Fat Guy

Of the Chinese New Year banquets I've been to at China 46 (three, I believe), this was my favorite. I felt the choices, pace and quantity were just right. Needless to say, there was some variance, and I agree that the service ground to a halt at a couple of points. But the overall level was very high. Spicy Capsicum Cellophane Noodles - the spiciest I've tasted at C46, and I've had this dish quite a few times Cold Firm Bean Curd with Cilantro and Sesame Oil - enjoyable, if you like these you can always get an unlimited quantity at the Sunday brunch Pork and String Bean Jiaozi Dumplings - a nice change, but I still think the best come from the original formula Exotic Greens with Pork and Tofu Soup - C46 does a range of great soups, this one was at the low end of the range Salt and Pepper Shrimp and Squid - I'm puzzled by the shell complaints, because that's just how the dish is Crispy Tofu Skin Wrapped Flounder - always good Peking Duck - ditto Ruby Pork with Sesame Buns - ditto Braised Whole Chicken Stuffed with Sticky Rice - not as good as previous specimens, only the dark meat was moist Saute Fresh Shitake Mushroom with Fresh Bamboo Hearts - really nice dish, creating the illusion of virtue Stir-fried Shanghai Noodles - best ones I've had Fruit Platter - melon was underripe Prosperity Gelatin Mold - there are no words

Looking forward to seeing all of you very soon. Because I've forgotten more than a few times, I'll just mention again that China 46 is BYO. So if you want wine or beer, bring it -- and bring extra.

Pho Grand is, in my opinion, a better restaurant from a whole-menu perspective: it's good across the board. I believe, however, that the Saigon Grill items I've specifically mentioned are better than their Pho Grand equivalents where such equivalents exist. For example I think the quality of beef in Saigon Grill's Bo Luc Lac is quite superior to Pho Grand or New Pasteur. It should be -- it costs $12.95 as opposed to $7 at the downtown places and at least some of that price differential seems to go into the product. There aren't always on-point comparisons, though. I haven't actually seen the Goi Du Du/green papaya salad at any of the other Vietnamese restaurants I've tried here -- it seems in many ways more like a Thai dish than a Vietnamese one but that's just an impressionistic statement. I'm by no means expert in this cuisine.

No restaurant owner or restaurant employee wants to have to card anybody. So you can safely assume that, if it's being done, it's a matter of coercion by the liquor authorities. For all we know, there was a state inspector in the restaurant at that very moment, and you can't negotiate with these people: they'll cite you or shut you down if they're having a bad day. If there is a complaint, it should be against the government for perpetuating Byzantine, idiotic, paternalistic liquor laws.

When you've got something like a big steak, which requires dozens of cuts to eat, the ridiculousness of the fork-switching method is particularly evident. If, however, you're committed to this method I believe it's considered to be within the bounds of good table manners to cut three pieces at a time. My procedure -- using the example of a New York strip, since each type of steak requires slightly different technique -- is to begin by cutting across the steak about 2/3 of the way up (in other words, bisecting it through the middle of the most substantial part). Then I take about a 1/4" slice off the shorter, wider piece and lay that slice on its face. Almost always, at this point, I will salt the slice -- thick steaks just can't be salted sufficiently from the outside, so you've got to apply a little extra salt once you have the inside exposed. Then, depending on how much if any fat there is on the outside edges of the steak, I may trim the slice a bit. Now I have before me a really nice piece of beef: properly sliced, salted, trimmed and ready to be eaten. I cut off a piece, eat and repeat. Then I do another slice, and another, until I've exhausted that part of the steak, and then I might start in on the longer, thinner half, but will almost always save it. While I am a person of great appetite, I find eating a really big steak to be monotonous. And I enjoy cold steak so much the next day that I'm disappointed if I don't have leftovers.

If I don't have it for a week, I actively crave number 19. A craving anecdote: we have a friend who moved to Pittsburgh last year. She was in town a couple of days ago and came over for dinner. I had planned to make angel hair pasta with black truffles -- truffles! -- but when it came down to talking about the dinner plan she sheepishly confessed, "You know what I really want? Number 27. I can't stop thinking about it. Can we get number 27 for dinner? Please?"

I think he advertised it as being about his own perspective. In his words:

My experience has been a little different. I think there are a number of amazing items (painstakingly enumerated above) and quite a few poor ones. For example, the basil beef, basil chicken, basil anything: the sauces are sweet and gloppy, reminiscent of bad American-Cantonese food from the 1970s. I've found that to be the case with many of the entree dishes from the heart of the menu. Whereas, on the whole, most appetizer, soup and noodle/rice dishes I've tried from Saigon Grill have been exceptional.

Imagine the piles on my desk after more than four years of this. It's okay. Your real friends will stick with you. And if you just throw out the bills, they'll eventually get sent to you again.

Sara, do I sense eGullet addiction setting in? If so, we have several support mechanisms available to help you get through it one day at a time. Seriously, though, I wanted to tell you how much we all appreciate your participation in this eG Spotlight Conversation. And I wanted to ask you a question: having spent a week here, and having taken to it like a fish to water, what are your impressions of the eGullet Society and what we're doing in this online medium? As you are someone who has mastered most forms of traditional media, I'm curious as to your thoughts on new media.

Paul, I'll look into it and PM you.

The Citicorp location barely cuts it as a place to hang out and do business. I've done it -- recently had a meeting with three people there -- but it was awkward compared to the spacious, comfortable 42nd Street location. I imagine that place does something like 99% of its business as takeout and delivery, and the real estate there is probably quite expensive, so the decision to build it that way makes sense to me. But I much prefer the 42nd Street location and hope the Upper East Side and Upper West Side ones will be more like that.

I too have never seen a fried knish in Winnipeg.

In my vernacular, the distinction between fried and baked knishes was referred to as square versus round (square knishes = fried; round knishes = baked). I haven't got a clue as to why square knishes are never baked and round knishes are never fried -- I have never in my life witnessed a departure from that system -- but it seems to be the case. You can get square or round at Katz's, by the way. I prefer round, making the knish one of the only things in the universe that is better baked than fried.

I like Costco birthday cake.

I'm in for two. For those of you who still want to attend the dinner, if you're going to pay by credit card it's still possible to do so if you complete the transaction tomorrow (Friday). This will still allow us to update the head count and make payment to the restaurant. I think we can accommodate about 5 more people.

Is it steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried . . . ?

Bux: When I was setting up the various first-person visits for Turning the Tables, I was not able to find any reputable fine-dining establishment to put me in a server's role. They felt it would be irresponsible, and so did I. So what we worked out with Danny Meyer's people was that I would pose as a manager: wear a business suit instead of a server's uniform (I doubt they even had any in my size), wander around the floor during service but not actually do anything and try, if asked to do anything by a real customer, to screw up as little as possible. I managed to screw up a few things anyway, but it was all very low impact.

Service is not nearly as relevant to what Frank Bruni does as food is. That's why I wish he had spent time in a kitchen, so he could have learned about something where his knowledge is so manifestly deficient. He had already worked as a waiter. He gained some insight by doing a turn at East Coast Grill, but not much that's relevant to his reviewing work. The New York Times reviewer doesn't experience normal service anyway -- he's mostly recognized, and mostly whatever he writes about service is not worth taking seriously. Restaurant reviews are primarily supposed to be about food, or so the theory goes.

How is the tofu prepared?

That's for the New York Post to do.

Agreed. And newspaper reporters, especially, are almost by definition writing within genre. I got the sense from the tone of Frank Bruni's piece, however, that he felt he had come up with something original ("But last week I traded places and swapped perspectives, a critic joining the criticized, to get a taste of what servers go through and what we put them through, of how they see and survive us."). Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it caused me to react by pointing out the utter lack of originality in the concept.

I've had my eye on number 78 a few times but have never ordered it. Now I will.

I was wondering the same thing. Other than the association with Iron Chef Morimoto, what is Morimoto's unique selling proposition? What will it offer (and what does it offer in Philadelphia) that is special? Or is it just a well executed Nobu knockoff?

A search this morning revealed approximately 35 mentions of Saigon Grill in various eG Forums posts, but no actual topic devoted to Saigon Grill. I was hoping to remedy that. Saigon Grill is a two-restaurant "chain" with locations on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. The restaurants are popular and active, usually filled to capacity at mealtimes. They offer speedy delivery. And once you learn your way around the menu you can put together an excellent meal. My favorite dishes -- the ones I think are as good as at any Vietnamese restaurant I've visited -- are: Numbers 3, 4 and 5 -- Goi Cuon Tom, Goi Cuon Chay and Goi Cuon Go -- shrimp, vegetarian and chicken summer rolls respectively. These are very well made summer rolls, served with peanut plum dipping sauce. These are great also if you need to pack a highly portable lunch. Number 19 -- Goi Du Du -- shredded green papaya salad with little pieces of grilled beef (the meat is basically a garnish), basil and crushed peanuts. This dish is so good and holds up so well under refrigeration that we almost always order an extra to take home (or we order two when we do delivery). Numbers 26 and 27 - La Sa Tom and La Sa Ga -- curry shrimp soup and curry chicken soup respectively. The soup has coconut milk, rice vermicelli, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs -- you add the bean sprouts and herbs yourself (they're packed in a little zipper bag when you get delivery so don't forget to use them!). It's a really nice, fragrant soup that rivals any version I've had. They have pretty good satay ("sate" on their menu), but my preference is to order: Number 80 -- Bun -- the deal with bun is that you can get satay as a subset of bun. The foundation of bun is room temperature rice vermicelli with cucumber, lettuce, bean sprouts, crushed peanut and fresh herbs in nuoc cham sauce. Then you get to pick any of a number of toppings, most of which are making guest appearances from the appetizer section of the menu. So, for example, "Bun with grilled chicken" is actually bun with an order of chicken satay on top of it. Ditto for grilled beef. You can also get it with spare ribs (very good), spring rolls (okay), whatever. And given that an order of chicken satay appetizer is $4.75 and bun with grilled chicken is $7.95 it seems silly not to get the bun. The entrees are the weak part of the Saigon Grill menu. I've had more entree duds than I care to remember. I haven't tried them all, but the one that I've found to be consistently very good is: Number 45 -- Bo Luc Lac -- these are simple cubes of stir-fried steak, which are of much higher quality than, say, average Chinese restaurant beef. There's not much to the dish, but it's very good. Would love to hear all of your Saigon Grill thoughts and strategies. Upper East Side: 1700 2nd Ave. (Corner of 88th Street) New York, NY 10128 Phone: 212.996.4600 Fax: 212.996.6303 Upper West Side: 620 Amsterdam Ave. (Corner of 90th St) New York, NY 10024 Phone: 212.875.9072 Fax: 212.875.9126 Online: http://www.saigongrill.com