snausages2000

"I think that when you're making a statement that Restaurant Z is overrated or underrated, that you need to be very careful that you're stating an opinion and not categorizing something as a rule." --The whole idea is to assert opinions that you feel contradict the rule. "(Sorry, my hackles rise when I see statements like these.)" --I hate it when my hackles flare up. "Snausages, apparently you've never had an experience on *cough* Northwest (that's Northworst to folks who've been on their domestic flights). One "lunch" was a ham and cheese sandwich (roll, neon pink ham, bland American cheese, tube of mustard) and a plastic cup of water. " --I'm so scared of flying that any meal up there, ie any time spent not dead, feels wondrous. That may taint my view.

Mikeycook, I'm excited to try L'Impero. I've been reading the posts about it on EGullet for the last few months. Pan, if I recall, did like a National Geographic worthy photo essay on it. Although it's highly rated by Zagat (is there a single restaurant that isn't?), it gets nowhere near the word of mouth buzz that Babbo or Lupa get. Oh, and for the record, Muza said Tocqueville is underrated, so you guys are in fact on the same page. I'd like to try Tocqueville again. I sampled their Prix Fixe Lunch which, though very reasonably priced, offered uninspired choices. I'll give them a waiver because I know they can't trot out their best stuff for $20. (Though the chef did, for reasons unknown, send out a complimentary plate of literally 9 sorbets with our dessert, perhaps as a sort of whimsical gesture to acknowledge a table that had ordered strictly the cheapest possible menu option.) Soba, your take seems a bit nihilistic. I started this thread in order to encourage people to take shots at, or offer praise for, restaurants they feel the mainstream has misjudged. If you don't relate to the conventional wisdom about a place (or places), here's a chance to vent. Oh, a new one: Underrated: Airplane Food. Really, this may seem absurd, but I've had some fairly memorable dishes on transatlantic flights. Of course you'll get the occasionally inedible, but look out for the sporadic triumphs. The dessert on Delta's service to France has been great. Down with restaurants in Italy, up with Airplane food! A popular opinion I'm sure...

Nice, another jab at Lupa. Per my comments on Per Se, please keep in mind there's no restaurant in the city I'd rather go to. (Who'd like to take me?) I've been to Grimaldi's about 7 times and, all but once, the crust has been soggy. The sausage is tasty, but what's the point of the hot oven if the dough is flimsy n' wet? That's the beauty of DiFara's pie - it comes out of the oven crispy (usually), a pizzeria rarity. At most places, only reheated slices tend to be crispy. The desserts at Craft are tops. Is the same team handling the sweets at Craftbar?

The Olive Garden is always packed. (The wine list at Lupa is great and totally reasonable. Agreed.)

Mark, If my remarks about Lupa hit a nerve, get this: I think the most overrated dining destination in the world is Italy. Out of 20 meals there, all of which were heavily researched for supposed quality in advance, only one restaurant was better than decent, and most were poor. In contrast, just so you know I'm not a New Yorkophile, the best meals of my life have been had in Paris, Montreal and Barcelona (and NY). I'm sure I had some bad luck in Italy, and of course it's ridiculous to dismiss an entire country's culinary virtue based on so few meals (this thread was meant to be a bit ridiculous), but meals at Babbo, hell, even Lupa, have blown away anything I had in Italy. The fresh produce and cheese and meat and bread in Italy were exceptional, but as soon they got cooked, they got bad. Greasy, watery, bland. I'm happy to provoke disagreement, but I was also hoping to inspire contributions to the underrated/overrated list. Let's hear what you got...

I totally relate. I've been a janitor and teaching janitor...ing for 30 years and there's this other janitor that mops with such god given grace that I often think about giving it up and becoming a cook. Mike, as I said, I've never had Keller's food and I'm sure it's terrific. It's like my feelings about the Yankees: it's not that they're not the best team, in fact, I hate them because they ARE the best team. It's fun to root against the king of the hill. Now take the sand out of your pants and tell me your underrated and overrated...

Tommy - Interestingly, Pompano is also an underrated fish. Oh, and I left out Lombardi's pizza. Most overrated in NY. Is that pizza sauce or Hunt's Catsup?

What restaurants do you not understand the fuss over? What restaurants do you think are under-appreciated? This is more about gut-feeling than reason. Overrated Lupa - Honestly, what's the big deal? Lots of high-quality ingredients adding up to bland, unexceptional dishes. Everyone goes on and on about Lupa. It's fine. Pretty good. But not the culinary nirvana it's hyped up to be. The Spotted Pig - Love the cask ales and the way the place looks, but screw the gnudi. Tasteless and overpriced food. Korean BBQ - Korean BBQ may be fun for a large group, but it's the most over-priced food in the city. I love Korean food, but I would never order the BBQ. Coal and Brick Ovens - It's not good just because it has an old oven. I'm talking to you Grimaldi's. Per Se - I've never been and I'm sure it's the greatest thing ever, but I hate it for being so infallibly awesome. Underrated Hasaki - Extremely reliable, no-frills sushi on 9th St. in the East Village. Just as good, in terms of quality, as Blue Ribbon and (sometimes) Jewel Bako. Grand Sichuan St. Marks - Obviously there's been 1001 posts on this site touting Grand Sichuan's greatness, but it's not enough - the St. Mark's location has been empty and most people not in the EGullet or Chowhound community are still unaware of the genius. San Loco Taco - Queso Loco Chicken Taco & Guaco Loco Chicken Taco. The Yin and Yang of deliciousness. Korean Beef Sandwich, Food Cart at Ludlow and Stanton - Go drunk Saturday at midnight and find out for yourself.

Gus, that NY Metro review was posted here a week ago. The ramen I was served was solid, as the review heralds, but my experience at Momofuku was awful, as detailed a couple posts ago...

The cooking at Momofuku is done under your nose at the noodle bar. Every detail of the kitchen's operation is easily appreciated. Last night, the presentation was wildly inappropriate. The culprit was the restaurant's owner, David Chang. About two minutes after sitting at my stool, I was distracted from reading the menu as Mr. Chang reprimanded his dishwasher, ordering him to speak-up when he passed through the kitchen, to say more loudly, "Behind!" I felt bad for the dishwasher, whose English was broken, and spoke with little confidence, let alone volume. But, fair enough, in a narrow cooking space the staff needs to be vocal to avoid the danger of collision. After placing our order, the sole line cook began preparing the ramen. Almost immediately Mr. Chang, a large, physically intimidating guy, began to scold the cook, leaning over his shoulder, ordering him to be more on top of things, more efficient, essentially telling him everything he was doing was wrong. Chang was not yelling, but in such a small space every word was audible. Rattled by the public humiliation, the cook went more and more into a shell, and the more he tensed up, the more Chang rode him. Regardless of whether or not Chang's criticisms were valid (we hadn't noticed anything wrong with what the cook was doing and our food was served within 5 minutes of ordering), he brought his cook to the verge of tears, told him he was going to be fired, and thus made it impossible for me or my girlfriend to enjoy ourselves, or the food, the quality of which, ironically, so concerned Chang. I respect Chang's obsession with his product, and his CIA and Craft background were evident in the kind of attention-to-detail, always-prepared kitchen philosophy he was dictating, but he demonstrated complete ignorance in one culinary aspect: the customer's experience. Chewing out a sub-standard cook may be a necessary instructional tool in a kitchen, but when diners are sitting a foot away, and the owner never even acknowledges the situation, or apologizes to the diners for the ugly scene, he is showing utter lack of respect for anyone eating in his restaurant. We left a bit traumatized, and I was angry at myself for not having said anything to Chang, but then remembered that it'd be better to let you, a potential customer, know.

Checked out the St. Marks Grand Sichuan a couple nights ago. I've been to the Chelsea location about 15 times, Chinatown 5 times and each of the others once. I'd rank this meal in the top 3 of my cumulative Grand Sichuan experience (nothing can top my virgin experience a few years ago: an orgiastic 18 course birthday banquet). Started With: Dan Dan Noodles - Smokier and hotter than they've ever been served in Chelsea. That's a good thing. Soup Dumplings - Nothing special. Have had better in Chelsea, though I've noticed they've been a bit bland there lately as well. Entrees: Cold Spinach With Ginger Sauce (aka Green Parrot with Red Mouth in Chelsea) - Pretty different than the Chelsea version. Nowhere near as much ginger bite. Much heavier use of lemon and garlic. Still solid, but I prefer it loaded with ginger. Ma Po Tofu - Excellent. Heavily spiced with anise and pepper. Red Cooking Pork Hot Pot (from the expanded Hunan section) - I've always liked the Red Cooking Pork dish at the other locations, but this tops it. Instead of chestnuts, the pork is accompanied by whole cloves of garlic, chili peppers and other veggies, served in, well, a hot pot. Hunan Chicken - Another diced chicken winner. Kung Bao, Hunan, whatever. They always nail these dishes, although the peppercorns were a bit weak. Personally, I don't mind. The peppercorn flavor was more broadly distributed in the dish, rather than dominating the occasional bite. I only sampled two such dishes, but the Hunan menu seems a legitimate and well-executed addition to their repertoire. As others have noted, the place was nearly empty (8pm on a weekday). Very pleased, though, that it seems to be on par with the 9th Avenue locations rather than the East Side lesser-lights...

Checked out Angon last night. Ordered: Halim - Great lamb and barley stew appetizer. The soupy brown gravy was heavily flavored with ginger. This was the best dish we sampled, and, although only $4.95, was almost as large a portion as the main courses. Chicken Vindaloo - Not particularly spicy hot, but very well spiced. A bit salty, but the fullness of the flavors made up for it. Navratan Vegetables (Yogurt Based Sauce) - A nice complement to the vindaloo. Basically a stirfry of brocolli, potato, and lima beans in a tasty pink yogurt sauce. It's hard to imagine a dish feeling more homemade than this. Overall, a huge step-up in quality from the usual crap served on 6th street. Between this spot and Brick Lane, though, the block has a couple highly worthwhile destinations. These 3 dishes, plus 3 beers = $50 with tip. Dining room was half-empty, but, considering it was Sunday at 9pm, we'll call it half-full. The extremely friendly owner, Milton, was our server. He's clearly aware that people are coming for Mina, as he now brings her out of the kitchen and parades her around the dining room, like an exotic pet, every half hour to meet the customers. "Hello, I am Mina," she says, tableside, and bows her head. I asked Milton how Mina came to 6th street. He mentioned that family tension, "politics," between specifically Mina and her sister, led to her departure from her eponymous kitchen.

I had a wonderful meal at 5 Ninth last weekend. The chef, Zak Pelaccio, is formerly of the tragically short-lived Chickenbone Cafe in Williamsburg, and, apparently spent time in the kitchens of French Laundry and Daniel. The restaurant occupies an entire townhouse, the kitchen in the basement, the bar on the first floor, the dining room on the second, and a members-only club on the third. There're also tables in the backyard garden. The space is handsome, tastefully combining the old-world beauty of exposed wood beams and hardwood floors, with slick modern touches. The menu is currently quite different than the one available on-line at the restaurant's web-site. We started with a house cured pork served with fennel gratin. The fennel was served in the little staub iron it was baked in. An impressive portion. 3 hearty discs of pork with a country pate consistency, though surprisingly goopy raw and not firmed in one of the slices. That aside, the taste here was hearty rustic heaven. Fine dining imitating junk food, in the best way (like the way the Rock Shrimp Tempura at Nobu tastes perfectly like Chicken McNuggets), the cheese, fennel and pork tasted like the best sausage pizza ever. (Ever had the sausage pizza at Armand's in DC? this is exactly the taste, minus the red sauce) Next came a bowl of wide noodles in a lobster and spicy cocunut milk broth. Delicious stuff, but perhaps a bit overpriced, or just disappointing, at $15 considering there were only three small slivers of lobster in the entire bowl. Not chunks, slivers. Maybe we just got an unlucky ladel. Two Main Courses: Farm-raised rabbit with a mustard and liver sauce. Haven't had rabbit often, but this was the sweetest, most flavorful version of the meat I've come across. The heavy, metallic notes of liver in the sauce see-sawed perfectly with the sweet, almost citrusy rabbit. Reminded us of the soulful, lusty game served up at La Regalade in Paris. Wild Ivory Salmon. I forget what it was served with. But, I love the hard to find white salmon, which is completely different from its more common pink alter-ego. More buttery. Dessert: After being doled relatively generous dinner portions, dessert was shockingly small. Sticky rice with chocolate mousse and caramelized bananas. Can't go wrong with chocolate and banana, but it was like two bites. No fun. The dessert menu wasn't particularly extensive or inspired. But we were too full for it to matter much. Service: Service was a bit amateurish. Or maybe just green, since it's only been open a couple months. The restaurant's service culture is clearly laid back and casual, which is fine, but it crossed the line a couple times, such as waitresses spending more time talking to each other in the corner than checking on their tables. Not snooty in the least, just a bit disconnected - the waitress hadn't tried half the things on the menu and knew nothing about the wines. The service betrays the food a bit. The servers are not operating at the level of intensity of the kitchen. Meal for two with a bottle of wine and 2 cocktails (the drinks are worth their own discussion - as evidenced by threads on the cocktail forums here) came to a little under $200. I'm sure some people will be turned off by the meatpacking scene, but it'd be a shame if that kept you away. There's detestable (or just laughable) people in each of NY's neighborhood scenes, so don't worry about it. I agree with Bruni's sense that something truly great could be developing here... NY Times on 5 Ninth

Pan, B&H is not reliable across the board. The appeal is that, despite the occassional utter failure, when it succeeds it hits much higher notes, for me, than Teresa's. I've always had decent food at Teresa's. Never bad, never great. I've had both bad and great at B&H. I'm more interested in the place that triumphs in spite of missteps, than the place that plateaus in the middle. I find that Veselka more strongly seasons their food (maybe I'm mistaking salt for flavor) than Teresa's, which is what I respond favorably too in that comparison. I find the service at Veselka and Teresa's to be pretty similar, although it of course depends on the given waiter. Not to generalize, but, after eating at upwards of 10 different Eastern European diners, there's a certain coldness to the service that's a bit unpleasant. One gets the sense that food-service Poles and Russians are uniformly brooding depressives. Maybe because they're not allowed to drink vodka on their shifts...

I agree with Fat Guy's model for the differentiation between Delicious and Four-Star. Without such criteria, it'd be impossible to dilineate between a Corner Bistro cheeseburger and a Thomas Keller tasting menu. Both the burger and Keller's cuisine are delicious. Keller's food, however, is the expression of singular culinary genius, refined inspiration, a life's work, as executed by a crew of extremely talented cooks. Four-stars marks the recognition of such vision. Four-stars recognizes the beauty and artistry of the chef - what he/she (are there any 4 star, or Michelin 3 star female chefs?) does to transform delicious ingredients into a revelation. In fact, I think the standard for four-stars should include the most difficult qualifaction: the food should be groundbreaking. Restaurants should not be rewarded for luxury. They should be rewarded for significance. This is extremely difficult to measure in real time, of course, as significance is often measured by influence, which takes time to manifest. Perhaps this has something to do with why Michelin so rarely awards 3 stars to brand new kitchens? Of course, the most influential restaurant in the US may be McDonald's, which demonstrates why 'significance' is a tricky yardstick. Significance, then, in the narrower field of those kitchens dealing with the finest ingredients and striving to serve complex, rather than convenient, or utilitarian, meals. There is something inherently impractical and absurd about four-star cuisine, and I think that's appropriate. Food is the most practical, utilitarian thing in the world, but food-as-an-art-form is surely entitled to, and should, operate on the same terms as other artforms - free of any obligation to practicality or reality. Like great art, great food is transcendent. The greatest art and/or food should evoke profound feeling, hopefully in a way, at least slightly, different from any other previous experience. Because the experience is profound, and requires focus, it is somewhat challenging, draining, and this may speak to why a lot of us (budget issues aside) might more often prefer great restaurants to the best, why we'd rather go to The Tasting Room than Ducasse or Per Se. Beyond the logistical information it provides, the best potential product of the star system is that it might encourage the evolution of the preparation of food. It should reward those very rare chefs that, more than just amazing cooks, are truly inventors. If Benno or Lee, masters by rote of Keller's cuisine, were to open a restaurant next door to Per Se, that served the exact same menu as Per Se, should it be awarded four-stars (granted that Per Se will soon be awarded four-stars)? Beyond the obvious issues of legality and pride, the answer shoud be no, since, despite the contributions these guys obviously make in Keller's kitchen, there would be no demonstration of unique artistry. Greatness reproduced, not greatness conceived. The NY Times' star system has gravity if it strives to record the fleeting instances where the gourmet universe has, in some aspect, been furthered. Because, to me, culinary artistry, not the trappings of aristocratic pampering, is what four star food (Food! Food is the issue, not Restaurant) is all about, I despise the fact that so much attention is paid to "ambiance" and "luxurious setting." Sure, sometimes it's nice to sit in an expensive chair and look at a chandelier while you eat, or have 9 waiters monitor the status of your fork, but four-star food should be acknowledged even if not served in the narrow-mindedly, upper-class, white notion of "Best" surroundings. There are a ton of people that would feel extremely uncomfortable in each of NY's 4-star dining rooms. Count me in that group. I'm not suggesting total experience doesn't matter - obviously the surroundings should not be so bad as to take away from the enjoyment of the food, but a four star restaurant need not be palatial. Despite my lack of interest in ambiance as a measure, I doubt there are more than 1 or 2 restaurants in NYC deserving of 4 stars that don't have it. Bruni's Babbo review (or, rating) really bothered me, though, because it punished a four star chef for the choices he, or his staff, make outside the kitchen. Would you remove Picasso from the art canon if all of his paintings were poorly framed? (And to the people that say 4 stars aren't necessarily better then 3 stars, it's just 'different'...C'mon.) Long story short, I nominate Mars 2112.

I've logged most of my Teresa's meals at the Brooklyn Heights branch. Because central Brooklyn Heights (Montague St.) is one of the city's bleakest culinary ghettos (as measured by the discrepancy between number of restaurants and number worth going to), Teresa's stands out as a decent option amidst miserable ones. The food is servicable, and the solid Polish offerings, including kielbasa, pierogis and potato pancakes, elevate it above the nearby diners. And it's cheap, which never hurts. If I'm in the East Village, though, where it's easier to do better than "servicable," Teresa's is made somewhat obsolete by the Eastern European alternatives Veselka (for soups, kielbasa, casseroles, pierogis and dessert) and B&H Dairy (for challah, borscht, and vegetable soup). But, Pan, having been to Teresa's about 30 times, I do get why it's appealing. It's comfortable and reliable (in the sense that it's never off-putting). Solid neighborhood joint. And, there is one stand-out dish: the chicken soup. Terrific chicken soup. First thing I eat when I get a cold. PS - It's a separate topic, but when I trash Brooklyn Heights, I'm talking specifically about Montague St. Atlantic Ave. has a bunch of good Middle-Eastern options, and Henry St. in the North Heights offers Henry's End, Noodle Pudding, Iron Chef and Fascati. But, Montague St. Wow. Possibly boasts the 4 worst Chinese places in the city, all in a single 3 block stretch.

Yeah, meat intake usually begets meat appetite for me as well. There's nothing I want more after a good steak than...more steak. I entered a sort of 3-month meat vortex this spring, bouncing deliriously between beef, pork, lamb and duck, culminating in a final orgy of consumption at the BABBP and I think my body is begging for mercy, demanding at least a token gesture of leafy green. (Ultimately, I think I had a Cue Hangover, from all the smoke and grilling, more than a Meat Hangover. Apologies to Meat for the unfair attribution of ill-effects...)

As delicious as the cue was, did anyone else suffer from a meat hangover? At about 4pm on Sunday, a couple hours after leaving the action, I got incredibly tired and literally had to run home to go to sleep, instantly passing out from beef & pork fatigue. I'm only starting to shake off the drowsiness now, and have been eating nothing but fruits and vegetables since (not because I want to, as much as my body just kinda flinches when I see meat). I even ate some cottage cheese today, a personal low-point.

My go to ramen spot is Menchanko Tei at 45 W. 55th St. (btwn 5th and 6th Ave). They have a couple other locations, including a spin-off cafe (under a different name) on 6th Avenue near W. 4th St. I particularly like the Hakata Ramen - a big bowl of creamy ginger pork broth and ramen. There's a sushi restaurant called Fuji on 56th St. btwn Broadway and 8th that I wouldn't recommend for fish, but serves a decent bowl of ramen. Granted Menchanko Tei is better, offers infinitely more variety and is half the price. Juuceman thanks for that tip, I'll look for that spot...

Many thanks to Fat Guy and all the Saturday posters for their intrepid reporting. If I hadn't read your guys' live reports, I wouldn't have arrived early enough on Sunday to avoid the crowds and probably would have (foolishly) skipped Blue Smoke's ribs. My trifecta: Mitchell's - Finally, I 'get' the NC whole hog experience. Why do NorthEast places serving pulled pork so often leave out the vinegar? Such a simple and effective way to complement the meat. Upon request, they threw in a slab of ribs, some with significant meat still attached. The crackly, charred ribs were a highlight. KC Brisket - Had it once at noon and again at about 1:30. The first cut was sensational. Smoky and fatty (right at, but not past, that delightful brink of being too fatty). The second cut, later in the day, still tasted great, but the meat was a bit leaner and not quite as melty as the first. Blue Smoke - Great ribs. Where was the 17th St. stand on Sunday? For some reason I didn't see it.

Went in a group of 6 to BLT Steak last night. I ran straight from a softball game in the Park to the restaurant. Wanting to freshen up, and look a little less like a sweaty, unshaven, out-of-place downtown slob, in a dining room full of wealthy businessmen and their pleased-to-be-married-to-wealthy-businessmen wives, my first impression was of the Men's Room. The lone stall (there are also two urinals) features a full, floor to ceiling door, so that you step into your own little chamber, which is how it should be (but rarely is). Why, after all, do most bathroom doors not go to the floor? Is the convenience of checking occupancy, without having to knock, worth the aural trauma of glimpsing trousers slumped around strange men's ankles? The warm water knob on the faucet broke off when I turned it. Oops. When our group was seated (at 9:20 for a 9:00 reservation) we were brought to a booth in the back corner of the dining room. I'm no booth conneisseur, but this particular set-up provided the most pleasant seating arrangement I've ever been offered for a group of 6. The booth is an oval, and recessed into its own little enclosed chamber, walled on one side by wine-racks behind glass, so that, sitting at the table, the group feels at once in their own private room and, thanks to the perfect sight-line provided by the narrow opening at the entrance to the booth, part of the bustle of the dining room. Thanks to the wonders of the chamber's acoustics, we were as loud and obnoxious as 6 dumb drunk men can be, without even slightly disturbing the uptight looking Upper East Side family sitting six feet from us. The food was terrific. My take pretty much mirrors the Critics' take and Fat Guy's, so no revelations here, but, at the very least, I'd like to add to the heap of praise: Starters Toast with Pate (Complimentary) - A nice kickstart to the festivities. A light, smooth Pate served in two little cups (ramikins?) for the table. Popovers (Complimentary) - wonderfully flaky pastry-like bread served hot, with a hint of cheese baked in. Oysters - Kumomoto, Blue Point and Nova Scotian variety. Fresh, good. Kumomotos, perhaps just by luck of the draw, were exceedingly small. Blue Points, which are of course naturally bigger, were swimming in an embarrassment of terrific liquor. Excellent cocktail sauce. Foie Gras BLT - Hard to argue with this. The smoky, salty crispness of the bacon couples perfectly with the sweeter, fruity notes of the soft Foie Gras. Was served with (I'm guessing here) an apricot mint chutney. Heirloom Tomatoes with Stilton Cheese and Onions - Very nice, but one's mouth will be cranky if there's available Foie Gras BLT on the table and you're spooning it anything else. Tuna TarTar - Great. In general, the kitchen was right on with textures all night - the tuna here was just the right firmness, not the sloppy slimy mass you sometimes get with lesser quality versions of this dish. Main Courses Roasted Duck - looked great. the guy who was eating it was loving it. It's the one dish I didn't try, though. Dover Sole - Generous filet of buttery (and covered in butter) tender white meat. The fish supports the richness of the butter sauce well, as the meat is thin, but surprisingly dense (in a good way). A real treat, though I'm not sure why it's priced at $45. Is Dover sole more expensive than aged Prime Porterhouse, for instance? Prime Rib for Two - Hey, red meat with horseradish sauce is almost always going to be tasty, but this dish was the only one that kinda made me shrug, Enh, this is nothing special. A steak of this quality can be had in endless restaurants in the city. It did not stand out like, well, the star of the show... Veal Chop - Wow. This is veal from a bizarro planet, a planet where Veal is far superior to redder beef, to, really, any food ever. Generally, I'd almost always prefer the richer, meatier taste of a bull's steak to a calf's, but this parmesan crusted cut of meat single-handedly undid all previous anti-veal bias. Finally, veal delicious enough to fully justify the fact that you're eating baby. Go to BLT Steak and eat this dish. Sides Peas with Bacon - I'll side with the people who've said they like this dish. Sweet & Salty. Creamed Spinach - Solid, but nothing special, at least in comparison to some of the superior options on the table. Onion Rings - Best onion rings I've ever had. Very light breading with a perfectly cooked, just firm-enough onion. Asparagus - Thick, meaty spears. Stuffed Mushroom Caps - Wanted the Hen of the Woods, but they were out. Caps nothing to get excited about. Desserts Creme Brulee was excellent as was the much-heralded Chocolate Tart (though the ice cream served with it was surprisingly thin, almost icey, rather than creamy or rich, but maybe that's the idea, given the unrelenting denseness of the tart). Sundae so-so. But who orders a sundae when the tart's an option? The little complimentary chocolate petit-fours (apologies for mangled spelling) were delicious. Drinks Table shamelessy ordered 3 bottles of the cheapest wine on the menu, a $28 Cotes Du Rhone Domaine Autard. Totally pleasant wine, and a nice way to keep the price down for a bunch of not-so-wealthy dudes. Service was exceedingly pleasant. Reminded me of the type of laid back but astute guidance provided at Jewel Bako, though, we only sampled one waiter, so, who knows, there's probably a couple duds in the bunch, too. Everything included, with more than 20% tip, $105 a person, which I think is absolutely fair, if not pleasantly low, considering the quality of food and the fact that we were all stuffed. (I've heard some gripes about portion size, but I don't agree - I'm a huge eater and I was totally satisfied, though it might have been an unfair advantage to be in a large group where variety of dishes supercedes quantity.) I totally agree with Fat Guy's assessment of the restaurant and the comparisons to Craft. None of the dishes are an intellectual revelation, or culinary paradigm shifting (except maybe for that veal), but it's just damn good, relatively straight-forward eats. BLT Steak rocks (the food that is. the clientele, most certainly, do not. though they are fun to look at. i love watching an exeter boy, at home for the summer, in his blazer, sitting at a taken-for-granted beautifully prepared meal with his UES parents...am i reverse snob? oh well...)

Thanks again to everyone who offered suggestions for my supermarket search. All the information was extremely helpful. I went to more grocery stores on Saturday than I'd been to, total, in my entire life. It was interesting to note that every single supermarket looked different, with little architectural and lighting nuances, but every cashier & bagger looked exactly the same. I swear the same 9 people work in the Shop & Stop in Hackensack and the Shop Rite in Lyndhurst. Or maybe there's just a certain uniformity to people's appearance when they're bathed in flourescent light (and all miserable with their jobs). Wegman's in Woodbridge was nice. My first time at a Wegman's. I got roped in by a woman at a sample table selling some sort of new Saran Wrap that sticks to itself and she was pleased to demonstrate that a glass of water sealed with the stuff could be turned upside down without leaking any water, or, that I could wrap my cellphone and then put it in a cooler, if I wanted to. God knows I want to. Han Ah Reum was not the right look, but that place is awesome. I've been to their store on 32nd St., in the city, but this is the real deal. I never knew there were 4,200 different types of pre-packaged Korean Noodle soup. Or that Pocky made a pumpkin flavor (not good, don't try it - stick with Maple Custard, or any of the many chocolate varieties). As for permission to shoot, it was a complete and total failure. Every store manager said the same thing: call corporate headquarters and ask them. When I called headquarters, no one knew whose job it was to field my request. Eventually, an Operations middle manager would be wrangled and give the rote, No. Funny that the US might actually be one of the toughest places in the world to try to shoot in 'public' places. Ah, insurance liability... It's all right, though. Plan B is in effect - run into these stores guerilla style with a camera and see what happens. I hope Jersey jail is accomodating. PS - I stopped in at a Indo/Pak/Bangladesh place on Route 1/9, in a depressing little strip mall, near Newark Airport. The place looks like a community center - a big, square room, linoleum floors, a few fold-up tables - could easily host a rockin' geriatric Bingo night. The floor was disturbingly sticky. Nice sucking sound with every step, just to make my entrance into the empty room all the more awkward. The food was served out of hot trays behind the counter. I was trying to save room for China 46 so I just got a Chicken Curry and something the guy described as Spicy Chicken. Standard microwave re-heating and paper plates, but both were actually very good - surprisingly well flavored. Superior, I think, to the comprable Pakistani Tea House in NYC. The Spicy Chicken was covered in Anise seeds. I've never had that anywhere else. And they were showing some awesome Indian movies on the TV - a really melodramatic Indian version of ET, with an adorable blue alien named "Jadco." Brilliant. I got stuffed though and couldn't go for a much anticipated return to China 46, despite passing it THREE times. Painful.

Menton, I think you're probably right about Costco not looking like a traditional supermarket. Plus, I'm not a member, which I think is required for entrance. Although they do make surprisingly good rugelah. I may go to Wegman's, even if it's a little far, just because it sounds awesome.

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I'll check out all these locations (next weekend). If there're more suggestions, keep em coming! Also, and I know this is a longshot, but if anybody by any chance has a connection at one of these places (like, knows the manager) that could be a tremendous help. If you do, post it here, or maybe send me a personal message and I'll follow up with you. Later. (This is all, of course, just an excuse to get back to China 46)

Regarding Republic's intention to sue Saigon Republic, the irony, to me, is that Republic itself has always seemed a flagrant rip-off of Wagamama in London - the communal wooden benches, the pan-Asian noodle menu, even the red star logo. And these are much more substantive elements to 'borrow' than a name, especially when that name is essentially the name of the nation which the food is from. Unless Republic is in fact owned by Wagamama (or, even then too), it's laughable that such a derivative restaurant would go after a more authentic competitor, crying 'copycat.'