Renguin's Profile
Googa Mooga Food Festival in Prospect Park
That's too bad, that's one of hte few places I went to and it was really good!
Iconic NYC Restaurants?
Ha, My mom told me about going there in the 70s. I imagine it was prob the same as any of those other mediocre midtown UES bars in the area before the food was made in a factory and frozen and then assembled on site.
London Chowhound's NYC itinery - help needed!
I'd recommend Tacombi for Tacos in Nolita as that's something you can't really get in London. There are other more "authentic" (read: dirtier/cheaper) places in queens but I'm a big fan and my friends from California won't shut up about it since they think Mexican is the be all and end all of food categories.
Where can I find the best soup dumplings in Manhattan???
IF you're looking for authentic I'd go to Shanghai Cafe though. There are no Shitake mushrooms or saffron in real XLB. (That's not to say those aren't good, they're just not traditional).
Googa Mooga Food Festival in Prospect Park
I was there earlyish on Sat as well and didn't think the lines were terrible then.
Did anyone stay later on Sat, like after 6? I'd be curious to know if things thinned back out towards the evening. If I were to do it again I'd go early, leave, and then if the evenings weren't bad come back for a round two later on.
Nha Trang on Baxter vs. Nha Trang on Centre
I was just (JUST NOW) hit with a pho craving and its been quite a while. I used to frequent the one on Centre but according to Yelp the one on Baxter has a better rating. Does anyone have a preference between the two? Pho is the main goal here but I'll probably order other stuff as well so a general comparison is fine.
Nolita restaurants
to pile on to this otherwise complete list, I'm a big fan of L'asso for pizza. People don't normally mention it but its almost always busy and good. They just expanded to the EV.
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L'Asso
192 Mott St, New York, NY 10012
Ipswich Clams in Manhattan?
Unfortunately this is not a fish monger, this is just some guy that works at whole foods. I don't trust them for specific knowledge on anything other than where stuff is in the store.
Chinatown spot fit for a group
I don't like Amazing 66. There, I said it. I've been there several times hoping to get a different result since it has a strong contingent of followers. I think the quality ok but the menu is just not very appealing. Fuleen is my go to place when I want a seafood centric group feast. they can do groups with no problem.
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Amazing 66
66 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
Is there ANY decent pizza on the UWS?!
Yeah, I think its decent but then there is the delivery dilemma. Anything above 70 would do!
Is there ANY decent pizza on the UWS?!
This is Manhattan - a pizza Mecca. Its frankly embarrassing. There is NO decent pizza I've been able to find on the UWS (70s-100~). I feel like I've left no stone unturned but if someone has any suggestions I may have missed I'm down. NB: I'm not looking for an Italian sit down place that happens to have pizza on the menu; looking for just a run of the mill (but good) pizza place.
Bars/Restaurants serving Porrons in NYC?
Las Ramblas has them. I don't know if they promote it, we were just getting along with the waiter once (or we were spending a lot of money) and they whipped it out for us.
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Las Ramblas
170 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014
Pick Your Favorite Malaysian-VOTE HERE
I vote for Nyonya, but have not been to everywhere on the list. I'm not a fatty crab fan. I think it's way overpriced and the dishes are hit or miss (the sliders I think are terrible - couldn't finish them). I think the overall best Malaysian in the area is Good Taste in Elmhurst but I guess we're not asking that.
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Nyonya
199 Grand St, New York, NY 10013
Good Taste
41 Monroe St, New York, NY 10002
Szechuan Gourmet - Downhill alert?
I went to Szechuan Gourmet recently for a second consecutive disappointing meal. When my food came, i just thought to myself, "really?". I did not order any flagship spicy stuff - this time I got jingjiang rousi (pork in plum sauce?) and kungpao shrimp. The pork was unevenly cut up instead of the match stick style it should be. the sauce was watery and flavorless. The shrimp were ratty takeout chinese shrimp - not deveined. The time before this I went there I don't remember what I ordered but have noticed dishes that I've been ordering for years (like the two mentioned above) have been coming out noticeably more mediocre. Has anyone else noticed this as well?
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Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Where to go and get best mussels (think Brussels) and still have a broad enough menu for others
second petite abeille, they have a couple locations and classic mussels as well as a couple other more interesting flavors. Have a decent menu for the rest of the party who doesn't want mussels.
Ex-NY Hound visiting from LA - help me get my italian fix!
I would have a look at Morini. Its new this year I think, Soho, same guy as Marea.
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Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
Teppanyaki in NY? Does it exist?
Yes I know that there is Benihana but that's not what I'm looking for. When I lived in Taiwan there were tons of Teppanyaki places due to the Japanese influence. The way most of them were set up there was just a huge teppanyaki griddle the length of a counter, and everyone would sit on the counter and they would put a piece of foil at the edge of the griddle and you would order and they would just make stuff as you ordered and leave it on your hot foil for you to eat with rice. Does anyone know if there is anything even close to resembling this in New York? My searches have turned up nothing.
*new* Szechuan Gourmet report
Its interesting that you said that there are just chefs filling in until the new guy from China arrives. I went to Sichuan Gourmet on 39th for lunch this week and I overheard the boss guy telling some people about a new location. I called him over to my table to find out more and was ecstatic to learn that it was going to be opening on 56th (I work on 54th on the west side). But he told me, "don't go for the first week or so, you might as well go get a burger or something, it will be better later". I didn't really know what he meant, I figured it was just a new restaurant getting off the ground. He didn't mention the new chef coming but that must have been the reason. If this is what the guy at GS said then I would think it will get even better with the new chef instead of worse. Any comments on how big the space is i relation to the 39th st. location?
Fulton Stall Market Opens 5/22
I happened to wander by inadvertently. It's okay. just a bit small. it seemed to be a lot of prepared foods and baked goods, not a lot of produce.
Bahn Mi New Additions - Any Feedback?
So according to both the NY and NY mag, Bahn mi are the trendiest new cheap food in NY, even though they've been around for ages. the NY article in which they are mentioned listed a bunch of places, many of which seemed new. Does anyone have any feedback or relative rankings for the following? any new stand outs (I think An Choi was reviewed favorably in another posting)?
AN CHOI 85 Orchard Street (Broome Street); (212) 226-3700.
BANH MI SAIGON BAKERY 138 Mott Street (Grand Street); (212) 941-1541.
BAOGUETTE 61 Lexington Avenue (25th Street); (212) 518-4089.
BAOGUETTE CAFE 37 St. Marks Place (Second Avenue); (347) 892-2614.
BA XUYEN 4222 Eighth Avenue (42nd Street), Sunset Park, Brooklyn; (718) 633-6601.
NHA TOI 160 Havemeyer Street (South Second Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn; (718) 599-1820.
NUM PANG 21 East 12th Street (University Place); (212) 255-3271.
PARIS SANDWICH BAKERY CAFE 113 Mott Street (Hester Street); (212) 226-7221.
SAU VOI CORP. 101 Lafayette Street (Walker Street); (212) 226-8184.
Brick Lane Curry House
I actually just happened to go there in the last couple weeks for the first time since I felt like branching out in terms of indian and this place got relatively decent reviews. I thought it was quite good, definitely better than most of the palces on 6th and teh ingredients did seem to be of higher quality. it was a bit pricey though, it was $100 dollars for 2 people. we had beer and were quite full after, but you generally don't think of Indian (except for Tabla or Devi or Tamarind) as a $50 a person dinner, at least that wasn't my original intention. All in all it was definitely a positive experience and I would go back.
I'm really not sure what is meant by "london style", by the way. I've had Indian food in london and its generally better there than here, but the menu doesn't seem strikingly different to me. Maybe london style just means good?
Place Des Vosges Area Recs
I am going to be staying near Place des Vosges near off of Rue St Antoine and was looking for some relatively low key neighborhoody recs in the area. I already have my high profile dinners planned for my stay, but I'm just looking for some bistro-ish places that you would have to live there to know about to fill in the gaps.
Also, can anyone reccomend some local restaurant review websites that I can browse? I speak french so language isn't a problem. I've been reccomended to restoaparis.com which i've looked at, but its basically like this site which isn't geographically based. I was looking more for something like menupages or citysearch where you can type in the neighborhood and find places.
thanks!
Ippudo
I went there about a month ago and it was a major annoyance. The only reason I stayed is because by the time i thought of somewhere new to go and actually went there, I might as well just wait. I don't think its worth the wait in the winter when its this cold b/c the bar area gets really really crowded since its too cold to wait outside. While I like Ippudo, I don't think it's worth an hour wait. Does anyone else think their noodels are a bit too al dente, by the way?
Hamburger buns/rolls
great. thanks for the suggestions. i'll make the rounds. are teh ones from blue ribbon market only special order or do they have them lying around any old time? (i don't need a bulk order, and don't think they'd be keen on filling a special order of 3 rolls)
Hamburger buns/rolls
I need good hamber rolls, which sounds simple until I started looking. I was originally thinking of something along the brioche variety which I haven't been able to find, however I'm open to suggestions. I will go basically anywhere below 60th st. between 2nd and 10th ave.
Downtown dumplings or potstickers for freezing
Prosperity also has them frozen in a 50 piece bag - around 10 dollars i think. I'm not a fan of making them at home. I don't think they come out as good for some reason and my whole apartment smells like oil for a day afterwards.
Strange Taste, Indeed (Beijing Noodles in Chinatown)
what kind of noodles and dumplings are we talking? la mian (pulled) daoqiao (hand cut)? shuijiao (boiled dumplings) guotie (fried)? if they offer a variety, what specifically is teh best? I have not found decent boiled dumplings in chinatown to date, only in flushing (Everywhere in Chinatown seems to pass off regular guotie or wonton skin wrapped crappy dumplings as shuijiao, but its a feeble attempt at best. you don't have to be an expert to notice the difference.)
Lunch Open on Christmas?
thanks, that was easy. don't know why i didn't think of that.
Lunch Open on Christmas?
Does anyone know of anywhere that they KNOW (or are pretty sure) is open Christmas day? Price Range: 50-70 per person. Geographic range: below 60th. Food: American/French/Italian. I've tried a couple places and struck out. I'm a bit out of ideas.
Good French Bistro for Mussels and Frite
petite abeille - mult locations, not sure if one of them is on the UES or not.
