rpk's Profile
Good bakery in New York?
The sticky bun I got at Amy's Bread on Bleecker St was the worst sticky bun I've ever had. I really like the ones I've gotten at Two Little Red Hens, but I think they only have them on Friday & Saturday. According to my notes from 6 years ago, the pecan-topped sticky bun at Bruno Bakery on Bleecker St was also good.
Wobble Cafe (Ossining) - any good?
I liked their buckwheat blueberry pancakes. The brioche French toast was by far the worst I've ever had.
Breakfast in SoHo
I've only had breakfast once each at Balthazar and Vin et Fleurs, both visits during this last December. My test probe for each was French toast, bacon, and a latte. (This ignores Balthazar's baked goods, which I rather like, OK?) Vin et Fleurs: pretty good French toast, good bacon (and a generous portion), latte OK. Balthazar: good bacon, latte OK, French toast mediocre. I'm kinda grading on a sliding scale here, because Balthazar's French toast is a bit pricey. If I were sitting in a cheap diner in upstate New York, the same French toast would be regarded as pretty good (at a third of Balthazar's price, of course). However, just to be clear, regardless of price, I still like Vin et Fleurs product significantly better.
Breakfast in SoHo
For breakfast, I would go to Vin et Fleurs (69 Thompson @Broome), not Balthazar.
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Vin et Fleurs
69 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012
BBQ in Pittsburgh
I wish. On a recent Friday, they were out of the pulled beef at 2PM.
ISO Sunday Brunch or Lunch in Westchester
I'm curious as to what food you've eaten at Bistro Rollin, especially given your comment, in another post elsewhere on chowhound, about how good Wobble Cafe is.
At Bistro Rollin, I've had, and enjoyed, the French toast, the omelette w/gruyere & ham, and the croque madame, including the fries that came with this last. I will admit to disliking their (flat, weak) cappucino and their (skimpy, flavorless) lobster roll.
At Wobble Cafe, I liked the buckwheat blueberry pancakes on my visit in December of 2007. However, I was served the worst French toast I've ever had. Utterly flavorless and dry. Unredeemable even with liberal amounts of maple syrup. The cafe au lait was mediocre, as was the bacon (and such a small portion).
Breakfast
When I tried that, arriving shortly after they opened, I was informed that they wouldn't be serving hot food for another couple of hours (like maybe 10AM). So it still would have been quite a wait. I didn't stay. Didn't bother to go back, either.
Late Breakfast spot near Cross West Chester Expy
City Limits Diner is not a typical diner experience. The Livano family just decided to put "Diner" in the name of this large, expansive restaurant as part of stylings they chose for it. It's been very popular since it opened, which is a big contrast to "Livano's", their previous attempt on the same site. I've been pretty happy with breakfast (e.g. chorizo & egg quesadilla w/guacamole), lunch (e.g. burgers), and dinner (e.g. veal meatloaf).
The Star Diner is REALLY a diner, with just a handful of small booths plus maybe a dozen stools at the counter in a classic diner-car with original fittings. I would get the scrambled eggs w/cheese and ask for French fries instead of the home fries. Followed by a shake. But that's just me.
For non-locals, the relative ease of reaching City Limits from I-287 may outweigh the authenticity of the Star Diner. Maybe that's a minor issue in this age of widespread GPS use; I'll let you decide.
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City Limits Diner
200 Central Ave, White Plains, NY 10606
Good place to talk business over burgers downtown?
Old Town wouldn't be my choice. I thought my burger was slightly off, while the fries were limp and tepid.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Roasting Plant definitely didn't work for me when I went there this last January. Honestly, I thought the cookie tasted a bit rancid. Kinda put me off. On the other hand, the hot chocolate was simply awful.
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Roasting Plant
81 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Clinton Street Baking Co question
I went there, once, at 8AM and was told that they wouldn't be serving hot food until 10AM. That put me off, so I haven't bothered to return.
ISO Casual Italian Central/West Westchester
Standard chowhound replies:
1. I know a zillion great places, far too many to mention unless you're more specific.
2. You were way too specific in your requirements, thereby excluding this great place that:
a. serves a completely different kind of food (but it's great!),
b. isn't open when you want (worth it to change your plans), or
c. is miles from where you'll be (you've got a car, right?).
City Limits Diner, White Plains
Fries should be blazing hot and crisp on arrival at the table. Theirs aren't. That puts me off. Aside from that I've been reasonably satisfied with my meals there.
Pittsburgh - North Oakland - Recs for Breakfast/Lunch
I'm not a fan of Pamela's blueberry pancakes. The pancake is cooked separately and then folded around some cold berries. Not good. I much prefer, for example, the cornmeal blueberry pancakes at Polly's in Sugar Hill, NH, where the berries are incorporated into the body of the pancake itself. And I gotta say that it would be practically impossible to get my wife back to a place that doesn't have half&half for the coffee.
Lulu's Bakery Scarsdale NY Can you ....
Not for ice cream cakes, but for cakes & cookies and so forth, you could try Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley.
bars with nice outdoor/patio areas in southern westchester?
The patio outside of Chat in Scarsdale seems pretty popular.
Best food and drink near the main NY Public Library? -- restos, markets, bakeries, pushcarts -- you name it
Grand Central Terminal may be of interest to you (market, Oyster Bar, and the Campbell Apartment). For coffee, I like the Macchiato Espresso Bar, on E 44th.
LA Hound transplanted to Sleepy Hollow
Does a latte and a bun (you know, croissant, whatever) qualify as breakfast for you? Coffee Labs on Main St in Tarrytown is awfully good for those.
There's a farmers market on Broadway right by the Tarrytown library, Saturdays from 8:30AM to 1PM.
Inventive Cocktails in (lower) Manahattan
Gee, I was just in Bemelman's Bar last Wednesday at about 3PM. My wife and I, in our usual birdwatching finery, waltzed in fresh from a walk in the Ramble. Tommy was perfectly happy to mix up a couple of French 75s without a hint of condescension over our scruffy attire. Perhaps things are a bit different later in the day, when the evening shift comes on.
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Bemelmans Bar
35 E 76th St, New York, NY 10021
Anyone Tried Day Boat Cafe in Irvington Yet?
I went there for lunch with a bunch of guys from work. We all tried the lobster roll. It was agreed by one and all that it was good, and also that it was rather expensive.
RUB or Hill Country
Never having been to Lockhart, let alone tried sausage while there, I can't say if my problem is with Texas BBQ sausage or with mishandling somewhere between there and my plate while standing in the restaurant on W 26th St. Sadly, my notes from 2 years ago fail to record the reason for my displeasure with the sausage I had there. Same with the beans, which may well be as authentic as the sausage, but they didn't suit me as well as those at RUB did.
On the other hand, I liked the bbqed sausage and jalapeno beans at Dickeys in Richardson, TX, that I had 8 years and the brisket and beans at Rudy's, Austin, but not the beans at Mann's, Austin, while I did like the brisket there.
RUB or Hill Country
I left Hill Country feeling like they were trying to impress me with their authenticity, but that they had failed to do so. The chopped bbq'ed beef sandwich and the bbq'ed chicken were good, while the baked beans and sausage weren't.
At RUB I felt like they weren't trying to impress me, but I left there happier than I did from Hill Country. The brisket, the beans, and the slaw were all good.
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Hill Country
30 W 26th St, New York, NY 10010
Very early morning breakfast options in Westchester?
Wow, that spot on the map for the Thornwood Coach is so wrong it's amazing. Now, when I lived in Thornwood, that place was called the Pavillion, and I wasn't a big fan, but my last visit was 17 years ago.
I gotta say I'm a big fan of the Star Diner in White Plains. If you look past the cheezy facade, it's a real classic with food to match. I usually get the scrambled eggs with cheese and I ask for French fries instead of their home fries. Lunchier stuff, like burgers, tuna sandwich, BLT, shakes, is also good.
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Star Diner
66 1 2 E Post Rd, White Plains, NY
Eats near NY Presbyterian Hospital (York Ave)
Cafe Luka on 1st Ave is the coffee shop that I like in that neighborhood; the usual diner food, agreeable staff. Over on York, Tropicalia is also nearby; tiny Brazilian place with just a couple of tables, an interesting variety of good food. Right next to it is Sugar Loaf; even tinier, just soups & sandwiches & various beverages. Another couple blocks up York at 76th St is Gotham Pizza; have only been there once, but I thought the pie was pretty good. All are takeout-able.
OK, this one will sound silly, but for a bit of a breather you might try Sotheby's, there on York at 71st St. Go in, right to the elevators, up to the top floor, and the lunch room is right there. It's just sandwiches and salady stuff (I think) and soft drinks, but the roof deck is a nice place to sit and collect ones thoughts. The exhibition for the upcoming sale of impressionist and modern art begins on Friday, which they usually put on the top floor, so that could be nice, too.
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Tropicalia
1372 York Ave, New York, NY 10021
Cafe Luka
1319 1st Ave, New York, NY 10021
Sugar Loaf Cafe
1372 York Ave, New York, NY 10021
Pre-theater restaurant for pre-teens
If you were taking me to see Wicked, I would want to stop at Island Burgers & Shakes, on 9th Ave just up from 51st St. If that's jammed or if in the mood for Mexican, I might head farther up 9th Ave to 54th St to El Centro.
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El Centro
824 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Island Burgers & Shakes
766 9th Ave Frnt 1, New York, NY 10019
restaurants in tarrytown new york
Coffee Labs Roasters on Main St in Tarrytown serves the best lattes that I've found in the county. The pastries are brought in from Balthazar, and are also pretty good.
I also qualify as a supporter of Lefteris and its gyros and baklava. On the other hand, their split pea soup is best avoided unless you REALLY LIKE GARLIC. And their grilled cheese sandwich with bacon is just awful.
Main Street Sweets serves ice cream that is, I believe, locally made, perhaps even by them, but I'm hazy on those details. Anyway, the black raspberry is good, while the mint chip lacks punch.
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Coffee Labs Roasters
7 Main St, Tarrytown, NY 10591
Top 10 - Western & Eastern FFD County
Not to disagree with you about Cafe Lola but to add a note a caution, I'll remark about the brunch I had there just yesterday. 3 out of 4 of the dishes were quite pleasant: eggs Benedict, Mom's French toast, and the croque madame. However, the French toast w/fruit was not a contender even for 2nd place on my list and just plain skimpy. Really not bad, don't get me wrong, it was superior to diner French toast, but that was about it. And, come on, it's a couple of little slices of fried bread with a few bits of fruit. There really should be more to it. A few leaves of salad, a bit of potato, a fragment of ham, something. (For reference, my points of comparison are Le Grainne Cafe, 183 9th Ave @21st St, NYC and Patisserie Salzburg, 77 Purchase St, Rye.) My wife thinks it's an outright ripoff; even on Mom's French toast the portion of bacon was miserly. But a good time was had by all, and we'd defintely go back to give dinner there a try.
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Cafe Lola
57 Unquowa Rd, Fairfield, CT 06824
