whitneybee's Profile
Memorial Day Weekend Trip Report from a NY Hound
I headed up to Boston from NYC this past Saturday-Monday for a quick getaway. We stayed at the Hilton in the financial district and based most of our chow choices on research here and recommendations from friends.
Saturday:
Lunch at Wagamama: I'm gluten-free, so we decided to go here since it was near Faneuil Hall and a few other things we wanted to check out, and I'd read that they were fairly gf-friendly. I had GF yasai yaki soba (they subbed out the noodles for rice noodles and made an adjustment to the sauce) and the boyfriend had ramen, although I can't remember which kind. I was definitely happy with the food - it wasn't the best I've ever had, but I wasn't expecting it to be, and it certainly hit the spot after spending 4+ hours on a bus.
Dinner at Nebo (North end): I was really excited to try Nebo based on reviews I read, and I just...wasn't impressed. At all. I've been gluten-free for almost 8 years, and I've eaten a LOT of GF italian food, and this just wasn't great. We tried the mussels as an appetizer, which were excellent and probably the thing that saved the whole meal, the caesar salad, and the pizza. The GF caesar salad was essentially just lettuce and caesar dressing, which felt extraordinarily overpriced at $10. (Note: a lot of places that have GF pizza or bread can easily make croutons for their caesar salads - why couldn't Nebo?) The crust on the pizza was decent, but it was drowning in too much sauce and cheese, which turned what could have been a good pizza into a soggy mess. Given that I can get consistently great GF Italian food in NY, I wouldn't return here on my next trip to Boston.
Sunday:
We had brunch at Nix's Mate, which was the restaurant attached to our hotel. This was based solely on convenience, as we'd slept in and were heading to Fenway, but it was surprisingly good for hotel breakfast.
Dinner on Sunday was at Myers & Chang, since it was so highly recommended on this board, and we really enjoyed it. Highlight was probably the grilled octopus & corn, but we also enjoyed the fresh rolls and the GF stir-fried noodles we had. Boyfriend also really liked his short rib tacos, but wished they had a bit more of a kick to them. They were incredibly GF-friendly, and we'd definitely make a return visit.
Thank you for the great recs, Boston chowhounds! We'll definitely be coming back for more food & fun soon.
Craft or Ciano --- Balthazar or DBGB
We had dinner at Craft on Mother's Day. Highlights were the beet salad, scallops & short ribs, and all of the vegetable sides we tried, including the mushroom medley. The baby carrots and, interestingly, the bok choy, were also really well-received.
I've had the crispy bacon on two visits now, and I wasn't as wowed by it as some other posters were.
Softshell Crabs 2012
Craft had a softshell crab main on the menu when I went for dinner this past Sunday, but I'm only seeing it on the tasting menu online now.
The Modern Dining Room
I haven't been since December, but it looks like some of the preps are still similar to the lunch I had. Boyfriend loved his trio of seafood 1st course (tuna, salmon, and scallop) and the beef as his 3rd course. I really liked the oven-roasted trumpet royale mushrooms and the chorizo-crusted cod, although if I'm ranking the dishes, I thought my taste of the beef was slightly better than the cod. I had the cauliflower risotto as my 2nd course, and I'd say that was a miss.
The great concord grape dessert I had is no longer on the menu, but the boyfriend really enjoyed his caramel parfait, and I thought the presentation was great.
Also, I definitely agree w/ Spiritchaser re: getting one of the two-tops along the window.
Recommendations for a Three-Day Trip in June
While I've never been for dinner at The Modern, I had lunch in the dining room in December, and both the food and service were excellent. I didn't feel like I was missing anything by going for lunch and would certainly go back.
April vacation with two kids
We had lunch at the downtown branch of Blue Smoke after visiting the memorial, and the restaurant was full of families with kids. They seemed very accommodating of children.
New York eating with 10yr old
Speaking as a former 10-year-old girl, while the quality at Jacques Torres is definitely better, I think my younger self would have absolutely loved Max Brenner. There is definitely more of a fun/novelty factor to MB.
POLL: Can you walk to an actual grocery store?
Very spoiled in uptown Manhattan too. I live directly next door to a 24-hour Gristedes (far from my favorite store, but it's right there) and Fairway is down the block.
Visiting Manhattan on smallish budget
My favorite spot to purchase loose leaf tea is Harney & Sons in soho...lots of interesting vareities, and very helpful staff
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Harney & Sons
433 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
Why Use Open Table?
I like the Notes section on OpenTable just for this reason. I've actually set my account to automatically note that one diner has a gluten allergy on all of my reservations. If I make a reservation over the phone, I might forget to mention my allergy, but when I make a reservation on OpenTable, I know it's already taken care of.
cafe to sit and read for an hour near Columbia U?
Hungarian Pastry Shop on on 111th and Amsterdam woudl be my bet. I can't personally speak to the pastries, but my friends rave about them, and they'll let you sit as long as you like.
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Hungarian Pastry Shop
1030 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
ISO excellent grilled calamari
I've always really enjoyed the grilled calamari at Ethos, but I haven't found any of their other dishes particularly memorable. I believe it's an appetizer portion though.
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Ethos
905 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10022
reasonable upper west side location for a wedding rehearsal dinner
Could you give us a per-person budget for food only? $$$ and $$ mean very different things to different people.
Backup plan for Eleven Madison Park?
That was exactly where I sat for lunch a few weeks back, and it was absolutely perfect. I'll definitely be requesting it next time.
Toronto Hound needing help with Michelin star 'Luncheon' selection.
I had a great lunch at The Modern Dining Room a week and a half ago, and I would say it's definitely worth a trip, but I've only been to EMP for lunch out of your list, and that was pre-menu change, so I don't have much to compare it to.
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The Modern
9 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
What's for dinner? #121 - 2012 Introductory Edition! [old]
Tonight's dinner was Enchilada Casserole with Spicy Black Beans from the Jan/Feb 2012 Cooking Light. Not the most authentic, but it hit the spot and will give me leftovers for lunch for the next few days, which is all I really wanted.
Shake Shack December 2011 Flavors - Any Must-Haves?
Has anyone tried the Candy Cane Crunch or Spiced Apple Cider? Those are the only two that sound interesting to me.
Best Supermarket In USA: your nominations
Another Fairway nomination here. I typically shop at their brand new Upper East Side location in Manhattan, but my parents live near the Plainview, NY, one on Long Island, and I do find that store easier to navigate. The UES one still has a great selection, excellent produce, great gluten-free options, and the prices are very very good for the area.
Catering/Delivery for Overnight Event (Union Square)
While I'm not sure about the other sushi options in the area, unfortunately, I ate at Ennju a few times when I worked in the area, and it wasn't very good.
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Ennju
20 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003
Cheap Gluten Free Eats- What's not to be missed?!
Seconding the Risotteria and Tu-Lu's recs. All of my gluten-eating friends and family rave about Risotteria whenever we go (and they'll often suggest we go there) and I find Tu-Lu's to be much better than Babycakes for cupcakes, although I quite like the Babycakes doughnuts.
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Babycakes
248 Broome St, New York, NY 10002
Risotteria
270 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
Tu-Lu's
338 E 11th St, New York, NY 10003
Spice/Tea Shops
My absolute favorite tea shop is Harney & Sons, which is on Broome Street in Soho. They have an excellent selection of loose leaf teas, and all of their salespeople are very knowledgeable about their products. They also have a cute little cafe area in the back, although I've only ever been there to shop.
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Broome Street Bar
363 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Harney & Sons
433 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
Saxon + Parole
I haven't had one of the cocktails from Saxon & Parole's menu, but I did have the lemon pepper jam cocktail from Madam Geneva's, which is connected to the restaurant, while we were waiting for our table. Highly recommended.
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Madam Geneva
4 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
Button Mushrooms--Massive Amount
I've done this recipe with both button mushrooms and portobellos and it tasted great both times.
Suggestions for a Yom Kippur party please
See, my family's always been the other way around - a big meal beforehand and then a lighter break fast.
Suggestions for a Yom Kippur party please
Are you going to do a pre-fast meal on Friday night or a break fast on Saturday? Break fasts tend to be much lighter.
A Unique Long Island Wedding
I attended a wedding at East Wind last year and the hotel and grounds were lovely, but I was unimpressed with most of the food.
Maison Laduree has finally opened!
I'd also add Macaron Cafe to that list, but I admittedly have only tried la Maison du Chocolate from your list above...I need to start working on that!
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Macaron Cafe
625 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022
Birthday Brunch Private Room for 15 People WV/EV/LES area
A friend did a birthday brunch at Via Della Pace in the East Village a few months back. The food was decent, if nothing special, prices were good, and they had a nice downstairs space that our group of 15-16 or so was able to have all to ourselves.
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Via Della Pace
48 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003
Becca's Restaurant - Phoenixville
We had dinner at Becca's this past Saturday evening as well. I thought the food was wonderful. My boyfriend's parents both had the lobster, boyfriend had the lamb, and I had the paiche sea bass, which was delicious. Appetizers were great as well - the lobster bisque was excellent, and a bit of a treat for this gluten-free eater. I also tried my boyfriend's watermelon gazpacho, and would have gladly eaten the entire bowl had he let me. We'll definitely be going back.
Shake Shack September 2011 Flavors - Any Must-Haves?
Did the mint ice cream come with any mix-ins, or was it just plain custard? They had a mint ice cream a few years back that came with peppermint patty pieces, but I don't remember exactly what it was called.
