in the 70s
im not sure which days they do lunch but... vai on 76th has a good one
aroma on 72 is good for sandwich/salad-i'd sit upstairs to linger.
arte cafe on 73rd

a few that haven't been mentioned:
vai
riposo (flatbread pizza things are good, not sure about the rest)
ducale

If you dont mind sushi, damo damo across the st on 58th is nice.

From what I can gather from google, the main difference between the two doughs is that croissant dough has sugar and yeast, which strikes me as quite a big deal, but I feel like puff pastry can be quite flaky and works well with savory and sweet fillings so I'm not entirely sure it is a totally absurd idea. Any thoughts?
I'd like to make home made croissants for brunch without the hassle of making the dough myself so the thought of using store bought puff pastry dough is quite appealing.

Tre is awesome, i know they do unlimited mimosas for brunch, not sure about the bloody marys

Ikea in Elizabeth new jersey has the shrimp now. greenland cooked unpeeled coldwater shrimp. yum.

These are so impossible to find on this side of the pond if you mean the coldwater/ greenland prawns. Please let me know if you find any

I've only simmered it for 2.5 hours and already the sauce is very very rich. any ideas how to mellow if out in time for dinner tomorrow or will it do so on its own? I cooked it a day early because i wanted it to have time to soak in the flavors but I don't want it to get any stronger.
I'm thinking about maybe mixing in some cream with the sauce-wouldn't make it much of a bourguignon but I prefer edible to authentic.

Indeed, didn't notice that on the menu. I've just been craving the laksa for a while so have it on my mind...

I'm a big fan of Keith DiLauro keithdilauro@gmail.com, we usually use him for larger parties but I know he's done smaller events and intimate dinners as well so he may be up for a brunch gig.

Hope you made it, I think Double Crown is the perfect crap weather place.

The curry thing mentioned is probably the singapore laksa which is amazing. I usually eat and drink in the back room-the staff there are amazing and you can order from both menus if you ask nicely.

Kashkaval has probably one of the best fondues in manhattan, though i havent tried the downstairs of jacques yet (cave de fondue or something like that). It can be a bit of a wait esp at peak times and its not as fancy as artesanal but its cozy, candle lit and the cheese is awesome. And they have viande sechee/bresaola which is a very swiss thing w raclette but is awesome w fondue also.
Or you may want to make your own at home- mix cave aged gruyere(40%), cave aged emmenthal(40%) and smoked raclette(20%) and cook in a dry vinho verde-cant beat it...

I had dinner there twice, loved the portuguese dishes, not so keen at all on the chinese ones. I'm not a big fan of chinese food in general and the flavours weren't as big as in the portuguese style dishes so maybe thats why.
Favourites include the fennel salad, fried goatcheese and lamb meatballs. and all of the cocktails. nice selection of ports also...

Thanks for the recommendations, seems I have a fair amount of options after all...

Have you tried fig and olive in the meatpacking? The park in Chelsea?

Heading to new orleans for a manic weeks worth of work, wed-sat. Staying on canal st and would love to find some mellow places with good food and wine/cocktails relatively nearby with kitchens open until 9 or 10... As for cuisine, I would love to experience some of the local flavors, but I'm not that picky. Price point also not really a problem. Mainly I would just want great food without lots of ambient noise (possibly a bit of an odd request, but in my minds eye I am dreading the french quarter crowds and drinking).
Also looking for a breakfast/brunch place on saturday en route to the airport, have to be at the airport around 1 or 115...
Any suggestions?

my fave byob by far, however-i think opentable only allows for 4 or 6 person tables, but if you call them they are usually able to accommodate bigger groups

citarella on 9th and 6th definitely carries lingonberry jam, and a bunch of other grocery stores just cant remember which ones. for lingonberres, i dont even know if ikea has them but that would probably be your best bet.

employees only, stanton social

also blue ribbon on sullivan, veselka, florent and cafeteria that have been mentioned earlier

I would recommend also checking out the orchard and rayuela

I love rayuela. the steak is amazing as is the hamachi cevice and the appetizer with duck. Some things, like the chicken and rice you can do without. I usually eat upstairs which is a little less hectic. I've always found service to be friendly but it is a leisurely paced dinner...

Try the orchard, you should be fine getting a table for two

I've been to both as well, as others mentioned, stanton is louder and orchard more quiet, orchard more refined food while stanton's is less complex, though both have interesting menus so I would say it depends on what you're looking for.
Going to both with a group of girls, I didn't notice much of a difference in price as far as the food was concerned. We were drinking wine by the bottle at orchard and cocktails at stanton which is why the stanton bill ended up slightly higher (compare ~$40 per bottle to ~$12 per cocktail).
at stanton I'd definitely request a table upstairs, much cosier than the downstairs

I like the one at employees only, they mix it for you at the table and leave you a set of condiments so you can get it seasoned exactly how you want

The only pro about public in my view is the monday room-though the plates are tiny wine-bar-tapas size so if you're looking for a big meal it may not be ideal.
you have quite a few better options around there-the orchard and rayuela were mentioned above and are a gazillion times better,

I feel like last time I was there the menus included some english, though that may just have been downstairs. Either way the waiter will be more than happy to go through the whole menu for you (in fact, they're so used to it you usually have to tell them not to if you do read italian), and its not that long and most dishes are straight forward without 20 different ingredients so it doesn't take that long. As far as recommendations go, the goat lasagna is amazing.

If you're looking for sweet things, three tarts bakery in chelsea is great, their menu is somewhat limited but they've always been up for accommodating spacial orders if you give them enough warning. For savory I can't think of a caterer that does that small numbers (besides the ones you mentioned and freshdirect)

does that mean that they are only available well done? I've never found sliders medium or medium rare...

The food is better with the new chefs. Its not the most astounding nouveau cuisine but solid versions of whats on the menu, and in portions small enough that you can enjoy three courses. I've never had any issue at all with the service but I've only eaten there in the upstairs dining room. The downstairs is more of a bar and I can see how it would get loud, cramped and a bit crazy.
I'm actually a bit surprised at the reviews about the service, they can be a bit surly when you walk in but if you are friendly to them they usually warm right up. The waitstaff have always been polite and asked the kitchen about ingredients for food allergies and sent the sommelier to answer more complex wine questions.

is it kobe or sirloin? the menu just says 'beef'