Nathan

its not a place I would travel for....but it's not Balthazar so I think (hope) with time it will settle down and become my go-to neighborhood Italian.

breakfast doesn't necessarily add much in the way of extra staff. an operation like Landmarc will have people doing prep work 24/7...since you already have people in the kitchen it's not hard to do a few breakfast items...(of a type which take virtually no work at all).

Primarily various conversations with restaurant professionals. Come on guys, even Keller uses Sysco fries! It isn't news that restaurants take shortcuts. We all know that the reason why everything tastes the same on every bar menu is because it's all premade by the same people. Likewise for that molten chocolate cake on every two-star menu (no, I'm not talking about Gordon Ramsay here).

That's doesnt even sound right..... 1 city has as many pastry chefs than the rest of the entire continental USA ? Could you explain the logic of those numbers please.... ← I didn't mean that literally!

$2 a drink, or 20% of the total bill....whichever is higher. (this is for a place like Pegu Club or Death & Co....where the drinks show serious care and skill.) if you're just getting beers or gin & tonics at an ordinary bar, a $1 a drink is still the standard. if you're comped a drink...you should tip more than that (generally I figure half the cost of the comped drink).

the way I see it, once you choose to have young children...you also choose to give up many conveniences...including fine dining (except when you can procure a baby-sitter). that's just the way it is. you have to take the negatives as well as the positives.

they don't discourage bar dining...there's just not very many seats.

the Floridita would be a great idea...except that I almost certainly won't have grapefruit juice (if I do then....)....I probably will have access to cartoned OJ. I am well stocked with rye, bourbon, etc. at home....but I simply can't drag a bunch of bottles of liquor with me first to the office and then to the train (for the non-NY'ers...we don't drive here). there's no juicer at the house...so I'm stuck with bottled lemon or lime juice (ugh!). if I was only planning on making drinks for myself I'd just make Aviations til the cows come home... I think the vodka gimlet makes a lot of sense. I suppose I'll also do a fair amount of experimenting when I get there.

I'll be spending this weekend in a house with a bunch of heavy drinkers but of the vodka and red bull type. past experience has shown that there will usually be lots of vodka and a few other things...southern comfort, tequila, triple sec and maybe something random (someone once brought Pimm's Cup, bless her heart). there is an icemaker at least. I'll be bringing a shaker, gin and lemon/lime juice for sure. I'll probably whip up some simple when I get there (here's hoping there's sugar somewhere...on second thoughts...I'll bring that too). I was thinking I should bring a bottle of white rum and I have some near empty bottles of parfait amour and maraschino liqueur. the key part here is that I have to travel light...so that's about all I can do. I need ideas...I guess I'll check cocktail db and my recipes for starters (margaritas and daiquiris are kind of obvious)...but would like to make things they'll enjoy (think sweeter...). edit: the point is...although I can make an aviation for myself...I can't count on them liking it....hmmm...I bet rum and red bull won't be awful awful...the same with parfait amour, vodka and lemon juice...they might like that...

I had a (male) sommelier in training in the Enoteca...but it was the Enoteca...I didn't have a problem with that.

well...there are probably nearly as many pastry chefs working in NY as in the rest of the country put together (especially if you discount Vegas). with that said, there are a lot of restaurants purporting to do their own stuff...that, well, just aren't. (part of it is that the premade stuff from Sysco and Bindi can be remarkably sophisticated....and better than what any restaurant without a full-time pastry chef could do on its own)

Compass is known for its $35 dinner prix fixe...not its ala carte dining. three courses at Landmarc will put you back that much. edit: I don't know enough about UWS dining to disagree with your overall point.

or at least partially responsible, I agree. Swicks: as far as I can tell Mozza is a cross between Otto and Franny's...the type of formula that Batali has down pat.

I hope that's true. But Compass is large, more uptown, reasonably-priced....and it doesn't seem to pack them in...

you mean the effort that 99% of restaurants put into unpacking premade desserts from Bindi or Sysco? the number of restaurants with pastry chefs (or actual made-on-premises desserts) is very very small. people would be flabbergasted how many three-star type places (let alone virtually all two-stars) outsource their desserts. edit: I think this is one of the most universal but closely held secrets of the restaurant world. 2nd edit: many restaurants, of course, finish the desserts in-house. whether it be finishing that Sysco cake with berries on top (which one high-end establishment admitted to doing) or torching the pre-made creme brulee (virtually every brassiere and bistro in New York).

the only Portugese restaurants that I'm aware of are Tintol (basically tapas but its chef is Portugese), Alfama and Pao. Tintol is well-regarded. I know nothing about the others.

heh...I've said that to Will....he doesn't care. I don't think he has a sweet tooth either. I go to Room4Dessert all the time. I just don't eat dessert. I've never had dessert at Esca...are they any good?

eh...Spice Market was always about the sizeable bar scene. (no doubt it still is....but they probably haven't had celebs in 2-3 years....it's become a 100% B&T/tourist now). there's no bar scene at Del Posto. leaving aside the differences in food quality...they just aren't comparable.

stopped into Death & Co. last night. the food menu appears to have been expanded. three new cocktails on the menu: Wondrich, Merino and Regan creations.

How many people really care about dessert? I sure as heck don't.

its still a Batali place. some people really really love it...and they're not rubes either. I know for a fact that one three-star Michelin chef's private comment after a meal there was "It was a three star meal, no question." And he wasn't talking about three stars from the Times. Granted, he was probably recognized....

1. real estate. urban real estate to be exact. drink prices haven't changed much in lower cost areas. heck, I had a $4 tanqueray and tonic (everyday price) at a hotel bar in Youngstown recently. I'll pay $10 for that in NY due to real estate and liquor license costs 2. except for cognac and the like, "premium" brands didn't really exist before.

I like Casa Mono and Tia Pol quite a bit. I've never seen paella on either menu...but would definitely recommend them.

then how come the paella at La Nacional tastes better?

La Paella is in the WV if I recall. it's not very good. I much preferred La Nacional to El Quijote...haven't been to the other two. La Nacional was the only one to get the crusted rice (with a risotto like blow-up from the broth) at the bottom of the pan....which is what the OP was specifically looking for. paella is primarily about the rice...not the toppings (which can vary widely as RobinsonCuisine noted) edit: it is in the EV.