bruce3404's Profile
Sunday brunch buffet @ Fives, Peninsula New York.. what the???
Made the mistake of having lunch at Fives during this year's RW. Average food and the service was so rushed we felt like we were impinging on the wait staff's/chefs break time. Of our five RW meals, Fives was the least enjoyable. Oh, and the tea now goes for $9.
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Fives
700 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
NYC Restaurant Week - Winter '12 - Top Picks?
Made it to Riverpark for RW today. Fabulous meal in every way. I took a chance on the oyster tacos and they were to die for! The RW week menu is the same as the normal $28 prix fixe lunch menu, with a $3.93 discount, thus for a few bucks more, you can go there anytime. Thanks to those who recommended Riverpark. It was the highlight of our RW meals, which also included Nougatine, Ruth's Chris, Fives and Le Cirque. The lowlight was Fives where the food was average at best and the courses served one on top of the other to the point we felt very rushed, despite the general lack of business in the lovely dining room.
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Riverpark
450 E 29th St, New York, NY 10016
Beer Lao
Thanks for the update; I was heading over there this week. Two Beer Lao bummers in one week would have been hard to take.
Beer Lao
My biggest disappointment in an otherwise great meal at Zaab Elee last night was that they'd run out of Beer Lao. Are there any retailers in Manhattan or the Outer Boroughs who might carry Beer Lao?
Vientiane is a long way to go to pick up a 6 pack.
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
They must have a bad printer, because the menus from Queens read Zabb Elee in two different places. The waitress also mentioned that all the chefs are from Isaan; not just Thailand or Laos but Isaan; nice!
Zaab-Elee, new Thai in the east village, now the best Thai in NYC, perhaps.
I went out to the original in Queens for dinner tonight. It was superb and I had a few dishes that were off-the-menu in Queens, but on-the-menu in Manhattan. The Laotian Som Tum was the best I've ever had outside of Isaan. The Pad Ped Moo Korb was the best Isaan dish I've ever had, including Thailand or Laos. My only disappointment was that they were out of Beer Lao. My point in posting here, however, is that the waitress in Queens mentioned that they refuse to cook anything close to Thai hot in Manhattan because so many dishes were coming back as too intensely hot. I stuck with 4/5 on the heat scale in Queens, broke a nice sweat, cried a river and walked out with a superb endorphin rush.
Great Indian Queens
Three bus rides from Ridgewood, Brooklyn. 1 hour 51 minutes. Used to get there a lot faster when I lived on Staten Island! Wonder why they isolated themselves so much from subway or rail lines? The old place wasn't easy, but at least you could ride the 7, then transfer to a bus and get dropped off at their doorstep. Far as I'm concerned, they might as well have relocated to Montana since I don't have a car and am unwilling to travel a 4 hour RT, even if the food was free. Too bad, I loved that place.
Great Indian Queens
I'm bummed about the new location. Practically inacessable, except by car. I'm 5 miles away in Brooklyn and MTA tells me it would take over an hour to get there via public transport.
NYC Restaurant Week - Winter '12 - Top Picks?
I'm bummed that Bar at the Modern is no longer participating, nor is River Cafe. Had to do some scrambling as I'd already booked both of the above in anticipation. My lunch experience at Lupa last ywinter wasn't so hot, though a previous non-restaurant week dinner there was excellent. Thanks for the tips.
Sri Lankan on Staten Island-time for an update!
I've been to San Rasa in the past year and found their food excellent as always. I also like the proximity to the ferry (10 minute walk or 2 minute bus ride) and the fact that you can bring in your own beer, easily obtainable from two adjacent gas stations. We usually go for the buffet and we've always found it fresh and regularly replenished.
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San Rasa
226 Bay St, Staten Island, NY 10301
Thanksgiving Dinner Restaurant Recommendations Sought
Good news. Green Pastures is doing a brunch this year. Bad news, they're fully booked.
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Green Pastures Restaurant
901 W Live Oak St, Austin, TX 78704
Thanksgiving Dinner Restaurant Recommendations Sought
Thanks. Good info there. Green Pastures looked especially interesting, but they're not doing T-Giving dinner. Omni was on my list as an in betweener (a little more than a standard dinner, but a lot less than some of the 4* hotels). Hoover's looks appealing as well and Threadgill's has its fans for the turkey day dinner (my only other experience there was for CFS and it was very average the day I tried it).
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Threadgill's Restaurant
6416 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78752
Green Pastures Restaurant
901 W Live Oak St, Austin, TX 78704
Thanksgiving Dinner Restaurant Recommendations Sought
Out-of-towners seeking place to eat T-Giving dinner in Austin area. Not really excited about paying big bucks for a fancy hotel buffet. A friend recommended Hyde Park Bar and Grill while dissing Threadgill's. We're open to any and all recommendations.
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Threadgill's Restaurant
6416 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78752
NE Recommendations?
Going to a show Wednesday night (5/4) at the Wonder Ballroom and looking for some good ethnic in the area. Used to be a pretty good selection along NE Broadway, but I haven't been over there in five years, so don't know what's left and what's in favor. Queen of Sheba would be a good possibility, but my wife doesn't care for Ethiopean.
What restaurants in Albuquerque are truly good and not just good for Albuquerque?
Glad to see El Modelo finally showing up on a Chowhound post. In three visits to ALB over the years, the only recommendation I could draw out of friends and locals was Sadie's. I kept thinking that I must be missing something, but a third visit this past week confirmed that this is merely average NM Mex (though the chips and salsa are very good). Yesterday, I found El Modelo and my faith in ALB New Mex Mex was restored. The place is a bit of a dive in the sort of area where they film the underside of ALB in Breaking Bad, but it's far from unsafe. "Seating" is picnic tables outside and plastic combo spoon/forks. Only open until 7PM, but delicious, real and cheap. 50 or so patrons, only three of us Anglos. What more need I say?
Central Grocery is Rude
I still love their Muffs and the rudeness is more in contrast to the gentility of the South than anything else. Let's just say they seem rather polite at CG in comparison to Katz's in Manhattan. I can also heartily recommend Nor Joe's, but for those without a car, it's an effort to get there from the FQ, DT or CBD.
Spicy Etiquette
The people at Hunan on Sansome are generally pretty responsive when you ask for extra hot.
Airport Area Breakfast
We'll be overnighting near the airport and heading into Vancouver for a meeting the next day.
Any great breakfast spots along the 205, 84 or 5? We're flexible, but don't want to deal with DT AM rush hour, so places like the Bijou Cafe wouldn't work.
How would you characterize what a good guacamole is?
I was lucky enough to have a huge avocado tree in my yard when I lived in SoCal, so I got to do a lot of experimenting . First and foremost, you ONLY use Haas avocados (some of the cheaper, awful, store made brands use Fuertes, the same avocados used in dog food as filler). I prefer mine pretty basic, using roughly a tablespoon of chopped white onion per large avocado, a couple tablespoons of chopped tomatoes (or, if I'm feeling lazy, a couple of tablespoons of Herdez salsa, which is full of chopped tomatoes), an oz or two of freshly grated sharp cheddar on top, a splash of lemon or lime juice, and garlic salt to taste. These are best served with freshly made tortilla chips and, if you're lucky, you'll have a local Mexican market that makes up their own, since it's a tedious, messy job.
How would you characterize what a good guacamole is?
You are so right on about Herdez. I have been using this canned salsa since the '70s when we would buy it in Mexico by the case and bring it home. It's still a great salsa, but the canned version tastes way better than the bottled version. While traveling through TN last year, we found a Kroger's that was trying to unload their 28 oz cans for $1 each. I bought all 12 they had left.
RW ending, how did it go?
I had dinners at Le Cirque and The Modern Bar Room, as well as lunches at Lupa and River Cafe. Dinner at the Modern was by far the best restaurant week menu, with a huge selection of appetizers (11), entrees (10) and desserts (6)--and the food was spectacular.
I either ordered or sampled six different dishes and would have been happy with any of them (Lamb and Goat Cheese Terrine, Flambee Alsatian Tarte, Saffron Tagliatelle with Rabbit, Pan Roasted Hangar Steak, Apple Strudel and Dark Chocolate Tart with Chocolate Ice Cream). The quality was so good that I honestly don't know how they made any money serving such satisfying portions of wonderful food for only $35. They get big kudos for also providing a mini-wine list of 20 bottles for under $40. When I questioned a $24 Zin, the waiter was so enthusiastic about it, that I went ahead and ordered the bottle. It was better than a $70 Cab I had tried previously at Le Cirque; I appreciated the waiter's honesty and that he didn't try to steer me into a much more expensive bottle (though I would have been receptive). I'm sorry we didn't eat our first RW meal at the Modern; I think I would have canceled all others, even if it meant eating at 5PM every evening. This was some orgasmic food and was second only to a full on meal at Jean Georges earlier in January. The difference was that this meal cost about 1/3 as much. Second best RW dining experience was at the River Cafe. While I've heard complaints about some of the dishes, I guess I was lucky in ordering the lobster/scallop bisque and duck breast for an entree. I did not at all care for my wife's pork shoulder entree. The desserts consisted of an excellent trio of banana creme brulee,
chocolate ganache and coconut ice cream. Very satisfying and great value for lunch.
Le Cirque was also very good, with a wider choice of menu items than River Cafe. All courses were good, though none were outstanding in the same way the Bar at the Modern's were. We tried sauteed Maine Shellfish for our appetizer, Berkshire Pork Belly (really tasty, but it just killed me with GERD's later that night) and Diver Sea Scallops for entrees and Tiramasu for dessert. Not very exciting, but it's always a treat to eat in such an exciting environment and the service, as always, was very attentive.
The only disappointing RW meal was at Lupa. We sampled appetizers consisting of a salad with bitter greens (and not many of them) and pasta e fagioli soup which was just so-so. Mains included pasta with heritage pork and dessert was a very delicious tartufino, somewhat remniscent of those at Tre Scalini. Portions were small and I think we might have been better off just ordering a pasta dish off the regular menu. Service was good.
Charles Fried Chicken-Welcome Back!
We took a trip out there last week; got there before 3PM when the prices are only $10.99.
Excellent sides and very good chicken as well. I especially like the Mac/Cheese and the greens and there were probably a dozen other dishes to sample (baked chicken, cow's feet, green salad plus the items mentioned in the review above). Well worth another visit.
Be aware that this is a very small establishment, with room for no more than 20 diners, so you might have to wait at peak periods.
Southern Spice amazing indian food? worth the trip?
And please don't judge them solely by the buffet. I had the chance to try it last week and while you get a nice assortment of the tasty dishes they have to offer, it's not as good as ordering ala carte. Still, that buffet just might be the best $8.50 meal in NY. As cheap as Mickey D's and, um, about 10,000 times better.
Brooklyn Pizza: Please critique my list
Agree with others regarding skipping Grimaldi's. If Totonno's CI isn't re-opened, you could try the Totonno's branch at 462 2nd Ave in Manhattan (just a subway stop or two from Brooklyn); had an excellent pizza there last year.
LE PETIT MARCHE CLOSED!
Wonder what makes them think this new concept will work? The reason I wonder is that almost everytime I ate at Le Petit, the place was crowded; seems like there might be a management issue rather than a food issue and it doesn't matter what they serve if the place is poorly managed. Also, with a family-friendly menu, they're not going to make as much profit on root beer as they would on bottles of wine. RIP. I really liked Le Petit Marche.
The 'Oh My God' Food Awards
Fried Chinese Watercress with shrimp, chicken and squid at Sriphraphai
Cheese pie at DiFara's
Just about everything on the menu at Southern Spice (ok, I know that 's cheating, but I couldn't come up with just one dish)
Chengdu Heaven -- the best Sichuan food in a tiny basement stall at the 41-28 Main St Mall, Flushing
I really want to try this place again. Is there any particular time when I can count on the chef being available or, failing that, a time when he's USUALLY around?
Restaurant Week Le Cirque Opinions
I went last Winter and had a very good meal. Service was top notch and didn't feel any discrimination for being "bargain" diners. I've reserved again for this year.
The best pizza in Brooklyn.....that no one knows about.
Thanks for the info. I'm curious to try Peter Pizza and compare it to DiFara's....as far as cost and wait goes, I'm pretty much willing to endure both to eat at DiFara's, which I consider to be the best pizza ever, anywhere.
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Di Fara Pizza
1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
Southern Spice: seems to be getting better and better
Oh, they're on the list, too. So many places, so little time.
