MRich's Profile
Siem Reap Restaurant, Wellington NZ
This place was just delicious. We had green curry, a stir fry, a salad, and the pork appetizer. Every dish was absolutely fantastic. Highly recommended.
New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand
211 Devon Street East. It's a lifesaver.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in town? We have a date night coming up.
New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand
Hi there. We're new to New Plymouth. Anyone have any favorite places to recommend? We've found a burrito place that is pretty good even by our tough Northern California standards.
Please chime in about anything in all of Taranaki.
Any New Plymouth readers out there? Bueller? Anyone?
Brooklyn Fare for a Vegetarian
If she does not eat fish/seafood my guess would be no.
smorgasburg! what to eat?
I went seeking yummy greasy meaty goodness, but the best thing I ate was an amazing grilled spring salad from Tenpenny.
not wild about South Brooklyn Pizza (2nd St. near 7th Ave. in Park Slope)
Hilarious. That jibes with my general experience at their Court Street location some time back. Kind of rude. Kind of loud. Limited menu. Not really very in tune with the people they're serving.
Sushi in South Slope
Kat-
Sorry to hear about Ten. That has been our go to place for sushi at dinner time, although it's been a little while since we've been there.
Colonie in Brooklyn Heights?
We just had a really great meal at Colonie. Everything we had was excellent. Highlights: brussels sprouts were AWESOME, artichoke was excellent with a really great blood orange hollandaise, black risoto was flavorful and delicious, and the duck was excellent and tender. Oh and the date cake with salted ricotta ice cream was really unbelievable, not to be missed.
It's a beautiful place, the service was great, and they have several wines on tap, which I hadn't seen before. A sparkling rose was really good and a cab franc blend was also very good.
Highly recommended.
Brooklyn - one diiner - how do I decide
I haven't been to Saul or Grocery in several years but I always preferred Grocery.
Applewood has a lot of fans. I've been there 3 or 4 times and like but don't love it.
Brooklyn Fare is truly unique and quite delicious. It is mostly seafood.
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Applewood
501 11th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Brooklyn Fare
200 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Do you grow your own herbs?
Yeah, I've tried growing from seed, seeding every few weeks etc. I was very frustrated till I heard that a lot of locals have problems with cilantro.
bringing wine
Well I've certainly been the near victim of cheating as you describe it with switched vintages.
But I've also "felt" cheated by prices. If I see a bottle that I know is available for $9 retail, which the restaurant gets for probably $5 and has on their list for $40 then yes I feel cheated. Doesn't mean they are pulling a bait and switch. One can certainly "feel" cheated without being cheated.
bringing wine
I'd say I've felt cheated. Sometimes I just drink beer when a wine list is really bad.
Do you grow your own herbs?
I live in Brooklyn, NY. I've spoken to a lot of local gardeners that have problems with cilantro. I've tried it in both my extremely sunny deck at my last apartment and my current not very sunny deck. Perhaps it's the humidity? I tried for at least 3 or 4 seasons and gave up.
Do you grow your own herbs?
I love growing herbs at home. If you do you always have a little around without having to go to the store.
I find them useful in approximately the following order: mint, parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, thai basil. Sadly cilantro won't grow well where I am.
I have mostly stopped growing from seed and just spend a few bucks on a plant. I get a lot more mileage out of them, although there is something fun about growing from seed. When I did grow from seed I usually gently tore the cups off and planted right into the dirt.
Mexicue - As good as I thought it was?
Just polished off a brisket slider, which was fabulous, and a chicken taco, which was so-so.
Will go back to try more as often as possible.
Frank Pepe's or Anthony's Coal Fired?
I am a huge fan of Pepe's in New Haven. My lone visit to their Yonkers location was very disappointing.
Dos Toros- new taco/burrito joint in Union Square
Dos Toros is the closest you can get to Mission style burritos in NYC. if they were in the Mission district they'd be average, but at their location they are the only game in town.
Highly recommended if you need your burrito fix and are stuck in NYC.
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Dos Toros
137 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003
bringing wine
Well here are some rules I live by when I BYO:
1) Call ahead and ask. Even if it's a place I BYO all the time I call ahead to check every time I go.
2) Don't bring cheap wine. It's not about saving money, it's about enjoying your own fine wines, which in my case I've spent years aging. Bringing a cheap bottle and paying corkage probably isn't cost effective anyway, might as well order off the list.
3) Offer a taste. To the owner, wine steward, or whoever. They almost always decline. i almost always insist.
4) When going with a large group make sure it's an off night. I organize my groups on Monday or Tuesday nights. I would never dream about doing a large group BYO on a weekend night.
5) Tip as if you had bought a bottle off the list.
6) Tip a little more on top of that.
This is just my personal list. Obviously things differ from restaurant to restaurant. Here in NYC there are some very inexpensive ethnic restaurants (Indian, Chinese, Thai mostly) that have an open BYO policy and serve no alcohol of their own and I tread a little less lightly at these places since BYO is a daily thing for them.
I didn't mention "make sure the wine isn't on their list" because I have never run into that situation, since anything I'll bother bringing to a restaurant is vintage and not current release. But that might be another one to consider.
bringing wine
Oh no worries, and sorry if I seem snippy. I've just felt this undercurrent in this thread that if you follow the restaurant's policies and BYO then you are somehow less noble. Where I live that is not the case at all. I have restauranteurs actively seeking to bring me and my bottle back, both as an individual and as a part of a wine tasting group I participate in.
OTOH perhaps I'm being oversensitive.
bringing wine
That's actually kind of insulting.
Because some guy I've never met doesn't bother to bring his own wine then I shouldn't? There is a BYO policy at every restaurant. If they allow it then they have their corkage fee. It's as straightforward a transaction as any on the menu.
Here in NYC there are even restaurants that thrive because they are known as BYO places. Should those restaurants close?
new to wine - recommendations
My best advice would be to take notes about whatever you drink. It will help you keep track of what you like and of the changes in your taste. As tastes evolve in wine drinking I find that most people move farther from sweet (except in the case of dessert wines).
Giuseppina's on 6th Ave in South Slope-the non review
Agreed about the service at Lucali. I never got a weird vibe, based on perhaps half a dozen visits.
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Lucali
575 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
bringing wine
Believe me, I'm not trying to save money by bringing my own wine.
But usually I only find it worthwhile to bring wine if it is special, frequently a bottle worth $50, $100 or even more. if I were to pay the equivalent of my bottle as a corkage fee then the entire exercise would be pointless. To bring two bottles and give one away as corkage "fee" is not an option. Not only would I rather pay some nominal cash fee, but I'm sure the restauranteur, who gets his wine wholesale, would prefer it as well. Home made wine notwithstanding.
bringing wine
It seems like they're setting the price so why feel bad about doing it? Or why not do it? If they want $20 for a steak I'm not going to argue that I should be paying them $25.
My one hesitation is that I feel bad for the server, who is not sharing in the profit of the corkage fee. I make up for that by tipping as if I had bought a good bottle from them.
I guess what I'm saying is that I agree with me too.
bringing wine
I bring wine to restaurants as often as I can.
I call ahead to find out their policy and if the corkage fee is reasonable, which I consider $15 in most cases, then I bring my wine. I tip big and always offer the waiter or host a taste. I go to restaurants that allow corkage more often than I go to those that don't. I don't do it to save money, I do it because I have a lot of good wine I want to enjoy. I don't bring inexpensive wine I just bought from the store, rather old bottles I've been saving.
I'm not sure I understand those who bring a bottle for the owner of the restaurant. Isn't that a very hefty corkage "fee"?
Chao Thai vs Ayada
They are both excellent. I slightly prefer Chao.
I think they are both quite small but casual enough that I don't think kids would be a problem.
Best Japanese restaurant in Williamsburg
We really enjoyed 1 or 8. Not cheap, but quite fabulous. I can't speak to any others in the hood.
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1 or 8
66 S 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Anyone tried Soigne? (In Magnolia's old spot, Park Slope.)
Menu looks great, hope the food does it justice. Will have to put it on my list of places to try.
