I agree--at Amorino they're freezing the gelato too hard, I think, because once it softened it was okay. Also, it was too sweet for my taste.

I love Falai, but it is pretty expensive, unless you're thinking of Caffe Falai or Panetteria Falai and not the "official" restaurant.

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Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Caffe Falai
265 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

Haven't tried Sho, but we still laugh about how bad our one meal at Mas was.

Yuno's Farm had great sweet potatoes last year. One of the people who used to be at Yuno's has split off and started Bodhitree Farm, and Yuno's is now Lani's Farm, and I believe both have a variety of sweet potatoes, including Japanese sweet potatoes (which tend to be less fibrous and sort of chestnut-y tasting--maybe that's what you had?) I believe Lani's is there on Monday, and Bodhitree is there on Wednesday and Friday.

Do you remember what day it was when you bought them?

That's it! I once said something to him about his "sister" (I think they kind of look alike), and Rick said, "Nah, she's my ex-wife." That must be why.

I just ate a big bowl of wild blueberries, tri-star strawberries, and black raspberries that I got from Berried Treasures yesterday--heaven.

I really disliked the consistency of the crust on the pie. It just tasted like soggy bread to me, and like dry toast around the edges where there were no toppings. Such a cute place, and a nice wine list, but I wouldn't go back, except maybe to sit at the bar and watch a movie and drink a glass of wine. I agree with you that it is very filling, and not in a good way. The pies aren't large, but there were two of us and we couldn't finish it (and didn't try any salads, etc.)

DiPalo makes an incredible porchetta. I just happened to be there one day as they were pulling it out of the oven and bought some. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when/how often they make it or if there's any schedule at all. You could try calling and asking.

I think the season is over already, sadly.

Oh, that's funny--we thought the halfsteak was great. Burger was okay, but it's a double patty and comes with cheese sauce and is cooked medium, so not my favorite kind of burger. It was not crowded at all when we were there on a Thursday night.

I have had bad avocados from TJs, too, and bad bananas, and I've heard the same story from many friends. Produce is definitely their weak point.

Union Square Greenmarket. Usually they're gone by this time of year, but Locust Grove still has them (Wednesdays and Saturdays). They're my favorite.

Do you mean cicchetti? Love Le Zie, but be warned, it can get very loud.

Yes, it is now a Spice. Tong Thai was the same owners. There are now so many of the Spice chain in the same small area--13th and University, 4th Avenue and 10th Street (I think), and one on Second Avenue, too. I asked why they closed Tong Thai as it had been open in that space for a very short time, and the person at the front said there were too many restaurants too close together, but maybe he thought I was asking why they'd closed the old Spice location on University.

Yes, Kalustyan has the Styrian kind--I almost bought some last week but I was put off by the price.

Not traditional fried chicken, and I see you've already eaten it, but I'm a big fan of the chicken schnitzel at Pita Joe's at 14th and 5th. I like to get it over salad (instead of the sandwich) with the tomato/cucumber salad and the beet salad.

I haven't been to Corton, but I ate a terrible meal at Mas several years ago, and when I posted about my experience several other CHers chimed in to agree that it was overpriced. I definitely don't recommend it.

Blaue Gans serves an excellent suckling pig.

Yes, that's who I was picturing, just confusing/conflating the farms. I love their ramps, too!

Aren't we lucky to have such amazing stuff to choose from? It's a great luxury. The berries this year seem to be/have been particularly great. I'm always astounded when I meet people who have NEVER BEEN to any of the Greenmarkets. It's such a big part of my weekly routine.

I always get them confused, or rather, I always conflate them into one farm. They both have great stuff. Possibly I'm picturing the wrong person/people. Mountain Sweet (I'm pretty sure it's them!) also has these amazing Golden Nugget potatoes. Have you tried those? They have an intensely potato-y taste and are about the size of a thumbnail. Expensive, but worth it. I live very close to US, so I usually go 4 days a week, and I have a hard time remembering which days people are there, except I know Ronnybrook Farms is only Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Keith's, too.

I also love the whole trout that are sold on Wednesday (I think), and Blue Moon is great. As everyone has noted, everything at Flying Pigs is good, and there's another place that has chicken occasionally (they have that bacon hypnosis sign with the spiral on it) and when they do have them they're very good. It's funny--responding to this thread I realize that I don't know the names of many of the farms. I've bought apples and other fruit from Lucas and Mike for over a decade, for example, but I don't know the name of the farm, just where the stand is.

I think Franca is also Mountain Sweet--I think she and Rick take turns. Love their stuff, too.

Keith for just about everything, but especially that garlic. Yuno on Mondays and Fridays has some nice unusual varieties. Berried Treasures for tristar strawberries. I'm also really enjoying the pecorino and caciotta from Dancing Ewe (Fridays). I haven't tried their ricotta yet, but I bet it's great.

He definitely does make pizza at Ottimo, and I believe he made the pizza at La Pizza Fresca, too. Well, I stand corrected if you're an expert on the personnel there, but I still give an edge to UPN.

I find LPF much less consistent than UPN. They've changed pizzaiolo a bunch of times over the years (the original one opened Ottimo, which also made quite good Neapolitan pizza, though I haven't been there in ages) and it doesn't seem always to be the same person on duty. (I believe they've even changed owners at least once.) Needless to say, the fact that if Mangieri isn't there UPN doesn't open makes a big difference.

Lunch or dinner? I love Bianca, but I believe it's dinner-only. Caffe Falai is great and also has terrific coffee/pastries, especially the cream-filled bomboloni.

Naturally, after responding to this a couple weeks ago, I saw squaquerone today! They had it at Buon Italia, the Italian import place in Chelsea Market.

I was just going to say that while one week isn't a lot of notice, fancy places are much less crowded on weekends in the summer, making it much easier to get into no-reservations places like the tavern room at Gramercy Tavern. Since there are two of you, you can probably get a seat at the bar, at least, most places. I loved my lunch at Perry Street--it feels more special to me than Balthazar. I like Wallse a lot--a very pretty modern Austrian restaurant in the West Village.

Also, try www.opentable.com for reservations. Not every restaurant is on there, but many are.

I don't think they're in different leagues, but they are apples and oranges to me. I prefer Falai, but I think most people on this board would vote for Babbo.

Just reading this made my stomach growl. I've never seen squaquerone here anywhere, not even at a place like Di Palo. I think maybe it's too fresh to import? There was a boom in places making piadine a few years ago, but I found them all so expensive that they just made me sad (and, ironically, the piadina at the restaurant Piadina is horrible). There was a piadina place on the LES (maybe on the northern end of Clinton?) and another one in the Flatiron, like maybe on 22nd Street. I'm not sure they're there anymore. They're not hard to make at home, FWIW.