jgould

has anyone been recently??????????????????????????????

hopefully, not undermining my thoughts on pastis & balthazar, BUT: passed balthazar, & the prices "SEEM" higher than i remember??? in spite of its authenticity, being fun, enjoying the food, it does appear to now be OVER-priced; "say it ain't so"?

reread my post above, edited as u were responding note: i understand u are simply the messenger. &, as an aside, i like to see places like this re-visited.

Raoul's (Frank Bruni) Click here for archived discussion regarding Raoul's during 2002. Related discussion regarding Mr. Bruni's style of reviewing and the star system can be found here. Soba ← not sure what question you are asking, but raoul's is a relic, a throwback to when celebs could be found at the bar & in the back. the food may or may not have been good, but no one, in these crowds, seemed to care. as time passed, the celebs left, the owners abdicated, the tourists set in, the neighborhood visited, but limitly (sic?) due to the high prices. raoul's is now simply a very american bistro which used to be "in", but is not just 1 more hi-priced place to have a drink before going somewhere else to eat. but if you like hi-priced, over-rated tourists traps by these 2 brothers, try seppi's, named for their father, in the parker meridian, which they sold to the current chef. even the people that work there agree it is over-priced

hi "X', went twice to le veau, there will not be a 3rd time. old, musty, service mechanical, if at all. food is not so much in a time warp, which i happen to like, but freshness of ingredients, preparation leave a lot more to be desired. there have been others who see the "bistro" thru rose-tinted glasses, & i have no problem with nostalgia, but when it does not offer anything but, then its time... would love to see a nyc bistro survey

thanks for nitpicking, but i guess that goes with the territory , & yes, for the sake of brevity, i did not include the relative strength of the €/$. nonetheless, the emphasis should be on the absolute % increases which do NOT match wine's persistent % increases at the wholesale, retail/consumer, & restaurant level. i could not agree more with your "cut to the chase" & well-stated comment: "market will bear". & yes, my point EXACTLY, until... the consumer stands up... & says no more..." i also do not see the trend reversing. i don't know if it is me, or a relatively small (intelligent ) group that recognizes the ridiculous mark-ups, & will never understand why consumers continue to pay the offered price. its so odd (to me) consumers will go out-of-their-way to save on cereal, will spend more time analyzing a tv set purchase - vs. - analyzing a stock before buying; but will happily pay $30 for a $7 muscadet, etc, etc,........ this is behaviorial science at its best, & currently being studied ad infinitum. on the other hand, well, maybe not on the other hand, the same consumer happily pays $5 in a bar for a $.50 bud, $6 for a $1.10 heineken, etc, etc...., or $8 for a $1 gin & tonic. which leads to maybe 1 of the best marketing observations in history: to paraphase: "no one ever went poor, underestimating the stupidity of the consumer", which is a sad, but true fact & also sadly describes most of the U.S.!

I would say that it compares very poorly to those. A lot of the good beer that is brewed in France is from Alsace, I'm not sure if you had the opportunity to try them. They are much in the style of belgian and/or german beers, and quite good. ← agree, howver, france does produce many bieres; & the best do seem to eminate from alsace, hence the brasserie orgin; however, jenlain, etc... are not what i consider to be everyday quaffs, so-to-speak, & they are overpriced for everyday drinking with chinese food, ballgames, etc... u get the drift. just bought a 6pk of brooklyn lager which comes in a brown bottle, priced within range, & has date of freshness - all good; although haven't tasted yet.

a) when in France, everything tastes better b) when in the U.S., which beer do u substitute, s'il vous plaît? ← I live in Cheltenham U.K. and my beer of choice here is: Green King India Pale Ale. Their advert tells me it never got to India, but nevertheless it is heavily hopped for that journey and we can still enjoy it's lovely bite. ← as an aside, should not your quote read "Me dire que vous mangez, et je vous dirai que vous êtes!" n'est-ce pas?

a) when in France, everything tastes better b) when in the U.S., which beer do u substitute, s'il vous plaît? ← I live in Cheltenham U.K. and my beer of choice here is: Green King India Pale Ale. Their advert tells me it never got to India, but nevertheless it is heavily hopped for that journey and we can still enjoy it's lovely bite. ← interesting u like the '1664' in france, but don't drink when at home in the UK? plan on trying the suggested brooklyn pilsener. makes sense that a local beer in a brown bottle "should be" fresher(??) than a long distanced green bottle beer. will compare to the kronenbourg

Too late. ← @ the very least, u do have a good sense of humor!

NYT 6 Oct 2005 International column re: "How many miles to a gallon (of wine)? funny, but true. the perennial question: IF THERE IS SO MUCH FRENCH WINE, WHY DO THE PRICES CONTINUE TO GO UP IN WINE STORES & RESTAURANTS IN MANHATTAN, & ASSUME EVERYWHERE ELSE?? note: prefer responses that do not include ridiculous justifications; & well aware of fuel costs, transportation, rent, insurance. tis true, all have gone up, BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT THESE HAVE BEEN BUILT IN BY THE TIME WINE REACHES OUR TABLE; THEREFORE, WITH WINE PRICES DOWN, THESE COSTS SHOULD BE SOMEWHAT OFFSET; THEREFORE, PRICES (IN GENERAL) SHOULD REMAIN STATUS QUO!! as well as the FACT: before the above increases, wine prices were marked up beyond reason. so much for the wine industry's outward support for attempting to popularize wine drinking across the country...

m. hassett: i could not agree with u more; however, there is a movement afoot in france that will ban smoking, a la ireland, ny, ca, etc... so, i guess, we can now continue the quest for an "authentic-like" bistro in manhattan, n'est-ce pas?

a) when in France, everything tastes better b) when in the U.S., which beer do u substitute, s'il vous plaît?

I'm all for opening up that particular can of worms ( it'll probably smell better than some of the beers that I have had), but I'll just hit the bullet points for now. Avoid beer on display in green bottles. It will be 'light struck', the dreaded skunk factor- green glass does a pretty poor job of blocking UV light, which will in turn react with the isomerized hop oils in the beer to produce the offending aroma. On the positive side- a lot of brewers these days are reacting to the consumers' demand for date stamping of their beer. If there is no date stamp you have no other way to tell how old the beer is. You generally want something under 12 months old (a lot under if you can get it). Extreme temperatures are also bad for beer. If that Heineken you mention has been stored in a cargo container in the sweltering sun somewhere along its journey to the shop it won't matter much if it is then stored in the fridge or out on the floor. The damage has already been done. Among other things, the excess heat will exaggerate the impact of any normally barely perceptable DMS (DiMethylSulfide) in the beer, which will give it a cabbagey/sulfury characteristic. Nasty stuff. Now imagine what that is like when skunk is thrown into the mix as well. Unfortunately you have no way of knowing this without opening the bottle, but you can avoid beers that have exhibited handling problems in the past. And odds are that locally brewed beer has been handled reasonably responsibly. "So where does that leave me?", you are asking. I think I have a better handle on what is easily obtainable for you, and if you are shopping in a supermarket I would still keep an eye out for the Brooklyn Pilsener as a best bet- it is definitely in your price range. The Pilsener Urquell you mentioned is still a hell of a beer but due to the green bottles you should either get it in a sealed case or twelve pack. If your store carries any German beers look out for the Paulaner Munich Lager or the Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell. They are not uncommon in this area and are reliable in terms of quality (amber bottles, too.) . The Yuengling and Victory lagers are also worth investigating. If you still prefer the Kronenbourg at the end of the day just try to get a sealed case the next time and keep it away from any light (like in a closet) if it takes you a while to go through it. ← now that was the answer i was looking for mr. tongorad many thanks & greatly appreciate your very informative professional response

mr. solomon, u are good; but, how many level Tbsps = 32g? ← "See, that's the problem. Density (weight per unit volume) for packed things isn't a constant function. Based on size and other variables, they pack differently. That's why your cereal box, while full to the top at the factory (or close) is never full when you get it home. Likewise, differences in particulate size, humidity, and amount of static electricity from the grinding process will cause your ground coffee to pack differently each time, so it's really difficult to give you a general rule for fresh ground coffee. However, the weight will never change. 32 grams in will give you 32 grams out. " Check out The Kitchen Scale Manifesto in the recipegullet. ← warning!!! do not be offended by this reply! rhetorically speaking "why does it take so many posts, replies, counter replies to answer relatively simple questions?" & why is it that egullet, which prides itself on food expertise, lack so few? take for example my original questions: 1. to make 3 8oz cups of coffee (24oz of water?) from a french press, how many BODUN scoops should one pour into the press? answer should have been, from the beginning: 4.6 scoops, without the rhetoric; AND, 2. what measure of whole beans should one grind to produce the amount of coarsely ground coffee to = the 3 - 8oz cups of coffee?? answer = 1.13 oz (mass) the answers were all given in apples & oranges answers - why? 1 of a number of gobblygook answers: See, that's the problem. Density (weight per unit volume) for packed things isn't a constant function. Based on size and other variables, they pack differently. That's why your cereal box, while full to the top at the factory (or close) is never full when you get it home. Likewise, differences in particulate size, humidity, and amount of static electricity from the grinding process will cause your ground coffee to pack differently each time, so it's really difficult to give you a general rule for fresh ground coffee. its not worth the time: mass/density: 1g = .035oz, 1oz = 28.3g; ergo > 32g = the answer requested of 1.13 oz's (mass, not volume) of burr ground coffee beans - c'est simple?? volume: 1 fluid oz (U.S.) = .125 cup = 2 Tbs; ergo > for 24oz (volume, not density) of coffee, i,e, 3 8ozcups - boil ~26oz of water. as i stated above, these answers could have been produced in ONE reply, not the several incomplete back-&-forths!!!!!!! i find this pattern to be repeated over & over again in all categories of egullet. is this because egulleteers simply like to hear themselves babble?? i expect these comments will lead to being reported, with the proverbial chastising by the "moderator" or being flamed by others; but the truth usually wins out in the end, & then saner heads prevail. as to the tone of the comments. i truly mean no disrespect nor malice, but after awhile, its gets somewhat aggravating to have to keep dumbing down until one just "possibly" or maybe "luckily" receives the answers to honestly posed questions.

no wonder natural gas prices have just set an all-time hi

good question deserves a good answer. the simple answer is that i will continue to visit when in the area, there just is no buzz. for example, times i have been there, i may have been the only one at the bar. last time, that was certainly true, & only 2 tables. her brother, who is a real lout, owns gascogne on 8th. hard to sit at a bar & talk to yourself. there is a somewhat regular crowd, but quite insular, although very nice, but hard to figure when in attendance. the food i have had has been good, so no complaints. the wines are somewhat overpriced for what they are & my pet peeve, red wines way too warm - the french proprietor, jacqueline should know better. since she doesn't, i can only assume she only runs a restaurant without any real knowledge. i may be wrong, but that's my impression. there are other things, but too detailed to go into here. bottom line - if i lived a block away, would go, from 2 blocks away, maybe, from uws, i can't figure out why. initially, i "wanted" to believe this place was the bistro i have been in search of, but, after reflection, i have realized it is not.

mr. solomon, u are good; but, how many level Tbsps = 32g?

second thoughts: scratch l'absinthe & orsay, simply too expensive & more restauranty vs. that "bistro" feel. both beautiful, but maybe a little tooo chi-chi for that je ne sais quoi... so, that leaves (me) with basically only 3 "go to" bistros in all of manhattan!!??? " say it ain't so, joe" ← OOPS!! scratch chez jacqueline from my short list of 3; only two bistros in all of manhattan

i assume a "stainless steel decked" oven is electric & basically the ones used by the other 8,000 pizzerias in manhattan, that don't have either a wood/coal/or gas-fired brick oven?

You are in luck, my friend. Head over to the Pioneer Supermarket at 289 Columbus Ave. (between 73rd and 74th) for one of the best beer selections in NYC. A whole aisle is devoted to craft brews and imports in standard bottle sizes. Great selection of most of the top northeastern craft breweries that distribute into NYC - Smuttynose, Victory, Stoudt, etc., along with a number of Eastern European beers to boot. I've seen better selections of British, Belgian and German beers but that is a quibble. You also have a bar with a terrific beer selection, George Keeley's, at 485 Amsterdam Ave. (between 83rd and 84th). Check out this list on tap: George Keeley's beers on tap ← know pioneer, but thx for reminding me. however, my original post was not so much a search for top-end craft beers, etc, but something a little less adventuresome for everyday. a relatively simple beer that is fresh (?), med-priced ($7-9/6 pk), easily obtainable. your suggestion, although greatly appreciated, does not answer my search. alas, know i could just buy miller draft & forget about the question, or as i originally posted, my inquiry about kronenbourg. want something with more taste than miller/bud/whatever; but less than the craft beers u so rightly suggest for a beer lover. i am a wine drinker, but prefer beer with chinese, indian, thai, or a baseball game with chips. thought i found it with harps, but wife not fond of, so thats why looking for some advice as for keeley's, it looks neat, but more likely to find me at 'bin 71' wine bar on columbus

thanks VERY much. to finish the circle, as u suggest above: 32g of ground-for-24oz of coffee; & 1 Tbs = 3 tsp; therefore, a) 32g of burr grind = ____ Tbs? ____ bodun scoop(s)? b) in your opinion, to produce 24oz of coffee, do YOU use 24oz of water? c) to produce 32g (___ ?Tbs) of ground, how many oz/g/Tbs, of whole beans do YOU use??? thought the guatemalan antigua was considered the "best", partucularly for that price?? much appreciated

I'm a big fan of Balthazar, not so much of Pastis.. i like the crowd and atmosphere more at Balthazar, however, do enjoy the outside seating at Pastis.. raw bar excels at Balth, as do most of their fish dishes.. late night, it's one of our standard go-to joints after shows, concerts, etc.. well worth the cab ride from wherever we happen to be.. that said, i don't go during prime time.. coffee early mornings at the bar, raw bar and asparagus late night.. for brunch we'd rather hit Le Gamin, or a couple of small hole in the wall cafe's over either of these two.. it can be a nice place for dinner during the week though- usually able to snag a last minute reservation for Bathazar for a group of 6 or so.. ← thx, great attitude re: "well worth the cab ride from wherever we happen to be.. " i have been of the mindset if too far, must be an easier place to go; however, you're absolutely correct, its ONLY a cab ride away for a place that provides everything one is looking for in a brasserie/bistro/bistrot ← stopped by both balthazar & pastis last evening, both crowded, as usual, with pastis actually a little more, also, as usual!! this on a quiet tues, 1st nite of rosh hashanah, & the YANKEES game. interestingly & oddly, most other restaurants i passed were only 1/2 filled, at best - go figure???

interesting. have really never considered "local" only from the aspect of the national beers like heineken, harps, pilsner urq. are easily purchased & sell here for approx $7-9, my specified price range for everyday drinking with chinese food, etc...

I don't care that much for lagers but I will add my endorsement to this recommendation. The Blue Point Toasted Lager is terrific. I'll also heartily endorse the Brooklyn Pilsner, too. While it is not local, keep your eyes peeled for the Victory Prima Pils, which is also available in NYC. If you are interested in some local ales, the Sixpoint Craft Ales are stunningly good. This is a new, small brewery that I believe is destined for greatness if they can make the business end work. (And I know nothing about that end of their business - just a general comment.) Sixpoint Craft Ales ← lager or ale, as long as satisfying & easily available, & reasonably priced. brooklyn pilsner, never tried, & i think, fairway on the upper west side of manhattan carries. any other suggestions? note u did not mention those i mentioned?