daisy17

I worked downtown for 6 years, before and after 9/11, and it was always pretty dismal. When Mangia came to Wall St. we were overcome with joy. This just off the NY Times website - they're all relatively new, so I can't comment. NY Times - Financial District Restaurants Bridge Cafe was always a treat; I haven't been there in years. Au Mandarin in the WFC is good, if a bit pricey. There are some new pubs on Stone Street - Ulysses, etc. You may not be too far from Bouley's bakery/market on W. Broadway. There were always some decent take out lunch places on Pearl around Broad - there's a wildly popular Italian (pasta, mostly) place on Pearl between Broad and Whitehall. Can't remember the name but the food is pretty good.

Perfect. Do they take reservations for the bar (wishful thinking)?

Quick question that I thought I'd add to this thread (may add to Paris in August thread too). I'll be in Paris alone the first weekend in August, which apparently is the absolute worst time to go restaurant-wise (no choice on timing for me, it's for business). [As an aside, I pretty much refuse to go to Paris with other people - I studied there in college and crave being alone there whenever I return. There's no place to be alone like Paris.] I love to eat at the bar in NY and I'm wondering if one can dine alone at the bar at any of the following places, which I understand may be open in August: L'Affriole, Les Bookinistes, La Regalade, L'Epi Dupin. Many thanks.

I agree with Sneakeater - I thought that the food at Chinatown Brasserie was good, not great (I'm very surprised by the outpouring of affection for CB, but I'll concede that I should try more dishes before making a final verdict), but I doubt that it would ever be a go-to place for me foodwise. I did have a fun night out there though, at the bar and at dinner - I think it's more of a night out/cocktails kind of place than a great authentic Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, and the prices reflect that. Honestly, I'll take roast pork with ginger scallion sauce at Big Wong ($5) over CB any day.

Oh dear. I'm afraid you've lost your mind. Or had one too many gimlets.

Dined at Parea last night. (Those of you familiar with Michael Ruhlman's beautifully-written Soul of a Chef will recognize Michael Symon, chef/partner of Parea.) The space is very striking and unique, but the noise level rose throughout the night and it was difficult to hear across the table (as noted by Bruni). Our table wasn't available until about 45 minutes after our reservation, but the maitre'd handled the situation skillfully, buying us a round of cocktails and dessert. We appreciated his attentiveness, and the service was professional and pleasant throughout. The food was excellent, and I need to go back to sample more of the menu. The menu is mostly comprised of meze and appetizers, which are perfect for sharing. The zucchini keftedes (crispy and flavorful, dipped into a cool and soothing feta sauce) and tuna spinialo (raw, marinated in olive juice, studded with almonds) were fantastic. The pork belly was snatched up before I could snag a piece but received rave reviews from my friends. Could have skipped the cured meats. The tender lamb and the whole sea bass roasted with onions and served with tzatziki were outstanding entrees. We all really liked the doughnut holes, and I especially enjoyed the mouth puckering lemon sorbet that accompanied what I think was a lemon custard in phyllo. Rice pudding could have used more of a kick. A bit of constructive criticism - it was a very enjoyable night all around - but I was slightly disappointed by the bar. The large, sleek bar/lounge area (as noted by Bruni) invites you to enjoy a cocktail, or four, before dining. Vodka is overrepresented on the menu, and a white peach/rum cocktail that sounded refreshing was anything but. When I asked if a watermelon cocktail could be made with gin I was told no, it was a vodka drink. Parea could be a fantastic place to meet for drinks as well as for food, but the bar, in my opinion, needs some tweaking.

Enjoyed a stellar lunch at The Modern today, in the dining room. I'd been slightly underwhelmed with the Bar Room on previous visits and was looking forward to going back and sampling the cod I've heard so much about. My appetizer was a lobster risotto with fresh corn and pancetta. Amazing - the creamy risotto was perfectly cooked, studded with golden kernels and crunchy pancetta and topped with succulent, tender lobster. Summer in a bowl. The chorizo crusted cod with white bean purée and harissa oil lived up to its reputation. Everything about it worked. This is a dish I will be dreaming about. Starting tonight. Service was excellent, what you'd expect from Danny Meyer. The only misstep happened before we actually arrived at the restaurant. I'm not going to get too into it, but I was disappointed that the reservationists were completely clueless about the menu (several times, on separate calls). Can't understand how they could describe the lunch menu as primarily prix fixe. It almost steered my host away from going, but my powers of persuasion worked. Luckily, because now I get to dream about cod.

Many thanks for the info. I'm likely to be in London for two whole weeks; please, please keep them coming! I'm looking for some really good food . . . any other suggestions on recent favorites would be very much appreciated. Naebody, is it possible to actually sit at the bar and dine at the places you've mentioned, or are barside tables the only option? And are Ramsay's places worth going to? (I can't stand him on tv . . . . )

Will be traveling to London on business the first week in August. (Does London shut down in August the way Paris does?) Haven't remotely looked into hotels or flights - I'm focusing on the important stuff here first. The last time I was in London was 13 years ago as a poor student, so London dining is completely new to me. I'd really like to try a wide variety of restaurants and want to eat some excellent food. I'll hopefully be dining alone for some if not most of my dinners, and I love to eat at the bar at restaurants here in New York. Easy to do in London? Have always wanted to try: St. John River Cafe Fat Duck (Is it easily accessible by public transportation from London?) Can I eat alone at these restaurants at the bar? Lindsay House, Chez Bruce, Club Gascon, Admiral Codrington, Ladbroke Arms, The Eagle have been suggested to me - should these be on my list? What others should I consider? Any specific recommendations for gastropubs would be very much appreciated. Many thanks in advance. Edited to add: do any of Marco Pierre White's restaurants lend themselves to dining alone, and are they worth going to?

This, by Frank Bruni, in today's Week in Review section of the Times: It Died For Us

Great idea; macarons travel especially well - I always bring some back to NY with me and they usually arrive intact!

Well, it's not really lunch (although I could easily make lunch out of patisserie), but if you're at St. Sulpice you must stop at Pierre Herme on rue Bonaparte right across the street from the church square. My mouth is watering just thinking about his macarons.

We had no problem finding great street food in Puerto Vallarta. Many of the stands near the supermarket were excellent. We returned repeatedly (read: daily) to Tacos Mariscos de Vallarta, just north of Constitution on Serdan, for freshly-fried shrimp empanadas with fiery salsa cola de raton. There were plenty of tasty tacos al pastor/gringas a block or two from the beach (my favorite was on Madero just south of I. Vallarta, right on the corner). The quality of food turned out from these carts is unbelievable, each offering a unique selection of taco toppings and home(cart)made salsas. When you get tired of eating while balancing your plate on your knee with salsa verde slowly dripping off your elbow (day 6 for me), you can check out El Repollo Rojo (one of our favorite meals in PV), La Palapa (for breakfast or drinks at sunset), and Trio. Visited the market up north as well, and there was an interesting variety of produce, but nowhere near the bounty that I expected to find.

Picnics at the Jardin du Luxembourg are indeed the best. The markets around rue de Seine just north of Blvd Saint Germain are great and fairly close to the gardens, as is Gerard Mulot, a great patisserie, at 76 rue de Seine. L'As du Falafel has the best falafel ever and is definitely not expensive. It's on rue des Rosiers in the Marais and won't be open on Saturdays. I recommend having one topped with aubergine (eggplant). Crepes on the street are one of my favorite things about Paris and can make for an excellent cheap lunch too.

And third is that I wish we could encourage folks to put more stuff up, good or bad, rather than carry it in pectore (case in point, a trusted foodwriter friend with whom I often eat had a bad meal this week with 3 others at a place I and others have raved about). It would be very helpful to have the details of what made it bad/disappointing to know what surprises to avoid: e.g., dishes bland, improperly prepared and/or plated, sauces over-whelming or oversalted, meat and/or fish over-cooked, etc). ← I think that docsconz makes a very well-taken point, and I could say the same about L'Astrance - I could see that the restaurant could be great. (I'm also even more disappointed to know that docsconz loved his meal at L'Astrance - I respect his opinion very much and feel like I was cheated out of a superb experience . . . . ) Every diner is not going to walk away with the same impression of a restaurant, for whatever reason. To be fair, much of my meal at L'Astrance was pleasant, but many of the dishes were forgettable. The service was welcoming and gracious and worth mention. One dish in particular threw the entire lunch off for me - a slab of rich but tasteless foie gras layered with tasteless mushrooms. Cold. My friend and I looked at each other, not sure how we could eat more than two bites each, not wanting to offend, but in silent agreement that the dish was simply inedible. Thinking of that dish still nauseates me. In all fairness, if they had been serving the ravioli I'd read so much about, the meal could have gone a completely different way for me.

This sounds fantastic . . . . KITCHEN SECRETS: BILL BUFORD with Mario Batali and Anthony Bourdain Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 7:00 PM Celeste Bartos Forum New York Public Library Information/Tickets Here

Wow. I'm so surprised by the universal L'Astrance recommendation. I had lunch there about a year and a half ago and was so disappointed. I suppose it was not the norm . . . .

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Heat, at that point where I can't put it down but I don't want to finish the book because then what am I going to do? It's a fantastic read; Buford is an astute, thoughtful, hilarious writer. It's about so much more than Mario Batali - the author gives us insightful glimpses at the rich history of Italian cuisine (I can't wait to try to make polenta) and his characters just jump off the page. AND he learns how to cook in a professional kitchen in the process. Love this book.

Recently did a tour at Far Niente, a winery that only opened itself up to the public a few years ago. The grounds and buildings are beautiful and the tasting and tour were really wonderful and absolutely not touristy (although a bit pricey ($40) and reservations are required). One of the highlights of the trip. Also really enjoyed Opus One, Stag's Leap and Sinskey. Other than the French Laundry, which completely rocked, the food at Terra was excellent and I would highly recommend it. Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, not so much. Bad.

Hospitality can make or break an entire dining experience. Not only the food has to be good! I don't mean for this to be a list of negatives/pet peeves but it pretty much is. Which is kind of odd, given how much pleasure I get from dining out. I love a server who is knowledgeable, attentive and enthusiastic, who can make my mouth water by describing a dish, who can guide me in ordering well, who can anticipate what we need. In terms of physical space, I am very often turned off to a restaurant when the dining room is carpeted. Am not sure exactly why I have this reaction, but it frequently makes a restaurant seem dingy/unclean to me. I also think lighting is very important and should be flattering and comfortable. I've had experiences where I feel like I'm sitting in a spotlight. Not so comfortable. And please put a trash can near the bathroom door. Menus should be spelled correctly. I cringe when servers blatantly try to upsell, especially bottled water. I cannot stand it when dishes are taken away before my fork can return to the plate. Please, for the love of God, can you wait until we're done? I find that clearing plates before everyone is finished makes the people who are still eating feel rushed. But there are people who hate sitting with dirty plates, and I realize that you can't make everyone happy . . . When I was a waitress/runner, we used position numbers when putting orders in and when bringing food to the table so that we didn't have arrive at the table and announce "who gets the salmon?" To me, this only seems to be done in the most upscale restaurants. It's not an auction. Good service includes remembering who gets what. I also think that good service includes not asking customers to pass plates unless ABSOLUTELY necessary because the server cannot reach the table from ANY angle from ANY SPOT in the restaurant, and only then with apologies to the customers. Please, walk around the table. Agree on the importance of knowing how to stack on your arm! If not, just lift two plates and take them away. But please don't scrape stuff from one plate to another when you're clearing the table so that you can stack them all on top of each other. Ew.

You must read the first two of Ruth Reichl's books, Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me With Apples. They are just as enjoyable as Garlic & Sapphires.

I just finished it and loved it too. And she didn't start cooking until she was 37! Talk about inspiration for someone looking for a second career . . . .

Frank Bruni seems to like it Diner's Journal I personally can't wait to read it; Soul of a Chef is one of my favorite books ever. Just reread the section on Thomas Keller in advance of my recent meal at the French Laundry. Ruhlman gets it exactly right.

I recently bought a jar of Herdez salsa at Whole Foods in Union Square. Was pleasantly surprised that they carried it. It wasn't salsa verde, but you might want to check there.

Brunch at August is great, but I don't think they take reservations either. If you get there early enough it shouldn't be a problem, especially if you're a small party. Spotted Pig is always right around the corner if it doesn't work out.