El Tigre's Profile
Recomendations at Virgil's BBQ
apparently the catfish sandwich is spectacular. ask blumie
Russ & Daughters bagels
two things should be mentioned here:
1. while they may get their product from acme, the fact that they have 4th generation in the store personally doing the inspection/buying guarantees a level of quality that i promise you will not find at piss-a-bagel
2. because the store is small (i'm guessing 600 sq ft) as opposed to say zabar's they can buy less product and move it quicker, guaranteeing a fresher piece of fish
and finally, acme is really good. as new yorkers we are lucky that places like BG, Zabar's, R&D are able to source their products there.
Virgil's -- worst restaurant in NYC?
i think that the brisket at virgil's is great. the pulled pork is ok and the ribs are also fantastic. haven't tried the catfish
La Flaca on the LES - quick review
i ate here recently and found the food to be all but inedible and WAAAAAY overpriced. not to mention that the layout/ambience was completely unsettling.
highly UN-recommended
Where to Find Something like Zucco: Le French Diner
when did you visit Zucco? i used to love that restaurant but after Zucco himself died last year (RIP) i wasn't sure that they were going to stay open. he seemed to be the only employee...
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Zucco
188 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Lazarras - anyone been?
i work pretty close to lazarra's and have eaten there quite a few times.
every time i have i've asked myself why afterwards.
The pizza tastes EXACTLY like pizza hut which I will admit does have a nostalgic charm all it's own but does not amount to being a destination pizzeria. The ingredients they use are pretty low quality. The heroes border on being completely inedible and the restaurant is FILTHY. Again, the pizza has a charm to it but I only eat it when my office orders large quantities of it and I neither have to pay for it or visit the restaurant.
What New York food could you not live without? A Q from CHOW
without question the bialy, particularly from Kossar's. After that would be Jewish appetizing: sturgeon, smoked salmon, chopped liver etc.
i would also miss many of the NYC's unique places that aren't necessarily NYC-centric but happen to be here: Doughnut Plant, Xi'an, Shake Shack, etc
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Shake Shack
Roosevelt Ave 126th St, Queens, NY 11368
Take-out/leftover alchemy
So one night last week I got home late and was starving. Things were looking pretty grim as I hadn’t been shopping in over a week. I had a couple of take-out containers and decided to seeif I could make do.
I had a small container of harissa from Crisp and one leftover pork burger from Xi’an Famous Foods. I microwaved the burger (which we all know is much more like a bun than a burger) for about 30 seconds and then finished it off in a cast iron skillet to bring back some of the crisp exterior. OH MY GOD. The pork burger with harissa was unbelieveable! A match made in heaven, the absolute perfect compliment to Xi’an’s “pulled pork”
The next morning for breakfast I hade left over sauce from Xi’an’s cold skin noodles which I simply poured on two sunny side up eggs with toast. Again, an absolute homerun.
Can it be that anything from Xi’an tastes good no matter how long it’s been in the fridge?
What I’m interested in finding out is do any of you have a go-to recipe for restaurant leftovers? Is there ever a case where perhaps the 2nd day interpretation is better than the original?
One thing I always do with leftover mexican food (particularly the carnitas from Mexican Radio) is scramble it into eggs which has beconme one of my favorite breakfasts.
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Mexican Radio
19 Cleveland Pl, New York, NY 10012
Squid ink / cuttlefish ink risotto in Manhattan?
Bacaro has a good one:
http://bacaronyc.com/
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Bacaro
136 Division St, New York, NY 10002
Humane butcher in Manhattan?
not in manhattan but deliver to manhattan every thursday:
fleisher's, www.fleishers.com
great quality and ethically raised & slaughtered meat
highly recommended
blue hill tonight
going to blue hill for dinner tonight at 7. have an hour to kill beife hand and would like to gwet a drink nearby before hand. any recommendations for a quiet bar near blue hill with a good wine list? maybe a good happy hour?
thanks!
One-year Anniversary on the LES
could not agree enough with these suggestions
both are excellent
Good eats near Ave C and 2nd St?
Here’s a sandwich that is surprisingly good. It is by no means an elevated dining experience (it is Boar’s Head roast beef afterall…) but for a late night slam-wich it’s pretty serious and only $7. it did make the list… http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/05/the_101_best_sandwiches_in_new.html?f=most-commented-grub-7d5#photo=98x49417
Btw, it’s me JC (see stone pool)
See you this month!
Five Guys suggestion
Hello fellow hounds,
I am going to be killing time at Five Guys tonight and have always stayed pretty conservative there with my toppings choices: cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion + mmk.
I want to try something new and am wondering if any of you guys have a signature five guys burger
Let me know
Thanks!
Help! Why isn't there a single good chinese delivery restaurant in the East Village?
have you tried tina on 13th & 3rd? they seemt o deliver EVERYWHERE...
definitely not great but i used to order from them quite a bit and never had anything that made me feel sick... what a sad endorsement...
Lesser-known delights of NY Noodletown?
i really like the soy sauce chicken, the fried squid and shrimp wonton
must haves that close early
i feel the need to step up and defend shopsin's here.
I have eaten at shopsin’s maybe 20-30 times and have never had anything but delicious (no, not gourmet) comforting food in a warm, convivial and ENTERTAINING environment. It may sound funny but a lot of people walk into restaurants with feelings of entitlement and walk away feeling like they’ve been mistreated or taken advantage of. This often the case at peter luger for example… but just like with luger’s, the only people who I’ve heard complain about brusk service, etc at shopsin’s are the amateurs. I’ve spent most of my adult life working in restaurants and believe me when I say that nothing draws contempt from restaurant staff more quickly than an entitled attitude on behalf of the customer. Argue with me all you want but the customer is NOT always right, particularly in cases like shopsin’s, luger’s, etc. These are places with strong personalities that are known for a number of things beyond their good food. Going to shopsin’s is a unique experience and one that I would argue cannot be held to the standards of a generic restaurant. Kenny and Zack do use profane language while they are working but it’s not something that distracts this eater from the overall experience which I would say is overwhelmingly positive. Shopsin’s is a respectable family business and one that makes New York such a special place to live and eat. Gutsofsteel, I’m glad if you won’t be returning because it’s one less person for me to wait behind.
In NYC for the weekend- Best Modern Mexican Cuisine? authentic?
mexican radio (www.mexrad.com), el portal, or barrio chino would be my recommendations
Looking for the best cheesecake EVER
eileen's (17 clevend place) should definitely be included as a contender
Dudes
good call on jimmy's
grimey atmosphere, deliciously rich food, FANTASTIC beer selection. one thing that i personally appreciate about jimmy's that they place a lot of emphasis on only keeping a small number of beers on tap, ensuring that they neevr serve old beer.
the place is really loud on weekends but that may be something you guys ae in to...
Tapas - Boqueria?
well said ifat...
i ate here on monday and was unimpressed on every level...
overpriced, underwhelming food, poor service, unpleasant ambience...
i've found casa mono to be very hit or miss but i found boqueria to be a complete failure
Lucky Cheng's.. worth the trip?
just to echo on what everyone else has said:
-the food is AWFUL
-the place is gross. that's not a homophobic statement either. it's just a really filthy restaurant...
-i'd say that if you really have a desire to go there you should grab dinner and drinks somewhere else and then go there for a drink aafterwards and take in the spectacle. or if you want some of the worst chinese food you've ever had (and that would be quite a record!) grab a table!
Brasserie Cognac @ 55th and Broadway
i had a late lunch at cognac one friday about two months ago and found it to be completely unremarkable.
on the plus side the place is very clean and well maintained and nothing that we ate was especially bad. the service was at about 50%. what i mean is that the from our server to the host to the bartender everyone was very friendly and accomodating but none of them seemed like they had any familiarity with the menu or even french food- no joke the server actually said "steak frights".
during the meal there were several small things, not necessailry deal breakers, but small annoyances that kept happening:
-one of the people i was with ordered two appetizers for his meal. he made it very clear to the server that he was ordering them as his entree but they both came out together as part oft he 1st course.
-my steak was cut into small pieces when it got to me. visually it was very pretty but i'm a grown man who can cut his own steak and all this presentation did was allow all the juices to leak out
-drink orders came out wrong
-we asked for more bread which did not come until after we paid the bill (!?!?!?!?!)
-etc etc
over all the food was fine, nothing mind-blowing, but the spotty service with mediocrity of the food left us with zero desire to return
New(ish) place on Clinton?
and 25th? i was, perhaps mistakenly, under the impression that cheapnspicy was referring to clinton st in the lower east side, like between delancey and houston- no?
help at russ & daughters?
you are correct in that yes, you CAN get smoked salmon in a lot of places, but not of the quality that Russ and Daughters serves
help at russ & daughters?
the bialys are from Kossar's- do you know a better place to get bialys than Kossar's?
inexpensive Nolita or SoHo brunch
at $10 you're going to have a difficult time...
i'd recommend noho star- more than $10 a head but it's quite tasty
