Mr. Particular's Profile
Best outdoor dining in the Slope, P. Heights?
Frannies has a garden, but what else is out there?
New Pizza, Carroll Gardens
You disagree... with what? I said I liked Luna Rossa, and would go again.
Red Hook Ball Fields
We waited on line way too long (40m minutes). It makes it hard to sample multiple vendors unless you want to stand on line alone while others in your party do the same, staying in contact by cell phone. We noticed some people doing this. Fortunately, you can do quite well just going to one truck. It is my hope that the lines are especially long now because of first-timers, or at least first-time-in-a-long-timers. Hopefully the crowds will scale down as people realize the hassle involved, or, if there is a market for more trucks, then more trucks there will be--eventually.
Randazzo's is awful
I didn't see them do that to my clams. (I was there 2 weeks ago for the first time.) Unless they were very sneaky about it...
Randazzo's is awful
The quality is overall pretty poor, unless you're super hungry. Stick to the clams on the half shell.
I've done DiFara's but who is #2
SUPERB
Difara's
Lucali
VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT
Totonno's
Patsy's in Harlem
GOOD to VERY GOOD
Lombardi's
Grimaldi's
John's
LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION
Franny's
IMO, Pepe's of New Haven would rank in the top tier.
Fish dinner suggestion needed: not Fish Camp
did Randazzo's for first time this Saturday. Very good clams on half shell, and while everything cooked was good, it wasn't memorable. Our party got the steamed lobster, fried oyster sandwich, pasta with clam sauce, and red chowders.
Fish dinner suggestion needed: not Fish Camp
Petite Crevette is very good. It's also a pretty "Brooklyn" experience. Know that it is BYOB still. Also, be warned that service is kind of slow, and also dishes are kind of expensive ($25 dollar entrees seem a bit overpriced). For these reasons, I go sometimes but not a lot. Good fish, though.
best sports bar near yankee stadium
Been a while, so this rec. is not exactly 'hot off the presses,' but does anyone else love THE NEWS BAR?
Far enough away from the Stadium (2 blocks?) to weed out the bloated hordes, but close enough to catch the first inning, and cooler than you know. Think blue crab specials, Kareoke Tuesdays, genuine, neighborhood-friendly vibe.
New Pizza, Carroll Gardens
Tried Luna Rossa's Margherita pie over the weekend. Fresh ingredients, decent quality. Not spectacular by any means, but I'll go again. I think it's a wood-fired brick oven. My pie could have used another minute or so in there, and the sauce was a little limp, but I ate the whole 12" pie. They ARE nice in there, maybe Italian (from Italy)? This place is way down on Court St. a block or 2 before the BQE.
New Pizza, Carroll Gardens
Walked in the other night for the first time and turned around on my heels. Why?
1) the lack of take-away service
2) my inability to face sitting thru "Fame" by David Bowie and similar top-volume hits
while awaiting pizza of indeterminate quality
In my experience of living on the same block for the last 7 years, the PJ Hanleys people have steadfastly maintained the following credo:
1) rudeness/arrogance
2) stupidity
3) sloppiness
5) possible criminality
4) a restless, almost desperate striving to cash in somehow by reinventing themselves, always doomed to failure because of the preceding attributes.
Lucali's closed for lunch, Grimaldi's line too long, Franny's boring, DiFara mobbed, Tottono's too far...Try Sam's
Our waiter had unbearable BO last time we went. Not very appetizing.
Blue Marble Ice Cream = Best I've Ever Had
Agree best ice cream around. Don't agree with strawberry--too sour.
A place for fried chicken
They're both real. Maybe like semi-separate parts of the same restaurant, I seem to remember. Don't worry about it--I don't know why I mentioned it, really. It's pretty obvious where to get the chicken when you're there.
A place for fried chicken
Charles is definitely worth a trip. The secret is the traditional pan frying--air contacts the skin on one side at all times. Take out is a nice option for summery picnic/barbecue fare, as the chicken is as good the next day almost. As I recall, some of the sides were better than others, though. I think the collards and the potato salad were good, but it's been a while. The sweet tea was way too sweet for my taste. Last time I went there are 2 Charles right next to one another, but I figured it out eventually.
revised opinion of Piramide (Park Slope)
went for 1st time 2 weeks ago due to positive chowhound postings and had a good if not memorable experience. The highlight was the guacamole made fresh at the table. Lowlight? The waiter couldn't open a bottle of wine--corked the first one and then had to get the bartender to do it. He was also just slightly creepy in a way--maybe a little too eager to please. Still, we'd go again.
BACON!!!
Ben and Jack's has the best slab, IMO. Holy ham! Willie Wonka-like, it combines all the best flavors of the pig.
Searched "best bacon" and only Wolfgang's came up. Are there any other contenders out there?
http://www.benandjackssteakhouse.com/
(there's a closeup of the bacon in the intro.)
Lucali: when to go?
Making pizza is not nearly as stressful as trying to obtain it can be. I swear I'm ready to start making my own in the oven!
How is Le Petite Marche now?
Went for the first time 10 days ago, so I can't speak on how it used to be. However, the fried oysters and chicken in au jus with mushrooms were very good. A special soup was lacking, however. And the sundae-type dessert (was it pudding? can't remember) was not good at all. Nice wine list. Elegant surroundings (although a schlubby family with several distracted kids/ tweens at next table kind of broke the mood. Can't blame the management for that, though, I guess.) Oh yeah, and the busboy whacked me with a metal bread basket by accident--hard.
Overall, we'd go there again, but we weren't wowed.
Creating an Outer Boroughs Sticky - Your Feedback
Yeah, I think you're right. Although the current system has taught me a ton of things about Queens restaurants I'll probably never go to. And that's priceless... : )
Lucali: when to go?
Ha! An open table at Lucali's generates a lot of buzz!
I agree that the calzone is sublime.
Can someone across the street put up a web cam?
best buffalo wings
THEY ARE NOT BUFFALO WINGS but are delicious in their own right: Corner Cafe, Bleeker and Broadway.
Surviving Old Homestead?
Mmm... mutton. You and steakman are preaching to the choir. I love Keen's--we all love Keen's. But what if you get dragged to the plastic cow against your will? What then?
Lucali: when to go?
Success! Got take-away Monday. "Can you get here in 5 minutes? You better start walking now" said the girl on the phone.
Weirdly, even though it was after 7, there was an open table and no line when I arrived to collect my precious plain pie.
The thing was half gone by the time I got it home.
The BASIL he uses on top has so much flavor, I suspect he grows it himself.
Lucali: when to go?
I'm a pizza fan, live 3 blocks away, and almost never get to eat there because of the damn crowds. Over the weekend we tried to order pick up, only to be told on the phone "He's not doing take-out orders right now." Is there a winning strategy for this place? I'm about to give up.
This leads me to a larger question. Evidently there is a huge market for outstanding pizza in NYC. So why aren't there 10,000 high-end pizza joints popping up like mushrooms in every neighborhood?
Surviving Old Homestead?
Well, let's see. I got prime rib for the first time ever, after seeing it mentioned on Chowhound. It was good, but led to some gastro distress later, as my system is simply not used to that much meat! (Sorry if that's too much information, by the way.)
The potato patty thing was good, and a fondue-type bread dip, but pretty much everything else on the table (it was a party of 7) was mediocre, as was the service. Plus it was expensive.
I would never chose to go to OH, but here's the rub: because it's is not very good and pretty expensive, it's not that crowded. This means you don't have to wait long for a table or endure severe hassles. And sometimes, that's all you want. On a Friday night in the Village, our party was able to relax and have a ball talking and laughing and drinking wine, unmolested. I'm pretty sure we couldn't have done that at the Spotted Pig. Did we have a good time despite the mediocrity, or BECAUSE of it?
Surviving Old Homestead?
I grew up 4 blocks away, and have avoided going there all these years. Well, all that ends tonight. Do they do anything well?
Di Fara's: How much is the best NY slice of pizza worth?
Blame the biofuels, the strong Euro, whatever--I read somewhere the price of wheat's gone up like 400%. It was time to raise the prices. See you all there.
