ccferg's Profile
Diner / Marlow & Sons review (w/ pics) - wow, excellent american food in brooklyn and probably one of the best meals ive had in NYC
Wow. Just had frog legs there on Wednesday night. Hadn't had them in years and always prepared in a garlic butter. I'm sorry I can't describe this better, but they were fabulous. Fried, crispy, and then plated in a lovely sauce. My only complaint was that it was served as a small plate ($16). I would have been happy to spend another $10 for a large dinner plate.
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Diner
85 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Great food, a little space, atmosphere, etc. in Paris for under 125 E pp
Oh, you're killing me. I just looked at the websites of the recommendations from both of you and I want to hop on the next plane. I think I'll be there in November and I'm going to remember these places. Thanks.
Great food, a little space, atmosphere, etc. in Paris for under 125 E pp
A friend of mine will be in Paris in September and would like something a bit special to celebrate his birthday with his wife. They'd like something a little less "special" than le cinq -- and others of that rank -- but would like something a little more relaxing and spacious than la regalade or l'ami jean. My experience has been that this is kind of a hard niche to find in Paris. Any suggestions?
Do some Paris bistros over salt their food? [moved from France board]
mangeur, I haven't been on Chowhound for a while, so just saw your response. Food really should be perfectly salted -- too little and I'm missing it, too much and it's inedible. That shouldn't be too much to ask of a trained chef. Too often in Paris, all I tasted was the salt.
What are the best French restaurants in Montreal
I'll be in Montreal for a few nights with my daughter in August and we're looking for French (or Canadian French) restaurants. We're staying on rue de Montagne and would prefer to walk. The last time I was in Montreal (20 years ago) I had the best sweetbreads of my life (and I've spent a lot of time in Paris). I'm looking for a restaurant with a menu like that. (But, I should add, I don't want to have to refinance my house to do it.)
Coming to NY next month...need ideas/help!
Just had dinner at Babbo on Thursday and both the food and the service were great. If your comment shook things up, I thank you. I went for all the offal kinda things that I never see on menus at home (Providence) -- pig's foot, sweetbreads, etc. I loved everything. And, really, the service was just perfect.
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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011
Do some Paris bistros over salt their food? [moved from France board]
I hear this complaint often on this board and had I not experienced it myself at a respected bistro in Paris I would have dismissed this as the cranky concern of health-obsessed Americans. I use salt quite freely in my cooking, but I don't want my food to taste "salty." Is there a cultural difference here? Or is using a lot of salt a cheap trick of chefs who are covering up flaws in their cooking?
Rhode Island
I'm not going to tell you they're good for you, but there's nothing like a NY system wiener "all the way" once in a while. Sometime, maybe late at night, give one a try.
Day trips with good/fun lunches from PVD
Here's my challenge. Please come up with five great day trips from Providence that would include a good lunch. By good lunch, it can mean anything as simple as fried clams and a beer at Flo's in Newport or it can be something fancier. I just want it to be good -- and scenic if possible. A friend from Ohio, who loves the ocean and its bounty, is coming for a week in early June. I'm treating it as a vacation and am trying to thinking of great day trips. On my list is Little Compton/Westport, Newport, Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard (fast ferry), but I'm open to all suggestions. If you have ideas for how to fill hours between meals, that would be great too. And I'd like the drive to be somewhat scenic. Also, some rainy day options.
Where to buy live lobsters in CT on Xmas Day
If you keep the bag open and in a fridge, they should be fine overnight. I've done that often.
Providence Dinner Party Suggestions
Went to that holiday party at Cuban Revolution (Valley St) and I have to say I was disappointed by the food. The room was lovely, the staff really attentive and nice, the drinks good, but .... I really wanted to like the food more. My workplace booked the entire restaurant for the night, so perhaps I shouldn't judge it based on buffet food. The desserts were good.
Providence Dinner Party Suggestions
How about Cuban Revolution on Valley St in Olneyville? I'm going to a Christmas party there on Thursday -- will let you know how it went.
best seafood in providence
Does the Oyster Bar still do happy hours (4-6?) with good prices on the raw bar?
SOS! boyfriend's first time in paris, need suggestions
I agree. I just came back from Paris and It seemed liked a bargain compared to NYC. I stayed at a lovely hotel (in the 7th) that included a beautiful buffet breakfast for the equivalent of $200 a night and I had extraordinary meals with wine (really good wine) that were about $60 or $70 pp. I'm ready to move.
Four fine days in Paris, thanks to the hounds
I've been instructed to try to duplicate La Regalade's pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving (the price I have to pay, I guess, for my posting). The raw scallops sound appealing; when they do that, what else would they add? The one ingredient I recognized in the version I had, which I don't think included scallops, was pork cracklings. Would pinenuts and slices of foie gras work with scallops? Do they put some pasta ingredient in it? I know when things are good or yucky, but, sadly, I don't have the most discriminating palate and am not always sure what I'm eating.
Four fine days in Paris, thanks to the hounds
Ooh, I'm sorry. I guess I did know it was French -- a momentary lapse. Thanks, though, for explaining the difference.
Four fine days in Paris, thanks to the hounds
Thanks for your reply -- and, indeed, for all your posts. I always love reading what you have to say.
I guess when it comes to mixing cheese and fish, I tend to agree with the Italians. I don't think they work well together. I find the rouille and croutons, however, a very nice addition. Is rouille the French version of aioli or it is something altogether different?
Four fine days in Paris, thanks to the hounds
I just returned from a short get-away to Paris, which, sadly, already feels long ago. I was able to squeeze many nice walks and sights into the hours between meals, but here's what I ate:
I arrived in Paris at 8 a.m., having had no sleep. I took a long walk that ended in the Luxembourg Garden. Having remembered a rec on this board for the Cafe de Fleurus at the Guynemer entrance of the garden, I stopped there for an early lunch -- a tasty pate sandwich and a nice glass of wine. (I have to say that even in Paris I felt a little hard core ordering wine at 11 a.m., but I wanted to sleep all afternoon.)
That night my friend (Al) and I went to L'Auberge Bressane, which appealed to me because it had an interesting fall game menu. It's a charming place with a friendly and helpful staff. When Al and I were both going to order escargots for an entree, he suggested we choose two different things and split them, something I had wanted to do but wasn't sure it would be well received. So we ended up splitting the foie gras and the escargots. The foie gras, which as I recall was prepared with figs, was particularly nice. For the main course I ordered the wild game pie and Al ordered the wild boar. Both were tasty, but we found them overly salted. We shared a bottle of very good burgundy that I thought was well priced (I think it was $40E.) We split the crepes suzettes for dessert. We were quite full.
The following night we went to La Regalade, again at the rec of the chowhounders. What an incredible value that place is -- a terrific three-course meal for 32E. It must be said, though, that it's not very comfortable when it's full. Still, I enjoyed the food very much. I started with the pumpkin soup because I had heard people rave about it. It really is so very different from the ubiquitous squash soup you find in the U.S. What exactly is all the different stuff that goes into the bowl before they pour the pumpkin puree into it? I'd love to try to replicate that. I then had the caramelized pork belly, and the grand marnier souffle for dessert. Al started with the coquilles st jacques, which he said were very nice. I can't remember now what his main course was, but he finished with a dessert that had some very dense chocolate ice cream on it. Once again, we were stuffed. The portions there are more than generous.
The following day we both agreed we needed to lighten up a bit. We were also eager to enjoy dinner in a place with some elbow room and a more relaxed pace (but without a steep price tag). We went to Le Temps Perdu on rue de seine and were delighted when we were seated at a table for four. This night we really took our time, starting with champagne. We both had soup for the first course: he had the soupe de poissons and I had the soupe aux moules. Very tasty. His came with bowls of aioli (Is that what it was?) and shredded cheese, which I found odd. I can't imagine putting cheese in a soupe de poisson. Is that traditional? I had a nice rare entrecote with bearnaise and he had the duck, which he liked very much. We skipped dessert that night, but had some after-dinner drinks. I had a nice port and I think he had a calvados. As much as we enjoyed the first two nights, we were very happy by the third to be in a more spacious and relaxed setting. And it was quite reasonable -- I think our total bill came to about 100E and that included not only the champagne and after-dinner drinks but a full bottle of bordeaux.
Sunday morning, thanks to another chowhound rec, I went to the organic market on Blvd Raspail, just a five-minute walk from my hotel. What a beautiful market that is. I picked up cheeses, pates, tartines, etc. for a Sunday supper at my friend's apartment.
After a lovely organ concert at St Sulpice, we set out for a lunch that started with oysters. I can't remember the name of the cafe, but I believe we were on rue de buci, across from a fruit market as I recall. We're both smokers, so we enjoyed our lunch outside. (Those heaters really do prolong the outdoor eating season.) The belons seemed a tad pricey so we went with the speciales, which were great. I then had a fine salad with smoked salmon and shrimp. We shared a carafe of pouilly fuisse. Everything hit the spot.
Thanks again to all of you on the France board. In preparing for this trip I've come to know each of you and I'm sure I'll continue lurking. Reading these threads keeps me just a little closer to my favorite place in the world.
I just got back from eating my way through Paris - and here's what I tasted
This is why I travel alone! That always happens to me too. I'm the one who loves and researches the food but somehow majority rules and I end up at stupid places.
Too bad about L'Epi Dupin though. People I respect have recommended that in the past but my recent research tells me it is no longer what it was. I'm going for a short visit in November and am looking forward to dinners at L'Auberge Bressane and Le Regalade. (I've also got a long list, thanks to the regulars on this board, for lunch.)
Is it just me, or do you think Prov is a tad pricey?
I probably used a poor example when I started this thread, but I was kind of blown away at the idea of spending $27 for two bloody marys. And I know Prov has some really great independently run restaurants. I'm just surprised that I always end up spending at least as much at these restaurants as I do at comparable places in NYC. And even with the exchange rate in Paris, I don't suffer from sticker shock there either. I'm sure the fact that there's more competition in those cities explains part of it. And I guess other than the price of the real estate, the cost of running a restaurant -- labor, food, energy, etc. -- isn't too different here. Sadly, however, I don't think the RI economy can support some of these places for too much longer. I'm hopeful many of them will begin offering prix fixe meals on a regular basis, at least on weeknights. And they could stop marking up the liquor quite so much.
Is it just me, or do you think Prov is a tad pricey?
Hi. Actually I almost never go to a chain, but finding ourselves at the mall with just an hour to kill (and wanting nothing more than a bloody mary), the bar at Napa Valley Grille seemed like a good idea at the time. I really didn't expect the drinks to be $12 each. And, yes, the restaurants you name do offer good food for a reasonable price.
Is it just me, or do you think Prov is a tad pricey?
Providence does have good hole-in-the-wall joints, but I was talking about the restaurants on the upper end -- and most of those in Prov aren't chains actually. We have many excellent, independently-owned restaurants here, but it seems prices are out of line given the income levels here and the much lower cost of real estate. You would think I'd see a difference when I go to comparable restaurants in Manhattan, but I don't.
Is it just me, or do you think Prov is a tad pricey?
True enough, but I'm not sure many -- including me -- will do it twice.
Is it just me, or do you think Prov is a tad pricey?
My daughter lives in NYC and I'm planning a trip to Paris next week. The menus in these two cities, considered the most expensive in the world, seem pretty damned reasonable to me. This afternoon my daughter and I were shopping at Providence Place Mall and had an hour to kill before her bus back to NYC. We went to the Napa Grille (at the bar) for a bloody mary. The bill with tip came to $27. When I take her out for a nice brunch in NYC, it isn't much more than that and it includes the freaking bloody mary. At nice restaurants here we're paying in the $20 to $35 range for entrees -- the same as Babbo's in New York. Given our economy, can this continue?
How much does a half-decent bottle of wine cost in Paris?
I'll be staying near St Sulpice Square. Any recommendations for retail stores within walking distance of that?
[Paris] My brain is fried...
I didn't know there was a difference in what passes for tripe here and abroad. I cook tripe at home, and, yes, it is the honeycomb. Now I'm dying to try the tripe in Paris, but, alas, I have only four days on my trip in November and have already planned about 30 meals. (You and the other regulars on the France board have been a huge help in narrowing it down a bit. I'll do a recap when I get back. I'm really looking forward to dinners at La Regalade and L'Auberge Bressane, which has what appears to be a nice fall hunter's menu.)
They did tell me at Babbo's that I could sit at the bar. My daughter lives just around the block and we'll do that next time I'm in town. Guess we need to try Pastis as well.
A good place for lunch along Montmartre walking tour
Thanks. Isn't Les Deux Moulins where Amelie was filmed? If that's the case, and it has good food as well, I really must go there.
[Paris] My brain is fried...
No, no, no. I love Paris as much as the next person, but we do have restaurants that compete -- and Babbo's is one of them. I'll bet the tripe there was just as good as anywhere in Paris. Sadly, I haven't been able to try it because I can't get a DAMNED reservation at the place. It's easier to go to Paris for my tripe.
A good place for lunch along Montmartre walking tour
We'll be doing the standard Montmartre walking tour (probably following Rick Steve's route) in November. What would you recommend for a good lunch? I'm certainly willing to walk several blocks out of the way for something good. We're not looking for a big three-course meal. In fact, I'd just love a great bowl of onion soup, moules et frites, crepes, or something of that nature. And, of course, a good glass of wine. And are there some streets we shouldn't miss when we're walking around? Or any great kitchen supply stores?
