jgould

I'd be happy to offer suggestions but it would help if I knew where you buy your beer. With these types of beer in particular freshness and handling make a world of difference. As an example, I have a great fondness for Hacker-Pschorr Edelhell but I still wouldn't recommend buying it if it were more than six months old. It is something I tend to seize upon if I find a good case, but it is not the sort of thing that I go out with the intention of purchasing. Your best bet may be to go local. There are quite a few very good domestic Pilseners available, and most certainly in your price range. EDIT: I see that you're in New York. Have you tried Brooklyn Pilsener lately? Check the label notch- there are still some old ones floating about- but the reformulated batch is quite good and should definitely fit the bill. ← live in manhattan on upper west side. u bring up a very interesting question, as well as opening up another can of "worms". for example, heineken is both found in grocery refrigerators & on the shelf - which would be fresher? although, don't know if the refrigerated beer has been sitting around for any length of time, therefore, those on the shelf may actually be "fresher"?? just how long does beer remain fresh? & how does one tell? as i said, looking for an everyday, easy-to-find, med-priced ($7-9 per 6 pack) beer. thats why i mentioned the above beers.

wow surprised no one, of ALL those who read this site, has, at the very least, responded

so what is a good everyday beer to keep in the fridge for thrist, chinese food, etc... something along the lines of $7-9/six-pack: heineken, harps, pilsener (but the real not found here), etc, etc...

kudos, m. samuel for answering my question as it was asked!!! as you have stated, DiFara's is a very good pizza, i was interested in sampling only those with specific requirements. thanks very much for the starter "list"

thoughts on how kronenbourg stacks up against comparable beers?

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

WOW! that's cruel. btw, recently passed DeMarco's restaurant on the corner (vs the pizzeria nxt door) & the tables now have white tablecloths.

thx samuel! what type of oven does sal & carmine's on bwy & 101st , & demarco's @ w. houston & macdougal, have?

actually, can anyone take the information supplied above & simply answer the following questions: to make 3 8oz cups of coffee (24oz of water?) from a french press, how many BODUN scoops should one pour into the press? AND, what measure of whole beans should one grind to produce the amount of coarsely ground coffee to = the 3 - 8oz cups of coffee?? thx very much for any & all help p.s. bought 1lb of guatemala antigua for $5.99 vs. the organic $9.99. being new to top quality coffee beans, i thought guatemala was in the top tier; & therefore, similarly priced???

Admin: This post transferred from the thread on Celeste. merci samuel and daniel another question: which of the better known or well thought of pizzarias use a wood-fired brick oven, & which use a coal-fired brick oven? (note: NOT interested in those with gas-fired ovens) i believe lombardi's has a coal-fired brick oven celeste? etc....

never been to celeste, although live in the neighborhood. the above posts & photos are so convincing - must try. a few questions: 1. is it BYOB or do they have a wine license? 2. just what is the "CLASSIC" italian pizza?? 3. &, what are the basic ingredients of the "la Margherita" & the "neopolitan" pizzas? & at the risk of other posts, i have been told DiFara's in brooklyn is the best, hand's down!? hard to beat a place that imports their cheeses & sauces from italy, & grows their own herbs!!!!!

no other thoughts re: balthazar ou pastis????? pro or con

second thoughts: scratch l'absinthe & orsay, simply too expensive & more restauranty vs. that "bistro" feel, although 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"

looking for mr. goodbar aka good bistro bar: nice to get some thoughts on where the "best" bistros are currently. add, if u want, along with a simple 1-line: balthazar - still good, still fun quatorze bis - good bar, good food, fun atmosphere l'absinthe - good food, fun but can be quiet, beautiful orsay - expensive, but too beautiful to ignore chez jacqueline - about as close as 1 can get

all the above is great advice, but cutting to the chase, everyone should go to L'Ami Louis, 3e before it closes or loses its pananche.

re: bodun's medium (32oz) french press: re: guidance on how much coffee vs amount of water, etc... i have 8oz coffee mugs: 8oz = 1 cup = .5 pint. bodun's scoop = coffee 7g/.25oz per cup = 2 level Tbs = 4 tsp (per cup??) 1st question: can someone translate this info to the "proper" amount of ground coffee to pour into the french press? standard U.S. measure = 7g of ground coffee = 2 level Tbs - per - 6oz of water another measure: 1oz of coffee - to - 4 cups of water 2nd question: mix n' match???? mass: 1g = .035oz, or 1oz = 28.3g volume: 1 fluid oz (U.S.) = .125 cup = .3 dl = 2Tbs = 6tsp 3rd question: using all of the above, can someone please suppy the answer to the following question: assume a 32oz bodun french press, & would like to make 4 8oz cups of coffee, how many bodun scoops should i use?????????????????

disagreement noted. i should have specified a little clearer. it does seem; however, re: posts here & elsewhere, the mini-chain empire, tourdefrance, of simon oren et al, is not very well thought of, unfortunately! i say that because i live near french roast, le monde, & nice matin - all very average-to-below average. its seems i am not alone. example: can 1 think of worse decor than nice matin? & thats before the service. they have been through a number of bartenders due to rudeness, & i have observed 1st hand, when i ordered a G&T, but rec'd a V&T, the worker behind the bar disposed of the contents & simply refilled with a G&T. on another occassion, the bartender perceived too much wine had been poured, took back the glass, poured the supposed excess into another glass, & proceeded to give me back the newly reduced-to-"proper"-sized glass of wine. needless to say, i haven't been back, can only take so much. le monde is not worth mentioning it is so bad. french roast is an embarressment. as to marseille, i did not have the same experience as u, but glad u enjoyed. most use the terms bistro, bistrot, & brasserie interchangeably, but thanks for pointing out the difference. btw, marseille really does not fall within the brasserie definition. no self-respecting brasserie would serve french-med. & strictly speaking, it would not be a bistro, so therefore, its just another faux-french place that fashions itself "french", but could also be described as almost anything else, but.... yes, i have eaten at gavroche & have been mostly disappointed, again unfortunately. for a "bistro" along a dismal stretch of 14th bet 7th & 8th, i found the wine prices to be marked up insultingly high, particularly since it bills itself as a "neighborhood" place. check out the champagne prices which rival the mark-ups of midtown ripoffs - veuve was $96 -vs - landmarc's $50!! secondly, i do not like places that have to resort to "charming" gardens as an enticement. preferably, prefer outdoor dining in the front, more interesting. the gavroche garden to me seems rather claustrophobic. i have passed gavroche a few times very recently & the front area was TOTALLY empty. finally, the food - roussell is hard to figure out. when he cooked at park bistro & montparnasse, i thought his food was very good; but at gavroche where he was a non-capital contributor owner, his food was average at best!!! maybe his previous success was due to excellent sous chefs. on the other hand, "chef" ortega, while hard-working, does not have the "feel" for french bistro cooking & i also was turned off that the news of roussell leaving/fired? was withheld whilst ortega was performing as the unadvertised head chef???? probably old-fashioned in this respect, but i prefer "attempting" to frequent french restaurants, bistros, bistrots, brasseries, cafes that have FRENCH chefs, where possible. NOTE: i don't need the criticism from comments re: balthazar's chefs & all the others - it is MY preference, which i have duly acknowledged as a personal preference. thanks for the info on le quinze > manon. i never could figure out why so many "seemed" to like, but the several times i went, it was totally empty!!! of course, i'm sure it had nothing to do with the boorishness of the rugby motif, the lousy service, or the c- given to the food. would be nice to visit french bistros in the city that actually know how to serve properly something as simple as a ricard; as well as 98% of french restaurants that claim to know about wine on 1 hand, but still serve reds way too warm, & whites generally too cold. example: nice matin has the audacity to have a sommelier who "should know better", but he, like so many, doesn't.

so, where does one go for "authentic" french bistrots in manhattan, as of sept '05? seems like many have fallen, as per comments above, even balthazar! the tourdefrance group: nice matin, marseille, pigalle, french roasts, l'express, maison, le monde also all seem to be pretty much below average, unfortunately. think people are getting tired of bad service, higher than should be prices, average food, & the very faux french decor. ouest also has gone downhill, now that 'cesca has opened in las vegas. btw (hopefully current news), le quinze on w. houston nr mcdougal, is now manon, i think italian(?) was at le quinze fairly recently, & never experienced any sort of crowd.

also recently re-visited balthazar after a long absence, not from any negative other than the trip, from the UWS - to - the eastern edge of SoHo! still fun, still good, still somewhat touristy, but now a little more new yorkish than parisian. as for pastis - with all the openings, & with all the existing restaurants in the meat mkt area, pastis seems to remain the champ. it is always mobbed to the point it no longer can be a place one just drops by. young loud crowd, wall street meets euro, the artistic to the recognizable; still there, still preening. in a way, its too bad (for me), not keith mcnalley's bank account.

i hear u loud & clear. this will probably be my last post also, but not due to the topic being "onerous". however, i do wonder, what was the point of YOUR post? &, if beaujolais is out of your budget, why bother to post at all??

robt parker on charlie rose the other nite commented on excellent bordeaux & burgundys & emphasized how long they should be aged before even considering drinking. i thought quite interesting vs. going to restaurants with excellent wine lists, but most within the last few yrs & sort of heresy to drink "before their time"???? also, as my earlier comparison: chambolle-musigny vs volnay & thx to winebabe; looking to compare & contrast: gevrey-chambertin vs aloxe-corton. both encourage comments & other comparisons to aid in educating ourselves with the pinot noir grape in the vineyards of burgundy. p.s. & not meant to take away from this french burgundy string, but only as a point of information: today's nyt dining section's wine column re: pinot noirs in USA. other points to raise going forward, possibly what foods match well with red burgundys?

i admire your request. "IF" there is an undiscovered property left in sancerre, u will certainly be the 1st visitor!!!

Choucroute: L'Absinthe, Jarnac, LCB, Les Halles Cassoulet: Park Bistro, Les Halles, Jarnac, LCB, Café Un Deux Trois, Le Quinze, Artisanal, Madison Bistro, Pastis, L'Acajou will add to the above as discover more. comments are welcome

almost impossible to select 2 of any cuisine thx for the four. do want to try Devi as a hi-end representative, as well as Amma p.s. on chowhound: some recent negative comments re: Tabla. ← Amma is all right as an Indian restaurant. I used to live literally across the street from the restaurant and have gone to it more than a few times, especially in recent months.* Things have waned markedly since Chef Mathur's tenure there, but that's probably my own sensibility. Soba *Well, not quite true. As of next weekend, my new neighborhood will be one block from Zabar's. ← welcome to the neighborhood! home of zabar's, fairway, & citarella. as i'm sure u know, bet these, pretty much everything can be found. unfortunately, this does not extend to the restaurant scene.

winebabe - u are beautiful