waxyjax's Profile
Mid-priced dinner in interesting/scenic area for European friends
thanks for the suggestions everyone!
in the end, they picked B Star Bar since they felt the menu was so interesting. though not as iconic as they originally asked for, they really did love the cute quaintness of the Richmond. they also enjoyed the food--there were 6 of us, each with entrees, 3 appetizers and 1 or 2 drinks per person and it totalled $34 including tax and tip. BIG WIN!
afterward, i wanted to take them to Tonga Room - but they're closed on Tuesdays...they really wanted to check out Li Po Lounge as a backup - though not the first place i take friends, was a funky intro to Chinatown.
i'll definitely try the other recommendations in the future :)
Mid-priced dinner in interesting/scenic area for European friends
thanks!
i heard it can definitely be mid-priced if you order conservatively - but it is a slippery slope! i'll see what my friends think and let you know where we end up :)
Mid-priced dinner in interesting/scenic area for European friends
Hi SF Hounds!
I need to make dinner plans with a couple friends visiting from Europe. Their request:
-delicious
-mid-priced, or cheaper
-non-seafood options
-good view....waterfront or cityscape is always nice, but knowing those kinds of places are usually pricey, I think any place with some iconic and photographable scenery (like a cute block of Victorian houses, funky murals, etc) would work. likewise, a place that's not far from where we can just walk and take some pics of nice views would also be fine.
They didn't specify, but I wouldn't mind taking them somewhere that serves food they wouldn't easily get in Europe..so Italian may not be as exciting as say Burmese or American.
Do you guys have any thoughts?
thanks!
Krakow!
it's been a while since this thread...i finally documented the places i went on my trip, which is on the music/travel site Cliktrips.
thanks again for your tips!
http://www.cliktrips.com/2012/01/24/where-to-eat-drink-in-krakow/
One night in brooklyn?
I think Battersby is excellent. The dishes are creative, down to earth and consistently delicious. The chefs are alums from Essex House and Anella, and make it a point to be the kitchen team every night - plus the staff is very kind and competent. Whenever I go, I feel there's a lot of care put into my meal.
They don't take reservations, but you can wait at their bar - which has excellent cocktails - or leave your number so you can grab a drink elsewhere until they call you. I saw you weren't interested in a chef's table situation, but they do offer that there as well in case you change your mind on that.
Here's their link
http://battersbybrooklyn.com/
Best sushi in Manhattan
wanted to chime in and say that Gen didn't live up to the hype. 15 East (have yet to try Yasuda) is definitely better.
dinner suggestions in Williamsburg this Saturday night
agreed, SEA is horrible. not into the club lighting since it makes it hard to tell what color the food is.
my friend is one of the owners of Masten Lake - all very lovely people! if you don't go there, dressler, marlow & sons and traif are also good quiet options.
TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint today
hi guys,
hope it's cool to post about the TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint event. if it's not - is there a place to post food events?
i helped out with it and it'll feature some great restaurants and bars from Northside Brooklyn. Proceeds go towards building the Northside Townhall Community center. It's free to enter, you just need to pay for food/drink tickets.
Here's a $5 coupon for that: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=06e19c13133c45ba6433fe112&id=b557b2005c
Last year's was a blast!
Starts at 1pm:
http://tastewg.wordpress.com/
Tastes From…
1OR8
Amber
An Nhau
Aurora Restaurant
Baci & Abbracci
Betto
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brine Co.
Cafe Colette
Calyer
Caracas Arepa Bar
The Counting Room
Crown Victoria
Cubana Social
DOC Wine Bar
Dressler & DuMont
Eat
Fat Goose
Fette Sau
Growing Chefs & Eagle Street Rooftop Farms
GuS – Grown-up Soda
The Halcyon Gourmet
Hotel Delmano
Juliette
Le Barricou
Lighthouse
Lodge & Urban Rustic
Lokal Bistro
Loreley Restaurant & Biergarten
Maison Premiere
Masten Lake
McClure’s Pickles
Mesa Coyoacan
Miranda Restaurant
Mymoon Restaurant, Bar & Lounge
Nita Nita
Nitehawk Cinema
Oslo Coffee Roasters
Plan Tea
Rabbithole Restaurant
Spike Hill
Teddy’s Bar & Grill
Trix
Two Door Tavern
Valdiano
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream
Walter Foods
AND Live butchering demo by professional butcher Andrew Dorsey from Marlow & Daughters.
Plus a great lineup of music.
Foodie Visit to Rome
i admit, i normally skim long trip reports on CH - but yours was an amazing read! sad i didn't see it earlier as I'm currently in rome. i'm proud to say some of my picks overlapped yours but will definitely hit up some of your other recommendations before i leave here :)
Where to take NYU student?
what a great godfather you are!
question about waiting at the bar - are you worried restaurants won't let you guys wait there? if so, every restaurant i'd encountered in nyc hasn't had a problem with that as long as the under-aged person is only drinking something non-alcoholic. however, if you'd rather not have her sit at the bar until she's of age then that's a different story.
Italian: Lupa is the first place that comes to mind due to its quality and proximity to NYU...it's likely you guys would have to wait a bit at that bar though - unless you book an early dinner perhaps! Same goes for Otto. I've also enjoyed, and hadn't had to wait too long at Crispo, Da Silvano, Cacio e Pepe, Gradisca, Piadina and dell'Anima
close to Indian: I don't know much of Indian food outside of Curry Hill or Jackson Heights...however, there's a great Sri Lankan restaurant in the East Village - Sigiri. They don't take reservations but I've never had to wait long for a table.
Aldea (contemporary Portuguese) might also be a good option.
Hope that helps.
Buttermilk CHannel and others
wanted to chime in about how AWESOME Buttermilk Channel is! Did you already go? The fried chicken with cheddar waffle is great. Same goes for their burger and their fish dishes. If I'm not too late on this, I'd also recommend the pecan pie sundae - it is a stellar dessert!
Special Occasion Greek: Avra, Pylos, Periyal or Milos?
in the end we decided on Periyali since my boyfriend had already been to Pylos and also wasn't up for heading to midtown.
here's quick rundown of what we ordered:
-Avgolemono - I'm a big fan of this soup, the one they make at Periyali was everything I could hope it would be.
-Grilled Octopus - Perfect. Loved the hint of charcoal flavor. It was our favorite thing we ate
-Smoked trout - it was fine. Liked the dill aroma but I wouldn't call it a standout dish
-Grilled brazino special w side of rice and broccoli - the fish was nicely grilled. I understand that the sides were meant to be simple and let the fish standout, but I wish their choice of side vegetable was a little more interesting. I am a broccoli fan but theirs didn't have much flavor or anything really going for it.
-Braised lamb shank w orzo stew - very delicious. The meat fell right off the bone and the flavors of the tomato in the stew worked really well with the lamb and the orzo. We were also huge fans of this dish.
-Walnut cake - very simple and lovely. It was soaked with just the right amount of honey syrup so that it wasn't too crazy sweet.
-bread basket - their olive bread is awesome.
Also, their service was very warm and they encourage couples to sit side by side along the banquettes, which was fun.
Overall, we had a lovely dining experience. Looking back we would've ordered a bit differently. The smoked trout we would've definitely traded for something else. Also, the entree servings were very generous (not that I'm complaining!). The lamb shank was so rich we could've just split that as our entree and would've been fine....although to go for the gold we would've probably even added another appetizer, too.
I could see myself checking out some of their other dishes...and I will definitely give the other recommendations a try sometime too!
M. Wells Dinner
that sounds pretty logical. i just hope they leave that waitress behind when they move to the new location (and maybe serve dinner on the weekends, ps).
i'd heard great things about the food, but she really turned me off to attempting to go there again.
M. Wells Dinner
apparently i wasn't the only one who had been poorly treated by that waitress http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-richman/201109/alan-richman-m-wells-restaurant-scandal-review?currentPage=1
Last Minute anniverary in BK (or even Manhattan)
if noodle pudding wasn't closed mondays i'd add that place to your list. great italian food, friendly service, warm atmosphere and very fare prices.
Petrelle report
this blog post makes me want to try it!
http://hipparis.com/2011/08/08/petrelle-discreet-dining-in-sopi-south-of-pigalle-paris-9th-arrondissement/
M. Wells Dinner
aw, not sure the name...as i've never had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the staff! it's nice to hear the owners are nice - i found my interaction on saturday very discouraging.
i still am at a loss as to why they didn't want to serve regular dinners on saturdays - at least in the summer when ps1 is such a huge draw.
M. Wells Dinner
thought the part in the article about them being great admirers of ps1 was funny. my friends and i came from the warmup event on saturday and walked to m. wells to see if we could get a table. there was space at the counter, but weren't prepared to pay the $200 per person charge. i'm sure the cost was warranted, but the hostess saw we weren't in a position to spend that amount of money and instead of graciously thanking us for stopping by she spoke condescendingly to us and referenced the fact that she could tell we came from "the party".
considering they claim to like ps1, it's surprising they don't show any interest in serving dinner on saturdays after the summer warmup events, or try to be a bit nicer to ps1 patrons that make an effort to go to the restaurant.
M. Wells Dinner
bummer. i remember going on a saturday at 8:30pm about a month ago and it was closed. i called back a couple saturdays later to see if they'd be open and no one answered. sucks i never got to try it
Pick-A-Pita?
oh noooo. i remember when it was in a loading dock many years back. so sad
Best Fried Chicken in Manhattan
Here's a decent top 10 of Fried Chicken. http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/09/great-new-york-best-fancy-fried-chicken-roundup-momofuku-locanda-verde-blue-ribbon-blue-smoke.html
of the ones listed, i do love Redhead and Clinton St. for manhattan and Buttermilk Channel for brooklyn
Special Occasion Greek: Avra, Pylos, Periyal or Milos?
has anyone who's eaten at Kellari tried the "Aegean Feast" chef's tasting menu? i figure since there's only two of us perhaps this could be a nice way to taste a variety of dishes...of course, we're likely to stack on another app or two.
Special Occasion Greek: Avra, Pylos, Periyal or Milos?
kellari does look cute...sounds like the CHers with Greek friends all say Avra is the place to go though. i have a few weeks to figure it out. will let you know where we go and how it was!
Authentic Vietnamese in Manhattan
by chance i ended up at Banh Mi Zon last night - serious eats had rated it the best Banh Mi in Manhattan. I would definitely agree. you should try the #5 with Nem nướng (pork patties) - the flavors were very legit. they also make other dishes, like broken rice and Vietnamese yogurt. i'll be back to see how those are.
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2011/02/the-best-banh-mi-in-nyc-new-york-city-manhattan-vietnamese-sandwich-slideshow.html
on another note, V Nam cafe has my favorite Chả giò (spring rolls) in the city http://vnamcafe.com/
Authentic Vietnamese in Manhattan
whoe, that list is missing my go-to place in Manhattan though. It's where me and my Vietnamese-American friends also like to go:
Xe Lửa
86 Mulberry St
New York, NY 10013
http://xeluanewyork.com/
I like getting the Bánh cuốn: Steamed Rice Crepe w/ Minced Pork & Ear Mushrooms...again, not as great as in other cities, but still better than other places in NYC.
Authentic Vietnamese in Manhattan
What standards are you measuring against? I'm asking because if you're looking for something as good as what you can find in Vietnam - or in cities with a large Vietnamese community you'll be disappointed (my parents are from Vietnam, by the way). However, there are places decent enough to tide you over if you have a craving. The intro to Village Voice's Top 10 Vietnamese places (a list I agree with, considering the slim pickins) in New York says it all:
"Alas, New York City isn't one of the great Vietnamese culinary capitals of the world. Which is too bad, because, at least in our minds, Vietnamese cuisine is one of the best on the globe. But you can still find some decent Viet grub. You just have to know where to look." http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/07/10_best_vietnamese_restaurants_in_new_york.php
Special Occasion Greek: Avra, Pylos, Periyal or Milos?
Hi Chowhounders,
Taking my bf out for his birthday and we've narrowed things down to Greek. I've only eaten at the homestyle places in Astoria and was wondering if you guys could help me decide where to go, based on this criteria (in order of importance):
1) Deliciousness (of course)...especially seafood
2) Authenticity (open to contemporary styles, but in a way that a discerning Greek would approve of)
3) Atmosphere (he has a an eye for design but is also not into pretentious places)
4) Value (I don't mind dropping lots of cash, but only if the food is so good that it makes me not think twice--this probably applies most to Milos)
5) Location (we're more into places closer to downtown but are happy to go further uptown for a good meal)
I definitely know that Pylos is the kind of atmosphere he loves, it's in the East Village and I have Greek friends that highly recommend it - but he's already eaten there. He's happy to go back, but I was wondering if one of the other options will also lend itself to his birthday dinner.
Thanks!!
High and Low-end in Maiori, Amalfi Coast
yes, Ravello is definitely on my list and was just about to search for some dining ideas. thanks!
hmmm...too bad about tramonti. i won't have a car and was just wondering about if i'll be able to cover enough ground by foot and bus.
High and Low-end in Maiori, Amalfi Coast
thanks...i was also thinking about Tramonti...i was going to save the pizza for naples, but perhaps all the hiking may necessitate an early pizza tasting!
will also check with the restaurants [so excited]
High and Low-end in Maiori, Amalfi Coast
thanks for the tips!
not quite sure if they're considered high-end in the Torre Normanna sense, but for Cetara I was thinking of either San Pietro or Al Convento (or both if it's possible). it looks like their menus are pretty reasonable, but i can see myself piling on as many items as possible in either of those places...while I'm on the topic, do you think I'll need a reservation for these places? it would be for Monday and/or Tuesday (looks like San Pietro isn't open Tuesdays) in mid-September.
i have a feeling when i arrive in Maiori I'll be too tired to go far for dinner so Gianni e Maria sounds like a good welcome meal option. will report back :)
