howyoudoin80's Profile
arthur avenue
are you talking about gennaro?
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/gennaro/
Bona Terra - a Hidden Gem straight from your local Market!
I have lived in New York City for the past 10 years but am a Pittsburgh native - I am equally a fan of Babbo and The O. I have been fortunate in my life to visit some of the worlds finest dining establishments . . . that said, I have never encountered the outright snobbery and "better than you" attitude as I found at Bona Terra last evening.
To be fair, I did not have a reservation for this restaurant as I was finding myself in Pittsburgh at the last minute. But,I read the reviews for this place and did my research and decided I should try to get lucky and find a way to eat there. When I entered the restaurant around 9:20pm with a party of 3, I was only hoping to wait to be seated for late dinner. The bartender and waitress behind the bar greeted us with a look that can only be described as "incredulous" as if the idea of eating there without a reservation and after 8pm was unbelievable. They told me they would have to look for the maitre de.
I checked out the restaurant (as much as I could from the front door) and noticed 3 empty bar stools sitting up front.
The maitre de arrived and smiled and quickly informed us that there was no way he could seat us. I then told him that we'd be happy to wait. He said it would be at least 40 minutes and he wasn't sure if the chef would be willing to work with us.
I then suggested that we sit at the bar. At this suggestion, the maitre de looked dismayed . . . keep in mind, this restaurant is on a nearly vacant street in Sharpsburg . . . yet the suggestion of "sitting at the bar" was anathema to this staff. Again, the maitre de explained he would have to check with the chef to see if it would be "okay."
My sister who was my guest that evening, has waited tables at Michael Psilakis' and Donatella Arpaia's Kefi. She was perplexed . . . in most NYC restaurants, you did whatever necessary to seat hungry individuals at your doorstep with the ability to pay!
He came back less than 2 minutes later and informed us that the chef would not be "okay" with a party of 3 sitting at the bar for a late dinner. When I pressed him saying, "there is nothing you can do for us?" he walked over to the console in the entry way and pulled a business card for the restaurant and said "Here, take this . . .next time I would recommend you call in advance." I informed him I didn't need the business card and walked out.
Come hell or high water, I will never return to Bona Terra. More over, this is the first review I have felt compelled to write on Yelp . . . I will share the same sentiment on Chowhound as well. while I live in New York, I do business in Pittsburgh with prominent Pittsburgh companies every quarter and I will do everything I can to circulate this story amongst my contacts.
Nothing irritates me more than being treated as a second class citizen. The irony of this experience taking place on main street, Sharpsburg, instead of Paris or San Francisco, is pretty rich.
No food, and I don't care how good it is, is worth this kind of snobbery. Congratulations Bona Terra, you just won yourself a hater.
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Bona Terra Restaurant
908 Main St, Pittsburgh, PA 15215
Ethiopian Food in NYC? Preferably Manhattan?
I third Zoma . . . it is THE best ethiopian I have ever had. I go there at LEAST 1X per month and always order the following: atakilt wett, doro tibs, zoma tibs, fassolia and gomen be siga
I know that is a TON of food but it is just so worth it . . and excellent.
I eat like a king and am treated very well. You can BYOB too which is great since their wine is forgettable (although I prefer beer with Ethiopian).
Cannot recommend this food enough. The atmosphere is nice and neighborhoody. Modern and minimalist. The owner is ALWAYS behind the bar and ready to greet you with a smile each visit.
Ethiopian Food
I third the recommendation for Zoma . . .it is amazing . . . order
Zoma Tibs
Doro Tibz
Fassolia
Atakilt Wett
Absolutely phenomenon.
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Zoma
2084 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10026
Top 10 Bakeries in the 5 Boros? [moved from What's My Craving?]
Dear all - sorry for the delay . . . but I wanted to take some time to encourage any like- minded individuals to take a tour like this! It was one of the best experiences of my New York life (7 years now).
Advice: For a group of four choose 2-3 items at max at each stop. Nibble accordingly. Bring Water. Plan on zero actual meals during the day. You will need a car to cover all of this and should start no later than 9am.
My Final Journey Included:
1) Donut Plant - One Cake and One Jelly Filled - both marvelous . . . part of me hated the schtick of eating bougie flavored donuts . . . but I can't argue with the fact that they are damn good.
Doughnut Plant
379 Grand St, New York, NY
(212) 505-3700
2) Le Brioche Cafe in Brighton Beach. This was a stop partially for the "scene" which is unlike anything my Pittsburgh kin had ever seen and partially for the baked goods themselves. The walls virtually spill out with pastries that appear to be teetering on counterops that might, at any moment, topple over and kill you with sweetness. There was an older woman working there with very dark hair and memorable makeup - I wasn't sure if she was happy to see me or not, but it ads to the Brighton Beach mystique.
la brioche cafe - brighton beach
1073 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY -
(718) 646-8010
3) Cammereri & Monteleone's in Caroll Gardens. We went there 100% for the lard bread. If you haven't had it then you really don't know. if you are lucky, you get there early and they have little finger sized mini-loaves that provide the perfect savory bite. Essentially an artisan bread with chunks of prosciutto and fat . . . stellar. Even though they have dropped the Cammereri's name in favor of Monteleone, I will always call it Cammereri's . . b/c it reminds me of Moonstruck.
Cammereri's
355 Court St, Brooklyn, NY
(718) 852-5600
4) Damascus Bakery for Lahmajun, Spinach Pie, Zahtar Bread and Baklava. I love Damascus and will often bike from my home in harlem to Atlantic Avenue just to have a snack from there. I am a Lahmajun fanatic and therefore was instantly drawn to the place. I added it to the tour for 2 factors (another savory lunch time stop) and . . . the middle eastern aspect made for a unique point.
Damascus
195 Atlantic Ave # 1, Brooklyn, NY -
(718) 625-7070
5) La Guli in Astoria. The more time I spend in Queens, the more I realize it may just be the boro I was born to live in. La Guli is a monument to that fact. La Guli feels old b/c it is old. They still have the tin canisters of bakery twine in red and white hanging from the ceiling that is used to tie purchases. They have great Baba Rhum . . . homemade elephant ears and, my favorite, homemande Torrone (nougat and almond artisan candy).
La Guli
2915 Ditmars Blvd,
Astoria, NY
6. Artopolis in Astoria. When I first ventured into the shopping plaza in which Artopolis resides, I must admit that I was not expecting much. It looks like a place where a doctor's office might be! I was flat out WRONG. Artopolis is everything I didn't know a Greek bakery could be. It is both fantastically welcoming and exotic at the same time. Like La Brioche, you get the feeling that baker's assistants arrive at 5am to artfully arrange the selection of Greek pastry. I felt as though I was in a boutique and not a bakery. You are fearful of getting too close to any individual item b/c it is both gorgeous and delicate. Had Baklava, a powder-sugar-covered pastry knot and a sesame covered cookie . . bought an almond cake for the road.
Artopolis
2318 31st St, Astoria, NY -
(718) 728-8484
7) St Honore . . . we figured, well, we are in Astoria. The honest thing here is that we didn't find anything to knock our socks off. Admittedly, this was our 7th bakery of the day. We had a croissant and enjoyed the butter and dough alright, but didn't have a remarkable experience. I imagine I should have paid more attention in planning this stop.
St Honore Patisserie
3318 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY -
(718) 278-3558
8) S&S Cheesecake in the Bronx. Yep, we went there and yep, it was closed. Sucks to be us.
S&S Cheesecake
222 W 238th St, Bronx, NY -
(718) 549-3888
9) Momofuku Milk Bar was a great stop. It was so different and irreverant compared to the other choices. We had the kitchen sink cookie and some ice cream. It was awesome. Milk bar should be part of any tour as it represents what a modern bakery can evolve into.
Momofuku Milk Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY -
(212) 228-0031
10) Sullivan Street Bakery. By this point, it was definitely time for something savory. We had little pitzetta-style-breads with olive oil, fennel and tomato.
Sullivan Street Bakery
73 Sullivan St, New York, NY -
(212) 334-9435
Money is No Object: ISO Foodie "idea" for Boston area
Dear friends,
I am a New Yorker who is entertaining a group of 15 in Boston in about 1.5 mos.
I am attempting to do something "over the top" involving a tasting menu, private chef or overall gourmet experience.
$$$ is no object here . . . I could easily name 2-3 amazing things in NYC but am looking to hounds to tell me what you'd do in this scenario.
Thanks for the advice!
Top 10 Bakeries in the 5 Boros? [moved from What's My Craving?]
So terrific, thank you!
Any recs for Queens?
Top 10 Bakeries in the 5 Boros? [moved from What's My Craving?]
Hello,
My family and I are baked-good obsessed. Being originally from Pittsburgh, I guess that comes with the territory.
Therefore, It only makes sense that I'm flying my mother and her best girlfriend out for a New York City bakery tour on the occasion of her 54th birthday.
The goal is to show her the best NYC has to offer in bakeries of every sort . . . cakes, pastries, pies, doughnuts, brownies, cookies . . . while mixing it into some great neighborhoods in New York.
I'm renting a car and have the entire day to spend traveing from one to the other.
I"d love the opinion of fellow hounders on which bakeries should be "must visit" for a tour like this . . . also, if there is a "must buy" at each, that would be helpful as 10 bakeries in one day will likely limit us to one or 2 bites per bakery.
The two conditions are:
1) in one of the 5 Boros,
2) does at least one thing wonderfully, better than anyone else!
So far my list consists of:
Alba 7001 18th Avenue Queens
Andre's Hungarian Rego Park, Queens
Mitchel London, UES
Thanks in advance!!
