
Thoughts on Ola?
Hey all -
Girlfriend and I are coming to SOBE from NYC and will be sans car. This pretty much kicked out all the restaurants we wanted to go to, including Michael's, NAOE, Michy's, etc since we thought it was silly to spend $50+ on a taxi. So we were thinking Ola for our one more expensive night out, since it seems a bit different from what we normally get in NYC. For what it's worth, we put food > atmosphere (this kicked out casa tua, which looked overpriced considering what we've read re: the food). Checked out Altamare, but liked the menu at Ola better. We are also planning to eat at Joe's (never been to Miami, so need to check it out) and Pubbelly.
I've scoured the board and not found any sizeable discussion on Ola, so would love to hear any thoughts people have, whether they are "Holy crap don't go eat there. Go to [ ], instead" or "Definitely get the lobster empanadas."
Thanks for the help!
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Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33138
NAOE
175 Sunny Isles Boulevard, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
Just another spectacular dinner at Eleven Madison Park
Fyi - just called them. No longer need to reserve the duck ahead of time. they said that was necessary during the transition period of the new menu, but now they can accomodate on the fly.
Just another spectacular dinner at Eleven Madison Park
So I've heard. Maybe I will test them with a request for a duck tasting menu....
Just another spectacular dinner at Eleven Madison Park
I am going to EMP for the first time on Saturday. Do you need to request the duck ahead of time? and can you order it either (i) as part of the main, 4-course menu, or (ii) as an add-on to the 4 course menu? Thanks!
