We are planning on spending a quick weekend in Joshua Tree en route to San Diego. The plan is to fly into PSP on Friday landing at 8pm. We're staying at the Mojave Sands on Friday and Saturday night and then will be driving to San Diego some time on Sunday.

Are we better off eating in Palm Springs when we land or driving to Joshua Tree and trying to catch light night dining there?

Are there any restaurants worth noting in Twentynine Palms or the JT area?

We've never been to the area, so I think a Date Shake is also in order.

We're still trying to decide which version of the scenic route we're taking from Joshua Tree to San Diego on Sunday. Are there any must eats along the way?

Now I'm waffling on Lugers Sunday. We're as much about the experience as the food, which is why we had Luger so high on the list. Having said that we're also fans of a great burger.

We only get to NYC once every 4-5 years. If you HAD to pick just one, would you have the burger and Minetta or the steak for two at Luger. Think about experience + food for an out of towner.

Thanks Kathryn,

I wasn't very clear on my intentions, we'll be seeing Rock of Ages, which plays on both Sunday and Monday. We're staying in SOHO, so instead of the Brooklyn TKTS we'll just go to the Seaport location. My wife will probably want to go back to the hotel and nap/relax for a bit after lunch on Sunday so I'll break off and try the TKTS then.

Luger is a no go for Monday lunch, my wife is in training all day on Monday and Tuesday and I can't do that without her. Same for Spotted Pig.

As far as meat heavy, I also didn't divulge that we're pretty heavy Paleo/Primal eaters. Meat heavy is all we do. I'm certainly not against a carb binge when warranted though.

I'm not to worried about that part, we don't have an issue paying full price since we know what show we want to see.

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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

I'm tagging along with my wife for a few days in NYC and am getting tired head deciding on where to eat. We love food, but we aren't really into the multi course chef's menu, gastro anything, etc. We like good, simply prepared food preferably in a relaxed setting.

We've both been to NYC a few times but it was earlier in life when we didn't have the appreciation of food or the finances to afford what we didn't know to appreciate. We'll be eating dinner Sunday-Tuesday and I'll be on my own for lunch all those days.

I started thinking about Keens vs. Luger and have read about every thread here on the subject. Needless to say it resolved nothing. Why not just resolve it ourselves?

We land early enough on Sunday to do lunch at Luger. The one consistent knock between the two Brooklyn vs. Manhattan locations. Doing lunch makes it a destination only affair. We'll get the steak for two, bacon and fries and call it a day. We can also hit the Brooklyn TKTS location as I here the line is much shorter than in TS.

That night I currently have reservations at Stanton Social. We'll probably be in the mood for a lively atmosphere and a bit smaller plates. We're either going to a show if TKTS comes through or to the Comedy Cellar afterwards.

Monday lunch I'm going to Katz's to get the pastrami AND the knoblewurst. I was thinking we would hit Keen's. My wife loves lamb and the mutton chop seems to be a must get item. I'll probably either get the lamb chops or a steak if I'm still in the mood.

Tuesday night I had planned for us to go to the Spotted Pig for dinner.

I'm open right now for Tuesday lunch. I was thinking of trying the chicken at Barbuto but the reviews are mostly miss. Too bad Minetta isn't open for weekday lunch, was looking forward to trying their burger.

Any NY only experiences for lunch? I've read of a few places that do Korean fried chicken. I can't get that where I live.

Other things on our list:

Ginger Man for beer
Burp Castle (and Pommes Frites) for beer
Moldy Fig for jazz

How does that sound?

Thanks Dave, any recs closer to the hotel for roast meat? Is Aqua the same as Hutong?

Thanks to both of you! 10,000 Buddhas in Sha Tin was definitely on the list of things to do, so great to hear it is close. I am just starting the mapping out of our day and that makes it much easier.

Understood on the TV angle, but the place does seem to get really go reviews on here. If it were going to be a 30 minute commute each way, and we were there for nothing but that, I wouldn't bother, but the 10,000 buddhas makes it immediately worthwhile.

After arriving at the hotel we'll head over the the Peak, then back to the East TST station and up to lunch at Yat Lok, then down to Sha Tin, then some walking around Kowloon, then the harbor light show, then dinner, then crash.

My wife and I are going to have an overnight in Hong Kong on Thursday and we're looking for food ideas. Neither one of us reads or speaks Chinese, but we're adventorous. Our flight arrives at 7:45am and we're staying at the Sheraton in Kowloon. We were planning on taking the Airport Express to the K2 bus, so we think we'll be at the hotel around 9:00am. Our flight leaves the next morning at 9:00am to Bangkok.

We'll have been in the air for 20 hours, but are hoping to have caught some sleep and use the adrenaline for the day.

I hate to be a TV follower, but after seeing Yat Lok we are very interested in trying their goose and pig. I know roasted meats are all over the place, but we'd just as soon try this one as any.

Can anyone provide advice on the best way to get there from Kowloon? Are they open for lunch? Will we have problems ordering?

If we can squeeze that in for lunch we'd like recommendations for dinner. Unfortunately, neither of us will have packed anything fancier than a button down shirt, jeans and tennies for me.

We'd also like any recommendations for a nice bar with a view to grab a pre-dinner drink and soak in the skyline. Early weather reports look nice.

We're planning on doing the basic touristy stuff in our limited time, which means the Peak and Star Ferry along with riding atop the double decker trams.

Thanks in advance!

My wife and I are headed out tomorrow night for a Thurs - Sunday Night trip to New Orleans. We arrive at 8:30pm tomorrow and leave Sunday night at 7pm. Not much on the agenda other than eating and relaxing.

We're staying in the Quarter. I've been a dozen or so times and she about 3 or 4.

The only thing we have on our agenda right now is the Southern Comfort Cocktail Tour. We're more of the go it alone types, but this tour sounded fun. We plan on doing a couple of walking tours as prescribed below and catching some good jazz at night. I'm sad to say that I've never been to Preservation Hall, so that is something I am forcing this time around.

I'm all about cramming 6 or 7 small meals into a day. We'll just split whatever the house speciality is and move on to the next place. Sometimes we just stuff ourselves silly. As you can see we're not into the really hi-tone places. I got enough of that type of food in a previous life.

Our meal list includes:

Coop's (never been)
Irene's (never been)
Mr. B's (been for dinner, thinking of lunch this time for BBQ shrimp and gumbo only)
Bon Ton (never been)
Willie Mae's (never been)
Port of Call (been many times, but she never has. We love burgers)
Lucky Dog (wife will probably eat half a dozen of these in the wee hours of three nights)
Galatoire's (still trying to decide if I want to bring a jacket!)

I'm needing recs for the following

Oysters. We've been to Felixs and Acme. I know it's not the best time, but she LOVES oysters and we will be having them in some form or fashion

Po Boys - probably not make a meal out of it, but just share one for a quick snack. I've had Johnny's, but am open to others. I'm more of a roast beef/shrimp, she's more of a fried oyster

Cool drink places with good music - Napoleon tops my list here

Jazz. I like places that you can slink in and out of so we can hit more than one a night

Breakfast. We like good atmosphere, somewhere to read the paper and have a good cup of coffee along with standard breakfast fare.

Walking Tours. Most of my past trips have been focused a little more on the Quarter than I would have liked, so we're trying to branch out a bit.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/0020020033.html
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/0020020034.html
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/...

Any help would be appreciated on things missed or comments on the above.

I just bought a Blue Star range with an 1850 degree infrared broiler and am looking to break it in tonight with a NY Strip. Has anyone used a super high heat broiler like this indoors? I have a 1200cfm hood that should make decent work of the smoke, but I'm worried about cooking time, materials and splatter.

I was planning on using a cast-iron sizzle plate, cranking up the broiler, covering the steak with light olive oil (high smoke point), salt/pepper and placing it right under the broiler for 4-5 minutes per side, then moving it to the lower rack to finish for 2-3 minutes for a desired medium/medium rare doneness.

Is the inside of the oven going to be a disaster area?

Fuddrucker's put alot of R&D dollars into their bun. Some think it is too thick but I love the buttery flavor, which comes from the swirl they use to coat it. I've never had a bad burger at Fudd's.