Is anyone doing restaurant week this time?

I've done 3 RW lunch so far this time. Convivio, DB Bistro Moderne, Lure Fishbar. In order of preference, for app, I like the Salmon Tartare at DB best. For main, the Monkfish at DB and the shrip & grits at Lure. Convivio wins in dessert hands down.

For all occasions, I went in a group of 3, therefore had tasting of other dishes. All in all, I'm a bit disappointed at Convivio, especially after all the raving about the place. DB's execution of fish was really good, dessert is meh. I did Lure on Sunday, the $24 brunch menu offers good value and choices, but the dessert is the deal breaker. But I'm going back there again to try the other apps and mains, the dessert I can overlook entirely.

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DB Bistro Moderne
55 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036

Convivio
45 Tudor City Place, New York, NY 10017

gac101 in Manhattan

Cheap authentic local bites in San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 of us will be visiting Puerto Rico for the very first time next week, will stay 4 nights at the Radisson Ambassador at 1369 Ashford Avenue, San Juan 00907-9955. Since most of us are students/unemployed, we're looking for cheap authentic local places to keep the tab low. We don't drink, nor do we care about atmosphere. As long as the food is good. the price is cheap, we are up for it. So can people please recommend where in the area we should hit up or maybe a place with a rather convenient drive(we have a rental car)?

Thanks a lot!

gac101 in South & Central America & the Caribbean

4 days in BCN - need help with budget eating plan for 3

Good suggestion guys. I'm feeling my plan is a bit too packed. I should leave myself open to places I stumble upon that looks interesting. Okay, so if I have to choose 3 meals out of the following places, which ones should I take over the others and why? Each one of them has a wide following, I just cannot decide on my own. Thanks again.

La Fonda
Can Lluis
Sant Joan
Anima
Paco Meralgo

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

4 days in BCN - need help with budget eating plan for 3

Oh really? I think I read somewhere that Sant Joan serves a 3 course set lunch from Mon-Sat for a little more than $10 Euro. Would you recommend the food regardless? As for La Boqueria, I just want to squeeze it in our itinerary early as I'm afraid we won't be able to get to it later in our trip. If we couldn't get our hands on anything good, we'll probably go to one of the tapa bars recommended by Parigi/PBSF provided that we are hungry and not tired as dogs.

P.S: Stil need recs for sunday lunch and one more budget weekday dinner.

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

4 days in BCN - need help with budget eating plan for 3

Thanks all for the info and suggestions. I'm not really going to have dinner at Mercat de la Boqueria. But since we get in early that day, I thought it will be a good idea to have a nice lunch, buy some munchies at the market(I suppose they'll have some, right?), and call it a day, so we can get enough rest for all the touristy things the next day. Is this feasible? After considering your recommendations and some more googling, I have revised the plan as follows.

Day 1 (Fri)
Lunch: Anima - Menu Del Dia
Afternoon visit for Dinner munchies: Mercat de la Boqueria

Day 2 (Sat)
L: Sant Joan - Menu Del Dia
D: Romesco

Day 3(Sun) - Day to splurge
L: La Fonda - Does anyone know if they have a menu del dia on Sunday or any place that does?
D: Paco Meralgo

Day 4 (Mon)
L: Can Lluis - Menu Del Dia
D: OPEN

I see that alot of restaurants don't open on sundays. For the one that does, It looks like the Menu del dia is only offered from Mon-Sat. Does anyone know a good spot for sunday lunch? I also have monday dinner open as I haven't quite made up my mind on which place to go yet. There are so many great restaurants and recommendations, yet so little time and money for me to get to all of them. If there's one budget meal I should absolutely have in BCN, where would it be?

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

4 days in BCN - need help with budget eating plan for 3

Hi all,

I am taking my parents to Barcelona for the very first time in March on a tight budget. To save money but still have a full belly, our plan of attack is to have the menu del dia for lunch and a light meal at a good tapas bar for dinner to keep the daily food spending under $100(the cheaper the better). We don't really care about the decor but would prefer to have a table. It's all about the food(oh well, and the price). We'll be staying near plaza Cataluna for 4 days and have planned the following itinerary:

Day 1 (Fri)
Lunch: Anima - Menu Del Dia
Dinner: Mercat de la Boqueria

Day 2 (Sat)
L: Sant Joan - Menu Del Dia
D: Romesco

Day 3(Sun)
L: TBD
D: Paco Meralgo

Day 4 (Mon)
L: La Fonda - Menu Del Dia
D: Maitea

Ad you can see, I still need suggestions for cheap breakfast and a place for lunch on sunday, is there a restaurant that offers a menu del dia on sunday? My choices above include some of the chowhound favoites, some are less well-known that I came across on random travel websites and blogs. I'm wondering if these are decent choice and if I should substitute any of the above with the following or other places I haven't put down/considered.

Ciudad Condal
Meson David
Envalira
La Taverna Catalana
La Rita
Cerveceria Catalana
Kiosko Universal
Pitarra
Txakolin

P.S: While I've never been to BCN, I was in MAD last November And thanks to Chowhound, I've thoroughly enjoyed my meals at Maceiras, Casa Mingo, Cerveceria Cervantes, La Finca de Susana, and El Tempranillo, etc. However, my favorite was La Fragua de Vulcano near plaza Santa Ana due to its incredible price and solid food. So I'm not hard to please and don't mind having tapas for 1 week straight, as long as it tastes good and is priced right.

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

RW Plan & Attack

I added Le Cirque and One by the Sea, Two by the Land to my list. Also considering adding Fig & Olive for later. Actually, my time slot at Convivio sucked, guess I just have to dine really early for once.

gac101 in Manhattan

Restaurant Week Le Cirque Opinions

Looks like they will have the RW menu til 2/27.

gac101 in Manhattan

RW Plan & Attack

So far I have booked Convivio and Lure Fishbar, are there any steakhouse/seafood recs out there? I'm pondering on Delmonico's... Seems like many CH favorites from the past are either not participating this year or are only doing weekday lunch which I cannot do.

gac101 in Manhattan

Winter Restaurant Week Participants

I don't think website lists out the restaurants that will be participating...

gac101 in Manhattan

Winter Restaurant Week Participants

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone has any inside knowledge of who will be participating in RW later this month? And what are the better ones to visit?

Thanks.

gac101 in Manhattan

cheap dinner in C-town with a spicy kick

I'm taking 3 out-of town friends to Chinatown for dinner tonight. Since they are all students on a budget(well, I think they are really frugal) and are craving something spicy, I'm wondering where would be a good sit-down place to take them to...

We would like to stay away from the usual Cantonese fare and are leaning towards a Szechuan or Shanghainese place. I don't think there're any good Szechuan options in C-town. On the other hand, I've been to Yeah Shanghai Deluxe on Bayard a while back and remember that they have both Shanghainese and Szechuan dishes on their menu, is this place still good? Any other place I should consider?

Thanks in advance!

gac101 in Manhattan

Dinner at Beacon Restaurant tonight, what to order?

Went there on Friday Night, ordered 2 starters, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert. Agree with pups224, food was mediocre, portions were small compare to the price, service was nonexistent. I would not go back or recommend to anyone.

gac101 in Manhattan

Dinner at Beacon Restaurant tonight, what to order?

Party of 2, eats everything, not drinking, trying to keep the tab under $100 total, what are the better dishes to order?

gac101 in Manhattan

Leaving Queens!!! What are the must eats before I go?

Thanks all for the great recs, something happened and it turns out I'll be staying in the area for at least a few more months. So I'll make sure to sample the names mentioned and report back. In fact, I got delivery from Southern Spice this past weekend, got the onion kulcha, mango lassi, fish curry, chicken 65, dry sauteed mutton, everything is excellent. While I thought it's a bit pricy portion wise compare to the other delivery places in Flushing and Murray Hill, I think the taste more than makes up for it. Just wished the lassi was a bit more sour and they gave me more rice.

P.S: I did not get anything in complimentary as reported by some lucky folks in other threads.

-----
Southern Spice
1635 Hillside Ave, New Hyde Park, NY 11040

gac101 in Outer Boroughs

Cheap awesome eats in Madrid

Thanks Julie, for the list of recommendations. Although the addresses and the restaurant names confused the hell out of me, I'm gonna start plotting them on a map. So would you say most of the places you mentioned are within walking distance?

P.S: I will be staying at 5 c/cervantes.

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

Cheap awesome eats in Madrid

Hi all, me and a friend are travelling to Madrid this Thanksgiving. Since we're both cash strapped grad students, I'm wondering if there're any 'Awesome Eats' that are a must in Madrid and also on the cheap side?

We'll be staying in a hostal on Calle Cervantes in the Huertas neighborhood, and none of us speak Spanish. So easy to get to locations are preferred. Oh well, I know 'Agua sin gas' and 'Cafe con leche", but don't think that will help us spotting good cheap eats in Madrid.

We are adventurous eaters who'll try everything and anything tasty, but not too crazy about vegetarian dishes, but with meat sauce or seafood broth is okay, just not a all-veggi plate. Cheese is also not a must have for us. We also don't drink if that's relevant.

So please my fellow chowhound area experts, please help someone who's never been to Spain and whose knowledge on Spanish food is limited to the less than authentic Paella and Tapas in NYC.

Thanks so much!!!

gac101 in Spain/Portugal

Saturday/Sunday Lunch Prix Fixe or Tasting Deals

That website is not too useful, many of the restaurants listed only offer lunch from Mon-Fri.

gac101 in Manhattan

HELP...GREAT LUNCH SPOT needed for Sunday!

I'm with Kathryn on Szechuan Gourmet, also consider Ollie's on 42nd & 9th.

-----
Szechuan Gourmet
244 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

gac101 in Manhattan

Saturday/Sunday Lunch Prix Fixe or Tasting Deals

So they have a Sunday brunch Prix Fixe?

gac101 in Manhattan

Saturday/Sunday Lunch Prix Fixe or Tasting Deals

Thanks, RGR, I was actually drooling over your pics this past weekend. Was definitely attracted by the way the dishes looked from Toqueville, you and buttertart just sealed the deal for me. I will go ahead and make the reservation for this Sat. You think they'll pull the prix fixe menu off and replace it with some other special menu since it's Halloween?

I will do the other ones in the coming weeks as well.

Any other good ones out there? I've been deprived of some fine dinning for a looong time...

gac101 in Manhattan

Saturday/Sunday Lunch Prix Fixe or Tasting Deals

Hi All,

I work in a crappy area where there's no good restaurants within walking distance, my job also does not allow me to take 2 hour lunch breaks to go sample the fancy lunch fares at Michelin starred restaurants in the city. I know I could do dinners, but they're a bit pricey for my budget and I often work late and don't want to go to bed right after a big fancy dinner, bad for the waistline. My search has yielded little results as most lunch deals are Mon-Fri only. So the question I pose to my fellow chowhound experts are:

Which restaurant(s) in NYC serve an awesome value lunch prix fixe or tasting menu on Saturdays and/or Sundays?

I look forward to trying the ones recommended and will report back my experiences.

Thanks!!!

gac101 in Manhattan

Leaving Queens!!! What are the must eats before I go?

Oh man, looks good but kinda far. I think I need to take the F then the Q43 there... I'll see if I can squeeze it in. Thanks for the rec.

gac101 in Outer Boroughs

Leaving Queens!!! What are the must eats before I go?

Oh, I think I've been to Ocean Jewel Seafood Restaurant once for a group dinner and Jade Asian Restaurant once for a group dim sum... I forgot about them as both times I went with a large group... I do agree these are excellent cantonese fare.

gac101 in Outer Boroughs

Leaving Queens!!! What are the must eats before I go?

Um... no, I actually never heard of it. Ignorant me, where is it though?

gac101 in Outer Boroughs

Leaving Queens!!! What are the must eats before I go?

Hi all,

I'm moving down deep to Brooklyn next month and would probably not have the time to frequent all the great eateries in Queens. So before I move, I really want to try as many 'those not to be missed plates" in Queens as possible.

I'm currently living in Flushing, but have not been to that many restaurants in the area. So far I had dined @ Spicy & Tasty, Corner 28, Red Chopsticks, Nan Xiang soup dumplings, Sentosa Malaysian, Gu Shiang Taiwanese, San Soo Gap San Korean, Imperial Palace, Canton Gourmet. Had take-out from the Xi'an place down in Golden Mall. That's about it.

Haven't really explored places outside of Flushing, only one I can remember was the famous Sripraphai.

So would the chowhound area experts fill me in on what have I missed in Flushing and other parts of Queens that I should definitely get to before I move out of the area? As I only have about 9 days left to get to as many places as possible, places close to the 7 train subway stops will be on top of my list.

Thanks in advance.

gac101 in Outer Boroughs

Help! Anniversary Dinner next Saturday 10/31 Halloween

So my research has yielded:

Po or Jack's luxury oyster bar - 6/$50, not 100% sure

Conviviou - 4/59 prix fixe

Or should I forget about the above 3 and go with Degustation @ 10/$75?

Thx.

gac101 in Manhattan

Help! Anniversary Dinner next Saturday 10/31 Halloween

The Nougatine's 5 courses for $68 dinner tasting is available on Saturday? What about their regular $26 lunch prix fixe? Thx.

gac101 in Manhattan

Help! Anniversary Dinner next Saturday 10/31 Halloween

Just read your review, I see that you really liked their pasta dishes, how about their entrees? Thx.

gac101 in Manhattan