Does anyone know the current status of these two restaurants? They looked closed and boarded up last night.

Thanks for the tip - I'll try them with salmon!

Anyone have a great recipe they can share? I assume they cook up like regular lentils, but what do they pair nicely with? Anything unusual I can do?

My hubby made me the most delicious meal:

Seared diver scallops stuffed with green olive tapenade
Mushroom soup with chorizo and scallions
Tagliorine with meat and porcini ragu

Sorry no photos, but it was fabulous and very romantic.

Would love to hear what people think - any particular stunning dishes? Any "can't misses?"

A couple of my current favorites:

* Bouc Emissaire
"Chaput's Bouc Emissaire, made in Québec, is a fresh goat's milk cheese in the large format of a tomme. Its rind is tender and changes seasonally from green to gray. Bouc Emissaire has a fine, smooth texture and mild taste, with the lean and clean flavor of a first-class chévre. We select wheels of Bouc Emissaire for their smoothness and age them in our caves until they lose a little moisture and develop a nice, mossy fur and tighter texture. Pair it with Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Albarino, Reisling, Fiano, or Tempranillo."

* Hoch Ybrig
"This mountain cheese is made from cow's milk in Canton Schwyz, Switzerland during summer months. It is in the Alpage family of cheeses, developing its unique character from being washed in a white wine brine. The cheese has a slightly granular texture and a wonderful full nuttiness! It is excellent in a fondue or accompanied by mostarda (grape mustard) on a piece of baguette with a glass of Riesling."

* Comte (covered above, but it's just SOOO good)

* Colston Bassett Stilton
"Colston-Bassett Stilton, from Nottinghamshire, England, is the finest and creamiest example of Stilton available today. Made with the mill from five herds of cows grazing near Colston-Bassett dairy, this hand-made Stilton develops a fine, bark-like natural rind and ample blue veining. Aged for four months, Colston-Bassett Stilton tastes best from October to February, when wheels produced from rich August milk are released. To achieve full and deep flavors this Colston-Bassett Stilton is specially made with traditional rennet with Neal’s Yard Dairy. Served with port at dessert, Stilton is wonderful in salads and sauces."

* Ubriaco Prosecco (really yummy but best in summer)

(above descriptions borrowed from www.artisanalcheese.com)

Would love to read it if you're willing to share your extra copy!! I promise to 'pay it forward' when I'm done!

You're right... they did have separate budgets but since Sam and Ilan couldn't afford the wine there was no point in Mike buying the glasses. Sure he could have used his initiative to buy bread plates or side plates for the olive pits, but to his credit the team had decided together on his shopping list and he stuck with the plan. I would have done the same.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I suspect the flatware was lacquered after the fact as some people in my family seemed to believe that would prevent it from tarnishing. I will try soaking a teaspoon in nail polish remover and see what results I get.

Thanks again!

They say:

"Staybrite 18/nickel E.T.C
Rustless Nickel Silver"

I always got the sense on 'Project Runway' that the judges DID watch the tape of what happened and definitely took this into account in their judging. I think that is fair and wish the 'Top Chef' judges would have done the same

ha! totally with you on that. makes us embarrassed that she's Canadian!

Hi Candy,

Thanks for your reply. Do you think maybe they lacquered it? Could it be the lacquer is flaking? We see little shiny flakes that look like glitter... I do try to polish it, perhaps not as often as I should but still.

My uncle gave us a set for our wedding that used to belong to my grandmother. For years we kept them in a box in a closet but recently I decided we should start using them for every day use.

The problem is, now the plating seems to be flaking off! Especially off the forks and spoons -- we see it and most certainly must be ingesting it.

Any suggestions for a remedy? Will they need to be shelved again for the rest of our lives??

Thanks for your help!

Try the Poseidon bakery on 9th Avenue and 44th Street -- or head to Astoria!

Does anyone have any ideas for bars/restaurants throwing fun bashes for the new year? We will be a small group and would like something fun and lively but not too raucous -- we would still like to have our hearing on 1 January!

Thanks in advance.

Agree with Nehna -- we were there on Tuesday night and were mostly disappointed. One in our party had been for brunch and said it was good, but dinner was overpriced and underwhelming.

We all found the menu quite confounding... In fact, three of us ended up ordering from the bar menu because the dinner menu was just so... weird!

Misses: German lamb sausages that were basically two pretty tasteless meatballs. Smashed potatos as a side, which were greasy, tasteless and needed salt. Goat cheese plate also disappointing (how is this possible with so many thousands of good cheeses in the city?). Chocolate cake "heels" were pretty gross... the kind of stuff you are generally embarassed to serve in your own home.

Hits: Marinated anchovies, tart tatin and our first bottle of chianti (the second was sour but the server didn't give us a chance to taste it first -- just poured it out).

Aphrodisia!

Aphodisia Herb Shoppe
264 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012

Phone: (212) 989-6440

Good call!

Thanks everyone! I knew you wouldn't let me down!

I'll try Apothecary -- think I know the place. I also saw Integral Yoga mentioned on another post... Will try there too.

OK guys. My husband said no one will respond to this post... let's prove him wrong!

I need to buy small amounts of spices -- about 50 grams or so... Anyone know where we can find a place that sells spices this way? I tried the place over on 9th Avenue in the 40s but they have a minimum limit of a .25 lb and I only need about half that.

I know this is an odd request but I have no place to store the spices (studio apartment, galley kitchen, etc. etc.) and I don't like to keep them for too long as they smell up the cabinets and eventually lose their flavour anyway.

Thanks!