Amuse Bouche

In our house, it's usually a hit of single malt scotch, though if it's around we'll go for grappa or eau-de-vie. My favorite is probably unadulterated Grand Marnier, though a new liqueur has come out called Douce de Provence which is like a pear flavored Grand Marnier. Of course, the best digestif ever was the bottle of 150 Anniversary Grand Marnier I happened to pick up in Italy for all of $25 and nearly drank the whole bottle before I realized how valuable it was!

I suppose with the note of the different chefs, it really comes down to how different they all are. Eating at Babbo is a totally different experience foodwise from eating at Lupa. Lupa is the best value, and the food is excellent, but my time is money and I'm just not willing to fight the crowds very often. Babbo is more of a high end dining experience, with more "luxury" ingredients (oh, that goose liver ravioli) and refined presentations, while Otto is more of a between the meals kind of place. I actually wish Lupa were open between lunchtime and dinner, because I'd love to go in at about 4:00 for a glass or two of wine (or their fabulous housemade walnut liqueur) and some cured meats or cheeses.

Am I the only freak who just loves the rum nougat? I like the Chocolate butterscotch, too, but that rum nougat ... Of course, I also like fruitcake.

I know you've gotten a lot of suggestions, but having recently tasted a lot of cake (a rash of friends just got married or are getting married), I have to recommend Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken. The cakes are delicious and beautifully decorated, and much less expensive than Sylvia Weinstock or Gail Watson. www.carlosbakery.com

I liked it, but like you I was surprised at the format with the tiny mince, and it's such an unusual flavor with the sour, and the spicy. Note that it was also the first dish I had tried at Grand Sichuan.

Adding my $.02, I like Babbo best because I think the food is the most interesting and the experience the best. I like Otto second best, but I've only ever gone for brunch or afternoon drinks, when it's not particularly crowded and there's no wait for a table. I also like eating that way -- with small dishes and snacky foods to share. I've had a bad experience at Lupa -- even with reservations, I've had to wait over an hour for a table (when I've been to Babbo with reservations, I've been seated promptly), and I find the crowds draining rather than energetic. The food was very good, though not fantastically interesting, and since I no longer live in the neighborhood I'm less likely to pop in. Haven't been to Esca or Casa Mono, but I'm eager to try Casa Mono.

I went to ToTG for an event. It wasn't my first choice either, but it's very pretty outside (The inside is a bit overdecorated for my taste). Looking at the menu, I would definitely go with filet mignon. The beef was the best thing at our event, and I wouldn't trust them not to overcook fish. Oops! Just saw they went! Congratulations to your daughter and her fiance!

I think it's not too difficult to find really cheap eats -- Mamoun's Falafel, that little taqueria on 10th Avenue that Eric Asimov wrote up this summer (I went there during the bar exam and it was truly, truly excellent), Fried Dumpling on Allen, Otafuku, etc. I guess those are all takeout though, and maybe that should have its own category. I'm interested in those mid-level places that are a great value -- Les Halles for brunch ($16 can get you fantastic French Onion soup and a duck confit salad with the best "home fries" I've ever eaten), The $30 prix-fixe at Trio, Boca Chica in the East Village, Le Zoccole in the EV. What I like to think of as Friday Night Restaurants. For the record, I don't think Artisanal should qualify in the best of category. I think what they've done with cheese is truly admirable, and it is the best place in town for cheese. But the non cheese items are really nothing special. The soupe de poisson should be served with cheese (it has been every time I've eaten it in France) yet for some reason, at Artisanal, it's not. Very strange.

I know people hate Nigella Lawson but I think they get distracted by the hype of her TV show (which isn't a great cooking show) and never check out her cookbooks (which are great IMO). How to Eat is probably my favorite, most used, most practical cookbook. I like Forever Summer, too. Nigella Bites and Domestic Goddess are less practical, though they still have some good recipes. Other favorites: The New Joy of Cooking for reference, Jane Grigson's English Food for reading, Marion Cunningham's Fannie Farmer Baking Book, and the Three Chimneys Cookbook for stunning photography.

At Kasadela we ate excellent Age Dashi Tofu, Rock Shrimp Tempura with spicy sauce, Salmon Tartare (very good), Ocha Zuke (rice soup) with ume, and Eel Donburi. We accompanied this with copious amounts of hot sake. Other people at our table had very few dishes. It was described to me as a Japanese pub, and I think that's an apt description. It's nice if some people want to eat or some want to drink. I think Sakagura is the midtown Izkaya referred to. And the Onigiri (which are very good) come with various fillings/toppings. At Oms/b, they are between $1.50 and $2.50 apiece. My favorite is the popcorn shrimp, but the eel is also very good.

I've eaten at the GSI in Chelsea, and I love the menu. It's great literature, IMO. I order all the time from the Grand Sichuan on Lexington in the 30's (which I believe is related somehow to the GSI's on the West Side, but I'm not sure how. They have very similar menus, however). The takeout menu doesn't have the same fresh-killed dishes (though I've never actually eaten in this particular Grand Sichuan, so I don't know if they offer it), but the takeout menu still offers pretty good delivery. The Au Zhui Chicken is one of my favorites, as is the Ma po tofu. I can't believe nobody has mentioned the spicy sour string beans with pork! It's one of those dishes that I think is weird when I'm eating it, because the flavor combinations are so surprising, but I can't get it out of my head afterwards, and I develop pretty intense cravings. I would recommend AGAINST the Soup Dumplings, though. They're pretty awful. If you're in the neighborhood and you want soup dumplings, go to Evergreen Shanghai on 38th, which also makes excellent scallion pancakes.

Had my first Izkaya experience at Kasadela last week, which was excellent (albeit very cold). What about Rice Balls? There's a place on 45th between 3rd and Lex (called Om 33 or something of the sort) that has an assortment of delicious Japanese rice balls.

I baked a cake for my own wedding, using fondant, and it was delicious and beautiful. (Granted, it was a bit smaller than you're planning -- the cake I made would serve about 80, with a 12", 9" and 6" layer). I did more than one trial run -- I practiced at least two cakes with fondant (which I bought, and flavored. One of the guests liked it so much she asked me for the recipe. Repeatedly. So not everybody hates fondant.) I found fondant easier to work with than buttercream -- it takes a lot of effort to get buttercream looking smooth and beautiful, but fondant is a little easier. It helps to get the buttercream very smooth first (but it doesn't need to be beautiful), and it helps to get a silpat to roll out the fondant, so you're not using powdered sugar which can cause the texture to change. The Cake Bible is great for technique, but I found the actual cake recipes a bit boring. For a wedding cake, you could make chocolate, yellow, or cheesecake. On the recommendations of some friends, I bought Dede Wilson's wedding cake book, which had recipes for all sorts of delicious sounding cakes (pumpkin cake with crystallized ginger and cranberry buttercream, Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse cake, Lemon Poppy Seed cake with Grand Marnier Buttercream). I ended up making the top and bottom layers in Spanish Vanilla cake (an almond cake with chocolate grated into it for a "tweed" effect), filled with bitter orange marmalade, and frosted with Grand Marnier buttercream. The middle layer was a Grand Marnier almond poundcake, filled and frosted the same way. The fondant was flavored with almond oil, and the flavors went together beautifully. I colored the fondant blue, and topped each tier, then I stacked the tiers (using drinking straws as support) and applied white decorations I made from fondant using a mold). The end result looked like Wedgwood Jasperware, and tasted fabulous. In addition to the pans and a silpat, I would highly recommend a cake decorating turntable, which made getting the buttercream smooth much easier.

What a fun idea! If you ever make it to Scotland I would highly recommend the Quaich bar in the Craigellachie Hotel -- they have almost 500 different bottlings of single malts, each available by the dram (ranging in price from L2 to L250, and maybe even more). I would highly recommend Glenmorangie -- it has some characteristics similar to the Balvenie, with a few more caramel notes. The specialty wood casks are especially good -- I've had both sherry and port. I've heard that Glenmorangie is the bestselling single malt in Scotland, while GlenLivet is the bestselling single malt in the U.S. and Glenfiddich is the best seller worldwide. Also, if you can find it, try a bottle of Mortlach. Very fruity and spicy, like good fruitcake.