chowsue's Profile
Food trucks and Street Meat website/map
Bob's your Uncle!
Thanks for the great info. :-)
Food trucks and Street Meat website/map
"other areas"...NO! Not necessarily. Remember, NYC's street meat foodie scene has BLOWN UP only in the past few years. There are parts of the world that have excellent street food scenes that will rival sit-down establishments.....for a long, long time. Think Thailand, Vietnam, all over SE Asia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Carribean, South America.....
Thanks for the links!
Food trucks and Street Meat website/map
go visit Thailand, Vietnam, or even NY, and will you will understand the excitement over street food. I would rather eat a Bun Cha from the street in Hanoi, sitting on a tiny blue stool on the sidewalk, than to blow $300 on a pretentious meal at PerSe in NYC (done and done). That said, luxury dining establishments have their place, but street food, at its best, will knock your socks off. But hell, if you don't believe me, ask Anthony Bourdain, who travels the world to eat food, as his job. Just saying. The whole point is not cheap food on your way home. If you think so, you missed the whole point. The whole point is gourmet food, innovative, without the constraints and limitations of "tradition".
DOUBLE HUZZAH! ALDI EAST RUTHERFORD IS NOW OPEN!
don't agree at all. Sorry. Are we talking about the same store? The Aldis East Rutherford?? The Food Basics in Wallington?? I am so confused.
Or are you comparing Food Basics in some other area to Aldis in some other area?
The Aldis in ER had something like 4 aisles. It is small. Food Basics is easily twice the size.
I have never had to wait at Food Basics for more than a few minutes on line, and I have shopped there for 7 years.
I would not compare the Aldis in ER to Trader Joes. No way. Are you referring to a different branch maybe??
Food trucks and Street Meat website/map
How is the food truck and street meat scene in London??
From reading the **few** threads here, and a few articles elsewhere, it seems it is growing, but not quite like it is in other areas yet.
In NY, we have a fabulous website midtownlunch.com that lists and reviews all the options in that burgeoning scene. It also has a twitter tracker to help folks find the trucks, since they park in different spots every day. There is also newyorkstreetfood.com which rocks, lots of food porn. There are iPad apps for food locators with maps, etc.
Any websites/apps like that in London yet?
London - Olympic Park
30 minutes there (with security) and 30 minutes back is too long for a lunch, yes.
London Restaurants for Single Women
Good to know. I have dined all over the world, solo at times. I have no problem with walking into the fanciest of the restaurants in NYC, and other big Westernized cities- with no magazine in hand! I realized quickly in Asian countries it was a big cultural no no. Glad to hear London will be comfortable for solo female diners.
London - Olympic Park
the View Tube and Greenway look cool. But googlemaps indicates it is a 20 minute walk! And Westifield looks to be 25 minute walk. With 30-40 minutes each way, accounting for security, this is not looking promising for lunch.
London - Olympic Park
Is there any good eats (restaurants, cafes, street food, whatever) near the Olympic Park within walking distance? I can't find any info at all!
Chocolate Expo, Secaucus NJ Report
Chocolate Expo? Sign me up!
I've been to the Chocolate Show in NY and LOVED it. So when I found out about the one in nearby Secaucus, I gathered a group of friends and eagerly barreled to the Chocolate Expo.
Boy, what a letdown.
There were so many problems with this Expo, I do not know where to begin.
Most importantly...where the chocolate at??
There were 70 booths, and only about 7 had chocolate. There were pretzels, cupcakes, Greek dips, wine, lemonade....Greek dips?? Of the 7, only 2 of the chocolate offerings were even any good. It would have been fairer to bill this as a food expo, to avoid any confusion.
From what I remember of the NY Chocolate show, every booth was chocolate. There was no Greek dips to be found. Furthermore, the Ny version was filled to the brim with gourmet chocolate offerings. The NJ one had several booths with Whitman-quality chocolate. Hardly worth the $15 admission.
Let's move to samples. Lots of booths were not even offering samples. Why charge $15 if you need to come in and buy everything anyway? Skip the admission fee if that is going to be the case. Also, from a marketing perspective, when you offer samples, your sales go up exponentially. Don't offer samples, and you are penny-wise, pound-foolish. You have a captive audience, and let me tell you..everyone there is looking for samples. I could tell from watching my friends only- evey single thing they sampled they bought. Everything not being offered as a sample, they skipped and moved onto the next booth.
And crowded. Ok, we understand the crowds. Everyone loves chocolate. But pushy, inconsiderate, selfish crowds. Other Expos I have been to, every lines up and is is respectful. This was crowds of people bum-rushing each booth for samples. Uncomfortable and obnoxious. The only booth with a line was the Cabot Creamery, and tons of people were pretending they did not see the line, and cutting off people to get their cheddar. People don't see what they don't want to see.
What a &&%-show let down.
DOUBLE HUZZAH! ALDI EAST RUTHERFORD IS NOW OPEN!
They don't take manufacturer coupons and their circular was pathetic. I can't see myself shopping here. I may keep them in mind if they do indeed have .99 eggs. Otherwise, Food Basics is the same concept and has great prices, no frills. And Food Basics takes credit and debit cards, Aldi is cash only I hear.
They don't even have a phone # for me to call and ask a question.
Hey, the more competition in the area, the better. East Rutherford has never had a grocery store, so this is a good thing.
No store beats Shoprite though, if you use coupons.
Petrossian for non-Restaurant week?
RW has been extended to feb 27!!! Petrossian is participating for lunch, dinner, and Sunday dinner too! Maybe I will try it. I just realized I have never been there.
Is it good anyone?
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Petrossian
182 W 58th St, New York, NY 10019
Is anyone doing restaurant week this time?
I think it did matter. I went to 4 places this RW and 3 of 4 were completely empty. One night was the big "ice storm", another was lunch during a wicked cold day, and another was after a snow storm.
I think the restaurants had a bad RW, and want to give it another try.
I say hurrah!! Let's eat some more great food at great prices!
Are there Restaurant Week themes?
trends this RW? Definitely.
Salmon. Chicken. Seafood chowder. Terrines. Farro risotto. I hit 4 restaurants this time so far, and felt like I saw the menu already each time. LOL.
VERY unoriginal. I was disappointed this year. I usually hit up 4-5 joints each RW and never saw such repitition like this.
Restaurant Week!!
very helpful of you to take the time to compile a bunch of old conversations about past year's RW and only one thread from this time around.
I think coms76 is looking for fresh conversation and not threads full of discussion about restaurants that may not even be participating this time around.
I would recommend Aldea. It was amazing. I hear recently (thanks chowhound!) they may have a year round prix fixe, though, so you may hold off to try that one if that matters to you. However, the RW prixe fixe may be different than the regular one (if there is one), and it was amazing...so I feel it is worth doing.
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Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011
restaurant week
yes I did River Cafe one RW, and loved it. The view is great, the experience is fun. Good times.
Restaurant week 2011 musts and must nots
I think Adour and Breslin are not included in RW. FYI.
I did not enjoy Rouge Tomate.
Aquavit and Nobu are good choices IMHO.
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Nobu
105 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013
Rouge Tomate
10 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022
The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001
Restaurant week 2011 musts and must nots
yes, lunch.
Not sure about the year round prix fixe. I went during RW and it was amazing.
Room Service Thai on 18th and 8th?
I've been to this one and love it. I go to the one on 9th avenue VERY frequently with a crowd of Thais.
I love it! The decor is funky, the bartenders and waitstaff are sexy, flirty, fun. The food is actually delicious! The price is reasonable.
We went the first time expecting to hate it. But the food was so darn good, we go all the time now. We took one look at the decor and the staff and laughed, saying "this can't be good". But it is!
It is one of the few Thai joints in town that has a fun, funky vibe, without the "takeout joint" feel. And it has good food too.
The food is not exactly traditional. They push the limits and experimented a little. But hey, guess what? If you go to Bangkok as often as we do, you will find that is what happens. There is a place for traditional, but there is also a NEED for experimental.
No, you will not find the tuna tartare on the menu at Wondees or Pam's. But guess what? It is amazing!
No, you will not find the basil seafood black pasta on the menu at Sriphaphai. But guess what? It works. It is good.
Please do not take advice from folks that go around saying "oh so-so restaurant has the BEST Pad Thai".
I strongly do not agree with Lucia and Nigel. I love it. Remain open-minded and give it a try.
Bun cha?
Any place to get bun cha in NY (including outer borough)? I had some in Hanoi recently and am dying to have some more without having to deal with jet lag for a week.
This blog discusses the best bun cha in Vietnam, so you can get a sense of what I am craving...
http://www.myeggnoodles.com/bun-cha-at-dac-kim-hanoi.html
What are YOUR 9th Avenue favorites?
DH used to live around there when we were dating, so I think we have hit up almost every joint there over the years.
I love Hell's Kitchen. 9th avenue rocks. Not pretentious and great food.
Love:
Room Service
Pure Thai Shophouse
Wondee
Pam's Thai
Uncle Nick's
Marseille
Mee Noodle
Delta Grill
Hate:
Pete's since 1969
Esca
a few of the boring Italian joints (don't remember the names)
Kyotofu
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Kyotofu
705 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Marseille
630 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Esca
402 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036
Wondee Siam
792 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Pam Real Thai
404 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019
Delta Grill
700 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036
Uncle Nick's
747 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Mee Noodle Shop
795 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Room Service
690 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036
Peter's Since 1969
587 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036
Pure Thai Cookhouse
766 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
What are YOUR 9th Avenue favorites?
Pietrasanta used to be my favorite restaurant, our go-to place when we lived around there, but they changed owners a while back and it is not good now.
They used to have an amazing black pasta seafood and a papparedelle plate that was just awesome.
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Pietrasanta
683 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Restaurant week 2011 musts and must nots
I love groupon, inbundles, etc...but they hardly offer fine dining at Michelin Star restaurants.
You can't argue that is not a great deal to get a meal for a total of $34 (tax and tip included) at a Michelin Starred restaurant, where normally an entree is close to that price.
I agree with the last sentence...in some cases. But you can try out the restaurant to see if the food is good and if you would return.
I like a mix of RW for upscale Michelin places and the discount sites for trying innovative new tries.
Restaurant week 2011 musts and must nots
I disagree. I love RW!
I have been participating in summer and winter RW for YEARS and have had the opportunity to eat at soooo many of the city's best at great deals. I usually hit up several fantastic places each time and get to try out restaurants to see which I like, with limited financial pain.
Yes, I agree that sometimes, unfortunately, the RW week menus are not indicative of their normal menus. That is unfortunate. It is also imperative to pick carefully. I laugh so hard to find restaurants on the list that normally offer $25 and $35 prix fixes. Or restaurants that you spend $35 or under on normally. But quite a few offers really good deals, and would cost way higher than $35.
I also feel the deal should be more flexible and include the option to chose a drink instead of dessert.
I spend a lot of time choosing. I booked all my tables months ago, predicting which restaurants will participate...because I know the best fill up quickly!
RW is also good, because it gives me the chance to see friends twice a year that normally we are too busy to catchup. I sometimes book 4 nights of tables of 4, and get to catch up with 16 varying friends! It is an easy sell because once or twice a year is definitely do-able for those with Superwoman lives of fulltime mega-high-power-career and children and obligations. And the pals with limited finances can participate too (lots of unemployed pals, especially now!). Actually, a lot of my girlfriends and I actually look forward to RW as an excuse to catchup, and try great places at a great deal.
This year I tried Aldea (WOW!), Rouge Tomate (yawn!), Maze by Gordon Ramsay (didn't like) and Shelly's Big City. I also signed up with AMEX for their RW deal ($15 off when you pay with your AMEX for 3 or more RW) and for a total of $110 whopping dollars, I was able to eat 3 course meals at four respected restaurants, and catchup with TONS of friends.
A great way to start the year in my humble opinion.
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Rouge Tomate
10 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022
Aldea
31 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011
Northern Thai restaurant in BKK?
Will be in Bangkok again soon and my DH is dying for Northern Thai food. NOT Isaan. That is different.
Any recommends?
Thanks!!!
ISO: Boba Pearls
In search of:
Boba, or Bubble Tea, tapioca pearls to make my own bubble tea.
I searched 4 stores in NJ (Mitsuwa, H Mart, Thai grocer, and another big Korean store on route 4) with no luck. I searched in Flushing a little and Chinatown a little.
I can buy them online on amazon or ebay or bobateadirect.com, but they want ridiculous shipping. A 5 pound bag of pearls is $7.50, but they want $10 for shipping. $17.50 is ridiculous for pearls.
So does anyone know where I can buy these in a store anywhere in NJ, Queens, or Manhattan??
TIA!
Storing rice, lentils, dry beans and other grains - Cheaply. Any suggestions?
This response comes to you rather late....but in case you still have this question (or in case anyone else does), I thought I would offer a suggestion....
I get 5 gallon buckets with tight lids from the bakeries and bakeries at major grocery stores. They give me the buckets that the icing comes in. I have asked at many stores and they are very nice about it! They are free and very good quality. Some stores will take your # and call you when the bucket is empty. They throw these away anyway, so you are saving money and saving the environment by freecycling.
It is important when storing food to only use food grade quality containers. So, no, you shouldn't use the cheap plastic buckets sold at Lowes and Home Depot.
Once I get them home, I rinse them out throughly with soap and water. For 3 gallon buckets, I put those in the dishwasher for a nice thorough cleaning. 5 gallon buckets I wash in the sink. I usually them scrub in a little ground coffee grinds to eliminate any smells.
I currently have a 5 gallon bucket with 25 pounds of sugar (obtained free in a great coupon/sale combo recently), a 5 gallon bucket with 30 pounds of beans (given to me by my father that he for free somehow- probably coupons too..the apple doesn't fall far from the tree), a 5 gallon bucket with 25 pounds of jasmine rice (bought in bulk at Bjs for only $18), a 3 gallon bucket with 15 pounds of basmati rice (bought in bulk at Bjs for $15), a 3 gallon bucket with long grain rice (obtained free with double coupon/sale combo), a 3 gallon bucket with 10 pounds of flour (obtained free with double coupon/sale combo). All containers are labelled with a Ptouch. They are stacked up on the floor of my coat closet.
Sugar, rice, and beans will keep for at least a year (probably more, but my stash never lasts more than a year) if kept properly in a airtight container.
For sugar, I put some rice on the bottom to absorb moisture. For flour, I put bay leaves in to deter buggies.
So, um...no....do not pay $150 bucks for a container you can get at your local friendly bakery for free....and keep the bucket out of a landfill.
ISO: "Curry Cutting Noodles"
I have a challenge for the chowhounds:
While in Vancouver, I had the most amazing handcut "curry cutting noodles" at an Asian joint called Sha Lin on West Broadway.
I can't get it out of my head.
Is there anything even close to this dish in Manhattan??
here a blog that discusses it with great pix, so that you can see what I mean....
http://www.foodspotting.com/places/884-sha-lin-noodle-house-vancouver
SOS!
