Reputable source for Kopi Luwak?

Oh, do tell! What website??

bluemtn43 in General Chowhounding Topics

Save me from Convention Center food??

Thanks to all you Hounds for a wonderful and fulfilling trip to NOLA!! You really made my trip, and NOLA far exceeded my expectations food-wise, since I'd heard that the food was all "batter it and fry it", from some friends. OK, that was several years ago when they were on grad student budgets, but still!
Had a wonderful dinner at the bar at Emeril's my first night - rabbit app., arugala salad and a blackberry something-or-other drink that was great. Of course banana cream pie for dessert (hey! bananas are healthy, right?!?!). There were no recs for Cafe DuMonde, and as a matter of fact, the only suggestion I got from a friend was to only go there for bitter coffee and powdered sugar down the front of me... which I did (first time in NOLA, so it's a must!). Also hit the croissant d'Or and had a melt-in-your-mouth croissant (chocolate of course) for an afternoon snack and NOLA grocery that night for a hot beef po boy. Oh, po boy means sub sandwich - I get it now. Cochon for lunch was a WONDERFUL get away and just a short walk from the CC. Loved the gumbo and arugala salad with spicy dressing! Mr. B's for rabbit (me) and BBQ shrimp (co-worker) was also good. Back to Emeril's for dinner with a client and co-workers 40th b'day and they didn't disappoint. Can't wait to go back to try Bon Ton and Herbsaint - so sorry to not have had enough time this trip. Thanks again to everyone for such a memorable trip to NOLA!!

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Cochon
930 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA 70130

Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130

Bon Ton Cafe
401 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

bluemtn43 in New Orleans

Save me from Convention Center food??

Hi Hounds,
First time to NOLA!! Will be staying near convention center without a car (but not opposed to taking a taxi for dinners) and am hoping for some walking distance eateries that are not to be missed. Have about an hour to 1.5 hours for lunch and am in good shape so can cover some distance walking. Also need dinner recs for taking out/schmoozing a couple of clients (i.e. good food, and good ambiance). For lunches, price and ambiance are no consideration - just great food. I gravitate toward healthier eating (fresher greens, homemade breads, etc.) and a bit away from "batter it and fry it" foods (but I'm not going to miss the beignets!).
Have read previous posts about places near convention center, but the posts are a couple of years old so not sure if the restaurants are still there/worthwhile.

Thanks in advance!

bluemtn43 in New Orleans

West Coasters looking for good lox and Italian in/near Bridgewater or Livingston

Phew! Trip salvaged by some great lox at Eppes Essen! Chose EE due to proximity to hotel, but thanks to everyone for the other recs. Will be heading back to NJ in a few weeks and will try LB. Not enough time to get to the Ironbound section, but will see if we can get there on the next trip. Thanks much, All!!
rw

P.S. Funny from my colleague after I considered getting some soup at EE: "eeeewwww, I don't want soup with big mozzarella balls in it". Phillistine.

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Eppes Essen
105 E Mount Pleasant Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039

bluemtn43 in New Jersey

West Coasters looking for good lox and Italian in/near Bridgewater or Livingston

OK, two strikes so far: Emilia's in Bridgewater for dinner last night was mediocre at best - gelatinous lemon/caper goo on leathery veal, but the Cosmopolitan was good as was the cannoli for dessert. Tonight's dinner was an abomination: Gilly's in Pompton. Met up with some friends who opted for Gilly's since Bistro (or Cafe) 202 was closed. Tasteless chicken/sun dried tomatoe/arugala/portobellas over angel hair pasta SUH-WIMMING in oil. I'm hoping for some nice lox in the morning to salvage the trip. I'll be doing some reviews and research tonight so I can pick one of the three suggestions (thanks much!) above, and I'm hoping we have extra time to head to the Ironbound area before we take off tomorrow. Thanks for all of your input - next time we'll go for Thai!

bluemtn43 in New Jersey

West Coasters looking for good lox and Italian in/near Bridgewater or Livingston

Thanks for the reply and the great idea for picking up sandwiches for the plane ride! Just arrived so will post if we're (hopefully) able to get something to eat other than Subway... ;-)

bluemtn43 in New Jersey

West Coasters looking for good lox and Italian in/near Bridgewater or Livingston

Hi Hounds,
Off to NJ tomorrow for a whirlwind business trip. Flying in/out of Newark and off to Bridgewater Sunday night and to Livingston Mon. night and out Tues. Was hoping to find some lox (and bagels) on the order of Russ and Daughters in NYC, a great Italian restaurant for dinner, and up for trying any New Jersey "must eats". Ambiance, liquor license and price not considerations, just great food (with mom and pop places preferred over chains). Biggest consideration is location, as we're unfamiliar with the area and short on time to be able to drive too far, so anywhere to/from and around Newark to Bridgewater (Sunday night, though), Bridgewater to Livington and Livingston to Newark would work great. Of course if there is only mediocre Italian, but an outstanding *insert any type of ethnic cuisine here* restaurant that we MUST try that's near our locations, we'll ditch the Italian request.

Thanks in advance!!

RW

bluemtn43 in New Jersey

Downtown Salt Lake City - Save me from Convention Center food!

Wonderful! Yes - my apologies - the convention is at the Salt Palace. Thanks so much for the recs - I will DEFINITELY try as many of these as I can. I'm so relieved to have good alternatives to lunches served in plastic clam shells. Thanks again!

bluemtn43 in Mountain States

Downtown Salt Lake City - Save me from Convention Center food!

Hi Hounds,
Will be in downtown SLC four days next week for a convention/trade show. Any suggestions for places in walkable distance from the convention center for lunch? Favorites to eat: homemade soups, deli sandwiches on a tasty crusty baguette, authentic tacos (good taqueria buses are one of my faves!), farm-to-table fares, fresh salads, interesting flavor combos are all high on my list. Actually, anywhere that I can get something other than a salad in a plastic container will do and price doesn't matter.
Also need to entertain a client from the San Francisco Bay Area for dinner one night, so am looking for somewhat the same for dinner recs. I read about Metopolitan and Em's. Any others? We won't have a car, but could probably take a cab?
Thanks much in advance!

bluemtn43 in Mountain States

Best lunch spots near Los Angeles Convention Center

Hi again LA Hounders,
Thanks so much to all for the wonderful suggestions! Don't know where the time goes at these conventions, but I did manage to make it to some of these great places. Needed to rent a car for a day trip to visit with a client, so was able to make it to Chichen Itza - mmmMMmmm that's my kind of place! Had Sopa de Lima which was great, although could have used more lime (and in fact we asked for and added more lime juice), a panucho (I could have eaten a bazillion of those!) and Poc Chuc and my colleague had pollo asado. The flavors were wonderful and the price was great! Then today at lunch I ran over to The Farm in LA Live for an Ahi tare tare tower and roasted beet salad - also very good. I didn't manage to make it out without a brownie and a couple of mini-farmeos. This evening we took a client to the Water Grill, and although very expensive and small portions, our meals were tasty and the client had a great time - which is the point, right? I had the salad with pumpkin and for the main course I ordered the monkfish, and the blueberry marscapone cake for dessert. All yummy! Breakfast was included in our hotel stay, so turned out (fortunately or unfortunately) I didn't get a chance to try the Pantry. Hoping to try a lengua burrito for lunch today and then we're heading home. I'll definitely need to leave time on the next trip for Mendocino Farms and Koreatown and Little Tokyo and and and... Thanks again for all the tips!

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Water Grill
544 South Grand, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Chichen Itza
3655 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Little Tokyo Restaurant
150 E Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773

Mendocino Farms
300 S Grand Ave Ste Lp40, Los Angeles, CA 90071

bluemtn43 in Los Angeles Area