AlanMa's Profile
A surprising disappointment-Second Ave Deli
A takeout of a pastrami on rye the other night 7pm or so was a true disappointment. Some 40-50 years ago I lived a few blocks from the old store and had pastrami many nights both in the store and takeout. Since then I have eaten or taken out at a good number of delis including Katz's, Sarges' and so on. This was the worst. I now live near the new Second Ave. Deli and the pastrami was still warm. But it was dry and the pieces of pastrami were mainly a half inch to an inch and a quarter long. Just lots of little stringy pieces all pressed together. And the taste of the pastrami was middling. I usually eat pastrami separate from the sandwich but this time after a while I pressed some of the pastrami inside a rolled up piece of bread. The bread was the best part. The sides of potato salad and cole slaw were OK but the potato salad was too sweet for my taste. I will not go back. It's not what it once was.
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Second Avenue Deli
162 E 33rd St, New York, NY 10016
William Greenberg, Jr. cookies, a disappointment.
Each summer for a good number of years, I have been purchasing William Greenberg's butter cookies. The price keeps going up but the quality this year has gone down. They are now $26 a pound but they have lost their light buttery taste. Instead they seem to have a chalky undertone. Two of us came to the same conclusion independently. A few other pastries we purchased at the same time were not expensive but also a disappointment. I read somewhere that this venerable Madison Avenue store was sold recently. Could this be the reason?
Can anyone suggest another Manhattan bakery that has a selection of good butter cookies? Not huge ones, just the small ones that can be boxed and given as a gift, etc.
Looking for source for good Russian Coffee Cake
Sorry for the delay in answering. It contains raisins and pecans or other nuts along with some kind of dark sugary filling in a dough that may have sour cream among the ingredients. If you look in Eli's website, that's Eli Zabar, the relative who broke off and opened a store or two on the East Side of New York, around 82nd Street and Third Avenue, and search for Russian Coffee Cake, you may find a photo of his special Russian Coffee Cake.
Looking for source for good Russian Coffee Cake
In 2003, I asked where in Manhattan below 96th Street I could get tasty Russian coffee cake. I got one reply, Fairway, and one comment from a Russian who said he knew nothing about Russian coffee cake. Since then I have tried several acceptable ones, among others from Zabars and Russ and Daughters. Can anyone suggest any other place that has good Russian coffee cake, maybe like the kind we got in the Bronx near Mosholu Parkway some 50-60 years ago. Maybe it's not really of Russian origin, but it still brings back memories.
Katz's--A Disaster
I was recently advised by a deli counter employee who has worked at several major stores and is a Katz's maven that one should not get pastrami at Katz's after 2 PM or so. He told me that the steamers are shut off about then. I do not know what the steamers are or what they are used for and whether he is correct or not, but I have noticed that once or twice when I went to Katz's late in the day, I was disappointed with the pastrami. Any comments?
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Katz's Delicatessen
205 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002
Just moved to Gramercy and the grocery stores are no good!
For fresh fish go to the Greenmarket in Union Square on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Get there early. The fish was caught the day before. Other than that go up to the Catskills and catch your own trout or go to the East River and fish if you don't care about mercury. I believe there's a good fish store on Second Avenue around 22nd Street on the west side of the street.
Little Pie Company at grand central station closed
Yesterday I went to Grand Central Station for an apple walnut sour cream pie fix and discovered that the Little Pie Company store there is no more. So we are down to one store, the original one.
New York Foodie Family in the Cape
I have to disagree about the Friendly Fisherman based on an early lunch consisting of the clam chowder and a lobster roll, neither of which was among the best or even close to the best I have experienced. The lobster seemed to lack any kind of dressing. It tasted like plain cold pieces of fresh lobster. I asked if they had forgotten the mayonnaise but they said they had not. I asked and got a portion of mayonnaise and mixed it in. I preferred it that way. Two days before I had a lobster roll at Seafood Sam's in Harwichport. Half the amount of lobster at half the price. As served it was just as satisfactory and the roll had been buttered and tasted good by itself after I finished the lobster. I'm still looking for a really good lobster roll.
A day later at Sir Cricket's I shared a fried clam plate (clam bellies) and a fried scallop plate along with onion rings and cold slaw with a friend. This was wonderful.
Favorite Vendors at Union Square Farmer's Market
Beth's Farm Kitchen has wonderful jams and jellies. I usually get the strawberry rhubarb, the sour cherry, the triple marmalade (orange, lemon, grapefruit), the apricot, and so on. If you are tired of peanut butter sandwiches with the strawberry, try a peanut butter sandwich with the apricot. During the colder seasons, she usually has a limited supply of blood orange and sometimes Seville orange. Both yummy. Oh, and by the way, when you buy ten small jars (or five large ones), you get a small jar of your choice. Just make sure she gives you a card on which she stamps your purchases. Ten stamps and you get a freebie.
Impudent Oyster, Chatham (Cape Cod)
I have been having a lunch each summer at the Impudent Oyster for the past five or six years, always starting with the clam chowder because of its creaminess, thickness, taste, etc. Last summer was a disappointment. It was thin, not creamy, and so on. Was I there on a bad day or had something changed? I asked around but could not get an answer.
Really good weekday lunch in or near Baltimore
Can anyone recommend a really good restaurant for weekday lunch in or near Baltimore? For the past 20 years or so when visiting, the best we've enjoyed is the Black Olive and would recommend it to others. We've been there many times. But we would like to try another with similar nice surroundings and similar good food. (No, it doesn't have to be Greek or even seafood.) Unfortunately, others recommended are only open evenings. Any suggestions?
A Katz's disappointment
I have been going to Katz's every few months for a good number of years. I can recall when the salamis were hanging over our heads. Each time I (or a friend) would put a dollar or two into the cup and ask for fatty or soft pastrami, etc. Usually I eat the pastrami without the bread and without any mustard, just one piece of meat after another, and usually with cream soda. This time, last Wednesday at 6PM or so, the slicer picked out one piece of pastrami, gave me a sample, sliced it up, was not satisfied with it (though I did not say anything) and went back to get another piece to slice up. The resulting sandwich was a disappointment--for the first time ever. The meat did not have the usual peppery, meaty flavor. It had a somewhat metallic overtone. And it lacked the fattiness, the softness. I wondered if they were curing it differently. I just hope that this was an aberration. I ended up putting mustard on the meat.
Saturday Lunch near 1 Dorrance Street, Providence
Can anyone suggest a place for a tasty Saturday lunch within walking distance of 1 Dorrance Street (the Avis garage) in Providence, RI? I will be leaving my car there and will have much time until my train arrives on a Saturday afternoon.
suggestions for lunch after Metropolitan Museum
The last time I tried to get into Cafe Sabarsky on a weekday at about 12 noon, there was a line outside to get into the Museum and into the Cafe (one line for both) and there was a wait. I was told that when I got into the building, there was a 30 minute wait to get into the Cafe. I believe there is a smaller cafe a floor below too, but since there was no way of knowing exactly when I would get in and the gentleman at the door of the Museum just did not seem to care to be more precise in giving information, I just left. A few years ago it seemed much easier to get into the Cafe. I guess this is what popularlity plus a snobbish attitude results in.
Russ & Daughters Smoked Salmon Question
It seems to me that the smaller bagels from Russ and Daughter have better flavor, etc., than the larger ones. They usually run out of the smaller ones earlier. These are the size that bagels some fifty years ago were before they got larger and larger. If I am right that they differ (and it could be my imagination) it probably has to do with the smaller surface that is baked. I have noticed for example that challah (twists) and the traditional shaped breads made from the same recipe and baked in the same oven may differ in taste and texture because of the different surface of each, etc.
Russ & Daughters Smoked Salmon Question
The last time I purchased the wild salmon (in October) it was a great disappointment, not smoked sufficiently or something similar. I suggest asking for a sample taste of all smoked salmon here, or at the very least, the smoked salmon.
Shake Shack Report
The Shack closed for the winter at approximately 7:20 PM Friday December 1. I was there at approximately 7:35 PM and saw a person walking away with her order. At the same time I saw that all the windows were closed. And about this time I saw and heard a cheer from inside the Shack. I knocked on the window and one of the employees told me that it would be open again March 21--the number is from memory and may be slightly off, but I feel certain that's what she told me. I was also told that my unused gift cards, the two dollar value cards I got at the beginning of this season and never cashed in for food, would be good next year. Probably thirty minutes later it started to rain very hard. I hope those employees got home OK.
I would like to add that I have always felt that while the hamburgers are fairly tasty, they are not very juicy, possibly because of their thinness. Obviously many here disagree. I have always found the franks with sauerkraut and mustard much tastier and find the ice cream extremely creamy and delicious.
Oregon Grill
Has anyone eaten at the Oregon Grill in Hunt Valley, MD? The only review I have found is in Zagat.
new restaurant every month for a year.....
I need good restaurants in the area that serve fine lunch meals for myself and my sister when I visit her. I have satisfied that need at Black Olive and Pierpoint's Aliceanna. Do any of the others on your list qualify? Unfortunately Pierpoint won't be open the Friday before Thanksgiving for lunch. Their second new restaurant (North of Baltimore) has a limited lunch menu. Too many of the very good restaurants only have a limited lunch menu or are open only for dinner.
Gramercy Tavern: fantastic food, but...
You wonder if the waiter did not return because you say your bill was on the low end. If you did have the tasting menu, your bill was not on the low end of the scale. Further, 28 and 30 is almost middle age to some people.
Next time if you are unhappy with the service, why not just get up and see someone in charge and, in a nice way, advise him or her of your complaint? If you want a glass of wine and you can't get the waiter's attention, tell someone in charge about this.
Second Avenue Deli
I keep reading rumors about the Second Avenue Deli reopening somewhere else. Recently I saw a small truck with Second Avenue Deli on the side. (No kidding.) Does anyone have any good info about the possibility of a new Second Ave. Deli?
Can't get into Boards
To add to my problem of not being able to get into Boards, I was able to get into it from the bottom of the page from which I posted this reply. But this is no solution. I still can't get into it from the opening pages of this website.
Can't get into Boards
I find it very difficult to get into Boards. This has happened several times. The other selections are underlined when I place the mouse arrow on them and I can get into them. But I cannot get Boards to underline and can't get into them. Secondly there is no cancel button on this page.
Can I edit my post? Need to change something ASAP...misleading.
I tried doing that but had problems. Let's see if I can edit this. It took several attempts to do this. Several times nothing happened. A few times it took me to an older message I had sent. Finally the line was yellow. I attempted to edit that and nothing happened. Finally I hit the edit button again and was able to edit. It ain't easy.
Tisserie on Union Sq.
I tried the lemon tarts, not bad, but overpriced. Further, tax was charged despite the fact they were taken out in a plastic box. I guess this is because food is prepared in the store.
Scones
The scones I like best are sold in the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays at a bread stand on the west side of the market about halfway. Sorry I don't recall the name of the stand. However it is near Beth's Farm Kitchen jam stand and on the same side. These are either cranberry or current, contain some small chopped nuts and are extremely buttery. But they are expensive having gone up from $1.50 to $3.00 each within the last year or so.
Cookies that look and taste like homemade.
William Greenberg has extremely buttery sweet cookies. The price is very expensive and they are not designer cookies. The last time I was there they were $24 a pound. They are plain looking. No nuts or cherries on top. No streams of chocolate on top. No large chunks of chocolate in them. And they are relatively small in size. But they are delicious.
Gramercy Restaurants--Anything?
Try the chef's specials. Try the shrimp with pasta, vegetables, and tomato sauce or oil and vinegar; the chicken with anything; the meatballs; and so on. This isn't haute cuisine but it's an extremely clean place and the food is tasty. My only objection is that in the past two years many of the dishes are too spicy for me, so I always ask them to leave out the red pepper flakes.
