anil

I noticed no one talked about Whisky ? You know Japanese do distill some fine whiskys - Suntory Yamazaki and a single-mat whose name escapes at the present moment. A few foolhardy Journeymen, at times mix sake,beer and whiskey - Many a time to challenge a gaigin to match it up The scene is not pretty

There are couple of places that are nice - 1. HavingCoffee & Muffins on a Sunday, reading the Times, sitting outdoor by the boathouse, near the Duck Pond, Central Park East. 2. Chelsea Piers - I forget what restaurant/brewery is/was - Looking at the Hudson river in the afternoon - Seeing the cruise ships go by ....... 3. 3rd floor outdoor deck of Pier 17 at night, looking at the lights of Brooklyn Bridge. 4. Terrace Cafe in the Riverside Park ??

About once a week, always in a restaurant - As a poor student bazzillion years ago I ate ramen noodle package nearly every other day. In NYC, it is mostly noodle soups, or sashimi.

Do not cook at home - One meal a week - mostly weekends. No kids Actually, sometimes at work, if some-one is in the mood for indian, we might go out or order in. It is more often per week when in LON

Ah ! Duh ! vermicilli.

I still vote that mojito are better at Chicama and the crowd at the bar is more level-headed

I may have missed them when I was in Kerala - Albeit all my memories are over 25 years ago - Even in Mumbai, we had many people from kerala in our building, I do not recollect - maybe you could post the local word/term for it ?

I have posted about EZE; many of the upscale restaurants have been cropping up in Puetro Mediro (sp?) , there are many traditional parillas - Good steak dinner in EZE is a delight. Colonia in .UR, is worth maybe a weekend -

You are correct to point that out - My choice of using "Zen" was sloppy - However, there are such places where food and ritual are elevated to high art -

I always have reservations with assigning ratings or measurements to dining experience, when things other than food are factored in. 1. If I go out (which I do 7 days a week ) I tune out or disregard atmosphere or other ancillary do-dads. An overtly cheery,bubbly waitperson who comes and says - "Hi I'm {Jenny}, I'll be your ___ tonight, Let me tell you about today's specials" get's negative impression, than a waitperson in Fuk Lum Moon, who withdraws in the background, but is there to replace my plate or refresh the glass without tamasha. 2. Atmosphere - Having the greatest views from the bathroom , or custom-buit signature furniture also tends not to impress - A staid and low-key decor is preffered. Having said that - Continents are culturally driven in interpreting dining experience - Each country will have classy places that do the right thing, and shacks and dives that serve superb fresh fare day in day out - These countries will also have tacky and loud places that charge arm and a leg, as well as runof-the-mill eateries that are equivalent of artery-clogging, greasy uninspired fare, served by surley waitstaff. Within the socio-cultural framework, you'd find majority of FSU,and ex-Warsaw Pact nations have some ways to go. Expect to find great values in many Carribean islands which have fresh produce and have over decades assimilated cuisines of their native lands (Africa,Asia,India,Europe...) In South America, the pace is slower, and the attitudes are more laid-back - Their restaurants (parrilas,churrasicarias) reflect that - Imagine a choice of 35 kinds of meats @ Marius in GIG, and the waitstaff comes with the individual meats in a skewer or plate and cut or carve out slices or pieces to your needs - Not gonna happen in a haute French restaurant In SEA countries, the seasons define and regulate the ebbs and flows of their cuisines - Monsoons play a large role, and many places define their opening hours based on the weather - Eating out is regulated by the weather. Our dining was restricted in the monsoon season in BOM - Spending time negotiating the slusshy.rainly,splashy crowded streets and Borivili-Fast At the highest end of personalized fine dining are a few places in Japan, where the reservation is taken for one group per night - they are keiseki sp ? The Zen chef, and hostess (optional) put together a meal balanced, and catered to highest perfection. So is there a value ? Can an average American (outside the major cities) internalize that paying approx USD130 for a chinese soup is a good value (when the town's cheap chinese serves one for under USD2 ?) and MSG laden hot-sour-soup free with 4.95USD lunch is not even worh trying !!! Remember when Kobe Beef came to NYC, and Old Homestead started serving it @ USD100 per ?, all the news media were doing stories and NooYorkers were shocked Canada offers value because their dollar is weak and they are closer to us in the North and they speak English in most of the country; Mexico is closer to So. Cal or Texas, or .... they are a bargain for folks who are in the south. I found great values in the last two years in EZE (Argentina) by exploiting their terrible economic collapse. GIG/GRU {Brazil} offers great choices for under USD20 Now the final question - What has more value - [a] Sharing Paserrano, Faranco with a carioca with perfect bunda, by Copacabana OR Soup de Juer at Comme Chez Sio, BRU ? [a] Dining Hall of BreachCandy Club, BOM OR Enjoying the thehtsaksan kin jeh in HKT beach house with a Well, I am weak, my mind and body both are not beyond temptation, and am not a moralist like Newt - I'll do both a's and b's

It began that way - However, I checked my instincts and expanded to the name of the city.

Your favourite Laksa ? I am biased towards Lemak Laksa, however curry would also do fine. The variety of Laska is SIN is phenomenal, and I'm sure by multiple factors more in Malaysia. However, it is here, in NYC that my craving is, and I cannot just hop in to a plane and head for SIN/KUL no Pan ! Your favourite ?

While it is not exactly a place you'll find many academies or over-abundance of intellectuals; this city is really a favourite of many academics that we know, when they want to escape the confines of Paris. Hence our introduction to he lovely city of La Rochelle Non assuming, non pretentious with a plethora of fresh mussels,clams,crabs,lobsters. Try a french clabake with chilled white wine by the docks

All from Bbhasin Excellent. A punjabi saying "Sunani subdi, Karni apni - fir sub rabbde" Which translates exactly as "I listen to all and do my own and the rest is God's" As a punj have you or do you serve maaki-ki-roti if a customer wants with the saag ? or phulkas with the bharta ?

Bumping this to the top as the cricket season is in full swing Ouch WI Trinidad ? Jamaica ? Barbados ? I'm planning go see a match and eat my way around town. Any suggestions ?

I have a craving for Kathaal & Tomato/Imli ki Sookhi Saabzi - I know it is unlikely to be found in the NYC - Do any indian restaurants even serve this ? I mean Kathaal ? (Kathaal = Jackfruit )

I had a craving for JackFruit (Kathaal in hindi) and got reminded of potato & jackfruit curry-soup in Java (as in Indonesia) It is quite popular in India. How about other countries in Asia ? Are any dishes available outside the continent ? Do restaurants in the US serve jackfruit ?

I never owned a restaurant. I do not cook either. I manage to make breakfast once a week

One ***, and one ** restaurant in Paris, happily allows cigar smoking - and I doubt that they have designated non-smoking areas.

Dimple - Kosher Indian on 30th between 5th & Bwy. It is a vegetarian place. Mandoo Bar - Korean dumpling joint 32nd off 5th Ave (between 5th & Bwy)

Only if you mix it with some bargain places to stay (if you remember ) OTP is on my to-do list.

Fri-Sun: We had three of our six meals in Chinatown - downtown, crowded and lively as usual.

Here is a favourite pastime of some of us with too many miles at hand Tomorrow is also the beginning of the Concorde mileage run kick-off drinks get-together, here in NYC.

Sounds like the description of Rijstaffel - Duch being served dishes in Dutch Java & Sumatra,each dish by a different server/cook. Check the discussion on it in the European section of few months back.

Show off Do you'll know that Roberto's is one of the two places in the neighborhood, where you are bound to get consistently good serving without the pseudo-presentation; and wholesome portions -