visiting NYC - question about reservations, and itinerary check

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I'm going to try to reserve a spot at Perilla for dinner (and maybe Kin Shop for dinner). It looks like they both come up for reservation 28 days in advance.

Will try to do a walk-in for Spotted Pig and aim for either very early evening or late night.

Sakagura sounds great! I'll look into it more. How vital are reservations?

I've been to Ippudo before but I was a bit underwhelmed. That said, I probably didn't give it a fair chance because my friend and I were already satisfied (not stuffed, but definitely not hungry) after a Bo Ssam meal at Ssam Bar. My husband has been to a different ramen place that he thought was fantastic... but sadly all he can remember of the name is that it was "some long word". *sigh.

Thanks for the feedback on Momofuku - when I was looking at the Noodle Bar online menu, for some reason I thought they were billing themselves as a ramen joint. I enjoyed Ssam Bar so I'm interested in either going back there, or trying another of his restaurants. Ko looks really interesting but I think we've reached our limit for high-end dining this trip.

twinkienic in Manhattan

visiting NYC - question about reservations, and itinerary check

Hello! My husband and I are visiting NYC in mid-June from Vancouver. It's been great fun (if a bit overwhelming) figuring out places we want to eat. It'd be nice if we could keep things fairly flexible and decide last minute based on cravings and location, but I know that there are a lot of places that need advanced reservation.

We already have reservations at:
Locanda Verde for brunch
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
I plan to get reservations for lunch at EMP

Do these places need reservations and, if so, how far in advance do we need to book (for a weeknight)?
Spotted Pig
Kin Shop or Perilla (I haven't decided which I prefer yet)
a mid-price Batali (Lupa vs Otto - haven't decided yet)

Places we assume don't need reservations (but please correct me if I'm wrong):
Russ & Daughters
Xi'an Famous Foods
Katz's Deli
Pizza places: John's vs Artichoke vs Motorino vs Keste

Additional questions:
Any suggestions for good izakayas and ramen? We have a pretty good scene in Vancouver but my understanding is the NYC scene is even better. I was thinking of checking out Momofuku Noodle Bar but would I be better off going somewhere more traditional for ramen?

Thanks for your input!

twinkienic in Manhattan

Fee's Brother's Bitters on the West side?

I've seen Fee's Brother's Bitters at Grenadine (vintage-y high-end candy shop) on West Broadway (west of Macdonald) and at Legacy Liquor.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Kits Happenings

NO!! Where am I going to get my burger?? :(

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Best time of year for king crab?

I have a friend visiting in town this week and she really wants to go for king crab. She just wants a simple, steamed preparation (maybe with the wine and egg white?). Usually I have it with a whole table of family and we usually go somewhere like Kirin... but this time we're only 3 people. Which place might be best for us to go?

What's the recommendation for weight... 9 lb crab for 3 people? My family always tries to get a bigger crab because they think the meat is better on larger crabs.

Do restaurants serve king crab at lunch? I've only ever ordered it at dinner before. Maybe lunch might be overzealous... we'd spend the rest of the day in a food coma.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Dine out.... Good, bad or indifferent?

hmm... no resos, eh? Are they pretty busy?

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Dine out.... Good, bad or indifferent?

Sounds great! You had me at pandan.
I might check it out this week. Do I need reservations?
Did you have the prix fixe menu? Tasty, or should I go off-menu and just donate to the cause?

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Where to go for first time Urchin (Uni) in Vancouver?

Personally, I think the live uni is far more delicious than the boxed uni (even if it's "fresh", it's at least a day old). I think most of the nicer Japanese places in town would be fine as long as they're advertising live uni. I've had live uni at Octopus Garden, Tenhachi, and Sushi Kimura... but I'm sure other places serve it too.

How much longer does live uni season last? Or is it already finished?

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

vietnamese crepe? vegetarian pho?

Chau VeggieExpress has some vegetarian noodle soups on their menu: http://www.chowatchau.ca/veggie/menu.html

I haven't tried yet but my SIL said the food was great.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

In search of Japanese Tan Tan Ramen in Vancouver

I saw it at Santouka this past weekend.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon

My understanding is that there are 2 seatings - lunch and dinner. We just gave a bunch of dates that we were hoping for and managed to get a lunch spot.

I think there are often lots of cancellations. They told us we had until 2 weeks before our reservation to call in any cancellations or changes in group size or else our credit card would be charged.

twinkienic in Quebec (including Montreal)

Dan Closed...Good Replacements?

How about Zest? Very close location-wise. It's fairly upscale. Not an izakaya, but similar to Dan in that it was traditional-with-a-twist, and an emphasis on non-sushi items.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

Oh! I'll have to check that out instead! Thanks for the tip

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

Yes! The Refinery is great... but they limit the length of your party and the minimum spend for all night is over our budget, sadly.

I must make a point to get to one of their cocktail kitchen dinners one day!

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

I DO love the wodges of free parking. I love APC in general and I think it'd be a lovely space... but I don't think the food would be enough of a "meal" for the office party (they want the food to feel more substantial, I think).

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I've sent emails off to Calabash, Railway Club and Irish Heather. Railway Club's room comes with our own private bartender, which is pretty cool!

The Waldorf looks cool but it turns out their spaces are for ~100 people so the minimum spends are way over our budget.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

Little Nest is for adults who cater for little people and bring them along ;)
A couple years ago I was organizing a meeting and I think fmed had mentioned that it's possible to book out the space in the evenings and ask them to cater.

I love Alibi Room but sadly they no longer take reservations for groups more than 10 and don't take any reservations for the downstairs room.

I'll pass on the suggestions of PICA and Steamworks... thanks! How do you guys find the food there?

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

Oh, forgot to mention that I suggested Rogue to the organizers and I think it was one of the places that didn't work because they were booked or too expensive. I do enjoy Rogue though... great beer menu! I've never been in the Eastside Lounge room... it looks great! I'll have to keep it in mind for future events.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

(small) office Christmas party venue ideas - cocktails/appies format

I'm trying to help generate some ideas for a venue for a small office Christmas party (estimated ~35 people) on a Friday evening. Budget is limited, so restaurant buy-outs are a no-go. Minimum spends are also probably too much for the budget given the number of people expected, which makes it difficult since we're hoping to book on a Friday. Sounds like people prefer a venue where people can mingle and move around, hence the preference for a cocktails/appies format.

I've combed other threads (including GE's recent similar question) and am stuck on ideas now...

Places we've tried but have fallen through either because of cost or because they're already booked or because they won't do group bookings:

Cobre

Alibi Room

Revel Room

Cactus Club

Irish Heather

Places that still need to be looked into:

Edible Canada

Campagnolo

L'Abattoir

Quince

Little Nest

Thanks!

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Where to go in Vancouver if you only have one meal (lunch)?

If you chance on a nice day, maybe you could go to Go Fish, which is at Fisherman's Wharf just west of Granville Island.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Cabane a sucre Au Pied de Cochon

I'm hoping someone could give me some advice about getting a reservation. I know that reservations for this year aren't open until December 1st. When you email, do you just request a table for any time that's available or do you list preferred dates? Also, most write-ups I've seen have been large group outings. Since it is served family-style, is it better to have a big group? Or would it be easier to get a table with a smaller group? For those who have eaten there, what's the ideal group size? Thanks!

twinkienic in Quebec (including Montreal)

ISO Christmas event venue, a bit out of the ordinary in Vancouver/Richmondish

2 Chefs and a Table?

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

ISO Christmas event venue, a bit out of the ordinary in Vancouver/Richmondish

Maybe a buyout of Kitsilano Daily Kitchen?
Hawksworth also has a private room that seats 70 upstairs. That might be bordering on the "banquet room" scenario though.
La Buca or La Quercia buyout?

-----
La Buca Restaurant
4025 MacDonald St, Vancouver, BC V6L2N8, CA

La Quercia
3689 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6R1P2, CA

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

modern chinese (or vietnamese) beyond Bao Bei

I walked by Baoqi (on Davie at Seymour) yesterday... has anyone been? The decor was nice and light and modern. Not sure if the food itself is modern, though, as the menu is filled with fairly traditional Vietnamese dishes. There are a couple interesting-sounding dishes (e.g. pomelo salad, "autumn" rolls, etc). Looks a bit on the pricey side (bahn mi dac biet goes for $5.50) but reviews on yelp and urbanspoon look good.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

modern chinese (or vietnamese) beyond Bao Bei

uh.... DROOL.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Turkish Delight at Anatolia's Gate: A Chowdown with miss.foodie (Burnaby)

"like a deliciously puffy beluga whale"! teehee!

(I do agree, though, about the deliciousness)

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

salads??

This doesn't qualify as interesting so much as delicious...
I had a really nice tuna nicoise today at Red Wagon. The tuna was perfectly seared albacore tuna and melted in my mouth. The dressing was a nice olive-based vinaigrette.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Good pub for Sunday roast, yorkshire pudding & gravy ?

Irish Heather's Long Table Series often has a Sunday dinner of roast beef and yorkshire pudding. I can't speak to how good it is though.

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)

Thierry Busset's New Place is Open (Review)

Went by last week for late desserts and drinks with friends. We shared two pastries - a chocolate-mousse cake and a lime-(mousse?) cake. Both were light, not too sweet and tasty (though not transcendent).

I also bought some citrus madeleines and macarons. My limited experience with madeleines leads me to expect them to be light, airy and moist (I am thinking of DB Bistro's version). Thierry's version seemed more like mini lemon pound cakes. I don't know what classic macarons are supposed to be like, but I really enjoyed these, finding them not too sweet, light and moist with a nice amount of chewiness... not like some that crumble in your mouth. I'll be back for more of these!

twinkienic in B.C. (including Vancouver)