alex m's Profile
please help me complete my weekend chow plans in Vancouver
Thanks for the tip, LotusRapper. Does anyone have any more advice for/critiques of this plan:
Friday night: arrive around 9pm. Still looking for the perfect place for a quick, delicious, Chinese meal. Needs to be open until at least 10pm (obviously) and either in downtown or on the way from the airport to downtown. Does not need to be fancy--cheap hole-in-the-walls happily welcomed! Bonus points for somewhere that serves great dungeness crab or halibut.
Saturday: Lunch at food cart or porchetta sandwich at meat & bread. Dinner at Boneta.
Sunday: Brunch at Yew or Joe Fortes (?). Dinner at Peaceful Restaurant.
Monday: Lunch at Cafe Pacifica (no real choice there, as it's a business lunch that had to be in or very near the convention center). Dinner at L'Abbatoir.
Tuesday: Quick lunch at Bali Thai before heading to the airport.
please help me complete my weekend chow plans in Vancouver
Thanks for the offer, tomotsu, but I'm attending a different conference about a week later.
please help me complete my weekend chow plans in Vancouver
Thanks for the tip. Any suggestions on where best to eat dungeness?
please help me complete my weekend chow plans in Vancouver
I'm an NYC hound who'll be in town on business--it's my first time in Vancouver and I'm hoping to have a great food experience in your fine city. We get in Friday night and will be tired. Want someplace downtown that's good, relatively fast (no fine dining) and still open at 9pm. I was thinking of Peaceful Restaurant for the beef roll, spicy eggplant, and various noodles.
Saturday lunch needs to be very close to the convention center so I was thinking Bali Thai. Saturday night I have a reservation at Boneta.
Any suggestions for brunch or lunch on Sunday? Downtown preferred. Sunday dinner I'm looking for a great Chinese place--preferably somewhere with good king crab options (assuming that'll still be in season in early April). Dinner does not have to be downtown. Thoughts?
Monday I'll be tied to the convention center during the day again but free to explore at night. Suggestions? Another gastown favorite like L'Abattoir? Or something different?
Any and all suggestions and critiques will be much appreciated.
Chinatown: 456 Returns
I thought 456 was remarkably mediocre--a significant step below what Yeah Shanghai Deluxe or New Green Bo were putting out a few years ago (although the service was better than YSD and much better than NGB). We had:
fried tiny buns with pork: good/great
xlb: ok (delicate, thin wrappers were nice but the actual flavor of the pork & soup was lacking compared to what I remember from New Green Bo before its decline)
sauteed pea greens with garlic: almost inedible and this is a tough dish to screw up. This should simply be greens, garlic, oil, and a touch of salt, but they included something that gave it a flowery, almost perfumed aftertaste that was fairly revolting.
turnip cake: totally different than expected (we were expecting the crispy yet soft rectangular blocks served at basically every dim sum place) but just ok. These were deep-fried dough puffs that contained a filling of finely chopped turnip, some unidentifiable meat product (pork, I assume), and threads of some starchy substance.
scallion pancake: pretty awful. Very thin (so no "layering" of dough), soaked in oil, absoultely no crispness--just chewy with almost zero scallion flavor. Tasted like really oily, thin bread.
Overall, very dissapointing. What is the consensus best Shanghainese restaurant in NYC right now? In my opinion, our current Szechuan, Hunan, and Northern Chinese restaurants (which, granted, are mostly in Queens) are just light years ahead of the available Shanghainese. Is this simply a reflection of the changing demographics of recent Chinese immigrants?
Where to watch the Oscars after dinner at Little Pepper tomorrow
Yep, this is a pretty random one. I'm looking for a bar to watch the Academy Awards tomorrow night in Flushing after a dinner at Little Pepper. Any ideas? Doesn't have to be super near Little Pepper--anywhere in Flushing or even outer Queens generally would work. Kitschy and random is fine, of course.
NYC hound looking for downtown Vancouver suggestions
I'm a NYC hound who'll be in town for business for 3-4 days in April. I'm looking for the best possible food and am happy to travel (anywhere that public transportation or a cheap cab will take me) for dinner but will sadly be constrained to places within walking distance of the Convention Center for lunch (although I'm a fast walker, so let's say within a mile). All suggestions greatly appreciated. Any price range is fine, except the extreme upper range, although I usually prefer non-trendy local joints and hole-in-the-wall ethnic eateries most of the time with one or two "upscale" meals thrown in. I eat everything but I suppose I'm most interested in Chinese (especially places specializing in seafood) and "local Vancouver" cuisine for this trip. A suggestion for one good beer bar in downtown would be great too. Thanks.
NY hound on business in Orlando--need suggestions
I'll be in Orlando for business and have two free dinners (where I won't be doing business). Where should I eat? Any price range is fine, but my personal preference for this trip skews closer to hole-in-the-wall finds than white-tablecloth tasting menus. I eat everything although I'm looking for good seafood in particular. Or Cuban. I'll be near the Convention Center but am willing to travel. Thanks in advance.
dinner for 15 near Grand Central
Suggestions? This is a casual business dinner (colleagues only, no deals going down) and should probably not be more than $50/pp. No steakhouses or places too loud for easy conversation. Thanks.
NY hound seeks new SF gems
Many thanks. Plum is definitely going on the list for my upcoming trip, along with hopefully a few other of these good sugestions.
NY hound seeks new SF gems
NY hound who makes semi-annual trips to SF looking for something new or that I've missed in the past. Any price range is fine except the highest level (no Coi/Benu/etc., please...I guess nothing over $75ish pp).
Some of my past favorites from your fine city:
Aziza, Lers Ros, El Farolito/Pancho Villa/etc, Incanto, Zuni, Chez Panisse (upstairs), Koi Palace, Ferry Building Saturdays
Others places that I've enjoyed (sometimes seriously enjoyed) in the past but that are perhaps less novel for a New Yorker or not quite as incredible as those on my favorites list:
Delfina, Pagolac, Ritual, Dopo, Gather (for lunch if you're on Berkeley's campus), Tu Lan (only for bun w/imperial rolls), and yes...the divisive Slanted Door (great for what it is) & Tartine (great on a weekday morning if there's no line and the morning buns are hot)
Not so much: Flora, Bodega Bistro (it was perfectly fine, just not particularly impressive), Bi Rite ice cream
All suggestions will be appreciated although I'm not that interested in eating pizza, sushi, Szechuan, standard Italian, or ramen on this trip (not that SF doesn't have good options in those categories, of course, but simply because I eat a lot of that in NYC). Thanks in advance.
current best korean bbq in queens?
I'm looking for the current best Korean BBQ place in Queens. Would prefer real coals. I heard Ga Si Ri closed down...is this true?
ginger beer in brooklyn?
Where does one buy ginger beer in Brooklyn? Preferably near Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, or Brooklyn Heights.
Last minute Grand Sichuan advice needed
I've never been to the 34th St Grand Sichuan, but you may be dissapointed since it is not part of the same group that runs GS on 24th St. The only NYC outposts run by that family are on 24th, St Marks, and 7th Ave S. Hope this helps...
Dinner for 8, $600--need help
Hounds, I need your help. This is kind of a tough one. Here are the details: four parents in their 60s who all know good food, and four kids in our mid-to-late 20s. Kids are in NYC, parents are arriving from various international locations. I need reservations for eight people on a Sunday at a restaurant where conversation won't be too difficult (this is crucial, since we can rarely get together) and where I can get out for around $600. Any type of food is fine--six of the eight are hounds--although I'm leaning slightly towards European cuisines. We don't need white tablecloths, but good service is important, great food is even more important, and I definitely don't want anything trendy. No one is a big drinker, so wine costs will be fairly reasonable. Any neighborhood will work, but accessible downtown would be best. I was batting around the possibility of Bacaro (although the menu looks rather limited and it might be too far downtown), Blue Ribbon Bakery, or Kefi, but I'd like opinions on those or other suggestions. Thanks in advance.
challah near Boerum Hill?
I'm looking for a place that sells fresh-baked challah anywhere within walking distance of Boerum Hill. There's got to be something, right?
Kabab Cafe Hours and Wait Time?
I'm going to the Kabab Cafe this weekend and I've read differing reports on hours and such. When does Ali start serving food and what time would 4-6 people need to get there to sit without too much of a wait on a weekend night?
FAB, AUTHENTIC ASIAN OF ANY TYPE
Chicago Mike (or anyone else): I'm an NYC hound who's visiting Chicago in a few weeks. I'm interested in a short list of the places "better than Sripraphai" in the Chicago area--I'm willing to travel (although I'll be staying downtown w/o car, so it'll need to be accessable via public transportation) and I can deal with the greasiest of spoons.
thanks in advance.
Chanterelle Recs?
I am also looking for specific dish recs, specifically whether they execute better on seafood or meat dishes...I'm going for lunch tomorrow and it will be my first visit.
panang curry paste
Any large grocery store in Chinatown will probably have it, but I know for a fact that the Hong Kong supermarket (Allen and East Broadway) has Panang curry paste as well as the Chinese grocery store on Clinton between Rivington and Delancey. I bought some good paste recently from the latter store for about $2.
Uighur/Xinjiang Food
I highly recommend A Fan Ti. It's the type of neighborhood place that might make you off-menu dishes, especially if you call ahead and tell them what you're looking for. I haven't seen that noodle dish you refer to there, but I can recommend the parsley with pepper (surprisingly good for something that sounds so simple), the lamb kidneys, the grilled lamb skewers (excellent), and the gizzards. Really everything is good there, though.
Morimoto or Del Posto for RW lunch?
Has anyone eaten at either Morimoto or Del Posto for RW lunch this year who can give me a brief rundown of what's being offered at either restaurant? Thanks.
place to get challah near Peter Cooper/Sty Town?
there's a place called "La Bagel" on 1st Ave between 15th and 16th that sells a solid challah. Nothing mindblowing, but it's convenient for your needs.
Blue Hill @SB, Jean-Georges, or Cru?
Thanks for the input. I'm curious whether J-G could accomodate one diner ordering a vegetarian menu while the other three order various tasting menus. Is that possible, or does the entire table have to order the same tasting menu?
Blue Hill @SB, Jean-Georges, or Cru?
Four friends (one who is vegetarian) are looking to dine at one of the above places over the holidays. We are not the type of people who get to eat at 3 or 4 star restaurants often, so this is going to be sort of a one-of-a-kind experience (i.e. this will likely be the only time we eat at any of these 3 places). So given that 3 people would like to eat meat/fish and one cannot, that money doesn't matter for this one night, and that we do have access to a car (for the Stone Barns option), which would you choose?
Thanks in advance.
NYC hound ISO nice dinner in the vein of Zuni or Chez Panisse
Please help a NYC hound choose a restaurant for my upcoming trip to the bay area. This will be the one "upscale" dinner out during my weekend in the bay--the rest of the meals will be some of my affordable SF favorites.
For reference, in the recent past I've been to Aziza, Zuni, The Slanted Door, and upstairs at Chez Panisse, and have enjoyed them all. I'm looking for something similar: the kind of place you can have a relaxed 2+ hour meal in without feeling even the least bit rushed and most importantly, great food that I can't easily get in NYC. I'd like to keep it in the general price range of these restaurants as my friends and I can't afford the very top of the spectrum.
thanks in advance.
Best Prix Fixe Lunches in City
I actually would rank Gotham at the bottom of the four lunches you've mentioned. I find that their prix fixe offers only the most uninteresting items on the menu and that I often end up ordering off the "normal" menu in order to eat a good lunch.
Devi is quite revelatory as a high-end Indian meal. I would highly recommend the Manchurian cauliflower and the Lamb Chops if you go there.
Fleur de Sel and Tocqueville are fine restaurants and a bit more formal than Gotham or Devi. I have found their prix fixe lunches consistently far more interesting than Gotham's and would recommend either for a quiet, excellent French meal.
xiao la jiao - Anyone been?
I went to xiao la jiao for the first time last night and was very impressed.
Sliced Chinese turnip with carrot and peppers: Fairly tasty, but nothing special.
Soft bean curd in spicy sauce: Very good. Glob of soft, freshly-made tofu in a bowl with a liberal dose of chili oil, dried seaweed and toasted peanuts.
Sliced Fish in Spicy Soup Base: Excellent. Firm, perfectly cooked slices of white fish in a very complex broth of Chinese celery, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, "spicy soup," and then covered in fresh herbs and crushed szechuan peppercorns.
Eggplant in Garlic Sauce: Very good. Greater depth of flavor than the similar dish at Cantonese or Shanghainese places. Sweet, spicy, and that great roasted pepper flavor throughout, but not so much that it overwhelms the delicious eggplant itself.
Add in friendly service and $2 Tsing Taos and you have a real winner in my book.
Mina at Angon?
Angon is very cozy--I'm a big fan of the restaurant, even in its post-Mina era. It's casual while still being a place for a nice meal--no crazy Christmas lights or guys yelling at you to eat there. I recommend the Halim and the Tilapia Dopeaja.
