DistrictSelectman's Profile
Fredi Sandwich Bar in the Village
Great new casual option in the Village on 12th. Pleasant, refined atmosphere and delicious sandwiches. Terrific deal, too. The brisket with pickled onions is excellent. Not sure if they have beer and wine yet, but they're looking to get some good local brews on tap.
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Fredi Sandwich Bar
28 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
Unsung Mexican food in north Sunset Park
If you like holes in the wall that serve up great tacos, tortas, and cemitas with traditional meats, you have to check out Carmelita Deli at 780 4th Ave between 26th and 27th on the west side of the avenue. It looks like a regular deli, and you walk to the back, and they have a tiny kitchen -- there's more room in a taco truck -- in which they somehow manage to have multiple people cooking.
The food is terrific and cheap, and sinfully good. Everything is cooked on a round griddle, the middle of which is raised up so all the fat drains into the outer ring. Everything good is cooked in that fat at some point. Two touches that I really like are the grilled cebollitas that come with everything, and the fantastic, free condiment bar. The salsa rojo is nice and smoky, the verde has chunks of avocado, and the guacamole is great. There's also radishes, pickled jalapenos, and lime wedges.
Note also that the $1.50 tacos are the snack-sized kind with two tortillas, a bit of meat, and a sprinkle of onion/cilantro. Here's another accurate review: http://11870.com/pro/carmelita-deli
Chelsea Court Meat Market open again!
Just wanted to say a few more words about Knickerbocker. The meat is great, but you may be turned off if you just go in and look at what's in the case. They keep pretty much everything in the cooler -- and much of that in vacuum-sealed packages -- so you're just going to have to trust them and order off the posted list. That said, the quality is very high. I've gotten great, humongous lamb shanks, nice brisket, and the hanger steak is possibly the best deal in there. Ground meats are very good, as well.
cheap indian food in manhattan
I usually go there for chana bhatura and rajma (which is one of their daily specials). You probably know, but I wouldn't get bhatura for takeout.
Where To Buy Curing Salt, A.K.A. "Pink Salt" In NYC
Whoops! Sorry, I did not see that's what the original post was getting at.
Where To Buy Curing Salt, A.K.A. "Pink Salt" In NYC
I have seen this at Buon Italia in Chelsea Market for sure, and possibly at Garden of Eden on 23rd between 6th and 7th. Buon Italia definitely has it.
jazz brunch in nyc please
We had a nice time at North Square. Not so much at S.O.B.'s Bossa Brunch.
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SOB's
204 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
North Square
103 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10011
cheap indian food in manhattan
Sounds like you're more interested in south Indian cuisine, but for "authentic, hole-in-the-wall, no-decor, cheap GOOD" Punjabi food, the unqualified answer is Sirtaj.
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Sirtaj
36 W 26th St, New York, NY 10010
Galanga Garden
A neighborhood with a surfeit of Thai restaurants, Chelsea finally has one that is a joy to eat at. Galanga Garden, which just opened on 9th Ave. between 18th and 19th is a revelation. Get in now while you can enjoy the peaceful setting in peace, because the food is so good it's only a matter of time before it gets crazy packed. We left with massive smiles on our faces and even exchanged high fives for deciding to go here tonight.
We split the Tom Yum soup, which is not your average formulation. Very rich citrus and long, smooth spice, redolent of mushroom. Really delicious. Then we had the laap pet -- juicy, grilled duck and red onions in a rich mint broth. Wow. The duck was as good as any of the half dozen duck dishes I had in Paris this summer. Then we had the Poor Pork, which was a deceptively simple pork belly matched with a perfectly cooked egg and perfectly cooked Chinese broccoli. The chef told us we ordered well, and I'd have to agree.
The setting was just as good as the food. You will have a hard time believing that the space was a doggy day care in its previous life (actually a great business, and we were really sad to see it go, but our dinner tonight softened the blow). And you definitely will not believe that a place this nice has $12 entrees.
Chelsea Court Meat Market open again!
We got our butcher back. It's not Anthony, but it is a butcher, and it looks pretty good. If you ask me, this is the best possible outcome, except for the fact that Anthony and his family are gone. The place got spruced up, but it hasn't lost any of its character. The cases are the same and even the old butcher block is still there, only now the whole place is more inviting (including the room off to the left).
The new owners have left up the Chelsea Court Meat Market awning, but they're called something with that starts with a K. I'll update this post, but if anyone knows anything about these guys, please let us know. They were very friendly, and they had lots of great looking meat sitting in the case, including a whole calf's liver, plus a couple tubs of pate on top for sampling.
For any of you who were there when Anthony closed up shop, it was like a neighborhood funeral -- more sad for the fact that such events are seemingly the only times people from the neighborhood come out of the woodwork to mingle freely and talk about what they like about New York. So I'm hopeful that the new place is a worthy successor and manages to bring people together.
Vermont Cheese Makers
I just went to Crowley Cheese's website (http://www.crowleycheese-vermont.com/) and they are apparently shutting down. Very bad news. Does anyone know when this happened and whether there is still Crowley Cheese floating around out there?
Chinotto (italian soda) in Manhattan?
Buon Italia does carry it. That place is great.
CSA reviews? - Norwich Meadow Farm
I think the CSA is well aware of the issues and has tried to correct them, but there's only so much they can do. The quality does vary, and as celizbla says, best to get there early. If you have the time, it's definitely best to volunteer. If I can I volunteer more than I have to so I can get the cream of the crop, and I always take the earliest shift.
CSA reviews? - Norwich Meadow Farm
My gf and I have done the Wash. Sq. CSA for both summer and winter. We don't hate it, but we are switching to the Chelsea CSA (Stone Ledge -- same as W Vill CSA?) for this summer. Our main problem is not the quality, it's the distribution. There's definitely a weak link in the chain somewhere between the farm and the pickup. The truck is often late, and you'll get situations like non-veg shares allotted 0.5 lbs of granola when the granola only comes in 1 lb. bags, so it runs out super early -- that kind of thing. I don't think it's on the CSA end -- the NYU folks run it very well -- but somewhere between the farm and the distribution things tend to break down. YMMV.
Spunto pizza
Too funny, that makes perfect sense. We commented on the "Shroomtown" special pie, and the other similarities to Gruppo in the East Village, which I gather is also in the same family. Basically you can think of Spunto as a bigger and slightly fancier Gruppo.
Spunto pizza
I'm pretty sure it's whole pies -- 10" or 16" -- no slices. Also, FWIW, my girlfriend thought it was good, but rather pricey. Check it out for happy hour if you can.
Spunto pizza
@ 7th Ave/Carmine in the West Village
My girlfriend and I meandered for a long time from West Chelsea to NYU and back to here looking for a place with nice ambience, good but simple food, and reasonable prices, and we were very glad to have stopped at Spunto last night. We had some very good pizza and excellent service.
We got the rotella and a large ricotta and basil pie. The rotella was young prosciutto wrapped around smoked mozzarella and arugula, sliced into six sushi-sized pieces and set on a pesto sauce -- very fresh and tasty. The pizza was delicious. Extra thin crust, crispy, evenly cooked, ample topping, also very fresh. I think the thinness of the crust is probably what sets this place apart. Really thin, which I like.
The beer selection could be a little better (esp. more local), but it was perfectly acceptable. They have Blue Moon, Stella, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap, and about a half dozen bottles (incl. the obligatory Italian brand). Pitchers were $22, and if you get there for happy hour (5-7) you get a free plain pizza with the pitcher. Pretty good deal. The wines were pretty standard for a sit-down pizza place: $7-8 a glass and $26-30 a bottle (pinot grigio for $20).
I thought the service was perfect. Everybody was really nice without being obtrusive. We were encouraged to take our time, and it didn't feel like they were just saying that -- we did stay a really long time (practically shut the place down), and there was never any pressure to wrap it up.
Your favorite underrated slice?
Gotham Pizza, 19th/9th. Standard prices (and $5 lunch deal), thin and crispy crust (I think they put panko on the bottom), good ingredients, real parm in the shaker, clean place, nice people, and open 'til 4 am.
What about the Bronx?
The very southern end of City Island for fun, cafeteria-style seafood, or Artie's as recommended above for a nice dinner. City Island is a great place to simply explore and get out of the city, and its charms go well beyond the food.
Disappointed with Fairway Cheese
I never buy cheese from Fairway. Everything I've had from there has been old and rancid and totally killed by plastic wrap suffocation. I always avoid places that try to stock every kind of cheese under the sun. After a certain point the cost of variety is freshness.
FWIW, I always get my cheese from Buon Italia in Chelsea Market. Yes, they do use plastic wrap, but they have very good turnover -- because they don't try to stock too much -- and they stock a lot of smaller whole cheeses. Even cheeses like St. Marcellin or Taleggio that you so often find swimming in a soup of their own rancid juices always look good on their shelves. I just take it out of the plastic and put it in some tupperware when I get home.
Fort Greene Ethiopian
Sorry, but this place is a far cry from anything in DC. Very overpriced for what you get, and both the meat and veggie dishes were mediocre, but the real travesty is the bread. I don't know where they get off calling that stuff injera, but there was zero teff in it. It was the color of wonder bread, lacked any sort of springiness, totally fell apart, and left a glutinous residue on my fingers to boot. Seriously, avoid Bati.
QUARTER new bar in Brooklyn
Just wanted to give this a bump. Quarter is such a gem of a bar. You will not find drinks that good, made with that much care, anywhere in the city -- at least not at that price. The beers are great, and the patio is totally gorgeous, too.
Any mexican places serve Huitlacoche(Corn Fungus)?
El Centenario in South Slope has really good huitlachoche quesadillas.
Address: 687 5th Ave @ 21st St.
Any good bars in South Slope that serve food?
Re Bar BQ: I walked past there on Monday and they were advertising free whiskey for what they called "Blue Mondays." What's the catch?
Any good bars in South Slope that serve food?
Off topic, but I walked past there on Monday and they were advertising free whiskey for "Blue Mondays." What's the catch?
Pupusas
In BK, 5th Ave btw about 18th and 23rd has several places that sell pupusas. Haven't tried them, because I ate a ton of them in Columbia Heights in DC and they didn't blow me away there. But there's a decent Salvadoran presence on that little strip.
Creamed Herring?
The other thread made me think of this. Has anyone found really good creamed herring? I have poked around, but I'd prefer not to trek to Whole Foods, which seems to be the only remaining place outside Milwaukee that really seems to know how to do this.
