daisy17

Osteria Morini has a large table in the middle of the room that might work. Also I'd try Lupa.

I LOVED Coi. LOVED. Also had a delicious meal at Incanto.

Sounds worth starting a Ciano thread with a review of your visit if you have time. I'll probably go back before I do that - it would feel unfair to not.

I still love Lupa. If you want new I'd do Maialino or Osteria Morini or Locanda Verde if you can get in (they also have an excellent brunch). I had high hopes for Ciano but my first visit was such a disaster that it'll be a while before I go back - maybe they can work out those kinks. Meatballs were good though.

YES.

Luke's is on 7th & 1st Ave, conveniently close to many of the best cocktails in NYC (Mayahuel, D&Co, PDT). Donut Plant's on the lower east side, so I'd stop at Essex Street Market or walk up to Union Square Greenmarket. Down on LES I'd also hit Katz's and Russ & Daughters (my absolute favorite). For soup dumplings I like Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown. On Sunday I would avoid crappy theater district food and eat a late lunch in the Bar Room at the Modern - they serve continuously on the weekends. Can't help you on Japanese, but if you decide to forgo that, some of my favorite spots lately include Sorella, Aldea, Osteria Morini and Lani Kai (cocktails and food).

Sometimes (when in the throes of an OCD flare-up) I can't help but think that twists are just adding dirt (and maybe worse - have you been in a walk in?)to my cocktail.

They do a meat and a fish every night.

The NY forum has been so quiet lately, it's depressing... Part of me wants to agree about the hype, but most of me just loved it. I wish we had more spots like that in NY - it reminded me of Prune in some ways - straightforward, honest, good food with minimal trappings or fanfare. The warm mozzarella served with garlic/tomato toast really hit the spot. I think that so much depends on the daily menu. Our pasta was potato gnocchi with brussels sprouts and mustard. Delicious. Our mains were bbq lamb shoulder with beans and a fish (no idea what, completely can't recall) prepared with olives and potato - the fish was really perfectly cooked and lovely. I love rainbow cookies. We left satisfied, not overly stuffed, and I felt like it was kind of a bargain at $50. My glass of red wine was $9. The whole "go early and wait in line and put your name down" could have been annoying, but the woman taking names was so sweet, calling us to confirm and telling us to come back a little early, it was really impossible to be anything but pleased by the whole night. In between putting our names down and eating we hit 1534, the new cocktail place under Jacques on Prince Street. We should be talking about that too.

Why are we not talking about this?

Ate at the counter last Sat night early and loved it. Antica on tap? Helloooo? Enough said? We started with the fritti - nice, clean fry, and moved on to the mozzarella with figs - perfect, simple dish. Brussels sprouts were perfection. Favorite dish of the night was the polenta, which comes baked in an earthenware dish, layered with pork ragu and breadcrumbs. I've been off pasta for a few months now for health reasons and let me tell you - this dish made me not miss pasta one bit. That's quite a compliment. Service was positively lovely.

Like I said in one of my previous posts, that's sort of a sweeping generalization. Out of my panel of 12, some of us actually like bitter flavors (hence my obsession with stouts and IPAs) and some of us don't, it's opinion. Two colleagues get the bitter/sour flavors wrong a lot, and all of us have made the mistake at least once (I did it myself, a few weeks ago...and again, I enjoy and can taste bitterness). "Aversion", that's where opinion figures in, and opinion is not a measurable thing. When I think of the word intolerance, I think of something that makes one physically ill, and I assure you, not one of us "supertasters" has ever gotten sick from the bitter flavor. On a slightly related side note, the term "supertaster" is about as meaningful, in a professional setting, as "foodie". I use it here, because it's a recognizable term, but I get that it's sort of a media friendly catchall term. That clears up some of my questions, so thanks. We did the lick-the-paperstrip-testy thing and I DEFINITELY tasted some vile bitterness there. But I love bitter - strongly prefer it in cocktails, certainly, and some food - and I wasn't sure what this meant.

In Harold McGee's seminar this past weekend at Astor Center's "The Alchemy of Taste and Smell" he explained that no 2 people taste things the same way. My understanding is that "supertasters" have more tastebuds and an intolerance/strong aversion to bitter.

I have 3 picks (other than NY where I currently live) almost entirely based on food: Paris, Oaxaca and Barcelona. It took me 5 seconds to come up with that answer. ETA: if this involves a huge lottery winning I'll probably spend some time in Napa/SF as well.

you're in good hands with johnder's recs here (blue bottle's iced coffee sets an all new standard for the genre, and I'm a fan of Incanto) - but I have to say, I had dinner in the lounge at Coi a few weeks ago and it was the freaking bomb. Awesome meal - interesting and delicious. In the lounge you can order a la carte off the main dining room tasting menu as well as the lounge menu. I was a happy, happy girl.

Closed. Shea Gallante left quite a while ago anyway. His new spot, Ciano, is opening shortly and I'm sure will be worth a visit. They're taking reservations now. Ciano's website

The miso corn with fingerlings? I went back for that dish repeatedly this summer. I don't recommend sitting at the counter watching them cook it though. There must be a stick of butter in that small dish. Also, I love the brisket.

Marea, Gramercy Tavern, L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, WD-50 (you sound very curious about food which is awesome - trying to recommend a good mix here). You can easily do Aldea on your budget - it's great - and I would recommend sitting at the back counter so you can watch them cook. ETA: Marea and Robuchon are really expensive, but they're a la carte menus and since I assume you won't be drinking I think you could get a good sense of the restaurants by ordering well. Gramercy is prix fixe in the main dining room but the front tavern room is wonderful and more affordable.

I recently had dinner at EMP and really loved it. It was just before the menu change, but the whole meal was just fantastic, from the food to the service to the setting. The room is exquisite and, I think, quintessentially New York and made for a special night out. For more info I suggest you read the thread on EMP. Daniel is way too stuffy for my comfort level. His short ribs are divine, but I have little tolerance for formal French dining these days. The recent Del Posto review surprised me considerably. DP has not been on my radar ever, really, but the review made me curious. I continue to absolutely love Gramercy Tavern. I find the space much more comfortable, warm and inviting than EMP. In June I had a delightful meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, if you are willing to travel out of the city. The whole place is exciting, especially if you care at all about farming and where your food comes from, and I'd recommending spending some time on the grounds prior to dining. There's a whole thread with quite a bit of info on BHSB as well.

I don't see how the Modern could be 4 stars but I have not been in the main dining room in a while. Agree on BHSB - was there in June and was absolutely blown away by the meal and the service and everything they're doing there. Had spectacular meals at Cru also, several times, but I'm not sure it was at the level of a Per Se or J-G. Places like Cru, I think, underscore the distance between 3 and 4. I'm really quite surprised at the Del Posto review. It's utterly not on my radar (and my radar's pretty damned good if I must say so myself . I sat at the bar once for a cocktail and perhaps some food (if I had any it wasn't memorable) and I felt like I was in Las Vegas. I've never heard rave reviews about it, haven't recommended it to anyone, and it's not on my list of places to go and spend a ton of money at. Is the service friendlier than at Batali's other spots?

Totally agree. There's nothing about a gin gin mule (my first real cocktail), southside or French 75 that young ladies who know nothing about cocktails wouldn't like. (I'm not sure an Aviation would have won me over as my first cocktail because of the maraschino.) I just hope that you're not dumbing it down because they're girls. Got to start somewhere. Maybe it'll be revelatory for them as it was for me in my early 30s. I only wish I'd known earlier. Five years later I'm a diehard brown/bitter/stirred cocktail drinker.

I feel like a big baby complaining about how long the blocks were - I live in NY after all, and walk everywhere. A couple of things compelled me to point it out to you: there's a serious lack of metro stops within the Eixample and Gracia. If you're on the outskirts and close to the metro stop you should be ok for getting to other neighborhoods. But deep within the neighborhoods, there are only buses and taxis and your feet. The blocks are square rather than rectangular. They're at least a New York avenue in length - I would say even noticeably longer - but because they're square that's the length of every block, not just those running in one direction. According to this wikipedia entry NY avenues are between 600-900 feet and Barcelona blocks are 1240 feet. I'm telling you, they're long. These neighborhoods are beautiful and residential, with sprinklings of restaurants and bars throughout, but it can feel like a trek. El Born feels more sophisticated (although much grittier than Eixample, which is more like the Upper East Side), hip and interesting (all in a good way) - the streets are old and narrow and winding and getting lost in them is fun. I would be careful about renting an apartment on a busy street there though, the nightlife might make things difficult. If I lived in barcelona I think this is where I'd live. The food there is more cafe/casual than the upscalish dining you'll find in the Eixample. You must go to Paco Meralgo. Please promise.

When are you going???? On my trip in May I stayed at the Pulitzer, which is just off Plaza Cataluna: Hotel Pulitzer Ridiculously centrally located, very pretty and modern boutique hotel. About a 5 block walk (south) to La Boqueria, which I went to every morning for coffee and a xuxo (doughnut w/creme) or other delicious food - at Pinotxo, of course. There's quite a bit of amazing food just north of Plaza Cataluna in the Eixample (i.e., Cinc Sentits (divine, tasting menu), Paco Meralgo (tapas, I went to twice), Tapac 24). There's Quimet y Quimet in Poble Sec, which you MUST visit, and is a quick metro ride away. (Plaza Cataluna's metro is also ridiculously central.) Inopia is closed now, not sure what's going on there, but also a 10-15 min walk from Cataluna. No matter what you do, order the smoked salmon at every tapas place. I would definitely stay at the Pulitzer again and would definitely stay in that neighborhood again. No doubt. I feel like the accessibility and centrality of the location was key, and not easily found in other hoods. There are many upscale hotels in the Eixample itself, but the blocks are incredibly long, making walking kind of tiring (and I'm a walker), and there aren't many metro stops in there. The Barri Gotic is extremely touristy. I loved El Born as a neighborhood and could see myself staying (or living) there, and there's food there, and a cocktail bar (Gimlet?), but it's slightly further away from La Boqueria, and much further away from the Eixample. I can take no credit for the food suggestions in here - kathrynyu and spaetzle_maker both gave me copious amounts of info from their trips - but I ate better in Barcelona than I ever have on any trip before. You may not come back.

Yup.

It's not a super lively place - it's small, and it's all bar/counter seating. I'd say it's more intimate than fun. How about Locanda Verde or Marea?