daisy17

Fantastic.

I'm not sure I follow. So if you can get it somewhere outside of ny it doesn't make the list? I mean, i'm sure they have pork chops and bagels in lots of other places.

Whitefish salad at Russ & Daughters Roast pork with ginger scallion sauce at Big Wong Pan fried cod sandwich with extra side of tartar at Mary’s Fish Camp Brussel sprouts, kimchi and bacon at Momofuku Noodle Gnocchi at Hearth Home fried potatoes at Peter Luger Pretzel croissant/mac & cheese at City Bakery Duck meatballs at A Voce Short ribs at Café Gray Patatas bravas at Tia Pol Tom kha gai at Sripraphai This could keep me busy for hours. Adding: bagels at Ess-A-Bagel Gelato at Laboratorio del Gelato or Otto (not intending to re-open this debate) White bean and balsamic bruschetta at Otto on tuesdays

Still decent, but deafening. Seafood/fish in the W Village: Mary's Fish Camp. And Pearl, but I prefer Mary's.

City Bakery on 18th between 5th & 6th Aves (a 10 min walk from the W. Vill) has fantastic vegan/vegetarian stuff, including a greenmarket inspired/sourced salad bar with some really creative items. Super casual, great for lunch, not cheap, but it's definitely a downtown institution. Tarts, lemonade, pretzel croissants, cookies, mac & cheese all rock too.

It's true. Union Pacific was putting out amazing food, and he was the young hot darling of the ny food scene. I vividly remember my meal there, must have been more than 5-6 years ago. The show was horrible all around, but the worst part was that this formerly brilliant young chef's priority in his new restaurant was to flit from table to table to pose for photos with cute girls. It could have partially been the editing, but he looked like an absolute media whore who didn't care about anything substantive - not the service, not the food. I don't think he actually ever cooked on the show. What I don't get is why he doesn't just put his head down and cook again. He could redeem himself. edited to add: I was writing this while others were posting. I think that if he tried to get back into the kitchen he would certainly be given another chance to succeed. I would forgive the stupid mama's meatballs bullshit for another taste of the truffle risotto I had at Union Pacific. The bad behavior was exactly as divalasvegas described - he literally just seemed to blow off all responsibility involved in the restaurant. It was pitiful. If the guy couldn't cook it wouldn't bother me as much.

thanks for the info - i always learn a lot from you. Would it not be right to just refer to it as Carpano Antica? Love the stuff.

I was at D&C again on Sat evening. Phil made me 2 awesome cocktails - one, a riff on a Martinez with Beefeater, Carpano Antica, Punt Y Mes (both sounds odd to me now, but I'm pretty sure that's right), Luxardo and some of johnder's freaking ridiculously good Abbotts bitters, and two, a fresh peach/Plymouth/egg white/i'm sure there was lemon and simple in there but i wasn't paying enough attention to be sure concoction that rocked. You have to go to D&C.

I love Little Branch, but it's very quiet early in the evening. Not even sure that it's open by 7. If you do #1 you could hit EO right after Flatiron and then go down another 3 blocks or so to LB after. I know that you're concerned about the walking, but it's not really much more than itinerary #2, just in the opposite direction. #2 gives you the benefit of D&Co (which is quite spectacular) AND Momo. You can't go wrong there. I often go to both in one night b/c they're really close to each other. If you're still standing after all this and you wanted to hit Pegu, it's really not very far either. LB would be a very short cab ride away too and is more fun later on anyway. I think I'm voting for #2. As an aside, I don't go to Flatiron often for reasons that are entirely unclear to me, but I went about 2 weeks ago, and had some fantastic cocktails.

No one's posted on that thread in a while . . . I've had some very solid meals there, and a friend whose opinion I trust told me just last weekend that the food there has been excellent lately. I would definitely go . . . .

Well, you order the steak for 2 people, or 3, or whatever, and it's served family style, so I think pre-sliced is kind of required. It's never bothered me. And no need to fret: Luger's home fried potatoes are absolutely out of this world. I have contemplated making a meal out of them more than just once. Peter Luger's is an experience - from the gruffness of the waiters, to the sawdust on the floor, to the gigantic bowl of whipped cream they bring to the table with dessert.

Mary's Fish Camp is my favorite, especially for lunch. Mmmm pan fried cod sandwich.

Devi?

Perilla is Harold Dieterle Lidia Bastianich Tom Colicchio

Ate at the bar last night with a friend. Very enjoyable evening - the place has a great upbeat vibe (Amy Winehouse always helps things) and some solid food. Loved the salty padrones peppers and really was pleased with the cod fritters (lots of cod, not overly breaded). We inhaled the spicy patatas bravas. Marinated/seared tuna was delicious, topped with a tangy mass of peppers and onions. Our bartender, Felix, was attentive and sweet. I don't know that Mercat is groundbreaking in any way, but it's definitely a fun spot for a glass of wine (or in my case, several glasses of rose cava) and some tapas.

I couldn't have said it better. My meal at TFL was sublime for many reasons, but I will admit that I would have not easily allowed it to be otherwise. I had looked forward to it for years and I wanted it to be astounding. No small hiccups (not that I noticed any, but I was pretty much floating six inches from the ground the whole night) were going to take away from the deep pleasure I derived from that meal. I'm by no means a pro at this generally, but when I eat good food (TFL or Big Wong, as long as it's good) I tend to feel incredibly present and find great joy in the experience. I want to be that passionate when I'm 90. I want a meal like TFL to bring me heaps of pleasure and I don't want it to ever get old for me. If it ever no longer makes me that happy, I'm done.

If I spy a bottle of Campari I'll do one of two things - ask if they have sweet vermouth and have it in equal parts topped with soda (Americano) - or have a Campari and soda. Easy, summery, not sweet or girly, requires little explanation. I am a gimlet lover but find that a lot of not great bars don't have fresh lime (and some have no idea what simple is). If you don't mind Rose's, it's a great alternative.

Fantastic write-up on The Violet Hour on the Food & Wine blog. Love that it mentions this thread. America's Most Exciting New Bar There's no lack of excellent bars in New York City right now—including the wonderful PDT, whose drinks list was masterminded by Food & Wine spirits consultant Jim Meehan, and Death & Co., whose devotion to bitters was just documented in the New York Times by another F&W cocktail guru, Rob Willey. But the country's most exciting bar right at this moment is the The Violet Hour which just opened in Chicago's Wicker Park. Toby Maloney, the mixologist, is a veteran of Manhattan's Milk & Honey, Pegu Club and Freeman's and, according to some experts, he's as good a bartender as there is anywhere. On a recent eGullet post, Maloney outlined his cocktail menu, which includes a Manhattan mixed with housemade peach bitters and a rinse of Laphroaig (he's reportedly adding eye-droppers of the single malt whisky to a few of his drinks). As if that weren't enough, The Violet Hour's bar-food menu was designed by Justin Large, who cooks at Avec, one of Chicago's best places to eat; I've heard stories about his insanely good deep-fried pickles and croquettes stuffed with chorizo. I wasn't necessarily looking for a new place to drink, but I do hear that Manhattan calling my name.

Cocotte is pretty iffy as well. H's other recommendations are my favorites in that neighborhood too - I've found Applewood and Stone Park to have excellent food. I was just at Tempo a couple of weeks ago and thought it was very good (and very reasonably priced) - and they have more space to work with.

mustard with a knish.

We always called those small dishes "monkey dishes" too . . . and the round silver little containers that we'd use for a side of tartar sauce or mayo were "bullets." No idea if other restaurants use that term. I swear, 13 years later I still shout phrases like "behind you" or "watch your back" when I'm trying to get past someone with a load of stuff in my hands. Doesn't work as well among lawyers as it did in the kitchen. Asking for an "all day" or telling someone to "fire table 40" still makes perfect sense to me. Besides, expediter is a demanding job - they should be able to say whatever they want. Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but one of my favorite kitchen phrases (as a runner, especially, because of proximity to what was being given away) was when something in the window was "dead" - ie, couldn't be brought to a table b/c it was sitting too long. Like music to our ears . . . it would be mauled in a matter of seconds.

I have heard really disappointing things about DB & D. My vote is for lunch at Jean-Georges - fantastic food and desserts. The menu is small plates which makes it easier to taste a variety of things, and as has been noted many times before, it's an excellent value. I personally have found lunch to be more enjoyable/less stuffy than dinner. I think she'll be really wowed there. Le Bernardin would be high on my list too for food & dessert, but it's not "fun" place atmosphere-wise . . . .

The Violet Hour is getting some awesome mentions already. The space sounds spectacular and the cocktails, well, no surprises there. No question in my mind that the cocktails are stellar. From Chicago Tribune website From Time Out Chicago Blog Toby, how did opening night go?!

I think Nathan's got them all. Tasting Room has some good cocktails as well as food. I was just at Peasant again last week and really enjoyed it. You could hit Death & Co. for cocktails after if you wanted - just a few blocks in the other direction. Oh, and Freeman's isn't far either, on Rivington off Bowery. Love that Freeman's cocktail (aka Ward 8).

This was in Time Out Chicago. Love the name . . .