daisy17

Joy of Mixology is the only cocktail book I've seen that actually helps you understand the relationship of cocktails to each other, which for me was the only way to remember ingredients and different cocktails. The book was very illuminating for me, a cocktail neophyte who would dorkily play my own weird "this is a ___ but with/without ___" game every time I had a new cocktail. I tried to make my own chart once or twice just to get a handle on things, but Gary really made that unnecessary.

I've been dreaming about/craving the asparagus since I read this yesterday. I've had runny egg issues for as long as I can remember, and the first time I had the Momo poached egg and asparagus 2 years ago was the start of me getting over it. (Yay, you got your soft shell crabs!)

I absolutely would. I can really only safely have 2-3 cocktails on a school night, but almost always want to try taste more than that. A smaller cocktail would be perfect for me. (I'm sure that my bartenders would disagree on the perfection of the situation - that's a lot of work.)

I was there the other night for drinks. It's not really diner-ish, more like a bar with a very interesting beer/wine selection, and food that's local/organic/market driven (they just got their SlowFood snail of approval, i think). The waitress said that the menu changes daily. I tasted some delicious sausage that was housemade. I liked the place a lot. Kind of mellow, you could have a conversation and sit and relax.

NYT Bar Americain Review Two stars, which kind of surprises me based on my experiences.

Instead of the fluke I had a crab/avocado dish, the details of which I couldn't catch. On my visit, I asked one of the people working on the floor (not really servers, not really hostesses . . . ? ) if they were doing the apple pie, and she said it was that or the panna cotta and asked which I preferred to have. She couldn't have been any nicer about it, or about any of my other questions that night. I think that if there's a dish you want to make sure you get they will be happy to do that for you.

Same parameters re: price (not too expensive)? La Esquina at the taco counter, or the cafe around the corner if you want to have table service. Yum. Good sandwiches too, and salads. And horchata. Chinatown - well, I'm sure you have places you love, but since you asked, for lunch I do: Thai Son (Vietnamese) or Big Wong (roast pork). Balthazar (the little bakery part) has good salads but nowhere to sit. There's a wichcraft in the Equinox on Prince between B'way and Crosby, with seating upstairs. I'm going to keep thinking.

That is hilarious. (Didn't even notice. Scary, no?)

Best idea yet. The cauliflower is my favorite too.

That cocktail makes my knees weak.

I sadly thought I'd posted too late to be helpful. I do love lupa for lunch.

you could walk over to thompson and go to snack, or further up a couple of blocks to lupa (just north of houston).

As long as no one tries to give us Long Island Iced Tea . . .

Here's the link: Momofuku Ko Reservations

None of the components of the dish, although executed beautifully, could have prepared me for how amazing they were together and how well they played off each other. That's all. While I can't say that caviar and potatoes or egg and onions are unique, some of the preparations were interesting (the potatoes notably). The components individually did not move me, but together (and all in each bite) they were transcendent. (And I have issues with eggs, which I luckily managed to completely get over by 6:45 last sunday night.) The onions reminded me of the onions Ratner's used to serve with the pierogen. That might be the oddest part of what I have to say about the dish. (ETA: this is a compliment.)

Of course!!!!!! I knew there was someone I was forgetting!!!!!! I'm so ashamed.... ← Don't be. I just have a bit of an obsession with the place. Maybe I'll go too!

Russ & Daughters?

What's the draw for them? Fun night out kind of thing? Cause we can tell you about other places that have that and good food. (Immediately coming to mind: Bar Blanc, Spotted Pig, Boqueria, Mercat)

I can't thank you enough for the tip, jimk. So many of the other posts are really dead on, so I'm not going to repeat it all. My first post-amuse course was a peekytoe crab with something and something and wasabi. It was beautifully composed and flavorful, but not my favorite of the night. This means that I didn't get to try the fluke, which also means that I'm going to have to go back soon. The smoked egg/caviar/fingerling potatoes/onions simultaneously stumped me and took my breath away. How does this dish work? Why are these things even together on the plate? Truly more than the sum of its parts. I would love to have been in the room when they came up with this dish. My other favorite of the night was the shaved foie over lychee, pine nut brittle and riesling gelee. Holy crap. Again, the combination of flavors and textures was remarkable, inventive, delicious. This dish made me laugh. I loved the short ribs and the scallop too. The apple pie was fantastic - again, enhanced by the toasted miso and sour cream ice cream which on their own were unremarkable. Together, delicious. I should add - there is a LOT of food. These are not timid portions. The pace started off way too fast but slowed down about halfway through to comfortable. The two servers on the floor were friendly and helpful, and their suggestions for my abbreviated wine pairing were perfect. And boy do Serpico and Chang run a tight ship - the cooks are incredibly precise and focused. Maybe a little too focused? Many posters have noted that as the night went on they loosened up and were more talkative. That happened last night too, pretty much around dessert for me, and I would have loved for it to happen earlier. I didn't feel encouraged to ask questions and pretty much stopped after the first couple of dishes. I would have really enjoyed more information about what I was eating and how it was prepared. Luckily, a lovely and interesting couple sat down next to me and we had a great conversation. In all, a fantastic experience.

This is great - I love the comraderie that Ko is bringing out in eGulleters! ← I couldn't agree more, since I actually just snagged that seat - I have no idea how, I first got error messages about 15 times. Jimk, thanks so much for the heads up. I really appreciate it, will report back.

Boy is that one incredibly annoying website.

Stopped by last night, really loved the place. It was packed at 7, but we snagged the last 2 seats at the bar. Enjoyed the wine, but the food was what really made me happy - many old Craftbar favorites are back (veal & ricotta meatballs, duck ham/hen of the woods/taleggio panini). Canora was behind the bar, taking orders, clearing plates, talking to customers. The rest of the staff was great - well versed and friendly. The only thing I didn't love was the poor ventilation. My coat smells like kitchen. Not in a good way.

Hmmm, I'm not sure. I don't know if they have tuna salad (one of my least favorite foods in the entire universe). I've only had (and loved) their whitefish salad, which is made from smoked whitefish, and like I said, crack cocaine. No tuna. It really doesn't matter. What an amazing week you had! You hit almost all of my favorite places in the city. Really, great job.

You really did a phenomenal job with your posts and your eating. Well done and thanks for sharing! Just one question: White tuna salad? Not whitefish salad?

Russ & Daughters is also on Houston but a little west of Katz's, at about 1st ave. It's quintessential old school Jewish New York, the appetizing kind, not the deli kind. You can't sit down and eat, but you can buy stuff and take it home at have it for breakfast tomorrow. I'm telling you: whitefish salad.