picaman

peanut butter on toasted bagel w. sharp chedder & cold vlasic pickles sliced thin. LOVE peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Everyone thinks I'm bonkers but I don't care. Jamie

Alright, Hannibal.

I love it when a plan comes together. Jamie

Off topic, but his bar has the best jukebox in NYC. Jamie

can't you just push it back an hour? This sounds good. Jamie

Let me know if you ever ride up to 175 and I'll walk down. On the walk home we passed several places on Broadway that had cubanos. This might be my next mini-quest. Jamie

I must have the three most incompetent cats on the planet. I came home a few months ago and found a dead mouse in the middle of the living room. Completely untouched and intact, with all three cats asleep and oblivious in various other parts of the apartment. I'm convinced that the mouse found it a perfectly safe place to lay down and die of old age. Jamie

Thanks for the heads-up on El Malecon! We had a late lunch at the 175th and Broadway location today--got there around 2:45 thinking we might miss the crowd but boy were we wrong. The place was packed and we had to wait ~15 minutes for a table. Service was hit and miss (one entree arrived about 10 minutes after the rest of the food) but we weren't in a hurry anyway, and that's the last outright negative thing you'll read in this post. I had "Pechuga de Pollo & Chorizo Salteado"--grilled chicken breast and chorizo with green peppers, onions, spanish olives and capers, $9.00. It was marvelous--the smokiness of the chorizo mixed well with the slight citrus taste (mojo?) of the chicken. Not at all greasy, either, as peppers and onions dishes sometimes tend to be. The dinners all come with your choice of rice and beans (red, black, or pigeon peas), mixed rice and beans, fried green (tostones) or yellow (maduros) plantains, fries, cassava, boiled green banana (guineo), or salad. I had the mixed beans and rice, which had a nice smoky flavor. We also split a side order of tostones ($2.00), which were hot and delicious without being greasy-tasting. Ideally there would have been a bit more salt added immediately after frying, but it's a minor complaint. Kirk had "Carne Ripiada" ($8.00) from the Sunday specials menu (shredded beef with peppers and onions in a tomato-based sauce) which I liked even better than my entree. The meat had the texture of perfectly cooked pot roast-type meat that was falling apart and could be cut with a fork, and the nicely spiced sauce was a perfect complement. With a generously-sized 1/2 pitcher of sangria ($10.00), the total bill was $29. An absolutely amazing deal, considering the quality and flavor of the food, along with the quantity of food. We took home more food than we actually ate while at the restaurant. It is no exaggeration to say that two people can easily split one entree and be satisfied. Kirk had most of what would be a nice sized pot roast on his plate, and I had at least an entire large chicken breast and two or three large sausages mixed in with the peppers and onions. And keep in mind that each person's side dishes (the mixed beans and rice that came with the dinners, along with the side of tostones we ordered) fill normal-sized plates. Judging from the plates that came to nearby tables, the "Pollo a la Brasa" is far and away the most popular dish. A whole roasted chicken with your choice of sides is $8.00, or you can get a half-chicken for $6.00. Again, enormous quantities of food and this dish looked and smelled amazing. There's also an extensive seafood menu with conch being the item that really caught my eye. In addition to the standard menu, there are numerous regular specials that change daily. We'll be back here soon--next up for me is the roasted chicken. My only regret is that I live outside the 15-block radius delivery area, but that just means that I can joyously stuff myself with awesome food on location, enjoy a nice longish-but-needed walk home, and relive the entire experience with the leftovers. Jamie

Kirk and I will be there! elyse--as our fearless etc. leader, I nominate you to ask Mr. Cutlets a burger question. Jamie

And that's all the "in this areas" for the day! Jamie

Maybe I had an atypical experience, but when I ate here this past March, it was overrun with everyone but the locals. The food I had (foie gras with figs and toast; rabbit with mashed potatoes and leeks) was great, though, so I might have to give it another try someday. One of the places I like in this area is Au Petit Tonneau (20, rue Surcouf.) Outstanding food (I had lentils with crayfish followed by veal casserole, although my partner's sole was the star of the evening), friendly management, and cats around to make me miss my own cats a bit less. Jamie

I've never stayed in this hotel, but I like this area a lot. My favorite restaurant nearby is Au Gamin de Paris (51, rue Vieille du Temple)--worth checking out if you are in the area, IMHO. Jamie

Will Bette Midler catch it for me personally? Jamie

I know about it and referenced it in my post on the Cuban sandwich thread--it used to be "Republi-k." But I haven't been there, mainly because I've thought I could get comparable food elsewhere in the area more cheaply. This may be an unfair way to look at it, though, and I've had good reports on the food from friends. I'd love an informed opinion from an eGulleter who's been there! Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is a short bus ride away from the area, of course, but it's pretty well documented on the board. Jamie

Not at all! I was rather selfishly thinking of the boundaries in terms of how far I wanted to schlep after a long day at work It makes more sense to define them in terms of geography and tradition. So, north of 155th St. sounds good to me! Jamie

Inspired, or perhaps shamed, by my pathetic post on eating in my neighborhood of Inwood in the Cuban sandwich thread, I'm looking for accumulated food knowledge for upper Manhattan. I've done some preliminary eGullet searches... eGullet search for "upper Manhattan" eGullet search for "Inwood" eGullet search for "Washington Heights" and found some info, but it's somewhat limited and occasionally outdated. So, here's the idea. As I eat in various places around this area, I'll post my findings in this thread. If you live here, work here, used to live or work here, or have any area food experiences or knowledge to share, post here! And, if anyone has a definition of what area this physically encompasses, I'll listen! I'm thinking 175th/GW Bridge-ish and up, but I'm flexible. I know there are several posters who live up here...any ideas for what this thread should/could entail? Thanks in advance for your help! Jamie

I'm somehat ashamed to admit that I haven't done extensive exploring yet, so can't be much help here. I have, however, scoped out where some of the busy places are, which to me is the best way to start. In fact, some of the food trucks, especially the one that stays at the north exit of 207 on the 1 train, look pretty good. One of these days I'll get the cojones to start looking--to be honest, I need to do some homework on the menu items. I can easily navigate any menu in French, but don't have much experience with a Latin-oriented menu. Maybe the best place to start would be DRK (formerly Republi'k) on the east end of Dyckman near the 1. From reports I've heard, it has good Latino cuisine in fun surroundings. I haven't been yet due to the nagging feeling that I can get the same food or better elsewhere in the neighborhood at half the price. Damn, just reread all this. I need to shake this inertia! Jamie

I have an awesome recipe for meat pies--came from a Mrs. Lovett. It looks pretty complicated, though, so maybe I'll just have Kirk ghost-bake for me. Jamie

4 pictures show up just fine for me. Jamie

I had a GREAT time at Burger Club again today--thanks to everyone for the camaraderie and conversation. I thought the burger itself was good but overall for me, a bit below Molly's burger. The Tavern on Jane burger positives were the quality, texture, saltiness and juiciness of the meat, while the negatives were the char/browning (not enough for me) and the bun (a bit generic for my taste.) It was also a bit small; burgers are an indulgence and a biggish burger is necessary for optimizing my indulgence factor. The fries, though, were perfect and wonderful, as were the pickle slices. Great seeing everyone from Molly's and the new attendees as well. Looking forward to the next burger adventure! Jamie

Here's the summary sheet for Tavern on Jane A few notes on methodology: The total burger score is the sum of the averages of each category. Condiment samples on evaluation sheets submitted by Husbands Who Only Eat were disregarded. The summary sheet format was altered slightly to show the average of the subtotals. Jamie

Based on my personal foreign and domestic restaurant experiences, I'd say nowhere beats New York for the widest variety of top-flight dining in the greatest number of cuisines and levels of expense. That, to me, is a suitable subject for debate on a single thread. That being said, within individual cuisines I've had better food outside of New York. And that, to me, is one thread per cuisine. The former English teacher in me agrees that this topic needs to be more narrowly defined. Jamie

Latest update of the evaluation form I'll PM you with the link as well. Jamie

I'm in for two. I'll bring along copies of the eval form (slightly updated per Suzanne F's suggestions.) Have we informally agreed that people can use them if it helps them to evaluate, or choose not to use them at all? Also, I think we've agreed not to officially tally everyone's scores and to just let the individual reviews form a consensus. As always, I'm happy to help however I can with any of this. It sounds to me that, as self-appointed recording secretary, I'm dis- appointing myself. Jamie

Of course I'm a bit prejudiced 'cause it's in my 'hood but I'd personally rate the Piper's Kilt burger above Molly's and a bit below McHale's. Course it's all subject to subjectivity. Gee, I didn't know about the brunch deal I think Piper's Kilt might make a nice future Burger Club expedition. In addition, the #12 bus stops at the front door, so we could make a post-Club Arthur Avenue field trip if people were interested; ~20 minutes away on the bus. Jamie