LP Steamers in Baltimore near the harbor but if you want authentic Baltimore urban corner crab house; this was very good. super nice steamed seafood....Cantler's does have a nice water view.....there is the Maine Avenue fish market that is a good place for tourists...I checked out Baltimore Magazine for best crab house -- that's how I found LP Steamers -- very good crab cake, too

Hi, my friend Sarah is considering the Thanksgiving Buffet at Comus Inn. The menu looks like it will suit them just fine, but can someone let us know how the service and food is these days?

Hi, my daughter and I are heading to OC mid-week next week and we want to find a place to enjoy some nice drinks -- like margaritas and martinis. We're staying at the Beach Plaza hotel on 13th St. and would be looking for something not too far from there. Thanks.

This is interesting. Two of them are coming from Cornell and I know they love the Ithaca Farmer's Market, This is an interesting idea. thanks.

Hi: I live in DC and am looking to give gift certificates to some young people who are new to the area and trying to make a career there. One of the boys is a 24-year old writer learning to work the phones, the other are two recent film school graduates moving to LA.

I want to get them something special, something LA/Hollywood. I'm thinking like $40 each and a place that I could get gift certificates online and give it to them as a graduation gift.

One is vegetarian, one lives in Studio City. Got any ideas?

P.S. My recommendations to you as a return favor are: when you are in New Orleans, go to Cochon. When in NYC, go to DBGB. You'll love the.

THANKS

This is great. We live in Germantown, and feel like we are just discovering good restaurants. This will really get us started. Thank you !!

Dear Chowhound Advisors !! We went to Lupa. It was fun and good !! We went to DBGB Kitchen and Bar and it was fantastic !!!!!! Thank you so much for recommending two memorable meals in NYC!! Got filled up, so didn't make it to Eataly for gelato or to Kin Shop -- but of course made it to Crumbs. THANKS AGAIN.
Here's one tip I can share --- if you get to New Orleans, you have to go to COCHON. Loved it

-----
Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

DBGB
299 Bowery, New York, NY 10003

Eataly
200 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

OK, so I am a very new fan of Chowhound, and a lifelong foodie !! Chowhound posters turned us on to Cochon in New Orleans and Lupa and Daniel Boulud's DBGB in Manhattan. I would recommend DBGB and Cochon to everyone.

At DBGB, my husband actually said "Find me a place like this in DC". Even though I have lived in Maryland suburbs all my life, I know nothing about DC's restaurants. DBGB sells itself as French bistro meets American tavern.

So, can you turn us on to some good restaurants in DC? Thanks.

....Forgot to mention that my husband likes Taste of Thai, he thinks it is excellent; but to me the Pad Thai is better at Sticky Rice. Sticky Rice is mainly carry out. Taste of Thai is a crowded and popular restaurant.

-----
Taste of Thai
216 E State St, Ithaca, NY 14850

If you are in Ithaca over the weekend, you MUST go to the Ithaca Farmer's Market; probably one of the best in the country. My daugher is graduating from Cornell in May so we've hit a lot of the restaurants. Ithaca does have a lot of good restaurants; many of which use local ingredients. We've enjoyed Just a Taste and Sushi/Sake (Aurora) -- Just a Taste can get crowded, but both are very good meals. The kids get a very good carry out/delivery at Sticky Rice on State/Gateway Center. Best pad thai I've had ever. you could get it delivered to hotel - eating in there is not great. If you want to taste Authentic Mexican, go to Garcia's on 13. For a very nice meal, try Carriage House for Brunch. Moosewood is unique and very good, I've always had to wait a bit at Moosewood and the waiting place gets pretty crowded. Enjoy !!

-----
Moosewood Restaurant
215 N Cayuga St Ste 70, Ithaca, NY 14850

Carriage House Cafe
305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca, NY 14850

I continue to be grateful for these comments. We have Carmine's in DC. It is special in a family way and way better than the usual Italian we are exposed to here. But, indeed, for my trip to NYC, we want to make it extra special. There was a bit of sticker shock looking at the restaurants recommended, but we are over it and ready to go for it. As of last night, Aifiori or Caino were in the running. I'll check into Lupa again. I like that Daniel Boloud kitchen one "Of course, I'd never heard of him until one of the TopChef contestants said "Oh my Gosh, I'm cooking for Daniel Boloud". Anyways, thanks again !!! Much appreciated.

-----
Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012

Thanks for the useful comments --- I am sorry that I'm being unclear and I realize I'm not giving you good information about my request (I originally posted it in DC and I mentioned the DC places we like, but my post got moved to Manhattan).

I feel I must defend myself. The only food show we watch is Top Chef -- and they've had judges on who have NYC restaurants and I thought that I'd ask about those. Now that I think about it, I think they had the guy from Morimoto...I totally don't know the sections of the city -- and thus I tend to walk around aimlessly until we stumble on something -- which can be great or really bad....so I thought I'd ask for your favorites....Any place for a good paella...?

These are great!! I'm checkin' out their web sites. EATALY might just be crazy enough for us. Gramercy menu looks good, but may be a bit too classy for us. Thanks so much; I never would have thought of these places; though I have heard of them.

Hi, my daughter and I are going to NYC and I am trying to find a great restaurant meal that we will always remember. In DC, we go to Morton's or Clydes for special occasions. We are fans of Top Chef and have been thinking about Tom Colicchio's restaurant, but there have been guest judges on the show with restaurants in NYC, but I don't remember the name. I was in NYC and had a great meal at a Spanish restaurant near the United Nations and we had some good Brazilian food. We love Little Italy. The problem is that sometimes, if you don't ask around, you can get to a restaurant that is not really that good. We are pretty casual and I was thinking in the $50 - $75 range, without alcohol, for a meal for the two of us. Great food and memorable is what I am looking for. Got any suggestions?

Thank you.

We passed by Butcher and the menu looked really good. I'd definitely try that, too.

No second guessing here !! Just trying to figure out what I missed by not going to both Cochon AND JI. Cochon will go down in family history as one of the best restaurant meals ever. One that we will always remember. From the reviews, JI seemed memorable to others, and I was just trying to understand the differences between the two. I think I have a good picture now. Thanks !!

-----
Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

This is great information. Thank you all so much !! I'm feelin' better about our choices.

I think that the atmosphere at Cochon suited our family well -- we might not have been able to handle the wait and the atmosphere at JI, given that my husband wasn't feeling too well on the trip. I saw a recipe for alligator cheesecake, so maybe I'll get that in.

Really appreciate the information. I'll hold on to my amazing memories of the meal at Cochon. Even have a hat to advertise Cochon !!!

Thanks again !!

-----
Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Hi, we've just returned from a trip to New Orleans. We ate at Cochon and thought it was fantastic; lots of ooohs and aaaahs and smiles at our table. For our family, it was really a perfect and extremely memorable meal.

Here's my problem: we never made it to Jacque-Imo's. And now I'm reading all of these fabulous reviews and having major restaurant regret. Guess, I'll have to come back -- and prepare to get in line.

How would people say that Cochon and Jacque-Imo's compare? When we were in New Orleans we ate at Felix, Court of Two Sisters, Mothers, Adelaides in the Lowes hotel, Rio Mar and as far as I am concerned only Adelaides came close to Cochon. We thought Cochon was great.

Did I really miss something amazing by not going to Jacque-Imo's?

-----
Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Rio Mar Restaurant
800 South Peters, New Orleans, LA 70130

Oh, thanks. i didn't even think of Wagshal's -- their brisket is great. Now we have another reason to go there !! Thanks all !!

Thanks to you both. I've been trying to post a Thank You, to the earlier post, but it hasn't gone through. my husband is thrilled to know he can get it somewhere and i guess it will have to be a very special treat !! Thanks much

hi, we recently ate at a restaurant called Rio Mar in New Orleans. They had serrano ham, whixh was great, but they also had Pata Negra ham whixh was out of this world. It is from the acorn fed animal in Spain. does anyone know where to purchase Pata Negra in the DC area?