Brad K.

Yes, everyone agrees the food was great and overall a well done event (nothing less from D. Meyer). But the discussion here seems to be focused on the fault of the BubbaPass system. My question/problem is why were the lines for us common folk (i.e. non Bubba buyers) so long? The wait time on Saturday was between 20-40 minutes at each booth. That is just too long (particularly if you want to stop at 2-3 or more booths). For most people the economics/logistics of spending $125 for the Pass just does not make sense. Clearly this is an extremely popular event and they need either booths double the size/capacity or many more booths. The servers should have been more proficient at getting their food out - most booths only had one or two choices thus little reason not have food moving quicker. Look towards other festivals like the New Orleans Jazz Festival, where they are very quick to get the food out and move the lines along. In fact, I ended my day with a Shack Burger - at 15 minutes wait it was the shorteset I've seen it in a long time, cerainly half the wait time at any of the 'cue booths and that burger was soooo good...

When Billy met her 2 or 3 years ago she was working at a (now defunct) fish shop/take-out counter in Sag Harbor. She was terrific at weighing out cocktail shrimp! What more experience does she need???

I believe that there is another jerky place on Elizabeth St. just south of Broome.

I was hungry, curious and had a couple hours to kill before meeting a group for dinner at Galatoire's, so I stopped in for a quick bite the other day. I guess I liked the decor (modern BBQ, futuristic ski lodge?). The food was good. Loved the shrimp and eggplant dressing. Very smoky with a nice spicy kick - I could have sworn there was pork in there, but they swear there wasn't any. The "link" sausage was good too, but not outstanding. Also tried a taste of the grilled shrimp - nice, comes with a tangy salsa on top. I've heard the fried boudin are the way to go (wish I'd heard that before I went!). Also heard mixed reports on the cochon (one friend said it was dry and tough as a shoe one time and tender, moist another). Definitely worth a try.

I was quite surprised when I heard that Ralph would be a contestant. While they portrayed him as a "highly sought after NY caterer" in reality he owns a deli/meat market in Sag Harbor and does some catering on the side - and is certainly not one of the top caterers in either the Hampton's or NYC. Ralph is a really nice guy who runs a good deli (he takes your order and makes your egg sandwich in the AM) and seems to be a capable chef. However, he is so far away from the caliber of chef that ICA generally has (certainly in terms of experience, reputation, credibility, etc.)- that it is amazing he made it onto the show.

I've been to the take-out a few times now. While the food can be quite good, even excellent - a problem is often consistency. One time the nutter butter type cookie was fresh, tasy and excellent, another it was very stale and inedible. One time the CBJ sandwich was perfect another they burned the bread while reheating/crisping the sandwich. Last time I ordered the (excellent) quiche, it was ice cold in the center. T. Keller, a man so obsessive with detail needs to have these consistency issues dealt with.

Actually the hours are 11:30AM - 3PM (for now) according to the manager.

I had lunch at the take-out today. Roast beef sandwich is a real winner (not cheap at $9.50, but worth it). The beef itself was wonderful (not sure why it tasted so good) and had carmelized onions, mayo and a few slices of excellent fontina cheese. The roll it was on was superb too. Also had a chocolate bouchon - mmmm - the recipe is in the book, now I might need to make it.

Have you actually read the reviews on Citysearch? They are comical - I really recommend reading them if you want a good laugh. I guarantee 90% are planted by the manager, etc. The English is terrible, clearly written by someone not from the US (i.e. Japan). Half of them say the same thing - how everything is "fresh" and that the sake is "good" and the service is "amazing"...

Ahhh memories - nice trip. Reminds me - I was at the Sarlat Saturday market a couple of years ago and had one of the best food items EVER - smoked margret de canard wrapped around foie gras - ate it with a hunk of crusty bread in my car - best lunch ever. Oh the pleasure...

Bread out of the oven (or at least croissants) - you must go to Poujaran on R. Jean Nicot in the 7th. I believe they bake croissants at least 5 times daily, thus they are always warm or hot. Bread sticks are great too - I like the figue/noisette and the olive oil/salt ones myself.

My wife absolutely can stand her, agreed would like to see more actual food critics and/or chefs. Just not Rachel Ray ← I was quite concerned when she mentioned that she had never even tried tilapia before. Granted it is not the most exciting fish in the world but it is on many menus these days and carried in most fish stores. This woman seems like the Harriet Myers of food judges to me... NYC is filled with qualified critics, why can't food tv get some better talent?

Nothing beats a nice crunchy baguette with butter and jambon when you are on the run, but sometimes I want something a little different. The Bellota stand at Gal. Lafayette is one of my favorites - either with the ham or anchovies - but I probably had the best sandwich ever the other day elsewhere. On Rue Cler at the boucherie (directly across from Maison du Jambon) they have a sandwich counter set up outside. In addition to the premade ones, they had a grill going with various items. Madame made me a baguette slathered with mustard, stuffed with hot boudin noir and topped with onions which had been grilling along side (and thus soaking up the juice of) merguez sausage. I thought I'd gone to heaven! MMMMM Any other favorite sandwich places out there?

My favorite spot for food related gifts is Goumanyat. On a small street in the 3rd with limited hours (www.goumanyat.com for info). Plan to spend some time in this small shop. They specialize in exotic spices. The owner will lead you on a world pepper "tasting" (smell only) - out of giant beakers. His family has been in the business for hundreds of years. He has hundreds of spice and pepper variety, plus every blend imaginable. The packaging is pretty too - I have given their items as holiday gifts myself. Definitely unique. Lots of great oils too (I like their pumpkin seed oil). He sells wine downstairs (a great selection I hear) and cooking paraphanalia upstairs too.

I have friends who were staying nearby and just stopped in last Sunday night, without a reservation. They had a table available for them. You never know...

A few places off the top of my head from when I lived in Paris (2 years ago) - Le Sept Quinze - on a desolate stretch of Lowendal on the border of the 7th/15th. Fun, filled with locals and Unesco workers. Good food, reasonable prices. Le Comptoir du 7eme. - on Motte Piq. at the Ecole Militare metro enterance. Very popular bar/restaurant with the under 30 set. Always packed, very inexpensive. Food is hit/miss but they serve a great duck confit with fried potatoes and have terrific coconut profiteroles for dessert - wash it all down with a chilled pitchet of Brouilly. Also if in the neighborhood, I sometimes popped into Fish on Rue Seine - yes, a big tourist spot, but sit at the bar, have some great wine by the glass and a lot of ex-pat local characters always show up. Like their picodon salad, mussels and salmon.

I ate at La Cerisae last Friday night. The menu was largely game. I had the gibier pate to start. Served en croute. It was only OK - maybe should have been hot (it was cold). Thus the crust was limp and the pate could have had more taste. The cherries served with it were quite good. As a main I had the wild duck - very nice - 2 legs served over an excellent stuffed cabbage. Best part of meal was their incredible chocolate fondant and the glass of prunes soaked in armangnac (listed as a digestif). About 200E per 2 people with wine, drinks, etc.

Had lunch there on Thursday. Made a bee line to the Bellota-Bellota stand. Nothing beats Iberian ham. They serve it as a sandwich with sliced manchego and some tomato/gazpacho spread. Delicious. They have another that looks good too- anchovies, roasted peppers, cheese and tom. spread.

Paid a visit to N.O. a few days ago. Quarter and uptown are quiet. Life is starting to return and about 60% of restaurants seem open. Here is where I ate: Mothers - Place has gone way downhill over the years (although I've always enjoyed breakfast there). Now the have a vey limited menu - about 12 items -just their basics. Had a bowl of jambalays. Must say it was awesome. One of the best I've ever had. Wow. Staff seemed entirely new too - pleasant in fact (miss those crusty ladies a bit though). Restaurant August - Service was a bit week (excusable!), but food was was right on. Full menu too. I had a pumpkin tasting to start (pumpkin filled pasta, pumpkin risotto and crab/pumpkin soup) - great. Then had squab (pan roasted breat and confit leg, served with some gnocci). Fabulous meal. Magazine St. Po-Boy Shop - long line at lunch but it moved. Had a great roast beef po-boy, lots of gravy, fully dressed. The shrimp po-boy was only OK - shrimp were tiny (frozen, imported probably). Rue de la Course - Open on Magazine and just opened on Carrolton! Still has the best iced coffee on the planet. Clancy's - Place was packed. Seems like every local uptown was there. Menu was a bit limited (no smoked pork or duck). Service was a bit too rushed and unfortunately I thought the food was only OK. Fried sweetbreads were not as good as they usually are - and the portion was miniscule and my smoked shrimp entree was nothing to write home about. Tried some pan seared scallops too - good, but no better than I could make. Strange to be back there but worth the trip

Instead of their own restaurant, at the end of 3 semesters of LCB, students earn their diploma and almost everybody then does another "semester" (3 months) at a top restaurant. The restaurants that people get into are among the upper Paris' best (primarily 2 and 3 star places). If you happen to be in Paris during the time that the catering course in session, these students present what they have learned each Friday at lunch time. While this is not really open to the public (students and invited guests) - the school might let you in if you called in advance and asked nicely - it's quite delicious! (loved it when I was a student there)

I've eaten there many times - but not in a number of months (I believe the Japanese chef is new, thought the last one was an Aussie). Anyway, the mussels and picodon salad are good starters and the salmon is a must for main course (seared over very high heat then finished slowly in the oven, served over fragrant eggplant/onions). The bar is a fun place to eat and watch the characters.

Salad (included with all entrees, as are two side dishes) comes with a fried oyster on top. The prices were about $14 for the fried chicken and 21 for the pork chop (most expensive item on menu) - most everything else was priced in the high teens and apps in the 6-$9 range.

I ate there on Thursday night. Been about a dozen times in New Orleans too, most recently a few weeks ago. Jacques will be there himself most of the next few weeks (his wife too). The place looks good - murals of swamps, etc. on the wall - very festive - not quite as down/dirty as in N.O., but still real casual. The menu is about 1/4 the size of that in N.O., but it hits most of the highlights. Alligator shrimp cheesecake was awesome (it's allig/crawfish in N.O., but no diference in taste) - I could live on this - one of the best food products to come out of any kitchen anywhere. Fried green tomatoes w/ shrimp remoulade was good too (many places do it better in N.O.). I had the pork chop which is stuffed with ground meat and shrimp and covered in a spicy, brown creole sauce. Very rich/decadent - a wonderful dish. (Funny thing, in N.O. they serve the chop on the bone and it is large enough for an army, in NYC its off the bone and not as large). Also tried the blackened redfish - very nicely cooked and served in a thick, creamy, buttery sauce that totally made the dish. Fried chicken was great too (A. Lesley is there in spirit). They are still getting their act together (it was only the third night!) - the salads came after the entrees and were only so-so, and the corn bread while still fantastic was slightly overcooked. They use the same phone number as Spiazzia did (can't remeber it) and they only take reservations for 5+ people. Overall great.