LJC

Just got two for two: Fri 4/2 5:30pm Fri 3/26 10:30pm

marlena spieler- What a great mother/mother of girlfriend you are. I think it is very nice of you to go to such lenghts; you must really like him. I would second Tabla and Amma, although not right in the Gramercy area Artisinal could work too (for the cheese lover). As well, Veritas did a beautiful veg menu for my wife a few months ago and she loved it.

Asiate in NYC is charging, "Nicholas Feuillatte NV rose at a stunning $22 per glass -still cheaper than the bottle" - from NY forum. This sounds really high, if I am not mistaken I think I have seen it on other NYC wine lists for about $88.00 +/-. Can anyone confirm?

$22 per glass for Feuillatte NV Brut Rose? Isn't that really pricey for this wine? I think it is the same price as the brut n/v, wholesale $20 +/- $2.

Hi Bond Girl: I am coming into this thread pretty late but I have reviewed many of the posts and I hope my input can help. I have worked in the hospitality industry for over 12 years and I have worked on (in mgt capacity) 7 new openings ranging in quality and style from a casual cafe in brooklyn to on of Manhattan’s 4 stars. All of these projects were privately funded (as most restaurant projects are) and owned by reputable and successful NYC operators. I now work in commercial real estate doing site selections for mostly F&B related companies. You seem to be getting some good advice and support for the wonderful egulletiers; so here is my two cents: First, LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. It is very difficult to work proformas and accurate budgets without knowing the location costs and space confines. The location will dictate the potential # of covers you can do each day, possibly the menu you choose to offer, the number of seats, the kitchen lay out and subsequent equipment you will need to purchase. You can ballpark rent budgets by area but every location is different and there is no rule for space cost. Each location is unique and no two are the same in price, size, term etc. (PM me and I can give you some good ballparks for diff. neighborhoods). Don't plan or design or spec kitchen equipment before you chose a chef and a location. A combination of the chefs style, menu and space will dictate the equipment you need and can fit. A good example is a deal I worked on where a prestigious building built a rest. (back of house) based on some a--hole consultants advice before they found an operator. When they found a worthy operator he was unable to use the kitchen as it was built and it wound up costing the building owner $160k to re-tool the kitchen to the chefs style of cooking. PR is 50% of the equation. Some celebrity chefs and restaurateurs do their own PR. But if you don't have a reputation the writers will follow nor do you have close personal relationships with the editors of the top publications you need to hire a competent company. Real estate is the name of the game for a beginner; you want to control a location. If you can own it great but if you lease it you want options to extend and the right to assign. What is Mc Donalds Bussiness? Well, it's not hamburgers, they control and own some of the most desirable real estate in the country. One poster wrote something about locations being available in bankruptcy. I can tell you that a lease on a good location is incredibly valuable. An example would be the lease of a failed Union Square location was just sold to a new operator for $400k. I guess that the operator who could not keep his restaurant afloat was able to breakeven by selling his lease. As far as the returns on some of the larger investments mentioned in the thread (i.e. $12M) we are talking about proven operators with solid concepts that are projected to gross around $20M per year. There is an operator in NYC currently looking at a deal for 30,000 square feet at a cost of over $4.75M/yr. It is simply a matter of scale. These numbers seem huge but make sense in their business models. Good luck and I too am cheering for you!

Lucky you! I have not been in over a year but I can still recall the outstanding, Frogs legs, lobster and pheasant. I can't wait to hear about it. Have fun!

I second Don Pepe; a trip to the airport is not complete with out it. Sammy is right, cash only, about $40 pp. Things to try: Best linguini in white clam sauce chinese chicken (not really chinese, I don't know why they call it this. Chicken with tomato sauce.) baked clams eggplant rolatini you will also be pretty close (20 min) to Flushing for chinese, especially if you take the van wyck.

Both my sister and her fiancé are jewish so I guess the church is out. theabroma: Although the locations you described sound wonderful, private and charming, my sis is really looking for beachy places. Are there any that you can think of that might also fit the other criterion? Once again, thanx!

I am not sure. If it was a diner than it must have been one a long time ago because it has been Ft. Lee Pizza for at least 16 years (same family) and could be much longer.

bacon

Lemoine Ave., north of the bridge, right next door to the fire house and across the street from a gas station. Sorry I can't do better.

What do you think of Fort Lee Pizza? It's my favorite slice.

What do you think of Fort Lee Pizza? It's my favorite slice.

Think room temp. roast filet of beef roast turkey breast roast pork tenderloin you get it ... roasted meats poached fish many pastas can be served at room temp

Have a great time and I hope you can make it to Andres Carne de Reyes; it really is great.

Thank you for the great input. I am passing it all on to my sister and so far no conclusion but she said the lovetripper.com site is a great resource.

My Family is a bit strange but we considered my wedding in Caracas (at my wife’s home) to be a destination wedding because we had over 250 guests (120 of them gringos). Since neither my sister nor her fiancé is Mexican and they are only planning to invite 10% of the guest list (and still throw a party in NYC for the rest of bunch); we are calling it an "elopement". Where in Zihuatanejo did your friends get married? Was it on the beach? Right now my sister is focusing on the resorts but I was hoping I could help her find a seaside estate that we could rent for a few days - a week. Does anybody know of one?

Thanks! I will really have 2 hrs for lunch and I can prob. make it 21/2 if I had to. So any Thai suggestions are welcome. White Dog? What do I order? I found that the University Hotels are higher priced than some of the downtown hotels. For example the Sheraton is more expensive than the Lowes. I have stayed in both Lowes and Sheraton properties and in the U.S. Lowes is typically nicer. Is the University Sheraton really nice? is the location so much better? Is the Lowes out of the way? mrbigjas, you made it sound like the Lowes location is great and convinent for both work at U Penn and dining around town. Unless I am told otherwise I think I will book the Lowes. live2eat - thanks for the cheap eats recs. I will have to try anything referred to as a grease truck; I take it Hemo's is tops?

My sister has been engaged for about 13 months and has not been able to plan her dream wedding. She is a performer and she is engaged to well known writer and between them and my large family they have a guest list of almost 450 people. My family is pretty fortunate and has means but there is a budget to conform to. Any way my sister has planned three different types of weddings ranging from Capitale (on Bowery in NYC) to a beach wedding on Fire Island and none of them have worked out, either due to price, logistics or availability and capacity. So... she is now thinking of eloping with about 40-50 guests and Mexico seems to be the target destination. Could anyone recommend a resort or really anti-resort that could accommodate this size group. We have been focused on Playa del Carmen. Being as we are coming from the east coast I think Cabo is out and I think the east coast of Mexico is preferable. Needless to say the commercial charm of places like Cancun is wasted on us so places that are off the beaten track, exclusive, romantic, private, secluded are desired. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

In about 5 weeks I will be in Philly for a 3 night stay (Sun. - Wed.) and I am totally unfamiliar with the local dining (and lodging) scene. First, where would you suggest I stay? I found a some pretty good rates on line for the Lowes; is it nice? I will be at U of Penn from 9-5 with a two hr. lunch break so lunch recs close to the university would be great. I have no conflicts in the evening so anywhere you suggest will be fine (great I hope). I am not on a particular budget but I would like a mix of the best cheap dining and fine dining. I have no allergies and eat everything so all recs are welcomed. Thanks!

The name Loco Moco caught my attention; in Spanish it translates to "crazy snot". Do you think this has something to do with the sunny side up egg, the gravy or is it just a coincidence?

An other cultural (as opposed to culinary) must is the Botero Museum in the old city. They have an enormous collection donated by Botero himself.

Will Bogota be your only stop?

I have skimmed the thread and I have not seen any mention of Viking cutlery... I was just given a slicing knife as a gift. I never even knew they produced cutlery nor have I ever heard anything about it. It has a good weight and feels pretty good in my hand. Does anyone know anything about them or have any experience with them?

Yes it is in Chia about 45min drive (safe) outside of Bogota. It is well worth the trip, I will see if my wife has some photos I can post. We also ate at a brasserie called Balzac in the Zona Rosa and a great Spanish restaurant in the old city but I can't remember the name. Balzac was like eating at Balthazar on Spring St. in NYC; fashionable crowd and pretty good brasserie classics. I highly recommend a quest for Jaiaco (spelling?) the typical Columbian chicken soup.