kinichiwa

thank you, andy83!

Are you sure? Might it be confused with some thing else you had somewhere else? I am positive that the duck rillettes has never been served that way.. As for the cassoulet, could you help me understand how hot some thing should be. The cassoulet is served with the option of a dish to serve it out on or to eat straight from the cassoulet pot. I have always appreciated comments from E-Gullet members, guiding about food, restaurants and the like. I find myself in a little bit of a dilemna when faced with something I know is not correct to the menu and what one should do about it?

It would be interesting if you could rememeber if the waitperson served your cassoulet with the dinner plate, seving spoon and also the reminder that the plate that the cassoulet comes in is hot. I wonder exactly how the pot should be...cool, somewhat cool or lukewarm? This dish could be served out in the kitchen, therein making it cooler and not so "hot", but then wouldn't it lose a little of the romance of what this dish is? Also, there is always a duck rillettes on Jarnac menu, but never with a thin pastry crust. thank you for all constructive comments and keep up the good work!

As a chef in NYC, we have enough trouble getting waiters to remember to sell dessert! So, lets really get involved in patents and intellectualproperty and what not. Andre Soltner once said that nothing was new because people have been cooking for a long time. I am sure that somewhere some mother cooked her chicken in the same pot she was using as a vaporizer for her sick child...Isn't that sous vide?

I noticed that Gina Di Palma was listed for Babbo, and though she is an excellent pastry chef let's not forget Elisa Sarno who is the AM Sous-chef at Babbo and has been described as "the heart and soul" of of that restaurant (by none other than the chef and owner). What about Maryann Terillo and her sous-chef Kim Naphegyi over at Restaurant Jarnac? Maggie Moore, who was the chef at Kamodo. oh, there are so many women...and to think 20 years ago the question was why would there be women in professional kitchens? did we really want to sweat that much?

Is the afternoon tea still available at the St.Regis? I have gone on a number of occassions years ago and really enjoyed it. It was a lot more soothing than the one at the Plaza. Also, is there still one at the Penninsula Hotel?

oh the farmer's market. In order to avoid the taxi problem, i try to use our company car to pick things up for the restaurant, and find the "NY Traffic" cops stake out the 8-6 spots. So the question is, do I venture up to Union Square or order from Satur Farms or Blooming hill Farms (natural and organic)? Sure it's great to stroll to the local markets and pick all the lovely seasonal fare, but I fnd myself dealing with local farmers who will deliver to the restaurant. I also find that the farmers who are working that way usually don't work the farmers markets because they are to busy supplying the already large demand. About the margarine question... My Aunt Lestie (from Macon, Georgia) was a big Imperial Margarine fan for pie crust because she said the product was able to make a very flaky crust but kept the burn factor down.

I ate here recently and was not dissapointed. Yet, would this be the last Italo-American meal I would eat before heading to China? I would more strongly recco the restaurant Bianca on Bleeker Street and Cesca on the Upper Westside.

Both places that were listed in the beginning of the thread will be excellent choices for first time shabu shabu eaters. As you add your ingredients to that unseasoned water, you start to create what will be (if you are patient) a flavorful and filling meal. "Shabu shabu " is the sound in English "swish swish" or that sound of fish or thin slices of meat being "swished" through the broth to be cooked. It is interesting that this type of dish is also about your focus on how fresh the product is and appreciation for your own ability to enjoy it.

And I "third" the choice for Rene Pujol. Ate there with older couple with food issues and the menu and house were extremely helpful. The service is so tuned for the curtain that you are in eating and out on the street heading to the theatre before you know it!

Well, I guess the Fat Guy is right, after today's review I will always wonder if Ms. Hesser really is being objective or just "waxing poetic" about another friend's restaurant. It wouldn't be so tough to bear if we all didn't realize how much reviews mean to business and just as much to the customer hoping to get their monies worth!

I am amazed at the 3 star review... I personally feel that Ms. Hesser should have recused herself from reviewing a restaurant that is owned by a friend. If not that, then she could a least have spared a sentence to let the public know that Jean George has written either a blurb or the forward to her book "about her husband". (as Marion Burros did about her "friendship" w/Mario Battali and Joe Batianich in the infamous Casa Monos review) We are all aware that the star system is not just about the food. The ambiance, service and the all around comfort level will factor into the equation. In this instance it could have garnered the restaurant 2 stars. If the food I have eaten there is any example 2 stars would have been pushing it.

Lo Mein carts on Canal Street...the savory bun lady on East Broadway...Liberty Plaza (or Square) curried chicken on pita (great eats after being at the Fulton Fish Market). I know this isn't a cart, but how about falafel at Kulystyan on Lexington Ave. Took chef friends from Japan who had eaten at the best all that week and they thought it took the main prize.

Jason - Thanks so much. I am new to the site and I am amazed at the info and links you all have taken the time to do. I love Arthur Avenue and I really love those pictures. Thank you

i saw the Fat Guy's post and would really agree about how those sandwiches are filled. the Melampo is so Italian...and Mike's is so italian-American. My geat grandmother would do it all so simply and my aunt was another story all together. God forbid she didn't use everything.