Mitch & Toni's Horrible Service

Went to dinner as a foursome at Mitch & Toni's American Bistro on Willis Avenue in Albertson, NY. This is a fairly new restaurant, and my understanding is that it was the same team as Bistro M in Glen Head NY. The new space, originally a Friendly's which has had several iterations, including its most recent as Gondola, is attractive, but small. We had an 8:15 reservation, and despite showing up on time, were forced to stand at the door for half an hour. Our entrees didn't come to the table until ten to ten. We were never offered an opportunity to look at the wine list, and our waiter, who seemed disinterested, never told us what the specials were until we asked. The acoustics are absolutely horrendous, forcing you to shout to be heard by others in our own party. The food is okay, but believe me, the acoustics and indifferent service really spoil the night. I really could not recommend going to this place at peak hours.

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Bistro M Restaurant
70 Glen Head Road, Glen Head, NY 11545

American Bistro
296 Columbus Avenue, Tuckahoe, NY 10707

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

Anniversary Dinner in NYC: Marea, A Voce, Corton, or Aldea?

Great food, a little overpriced, very uncomfortable chairs, far too low for the tables. Very confused waitstaff with an inordinate number of them milling about aimlessly, without any clear idea of which ones were assigned to our tabel. Would skip a return visit, despite the great pasta dishes and appetizers and desserts.

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A Voce
41 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010

petergreen in Manhattan

Pick your own Apples?

I did not care for Outhouse Orchards at all. The apples were not all ripe, the crowds were terrible, the fried foods really smelled bad, and the trees were so tall, you have to use poles to pick the apples, and there aren't enough supplied.

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

Portland for 5 days - Need recs

The Nines has a great bar for Happy Hour with Tapas that are excellent.

petergreen in Metro Portland

Castagna with older kids?

We ate there with a ten year old and a twelve year old and had a great meal, and were treated very well.

petergreen in Metro Portland

I5 thru Oregon, where to eat with kids?

We visited Crater Lake National Park with kids. We were astounded to find a really nice restaurant, in the middle of nowhere, about an hour from the west side of Crater Lake in a little town called shady cove. Madrone Kitchen was a very chowhound worthy place, with a beautiful room overlooking a river. Great wine list, made up almost exclusively of Oregon wines, and nearly all ingredients are local. we would highly recommend. http://www.madronekitchen.com/

petergreen in Pacific Northwest

Oregon Coast (Depoe Bay, Newport)

I just wanted to add that I recently came back from a trip to Oregon. We found the Side Door in Gleneden Beach to be a very nice bistro, with a great wine list, and terrific entrees. An alternative to the somewhat overpriced restaurant at the Salishan resort where we were staying.

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Side Door Cafe
6645 Gleneden Beach Loop, Gleneden Beach, OR 97388

petergreen in Pacific Northwest

Coffee Micro Roaster Manhasset

Believe me, this is definitely not a web oriented business. I wouldn't expect a fancy web page.

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

Best Greek Restaurant in Queens

I just ate at Philoxenia last night. What a terrific place. The owners are so nice, and the food was great. My wife and I both had grilled fish as entrees. The wine list is very short, but the waitress picked out a greek wine for us, Amethystan, which was great, not too dry, not too sweet. It was a blend of an indigenous Greek grape and a sauvignon blanc. The appetizers, really tapas sized, are terrific. I had the goat cheese, which was lightly grilled, very tangy.

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Philoxenia
32-07 34th Ave, Queens, NY 11106

petergreen in Outer Boroughs

Coffee Micro Roaster Manhasset

I have just found a microroaster in Manhasset, NY, who does a great job of roasting coffees, and is very friendly and reasonable. The location is rather odd, however. The business is located in an office which is connected to a realtor, Kappeli, at 426 Plandome Road, Manhasset, NY. There is no coffee bar, no posters, no cool lighting, guys with piercings, punk music, etc. It's just an office, but the owner, Kurt, roasts some really great stuff and will sell you a bag on the spot. I gather that most of his business is wholesale, and most of his roasting is done offsite, but he has a few small roasters that can roast a couple of pounds at a time, and he is willing to sell retail (at least he was to me.) The company is called Globus. Their phone is 516 304 5780.

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

FLR: Sostanza, Cibreo Trattoria, Baldini, others?

At Sostanza, you can get bistecca fiorentina for one. My wife and I easily finished ours. I would also make reservations, and bring cash. No credit cards. And if you can't get in, go to Centopovere down the block.

petergreen in Italy

Looking to go off the beaten path in Italy

I agree about Lucca being a beautiful destination. Very walkable city with a wall that circles it which is perfect for strolling. We wanted to eat at Gigi, but didn't have reservations (it was a Saturday night) so instead found a very cute place run by a husband and wife on Via St. Giorgio, 26, which was Osteria San Giorgio. They had great Cinghiale steaks, and pasta dishes for the kids. Lucca is not really known as a foodie's town, but we were very pleased with Osteria Via S. Giorgio. Their telephone is 0583 953233

petergreen in Italy

Family of 4 in Rome (Piazza Navona)

I just came back from a trip with my wife and our two boys who are pre-teens. We had a fantastic vacation. We mainly ate in trattorie so that we wouldn't have to worry about the boys sitting too long. As it turned out, our kids loved dining out in Italy so much, it really wasn't a problem. In Rome, we had lunch right near the Pantheon in a very nice enoteca, beautifully decorated , known as Capranica. The service was very friendly, and the food and the wine list were fabulous. Even the music was good, we asked the maitre'd to tell us what was playing, and he took the time to look up what cd was on (It was Diana Krall). You should also consider taking a taxi (not sure if the subway goes there) to a neighborhood called Testaccio. Do a search on this board for recommendations. It is a blue collar neighborhood that is up and coming, and there are some great trattorie there. We ate at one called Il Cantinone (the big urn) which is at Piazza Testaccio, 31. The lighting in these trattorie is usually a little garish, due to cfls being used, but the food was fabulous. We had the mixed fritti, different deep fried vegetables, almost like Italian tempura. I also had a great pasta dish with oxtail (coda is the Italian word for tail.) I didn't work up the courage to try the pasta con fejata, which is calves' gut. The steak at il Cantinone was great too, as were the huge bowls of gelati they served.

petergreen in Italy

Looking for Bistecca alla Florentina in Florence....

I second the Sostanza recommendation. We had a terrific time there, I had bistecca fiorentina, so rare, it almost looked raw, but it tasted fantastic. we had to get a reservation, as we could not get in two nights prior, so our concierge made it. Then we forgot they did not take credit cards, so we walked in almost an hour late, because I couldn't find an ATM nearby. They were very gracious about it. This was on a midweek night. The crowd was roughly half tourists, half locals. My kids had pasta, and they made it fabulously well. I couldn't understand that they don't serve coffee, however.

petergreen in Italy

Italy--Rome and Florence with kids

I'll be taking my two sons, 9 and 11 to Italy soon, and would want to know if Checchino dal 1887 was too formal to take kids. They are pretty good as far as restaurant behavior is, but naturally, their attention spans are shorter than those of adults, and therefore long, slow white table cloth meals are out.
Also would welcome suggestions for small towns to visit in Tuscany that are worth seeing, not too touristy, and have good places for lunch--San Gimignano obviously comes to mind--as does Greve--any others? We'll have a car in Tuscany, but not in Rome.
In Rome we will be staying near the Colosseum. Any good places to eat near there?

petergreen in Italy

Brass Rail, Locust Valley

Ate there about a month ago after the Long Island section of the Times raved about it. I was disappointed with the service, and with the food. I had fish and chips. The chips (fries) were the skinniest shoe string fries I had ever seen, skinnier than angel hair pasta. they made for an unusual presentation, but the thinness meant they were nothing but grease. Not appropriate for fish and chips, which should be nice thick steak fries. My wife ate something which was so forgettable, I forget what she had. Nice pretty bar, nice atmosphere for watching a ball game, but certainly didn't deserve the rave that Florence Starkey of the Times gave it.

petergreen in General Tristate Archive

Sanibel for 3 meals, whats best?

I've been going to Sanibel for years. I really like Traders, on Periwinkle. It has a lunch menu, a good bar, a good wine list, live music a couple of nights a week and a great store you can shop in while waiting for a table. Also, IMHO, Timbers is very reliable for fresh fish, sort of a family place but dependable. '
Island Cow is good for cheap family food. McT's has good shrimp, so so atmosphere. Twilight cafe is also good. La Vigna is overpriced. Mad Hatters is excellent, but very pricey.

petergreen in Florida

New Haven Lunch If you had One Choice what

Thanks to the poster who recommended Thali Too on Broadway, just off the Yale campus. It was an excellent vegetarian Indian, with hip decor, pretty cool Indian music, and two dollar beers (sorry, can't remember the kind of German beer I had, but they had good beers on tap, including Magic Hat) on Sunday afternoon. I had the Uthappam, which is a kind of pancake, and the Masala Papad, a side dish which is sort of an Indian version of crustini, diced tomatoes and onions on a very thin crispy chip like "pastry" made from chick peas. I was "overhungry" when I went there, so I ordered in a hurry, and didn't have time to study the menu. They have a whole section of "street vendor style snacks" from Bombay and Delhi, which look very appealing. I will definitely go back the next time I am in New Haven.

petergreen in General New England Archive

New Wine Bar in Port Washington--"Vintage Port"

ChaCha, the only time I have eaten in Bistro du Village was shortly after it opened, and the service was really awful. Our waiter clearly had never worked in the restaurant business ever. Has the Bistro gotten over its service problems?

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

New Wine Bar in Port Washington--"Vintage Port"

There's a new wine bar in Port Washington, which we tried last night after the Shelby Lynne concert at the Landmark. It's located on Main Street, across the street from the Port Washington Clearview Theater, in the old North Winds Coffee bar location.
They have a nice wine list, and the tapas menu looked interesting, although none of our party ate anything, we just drank. I do hope that this place stays in business. The old tenant, Northwinds, never really seemed to care whether he stayed in business or not. The decor is very nice, and they have a small bar, a few tables, and a little lounge area right as you walk in. One small criticism, the glass of water which I had tasted had a refrigerator taste-- probably from stale ice.

In addition to a nice list of whites and reds, they have about five beers and some ciders.
I do hope some chowhounders will patronize the place and let me know what their thoughts are.

petergreen in New York State (exc. New York City)

Jackson Hole Food Review

I just got back from a week in Jackson, Wy,, which is what the locals call Jackson Hole. (Jackson Hole refers to the entire valley which is about seventy miles long.) Jackson is a very small town, population around 7000, but it does seem to know what it is doing restaurant wise. We had kids, so the Snake River Grille was out. We ate one night at the Cadillac Grille. The place was crowded, as it is right in the heart of the tourist district, next to the Cowboy Bar. We had excellent cocktails, followed by a mixed grille of game animals, buffalo, elk and wild boar sausage, all of which were prepared fairly well. My wife had trout, which she reported to be good. My kids had personal pizzas. The service was a little slow, although in fairness, the place was mobbed. One thing I noticed was how badly some tourists dress when they go out-- sweatpants, t-shirts, flip-flops. C'mon, people, it's not your den. Two days later we had lunch at the Snake River Brewery, which has some quite tangy, spicy and generally suprerior chili. I also had a brat there, served with sauerkraut. They do brew some excellent beer, although the atmosphere and service could stand some improvement. As I mentioned on another thread, the pizza at Leek's Marina in Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone, and about forty miles north of Jackson, (which out west is close) was worth seeking out. Breakfast at Shades was something of a disappointment. Good coffee can be found at the Hard Drive cafe, a little away from the touristy area, near the new post office on the west edge of town. Also, the ice cream at Moo's which is in the back of a hat store (?!) was worth looking for. It is on Broadway near the town square. 100% organic homemade ice cream. The English Toffee was great. So I would say that it is entirely possible to find good dining in Jackson and Jackson Hole. And, oh, yes, the Bar J Chuck wagon dinner is sui generis. Good steak, self serve buffet style followed by a "hee haw" type Western swing/ old-timey Cowboy music show. Corny, but oddly good, and the steaks weren't bad.

petergreen in Mountain States

Grand Teton & Yellowstone Nat'l Parks

I want to second Leek's marina as a place to get excellent whole wheat dough flat crust pizza. This was a real God-send as it is open until ten pm. After spending all day in Yellowstone, then getting in the car for the long drive back to Jackson Hole (locals just call it Jackson) we were hungry. Colter Bay's restaurants close at nine, but Leek's stays open until ten. Great local craft beer on tap also. It is located in Grand Teton National Park, towards the north end of Grand Teton, and about an hour south of Old Faithful. The help was extremely friendly. There isn't much of a sign up, so you have to look closely or you will miss it.

petergreen in Mountain States

Grand Teton & Yellowstone Nat'l Parks

We had a decent meal at the Lake Hotel, which is on Lake Yellowstone. Great steak medallions, cooked just right. Service was friendly and prompt. I have read this is the best dining by far in Yellowstone.

petergreen in Mountain States

Dinner tonight on the 1, 2, or 3 train?

I just went to Tia Pol last night for a couple of glasses of wine, and some tapas. The potato tapas was excellent. The wine list is terrific, but ordering by the glass can be rather expensive, considering that a lot of wines these wines can be had from Wine Library for ten or eleven dollars. I know restaurants have to mark up wine and I don't have a problem with that, but the pour was rather stingy, I felt. Other than that, Tia Pol is a good tapas bar, with a very young crowd late Friday night (at least for me, I am three times eighteen.)

petergreen in Manhattan

Good Italian Deli and Bakery in Nassau

They are relatives of the owners of the place in Manorhaven that closed after a flood.

petergreen in General Tristate Archive

Building a list of LI coffeehouses

Scratch Northwinds of Port washington off the list. They went out of business.

petergreen in General Tristate Archive

Luquillo area restaurant

Second that Ramiro's rec. Excellent place. A little on the formal side, dress wise.

petergreen in South & Central America & the Caribbean

Port of San Juan--3pm-10pm

Mrs. Peter Green and I recently ate at Panza. An amazing restaurant in the Cervantes boutique hotel, very close to the Port of San Juan in the Old San Juan restaurant row. Fabulous codfish, and very nice cheese platter for dessert.. good service too.

petergreen in South & Central America & the Caribbean

Kid friendly near the Javits Center?

Thanks for suggestions.

petergreen in Manhattan