hungry_united's Profile
work xmas party/dinner for 30-40 people (somewhere like edi & the wolf?)
actually it doesn't have to be a private room! just good food!
work xmas party/dinner for 30-40 people (somewhere like edi & the wolf?)
looking for a restaurant (preferably downtown/east village) where we can have a private room with dinner for our office xmas party. we are all young, arty people. we want somewhere not too fancy, but with very good food. we've had dinner parties at edi & the wolf twice, and love the space and atmosphere there but are tiring of the menu... any suggestions?
dinner/grocery delivery ideas in charlottesville -- please help!
Thanks for all of these suggestions -- they're really helpful!
dinner/grocery delivery ideas in charlottesville -- please help!
a dear friend of mine lives in charlottesville and is unable to cook right now because of a family illness/crisis. can anyone recommend good places to have food delivered to her? she lives on mulberry avenue. i looked online but it seems that grocery delivery places like fresh direct don't deliver to charlottesville. she expressed interest in a place called ariana grill kabob house, which i'm going to get for the first night, but then i would like to plan a few more... can anyone local offer any suggestions? thanks in advance!
Hearth vs Peasant?
Or if anyone can suggest someplace similar but better, please do! I was told that the menus at Scarpetta and Maialino look a little too expensive. We also tried for Lupa but they can only seat us at 5:30 and Porsena but they said for seven it's a prix fixe... We want to order off the menu, for sure...
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Lupa
170 Thompson Street, New York, NY 10012
Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014
Maialino
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Porsena
21 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003
Hearth vs Peasant?
We're having a family dinner for seven on Friday night as an early Father's Day celebration. We want an Italian place that's good/authentic but not too pricey (entrees in the twenties rather than the thirties or forties)... We were hoping to try Locanda Verde but they can only seat us at 5:30 or Osteria Morini but they said parties of six or more have to do their events menu with a minimum $1200 spend.
We were able to get reservations at both Peasant and Hearth... Which is better? Somehow I am guessing Hearth, but I was wondering if anyone has tried both and could let me know how they compare...
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Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013
Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012
Good place to shop for Italian provisions in Venice?
I won't be able to get to nearby cities, unfortunately, and I'm just flying in and out of Venice for the Biennale, but I will def check out both stores and the bakeries...
Thank you so much for your input, everyone!
Good place to shop for Italian provisions in Venice?
Thanks so much for your advice! I will check out Drogheria Mascari and the bakeries mentioned... Has anyone heard of or visited a shop called I Tre Mercanti?
Good place to shop for Italian provisions in Venice?
Can anyone recommend a good place to shop for Italian provisions in Venice?
I'm looking for stuff to bring home like miele di castagno (chestnut honey), salsa di noci (jarred nut sauce for pasta), and cantucci alla mandorla (little biscotti) to bring home... Usually I go to Milan, where I know the supermarkets and specialty food stores, but this time I am only going in and out of Venice. Will track down a supermarket of course (if anyone can recommend the best one, I'd appreciate it -- I'm staying in Cannareggio) but was wondering if there's any famous specialty food store like Milan's Peck or Drogheria Radrizzani in Venice? I have found mentions of Drogheria Mascari but can't tell if that's mostly for spices... Any tips would be appreciated!
Good food (especially seafood) near Charlestown, Rhode Island?
Thanks for these tips! I will definitely check out Matunuck Oyster Bar and Champlin's (is that this place: http://www.champlins.com/ in Naragansett?) I'm not familiar with the area at all yet... just looking for the best seafood hopefully not toooooo long of a drive from Charlestown! Is the local way of eating seafood mostly fried?
Good food (especially seafood) near Charlestown, Rhode Island?
I'll be spending a week at the beach in Charlestown, Rhode Island, with my family this summer...
Looking for the best places to eat nearby -- hopefully within a 30-45 minute driving radius. My parents are especially interested in seafood and love lobster.
Also, can anyone recommend a place nearby to pick up fresh lobster? (I know some places will steam them for you, so that would be great too.) Really any recommendations for the area would be appreciated as I've never spent time in Rhode Island. Thanks in advance for your help!
Mold in lid of pump-style salad spinner?
I tried to take apart the lid but couldn't find any way to do it without snapping the pieces of plastic that keep the two parts together. Finally decided to email OXO and get some answers...
Apparently in my older model (the bowl is clear and the lid is black and white), the lid does not separate for cleaning. They have a newer version (she said it has a clear lid) that comes apart for cleaning. They're sending me a free replacement lid for my model (hooray for "satisfaction guaranteed" policies!) and offered to send me a discount code for use on their website if I decide I would like to buy the newer model. We were able to get some mildew off with the weak bleach solution, but not everything, so we're very happy to be getting a new lid!
Mold in lid of pump-style salad spinner?
I have an Oxo pump-style salad spinner -- it's made of plastic and I've probably had it for almost a decade. It still works perfectly. The only problem is that what looks to be black mold seems to be growing between the two pieces of plastic in the lid... I can also see more black stuff inside the round piece that protrudes inside the lid where the pump mechanism is. I'm not sure if it's mold or just dirt (but I think it's probably mold since it looks a lot like the little black specks of mold that sometimes grow on the plastic lid of our Brita water pitcher)... I'd like to clean it, but I can't get to it. Has anyone had success in taking apart the lid of this kind of salad spinner? Would soaking the whole thing in a pan of bleach be a bad idea? Or should I just suck it up and buy a new one?
Any advice would be much appreciated!
Help -- did I kill my cheese?
I bought some cheese in Paris two weeks ago: a St. Marcellin, an Epoisses, a Camembert, and a chunk of 2-year old Comté. I bought unripe versions and had them vacuum packed after they were wrapped in wax paper... The cheesemonger told me they would be ready in a week or two. I just realized that I should have taken them out of the vacuum pack plastic bag as soon as I got home... I just opened them. The Comté looks perfect, and the Camembert (wrapped in wax paper in a box) looks fine too. The Epoisses (which was plastic-wrapped at the store, then wrapped in wax paper, then in the vacuum bag) looks the same as when I got it, though it is surprisingly firm. But on one part of the St Marcellin there is a little bit of white peach fuzz... is this mold or normal? I've always bought these in the US when they were fully ripe and ready to eat on the same day so I'm not sure if I killed them through suffocation in the plastic bag? Does anyone know if fuzzy white mold is normal on St Marcellin or should I throw it away? Most of the wheel looks normal otherwise...
I'd be grateful for any advice!
Diego in Carroll Gardens?
Please report back! I am considering it for dinner with a friend tomorrow night...
Our week in Paris (La Régalade St Honoré, Chez L'ami Jean, Café Constant, Breizh Café, etc.)
We just got back from a six-day trip to Paris, full of great meals based on recommendations here and from friends... Here are some of our favorite meals (with pics):
La Régalade Saint Honoré: http://didactickatydid.blogspot.com/2011/02/paris-day-four.html
The complimentary housemade paté and cornichons were a delicious start to what was one our favorite meals in Paris. I had a delicious seared tuna salad with beet carpaccio to start and my husband had some nicely dressed raw scallops. Then I had a giant piece of pork belly with skin so crispy I had a hard time cutting it, served on a bed of Puy lentils, and he had what seemed like a pretty traditional beef bourguignon. For dessert he got the Grand Marnier soufflé and I had a delicious giant serving of riz au lait... (33€ for three-course menu)
Chez L’Ami Jean: http://didactickatydid.blogspot.com/2011/03/paris-day-six.html
Lunch at this crowded Basque restaurant (lots of seafood on the menu) was the best meal I had in Paris. It was pricey (42€ for three-course menu) but well worth it. I started with crispy bone marrow and a sardine filet served on top of some kind of deep-fried flatbread, which added a terrific crunch to everything. I'm not a big sardine fan, but I thought the combination was great. Hubs had an enormous serving of cockles and mussels, served in a Staub pot. Then he had veal, which included the kidneys and glands and other innards. I had the roast chicken, which turned out to be the most delicious chicken I've ever had in my life! So tender and moist and exquisitely seasoned. We also got a little pot of the most delicious mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life... don't want to think about how many calories were in there, they were so rich! But dessert really knocked it out of the ballpark... He had something involving grapefruit and tapioca, and a little box of flavored meringues, and I got the riz au lait (again), which has received rave reviews here... The "milk jam" that came with it was so caramelized that it was almost bitter tasting, which worked perfectly with the creamy rice pudding (I think they must fold whipped cream into it). I couldn't finish it, and was so sad to leave some behind. It will linger in my memory forever.
The Cantin cheese shop is just a few blocks away from here so we stocked up on unripe cheese which they vacuum packed for us to take home...
Café Constant: http://didactickatydid.blogspot.com/2011/02/paris-day-three-things-start-to-get.html
Following a tasty lunch at L'As du Fallafel, we tried Café Constant for dinner. After all the nervous phone calls we'd been making for dinner reservations (some unsuccessfully: we never managed to get through at Frenchie), it was nice to randomly end up somewhere that didn't take reservations and find that we only had to wait 10 minutes for a table. (We had ruled out Les Cocottes down the block because its line extended out to the sidewalk.) This was my husband's favorite meal in Paris. We started out with a simple duck foie grass and oeufs mimosa (they were described as old-style deviled eggs, but I found these weird -- I think the white egg half was filled with a herby mayo, and the yolks were grated on top, which is fine, but the yolks didn't taste like anything). Then I had roast chicken, which was ok but nothing to write home about, especially in comparison to the amazing chicken I had two days later at Chez L'Ami Jean. Hubs had veal head, tongue, and brains in a gribiche sauce. He raved about the flavor of the brain, which he'd never had before. We finished with an ile flottante (a puff of meringue floating in caramel custard cream).
Breizh Café: http://didactickatydid.blogspot.com/2011/03/paris-day-five.html
We had delicious buckwheat galettes and Brittany cider at this little café in Le Marais. The dessert crepes were also awesome... I love how the caramel is cooked until it looks and tastes really dark!
We recommend any savory crepe with the confit d'oignons and any sweet one with the caramel sauce.
We also had good meals at Rose Bakery in the Marais (tasty quiches and really fresh salads) and Le Café des Musees (standard bistro fare - I wouldn't necessarily recommend going out of your way for it, but the steak tartare was really good), and a fun picnic in our apartment with provisions from La Grande Epicerie de Paris (I could live in there). We also loved the croissants from Au Levain de Marais, which we tried to get every morning, the caramels from Jacques Genin (too bad they are so pricey!), and, in addition to the famed macarons, the chocolate sable cookies with fleur de sel from Pierre Hermé.
In the end, we ran out of time (and were trying to stick to a budget) so we didn't get to try everything we wanted to, but it was a great trip and we can't wait to get back!
Diego in Carroll Gardens?
Has anybody tried this new Mexican place at Smith and Union?
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Diego
305 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Roberta's -- February 2011 (tasting menu!) report
how much was the tasting, pray tell?
Paczki in Greenpoint
I believe that tomorrow is Paczki Day... I'd love to get some paczki in Greenpoint for my husband. Can anyone recommend the best bakery for this? Thanks!
Shall we talk about brownies again? Your favorite recipes and why they are favorites?
My favorite brownie recipe is Alice Medrich's cocoa brownie recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Best-Cocoa-Brownies-108346
I use an organic, Dutch-processed cocoa (Equal Exchange) and forgo the nuts. I melt the butter in the microwave to save time, and double the recipe to fill a 13 x 9 inch pan (lined with parchment). If you have all the ingredients, it's almost as fast as making brownies from a box mix. They are especially delicious when stored in the fridge or freezer... super chewy with a dark chocolatey taste!
Belleville recommendation?
Tomorrow's our last night in Paris and we're looking for a good place to eat after an afternoon of art-viewing in Belleville. We had hoped to check out Le Baratin but it appears to be closed for vacation. Can anyone recommend a good, not-too-pricey place for dinner? Many thanks!
Best cheese degustation in Paris?
I've made a list of fromageries to check out (Cantin, Ferme St. Hubert, Alleosse, Barthelemy) but was wondering if anyone could suggest a place to sit down and have a cheese plate or course? I have read about the cheese course at Astier, but am not sure if that's the best option. Any suggestions?
Does this recipe seem Italian? If so, from which region?
sure... like i said i'm not sure where it's from, but it's good!
serves 6
1/2 c olive oil
1 med onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TB minced fresh basil
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 16 oz cans chickpeas
1 lb fusilli
1/2 grated parmesan
Heat oil in large skilet and sautee onion until golden. Add garlic, basil, tomato paste, salt, and pepper and stir. Stir in chickpeas and add water to cover. Simmer until chickpeas are tender (about 30 min) then puree half the chickpeas in their liquid (can use a fork and mash against the pan). cook the sauce until it thickens a bit. cook pasta, drain, and toss with sauce. top with parmesan.
Have a large supply of Beets...need suggestions???
seconding the pancake idea! mark bittman's beet pancakes with rosemary are awesome and would be even better topped with a poached egg!
Does this recipe seem Italian? If so, from which region?
A friend passed on a recipe for pasta in chickpea sauce, which involves cooking chickpeas with a diced onion, a garlic glove, minced basil, and tomato paste until the chickpeas are tender, then pureeing half of them (or simply smushing them with a wooden spoon) to make a chickpea sauce that coats pasta (she recommended fettucine but I use fusilli). Does this seem like an Italian recipe? If so, from what region? I am familiar with pasta con ceci (chickpea soup) but that tends to have a broth of sorts. Has anyone seen a recipe like this and can point me to a cookbook or other source?
Thanks in advance!
How long can I keep homemade preserved lemons or pickled ramps?
My boyfriend made preserved lemons (following Claudia Roden's recipe) and pickled ramps (following David Chang's recipe) almost a year ago. We have been using them bit by bit for the past year (from the same Mason jars in which the were originally stored) but they're not done yet. Does anybody know how long they can be kept/eaten?
The Claudia Roden book says the lemons "take about 4 weeks to mature and can last a year" and "If a piece of lemon is not covered (in the preserving liquid) it develops a white mold which is harmless and just needs to be washed off."
How would we know that they went bad? Any insight on this would be much appreciated.
Private dinner for 30-40 at Jane, The Smith, or Virgil's?
We're trying to find a venue for a wedding rehearsal dinner for 30-40 people on a Friday night. We're hoping for a private room, and to pay something in the vicinity of $50-60 per person (before tax/tip) including drinks if possible.
Has anyone rented out a private room at Jane or The Smith? I haven't been to either restaurant but the menus look interesting enough... At The Smith it seems to be $35 or $45 per person depending on how many entree choices you want to offer, and at Jane it's $55. Both places charge drinks on consumption.
We are also looking at Virgil's for famly-style platters of BBQ, where it would be $55 per person including soda, wine, and beer... We've looked at other BBQ places but this seems like it would be the calmest atmospher and would have a space to accommodate a party of our size.
Does anyone have any experience having private dinners at any of these places? Or any other suggestions for places with private dining areas for 30-40 people that we haven't thought of? We are open to anything except Italian/pizza!
Thanks!!!
My New Favorite Pizza
I went to Pizzeria Veloce yesterday for lunch with four friends, hoping to take advantage of their $10 deal. When we got there we realized the slice it comes with is pretty small (a quarter of the 12 inch square pan) and we were hungry and two of us were pregnant so not looking to drink wine so we decided to just order three pizzas and a salad. Three of us ordered soda. The pizzas were delicious -- nice crust and we especially enjoyed the flavors of one that came topped with melted fontina and fresh arugula and grape tomatoes. However one thing happened that really irked me: While my friend still had an inch of soda left in her glass, the waiter came over and asked "would you like a little more soda?" He seemed to be offering a free refill and she said yes. Then later, when we were almost done eating (only one slice was left in the pan) the waiter came back and did the same with my boyfriend and me (we each had an inch left of soda in our glasses when we took them away). We thought he was just being nice since the place was pretty empty. When the bill came, we were shocked to see that we had been charged for two sodas each... Obviously it was our fault for not clarifying whether they were actually free refills (something I know doesn't usually happen in NYC) but I feel like he knew we were ordering carefully (my boyfriend even asked how much a soda was when we first ordered) and also it was strange how he phrased it as "a little more?" rather than "another soda?" and took the glasses away before they were empty. After a great pizza I have to say that experience left a bad taste in my mouth!
not-too-fancy dinner in croton/mt.kisco/pleasantville/bedford/peakskill area?
i'm trying to organize a dinner where my parents can meet my future in-laws... we decided to split the difference and meet somewhere in the croton/mt.kisco/pleasantville/bedford/peakskill area, though other towns are a possibility. i don't know the area at all, so i was hoping some fellow chowhounds could help by recommending a nice restaurant that's not too fancy or expensive (entreés under $20)? i want it to be a casual place, but obviously the food and service have to be good! thanks for any advice!
