lambretta76

I had no idea about the high values of this set. They had probably hundreds of them in stock at the Brooklyn (Flatbush/Atlantic) Target.

So, while browsing the shelves of Target yesterday, I came across a five-pack of interesting sodas from the Jones Soda company. I would have purchased them to report on but I wasn't willing to shell out the $15.95 for five bottles of soda... (I believe some of the proceeds go to charity.) The five flavors are: Turkey & Gravy Soda Cranberry Soda Mashed Potato & Butter Soda Green Bean Casserole Soda Fruitcake Soda You can see this over at Jones' site: Jones Soda

NYTimes piece on it today... NYTimes on Dino BBQ In it, an opening date of December 1st is quoted...

As evidenced in earlier discussions, Mexican (and foreign "domestic" sodas) are becoming increasingly popular. Perhaps it might be cool to offer Coke, 7Up, etc. from the Mexican bottlers, who use cane syrup instead of corn syrup. Also, Dr. Pepper from Texas and Barq's from Louisiana - I'm sure you could find those somewhere online or through distributors... You'd get the name-brand recognition, but also some caché among people who care about these things. (Also, using real sugar vs. corn syrup is a) good during Passover and b) might make those that are "organic" leaning give it a shot - even if it is soda pop.) Just a couple of ideas...

Phaelon - Great info. I really can't wait - Dino's site pics are looking good. And, as the saying goes - I can't wait to get "Gianelli in my Belly!" (It sounds dirty but I swear it isn't...)

Most small "gourmet" markets carry at least one kind of piquillos - for instance - both Sahadi's and Pacific Green in Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens, respectively, carry them. (Pacific Green sells South African peppadews as well.) I imagine the Spanish/Portuguese stores would sell them (such as Despana Brand Foods in Jackson Heights), as would Kalustyans. Or, you could order them from Tienda. Piquillo peppers at Tienda.com

Count in two people who used to make near weekly trips to the Dinosaur when in school at Syracuse University.

I really liked the feel of Le Verre Volé. Plus, it's right near Chez Prune, a nice little café overlooking the canal (although it can be particularly loud when school lets out). Lavinia was way too overwhelming, but it did appear to have a great selection. The staff was friendly and offered pours of the spirits upstairs. (Their spirits selection is unrivaled in any other store I've been too - it was simply fantastic.) I was disappointed by their champagne selection, and - as mentioned - the prices are very high. The lunch room/wine bar upstairs looked nice, not sure if there is a corkage fee for bottles bought in store if they have select bottles for pours - probably a good place for Spanish style tapas. (They had a jamon iberrico set up for lunch that day.)

Violon d'Ingres is now €50 without wine - our bill came to €133 for lunch for two meals, two glasses of wine, and a bottle of water. The meal was good, but not great, and there was only one choice on the set menu - weather you wanted poultry (pigeon) or fish (lobster quenelles in a lobster/whitefish stock). I'll report more on it later, either in this post or in a new one recapping my culinary experience in Paris. Also, L'Astrance is now €70 for their lunch menu and the place was empty at 1:15 PM on a Wednesday. (We cancelled our reservations there.)

Ivo and Lulu on Broome and A on the UWS are BYOB w/no corkage.

Café Loom looks like a good bet, with weekday offerings from €15 and, as a bonus, they're open on Monday. I'd love to hear other recommendations, or, if anyone has been to Café Loom, some suggestions on what to order. And it definitely sounds like Chez Louisette is off-limits!

Interesting. Most of the restaurants that I've seen do this have their staff outfitted with night-vision goggles. Of course, I choose the low-tech version of this experience, simply closing my eyes when I eat something tremendous.

John - Sounds good! I'll be having quite the festive day on the 9th - with going to this Fête in the morning and going to the France-Ireland World Cup Qualifier in the evening. Thanks for letting me know where to purchase a bottle of their wine - I'm sure I'll grab one for nostalgia's sake, not for drinking. And Bux - was hoping for a report on your recent trip to Paris - has this been written up elsewhere?

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive restaurant near the Marché aux Puces at Saint-Ouen in the 18th? All I could find was Le Soleil, which seems to be a bit out of my price range. (Looking to spend less than €15 pp.)

I will be staying in the 9º during this festival and was wondering if it was worth going to? I heard that the wine isn't all that good, but is there anything for the foodies among us? Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre site

And if a road trip is in order, perhaps a sojourn to Portugal, which is about 20 minutes south, might be a nice alternative. The beautiful town of Ponte de Lima is but an hour south of Vigo and there are people on this board (Chloe?) who could recommend choices around there and north...

wlg - Spent a night in Vigo after the Euros and had to stay at a nearby hotel called Hotel Avion. I don't have an exact address, but they are only about 200m from the entrance to the airport. Anyways, they have a little pub area, with a very nice formal dining room in back. It was actually a really decent restaurant, and they served the nicer food to us in the pub as we weren't dressed for the formal room. (They had no problem with us eating in there, we just felt bad as everyone else was dressed quite smart.) The crowd was made up entirely of locals speaking Galician and getting drunk on bowls of house wine. (Yes, the house wine was served in little ceramic bowls.) Local cider was also available on tap or in bottles. I was given a little jamon pata negra to go along with the manchego I ordered, which was an extremely generous offer. Cod was done well there, and the jumbo prawns they were serving next door looked fantastic. Appetizer, several drinks, a bottle of wine, and two entrees came to around €22. Definitely an interesting place - the crowds start coming in around 9, but they'll serve you food in the pub at any time. Hope this may help a bit...

Lately I've been really digging the Schweppes Tangerine soda bottled by Schweppes of Egypt. Also very good are their orange and lemonade sodas, the latter which is slightly better (and more bitter) than its British counterpart. Very good stuff. Also, Pelligrino La Rossa - very nice flavor/sweetness ratio.

According to the restaurant's website - "Try the lunch menu, at €39 + wine, a delicious bargain." I assume that this wouldn't apply to a Saturday or Sunday lunch, if they are open either day...

Grace - Thanks for a fantastic idea! Le Meurice for breakfast it is! If I can get out of there for €20 for two I'll be quite happy... (coffee and a croissant is also pretty much my standard breakfast - well, substitute American coffee for "real" coffee and bagel for croissant - pretty close, though) As for l'Astrance - I was under the impression that reserving for a weekday lunch (in this case, Wednesday) wasn't as difficult as landing a dinner reservation. If it is, I guess I'll have to wake up at 4 am on the morning of September 6. I will drop an e-mail to Violon d'Ingres to figure out if this may be a better option.

So, first off thank you so much for all the recommendations! It's really appreciated. And I'll be posting a list of all of the restaurants I will be trying soon once I narrow it down, for critique and alternative offers. Anyways, the short list of "upper-end" restaurants to try: Les Ambassadeurs (€70) Le Meurice (€65) L'Astrance (€45) Le Violon d'Ingres (€39) Les Ambassadeurs and Le Meurice will probably be cut becuase the food options are quite limited on the lunch prix fixe. Especially Les Ambassadeurs, with just two choices - my girlfriend is allergic to shellfish and pretty much already knows what she is going to have to eat. Le Meurice has five options per, but the menu seems less inspired. The only reasons these two are even still be considered is because the dining rooms are simply breathtaking. More serious consideration is being given to Le Violon d'Ingres - partly due to its inexpensive menu, less so for its uninspired decor. Can anyone comment on the recent lunch prix fixe - how many options are there per course, best dishes, etc. And probably coming in a close second to Le Violon d'Ingres is l'Astrance. It seems like the place to go and the room suits us perfect. (A couple of late-20s Brooklyners.) Can anyone comment on the state of its lunch prix fixe? (I assume it will change when they get back from the August break, but what have people had there in the past?) Again, merci beaucoup, mille grazie, muito obrigado, muchas gracias, domo arigato, kamsa hamnida, etc.

I was just going to say that I looked around and l'Astrance was quoted as starting at €45 for lunch. I definitely have some very interesting choices to pine over...

Le Violon d'Ingres is exactly the type of restaurant I'm looking for. I guess I'm interested in the most "knives and forks" at the best value with at least one star. Something like Les Ambassadeurs, Laurent, or Les Muses. (I guess closer to Les Muses, which has one star and four "knives and forks".) Maybe even something like Au Trou Gascon, with its (according to the Red Guide) €36 lunch prix fixe. Probably looking to spend around €50 a person - is this reasonable?

John - I figured that it would probably be best for a lunch time experience, as it may be somewhat remotely affordable. I'm just looking for that "Michelin star" experience, whatever that may be, before Michelin begins rating restaurants in New York. Previous attempts to dine at Michelin-starred restaurants (Fortaleza do Guincho in Portugal, Cafe de Paris in Malaga, ES) have been foiled by poor planning.

Freckles - Could you please tell me a little bit more about Les Couleurs des Vignes - where is it located and what are the prices like? Many thanks!