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I just returned to Seattle from a wonderful three day fishing trip in Prince Rupert on west coast of Canada. The cooler is full of fish including ling cod, white salmon, red snapper, rock cod and halibut. Also, to my surprise, on the way into the harbor the guide pulled up two crab traps from which he pulled 14 dungeness crabs. As a Seattle native who now lives in NYC, I'm embarassed to admit that I've never cleaned a crab other than a soft shell from the east. So here I am soliciting any and all advice on the cleaning, storage and preparation of these fabulous crabs. We managed to get them back to Seattle alive but they're on their last legs. Thanks in advance for whatever words of wisdom you have.

My best (and most expensive) Peking duck experience in NYC was at Mr. Chow. The Peking Duck House is more consistent in my experience. Mr. Chow has been up and down. According to their manager, they cook about 130 ducks per day at Peking Duck House. I found the duck at Mainland fair to middlin. That oven you see from the foyer isn't really an oven. It's just a pretty spot to hang ducks with a dramatic bit of flame. Chinatown Brasserie has Peking Duck on the menu. I bet it'll be a contender. There's a formal service that accompanies the "true" Peking Duck meal. Many courses all around the duck. Do any NYC restaurants do it? Can anyone elaborate on what the meal is?

Sad to say that it was an all cash transaction.

Last night's menu was apparently not a full one. We wondered about the place of curry in Chinese cuisine too. I don't have any idea if it's traditional. There are lots of traditional american -chinese restaurant standards--orange beef, the peanut chicken dish, some others that I can't remember at the moment. At the top of the drinks list is a pina colada and a mai tai. Very Trader Vic's. We had a pina colada and it was pretty damn delicious even if it wasn't served in a plastic coconut with a two foot straw and a giant fruit salad.

The wife and I fell ass-backwards into friends and family night tonight at the Chinatown Brasserie. Standout items are a chili stuffed with shrimp, tempura-style, massaman curry beef, three chili chicken with peanuts, soup dumplings. The cocktails are pretty inventive--particularly one with gin and green tea. The room is very fabulous. Large, lots of chinoiserierie. Staff was friendly and VERY generous. We're going to be back as soon as they open for real.

The tricky part here is that the owner intimated early on that there would be no room charge or if there were, it would be minimal. Furthermore, it's not a room that is typically in use. We would have gotten a much better deal--and better service too--if we'd just made a reservation for thirty.

The guests were very happy and I'm trying not to worry about it but I've got a little something stuck in my craw which is why I'm posting about it here. I appreciate your response. I did tip, generously I think.

I hosted a cocktail party/dinner tonight at noteworthy pizza place. It was an engagement party. I worked hard to get a price and a plan set in advance and was given assurances by the owner of the restaurant that he wanted the same thing. Feeling confident that things were working out, I sent out invitations (all right evitations). Despite my efforts as days wore on there was still no confirmation on price. More phone calls and a drop in. Finally the night before the event--30 people, pizza, family style salad and antipasto, I was told the room was 500 bucks and we were to pay for the food. I was surprised but figured that maybe the food wouldn't be too much more, how much can ten or fifteen pizzas cost anyway--they're eleven bucks for takeout. I brought a case of wine and they claimed not to charge a corkage. People paid for cocktails and beer. The total bill was just under 1,200 dollars. That's 40 bucks a head for pizza and salad. There was one server and he was slammed. Slammed. There was no water, they didn't even have enough glasses. I didn't feel comfortable disputing the bill with my guests around so I paid it. My questions: 1. How much did I get ripped off? 2. What can/should I do now? Clearly I made some mistakes. I should have made the owner confirm the pricing in advance. He got the best of me. Regardless, I'm left with a very bad taste in my mouth about a place that I love. Feeling this way it's going to be hard to go back. Thanks in advance for any input you all might have.

I know this is a "best of" thread... I just gotta post a beware or expect the worst warning for the Joe's on 13th street and 5th avenue. I went for a quick shot the other day remembering that the ever-trustworthy NY Magazine said it was the best espresso in NYC. It took the barista nearly ten minutes by my watch to make three drinks. My espresso was nearly undrinkable. It's a mistake to trade money for coffee at this place. I should have remembered from the last time I was there.

That sounds like a plan, even if you don't care much for the Yankees.

Ate at Les Halles a few days ago. Started with a very blase pate de campagne. Pied de cochon was obliterated by heavy mediocre sauce and flecked with bone (not cartilege). Steak from the steak frites, a rump steak the server said, was cooked expertly though with minimal caramelization but wasn't able to transcend itself. The result was a mostly flavorless and way too lean piece of meat. Frites were uniformly good. Finally the mac and cheese tried to stand out but was, in places, unappetizingly burnt.

Dinner late last night at Fatty Crab followed by drinks at Pegu, I can't imagine how life could get much better gastronomicallly speaking . While we ate more of the sublime watermelon-belly salad there were long inquiries of just whatis going on in there (among other things, a spicy pickled watermelon rind). Then the charred squid salad. Sometimes very spicy (we had two orders, one with more chilis than the other), it's another dish that needs a great deal of tasting annd thinking, tasting and thinking. Tons of dried bonito, pineapple, more green mango and thai chilis and then squid cooked two ways. They are very clever with proteins at Fatty Crab and it shows but doesn't feel at all precious. They got a beautiful deep char on the squid but left it remarkably tender. The crab was just as great as before at 11 bucks. Dunno how they do that. Heard a rumor that Zak Pelaccio is opening a new place soon. Large, southeast asian in theme. 27 5th. Something like that. PS: The Sunday,Monday bartender at Pegu is a talented sob. We had some fabuloud drinks there after the Fatty.

Adding a few more words of praise for Fatty Crab: That pickled watermelon, pork belly salad is out-of-f---ing-sight. Green mango with the dry chili dip is sharp and primes the pump. The dungeness crab reminded me as always why this native Seattleite prefers lobsters (less work, more reward) but was worth the effort--"Keep those napkins comin!!!". I might tune the bread service with that dish a little. By the time we were done with the crab the toast had cooled and because of its thickness was pretty tough. Luckily we were requirous of another serving to mop up all that delicious sauce. With fresh toast, quite perfect. The wings, delicious. It's loud with what I found to be great music, small and very informal. The tone of the place felt just right. I was there at lunch yesterday and will be back to sample more widely for a late dinner tonight.

It's no longer Friday but I do remember what I mixed up that night. A modified Juniperitivo. Boodles (The modification. Proscribed, tho not nec. preferred is Junipero) Lime juice Pomegranite syrup Mint I mix the Boodles, lime juice and syrup in a funny but cool shaker made by Alessi, an orb that looks just a little like a tea pot. Let the drink steep in ice while aggresively muddling mint and a hunk of lime zest in a glass. Then mix the drink with the herb and run through a not-so-fine strainer. The result should be pinkish but flecked with tiny pieces of mint. Go lightish on the pomegranite syrup or the drink will be too sweet.

Dropped in on Zibetto's today. It's a really cool place. Two shots, not exactly alike. Both very good. I'm perplexed about this Danesi coffee. Seems to fly in the face of the axiom about freshness. In any case, I intend to stop by for an espresso whenever I'm near Zibetto. It's the closest thing to the Italian experience we've got in NYC.

If it's north of 13th street, well, to me Via Quadrono on 73rd btw Mad and 5th is head and shoulders above Joe's and Tarralucci y Vino (who have a newish spot on 18th street). BTW I've tried the 13th street Joe's a few times and have come away very disappointed. Burnt flavor, very long pulls both in terms of time and quantity. For my money in NYC it's either Tarralucci or Via Quadrono with heavy emphasis on the latter. I'm eager to try Zibetto.

Anybody heard of a place with an Italian name owned by a Swedish fellow and located somewhere around 56th and 6th Ave?

Thanks everybody. Lots of new ideas.

I changed the lights in the hood over my stove today. Lots of grease up there. Yellow and very tough. How do I clean this? I've tried some pretty convincing solvents and haven't had a lot of luck. Thanks.

Love the Striphouse. It's been more than a year since I ate their rib chop. Some years ago it was a monthly ritual. God it's good. Always ate the deckel in the restaurant and took the eye home for sandwiched and other treats. Glad to hear it still performs. There are disparaging comments about the creamed spinach from 2001. I always thought the creamed spinach at Strip House was about as good as a creamed spinach could be. Touch of black truffle, touch of gruyere or something, bechamel. Guess that's a mornay. Creamy, rich. Might just go over there now and have one for a snack. Always thought they did a way better than average torchon also. Appears it's time to go back. Thanks for the update oakapple.

Heavens no. You could not. There's no connective tissue, or precious little of it in a breast. I'd venture to guess that confitting a breast would render it inedible. I like the idea of backs. Whole Food here in NYC is selling them for about a buck a pound. I like thighs and think the solution must lie there. The only difference between legs and thighs flavor-wise would be the cooking time.

Sous-vide has been around for years but not in the context of fiine dining where as yet, it's executed with different and less regulated oversight (often by young cooks feeling their way around in the dark). It's that danger zone temperature range that sous-vide flirts with. Within the everyday hurry up and wait atmosphere in fine dining kitchens, that danger zone could be a problem. Nobody wants to stand in the way of cool new (sort of) way to cook loin of lamb but I'm sure we all want it done safely. To me, it's unreasonable to suggest that there aren't attendant food safety risks to sous-vide cooking. That said, in the pantheon of risks in NYC kitchens, sous-vide probably ranks pretty low.

This sounds great. I think I'm going to rip you right off. I'll try to give credit where credit is due.

I'm sure there would be a collective sigh of relief if that egregious horn assemblage ended up in a dumpster but I don't have the impression that aesthetics are what motivates the search. Apparently the Essex House has been sold and the potential move has something to do with the new owners.

Another trick for secure spitting is to use another short stick just a little longer than the beast itself. Fasten very tightly to the one passing through the inside, so that the animal is squeezed between the two. Wish I had pictures. Ill hunt around for some. Did a got and a pig a couple of years ago using thiis method. Worked great.