Daniel

I had the fried fish appetizer which was pretty good.. Mainly calamari but, there was some shrimp in there.. It was good, not earth shattering but, something to break up the pizza.. The gnocci there is pretty good too.. But, you go for the pizza..

I have been to Luzzo's a few times and its always great.. Here is a portion of my write up from over at Mouthfulsfood.com.. On to the pizza.. Some of the best pizza I have had.. The dough is airy, chewy, and crispy.. Fantastic.. Topped with the beautiful buffalo mozzarella.. We also ordered a small Diavla pizza.. With spicy salami.. I think it was Sopressatta but I could be mistaken.. Here is the crust.. On any other pizza it would have been stiff as a board and crunchy.. The pizza dough was just amazing.. Luzzo's is a must try pizza spot.. Seriously, anyone interested in trying what I think could be Manhattan's best pizza place should give it a try..

Went here for lunch/brunch early afternoon Sunday dining. Was not impressed with the space, the wine list, the menu, or the resulting food that was served off the menu.. The only thing that was impressive was the 250 dollar bill.. The way the lunch menu works is you can choose two or three items off the menu and the prix fix is either 39 or 49 bucks I think.. Miss A started with a Sunchoke Veloute with a mushroom flan.. I went with a pate sampler which was an extra 16 dollar addition and the steak frites which was another 10 or 15 dollar addition.. Miss K went waffles and then went with the floating island dessert.. For an extra 16 bucks you get three sickly tiny slabs of pate.. One of which was better then good, the other two which were average to boringly average.. In addition to the bounty of pate, I was served a heaping pile of frisee, two measly cornichons, and a container of carrots and cumin, and mushrooms with water I believe.. Above is the Grand Mer Pate.. This was the only one which I felt was decently made.. I was surprised at not only how small the portion was but, how average everything was. The mushroom side was pointless and really showed the lack of care that went into this plate.. It was sitting in literally water, with no flavoring.. The carrots with cumin tasted of no cumin but, made have had some tumeric in there.. A trip to close by Zabars would have resulted in a much better pate lunch.. Even if the local bodega had three little pigs in the meat counter I would have been more impressed. Miss A's sunchoke veloute was exactly how it sounds.. Very smooth texturally, no surprises in the taste.. Steak Frites, was served with a salad and a side of bernaise sauce.. Steak was seasoned well, pan seared, it was ok.. In deciding between walking across the street from my apartment and going to French Roast or here.. I would have most likely enjoyed the steak and fries better there.. As well as having close to 170 dollars more in my pocket.. Fries are good.. Fries are good at a lot of places.. Belgian Waffles for Miss K.. Tried them, they were good.. Croque Madame.. Did not have this but, miss A didnt finish it.. It was a pressed sandwich.. She said it was really good.. For Miss K's second course she went with a floating island.. Liked how they cut it into a triangle..Most likely pressed into a spring form.. Cute idea.. It was the best thing that we ate there.. Place was a madhouse with people screaming at hostesses for not having there reservations, the people sitting next to us left after they were not spoken to for 20 minutes after sitting down.. Our waiter happened to be really nice.. Would not be going back unless someone was not only paying the bill but, paying for my company..

Had the passion fruit coconut donut over at Bouchon Bakery yesterday.. The donut was kind of old tasting, especially for 1 o'clock on a Sunday.. The passion fruit filling was great.

I would have but, now I think I am going with centrolire.

Have you been to Minar before? I have had there dosa a few times and really enjoyed them.. Tiffan Walla on the other hand left a lot to be desired.

Thats cool.. I have been waiting to run into the dessert truck.. Such a wonderful idea..

Met some people here, we had a 730 reservation.. Now, I had not read anything about Little Owl and really had no expectations.. After telling my buddy I was going here, he had mentioned to me that the pork chop and the meatball sliders were among the things I should get.. Who am I to argue.. The place, is very tiny, very cute, very villagey, and comfortable for its size.. Has a really relaxed cool vibe without being pretensious.. The menu is simple and comforting.. In fact the whole experience reminded me a lot of this place I love in Montreal, Joe Beef.. Before I write the review, I just want to say I really enjoyed my dinner last night.. The company was the best part but, the meal was good too.. Its a great little neighborhood spot that is turning out some really good simple food.. Its not ground breaking, its not fantastic, but its solid.. I guess if I hadn't read all these reviews of the place afterwards, I wouldnt feel the need to be so harsh.. Excellent its not, worthy of waiting a month for a reservation, or standing on line for an hour, hells no.. We started with a round of sliders for the table.. I love sliders and little sandwiches MORE then the next guy. maybe more then the next few guys.. But these just dont do it for me.. The meatballs were under-seasoned, the buns were nothing special, the "gravy" was ok.. Could I go into any pizza place in Jersey and get a better meatball sub, yes.. Do I think it was bad, no.. They were ok, nothing great.. I would expect any novice with an internet connection to be able to make something similar.. Next up for me was an artichoke dish.. Perfectly fried artichoke, served in a lemon parm broth with arugala.. The artichoke was fried perfectly, the broth didnt add much to the dish, the slices of cheese were a wonderful wingman.. Simple, well done, pure to the product.. Each dish was non-challant respect. These photos came out well.. I was able to try a few other dishes at this time.. My cousin got the truffle risotto with an egg on top.. This dish became repeatative.. After the first bite, I was more then happy to pass it along.. Miss A got a scallop dish that was really enjoyable.. For the main, I was really happy to see a big ol' pork chop.. I have a confession, I have had 4 porkchops my entire life.. Well there was that one day in Montana, where I had 4 fried porkchop sandwiches in a matter of 4 hours but, only 4 grilled, on the bone pork chops.. This was not up there with my favorites.. I felt the chop was a few degrees too cooked.. Still a little pink and juicy but, I asked for it medium rare.. This was a solid medium.. I really liked the fennel pollen? they used with the chop.. It was butchered beautifully and of really high quality.. Enjoyed the greek take on it with the Dandelion Greens and the Gigantes.. Again, if this place was three blocks from my house, I would be eating this pork chop once a month maybe.. There is a nice listing of cheese for dessert all priced really well.. I think it was 4 dollars a piece and 14 for many.. Several desserts were passed around the table.. A rice pudding that was ok, fried beignets filled with raspberry filling and served with nutella, and a few other things.. Who doesnt like a fried doughnut? http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2254/2279762624_d91e5fa361_b.jpg So what the hell am I saying about this place? Its very good, its very honest, its very cool.. If anything its New York's fault for coveting this place, flocking here and making it a scene.. Its New York's fault for not having one of these in every neighborhood.. There is no reason why any cook out of cooking school shouldnt be able to open a place like this and make simple well executed food..

are you referring to their bomboloni? ← I am pretty sure thats what they call it.. Going this Saturday, will take a photo.. Have you had it? What are your thoughts?

What time do the Pinxtos bars open and close for the most part? What is a typical breakfast consist of in San Sebastian? Are there any amazing cheese shops or jam places I have to go? What happens at lunch time.. Besides going high end, I want local, simple, honest places.. Thanks everyone so much for all your help.. You are really making my trip so special..

The apartment I am looking at is mayor, 17 - In the historic district. Is this a good area to be in..

I have another question, should we go to the South of France or you think there is enough to do in San Sebastian for 14 days.. Granted I am not some great outdoor adventurer.. My perfect day is a big breakfast with drinks, a short walk, a big lunch with drinks, nap, snack, big dinner around 9 or 10 with drinks.. Bed. Can one be happing doing that for two weeks in San Sebastian?

One more interesting thing that happened here.. There was 5 people in our party and they charged 15 percent gratuity.. It was pretty strange and unfortunate for them because we would have tipped more out of habbit.. But since they decided for us and the service wasnt that warm, we took there advice..

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.. Has anyone started a Best of San Sebastian thread yet.. EIther by particular pinxtos or overall experience.. For example I would like to know where the best Uni Dish is.. Or who has the best seafood, who has the best meats, and so on..

Thanks Doc..

I have two reservations at Arzak, one for lunch one for dinner.. After your suggestions, I will make one at Mugaritz.. I think that's enough reservations for me.. I hate feeling obligated to do anything on my vacation besides cheeel.. Will I end up in the South of France, drive around Spain, or just sit and eat for 14 days.. I dont want to be bothered.. Mugaritz for lunch or dinner?

144F is definitely too high for my taste, so that may have been the problem. I don't think dropping the temp afterward helps, other than to make the collagen conversion go slower (which I don't think you would want). In your example, leaving them in at 144F wouldn't do any harm: certainly there's no risk of overcooking since your bath is the desired final temperature. Try 135F as per Ruth's suggestion and see if you like it better. A question of my own: does anyone have experience with SV and wild game? Are there any special concerns beyond what you would do with 'regular' meat? ← I think 144 for a pork chop is over cooked.. My desired temperature would be in the medium rare to medium range.. But if you are going to sear it, definitely have it at medium rare..

I would appreciate it if someone were to give me a break down or comparison between these two places.. If you had to go to one, which would it be and why? Thanks.

You are using red wine and milk.. Thats never going to look that pretty.. Why not white wine? If you are going to make a red wine sauce leave out the milk.. Add some butter at the end.Is your stock salted? I think you need to think about what you want the end result to be and then go from there.. Is there a particular sauce you are trying to make or recreate?

The bottom line is, as someone who is visiting a culture, you should adhere out of respect.. Its not up to you to judge or justify it.. You are a guest in a foreign land and you should respect there customs..

Gorgeous photos.. Thanks for posting that.. Yeah, nothing scary about rabbit.. I have never gotten mine with the fur on.. I am assuming fur on helped with the price.. You should try making a terrine. I have a question, in terms of butchering the rabbit, were you made aware of the glands on the back legs.. Rabbits use this glands to spray territory and whatever. If not removed, the meat tastes pretty awful.

They are thick pieces of cod and I really might sear them for 10 seconds a side... If anything it got me to portion out the fish ahead of time and keep it vacuum sealed for easy storage. Though maybe I wont sear it tonight, I have some extra pieces of play with, see how it works best in the final dish..

With a little experimentation last night, I put the cod in with some simple french butter.. Or burrrrrr as they say.. I then just cooked it at 45 C for like an hour.. I had about 14 bags of three pieces in there. I then placed in fridge and will just dredge and cook in clarified butter for seconds a side before serving.. Adding to a blood orange-ish sauce with some things.. See how it goes.. I tried putting some foie gras oil left over from a terrine I made last night and also tried olive oil.. But the butter was more gentle because I want to highlight the fish.. Thanks for looking out Edsel.

Bought to sous vide cod for thirty, or not.. Playing around with a few pieces now.. Have people experimented with cod at all? I am thinking I want to get the internal temp to 120 and then sear it.. Any suggestions would be appreciated?

One of the better meals I had in san fran was at Crudo.