BJL

I was there a few weeks ago and found it most enjoyable. Tons of food for each course. The biggest dissapointment was the table side mozzarella - not worth the extra cost. Very decent wine list and the food was good. Service was a bit odd, but I chalked that up to it being so new. The bar area is great, and they served nice small bites of pizza and foccacia up there. It is indeed a fabulous value. We had a few picky eaters and vegetarians with us, but everyone seemed to get something they enjoyed. The family style presentation and sharing makes for a fun evening as well.

Any recent suggestions on what to try at Craft and what to avoid? I am going tomorrow and am very curious about proper planning on what to order to get the most of their unique menu.

Can someone tell me where DiPaolo's is? I would love to pick up some tomatoes. Thanks.

Had an amazing meal there last night. I doubt I could do it justice by reviewing it, but everything from service to food was tremendous. I will tell you that I was really surprised at how many empty tables there were. We had a 5:45 reservation, only 3 other tables were occupied. When we left, at almost 10 they had only seated 3 more tables and there was hardly anyone waiting in the salon.

I am dining at Per Se this evening and was wondering what attire is appropriate. Is a jacket and tie required, I don't believe they said so on the phone, but I would not want my companion to feel out of place. Any other last minute hints are appreciated.

I need to register for glassware and am having a hard time deciding what I want. I am still a novice on what glasses work best with each wine, but I am learning. I know I want good quality glasses, but not overly expensive ones. I have a small NYC apartment, so I need to limit the number of different types of glasses. So if you had to chose 3 essential types of glasses which would they be, and what manufacturer would you recommend? Thanks all.

Back to the food.......... I had read in a chowhound review posted today about subsititutions - the writer indicated the staff was very accomodating to changes on the tasting menu. He also mentioned that they went so far as to allow 2 diners to ensure that they each received a different dish for each course. My companion and I love to share and trade plates. Has anyone else had this experience at Per Se or French Laundry? Is it possible to get 2 different tasting menus for the table to avoid repitition?

Heading to Boston from NY and need a suggestion for one exceptional meal, but nothing too pretentious. Based on this and other boards I was thinking about Radius or Locke-Ober. I had initially thought of Upstairs on the Square. But now Clio and the Federalist catch my attention. Any thoughts on which direction to go? Priority is excellent food, money not an issue. We are staying near Fanueil Hall, but are pretty adept at navigating public transp. in Boston. Thanks

pcarpen- That salad looks amazing. Can you give any more specifics/porportions or point me to a recipe? None of my searches have yielded any results. Dinner last night, in keeping with the spirit of the Holiday was Beef and Beer stew from Tom Valenti's new book and some forkfulls of leftover chocolate cake. Excellent for a cold, snowy NY night.

You can, actually, they were somewhat sweet and delicious. Towards the end I picked them out of the last few bits to eat one on its own.

The carpet bagger steak was a filet, split and stuffed with oysters, and topped with blue cheese and grilled onions. It was finished with a mushroom gravy and fabulous. The tuna had a brie/champagne sauce. Oh, and the sides were nice as well. We had mashed potatoes, red beans and rice and southern cooked greens.

I stopped in around 7:15 Sat night, got a table right away, but just beat the rush. The place was packed when we left. Food was tremendous. Service, although friendly, was pretty awful, but we cut them a lot of slack since it is so new. Apparently our table must have just been added because we consistently watched all our food and drinks be delivered to another table, with waiters complaining the numbering had been changed. We started with the Alligator pie, which, although I couldn't find any shrimp or alligator, was really tasty. My date had the duck and andouille gumbo which was very flavorfull but arrived lukewarm. Then came a refreshing spinach salad, just the right amount. For entrees we had a tuna special that was delicious and the carpet bagger steak which was also a special. I can't say enough about this dish - cooked to perfection and absolutely fabulous. I was stuffed, but couldn't leave any behind. We finished up with some fresh from the oven bread pudding that the waiter talked us into. I am normally not a fan, but this was really good. Beer selection is good, it would have been nice to have gotten a second or third. The chef, I am assuming Jacque - knew everyone and kept bringing huge tins of crawfish to other tables. I would have really liked some, but alas, I obviously wasn't a known customer. There also seemed to be some other menu items we weren't told about. The decor is just what you would expect, kind of funny to see T-shirts being sold above the bar. Not exactly your typical UWS sight. I will definetly go back, hope the service kinks work out, but you could tell the waitstaff was really trying and they were very apologetic for mistakes.

I agree that the cabinets become lost, especially with doors on them "out of sight out of mind". Right now I keep small appliances (blender, mini chopper etc) up there. I am not sure what the effect of the refrigerator's heat might be, but would it be possible to use it to store wine? A nice open built in wine rack might work, or perhaps the glassware that you don't use often would look nice up there.

I have had the tripe and the tongue. Nothing I would rave about.

I would pick Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana on Amsterdam & 107th. It has become my favorite choice above Mama Mexico and Noche, although Noche's chilate might be my favorite comfort food.