Fida's Profile
Brunch near First Avenue/51st and Third Avenue/18th ?
Thanks! I think that Mangeoire and Aquavit are too pricey, but Maialino and Ponty might be doable. I've passed Ponty and made a mental note to try them for dinner, but brunch never occured to me. I've never been to ABC, but I'll take a peek to see what it's like.
I'm trying to remember whether there's anything at the northernmost part of the East Village...
Brunch near First Avenue/51st and Third Avenue/18th ?
Really specific, huh? I'm hoping to meet two people, two separate brunches - but they're both older people who can't walk far. Previously we've ended up at nearby dull diner-type places.
Any recommendations for places within maybe five blocks that might be a bit more interesting?
The three H's: Happy Hour at the Herb Box
I can't remember whether I read it here or somewhere else that the Herb Box in Scottsdale, by the waterfront, very nicely has half-price small plates at happy hour, so gave it a try a few days ago. Luckily it starts late afternoon, and, with neither of us drinking, we ordered the combination platter of olives-hummus-tzatziki ($6) and jerk pork sliders ($10). I was apprehensive that the portions would be stingy, but they weren't at all. The platter was generous scoops, and the balance of mild and salty was perfect; the sliders were highly flavored and very satisfying. And we were out on the patio, overlooking the water, watching a cottontail rabbit in the shurbs, and it was altogether lovely. They also have things like duck crepes, short rib tacos, and fried olives.
Best way to store garlic?
I just lucked into garlic at an unusually good price, and bought much more than I normally would. I'm getting conlicting information on the best was to store it, so I thought I'd ask for your suggestions. On the counter, or in the fridge? Tightly wrapped, or open?
Herb Box Old Town Scottsdale
Thanks. I was contemplating it for brunch, but the half-price sounds enticing.
Chinese at Camelback & 35th Avenue?
I met someone Chinese - so Chinese that I could barely understand her - and naturally asked if she had any restaurants she reommended. She didn't think anything in Phoenix was very good, but mentioned one place she thought was passable for Americans, possibly around Camelback and 35th Avenue. Does this ring a bell?
Is Cyprus Grill really so very bad?
I found a coupon for the Cyprus Grill, and thought it might be handy for a cheap get-together this week. But I then saw horribly bad feedback from Seth - but it was a few years old. Is it still awful?
If you're a regular at the Union Square market...
Well, this is one time I'd be happy to be wrong, since I do hope that the farms are doing all right. I'm not looking for a specific farm, but in the past there had been a considerable selection. Almost no one has had tomatoes. Usually they start earlier, expensive, and the price drops in August.
And I had my first corn - and my impression had been that the corn season starts around June - but it was pretty bad, puny and tasteless. I'm getting so impatient!
If you're a regular at the Union Square market...
are things looking somewhat...ominous? First, it looks to me as if there are fewer stalls, and I've been wondering if either some places went under or can't afford the gas to come into Manhattan. Second, I was taken aback by the scarcity of tomatoes and the puniness of the corn, which averages about 40% smaller than last year.
Why are cheap hamburger so rare?
Then Chuckbox was the only one of the list I've been to, and I was glad to see it there. But surely there must be others?
I wasn't so much asking why places charge $10 - obviously they'll charge as much as they can - but rather wondering if reviewers look hard enough. Or if it's even possible to really search when a city is so sprawling.
Remember Cafe des Artistes? [moved from Manhattan board]
Possibly one reason there weren't mentions is because the staff seems to have removed it from the Manhattan board, where it belongs. Jim Leff understood that sometimes a post may not be specifically about food, but the subject is so local that it belongs in the geographical section.
Why are cheap hamburger so rare?
That is, geographically rare - no reference to the length of cooking time.
Specifically, I was reading the article that was, I think, posted here, of Howard Seftel's reviews of "best" hamburgers, and I was perturbed that so many of them were over $10, which means that by the time you add tax and tip...
Shouldn't it still be possible to get more good hamburgers at $6 or less? Did he just not look hard enough?
Remember Cafe des Artistes? [moved from Manhattan board]
I was just reading the obit for George Lang. Interesting life, and interesting that he may be the originator of the trend to having servers introduce themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/nyregion/george-lang-of-cafe-des-artistes-dies-at-86.html?pagewanted=all
If you eat tilapia...
this may interest you. It's a lengthy piece about the downside of tilapia, both in terms of less healthfulness and environmental negatives.
Another Side of Tilapia, the Perfect Factory Fish
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/science/earth/02tilapia.html
Looking for suggestions on local food in NYC
NYC is so eclectic, I'm not sure if it would be known for purely local food, but rather for your ability to find almost anything. Yoo-Hoo comes to mind as possibly local. Maybe egg cream?
I wonder if you'd do better asking this in the NYC forum.
John Dory - clueless or an attitude problem?
I was running errands the other day and as I was passing 29th as I walked down Broadway late afternoon, I suddenly remembered I'd just read a nice review of something around there. I peered around. No signs, but obviously something looked like a restaurant.
I went in. It was John Dory. Rather empty that that hour, of course. The host was on the phone, and I quietly asked for a menu, thinking he would still understand and hand me one, but he didn't, so I patiently waited. When he was done, I asked a menu, and he handed me a lunch menu. I asked for a dinner menu. No, he didn't have one, he said. It was 4:30, and he wouldn't get the menus until 5:00. Irked, I asked if he had yesterday's menu. No, he said, those were gone. Giving up, I asked as I was leaving, why they had no decent signage out front. He didn't know, he said, shrugging it off.
Now, really, what do you think? Is it reasonable to expect customers to pour in if you refuse to give them even a vague idea of the menu? Is it sensible to have a restaurant without good signage? It's not as though it's some place haute and posh. Is this stupidity or snootiness?
He Nan Flavor Now Open in Chinatown
I'll be interested to see if they distribute the cards equally to Caucasian patrons.
Banh mi requirements: Good, cheap, with seating, in Chinatown
I have a friend coming into town, whom I'd like to introduce to banh mi. I usually go to the one on Broome (I think it's Broome), which is great, but I'd like a place where we could sit down. I recently read about An Choi, which looks to have seating, but it's quite a bit pricier. Any suggestions?
The best new dish in Phoenix is...eggs?
Heading the list of best new dishes in America is:
Braised Leeks with Mozzarella & a Fried Egg, at FnB in Scottsdale.
I've never been there. What does FNB stand for?
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/10-best-restaurant-dishes-of-2010
Any update on inexpensive pumpkin pies?
Thanks, but I'm those are all membership stores, I believe.
Any update on inexpensive pumpkin pies?
I don't immediately see prices, but I see someone saying "freaking expensive."
Any update on inexpensive pumpkin pies?
It's no trick to find good expensive ones - I still have the New York magazine piece from a few years ago. But what about good cheap ones?
Plumpy’nut peanut food to combat starvation
Maybe I'm blind, but I can't find a search function to see if this was posted on this board yet, but I thought it was interesting - a long article about a peanut product being used to fight malnutrition.
The Peanut Solution
New York Times
By Andrew Rice
Could a Peanut Paste Called Plumpy'nut End Malnutrition?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/magazine/05Plumpy-t.html
Brunch in Scottsdale/East Phoenix?
Thanks, guys, but I'm surprised - I really expected more people to chime in. So I'll add in a few from my research, for future reference - in case anyone else looks in here:
Coronado Cafe
Local Breeze
Maizie's
Also, Monarch Cafe sounds interesting, and just re-opened for the season, but I think it may prove too expensive for this.
Thanks, John Seberg, for Over Easy, which I'll check, but I think I went to Phoenix City Grille once, and thought it was dull and shabby (hard to be certain when places don't have distinctive names). Barrio Cafe I'm less interested in, as more Hispanic. Same for Mission.
Sistinas, Orange Table didn't appeal to me the first time I checked it out, but thanks for the reminder; I'll look again.
The other places, like T. Cook, are quite a bit over my budget. I have to take several people out, so I have to keep it low.
Brunch in Scottsdale/East Phoenix?
In this new format, the Phoenix-area threads look rather meager, but I'll give it a shot.
I'm looking for suggestions for brunch that would be relatively cheap, not overly noisy, and preferably not too far west - although I had a great brunch at Matt's Big Breakfast, I'll admit.
New dicey strawberry pesticide
And especially for Californians...
Dispute over a new pesticide, methyl iodide, which includes a neurotoxin and an endocrine disruptor, currently for use on strawberries:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/us/20strawberries.html
Buying honey
New York Magazine did a honey comparison recently. I thought it was interesting that ordinary Golden Blossom did so well, coming in fourth out of eight. But you might be interested that the winnner in terms of "best bang for your buck" was second place Tremblay Apiaries Summerflower honey, for $5 at the Union Square greenmarket.
http://nymag.com/guides/everything/urban-honey/66176/
For West 40s worker, a new Kwik
Kwik Meals, which was started by a chef from the RTR, has apparently opened an adjacent offshot on West 45th near Sixth, which serves 4 or 5 kinds of pasta (mostly angel hair, for speed, no doubt) for around $6.
Best moderately priced pumpkin pie?
Except that I don't consider$25 for a pie to be moderately priced, although Two Little Red Hen is a well-regarded bakery.
