Hot Dish's Profile
Thanksgiving
I went to Le Tableau with Mom & spouse for T'giving 2 years ago, and it was a delight. Inventive takes on the traditional food. It was all prix fixe, and I remember it as reasonable. It's not a big place, so your group may be large--but we went at 6 or 7 and it didn't fill up til closer to 8-9, so earlier might work (and with the kids, might be your preference anyway).
Cheese curds?
Have never seen them outside my native Wisconsin (though am glad to know they're found in Montreal!). They are usually a mild cheddar and their random shapes are maybe best compared to irregular packing peanuts--or fat, stumpy Cheetos. The white vs. yellow color is just a matter of whether dye was used, I think. Sometimes they're gussied up and cheesemongers will include dill, garlic, and other flavorings to the basic curd.
As far as I know, they're eaten as is, just popped into the mouth. Or with a toothpick, if using as an hors d'oeuvre! They can be deep fried, as Infomaniac observed, and then they join the mozzarella stick family. I'd love to know if they're used in dishes--but I've never, ever, heard of this and I grew up with them.
Yes, freshness is quite important. Don't know how fresh one can find in Phoenix, unless there's a transplant from the Upper Midwest practicing dairy agriculture on the mesas. . . good luck!
best cheap south east asian in nyc?
There's Borobudor in the E. Village for Indonesian. not fabulous (compared to time I lived in indonesia), but really cheap and friendly.
Trader Joe questions
One way they keep costs low is by not always restocking house brands--that is, if they run out of, say, TJ's frozen Thai postickers, they might not bring them back for weeks or months. For this reason, hard-core afficionados will stock up on fave items. (I love the roasted tortilla corn chowder, which I think is far better than most jarred/canned soups anywhere). And yeah, the cashiers are uniformly friendly. Love 'em.
For more specifics on the store's process of creating the house brands & stocking them, you might try the California boards--that's where the store started and customers have been serious devotees for decades. These was also a long NY Times article last spring about product development.
conveyor belt sushi
There is/was a place in the World Financial Center. Don't know its name and can't vouch for quality, but the belt is there! It's in an open food court area just north of the boat basin. I don't think it's open weekends.
Help! Revisiting Madison for Pancake and spicy cheese bread
Mickey's is across the street from the UW stadium & field house; it's on Monroe St. at Regent St. Only open for breakfast & lunch. Dunno their pancakes, but I grew up on their milkshakes (but I was a kid and can't vouch for actual quality and chowishness).
Where are the tomatoes???
I'd love o be in a CSA, but the nearest droff off point is 30 mins out of my way, and no mass transit between the site & my home. boo hoo!
Madison, Wisconsin
For unusual Chowish food shopping, my favorites include Fraboni's Italian grocery on Regent St. near campus (they make very respectable sandwiches), and the Asian supermarket nearby, just south on Park St. as mentioned by aardvark.
Madison, Wisconsin
Thanks for the update on Babcock--I am a Madison native who now lives in NYC, and while I'm in town at least twice a year, I'm bound to miss some important chowhound developments. My father's a professor whose office isn't far from Babcock Hall; I have happy memories of stopping for a cone en route to his office.
Madison, Wisconsin
If son is hankering ice cream, I heartily recommend the UW's very own Ag School's ice cream--known as Babcock. It's for sale in the Memorial Union's lobby and at their own storefront in one of the dairy school buildings on campus. But your son really doesn't need my advice on this; a student can't miss this famous, delicious local wonderment.
Innovative and wacky ice cream?
I second the laboratorio. Recently had green apple sorbet--with apple peel in it!--pistachio gelato, and a divine fresh mint gelato. Vivid flavors, unusual choices.
Spanish Tapas: La Paella or Bar Carrera
I also was disappointed last week by La Paella (and I also was in Spain earlier this summer!). The food was fine--not spectacular, but reasonably priced--but the service throughout was rather chilly at best. I don't think the waiter smiled once. And the kicker: my friends and I had just paid the bill but were sitting and chatting a bit. . . and the host asked us to leave as another party was waiting. Tacky, tacky, tacky! We had been dining only about 75 minutes, too. I don't need to go back.
Had much better food and service at Euzkadi (sp?), where the Baque-style tapas on bread (dunno the real name) were terrific--especially the one with avacado and feta. It's noisy and scene-y, FYI, so going at an off-hour is probably better if you want a romantic or chatty meal.
Congee Village
I like the congee with squid & ginger, which sound to me like pretty straighforward ingredients and flavors (if you care for porridge in this weather). And if you like to drink cosmospolitans, theirs are surprising good and inexpensive--don't know if the ingredients counts as too many ingredients! have fun.
LES/chinatown border
Thanks Pan, Wing Shoon is the spot I was thinking of for flounder with ginger, which I have had with 3+ people. Thanks also for the mention of N Y Noodletown--I'm curious to try it.
Glad you've done better w/Congee Village. I'm not a regular, but I am very fond of the "village" decor.
LES/chinatown border
Welcome to the 'hood! Hope you enjoy Seward Park. My local faves include:
1) Barrio Chino on Broome for enchiladas verde; it gets hipster/UES slumming crazy-full at normal dining times--likely open on the later side.
2) Little Giant on Broome is good food, though the wine list is suprisingly expensive and mediocre.
3) Bocadito on Orchard has nice small plates Mex-style and tasty fancy drinks.
4) There's a Chinese place on E. Bway & Essex (Maybe at Allen? it's the SE side of the intersection) with terrific fried flounder.
5) I second Congee Village--the good cosmos are way cheap, though be warned: they don't honor reservations they make (I've experienced it twice. Very frustrating!).
6) New French bistro, Casani's, on Broome & Ludlow, is a good basic neighborhood joint--not spectacular enough to get on the subway for, but worth a 10-minute walk, IMHO.
Also: Two Boots just got OK'd by the community board to open a new spot w/ liquor license on Grand at about Suffolk or Norfolk--it's a dilapidated white brick building with 2 shuttered businesses, a bodega and the "Mister Man" barber shop. Very welcome for those of us on the waaaaaay East end of Grand at the FDR where there's basically nowhere nearby.
Save me from B'day Dinner at Outback in Indy July 1
I'm an out-of-towner who'll be celebrating my b-day in Indy next month at Oceanaire. My major foodie spouse has been several times & declares it one of 2 best spots in town; the other is St. Elmo's. But we live in NYC, so can't claim deep knowledge of Indy chow.
Best Catering in madison wisconsin
My Madison wedding 3 years ago was catered by the White Horse. Very easy, flexible, professional--highly recommended.
Recipes You've Never Heard of Outside Your Family
This is similar to comfort food my Russian-born spouse makes: noodles with sour cream (and possibly a bit of garlic). Can be made more heart-healthy w/yogurt or cotttage cheese. Ditto the post above--sugar can be added to make it breakfast food.
Midwest 'hounds: food unique to or that defines your community/town/metro area/state
Here's a Wisconsinite (granted, now in NYC) chiming in to this great thread. Many favorites are similar to Minnesota's: wild rice, lutefisk. Cheese curds, of course--you can find them deep fried, like mozzarella sticks but tastier, at state & county fairs. Pasties are available at a good new-ish place in Rhinelander, which features several varieties in addition to the traditional meat/potato/rutabaga concoction. In Madison, at the top of State Street just off the Square, is Miles's Teddywedgers (sp?), which features pasties for those further from the UP.
