giftergirl's Profile
Help Me! Ostrovitsky Bakery Question
went back for the meltaway and picked up the babka as well. much different from the meltaway i am accustomed to, this one had way more chocolate oozing out. it was very good though but i think the chocolate babka is my favorite as it has just the right about of sweet bread to chocolate ratio.
Help Me! Ostrovitsky Bakery Question
i actually went there today because i had a craving for a meltaway and someone had recommended this bakery. i was out of luck though as they only have the meltaway on wed, thurs, fridays. of course, they only told me that they didn't have them today, didn't volunteer the days they actually carried it until i asked. i ended up with the kokosh b/c it looked delish. it was good, not quite like the meltaway i was looking for, but good and nice to try something new. was considering the babka too but i asked the difference between the kokosh and the babka and they seemed annoyed. i don't know if it was an off day for the salesperson or if they have so much business that they don't need mine, but i found them standoff-ish and borderline rude. i will give it another try though b/c i want to try that meltaway!
If you loved Del Posto, you'll love...?
My family's most memorable meal out was the tasting menu w/wine pairings at Del Posto. I am planning a special occasion dinner out and would love to give them another great experience. Where would you suggest?
Thanks!
GOOD Jewish Bakery in Brooklyn???
is there a bakery that still does the meltaway? my law school roommate's parents would always bring one from long island when they visited.
Apple Picking on the North Fork
haha yes a maize maze lol!
makes sense about the apple varieties but when i called and asked about what varieties they had for picking, i got the impression they would all be available that weekend. i think their website says that they don't expect to have apples available for u-pick after columbus day. but either way, fun was had by all.
Apple Picking on the North Fork
wanted to report back that we went to wickham fruit farm. nice setup. paid for our bushel bags and we were driven out to the orchards. though they claim they grow 20 or 30 varieties, we saw signs for about 8-10 different kinds. we did have to walk a bit given that lots of the trees were already picked over but either way, it was an enjoyable experience.
i also wanted to add that we went to krupski's pumpkin farm afterwards and had a lot of fun. they have a "haunted" corn maze. our group had 3 teens (15 year olds) that thought the maze might be more suited for younger kids, but the staff at krupski's really tailors the maze to those going through it at the time (ie, they definitely chased us a bit more and tried to make it more scary, while we saw a little boy going through who didn't get too much of the scary treatment.) I would definitley recommend it as a fun stop.
Odd Question- Teen friendly Winery on North Fork
just wanted to report back that we ended up going to bedell and it was fabulous. beautiful tasting room, huge gorgeous outdoor covered space and adjacent picnic areas, live music, great for having teens tag along. brought along cheese from catapano and some other snacks. couldn't have asked for a better end to the day after apple and pumpkin picking.
Odd Question- Teen friendly Winery on North Fork
We will be apple picking on the north fork this weekend but i thought we'd try to fit in a winery. our party will include 3 teenagers, all well behaved/mannered. obviously they won't be dringking but is there any winery anyone would recommend vs. others. we will only be going for an hour or so but i don't want them to be bored to tears or feel out of place. thanks!
Apple Picking on the North Fork
i just called wickham and i think we are going to go with them given the variety. it is our first time going and it will be a group of 5 so i think it will be best to have more choices.
edited to add: wickham requires a $20 membership fee which apparently goes through to next year's season.
Apple Picking on the North Fork
what a shame about lewin as they were on my short list! i have narrowed it down to wickham farms in cutch. and woodside orchards in jamesport, if anyone has any input on either. thanks!
Apple Picking on the North Fork
Heading out there this weekend for apple picking. Have found a few orchards/stands online but was curious if anyone had any recommendations? Had no luck doing a search. THank you! Also, we are planning on the night maze at Harbe's. Anyone done this?
ALLURE in Southold review in NYTimes
i went during the week after the 4th of july. the place was packed. service was ok, nothing out of the ordinary. food was forgetable. i think i had a beet salad and was complaining to my sister that the "salad" had no greens. i can't even remember what i ordered as my entree. i don't know if the space has poor acoustics or what, but the space seemed cavernous and loud with everyone's conversations. it felt almost cafeteria like with the little tables and open space. it was oppressively hot inside, not for lack of air conditioning but because the door kept being opened in order to serve those sitting outside. it's nice that there is waterfront dining now available but it left a lot to be desired.
the barge used to seem somewhat old school and more intimate and always our go to for family lobster dinners. yeah it was incredibly dated and the food was abysmal toward the end- myself and others in my party were served parsley leaves rather than the arugula specified in the menus in our salads, gross, but i am still somewhat nostalgic for those lobster dinners.
The case of the horrible no good very bad service at North Fork Oyster Company in Greenport, NY
that's too bad, i always have high hopes for the new places, particularly in greenport. my sister and i went in on a whim in july, and while the food was good, the service was just ok. not bad enough that i would not return. i did think it was a bit overpriced. also, the menu offerings seemed oddly geared for fall/winter rather than summer.
OMG, Magic Fountain,North Fork
i love and crave the salted caramel flavor. yum. my sister tried the red velvet, also yummy but not as interesting.
Best retail seafood on the North Fork of LI?
my sister and i checked out braun's last year but we were not impressed. this may sound crazy but nothing looked fresh. and i'm not particularly spoiled as we do not have the best local fish markets in our neighborhood in brooklyn. it sounds like i will have to give them another shot.
Boca Raton restaurants
just wanted to report back that we went to city fish market yesterday. lobster bisque was rich and delicious as were the oysters rockefeller. we enjoyed the clean simple preparation of the scallops. the thai style calamari was overly sweet for my taste.
we have a reservation for chops for tomorrow and we were planning on lobster. i just realized that chops and city fish market have fairly similar menus and also the lobster doesn't come just broiled or steamed. was wondering if the trip to chops was worth it or we should look elsewhere for lobster?
Boca Raton restaurants
many thanks. i had a look at their menu online. looks good. is city fish market or chops better for lobster? also, anyone know where to find grilled calamari?
Boca Raton restaurants
any other suggestions for boca? any type of food as long as it's good, trendy would be kind of nice though since i'll be on vaca with my sister. heading there this week. thanks!
Where to buy Ham in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
many thanks for all the responses! i went to otomonelli on york & 82nd yesterday and picked up my smoked spiral sliced ham complete with package of glaze, ready to be heated for 45min on thanksgiving day. it looks very similar to the one i had gotten from kansas city steaks so hoping the quality is the same or better. price was $5.99/lb. (i purposely shyed away from the supermarket ones since i don't really know ham so i was looking for one as close to the one i previously had).
Leaf Lard- Where to buy?
thanks all- i called flying pigs and you're right they are not usually there on weds but will be there this wed and "have lots of leaf lard", lol.
Leaf Lard- Where to buy?
So I am told leaf lard makes THE best pie crust. does anyone know where to purchase it in manhattan or brooklyn? i heard flying pigs sells it as the greenmarket but they're only there on saturdays so i missed the boat on that one. thank you!
What does your Thanksgiving menu look like?
thank you for this recipe i am totally making it this year!
Where to buy Ham in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
thanks boredough! which one is the "real" one or do they have multiple locations? i called the one on york ave and they carry sprial cut smoked hams.
Where to buy Ham in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
if anyone has any clue it would really help me out! thanks.
Where to buy Ham in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
Hoping you guys could help me out with this. The past couple of years we've purchased a Kansas City ham from QVC as an "extra meat" for the holiday table. It comes smoked, cooked, presliced, with glaze. You basically heat it for 45 min with the glaze and it's good to go. Our T-giving hosts have requested we bring one to their house this year. Problem is, it's too late to purchase and have it shipped from QVC. Anyone know where I could get a great quality similar product in Manhattan or Brooklyn? I figured Fairway might have it but thought I'd ask here before making the rounds. thank you!
"Naturally Delicious" or other bklyn caterers
hi garbo! yes there are few to no reviews so we were kind of scared to use them. i had previously used them for a small office party, and it was good, but i wanted the shower to be a fancy girly affair for my sister so i was a bit concerned if they could pull that off. i was all into getting a great caterer and impressing the ladies with great food but our proposals were coming in at well over $100/pp (for buffet including waiter service) and that just wasn't practical. bassett's was a great choice for us.
as far as what we had- we did chicken rollatini, spinach ravioli with vodka sauce, a shrimp dish (which went really fast but i can't recall what it was), chateau briand (which they carved on site at the buffet line). i feel like we had a 5th entree but i can't recall what it was. as far as the apps & HDs- the duck spring rolls and quesadillas stick out to me as very good. i think the crabcakes were good but i was running around a lot and can't remember exactly. most of what we picked out was from their fancier HD list. i did not care for the chicken salad in endive leaves, or their hummus platter. we also did a couple of our own tried and true apps though that were really good just in case the bassett's stuff was not good. they did coffee and desserts- i think we had them do chocolate covered strawberries and cupcakes. i didn't like the cupcakes. but again, we had done our own desserts- we made ice cream sandwiches and a trifle and had ordered a fancy cake. i would provide your own desserts and just let them do coffee and dessert set up.
something else that is important is presentation. the package we got had the nicer chafing dishes. this bizarrely does make a difference. also, when they do their own platters, they use large black plastic platters. you should either rent platters or provide your own. we used our own. it was actually really cute b/c we used a bunch of cake plates to serve the apps and it created a nice tiered look. but even if you use plain white platters it looks way better than their plastic ones. this might all be obvious but sometimes you just don't think of it. they provided nice plastic plates for the ladies to eat off of, but we provided real flatware. we had our own rectangular tables but rented pretty reception chairs. we also had our own tablecloths and runners but you'll need to rent those for a wedding.
the service- they provided 3 waiters. i think they suggested we only needed one or two, but we've had parties at the house before and i know you need more than that. while someone is serving HDs, someone has to be prepping the next tray to go out. we had a lot of food and i knew that at the same time, you needed someone else prepping for the dinner. then they had to clear the appetizers off the counter and set up for dinner. then break that down and set up for dessert. it requires manpower and they really did a good job. one of the guys headed up the other two. we had 50 ppl. and they probably needed one additional person i would say. they provide bartenders if you want, but we did not do that. i set up three punch bowls (2 non-alc ones and one filled with sangria) b/c i thought it fit the occassion to to have pink fruity drinks. we also had open wine bottles and soda by the punch. i thought it was fine for the ladies to serve themselves and most of them went with the punch. obviously for a wedding you'll need someone preparing drinks.
i probably gave you too much info but if you have any other questions let me know!
Greek food outside
i know you said not on the sidewalk, but i have to recommend y'asou in sheepshead bay brooklyn. they have sidewalk seating but it's across from the bay and the views are really lovely on a sunny day.
What's New on the North Fork?
aldo's in greenport has started making their own ice cream- coffee and hazelnut flavors and lemon sorbet. tried the coffee and hazelnut and both were yummy.
What's New on the North Fork?
is vine still open? was out there this past weekend and we had planned on brunch there for sunday but all the doors were locked at noon on sunday. also noticed aldo's is open in it's old spot and although i didn't go in, it looked like it was serving more than just bread.
also wanted to add, we ended up at porto bello at sterling harbor. we had not been there since it was a different restaurant whose name escapes me. this was definitely an improvement. old school italian with a water view. we quite enjoyed it and would go back. good to have some options out there.
one more question- what happened to the seafood barge? we drove by and the site was under construction with a sign stating "bay and hearth" or something to that effect would be opening in may 2010.
