cmballa's Profile
Banh mi in Wmsburg?
I had a #2 (cold cuts - $5) at the place next to the Charleston yesterday, it was quite good. The pate was exceptional; had a lot of black pepper.
Quiet Dinner E. Vill or L.E.S.
Falai on Clinton is generally quite mellow, as is Little Giant at Orchard & Broome.
Best fried chicken?
I've had Charles (and a few others, the best I've had recently was at Egg in Williamsburg), but I absolutely disagree on your (political) stance against Popeyes. Yes, it's a fast food chain indeed, but the product is simple, executed with rigid consistency, and with fast turnover; it has a reason to be as incredible as it is.
I'll leave this thread to Manhattan chicken-related posts though.
Best fried chicken?
The Popeye's at Essex & Delancey, it seems particularly better than others
New hand pulled noodle shop in ctown (pics included)...maybe better than Super Taste?
This stuff looks awesome, great work Lau
A restaurant recommendation I can't really come up with
This friend of mine has a fairly moneyed family.
A restaurant recommendation I can't really come up with
An email from a friend —
my brother is graduating from highschool tomorrow, and I'm trying to think of a fun, interesting restaurant to go to with the family + grandmothers tomorrow evening, preferably (obviously), downtown (manhattan)
any ideas?? someplace that could fit about 8 people at a table, and would take reservations, credit cards, and grandmothers, and still be fun ...
I know you guys are up for challenges !
Chinese ZongZi - Rice Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves
There are several carts selling these in Chinatown, but they all tend to be very bland.
Soy sauce required ?
Chinatown Dumplings
I've had the veggie dumplings from Dumpling house (they're normally steamed, but they will pan-fry if the order is big enough). They're good.
But for vegetarians I would suggest their vegetarian sesame pancake options -- one is standard accoutrements x 2 (carrot, cilantro, cucumber, etc.), and the other (my recommendation) has those things and a pretty well-prepared kimchee.
(I also HIGHLY recommend ordering a roast pork sandwich and asking for kimchee on it, they sometimes do it for free.)
Vegan Indian Food?
I had a pretty excellent meal at Pongal two weeks ago.
(We actually knew nothing of Murray Hill Indian restaurants and happened to walk in a good one.)
Sun Say Kai - my official replacement for Mei Lai Wah
I tried one of these two weeks ago and thought the bun was tasty, but found the crumb of the bread a bit too coarse and not wet enough to my liking, and the filling a little less fatty than preferable. Hopefully these are symptoms of inconsistency (or better—and solvable by this community—the result of slow turnover).
The coconut bun at MLW was incredible (it reminded me of Czech kolaches I used to eat in Texas), and it doesn't surprise me that these other places pale in comparison.
Root Hill Cafe
This is largely untrue in this city, particularly at coffeehouses worth going to.
The trend is moving away from the Americanized latte of the 80s and 90s and towards a 'flat white' model (without foam) being practiced in Britain, parts of Europe and Australia / New Zealand.
Calling all pork bun eaters....
I'll report back with some opinions about some of these buns: thanks for the tips.
Chinatown isn't quite the same without Mei Lai Wah. I used to spend a lot of time there after I moved to the city last summer, job-hunting on stolen wi-fi, subsisting on coffee, buns, noodles and dumplings (they made a pretty underrated pork and noodle soup!).
Does Nom Wah Teahouse on Doyers make steamed buns ? The place looks great -- I suppose half the game for me is atmosphere -- but seems to close very early; I stopped by at 7:00 pm the other day and they had closed.
I've had Chatham's before and didn't like them. The dough was gritty and dry, the filling too sweet and not porky (or fatty) enough. This is a general problem with many other examples in Chinatown.
life altering sandwiches
While we're talking about Saigon Bakery again I'll mention that their chicken banh mi is maybe the best in the city: they use chunks of grilled dark meat that look similar to their roast pork, rather than stringy, dried out white meat which is common in other shops.
Their meatball sandwich is also very good, but must be split with someone else, in cold weather, with lots of chili sauce (they keep some at the counter).
life altering sandwiches
There is something to me extremely wrong about putting cheese and coleslaw (and onion rings!) on a brisket sandwich.
It should only be onion and pickles, on white bread.
(I'm from Texas though.)
life altering sandwiches
The eggplant–egg sandwich is the sabich. It's maybe even more life-changing than their falafel !
And you're thinking of Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches (the original location is in the E. Village).
Loud music in NY restaurants
Batali has this nasty penchant for loud music in his restaurants, which he tends to defend pretty strongly. He also has sort of sad (fratty) taste in music.
Best cuban sandwich in Manhattan?
What about LES / Alph City Cubans ? I've only had Castillo de Jagua but I'm curious about Clinton Restaurant and others.
Has Artichoke reached it's saturation point?
I went by with a friend at 2:30 or so yesterday, they had a sign up saying they were closed until 4:30. I imagine they are having a hard time dealing with the crowds.
Amazing 66 -- new in Chinatown
Yeah that was me — my duck was fortified with mock duck.
My brother (the chef) comes to NYC - with 6 days notice
Marlow & Sons is (or should be) every twentysomething stoner chef's dream of a restaurant.
Afterwards you can walk across the Williamsburg Bridge and have dessert at WD-50.
Amazing 66 -- new in Chinatown
They do very well with Chinese folks alone, why would they want to attract more business from white people, who on the whole (you, of course, excluded) understand very little of their cuisine ? (I imagine their General Tso's is artfully prepared.) I admire your kindness, your desire to learn a foreign language, and your ceaseless quest to educate us of the hidden ethnic jewels of our city, but you have some seriously rose-colored lenses on, sir.
Amazing 66 -- new in Chinatown
Why always skirt the issue ?
It's quite evident, from probably a dozen posts in this thread, that they dilute sauces for gringos (and ignore them, and add mysterious service charges to their bills).
I don't eat here anymore.
Girl's Brunch in Manhattan
Prune couldn't possibly seat 7 or 8 gals without a fuss or a huge wait.
Damn you Artichoke!
I went week before last at like 3 pm on a Thursday, and it was pretty much dead; everything was in the oven when we got there, which was handy. We ordered square and round slices.
It's not really DiFara-level. The crust has no real chew (or flop) to it — really too crackerish on the round pie — and was sort of tough on the square. But that's my only real gripe. The cheese, and especially the sauce, were really great.
I still haven't had anything w/ artichokes. I'm gonna go back around the same time of day I guess.
Where to find a good Vietnamese sandwich (bahn mi?)
I've actually had one (but only one) very passable roast pork banh mi at Paris Sandwich. I'm fairly certain they premake sandwiches very early in the day though, and that Iucked out with a fresh one.
I've basically limited all my banh mis to Saigon and Ba Xuyen.
