mla19's Profile
Alternative to Cru Cafe in Charleston?
Hi Sue!
Thank you! Unfortunately by the time we get in from our flight Saturday, it will pretty much be past lunchtime and my husband is dying to do Bowens Island which is also closed Sundays/Mondays. So our plan is to get there right at 5pm, have a few oysters and beers and then continue on to Husks later that evening for a 9:30pm dinner. We do have reservations at all the places on our itinerary so we're set! Thanks for the opinions on 82 Queen and CFB. We'll pick between those two!!
Alternative to Cru Cafe in Charleston?
Hi All -
I posted a few months ago about my husband's and my upcoming trip to Charleston. We're super excited, particularly about all our meals. Our dining itinerary as it stands today is below but I need help finding a good Monday (Memorial Day) lunch option. Cru Cafe seemed perfect but alas it's closed Mondays. Others I'm considering are 82 Queen (but there are some food negative reviews on here), Amen Street (but we're already doing seafood at Bowens Island) and Closed for Business. Would love some opinions! Thank you!
Saturday -
Oysters at Bowens Islands
Late night dinner at Husk
Sunday
Brunch at High Cotton
Dinner at McCradys
Monday
Lunch ??
Dinner at FIG
Tuesday
Early breakfast at Hominy Grill before flight
The Whelk, Westport, CT.
Granted my standards may be warped given I lived in Manhattan for awhile and now reside in Greenwich (home to many overpriced restaurants) but $350 for 7 adults before tip and drinks is not particularly pricey in my opinion given the high quality of ingredients and the execution of the dishes at the Whelk. You had to suspect walking in there that it wasn't going to be a $20/person kind of meal - most seafood meals aren't. Now if the food didn't warrant the prices I'd agree with you wholeheartedly (i.e. I wrote a rant several months ago about how overpriced Napa & Co is for what you get) but I truly think Bill Taibe is making the best food in FFC and it's worth the price of admission.
Breakfast in Fairfield County
Agreed with Steve. Great bunch spots, particularly Nicholas Roberts. Yum.
Underwhelmed by Napa & Co (Stamford, CT)
Oddly I was in New Canaan the other day and noticed that the Harvest Supper menu posted outside the restaurant still lists Dan Kardos as chef. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed so I couldn't inquire but I'm very curious.
ReNapoli in Old Greenwich?
Glad to hear you enjoyed. Food really is great, particularly for an unassuming pizzeria in the otherwise culinary wasteland that is Old Greenwich.
1st visit to Charleston: Please critique our plans
Thanks, All! Much appreciated!
Sue, great memory! We've actually altered our plans and are leaving our daughter home with her grandparents for the weekend so we'll be flying solo and plan to eat non-stop!
1st visit to Charleston: Please critique our plans
Hi All - My husband and I are heading to Charleston Memorial Day weekend to celebrate his 35th. We're very excited, especially for the eats!
We'll be there for 3 nights and so far our plans are as follows:
Saturday: 5pm oysters and beer at Bowens Island
Followed by a late dinner at Husk
Lunch TBD
Sunday: Brunch at High Cotton
Dinner at McCrady's
Monday: Brunch at Hominy Grill
Dinner at FIG
Is that too much Sean Brock? Too much brunch? Would Husk be better for Saturday lunch when we land? Are we missing something unforgettable? We also considered Anson, Tristan, SNOB, Pennisula Grill, etc. And the new spot the Macintosh has piqued my interest. So much good food, so little time. My husband much prefers locavore, simple preparations of fresh food over nuanced fine dining.
Sorry for all the babble. Thanks for your help!
Underwhelmed by Napa & Co (Stamford, CT)
The Napa burger is actually now $28 and the filet $51.
Funny - my husband and I made the same price comparison to the $26 Minetta Black Label burger (which by the way, is delicious) while eating at Napa!
Underwhelmed by Napa & Co (Stamford, CT)
I'm a bit surprised to find pretty much unanimous love for this restaurant on Chowhound, Yelp, etc. My husband and I ate there for the first time last night and the overall experience was very disappointing.
The food was definitely good, but not particularly great. With the exception of the chorizo, tomato, farm egg crostini small plate, which was quite special, everything else we ate was just "good" (We tried the kale salad and veal meatballs to start, and the pork chop and skate (upon recommendation by our waiter) as entrees).
The ambiance at the restaurant is very casual - reminiscent of a sports bar more than a fine dining restaurant. There was a TV playing Food Network shows in the livelier of the two dining rooms! And the rooms felt tired and in need of an update. Unfortunately, our service matched the atmosphere. It took a long time for our waiter to approach us, and to later check on us. And when we asked him for recommendations off the menu, he gave a bumbling response.
And though my husband and I are no connoisseurs of wine, we were disappointed with the three glasses we tried, though Napa bills itself as having a strong wine program.
The real problem with our meal is that the prices at Napa & Co are astronomical. I'm talking entrees pretty much across the board in the $30-50 range, and starters lingering around $20. The food, ambiance and service just didn't come CLOSE to warranting those prices. If the prices were dropped a tad, then I can forgive lackluster service and my expectations for the food would be lowered. I probably would've enjoyed Napa at a different price point. But charging the prices that they do, I'm going to expect an experience similar to some of the best restaurants in New York City. And Napa failed miserably in that comparison.
I want to mention that we also tried the Whelk in Westport this week and that, along with Bill's other restaurant LeFarm and the Lamb's Harvest Supper in New Canaan, blow Napa out of the water - - and at half the price!
It's hard to believe Napa is so universally loved. I urge readers to try one of the restaurants mentioned above instead for a much better and less expensive fine dining meal. And if you have a hankering to drop the kind of cash required by Napa, drive another 40 miles to Manhattan.
ETA: I realize that Napa was responsible for beginning a culinary revolution in our area and that wonderful chefs like Mr. Taibe got their start there. Perhaps it was stellar in its heyday long before I got to try it, but today, I believe there are far better options.
Best of Charleston.....with small child
Thanks so much for your reply and good wishes!
Help -- moved to Scarsdale
Ooh thanks for the tip. I'll add Patricias to our list. Haven't been there yet. Thanks!
Help -- moved to Scarsdale
Agreed Spadaro is excellent. Besides that, if we want our Italian fix, we often make the 20-35 minute drive to Arthur Avenue (specifically, Tra Da Noi, Roberto's or Zero Otto Nove). Much better and cheaper than most Westchester joints.
As another poster mentioned, Port Chester has some of the best overall dining in lower Westcheter:
-Los Gemelos for authentic tacos
-Misti (Pollo A La Brasa) for cheap and tasty Peruvian
-Aqui es Santa Fe for their cheap Columbian breakfasts and fresh juices
- Kneaded Bread is an absolutely wonderful bread bakery
-Nessa and Tarry Lodge offer up tasty modern Italian with a vibrant scene to match (also check out Tarry Market next door - particularly their fresh pastas)
-Bar Taco similarly has a great vibe and drinks with good food
Other Westchester favorites are The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry, North in Armonk and an off the radar place in Elmsford called Alaroma that makes killer chicken scarparo.
We recently moved from White Plains to Greenwich and can attest to a few stellar but more upscale dining spots in Fairfield County as well - Harvest Supper (New Canaan), LeFarm (Westport) and Schoolhouse at Cannondale (Wilton) remind me as a former Manhattanite of some of the better places in the city.
As others have mentioned, good spots are fewer and farther between here in the burbs but with a bit of research and patience (ie you may have to drive a bit to find something good), they can be found. Happy eating!
Best of Charleston.....with small child
Hi All! I'll be visiting Charleston in late April for 3 nights with my husband and our daughter who will be 4.5 months at the time. My husband and I are anxious to check out the city's vibrant food scene but as new parents and first time Charleston visitors, we're not entirely sure how child-friendly certain restaurants are.
We'd very much like to go to Husk and FIG for dinner and we're hoping that both are loud and vibrant enough that they'd be willing to accommodate a small child in a bassinet (assuming she stays nice and quiet for us)!! Are we off-base?? We also heard good things about High Cotton but from its website it appears a bit more stuffy thus perhaps we'd be better off doing lunch or brunch there??
Any other suggestions out there? Hominy Grill looks child friendly but is it worth the wait? Pennisula Grill also appeals but I don't think we could bring our daughter there. We definitely would like to take as much advantage of adult dining as we can while she's still young enough to sit still. Price not an issue but as we live in CT near NYC, we'd like to stick to local cuisine we can't readily get up north.
Thanks for your help!! Happy Holidays!!
good special occasion restaurant in Westchester
Ok not Westchester but close by in Fairfield county, what about Harvest Supper (New Canaan), Schoolhouse at Cannondale (Wilton) or LeFarm (Westport). I've had better meals at those three places than any fine dining of Westchester.
HELP! Im turning 21 this week and im looking for a fun/ trendy restaurant to go to with my girls in the Rockland County (NY)/ Westchester(NY)/ North Bergen(NJ) Area... Any suggestions!?
I think the food is pretty good at Lolita. Yes, it's not authentic Mexican but for a celebatory night out, the food is rather tasty and the cocktails are varied and great. Plus it has a happening NYC vibe. I think it's a great choice for your celebration. Happy Birthday!
Momofuku wedding cakes??
Agreed. This cake is not intended to be traditional or appeal to the masses. It's an alternative type of wedding cake for a niche group of people. After tasting several of the cookies and cakes at MB, I would be pretty damn psyched to get served this cake at a wedding over the same old.
The Dutch or Buvette?
Has anyone been to both and preferred one to the other? I know they're different restaurants in terms of cuisine, atmosphere, small plates etc. Just curious which might yield the overall better meal. The Buvette menu seems more interesting to me and I wasn't crazy about Locanda Verde, but the Dutch has its appeal too. My husband and I will be going for an early dinner post-theatre this Saturday so getting in shouldn't be too much of a problem (we already have a 5:30 ressie at the Dutch). Thanks!
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Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013
Buvette
42 Grove St, New York, NY 10014
Rye Brook, Westchester
There are a bunch of Chopts and a billion copycat design-your-own salad places in NYC. Guess they're a bit rare in the suburbs though. I personally don't care for Chopt but it has a lot of fans in the city.
Help! Need Restaurant Rec in White Plains for Lunch for Top Execs
Yup. Serafina is a prime example of Westchester getting another one of NYC's crappy restaurants and eating it up. It irks me to see the place so crowded each night. I'm sorry you had a bad meal there but not surprised.
Fujinoya, Hartsdale (next to IHOP on Central Ave)
Agree with everyone. We love Fujinoya. Also wanted to point out that the service is consistently excellent and friendly. No small feat for Westchester!
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Fujinoya
26 S Central Ave, Hartsdale, NY 10530
Michelle Bernstein's Palm Beach: Amateur Hour
After having a pretty good meal at Michy's last year and reading some very positive reviews of MB on Chow, we were anxious to try Michelle Bernstein at the Omphony during our quick trip to Palm Beach. YIKES. It was awful on all accounts. The atmosphere was soulless, like a SoBe wannabe knockoff (and there was no bathroom on the restaurant level). The service was a joke. Bread service via an awkward busboy occurred within seconds of our sitting down. Our waiter was pushy and kept cracking dumb jokes. Totally unprofessional for a place trying to be high end. Worst of all, the food. A short rib entree was nearly inedible - dry, tasteless and tough. Equally dry was the polenta it sat on. The fried chicken was fine but was served with a biscuit so hard and stale, it could've been used as a hockey puck. The dressing on our butter lettuce salad was watery and bland and tasted nothing like jalapeño as advertised. After our so-so apps and awful entrees, we had no interest in dessert. While my husband was in the bathroom, I asked our waiter for the check. He came back about 15 minutes later not with our check but to ask my husband if HE wanted dessert! As if I would've asked for the check without first ensuring we were both ready for it. From there, it then took our waiter another good 10 minutes to bring the check. Total disaster, especially considering the price ($34 for that mess of a short rib dish!)
The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry
Agreed! My husband and I are in our early-to-mid 30s and are thankful to have a few spots like The Cookery, Nessa and Tarry Lodge where we can get a little vibrancy and excitement along with our good food. To me, the ambiance at these places is quite a bit similar to what you'd find in the best NYC restaurants (save for true fine dining establishments).
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Tarry Lodge
18 Mill St, Port Chester, NY 10573
Eating through Portland in 2.5 days...
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Maine that included 24 hours in Portland. We had a great time and were really blown away by the quality and plentitude of the food establishments in the small downtown area. As a first time visitor and non-resident, I am certainly no expert on the city but I will heartily recommend the two spots that we ate at, each of which we learned about after spending time surfing this board.
For lunch we ate at Duckfat, a Chowhound favorite. Very tasty fries fried in duckfat, accompanied by several choices of tasty dipping sauces. Other than their fries (which, along with poutine, is what the place is known for), Duckfat serves an interesting variety of panini sandwiches. Of the two we tried, we epecially liked the meatloaf paini with pickled red onion, cheddar and. horseradish mayo. Duckfat is heavily discussed on this board so you'll find lots of info here if you search.
For dinner we tried Bresca. WOW. What a meal. I'm still thinking about it 4 days later. We live in the NYC area and dine out often so we are sometimes a bit spoiled and jaded when it comes to food but Bresca really impressed. It's a small, intimate restaurant with delicate touches abound - from the decor to the beautiful presentation of each plate. The chef's technical skills are clear and I was most impressed with her ability to create food that is simulatenously simple (and very fresh/local) and innovative. The entire meal was flawless but I would particularly recommend braised Tuscan black kale (I would kill for that dish right now!) and shaved brussel sprout salad appetizers, the lamb with farro, roasted butternut squash, mache and hazelnut salade entree and the chocolate soup for dessert. I believe the chef's background is in pastry so definitely save room for dessert. Divine! There are seemingly a lot of "fine dining" establishments in Portland from which to choose where I imagine you would have a great meal, but we landed on Bresca b/c a truly intimate yet relaxed dining experience like that is pretty much impossible to come by in NYC.
Enjoy your trip! I'm jealous!
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Bresca
111 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101
STEER CLEAR LIST - Worst Meal You've Had in the Last Six Months
Ugh. It was longer than 6 months ago but I too had a disappointing and extremely overpriced meal at Recette. Really stood out as one of our worst dining experiences in years.
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Recette
328 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014
Critique my NYC itinerary
Unless I'm missing something, the Candlelight Inn famous for wings is in Scarsdale, Westchester. Not NYC. It's quite good but if you're coming to NYC for just a short period, I definitely wouldn't bother making the schlep there.
Decent Mexican Food in Westchester [split from "LA transplant craving fish tacos"]
So glad to see all this love for Sunshine Deli. It's one of my favorites. I always get their specials in the counter (I dream about the chicken) and their tacos. Next time I'll have to try their quesadillas. Yum.
great not just ok donuts in westchester
Also agree. Kneaded Bread's doughnuts (and pretty much all their food) are to die for.
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Kneaded Bread
181 N Main St, Port Chester, NY 10573
Fig and Olive- A Major Disappointment!
Not surprised. Ive never had a good meal at the ones in the city. Wasn't planning on bothering with the Scarsdale location and your post confirmed my suspicion.
