tigerwoman's Profile
Curry leaves in Astoria
in case you cann't find them in Astoria - a short trip over to Jackson Heights and Patel Brothers grocery always carries fresh curry leaves - a small bag for $1
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Patel Brothers
37-27 74th St, Queens, NY 11372
Thai Groceries in Brooklyn or Queens?
Top Line Supermarket on Broadway in Elmhurst sells frozen kaffir leaves - It's in the back of the 'second" store behind all the canned and packaged goods. They also sell Indonesian products. One of which is bricks of crushed peanuts with spices like lemongrass that can be used to make peanut sauce, although we like to crush it and sprinkle it on grilled fish and shrimp. I am not sure about ganangal but also check the big Asian supermarkets in the Pho Bang shopping center and behind them in the Hong Kong Market.
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Top Line
81-37 Broadway, Queens, NY 11373
Why are there no really good Indian restaurants?
have you tried Aaheli on 9th Avenue btwn 54/55th? Small joint - only seats about 20 and food is quite tasty and not the same old same old dull crap. I really really LOVE the fried okra appetizer -Karrarri bhindi as well as the eggplant appetizer with tamarind sauce. Also their version of chicken makani (butter chicken) is lovely and finished with fresh curry leaves.
It's also BYOB with no corkage.
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Aaheli
826 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Produce..specifically fresh artichokes and romansco cauliflower
Has any one seen fresh baby artichokes and/or the bright green spiral looking cauliflower preferably in queens or brooklyn. TIA!!
Off night at La Flor
interesting that we both have had similar experiences in the same week.
and while we rave about places I think we need to point out problems too.
I just posted a message on their facebook page for Viko to contact me about an experience I had at his restaurant on Monday (see post below) Will be interesting to see if anyone gets back to me - the facebook page seemed underused and only had 8 people following/liking it - which means it's not an active page or a space they promote or use.
By the way, I will try them again but not with guests who haven't experienced it before and with some caution. You never know what problems someone else is going through - so the benefit of the doubt prevails. But if business is off and the prices are high for the location and such - and if the quality is off too (and not just an abnormal experience) then this could be one of those down hill alerts - I certainly hope not.
Personally as a food professional I think they need to revamp the menu and offer some lower pricing for the type of food they are serving to attract a wider neighborhood audience as well as the chowhounder types who are willing to travel. They are not expensive but they are also NOT cheap. And the value for money has to be there for places like La Flor to survive.
BTW personally I have never liked their cookies or baked products - always found them too dry even though the reviews are always good. But to each his own. However I can say that the food we had on Monday was past it's prime, not well cooked and took WAY too long. The service was OK - and the waitress tried to make it right, but the overall experience (like how about bringing us some bread or something while we were waiting for the first 30 minutes in an EMPTY restaurant. - They just were off their game.
Off night at La Flor
OK - well have to say I have also been a long time La Flor customer and fan, have brought many folks there for some delicious and interesting food (usually off the menu too) and hadn't been there in a while
some of our favorites from the menu have been
and these have been consiistently GREAT over the years.
I find VIKO to be a nice person but he is not there during lunch as he works a JOB in another restaurant.
the cornmeal crusted calamari with adobe aioli
the mexican pizza
and their hamburger which was always very good
among others.
so went there this Monday May 23, 2011 to celebrate my son's fiance's graduation.
We were looking for a casual yet delicious and reasonably priced lunch and I said - oh let's go to La Flor - don't usually go there for lunch but thought it would be fun.
What a disaster.
First of all it was a MOnday and DEAD.
we were the ONLY customers when we came in around 3 pm
We ordered 2 appetizers and two main courses for 3 people
It took over 30 minutes for the calamari to come to the table
the other appetizer didn't appear until the main courses? (we just ordered them all together and no one asked)
the lady serving us has been there forever - very nice but ...
anyway, we were starving and gobbled it down but noticed that the calamari were tough and rubbery - NEVER had that experience at La Flor before AND the adobe mayo aka aioli was kinda bland. OK - as stated we waited about 30 minutes for this to show up and we were starving so I beckoned the waitress and told her " hey, just an FYI - the calamari is very tough and rubbery - overcooked - please make sure to tell the cook because it's normally not like this" we are not asking you to replace it because at this point we are really hungry OH and can you please bring us some lemon (which normally comes with it)
NEXT - it took at least another 10 =15 minutes for the rest of the food to come out.
other dishes we had ordered
pizza with fennel sausage and mozz - tasty but the crust was tough (not the normal way for La Flor)
Eggs Mexicana - looked like barf and tasted bland. But my son was hungry and he just ate it. Nothing really wrong but certainly not worth $8 - 9 and it took another 5 minutes for the side sauces to come out that gave it any flavor. Have you ever made scrambled eggs that look like broken up pieces of egg and thats what this was. with 5 -6 tortilla chips surrounding it in a pretty pattern. More effort seemed to go into the look than the taste.
Shrimp Chulupa - now I had asked the waitress what a shrimp Chulupa was - had never had that there before but had had some other very good shrimp dishes. So she told me it was a fried tortilla with shrimp and avocado crema.
What came out was a steamed tortilla, slathered and drowned in avocado crema and to add insult to injury - the one shrimp I tasted out of 3 on the plate was going BAD.
At this point, I confirmed the taste with my son and called the waitress over.
I pointed out to her that she had told me that the tortilla was fried and showed her that it was white and steamed not crispy and fried (the underside that you could see once you lifted up the tortilla. I also think a challupa should be more of a masa cake but OK at least grill or fry the darn tortilla - and don't DROWN in in sauce to mask your lack of work and skill.
She apologized, asked me if I wanted anything else.
So - I ordered the Mexican Pizza - at this point I had more or less lost my appetite and should have said no but I also needed to get something for my husband who was picking us up shortly. MISTAKE. this time I didn't even complain, felt defeated - the pulled pork on the pizza was not bad but tasted "OLD" that taste when something has been in the frig too long. It seemed to be the mode of the day. THere was not one single dish that was GREAT never mind GOOD.
OK so now we ask for the bill and the waitress absent mindly asks "how was everything"
WRONG person to ask because I am usually quite honest
so I told her that it was VERY DISSAPPOINTING... and reiterated what the problems were and pointed out the ones I hadn't told her already.
She apologized again, and when she brought the bill she said, I didn't charge you for the calamari. We still ended up with a $30 plus tip bill for a VERY DISSAPPOINTING MEAL.
and yes, I would like to let VIKO know about this because he works hard to keep the place goign but seemed like it was quiet and they were trying to push out food that should have been tossed and that this particular lunch chef was incompetient. As a food business owner, as painful as that is to hear, I would personally rather hear it and work on correcting it rahter than to have customers a. complain on public forums like this and b. not come back - thus adding to the problem not creating solutions.
Share Your Best Neighborhood Nosh Tours
Uzbeki and Georgian food can be found either in Brooklyn or in Queens. I live in Forest Hills and if you want a fun experience with Russian delis and restaurants - plenty of noshing opportunities exist within a small walking distance.
I would start out on 108th street. Take the express train to continental avenue and then take the bus towards corona (free transfer with metro card) or walk down from local subway stop on either 63rd drive or 67th avenue. The shopping area goes from 63rd Drive to maybe 65th Road - but don't let that fool you there are 3 of every number with a st./ave/and road - so it's about a 6-7 block stretch of FORN (food porn - a word I am about to trademark)
Russian Delis with both prepared and packaged foods
Moshe and Minya's
Romanoff's (also kosher and closed on saturday/jewish holidays)
great for produce - they also sell a packaged brand of baba ganoush that we really like from SONNY and JOES - nice smokey flavor, they carry full iine of Russian dairy products from Keffir to Russian Sour Cream, To fancy butters and MORE too..
Their deli counter is great for smoked fish and such - lots of things that are hard to find in "normal jewish delis" even with a huge variety of smoked fish and mostly Russian speaking customers. Again they are kosher - glatt kosher in fact and even have a raw butcher dept. I was able to get a lamb shank bone for passover there when no one else had it and it was only $2 for 2.
International (close to 63rd drive - they have a kosher and a non kosher store a few doors from each other and a great deli section
they also sell something by the register they call "cheese balls" which are my favorite cheesecake alternative - made with farmers cheese or possibly ricotta too and just so delicious - a package of 8 is about $7
They all sell korean carrot salad - a nice picnic lunch item and quite tasty. cheaper than getting it at the restaurants too., and the lavosh breads come in fresh daily. I always see them being delivered. In fact the range of fresh breads - simple country breads, is staggering - rye, pumpernickel, whole wheat, whole grain, lavosh, crackers, candies and MORE...
and there are at least 2-3 others whose names escape me and are a bit smaller
there is also the infamous
Carmel - which packs a HUGE punch for a SMALL store
specializing in fresh spices, dried fruits/nuts, Israeli products, Middle Eastern Syrups,
pita bread of all types, salmon caviar, an amazing housemade bean salad (only available alternative weeks), housemade humus (not my fav but popular and garliky),
cheese, frozen foods, juices, mixes, oh what they pack intto that store is AMAZING, with great prices, fresh products, great turnover and just in a league of its own.
None of these places have restaurants where you can sit and eat.
There is a restaurant on the same block as International - cann'[t remember the name, but they are considered to be the best on 108th street. Skewers of grilled meats, great fries with garlic and parsley, nice salads and warm fresh tandoori baked lavash bread.
there are at least 3-5 of these similar menu restaurants on this small shopping area locally known simply as "108th street"
When you head back to the local train on there are more Russian places on both sides of 63rd drive including the North side (the 108th street side) and on the South side of QUeens Blvd as well. Continuing up 63rd Drive towards Alderton Street there is a large uzbek restaurant called Cher... something or other - cann't remember and was going to look up but got called away and want to get this posted. Check out the Rego Park/Forest Hills area - not talked about as much but a wealth of food safari fun.
Cheburechnaya maybe the name, although the link below indicates brooklyn, I believe this is the Rego Park 63rd Drive Restaurant I am referencing. Also note many of the Russian /Usbeki/Georgian Restaurants at least in Queens - are KOSHER and closed on Friday night and Saturday - some reopen Saturday night but check hours and locations if those are the days you are planning on visiting. Plenty of the delis are NOT kosher with HUGE arrays of pork products... Just saying...
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Cheburechnaya
92-09 63rd Dr, Queens, NY 11374
R&M Glatt Supermarket
63-64 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
Monya & Misha
64-46 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
Carmel
64-27 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
A&R International
63-46 108th St, Queens, NY 11375
Brooklyn catering on a relatively tight budget
what sort of budget are you looking at and for how many guests? what time of year?
whole roast duck in flushing
there's also a large asian supermarket that offers duck and roast pork etc on the same block as the post office.
Little Neck
the kebab house on Northern blvd one or two blocks from the LI/Great Neck Border.
Sripaphai~ over hyped?
we went recently and ok will have to preface by saying it was mothers day and generally I hate to eat out of mothers day because the restaurants are too busy and get overwhelmd.
I think this might have been the case for Sri - but in any case was somewhat dissappointed,. While nothing was bad nothing was outstanding.
we were with my son, his girlfriend and her brother and parents - who are all ethnic chinese from singapore and the dad even used to cook thai food professionally.
we ordered duck green curry - the best of the bunch altho I thought the duck was a bit "old" tasting - not bad just blah - the curry was quite good.
we had both green mango and papaya salad - forgot which one was much spicer both again were good but NOT great - have had better saucing elsewhere and even here at Sri...
also had massaman which was overly sweet but the meat was fantastically tender I liken it to thai potroast...
we also had larb - very blah version - not perky enuf and lacking herbs and spices.
the tom yum soup was great - perfect actually also a favorite
and while the meal was not bad it was not great either and didn't live up to my hype to them about some of the best thai in nyc.... somehow mothers day aside, I seem to recall a similar feeling last time we were there - and of course hitting the right dishes helps but our ordering was fairly ecclectic (and I did remember NOT to order the pad thai or satay there - glad I stuck to that one)
Zero Otto Nove - Arthur Ave.
we ate at Zero Otto Nove after starting our meal at their sister restaurant Robertos- and both sides of the equation were fantastic. we only had room for two pizzas both were excellent. \Would go back in a heartbeat and would take folks there for neopolitan pizza. better than naples the city and michels there in my opinion
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Zero Otto Nove
2357 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458
Seeking hidden gem or little known food stores/specialty stores?
and the thai store is one of the few places that you can find kaffir lime leaves.
Venturing outside of Manhattan, check out the middle eastern with an Israeli slant grocery store called Carmel in Forest Hills/border of Rego Park on 108th Street. Lots of interesting products at great prices with high turnover in a matchbook sized store. It's in my hood and I love it - can buy spices by the ounce, dried fruits + nuts, freshly ROASTED coffee (they roast right there) olives, israeli candies galore.
NYC caterers for business cocktail receptions - "bang for the buck"
can you use a caterer that does kosher style eg fish and vegetarian or just vegetarian
full disclosure, I am a caterer but could recommend a few others to you as well who like myself are big on the WOW factor of imaginative food that is both delicious and beautifully presented. We work with a lot of progressive congregations throughout the city. Google "purim catering nyc" and see what comes up
a few caterers that come to mind are Jacque's Catering in Rosedale, Events by Annette Aarons in upper manhattan (east harlem), both are highly creative women running catering businesses that go over and beyond.
http://bit.ly/l15gP lots of creative presentation ideas here
Good soups in Queens?
the beef is meant to be raw and cooks in the hot broth. If your broth was lukewarm ( we've eaten there over 15 years and haven't experienced that) then by all means send it back. Part of the appeal is that you cook it by dunking it in the broth
or what we do is share by using small bowls
we put some bean sprouts in the bottom, then spoon in some noodles,then the "raw" meat which is floating on the top of the big bowl of soup, and top with broth
then we add other stuff like sirachia (hot sauce) squeeze of fresh lemon etc.
Honestly lots of folks have knocked pho bang over the years, but personally we really like the place and rarelly are dissappointed. Also good value for money ratio.
Aaheli in Hell's Kitchen
Just wanted to say we ate at Aaheli again last night and their sauces are really incredible. We had some sort of fish stew - great. The fried Okra was incredible, and two types of dal - one with ginger (we didn't order, joined some friends who had already ordered) The grilled tandoori shrimp was good not great but tasty and the only ehhh thing was the grilled lamb chops which had no seasoning - good meat but well done and not seasoned. Nothing bad and overall still some amazing tastes. I am surprised this place hasn't caught on with the chowhound crowd cause they have alot of unusual items not just standard indian restaurant fare.
worth joining costco?
all costco pharmacys in NY have to be open to the public by law and in fact are often the cheapest option for prescriptions. THus you can always get into the costco by telling them you are going to the pharmacy and looking around. However you won't be able to buy anything without a membership (other than prescription drugs)
Good soups in Queens?
the Pho at Pho Bang in Elmhurst is great and you can choose what you want in it. I'm not a fan of all the tendons and stuff and usually just stick with the #22 first one on list - which is super thin slices of raw beef which cook in the hot broth. They give you a plate of bean sprouts and thai basil or mint and a wedge of lemon you can put in soup plus there are sliced jalapenos, red rooster hot sauce and other condiments on every table.
Lunch for about 15 people near LIRR station in Bayside?
Press 195 - panini type sandwiches and great salads is just a few blocks away,
(they have another restaurant in Park Slope too)
You can get hot and cold sandwiches, and really good salads (a rarity these days)
lots of options and choices and it's a sit down restaurant.
Forest Hills/Rego Park/Corona area
London Lennies (old school seafood restauarant) on Woodhaven seems to get good reviews and would probably work.
Some friends have enjoyed Age'd in Forest Hills - a steak house.
Passover/seder meal in Manhattan
The Actor's Temple on West 47th street does a yearly non traditional second night seder with performances and great safardic style food (Fish + vegetarian dishes - not necessarily traditional food like brisket etc.) They have reasonable pricing for families with kids - and they do an abbreviated version of the seder so you are not sitting for hours waiting to eat. Rabbi Jill is a doll and puts on a great Passover
- you can reach her at hausjill@aol.com.
they are definitely open to the public with paid reservations
Oakland: Tribu Cafe - Member of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
They never claimed that all that produce comes from a CSA just that they support a CSA. I know when we had a cafe we tried to buy from local farmers as much as possible both within the season and price point. The owner did say that she wants to change the menu to show which CSA they support but in the meantime there is a sign in the restaurant. At no point did the special of the day, the pizzette with the asparagus say it was from a CSA FYI
Give them a chance they are brave to open a food biz in this economy (I had a cafe in NYC for 12 years before 9-11 put us out of business economically) and it's a tough road. I would say that while food is not "perfect" eg the pizzette was blandish - it is fresh, and made with care and thought.
Good Thai on Solano in Albany
my cousin lived around the corner from this place for a zillion years and he urged us to go there on our recent visit to the Bay Area - we took his advice and were pleasantly surprised.
Fav item and standout was the grilled calamari with peanut sauce - both the taste and presentation was impeccable...yet delightful
the duck curry (gang ped yang) was delish too - many layers of flavors the only negative was that the duck didn't add much to it - although it didn't mar it either - it seemed like more of an afterthought.
The Pad See Ewe (sauteed wide rice noodles with veggies + a smokey sweet sauce) had a lot more varieties of veggies than we've ever experienced in NYC - usually just broccoli rabe or some green even bok choy but this version has mushrooms, carrots, broccoli along with the greens, it was light on the noodles (which normally might be a good thing but these noodles are so chewly addictive that I craved more of them and was somewhat dissappointed). Taste was good though not stellar (again, I personally didn't like the medley of veggies for this dish - and prefer only the greens with the meat noodles and egg)
The other dish we shared was the Beef Salad which although tasty had a few drawbacks like the meat was a tad tough and there wasn't enough greens for the amount of meat + veggies
overall though a very good experience, delicious food, fresh, well prepared, pleasant service, attentive refills on water (so appreciated), glad we followed the "native" recommendation.
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Bua Luang Thai
1166 Solano Ave, Albany, CA 94706
Oakland: Tribu Cafe - Member of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
we had a lovely lunch and afternoon hanging out in the sunshine at their outdoor tables a few days ago as we passed thru the bay area on our way back to NYC. Had the spinach, feta, asparagus pizzette which came topped with a fried egg. A bit bland nothing some S + P didn;'t solve but lovely fresh ingredients and pretty presentation, also had the spanish tortilla = almost a frittatta with a fluffly eggy topping and ultra thin layers of potato and egg. Very yummy and again pretty presentation with pomegranite seeds and curls of sliced bright juicy orange. and under $4 for the reasonable portion.
We had a delicious Americana served in real china cups that was generous, deep and delicious. The owner who was working the counter, originally from Iran I think was lovely and gracious and we had a nice long chat. TOld her about chowhound which she seemed unaware of. The area has changed much in the past 15-20 years and the influx of cafes like this seem a welcome addition to a quiet stretch of San Pablo. Bonus for me, one of my normal thrift store stops, Goodwill, is only 2 blocks away.
PS also tried the Banana Walnut Cake was good but dissappointing to me as it looked like something my beloved grandmother made but didn't taste the same. Still - fresh moist and definitely housemade. Try out this charming restaurant and coffee bar (with free wi-fi too) they could use the support and they do a great job
Anyone have a great lunch recommendation around Healdsburg / Sebastapol?
I second the Bovolo choice - it's in the back of the bookstore in the corner of the Healdsburg Square and if the weather is nice you can sit outside in the sunshine on the patio - pizzas are good here but my fav is the orchette carbonara made with their own cured pancetta or bacon lardons Yummm... Check out the downtown bakery for coffee and baked goods/dessert - never had lunch there.
Aaheli in Hell's Kitchen
try the fried okra - krispy strips of fried okra with some delicious seasonings. Incredibly good. Have eaten there 4 times over the past 4 monthes and have never been dissappointed.
HELP!! In Forest Hills
try la tavernetta on Metropolitan near the library I think
good italian food - reasonable prices and if you do take out they discount 20%. We often get their eggplant parm sandwich - bread is nothing special but the eggplant and sauce are excellent and for $6 including tax per sandwich (with the discount) it's a delicious quickie meal
Aaheli in Hell's Kitchen
Went there twice this past week after a recommendation from a relative who was raving about it. Prices are fairly reasonable with good portions and DELICIOUS food. Tried a bunch of the kormas, samosas (good but we go to Jackson Hts all the time so wasn't blown away but the potato ones were quite good -) meat samosas were the only dissappointment 0 bland filled with chopped lamb no real seasonings
Had 3 different lamb dishes over the 2 days. Lamb Ghost - excellent, #3 (owners favorite) but forgot name - lots of ginger - really great & lamb korma - least favorite because meat was not that soft and sauce was good but not as good as I remember from London restaurants.
Nan is excellent - which is not always the case
ditto basmati rice and the pillaf we had was vegetarian (due to one of our friends dietary restrictions) and was good but would have preferred lamb or chicken I think.
chicken curry was surprisingly good - not boring as expected.
and there was a cabbage dish from the vegetarian section that was outstanding (towards bottom of menu I think)
spinach - paleek paneer as well as spinach with potato, cauliflower almost as good as Minas in QUeens - very tasty and fresh.
didn't try the mango lassi but my friends son enjoyed it.
over all a good experience and quite reasonably priced. TIny place - maybe 20 can be seated tops. Gets crowded fast.
Top 10 Bakeries in the 5 Boros? [moved from What's My Craving?]
Yes that's the place in Little Neck
and I do sooo second the Little Pie Company's Sour Cream Walnut Apple Pie
have you tried the donuts from Donut Planet on the lower east side - whacked out owner but some very good donuts.
