Valencia - Easter (help!)

Hi everyone!

We arrive in Valencia at 5:30 pm on Easter Sunday. I have read awesome recommendations on this board; however, every place we call to make dinner reservations is closed on Easter Sunday. Does anyone know if tapas places will be open? (Although we'd prefer a sit-down meal that night). I know most paella places close by 4 pm.

Any suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated. We're only in Valencia for 1.5 days so we're really trying to avoid a sub-par meal since we have so little time there!

Thanks so much!!

cayetano in Spain/Portugal

help! :o)

Hi all!! We're going to be in Austin this weekend (VERY last minute plan) celebrating my father's birthday and cheering him on for his triathlon. Unfortunately, we will only be in town for a day in a half and am trying to cram in as many food things as we can.

Basically I'm looking for recs on:
1) a fun/nice dinner on Friday night that is kind of quick as we get in fairly late and dad goes to bed early before races. We eat ALL types of food, but since he lives in San Antonio I would prefer not TexMex or Mexican (unless it's just blow-your mind authentic/delicious...otherwise we'll save that genre for bfast).

2) a good bfast taco place

3) lunch rec (Japanese perhaps? or a place that uses mainly local ingredients?).

4) a place for dinner where he can load up on carbs (but is also good for us lazy, food-lovin' folks). Italian is mainly the go-to genre for carb-loading but after reading a bunch of posts on here, it seems like Austin doesn't have great options (perhaps Vespaio is the best?). I rarely eat at Italian restaurants because there are way too many places with pretty mediocre pasta/sauce/everything. That being said....ANY carb-heavy recs are appreciated, Italian or any other cuisine...!

5) and....any bar with either well-made or unique cocktails...or microbrews (for after he goes to bed)!

I was really intrigued by Uchi or Olivia but I don't think they can fit into a race weekend, unfortunately. And if this helps, we're staying in the northern part of Austin (the hotel recommended for the race) but obviously have a car.

Thanks so much!!!

cayetano in Austin

reasonable plan for foodies+parents?

We're coming up to ny to celebrate an anniversary and are looking for good food options to accommodate 6 people (including parents). Fortunately, everyone is pretty adventurous in terms of food and drink/willing to try anything. We realize that the number of people alone narrows down our eating options (ie- tasting menu at degustation would be perfect in terms of food/price but obviously wouldn't work for a party our size).

I have a few (ok, maybe more than a few) questions:

1) We wanted to do something like Zenkichi in Brooklyn because I think the family would love to explore sake flights and good Japanese food in a somewhat unique environment. Do you all have any other recommendations in Manhattan? Right now we're thinking Sakagura--is this our best option? Would this be able to accommodate all of us plus some more friends (ie- 12-15 people)?

2) We're still trying to figure dinner options for other nights- we're thinking:
- Babbo- reasonably priced tasting menu (although have seen the recommendations to order a la carte), good food, and let's face it- the celebrity factor would probably go far with our parents ;o)
- WD-50- very different from food that our family has had before
- Tailor- is dinner here good? The drinks sound great!
- Momofuku Ko- we would love to try this place but clearly a party of 6 doesn't work here--anything along these lines?

Basically, we're looking to spend ~$120/person (not including drinks) and want to give our families a chance to try food that they wouldn't get elsewhere, in fun, non-stuffy atmospheres.

3) At some point we're going to go to Chinatown for lunch (venturing out to Flushing is not really an option)- I really have been craving soup dumplings so was thinking of New Yeah or Joe's Shanghai (never been here) and then to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I recognize that there are tons of posts on where to go in chinatown...but if anyone has a must-have recommendation...

4) Drinks: We're definitely interested in checking out Pegu Club, Tailor, Death & Co. Do any of them specifically not accommodate 6 people?

5) We're staying in Midtown (44th and 5th Ave)--so also more than happy to get any recs of places near the hotel (particularly for breakfast/brunch/bakery options).

Phew! Thanks for making it to the end of the message...looking forward to any/all advice!!!

cayetano in Manhattan

"ethnic" restaurant recs

i'm going to be in philadelphia for a weekend with my parents, who love ethnic food. i've narrowed it down to the following options:
1) Uzbekistan (we have a car)
2) Rangoon
3) Cafe Apamate
4) One of Jose Garces' restaurants (which do you all prefer: Chifa, Tinto, Amada, or Distrito? Chifa sounds the most intriguing but I can see how it could be hit or miss.)

Thoughts? Suggestions (even if they are non-ethnic places)?

I'm obviously taking them to Capogiro, Monk's for beer, and RTM for lunch at some point. How is Tria for drinks (and are the snack options there decent)?

Thanks!!!

cayetano in Pennsylvania

Seattle- must eats

Thanks everybody! We just got back from Seattle (and miss the food options already)! We had a great time exploring the places you all suggested and unfortunately didn't get time to try everything (in fact, we never even made it to a brewpub...sad).

We loved Matt's in the Market and Crush. Matt's was delicious (of note: the foie gras appetizer and [surprisingly?] the Mexican chocolate pot de creme. Crush was really fun and innovative...totally was in a food coma by the end of the chef's tasting menu and in addition to the glasses we had been ordering, we were given half a dozen free drinks based on bottles that had been opened that night (perhaps not the classiest but we LOVED trying everything and really appreciated it!). We had some really good drinks at Zig Zag Cafe--enjoyed watching the bartender make drinks and the ambiance was nice. We had a somewhat average meal at Dahlia Lounge...some things were really over-salted but perhaps an off day? And were strangely disappointed by drinks at Liquorous (they sounded like they were going to be creative and fun but were for the most part sweet and kind of boring).

Thanks so much for the recommendations! We really enjoyed exploring these places...and still have a million and one places to try the next time we're there!

cayetano in Pacific Northwest

Seattle- must eats

those were definitely two places that made it onto our looong list of places to try. we were leaning towards union, although are tempted to try a tom douglas restaurant (dahlia lounge v. palace kitchen, anyone?)

we won't have a car so prefer things to be within walking distance but are willing to take a taxi if a place is really worth it/there are other things to do or see in that area.

and in terms of a budget, we're willing to splurge for some great food!

cayetano in Pacific Northwest

Seattle- must eats

My husband and I are going to be in Seattle for three days. After spending inordinate amounts of time perusing the posts on here (it's just so fun and addictive!), I have a list of 400 places we should try :o) We eat all genres of food but are probably not interested (at least not on this trip) in Mexican/Vietnamese/Thai/Indian. We'd be interested in regional cuisine, "new" American, innovative/well-executed food :o) OH and we're really big beer dorks...and would love to explore fun beer places or places that make great cocktails.

Help us narrow it down, please! We're staying by the convention center on Pike Street. Anything that we MUST try in this area (restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc)?? Thanks so much!!

cayetano in Pacific Northwest

Need Reccos for downtown Columbia SC next weekend

i recommend hampton street vineyard. gervais and wine is good for a group interested in sharing tapas. really my favorite restaurant in columbia is thai lotus (i think it may be one of my favorite thai restaurants ever...although this is not downtown). some of the korean restaurants in columbia are great but lacking in ambiance.

cayetano in General South Archive