I agree with you, ronhall. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like the dishes that aren't "bludgeoned with cornstarch" are missing exactly that. I find a lot of their dishes to be too light, almost brothy -- I want a sauce thats going to stick my my rice, and to my ribs. Some of the dishes are just horrible, while a few others aren't bad -- not out of this world.

As someone who frequents Chinatown on a weekly basis, and is a big noodle freak, I found their noodle dishes to be entirely lacking. I was expecting a more authentic, noodle-town or Wonton Garden like Lo Mein, now that was over starchy, with thick clumpy noodles and predictable, almost something you would get from a food court.

The soups were pretty good, not knock your socks off, but not bad. The soup dumplings were a huge disappointment, on two occasions, the meat inside were raw, pink raw. They were kind enough to replace them and when I told them the second batch was still raw, he offered to take it off the bill (how nice) and apologized saying that "the machine was broken."

I think I will stick to Aberdeen when I can't get to the city or flushing for Chinese food. You can definitely miss this place.

Isn't mandatory tip illegal? I thought I read somewhere that even though they impose a 20% fee for parties over 6, for example, you can still contest the charge... not sure but I think I've read that on CH or Yelp, not sure.

I don't think the food at this place is worth all the nonsense.

PER SE PER SE PER SE PER SE PER SE...

followed by a pretty close, yet stuffier Daniel.

There will be nothing like the look in your husband's face when he sees name PRINTED and personalized on his menu. Be sure to tell them its his birthday when you make the reservations, they will add that and many other special touches!

LeFarm is really good, mia19, have you tried Patricias on Morris Park in the Bronx for Italian? It's surprisingly good, I think they revamped their menu (used to be just pizza)
It's our new go-to place for "Arthur Ave. style" Italian!

They use high quality cuts of meat and their ossu bucco special was spectacular, I think they stew it in white wine which was quite lovely!

Thanks for clearing that up, pabboy ... I thought the one in the city tasted a lot better with more innovative selections...

If I'm not mistaken, I believe I've had natto at Jewel Bakko. Not sure if that's considered low end.

The food is not the same, I agree with you. We ate here, after a visit to Kalustyan's, about a week ago. I couldn't figure out why the chicken coriander and the hakkan noodles weren't as satisfying as usual. The chicken had a weird aftertaste and the noodles were unusually non eventful.

Like, Leff said, I'm glad we are not "going crazy" thinking that it was having outgrown IndoChino...

But could this really happen because chef's changed hands? I don't get it, if its a "franchise" shouldn't they be able to standardize their recipes for consistency? Maybe on the business end, in order to expand and transition into a franchise they are sacrificing quality kitchen labor in favor of cutting costs? I can't image how they could really trim their budget via cutting down on their "spice" budget, because even the crappiest joints with the crappiest cuts of meats can still put out a phenomenal dish. So maybe they did lose the magic touch by "losing their chef...."

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Chinese Mirch
120 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016

Somebody brought me a wonderful falafel from somewhere in New Rochelle, I believe its a new spot that opened a few weeks ago, I have to find out.

Taim is also really good - -I wonder if they are relate to the Taim in the West Village?

sorry, just re-read your post and noticed the part about the coupon/ "reasonable" from restaurant.com.

I agree, Spadaro is great, but not sure if it's reasonable... dinner for two with two glasses of wine set us back a couple hundred dollars - -granted, there was tons of food and we probably ordered more than necessary -- we had 2 glassed of red, shared a salad, split a pasta, an order of shrimp and that mouthwatering steak -- $207. Not sure if I agree with the verbal menu approach, especially for first timers, blind prices... but now that we know to order less and that the portions are enormous.

But you are right, it is our favorite (and maybe only "authentic" Italian in the area) is Spadaro-- Interestingly enough, we did enjoy a wonderful lunch at Tutta Bella in Easchester the other day -- its 3 course feast for about $15!

We recently had an unmemorable meal there. It wasn't horrible, but it was terribly expensive for 2 glasses of wine and two o.k. ribeyes. Sides were the highlight, dessert was typical cheesecake fare, restaurant wasn't that busy either for a Saturday night.

I'd rather spend a few hundred bucks, dinner for two somewhere in Manhattan....

Why can't Westchester get it right?

we need a good noodle shop in WP!!

Totally agree with pabboy on Westchester and Jamaican food. Thank God there are parts of the North Bronx where we are a 20 minute drive from some really great Jamaican restaurants -- we also just go to the Bronx for Caribbean food as well!

Sofrito is good, but nothing tops the cuchifritos on Fordham rd and in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx!

I second Spadaro!

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Spadaro
211 Main St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

The didn't mention Green Growler!

I wasn't to crazy about Nha Toi, some of the combinations seem too esoteric for me.

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Nha Toi
160 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

I second Fette Sau! Anywhere but "Diner!"

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Fette Sau
354 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Diner
85 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211

I like the macarons at La Tulipe, never knew they made caneles!

Believe it or not, I used to LOVE the caneles at the L'Occitane cafe when they were open on Spring Street!

We recently went to an event at Tappan Hill (I believe it's Abigail Kirsch) The atmosphere was stunning and the service was impeccable. The food was out-of-this world from a sea bass that had a nice truffle flavor to it to the most delicious salty chocolate caramel wedding cake.

Not sure what this place costs but one of the best weddings (food and service-wise) that we have ever been to.

Never been to a wedding at Crabtree, but we love the restaurant, so I can only image how wonderful a wedding must be there!

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Crabtree
226 Jericho Tpke, Floral Park, NY 11001

I agree with MRS. I will deal with "noise" if it means great pizza! We've been there early and it wasn't that "noisy."

Buon Amici in Scarsdale. They take your yardstick of chicken cutlet sandwiches, throw in some avocado, guac, jalapenos, refried beans and call it the "Cancun."

My favorite greasy indulgence.

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Buon Amici
238 Central Ave, White Plains, NY 10606

Love the "enchilada" tacos with spicy pork there! Yum

1. Luke's
2. Mermaid
3. BLT Fish

My top 3

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BLT Fish
21 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

The closest/best food truck I've ever been to was the BBQ truck in that people line up for in the Bronx.

I just saw a slew of Korean BBQ/taco/icecream trucks in the city yesterday. SO jealous!

I read somewhere that La Scarbitta have the same owners as Spadaro in New Rochelle - - which has pretty good Italian food and a "verbal" menu, wonder if its any different?

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Spadaro
211 Main St, New Rochelle, NY 10801

I am so glad there is another Thai option in Southern Westchester. I'm so sick of overpriced mediocre Thai food in town (Siam Orchid, Reka's, etc.) Can't wait to try it!

Grammercy in a heartbeat!

Tap House in Tuckahoe has some pretty good fish tacos on their spring menu, nothing that you would find in SoCal. The closest I've found was Mercadito in the city :(

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The Tap House
16 Depot Square, Tuckahoe, NY 10707

love the blackened shrimp at Fairway!

My all time favorite is the KORILLA Korean BBQ/Taco truck!