selenster's Profile
Mandarin Kitchen Westwood -- Kaput?
Agreed w/ the above - some of the better hot & sour soup I've had in CA, and the Mongolian beef is surprisingly good. The dumplings/potstickers are lovely as well.
Celeb/Top Chef Near the Waldorf?
lunch, two courses, is 42$. additional savory courses are 21$ each. that is doable, providing no boozing.
red rooster is terrible. don't even bother.
Going Overboard at Marea (review)
go to ai fiori now! the food is beautiful. i've been maybe five or six times since it opened and each time i'm wowed by how lovely everything is. especially gorgeous is the trofie nero, the lobster veloute, the uovo, and the cold poached lobster dish. i've done both prix fixe and a la carte; the lunch deal (new, i think?) is 35$/two courses. also there's the white label burger, only available during lunch. it's a must try!
death & company?
cocktails are great. i wouldn't eat there though. however, you mentioned fedora, and i really liked that place a lot.
Minetta or Marea?
marea was one of my favourite restaurants until ai fiori came along. but i'd go with marea over minetta. the spaghetti w/ sea urchin/crab/tomato is one of the best dishes, as is the astice starter (cold poached lobster w/ burrata, eggplant, basil oil). their crudo is also quite lovely.
Celeb/Top Chef Near the Waldorf?
marea on CPW. or just go to kin shop in the village - harold dieterle. last time i was there i ran into my friend who was on "next iron chef america" and saw mark ladner from del posto eating next to me & my date.
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Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019
Kin Shop
469 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Ai Fiori or Lincoln?
i've only been to ai fiori for lunch, but i really enjoyed the pastas, particularly the truffled veal agnelotti and the squid ink cavatelli w/ seafood. white label burger is also darn delicious.
the executive chef at ai fiori was a sous for morimoto, and worked as a sous for daniel humm @ EMP.
Help Choosing Dinner!
marea is my favorite restaurant in NYC so i'm going to of course tell you, YES, eat there! that spaghetti with sea urchin, crab & tomato is heaven in a bowl, though the ai fiori black squid ink pasta w/ seafood in a lobster sauce is a close second.
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Ai Fiori
400 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018
DC2NY casual weekend - please critique my plans!
i've read really mixed albeit mostly negative reviews of bar basque, but i haven't been there so i can't say. however, i liked the food at the breslin just fine.
when i worked in nolita, parisi bakery sandwiches were a staple of my diet so yes! please eat one for me :)
i am afraid to go to eataly based on the crowds. i have a terrific fear of them. saturday at lunch? good luck with that, dude. mob scene for sure.
If you like Maialino, you'll love....???
whoa that's great service! OK, i am sold - getting maialino at...maialino!
If you like Maialino, you'll love....???
oh i LOVE DBDB! that boudin basque is something i dream about on a regular basis. it's for anyone who loves meat, fat, marrow and gout.
If you like Maialino, you'll love....???
ha i was thinking amatriciana and probably the maialino as i'm going with a friend who's just as much of a piglet as i am. maybe the tripe. i want to eat tripe in a non-pho setting!
NYC this weekend, no reservations!
ai fiori should not be a problem AT ALL - i went last week and has a reservation; there were plenty of available (ahem, almost said open tables, ha ha) tables. curious, really because the food is FANTASTIC!
If you like Maialino, you'll love....???
hmm, this is good to hear - i loved morini (well, i liked it a lot, but marea and ai fiori are better in my opinion) and i have a res. for maialino coming up. any suggestions? i know i want that huge ravioli with the egg yolk!
ISO tasty soups somewhere between the Tribeca/Chinatown/LES and 34th Street
soondooboo chigae (spicy tofu and usually seafood stew) at BCD tofu house in koreatown! (32nd street between 5th and broadway)
Trendy Dinner Recommendations
take him to sushi samba - that place is pretty trendy. or nobu. or morimoto.
Few Dinner choices, Peasant - Recette - Maiaino
i don't care for peasant - the food was poorly executed and i was just left wondering, "this is it? this is what people adore?"
i was supposed to go to maialino tonight but i had to change my reso due to illness. i would vote for that.
9 chatham square (hop shing) is back!
ahah thank you! guess this is a very exciting day for us all :)
9 chatham square (hop shing) is back!
has anyone been to it since it recently reopened? i think i'll go this weekend but i'm curious if you have input. thanks!
Old-fashioned Italian bread in Manhattan
parisi bakery in nolita, perhaps? old school, and italian.
Any dinnertime (fresh) dim sum places in Chinatown?
well, if you don't mind vegetarian - vegetarian dim sum on pell makes everything fresh to order. downside: it's vegetarian (well, it's fine with me but many people would balk at this)
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Vegetarian Dim Sum House
24 Pell St, New York, NY 10013
Korea Town Recommendations
are you saying this on the soondooboo or in general? i pretty much only ever get soondooboo :) it's my all-time favorite dish. also, though BCD took it over, much of the staff seems to be holdovers from when it was dae dong (the restaurant that was in the space prior)
Korea Town Recommendations
hanbat is OK. i didn't get the bibimbap, just the soondooboo chigae and the squid bokum w/ spaghetti, and both were fine. service is VERY friendly at hanbat though, which is a plus.
korean bakery
i've purchased pastries for a coworker's celebration at the paris baguette in K-town and everyone really liked them. (i don't eat sweets generally)
Korea Town Recommendations
my favorite is BCD tofu house but specifically at lunch for the pretty awesome deal of dolsot bibimbap + bowl of soondooboo chigae for 13.95. plentiful amounts of ban chan, and BCD's soondooboo is probably the best in the city.
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BCD Tofu House
17 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001
Help me find this Chinatown dim sum place
another vote for 88 palace; it's where my grandparents had their 50th wedding anniversary or some junk. food was great.
Ciano - Excellent meal,
well that does it. i just made a reservation for friday night dinner next month. all of this swooning talk re: ciano means i have to check it out.
::hoards cash::
For Vegetarians : Daniel or Bouley?
how about dovetail on monday nights? has a vegetarian/vegan option for prix fixe dinner.
Vegetarian kimchi ramen?
came here to suggest hangawi. the thing is, while a soup/ramen base might be vegetarian, the kimchi may not be, since they're usually fermented w/ shrimp, oysters, etc (which aren't in the final edible product but they're in there, like anchovies in puttanesca)
