Ok, so this might be a bit strange but here it goes: My wife is Japanese and a non-native speaker of English and she's due in about two months with our first child. I am trying to find a baby shower location on behalf of my mom who lives out in Jersey. 6-10 people and would like to be as budget conscious as possible. Any ideas for me?

I have been falling in love with Indian lentil dishes (particularly ones involving curry) recently and was wondering if anyone would know what type of curries might woek best and what might be a good grocery to look for them at?

If you go to the Brooklyn Chinatown in Sunset Park(N train to 8th Ave), right across from the station is Hong Kong Supermarket. It's Chinese, but they have kimchee and some assorted Korean prodcuts as well. Short of visiting Koreatown in the city, it would be a decent option in the Slope area

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/...

Lexington Ave Cany Store-Malteds and all

Tsmapa for Tibetan and Mingala for Burmese are great as well. A main dish is $9-$12 at both. Fries at Pomme Frites could really serve as a whole meal and the American Diner on 2nd and 5th or 6th has recently added GoGo Curry to it's menu. Seriously good and cheap Japanese style curry. I gotta second Minca too. Plenty of ramen options in the vicinity, but that's my favorite. And Mama's Food Shop for soul food.

I'd have to go with World Tong on this one. Great selection, just get there before 10:30 or so. There was an excellent eggplant stuffed with shrimp dish last time. I like Pacificana too, you really can't go wrong with eirther as long as you get tehre at a less crowded time. World Tong isn't on the 8th Ave strip, so as much congestion around the area

It's not too bad a train ride to backtrack a little over to the 4/5/6 and go to Mo Gridder's by Hunts Point for BBQ. A bit of an adventure, but the food is awesome and hey, BBQ and sports are a heck of a combo. By the way, GO METS!

Woo Ji Rip in Koreatown has tons of prepared meals and sides. Perfect for getting a few dishes to share while on the go. W 32nd btw 5th and Broadway

I second Ostrovitsky's and Chifon's is only a block or two from there(CIA btw Ave J&K). Both are very good and close enough to check both and compare

Well, brunch+Chinese=dim sum to me. Several very good options- World Tong(18th Ave and 62nd St) and then there are several places along the 8th Ave Sunset Park Brooklyn Chinatown strip(Pacificana or one on 61st whose name I forget at the moment). I was at World Tong Saturday and it was excellent as usual. Some very exciting stuff there, not just the usual procession of dumplings. Just get to the dim sum parlor before 10:30 or there could be a lengthy wait. And because they have carts where you can the dishes, not being able to speak Chinese isn't an issue

five guys has pretty good fires, and the burgers aren't bad. want to say 55th or 56th right off Ave of the Americas

Having tried DiFara's for the frist time a few weeks ago, the new prices, for me at least, are going to make it my last as well. Great pizza, but not worth the money. Especially to wait so long to spend it. I understand the rising costs, but I'd rather just grab a slice elsewhere

As far as the lower end of the scale, 9th Ave had plenty of options(Thai, Chinese, burgers). Or you can always get a few tacos from one of the Mexican groceries on 10th Ave for a delicious and insanely cheap meal. That's probably falling off the low end of the scale as far as what you'd be looking for though.

JungMann, Tsampa is a Tibetan place in the East Village. Very affordable and a ton of great veggie options. My friend is a vegetarian and had his b-day dinner there. Cool, laid back kind of vibe there, and a table of Tibetan monks ate at the table next to us and claimed the food was pretty authentic. The size group you mentioned could be esily accomodated as well

I remember checking the prices on their website and being amazed at how expensive it was. There's another conveyor belt sushi place called East in the East 30s which is cheaper, but also quite nasty. Unfortunately, I don't think the NYC area can combine price and quality like Japan does.

U could try an izakaya. Several in the city are big enough to fit a party that size. Depends on how raucous or quiet you want to be, price range, etc. though

yuka in on the upper east side. $19 and pretty good quality considering the price and the fact that it's all you can eat. 2nd and 81st, something like that. there are buffet places like todai which will have sushi included with the buffet, but pretty sure yuka will be more to your liking. with the price as it is, the place can get pretty crowded though, not exactly a warehouse sized joint either

try astorcenternyc.com. related to astor wines downtown. i got a friend a ticket to a scotch whiskey seminar/tasting there and he thought it was great. when i researched the website, there were classes for wine, cheeses, pairing of food to wine cocktail courses, and other seasonal options(ex-hot drinks for winter)

Conveniently enough, there's a stretch of West 32nd Street(btw 5th and Broadway) generally referred to as Koreatown! Tons of places there, many of which work really well for groups. Gahm Mi Ok(not sure on my spelling) has a small menu, but a soup that is one of NYC's finer things after some drinking(a task easily accomplished in K-town). There are tons of Korean BBQ places, you may just want to see which looks good to your group. Some are somewhat more upscale/pricy than others. Some names off the top of my head are Won Jo and Kum Gang San(nicer ambiance compared to most others, but more $). Seoul Garden has plenty of space and some great chige(that's the Japanese name, my wife is Japanese so not sure how it's called in Korean), but it's a tofu soup. Careful with the kimchee version, could require 2-3 pitchers of water. There's a BBQ place called NY Kal Bialthough the actual name is much longer, that has a private room for groups upstairs if you want that. And quite frankly, no matter what restaurant you pick, follow it up by getting some snacks at Woo Ji Rip, some beer at the Korean supermarket, and hit Toto Music Studio(38 W 32nd) for karaoke! I tried to throw some names in there, but you can literally go to K-town and see what you like since all the places are really close together. It can get crowded at dinnertime and later though. Oh, and pretty much everyplace has a ton of vegetarian options, even the BBQ places will have other options. Personally, I like BBQ for groups and those restaurants are usually bigger. I only wish you could bring some people from Dublin who could replace all the NYC bartenders who can't pour a good Guinness...I've seen some things that would turn your stomach...

I work for a Japanese company, and more than one person has told me they didn't think much of Setagaya. Minca downtown has gotten some thumbs up though

Well, The London and Hilton Midtown are both close to Bar Americain, one of Bobby Flay's restaurants. Pretty corporate clientele, but not bad. If you want to use that expense account, Le Bernardin is in the area. Not Per Se, but it'll garner a lot of bonus points on the charge card if you know what I mean. Wu Liang Ye on 48th Street is great, spicy Sichuan(don't know how hot you like it), and much more reasonable price wise than the other two places I mentioned. If you're up for some walking, on 10th Ave and 51st St is Azuri Cafe. My absolute favoite Israeli/Meditteranean place in NYC. The owner is a hoot. Gruff, no frills Israeli guy. Not much in the way of decor or space for that matter. But the falafel platter is excellent, and they have some great salads. If you want a cheap, but good meal, I like Sapporo 48th(or 49th...) for ramen(the real kind, not the $.39 packs from the grocery). And if you just wanna get a bite and move on, Midtown has lots of food carts. Rafiqi's is better than the usual, they have more than one location.

Monte's Deli on Ave O in Brooklyn has excellent soppresatta. Eating one of their heros with their homemade mozzarella is a great way to watch the game(and nap afterwards)

I've had the Kirin you mentioned LStaff, and I enjoyed it as well. I didn't experience the somewhat skuny aroma you did though. Hitachino sounds very intriguing, I'll look into that. When I was in Japan, I actually visited the Sapporo brewery and was suprised to find out that all the major Japanese beeers(Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo) were all once(albeit far back) the same company!

Hitachino? Never tried it. Where could I pick some up?

I'm a big fan of Yebisu, which Sapporo has released in NY, CA, and HI as of this month. Has anyone been somewhere that had it (restaurant or shop)?

Yunnan Snack is great food. Great spicy soup dishes. Not sure if they have fried potato balls, but the owners were really nice when I've been. The woman speaks very little English, but the guy spoke a bit when I was there. They might be able to point you to any other places where you could get food from Yunnan province.

I was actually born in the Boro and moved to the Township when I was 2. My parents still live there. Always loved a nice soft serve cone covered in sprinkles during summer, even if it involved a wait. Many friends from HS worked at Jersey Freeze. Along with Federici's, although I was never a huge fan, one of the few food institutions Freehold could really claim. I wish Monmouth County well with its all you can eat soup, salad, and bread sticks...

I'm looking to take a friend and his family(wife and two yound children), plus my wife to dim sum in Brooklyn. Saturday at about 10AM. Will this time be early enough to avoid waits(my friend is worried the young ones could get restless) and would World Tong or Chinatown(8th Ave Seafood or the parlor on 61st) be less of wait?

if you willing to take a bit of a walk from 53rd and 6th, 9th ave has an abundance of affordable places to eat. Enough choices to satisfy your taste for pretty much any cuisine. You should be able to look at menus in most windows, so as to see what might be okay for your dad and what's not. several thai places on that stretch have some good veggie/healthy options. Mid 40s to Mid 50s. for spectacular and healthy food, i suggest azuri cafe which is on 51st near 10th. under $10 a person for some of the best israeli/middle eastern food in the city. again, something of a walk from 6th ave. soba nippon is good, but can be a little pricy if you stray from the plain soba dishes.

Anything new on this? Born and raised in Freehold, and the town needs an Olive Garden about as much as Bill Gates needs money...