jakecola's Profile
NYE Restaurant Rec. Pre-Phish
This is by far the best thread ever. best line: "How about kickin' it custie style and heading over to Bobby Flay's Bar American?" I love that only a Phishhead and a foodie could understand that line.
charliepizza - a report please. or, was this just shenanigans?
Best Breakfast and Brunch in Manhattan, 2010 Version
yeah, the charcuterie selection looks great, we might opt for that instead of the brunch prix fixe. i'll be sure to report!
Best Breakfast and Brunch in Manhattan, 2010 Version
Kathryn - thanks, you've never led me astray!!
What's your take on Bar Boulud's brunch?? My brother is taking us out for brunch with a budget of between $30-40 pp, but we want to stay casually dressed (rules out Cafe Boulud, others...).
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Cafe Boulud
20 East 76th St., New York, NY 10021
Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
Xi'an Famous Foods Opens Up Chinatown Branch A Week From Saturday
Anyone have any good recommendations for a nearby place to eat their food? Are there any food courts with tables that you can sort of sneak over to? I've tried going there and eating in the park, but it's a nasty rainy day today...
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Yeah, it is really more of an eggy pastry than the light, crunchy, fluffy butteryness that you get from a traditional croissant. I don't know why, but I love their almond croissants. It has an almost French Toast quality (from the egginess) that I just love. Not for everyone, maybe. But at least you tried it!
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Got back from ABQ last week - another great weekend of New Mexican food!
Went to La Quiche Parisienne again, got their almond croissant one day, and the chocolate almond croissant another day. Both were fantastic, a bit on the eggy side, with a delicious almond cream. The almond chocolate was almost over the top, but was fantastic.
Excellent meal had at Garcia's - their posole was outstanding, as was the green chile pork burrito. Their green chile stew, however, was one of the best things I ate while in NM.
But the winner of best thing I ate is definitely the Carne Adovada with Eggs from Barelas Coffee House. Thanks to all the CHers who recommended this place - none of the people from our contingent had ever been there, and it blew us all out of the water. The meat, the tasty eggs, the red chile (I usually opt for green, but our waitress assured us that for the adovada, the red was the way to go), and especially the fresh, homemade tortillas. We tried a few of their superb corn tortillas as well.
On our last night in NM, we went to a friend's gig in Cedar Crest, and visited his friend's restaurant there called North. Quite tasty, very big portions. The duck was especially outstanding.
Our conference that usually brings us to Albuquerque will be in San Antonio next year, so unfortunately there will be no New Mexican food for us next year. Oh well - looking forward to returning in 2012.
Best pre-fixe lunch deal in Manhatten
Also, Del Posto has a three course prix fixe for $29, incl. dessert.
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Yes, well, although I said Besalu is better, I never said just how much better ;)! It's been a couple of years since I went there (coming to Albuquerque in just a few days, very excited!), but I do remember the almond croissants especially being very good (and a tad on the eggy side).
Biting into a Besalu croissant is like realizing that every other croissant you've ever had in life was wrong.
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Yeah Deb - we went there almost every morning just by chance since it was on our walk to the conference hotel. I remember one day a cowboy was in there buying croissants, and he asked for butter on the side. The very matron-ly owner chided him saying "no, you don't need butter, these are REAL French croissants, they need nothing!" It was a very funny interaction. But yes, these are, to my palate, either the single best or second best French-style pastries I've had in the U.S. (nothing can beat Cafe Besalu in Seattle, the end-of-discussion when it comes to French pastries).
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Yes! That's it. If you haven't been, their almond croissant is one of the single best pastries I've eaten in this country. Pure buttery, almondy bliss.
Updated - My Albuquerque Pics
Since you have such a great knowledge of ABQ cuisine, maybe you can help me.
I go to a conference every year in downtown which is at the Hyatt. I stay at the Hotel Blue. On the walk from the Hotel Blue to the Hyatt, I've run into a bakery, which I believe is on a walking plaza between streets (it would be a street but it's a nice promenade instead, sort of like Church St. in Burlington, Pearl St. in Boulder, 3rd st. in Santa Monica, etc., but without as much stuff). Anyway, this bakery is French, and has some of the best croissants I've ever had, anywhere. No butter, jam, or anything needed, these are truly the real deal croissants. Do you have any idea?
Looking at Google Maps, it seems like this place might be on 4th st. north of Central. Or, it could be in between buildings somewhere around the Hyatt. Thanks for any help!
Your 2010 "Must Try" List
we went to Del Posto in October of 2008 - have they changed their menu around? Honestly, the main room prices seemed very big, but we sat in the "bar" area, which is much less stuffy and still has great service and ambience, and got 5 courses for something absurd like $50 pp. plus a bottle of alto adige white wine, dessert wine, and tip was all around $250 for two people. we were totally satisfied. it looks like what is currently called the "Il Menu Del Posto" on their website for $95. and there seems to be no mention of the bar menu. too bad, it was the best deal in town!
Good coffee/espresso in downtown Philadelphia?
Well, it's not specifically Stumptown beans (although I do really like them), it's more the excellent baristas there. There are a few places around New York that serve good beans and just don't pull a good shot.
Vegetarian Dim Sum House (Chinatown) Review
Thanks for the rec., I've heard Golden Unicorn is good from a friend who's originally from Hong Kong, but the point is that we wanted to go for Vegetarian Dim Sum. Trust me, if we hadn't had my father-in-law with us, it would have been another story altogether.
Good coffee/espresso in downtown Philadelphia?
Thanks to all the recommendations!
Unfortunately, time was so pressed at the conference that I had to settle for convention coffee (well...at least it works) a place called Capriccio right around the corner from the convention hotel. Oh well, now I'm back in New York and can go to Stumptown again :).
I did manage to check out Satellite in West Philly, at 50th and Baltimore about 5 blocks from where my friends live (and where I was staying). Despite their über-fixster vibe, the people there were very nice and friendly, not at all pretentious (which can happen sometimes when you go to a place like this and you don't ride a fixed-gear bike), and they pulled a really nice Americano for me. Creative bagel sandwiches too - I never would have gone for pesto and cream cheese, but with roasted red peppers and spinach, it was delicious.
Good coffee/espresso in downtown Philadelphia?
Hey there Philly CH,
Coming in from New York for the end of this week for a conference downtown at 17th and Race. Is there any place nearby where I can get a well-made espresso drink or quality coffee? I'm a pretty serious coffee drinker - I lived in Seattle for three years and it ruined me, I can never go back to drinking Starbucks or Dunks.
Looking for some place with an actual barista (NOT wearing a green apron!), and knows that a macchiato has absolutely no caramel anywhere near it. A place to sit down and wifi are a plus, but really not necessary since it's downtown. Thanks!!
Aaheli in Hell's Kitchen
Thanks Pan, good to know for future reference. Yes, like I said, there's probably better Indian in this city, but definitely NOT in Hell's Kitchen.
Vegetarian Dim Sum House (Chinatown) Review
OK, so here's the situation. I'm not a vegetarian, I eat like a typical meat-loving CHer (any- and everything). My father-in-law was in town, and he's a vegetarian. We've gone to dim sum with him before (in Seattle) and he usually has to settle for ordering off the regular menu and having the Chinese Broccoli while the rest of his meat-eating family gets to enjoy all the lovely delights of dim sum. So, we decided to try this place out so that he could get the full dim sum experience. I would not recommend this place for anyone, vegetarian or otherwise.
I have absolutely no problem eating vegetarian, provided it is GOOD. I eat vegetarian a lot when I have Indian food, falafel, or some other ethnic cuisines.
We got there around 10:40, they opened at 10:30, but their door was still locked. We waited outside with another 3-top while they milled about inside. Whatever, that's fine. They opened the door and a woman looked at us dubiously and announced in a not-so-welcoming voice "no meat or seafood here!!" Hmmmm, so that's what the word "vegetarian" means in the name of your restaurant...I told her that this was precisely the reason why we had come there!
We sat down, tea was brought promptly. Place was pretty dingy, mustard bottle had a good deal of mustard caked and dried on the outside of the squeeze bottle. This place is all check boxes on a card, no carts, which I have no problem with - it usually means things are being fried/steamed to order which is nice. We checked off a number of choices based on what we had read on Yelp (I know, I know): Treasure Balls, Monk Dumplings, Rice Flour Rolls with Mushrooms and Rice Flour Rolls with Mock Ham, Sticky Rice, Spring Rolls, Buddha's Tofu Rolls, and Lotus Root Cakes.
No one picked up our card for about 10-15 minutes, despite the fact that we were clearly ready. A Chinese man who walked in after us was served his food almost immediately. Again, whatever, I've experienced that before and it doesn't bother me much. It did bother me that we were being ignored. Our card was finally picked up, and about 5-10 minutes later, our food started to arrive.
First out were all the deep fried items, the Treasure Balls, the Lotus Root Cakes, and the Spring Rolls. I wish they hadn't brought out all the fried food at once with no steamed food, would've been nice to have some variety. The Lotus Root cakes were pretty good, some starch (either potato or rice) as filler with chunks of lotus root inside, and the spring rolls were probably my favorite thing of the entire meal - filled with fresh cabbage, mushroom, carrot. Good flavor. The treasure balls were just deep fried potato puree, no flavor, entirely useless except to make you full without any satisfaction.
Next out was everything else. The rice flour rolls were OK, although the mock ham was a little weird, and the mushrooms were also kinda stringy and didn't feel like they were part of the roll (these are the white, slippery long rolls typical at dim sum). The tofu was great, the thin sheets of soft tofu in a flavorful sauce. Monk Dumplings were basically shumai, but had a lot of rice in them as filler - again, no flavor, lots of filling stuff. The Sticky Rice was alright, had small chunks of mock ham. Basic flavor was good, but again, it was just rice - I would've loved some veggies in there. We had to ask for water.
All in all, we left feeling very full (after not eating that much dim sum for 3 people - I've eaten way more regular dim sum and felt less full) without any satisfaction. This was because almost every dish was full of something very starchy as a substitute for meat - either potato puree, or rice. Nothing had any flavor unless it had sauce all over it - if you're going to use that much rice, it needs to have some seasoning on it, some flavor. I found myself dousing EVERYTHING in soy and chili and mustard. Afterwards, we walked around the corner to the White Swan Bakery and bought some BBQ Pork buns for my wife and I, so we could at least say that our trip to Chinatown delivered in some way!
Look - if you're a vegetarian, and you want to have the experience of ordering lots of different dumplings and little goodies that us meat/seafood eating dim sum'ers get to enjoy, then you MIGHT enjoy this place. Might. I give it 2 stars for that alone, and because at least one or two dishes were good. Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, but to be honest, I would have liked a lot more actual vegetables in my vegetarian dim sum, not so much starchy filler/substitute
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Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell St, New York, NY 10013
Aaheli in Hell's Kitchen
We went there once and then ordered delivery tonight. This place is great for Hell's Kitchen - I'm sure there is as good/better Indian in Curry Hill and certainly in Queens, but if you need a local place that is tasty, not greasy, has good variety, and cheap prices, then Aaheli fits that bill.
We went on a Saturday night a few weeks ago with 4 people. Called them in the afternoon and were able to secure a reservation for that night, and when our dinner guests were stuck in crosstown traffic, we called and they were totally accommodating in pushing our reservation later. The place is small, they serve NO ALCOHOL, just a few tables and one or two waiters. It wasn't too crowded on a Saturday at about 9:00, but still a few tables. It was also a little quiet, I think they had music playing but it was very soft so when we talked, it felt like we were talking very loudly (we weren't though). Anyway, on to the food:
We ordered 4 dishes family style based entirely on things we like elsewhere: Chicken Biryani, Lamb Vindaloo, Saag Paneer, and Dal (we ordered the "Dal of 9th Avenue" - which was a Yellowish Dal). Because none of them were an appetizer, they sent us a comp appetizer plate of deep fried veggies in a tempura-like batter. We got cauliflower, mushrooms, eggplants, and a few others. Although they were a little heavier than tempura, and didn't have a ton of flavor other than the veggies themselves, they were tasty when dipped in one of three or four sauces we had. A very nice gesture, of course, and we were very thankful for the little present.
The next dishes sort of staggered out, which was fine. The Chicken Biryani was delicious, great flavor, nicely cooked long grain rice, and not spicy at all, although the chicken was a tad on the dry side. Served with a very nice raita. The Lamb Vindaloo was SPICY, too spicy for my wife and my friend's wife, but we both liked it (it was very spicy). The cooling raita was great with it, too. The Saag Paneer was great, flavorful spinach and with big chunks of cheese. The Dal was great too, excellent lentil flavor. We also ordered their combo naan plate, which had regular naan, garlic naan, and herb naan - all were great, and we got a LOT of bread, enough to take home. Between the four of us, we were all full - not stuffed - and were able to take enough home for my wife and I to each get a lunch out of it.
The food was great, and to make it even better, it was only $40 for all of it! They also had some drinks like Mango Lassi, but we just went with water and were happy. An excellent experience.
Tonight we ordered delivery, we tried the Lamb Biryani, the Chicken Tikka Masala, and the Garlic Naan. The Lamb in the Biryani was fantastic, falling apart tender, really great flavor. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about the Tikka Masala, it was a little too tomato-ey for me, didn't have that nice melding of flavors. It kinda tasted like a more "Americanized" version. I've definitely had better Tikka Masala out of a lunch buffet. Naan was very good too. The best part of this was that it was hot, came in about 30 minutes, and tasted just as good as in the restaurant.
Definitely the best Indian food in Hell's Kitchen, and a permanent add to our delivery choices.
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Aaheli
826 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Any recommendations for Ocean Shores eateries?
"I know Cape Cod is SOO much better,, maybe you should stay there."
I suppose I deserved that one, I pretty much sounded like a pompous Dbag with my original post. I'll stand by my original comment that I did not enjoy my time in Ocean Shores proper, as in the town itself, but I did very much enjoy my time on the WA shore just north of the city. And I realize that it's totally different, the Cape and the WA shore. Whatever...if you find some place that makes you happy, then that's really all the matters.
Since I no longer live in WA, I won't be making any trips out to the WA shore any time soon. But if I do return, it will most definitely be to the Peninsula coast near Quinault, La Push, etc., rather than further south to the Gray's Harbor area. Just my preference...and to make sure this stays at least semi-food related, there is an AMAZING little diner/breakfast joint on 101 between Forks and Port Angeles, perfect for when you're making that drive through the nothingness that is the Northwestern corner of 101 on the Peninsula. I wish I could remember the name, but it's the only place between Elhwa and Lake Crescent.
ISO Good Cocktails near Lincoln Center
We went to Flute for drinks near Lincoln Center - good but pricey. Champagne Cocktail was very tasty, made with Remy VSOP, Grand Marnier, Bitters and a Sugar Cube. The Champagne Pisco Sour was nice too, made with an egg white which I always appreciate in a sour. Cocktails were about $13 each, though, which is too steep to make this anything other than a special occasion place. However, they had never heard of, nor could they make, a French 75!! Really?!?! Probably one of the most well-known sparkling cocktails and they had never heard of it. A little surprising for a place that is a sparkling wine bar.
I miss my Seattle $9 drinks...
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Flute
205 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019
ISO Good Cocktails near Lincoln Center
Meeting a friend for drinks after the opera tomorrow, looking for something in the southern part of the UWS (willing to go as far as 90th or so) or the northern part of Hell's Kitchen. Any suggestions for a place with a real cocktail maker for a bartender, and not just a place that serves a White Peach Cosmo? I've got to imagine there's some place on 9th...
Review: Alias (Brunch) - Lower East Side
Yes Kathryn, I did get the recommendation from your Brunch Bible thread. My bad attempt at clickable text actually cited your thread as the originator of my choice (actually, I got it from an excerpted thread you made of just LES places).
Burger Comparison: Shake Shack (NYC) vs. Red Mill (Seattle)
OK, so this is a very specific and sorta random question, but if anyone can answer it, it would be CHers.
As previously noted in a few other posts, recently moved to Manhattan from Seattle. Haven't tried Shake Shack yet although it seems like a very popular spot. Very similar, in fact, to my favorite cheap/quick but way better than fast food burger place in Seattle: Red Mill Burgers.
Now, Shake Shack doesn't have as wide a selection as Red Mill (alas! I miss the Verde Burger...), nor does it have Red Mill's veritable mountain of bacon just sitting there on the grill. But their basic burger seems to share a lot of the same characteristics with Red Mill.
So, if you've been to both, is there any use in comparing? Should I just go and see for myself (probably)?
Quintessential Seattle
Celtic_tiger: I love a good, beefy tasting burger. But my burger @ Lunchbox Lab had a very *off-putting* beefy flavor. It wasn't the beefiness that bothered me, in fact, that's usually what I love (used to get a burger made with dry-aged rib eye scraps in Cambridge, MA), but the problem was that this beefiness was downright nasty tasting.
Any recommendations for Ocean Shores eateries?
Well, sorry to have been such a downer with the first post! We were just so turned off by Ocean Shores when we went there originally, which is where my distaste came from in my post. Glad to hear you had a better culinary time there than we did!
Review: Alias (Brunch) - Lower East Side
Went to Alias today on [a href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/592743#4379087]Kathryn's[/a] recommendation for Brunch on the Lower East Side. Overall an excellent experience. Here are the details.
For context: We just moved to the city a little more than a month ago from Seattle, and the only place we've been for brunch so far is Barney Greengrass, which, being a smoked fish place, I think cannot be compared to a place like Alias.
We walked by Clinton St. Baking Co. and were told it would be a little over 1.5 hours for two. We're more savory breakfast folks, and since I've heard Clinton St. is really great for pancakes, didn't feel like waiting. Considered taking out but we wanted to sit down.
Walked down the street to Alias. Outside it looks a little wacky, with something like a funhouse style colored light bulbs surrounding an old 70s style sign. Inside it's a much more modern, nice vibe: a few tables in the middle and others along the wall with banquettes. Host was very nice, seated us immediately at about 11:45am on a Saturday, although otherwise the place was full. Looking at the menu, they had a good smattering of more or less typical dishes, but a few standouts looked like the Meaty Breakfast Burrito, the omelette (they only do one kind a day as a special, on our day it was chorizo, cheddar, and scallions), and biscuits and gravy. Their benedict seems a little wacky, made with something called Goedda that the menu described as some sort of Cincinnati version of scrapple (we decided to pass on it).
I was most excited about the fact that they serve Anson Mills grits, which I'm familiar with from a restaurant I used to work in. They're unlike most other grits you can get outside of the South - they keep the germ intact, which makes them incredibly perishable but unbelievably tasty with an excellent texture. They are by far the best grits I've ever had, so I had to get them - went for the cheesy grits with greens and a biscuit, and added on an over-easy egg. My wife got the cornmeal waffle with fried chicken. I got coffee, the wife went for green tea and an OJ. Coffee was very good for drip.
Food came out pretty quickly. The waffle didn't look like much, sort of flabby and on the smallish side (like something you'd make at home), but it had great flavor, good texture, and didn't need any butter. Came with a roasted apple compote in real maple syrup. Fried chicken was fantastic, although we got a wing and a leg - I would've liked a larger piece like a breast or a thigh, but that's just being picky.
Grits were out of control good, creamy but had a great bite to them, big course pieces, smothered in cheddar cheese. Looked like a whole grain biscuit on the side, and a small bowl of collards on the side with their braising liquid. I put the egg on top to get the yolk involved in there too. The cheesy grits on their own were great, but then with the greens it provided the saltiness the grits lack on their own. Portions were very reasonable, as were prices ($32 including tip for the two of us).
New to Hell's Kitchen and NYC, recs and help
Thanks tkm, that's a great tip! There are so many places that try to claim they are the only "authentic" Philly Cheesesteak, but if they're owned by Tony Luke's, then I'm more than happy to try them out. Mmmmm, whiz with.....
New to Hell's Kitchen and NYC, recs and help
Took a peek inside Kashkaval, seemed pretty good. Any place that makes a good Taromosalata is good in my book (always reminds me of lox spread, which as a jewish kid growing up outside Boston, is one of my favs).
We've tried Lenny's at a different location (midtown, near 34th?) and liked it a lot, so we'll give them another shot.
Went to Sullivan St. Bakery yesterday for breakfast. The wife and I split a Savory brioche (with mascarpone, proscuitto, and some other cheese which I've forgotten but I want to say was either gruyere or pecorino romano/parm reggiano), a bomboloni (sp?), and a piece of blueberry bread pudding tart. The brioche was great, not too heavy and big cubes of proscuitto was a nice change from the ubiquitous thin sliced ham. The bread pudding was pretty good, not very sweet which was nice, but I think I prefer my bread pudding a little moister/wetter. The real winner was the bomboloni, which was like a cream-filled donut, although I believe it is baked rather than fried. The cream was like a beautiful, slightly thick vanilla creme anglaise (not as thick as the usual "bavarian creme" or "boston creme" donut filling, but not as runny as a true anglaise), absolutely delicious and big vanilla flavor.
New to Hell's Kitchen and NYC, recs and help
I've heard from a number of other folks that Daisy Mae's BBQ is the real deal. A good friend said that he's had two of his last three birthday lunches there.
