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East End Waterfront Restaurant for 90th birthday lunch?
Manhattan Hound here: Wanted to take my 90 year old grandmother out for a birthday lunch to a nice place with water views on the East End of Long Island. Would be myself and wife, 1 year old son, my mom and aforementioned grandmother for lunch. The food doesn't need to be spectacular, but passable - best equivalent I've seen is the Snapper Inn in Oakdale, but wanted to be further out than that. Lobster Inn (Southampton) looked like an option but couldn't tell if the food is merely passable or really bad.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
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Lobster Inn
162 Inlet Rd, Southampton, NY 11968
upper west side dessert place
I'd go with Edgar's Cafe, I also think that Cafe Lalo is overpriced and past its prime.
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Edgar's Cafe
255 W 84th St, New York, NY 10024
Calorie count violators/Hale and Hearty
Not exactly fine dining, but I went to Hale and Hearty tonight to grab dinner for my wife and myself to have at home. Haven't been in quite a while but always remember liking their soups and salads (compared to a standard deli).
I was pretty shocked at how awful the signage is for information on calorie counts. The soups' information was primarily only posted on the tiny white labels next to the soup containers (even though they had written it on the board for the monthly special, but not for anything else). For the salad ingredients there were huge groups of ingredients that had an overall calorie range of "5-160" and "10-210". Other issues but those were the big ones I remember. My wife informs me that they're all like this.
Most other places that post the information aren't totally upfront about it, but at least you can pretty easily reverse-engineer into most true calorie counts. It's basically impossible at Hale & Hearty, and they clearly want it that way. I totally think that goes against the spirit of the regulations..
I'm a big supporter of the calorie information (unlike the A/B/C grade thing which I don't like). I'd actually eat at more delis if I had any idea of the ingredients and calorie information, but standalone delis aren't mandated so I skip em usually. Anyway, anyone ever filed a complaint with the DOH about this sort of thing? I looked on the DOH website and all I can see is how to complain about smoking violations...
Family Style Italian
I haven't been in a while (maybe 3 years?) but the few times I've been to Sambuca I thought it was perfectly fine . Definitely better than Carmine's, and probably better than Tony's. Dean's is a good recommendation too, although it's always struck me as a bit more of a place to go with a bunch of kids.
Sub $35 Steak - Mission Impossible?
Porterhouse has a $35 prix fixe with a hanger steak or something similar. At least they did a few weeks ago. It's a pretty fantastic deal honestly...
Dinner for four, midtownish, outdoor space
Once a month my wife and I and another couple have dinner out and try somewhere new/somewhere we haven't been recently. My wife's pregnant and working in Midtown (near Bryant Park) so wanted to do somewhere local to there (although if we had to go anywhere would be straight up towards the UWS). We'd love to go somewhere with outdoor space, although light and airy would probably work.
Recent places our little foursome has gone to are Mercadito, Tabla, Accademia de Vino, Kefi.. So midrange prices, although can go a little bit pricier. No particular food likes/dislikes, although not a fan of small plate/tapas stuff:)
Any ideas? Much appreciated!
Your 10 favorite Manhattan restaurants?
No order
Crispo
Le Bernadin
Nougatine
Porterhouse
Tamarind
Kefi
Telepan
Keen's
Gramercy Tavern
Pearl Oyster Bar
UWS BEST ITALIAN?
Of the "high-end" places I like Cesca the most. Gennaro and Celeste are good but I dislike the jammed-in seating and I think both have a pretty limited menu..But lots do like them. Of the "plain ol' Italian" restaurants, I'm a fan of Coppola's as well (79th b/t Amsterdam and Broadway), and Papperdelle (75th and Columbus) is pretty good.
There is a brand-new Italian in the space that Neptune Room was in (Amsterdam between 84th and 85th) - I think the name is "Cafe Luna"? It may be opening tonight or tomorrow based on the appearance so that might be worth a look if you want to be experimental.
Not that it helps you much right now, but Accademia de Vino is opening a UWS branch in July/August that I'm sure will be great.
UWS, Sushi Date Place
It's not a "real" sushi place, but I like Amber (around 70th on Columbus) quite a bit. The back room is pretty cool and they have a great green tea margarita. I think it's a bit more trendy than most sushi places which always strike me as very boring inside. That said I've been married for 10 years, so maybe my idea of a good date place is way off-base:)
Whym Review (long-ish)
I probably haven't been in about two months, but generally have enjoyed it there. Can't say my review would be as glowing as yours, but it is a pretty good spot for that neighborhood.
Seafood Please! Harbour? Mermaid Inn? John Dory?
This might not be in the vein you are thinking about as it doesn't have an extensive raw bar (but very good) and is definitely a bit more casual, but I went to Pearl Oyster Bar recently and absolutely loved it... Mermaid Inn I think is "fine" but not spectacular, even though it's a nicer ambiance than Pearl.
B. Cafe (UWS)
I agree 100%. I have been 4-5 times now, and have enjoyed pretty much everything I've had. Definitely prefer the main courses to the apps - I haven't found an app that I really love, but nothing that bad. Have had a few of the different moules frites (all good, curry the best), the fish & chips, chicken vol au vent, even the chicken sandwich - all good. The burger I think is the best reasonably-priced burger in this neighborhood, thank god for that. Love the fries, for sure. Love the beer selection, and the staff has always been quite good.
It is just a neighborhood addition, but I think it's a great one.
UWS Restaurants
A lot (not all:)) of the recos so far seem a little bit out of the same range of what you have listed so far. Here's a few more that seem to be a bit more in-range.
Coppola's
B Cafe
Rancho Cafe
Isabella's
Pappardelle
Bella Sguardo
Bettola
Charm Thai
None are high-end, or mind-blowingly good.. All are pretty neighborhood-y.. but most have been around for a while and when I just want a local nice dinner, I've been happy pretty much always.
Telepan
For apps, I'm a fan of the brook trout and the sashimi. Midcourses I like nearly everything, but particularly a fan of the tortelloni, dumplings, pierogis. On the mains I love the chicken dishes (just great "old standbys"), pork and any fish. The steak I will admit can be hit or miss, I'm not the biggest fan of the current menu item for that...
Telepan
I've always been an advocate of Telepan (check my prior posts:)), and will continue to say that it is excellent. I was there a few weeks ago and had great service and food. Brought a few friends from out-of-town and they really loved it too. Big kudos from me.
Small Business Dinner UWS
Telepan has a small, separated area that I think would seat 8 people comfortably.. It's not completely private, and looks out onto the main dining room, but that might be an option.
Best Delivery Upper West Side
This is a lot of the places I order from as well. My go-to Thai these days is Charm, which I like a lot more than Land personally.. I agree on the Chinese front. I order from Hunan typically.. sometimes it is quite good and other times it's really kinda bad.
For Italian I really like Coppola's. The one time I ate at La Vela I thought it was awful so have avoided that.
I'm a fan of Pinch/Smac these days for pizza (and the mac and cheese).. Not traditional of course but I think it's pretty tasty. I haven't ordered in from Dean's but the pizza there isn't bad either.
Accademia de Vino - UES
I've been a few times and enjoyed it each time. The pizzas are particularly good, but I've liked everything.
Lunch for 60 on the east side
Looking to organize lunch for my office at a very reasonable place (e.g., $30/pp after tax/tip, just soda/water). Murray Hill/Gramercy area would be great - and we know that we get what we pay for.:) We've been looking at Blue Smoke, Tonic, Galway Hooker, HIll Country. Some are probably out of our price range, but wondering if anyone has any bright ideas...
Last-minute dinner: how's Telepan these days?
I hadn't been in a few months but stopped by this weekend - it's just as fantastic as I remember. I had the Pumpkin Gnocchi and the steak, and my wife had the beet pierogi and the chicken - both were fantastic. We ate at the bar, so was a bit more of a casual night out, but I think Telepan is very much in the same league as Gramercy, etc.
Romantic Dinner in UES or UWS
A few ideas (west side only, from me)
- Telepan @ Columbus & 69th has an excellent fall menu, no view though.
- Dovetail @ Columbus & 77th is also quite good, also no view
- Porterhouse in the Time Warner Center - I think is a pretty good steakhouse - which may make it hard to totally qualify as "romantic", but it is very female-friendly and does have excellent views of the park if you can get a window seat. The only other TWC restaurant I've eaten at is Landmarc (which would not qualify as romantic) so I can't say if the others have good views and/or meet your criteria.
That's my list for now.. Hope that helps!
Upper West Side Italian
I'm a fan of Coppola's (79th between Amsterdam and Broadway), and Pappardelle (75th and Columbus)... Both are pretty reasonable and fairly standard stuff.
Ed Witt opens Bloomingdale Road on the UWS where AIX used to be
Has anyone been more recently? It's across the street from me, so I am very tempted to try it, but the reviews have been so bad that it just doesn't seem worth it.. I was never the hugest fan of Aix, but I did enjoy the burger and the wine list, so if they have a decent item or two and a good wine list (and aren't incompetent), I'll be happy to have somewhere nice to go occasionally that is so close...
Dovetail; review nights
Don't mean to derail http://www.chowhound.com/topics/487287, but I had a slightly different topic that I figured I'd post about. Feel free to ignore if I'm just talking to myself. :)
My wife, a friend and myself went to Dovetail for my wife's birthday - 2/12, the night of the snow/ice storm last week. We had an 8:30 reservation and go there at about 10 after 8. Had a drink at the bar, and everything was quite nice. We were seated on time.
At that point, it did take 10-15 minutes before anyone came over to ask us about drinks or what we'd like to order. In general, I felt that the service was pretty spotty all night.
As for the food, I had the chowder/lamb, my wife had the brussel sprout leaves/sirloin + lasagna, our friend had the gnocchi/duck. In general I found the apps to be far superior to the entrees. The entrees weren't bad, but nothing that special, and as mentioned in other places, the portions are quite small. Desserts were good.
The point of separating this post from the other one was a thought I had. After reading Bruni's 3-star review yesterday (aside from being shocked about 3 stars), I realized that it's extremely likely that we were there one of the nights he was (unless there was another ice storm recently that I've blocked out of my mind). I read the Eater story today that they claim not to have known he was there, but I have my suspicious.
The service was missing-in-action enough that it makes me wonder if all hands were on deck to make Frank's experience good, and who cares about the rest of the customers. I was curious about other people's experience with being at restaurants the night that a big reviewer is there, and how they think it may have affected their experience.
In my mind, with the advent of Zagat, Chowhound, etc., restaurant reviewers are getting less and less important (although still the single most important group that can help/hurt a restaurant's prospects); however it seems that more and more attention is heaped on this small number of people.
Anyway, Dovetail: meh. I'll go back, but don't think it adds anything that special to the neighborhood, and still think that Telepan is the best up on the UWS.
Great Indian Food W.79St. and above
Indus Valley at 100th/Bway is the best in the neighborhood.. Swagat was good but I've found it has gone downhill in the last year.
Big Group w/ lots of kids - where to go?
Nieces and nephews and in-laws are coming in from Long Island and Ireland (how's that for some trans-atlanticism). 13 people in total, 6 kids, 7 adults. Kids range from 6-15 - almost all are pretty picky eaters (as are some of the parents). Was thinking of going to Patsy's/John's/Dean's - but none take reservations and I'm not sure I can deal with waiting around with a huge party of kids who are freaking out about their dinner... It's for Dec 22 (Saturday) in the evening (5:30-6:00), so I'm expecting a lot of places will be massively overcrowded.
Flexible to go anywhere north of 40th street, west or east side. Best would be east 40s/50s/60s, but that's not a big deal.... Was thinking about some place like Carmine's or Sambuca, but not sure whether that is a bit too "sophisticated" for this crowd - scary thought.
Main issue is just finding somewhere accessible that actually takes reservations...
Help!:)
4 nights in Lisbon
Just returned from a long weekend in Lisbon, figured I'd write up a few thoughts for Chowhounds who end up taking a weekend there.
Quick note: Lisbon is great! I've been to most other western European countries and Portugal definitely is worth a trip. Nice people, enough to see, but not so much that you feel stressed about it.. Perfect for a long weekend.
Now to the food!
Solar dos Presuntos (Rossio): Do not let the diner-like atmosphere turn you off, this is the real deal! The service is "eh", the decor is borderline hideous, but the food is spectacular. Between my wife and I, we had the shrimp in garlic & oil, stuffed scallops, grilled stone bass and the shrimp/lobster rice dish (I forget the name, sorry). All were outstanding. Wine list is pretty good, absolutely worth a trip. Lots of local - they were watching the Finland/Portugal game the night we were there, which was awesome.
Sacramento (Chiado): Cool vibe, much better decor and service. It's inside an old monastery or convent, and a really nice room. Food was very good. Not quite as good as Solar, but definitely worth a trip. Had shrimp in garlic & oil, bacalhau (with the toasted bread, this was quite delicious), tuna steak.. All very good.
Lisboa Noite (Bairro Alto): Pretty good. Service started out spotty - had a 10:15 ressy, got there early, waited at their "bar" (which is really just some seats, not a real bar), and didn't get seated until 10:40ish.. That's ok, we order, had pretty good service once we sat down, and decent food. Nothing to write home about. Desserts in particular were not great. Bacalhau here was definitely lacking compared to Sacramento. Pretty cool room.
Papa'corda (Bairro Alto): Found the service here to be extremely lacking. My wife commented that all of the servers were male, with shaved heads - not sure if this is a thing in Lisbon, but that combined with the fact that they all wear shirts that make them look like they have tattoos makes the place seem like it is run by skinheads - not too pleasant. Anyway, food was pretty good, but definitely the weakest of the four, room is pretty cool but nothing to write home about (the side room is better than the main room); but again, the service here is what made this my least favorite - they were slow and not attentive at all.. I was pouring our own wine a few times and had it snatched away so they could pour it - but the only reason I was pouring it was because our glasses had sat empty.. Anyway, skip this place, I heard it was cool in the past, seems like it is living off past glory right now.
That's all, sorry I only wrote up the specific food from the first two, the rest of it wasn't that memorable!
Basically we found that the trendier the place
