Dryden
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Posts posted by Dryden
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Having been to March, the River Cafe, GT and JG, the big difference between the first three and the last one is a warmth in ambiance. JG is a nice room, but feels quite a bit more formal (and like you're sitting in a restaurant). March and GT have a lot more warmth, and the room feels quite a bit "cozier". River Cafe, of course, has a view no restaurant in Manhattan can match.
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What do people think of Peking Duck house (just for the peking duck, though).
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Unfortunately, I was at Sea Grill last week for work. While the other 5 people at the table seemed to enjoy their meals, I couldn't help but notice:
-the fish that was served with all of the pinbones, and all of the other bones, still in it
-the vegetables "a la grecque" that were nothing of the sort. Pretty sure that limp, steamed vegetables are not what "a la grecque" is meant to entail...
-potato chips that were chewy in the middle. Kinda freaky, actually.
-the waiter who didn't know what barramundi was, but assured one of my companions "it's some weird asian fish". Australia, Asia, whatever.
The menu does read a lot better than most of these other places. That's about all it has going for it, really.
As for Carmine's on the UWS, let me tell you, people travel to get there. There are cars lined up outside on the weekends. There are legitimate HORDES of people trying to get in. While you won't go home unhappy, necessarily, considering that there are probably 100 better italian restaurants in Manhattan alone, why eat there?
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Spun out from the OIBL thread...
What are the warning signs that a restaurant won't be good?
The couple that we usually rely on:
1. A wide assortment of dishes, from a wide assortment of cuisines, that should never be on the same menu. Spaghetti (or pizza) combined with quesadillas and some kind of rare cooked asian-style tuna are usually the tip-offs here.
2. A sushi menu being served in a restaurant that clearly isn't even a little bit Japanese.
3. A dinner menu that includes a complimentary glass of wine.
What other signs do other people use?
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Thats a very funny post Bux..
It's a funny site that way.
It's important to recognize that we—the folk who populate forums like eGullet—are atypical. There is a very large and significant constituency to whom places like OIBL and Carmine's are "great restaurants."As I said, there's a thread on eGullet with a post rather raving about Carmines, and there's not a disagreeing comment. Two members expressed thanks for the post that included the rave review of Carmines. Surely a visitor to the site could easily come away assuming Carmines meets the demands of the membership.
I think, with a place like Carmine's (and for that matter, places like Sea Grill, Tavern on the Green, etc.) there's a general tendency to not want to come off as being insensitive of someone else's opinion, coupled with a general assumption that "everyone knows not to eat there". I certainly know that we've been to cities where we were less than acquainted with the local food scene, but certain kinds of places/scenes always seem to stand up and announce themselves as if to say "if you give a damn about what you eat, this really isn't the place for you".
Actually, I think I'll start a thread about it.
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We live around the corner from Carmine's. Every Friday and Saturday night, there's a huge crowd outside to get in. I realize this is the UWS, but don't people have tastebuds?
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Based on some of the places that did receive a single fork, then their standards are very strange, indeed.
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You could eat an awful lot at the shake shack...
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One more point to continue with the baseball analogy. Leaving the Tasting Room out of the top 40 is similar to leaving Lou Gehrig out of Baseball's Hall of Fame.
Considering that Gehrig is pretty universally considered to be the best first baseman ever and a top ten player, all-time, no it isn't. It's more like leaving out Charlie Gehringer.
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Well, Luger's is pretty informal, though heavily accoladed.
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She WAS the chef at those places. She currently has no relationship to them any more, they're not her restaurants. Maybe you should check your facts before you go accusing other people of anything and go shooting your mouth off in a public forum.
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Some, maybe, but I still don't find that Suenos has the typical Mexican taste that I want from my childhood - while Rosa Mex does - the traditional dishes of Mexico, made in a traditional way.
That's what makes horseracing, as they say.
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Ah, but there are plenty of traditional dishes on the Suenos menu, and they're vastly better than Rosa Mexicano.
Suenos is the same as her other two places. Going for scene and crowd more than the food. Never found what everyone thinks is so great about hells kitchen. I live in the hood and have eaten there occasionnally but Rosa is much better and usually less of a wait .
RM
Considering that she only has one restaurant, I think it's entirely possible you're thinking of somewhere else entirely... and as jgould noted, Suenos isn't in Hells Kitchen. And it's hardly a "scene" kind of place...
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Ah, but there are plenty of traditional dishes on the Suenos menu, and they're vastly better than Rosa Mexicano.
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My wife and I finally ate at Rosa Mexicano near Lincoln Center this past weekend.
We don't get it. Maybe it was what we ordered (but we ordered a lot, including the guacamole) but the food there (including the guacamole) was nowhere near as good as the food at, say, Suenos. We didn't find it as good as Zarela's, or the Rocking Horse, either.
To be fair, we didn't have anything to drink, but that shouldn't actually affect the taste of the food, right?
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I'm guessing you actually mean east of the river, since that's where Dutchess is. For high-end dining, Le Pavilion in Poughkeepsie is very good. At a less high level, Umami Cafe in Fishkill isn't bad at all, and Saigon Cafe near Vassar is very good Vietnamese.
West of the river, check out the Would Bar and Grill - it's excellent.
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What does breakfast consist of?
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Why go to the Fat Duck (except for a very expensive laugh) when you could have a fantastic 'proper' dinner round the corner at the Waterside Inn?! Went to both within the space of a few weeks and I definitely know which one I'd rather go back to!
Let the shouting commence.....!
The simplest reason, I guess, it that while there are restaurants which are similar to the Waterside Inn in New York, there is nothing really like the Fat Duck here, and the curiosity is killing me.
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Are there any specific places in Southall to make sure to visit?
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For my 30th birthday, my wife and I are looking to visit London early in December (exact dates still to be determined). In any event, we plan to be there for at least 5 days, and were looking for help in finding where to eat.
Thus far, we know we want to do the following:
The Fat Duck
St. John
But, some questions:
How hard is it to get out to the Fat Duck? Better to go for lunch or dinner?
If forced to choose between Yauatcha and Hakkasan, which would you pick? Or is there better chinese to be had elsewhere?
What do people recommend for excellent Indian?
And is there anything else that we're missing?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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For more on the famed shrimp noodles (the entire recipe/process, actually) see this month's Food Arts.
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THE BEST: Pasta
in New York: Dining
Posted
FYI - Lo Scalco.