LJC

A buddy and I were good and stoned on Wed. night and headed out to Srip in Woodside. Upon arrival we were reminded by the dim lights and lack of patrons that Srip is closed on Weds. However I have often passed and never stopped at a tiny store front on Roosevelt Avenue at about 59th Street (just past the Mc Donald’s) that reads Peking BBQ. There is alway a line of people waiting and now I know why. It is a latino-chino joint that makes one of the best rotisserie chicks I have ever had. Does anyone know what place I am talking about? I thought it was a rib joint but everyone on line was ordering the same super juicy birds. We got a whole chick, order of ribs, fried rice and fried yuca for about $17. The ribs were good, like a very meaty version of chinese spare ribs, the sides were eh (yuca much better than the rice) but the chicken was insane as was the latino style "hot sauce" (like a guasacaca). I can't wait to go back. BTW - it's really a take out place, they have some tables and there were a few people sitting but take out seems to be the way to go.

Has anyone been to the one on 57th St.?

According to the Venezuelan woman I married, quesillo and flan are made from essentially the same recipe (venezuelans use condensed milk, whole milk and both yolks and whites) however quesillo is cooked longer and winds up with lots of little holes where flan is solid. Quesillo is a bit drier and has a more burnt carmel flavor and flan is creamy and "light".

What is your favorite fish? I was on vacation out of the country recently and had a chance to eat Permit for the 4th time in my life. Permit are endangered and although in the US you can sport fish for them there are huge fines and possible imprisonment for keeping them. I am not sure if it is the romance of food on vacation or eating the forbidden fish but I can't stop thinking about how much I love it. I love fish in general and as of late Cod has been my go to, but if I had to state my favorite it would be Permit hands down. What is yours?

So of the NJ Korean how many and which ones use live coals? Woo Jung, Han Il Kwan are there others?

I had tried Baja a couple of times and thought the Burrito was ok (steak was better than chicken) in a pinch. I was telling a friend of mine from California about someone I ran into while there and he said "oh, the fish tacos are great aren't they?". I said, "what fish tacos?" That got him started with a whole shpeal about how this is a Baja concept and that Baja is famous for fish tacos and that in California the thing to get is the fish taco and how two of them (a good meal) only cost something like $5 or less. So, next time I passed a Baja Fresh I went in for the fish taco and found that it is really good. Basically it is a fried fish stick taco and it's very tasty and apparently it's their signature item. Who'd thunk it?

As for the steak size, singles are just the strip with the bone, doubles are larger and have a small portion of filet. Sometimes a steak for three is very large and has a portion of both the strip and a good size filet, other times you get a double and a single. IMO the best thing to do is ask if the triple will be one steak or two and if it's one, get it, otherwise order doubles. (BTW there is no single steak for 4). Enjoy!

Silverware as opposed to fine stainless or silver plate is incredibly expensive (a full set for 12 can run upwards of $15k), requires much maintenance and is very rarely found in restaurants. Even Restaurant Jean Georges uses silver plate, which still requires a ton of maintenance. I have a 40% complete set of Tiffany Silver that I have been putting together via flea markets and replacements.com for about 5 years now. It will be a life long task, which is part of the fun for me. Until I complete my set, I am using designer stainless that I bought at Bloomingdales, which is good looking and relatively inexpensive.

At one point, one of the restaurants I was responsible for used stainless Peugeot pepper mills which walked out the door nightly. The worst case I ever heard about was written in the NYT a couple of years ago. Someone stole the faucet from the bathroom sink along with the doorknob hardware. This said, I once aided my wife in stealing an ashtray from a cafe in Turkey. We did ask the manager if we could buy one and when he refused it became "mission impossible". A great story that my grandmother used to tell was of an experience at the Plaza Hotel about 50 years ago. My Grandparents and there friends were very well off. The wives had been shopping and everyone was going to meet at the plaza for tea and fruit. The tables were set with crystal salt and pepper shakers and one of the women put the set in her purse. When the bill was presented there was a line item for the crystal ware....$80. The woman returned the shakers. Best of all, I once visited the home of a former employee who not only had a full set of china and flatware but had turned our damask table linens into curtains.

It was pretty good. Overall I thought the highlights were the pulled pork and the chicken but I didn't think anything was bad. It's not like I would make a special trip from the city but I certainly wouldn't thumb my nose at it. Thanks to all for the feedback.

This is the reason that so many hotels use the term gratuity not service charge and in some cases both. For example many fine hotels will place a flat service charge on your room service order in addition to a mandatory %x gratuity. Some go even further and then leave a blank line for an additional gratuity.

Not wages or income tax but sales tax; In NYS 8.65% just like your entree. So if an establishment places a $10.00 "service charge" on a check the establishment would owe Uncle Sam $0.87 and the server would get $9.13 which he or she would then have to pay income tax on. More likely would be that the $10 service charge would go into the subtotal and then be taxed. So, you the guest would pay $10.87 to "tip" a server $10.

Just a couple of points: For those of you who tip less when you are in a "pooled house" you should realize that when you tip less it is the server you are hurting. It is just an excuse for you to be cheap; if I were to follow your logic then I would think you should tip more not less. It was also mentioned that there is an establishment that places a "service charge" right on the bill to avoid any tipping issues. Be aware that a "service charge" is a taxable sale where a gratuity is not. So you may prefer the clarity but you end up paying more and the servers get the money for the "service charge" after a sales tax deduction.

Having read these post I think I'll I give it a shot. Thanks!

I have not seen any threads on them and I have never been but I was just invited to a meeting at Famous Dave’s on Rt. 22 in Mountainside. I am neither here nor there in terms of the meeting so if the food is good I'll go but if not I won't schlep all the way out there from the city. What do you think?

I visited China 46 based on the recs from the NJ Board and I was very disappointed. All of the NYC spots that are favored here beat the crap out of China 46. The dumplings at 46 were stuffed with a dense filling and the broth was weak and watery sort of like a lipton cup of soup. I was on my way to Newark and I passed up going for Portuguese BBQ for some soup dumplings. Boy did I make a mistake. In all fairness to 46, I have to say that I was alone so all I ordered were the bao but other tables did have items that looked very good.

Ate there on Sat. Confirmed it is Mina. Food was fantastic and spicy. Highlights were the fish ball curry and hamil (Lamb and lentil stew, App) but everything we had was great. The service was really very nice and family oriented, meaning that everyone working there was in some way related. They could not have been nicer nor could the food have been better. The only drawback was that the beer was not cold enough but when asked they put some in the freezer all is well that ends well. The other thing is that is seems that the place has not caught on yet as it was pretty much empty on a weekend night. I wish them the best of luck and I look forward to many delicious returns.

So... let's hear it for the Jersey Corn! What are you doing with it? Where are you getting it? How much do you love it?

Katie, I think that your statement is a bit too general. I would agree that most smaller "boutique" operations can't afford to dedicate an employee (steward or book keeper) to soliciting bids, processing purchase orders and receiving. However that is not to say that there would be no benefit but only that the expense would more than likely exceed the savings. As far as the quality is concerned, I don't know about Philly but in New York you would not be limited to national (mediocre) vendors like sysco. Even the small farmers and fish mongers are willing to send you their pricing lists that you can use as a "bid" or comparison. "Doesn't matter much for frozen french fries but matters a whole lot for a case of mesclun mix for example" There are several farms that grow organic, hydroponics and hothouse produce and the prices can fluctuate from farmer to farmer and from week to week. The benefits that one could realize are not solely from economies of scale but from the laws of competition. Again I don't know Philly but here in NY there are a many single unit restaurants that gross in excess of $10M/yr operating at the highest levels of quality and have very strict purchasing procedures. They do not limit the scope of vendors that can be used but they require that the person doing the ordering be mindful of pricing and the person doing the receiving be mindful of quantity and quality. One operation that I am familiar with has gone so far as to dedicate a daily budget to food purchases for any given calendar day. They have tracked sales for many years and estimate what their daily sales should be and based on that info they give the Chef a budget for that day.

It is important to remember that this issue does not exist in a vacuum and there are many factors at play. The size of the operation, the style and the concept of operation will effect the controls and ultimately food cost. A restaurant that serves an a la carte menu vs. a price fixe, a family/value concept vs. a market fresh/artesian concept and a ma and pa vs. an established organization are examples of different operations and each of them has their own challenges. If the point is that everyone should pay attention to market pricing and delivery quantities then the point is well made. CFO is you have people working in you organization that are ignoring these principles then you should address them. As Carrot Top mentioned good HR policies and clear job descriptions can be helpful. Katie are you inferring that only multi outlet operators of poor quality could implement biding and other purchasing controls? or that using such controls limits the quality?

For a few years, when I was a kid, my family lived in Horizon House the apartment buildings across the street from Hirams and Callahans. We always went to Callahans for hot dogs and Hirams for hamburgers. I have never tired the hot dog at Hirams but I have had the hamburger at Callahans. IMO Hirams makes a superior burger.

I was back in the area again and picked up a great assortment of Fruits and Veggies for an unbeatable price. Limes (10 for $1), baby eggplant, peppers, kiwi (4 for $1), a papaya, a pineapple, green plantains (4 for $1), Mangos (2 for $1), and Coconuts. All of this (3 shopping bags) cost me only $13!

I was in Westfield yesterday at lunchtime and decided to check out the Wild Noodles. I walked in, had a tuff time figuring out that I should approach the counter, took a look at the menu and walked out. I could not believe the menu "Asian", "Italian", "American".... didn't anyone tell them that you can’t be all things to all people. There were a few customers eating but the food didn't look at all appetizing.

Schneier - Do mean Tokyo - Norita Airport? If so I don't remember all that many choices but I do remember a great bento box with, soup, chicken, rice and shumai and a cold Kirin Ichiban draft. That was pretty darn good. No one has mentioned the Figs (Todd English) in LaGuardia Airport. It is by far the best airport dining option on the east coast. I was once going to Colombia and my flight (out of JFK) was delayed for 5 hrs so I took a cab to Don Pepe in Ozone Park which, if it qualifies as airport dining, would beat figs. SLC International does suck! I was once all alone in SLC on Xmass eve (a long story) and I couldn't find any open restaurants, including Chinese. My only choice was to go to the airport and eat one of the bars. Horrible!

Had the unfortunate experience of having my car towed by the marshal and it wound up in Greenpoint. So, as there has to be bright side to all crappy days, mine was lunch at Lugers. Had the burger with onion and tomato, a slice of bacon and a Brooklyn Lager. All for $22 including tip and I was in and out in less than 40 min. It can't be beat.