I'm off today , so after pulling apart the stove and power washing everything, I decided to try the Gyro at Afandina for lunch. At $4.99 it should be a deal. The joint is spotless and tidy, and well laid out and quiet as a tomb at 12.15pm. Not exactly a good sign but they just opened so this is to be expected.I ordered my Gyro but could not see behind the prep counter to see where my Gyro meat was coming from or how it was prepared but lost hope when I saw a barrito like object being toasted in a pannini grill.......Yep that was my Gyro.
Got it home and marveled at how very tidy and well constructed my Barrito was and weighing in at 11ounces still a good deal along with the pickled carrots and tiny lemon that came along with it.
Well friends, out of that 11ounces, exactly 2 ounces was generic,dried, and totally tasteless mystery meat and the rest was some of the freshest salad greens ever to be rolled into a floured tortilla, Yes, I said Tortilla, not even a pita.What little Tzatziki sauce there was was totally tasteless and where was the onions?. I have eater Gyros from Greenwich Village to Helsinki Finland and have never come across such a thing.
I really want this place to thrive but it's not a good sign when I can get a better,tastier and more authentic Gyro at Miami Subs .At the very least they give you real pita bread.

It is truly an acquired taste but a everyday snack in certain parts of Asia.

No, not really, but I can see how some viewers might be intimidated by having to do so much fine chopping or heating a wok to optimal temp.

Fried spam and fried egg with Kim Chee on a toasted Pan De Sal

I am not a fan of breast meat, but one of my favorite recipes is so simple and tasty that I just may run out an get me some. I buy the bone in breast, season simply with salt and pepper and perhaps a dash of lemon pepper also. Then lather on Dejon mustard on all sides then bake in the oven at 300 degrees, Turn once and bake to an internal of 160. The caveat is that the bones lends itself to the flavor.

I think you may have the answer, although if you happen to catch Martin Yan or Ming Tsai on public television, Their dishes and prep are not only simple, colourfull, but also user friendly. All the makings of a FN hit . No?

Nice report Lau, I don't get to hang out in Chinatown as much as I would like to and this comes in very handy.

No please, don't do that. The dim sum has deteriorated so much that they don't even try to keep the dishes warm anymore. Cold Dim Sum? I loved Golden Unicorn, My first Wedding reception was held there many years ago but sadly, it's Dim Sum is now focused to Lo Fan tourist.

Forgive me but I think it is rather presumptuous of you to assume that Orchid64 is conditioned to prefer the taste and texture of white meat as if there is some sort of conspiracy planned by a nefarious chicken breast pusher crime organization. [ Chicken breast Yakuza?] Orchid64 lives in Japan and from what i have experienced, they have no qualms in offering every part of the bird and in some ingenious ways, Perhaps Orchid has tried dark meat and still prefers white. Not my or your choice but hardly some sort of Pavlovian Conditioning.

Take a gander at Rosa Mexicanos menu and see how that works on your glands. The reason so many restaurants have to reinvent themselves is because after a while the food, concept, and customer's taste evolve. Flay has parlayed the Masa Grill concept into a high end mini chain that has seen diminishing returns even before the recession hit. Its already been done and it's time to evolve.

A good meal perhaps and as i posted still a good value, but a fine meal? I think not. You can throw just so many Chilpotle Peppers , Mango/ Pineapple salsas, and Queso fresco sauce on a plate before it becomes old hat.

This very topic was posted but a a week ago, and the popular opinion was that Mesa Grill was still a good value but had lost it's uniqueness, excitement and relevance simply because so many chain restaurants has successfully copied the concept.

For a little more down and dirty : try Bon Chon chicken on 5'th ave and 32'nd, Korean double fried chicken wings. Or Pio Pio Peruvian whole chicken with many locations around the city, Always ask for extra green sauce. Enjoy.

I consider myself lucky in the fact that I have access to "Fresh" bamboo shoots in the bulk section of my local Asian supermarket, and at .89 a lb. There is no smell that I can detect and at that price i can't see how much of a cost savings it would be.Perhaps it has something to do with mouthfeel?
On a side note, A friend from Hong Kong sent me a piece on making fake bamboo shoots using take out chopsticks and the step by step process.Looks fake to me but..............
The web site was in Cantonese but you can google it.

Thanks for the info, I can get the glazed pots in my town but I am very attached to the sand pots, and there is a H Mart 20 min away. Thanks again.

I also have a couple Chinese sand pots and cook Adobo, Curries, Stewed Ox tails, Pepperpot, and Chili all over a medium flame. Do you soak your pots before using them? My oldest is about 6 years old and has this great patina but now it seems that they are getting harder to find in Chinatown.

I was partial to the dried shredded cuttlefish as well as the Korean sweet baby anchovies but then I saw "Big Squid" and I was hooked. It is also the one snack that never gets stolen.

Fair Enough....

I remember my first dry aged porterhouse, and also remembered that the first bites struck me as tasting "funny", but I grew up with grass fed beef from Argentina or old water buffalo depending what was on the shelves that week. We would marinate and season it to within an inch of it's life.
My point is perhaps the OP might not be used to the distinctive taste of dry aged beef, again I don't know the OP's history or even where he lives .

I just warm them over a burner flipping them constantly, but i do like some crispy burn marks on some. Then keep them warm under a cloth napkin or clean dish rag.

Beats me , but I do know when MLW closed briefly, e mails shot around the Pinoy population here and abroad asking where they would buy their buns now. I think that after trying their version not only here but also in the Philippines,MLW'S version is still better.

I'm in Jersey, so I'm the one in front of you buying the last dozen baked.

You order 1 at a time? Like peanuts, you can't have just 1, I'm good for 3 baked and 1 steamed everything bun at a sitting.

$25.00 Hamburgers, $10.00 bottles of water, $45.00 cheese trays,$9.00 mini Bahn mi's, $12.00 frozen yogurts,$22.00 "Mixologist" Cocktails. Come on , you know who you are.......

Which is entirely possible, MLW is VERY popular with the Philippino population and it is not unheard of for them to buy all the buns available, freeze them and ship them all over the globe to adoring fan. Look out for the ones with the folding luggage totes and try to order before them or else it will be a long wait until the next batch is baked.

I am truly sorry you had such a bad experience at PL. Having said that,I am also quite surprised that your steak was "Virtually Tasteless". PL can be faulted for many things,Rude service, watery sides,old boy atmosphere,cash only policy, but never for tasteless steaks, which just about every premium steakhouse from Palm to Cut trip over themselves to emulate. Perhaps you should try Smith and Wollensky's marinated Cajun Ribeye next time, Plenty seasoning there.

Thanks, I want to dine there some time in the near future. I make it a habit to wait at least a couple of months before trying a new restaurant so hopefully they have already worked out the bugs and the staff and food have hit it's groove........ Hopefully.

I will have to agree with KTinNYC, I took my wife on a date there in the late 90's and obviously Mesa Grill was not only New, Exciting, and Cutting Edge but Bobby Flay was the "MAN" in those days. Now after taking friends there last summer, It all has a rather Worn, outdated, and Pathetic feel about it. The service and dishes were competent and still a decent deal, but for us it was like visiting "Steak and Brew'" because we had some great times, too many pitchers of Miller High Life, and one too many tokes of Washington Square skunk weed and then realizing you can't turn back the hands of time. I think Rosa Mexicana, and Topolobampo are still current because they successfully added their slant on a classic cuisine and not try to reinvent it. It is still worth a visit if you are not burdened with memories of Manhattan in the 90's and have not visited your local Appleby's in the past 10 years.

Thanks so much for your review, I was having a discussion on just how good or fresh this type of dining concept is compared to Minado, who makes it a point to close for several hours between seatings in order to replace/refresh offerings and generally clean the restaurant. I am not saying that Ichiumi won't someday reach or surpass Minado's rep but maybe Minado's concept lends itself to a better product and dining experience?

We just had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Seabra's Marisqueira and as usual it was tasty , well prepared, and an excellent value. The huge Mozambique prawn were excellent, simply grilled with just olive oil ,salt and butter. Grilled beef short ribs,grilled Bacalau and pork with clams were very good also.

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Seabra's Marisqueira
87 Madison St, Newark, NJ 07105