jhlurie

McSoreley's is down around Greenwich Village--near Astor Place and NYU. The area used to be called The Bowery. It is supposed to be the oldest continuously operated bar in the United States (even during Prohibition it was open--people snuck through the back door of a neighboring flower shop). McSoreley's is also famous because of a Supreme Court case--it didn't allow women inside until relatively recently in its history (1973, I believe), and it wasn't until several years later that the bathrooms were subdivided into Mens and Womens (pre-dating the Ally McBeal Unisex by over 20 years :) ). When you walk in a usually surly bartender attends you--although except on weekday afternoons you usually have to stand. If you ask "what kind of beer do you have" you get glared at and the answer "light and dark". McSoreley's makes its own ale, and its ALL that it serves. The cheese plate with crackers and VERY hot mustard is the favorite snack, although the hamburgers are also quite good. The ales come in 8 oz. glasses and you usually buy them in groups ("3 light, 3 dark" or some similar grouping). (edited for speeling, er, spelling) (Edited by jhlurie at 11:52 am on Aug. 10, 2001)

Can you elaborate on the ACTUAL differences between ramen and other similar types of noodles? Soba and Udon are clearly different from ramen, but aren't there lots of others? Epicurous food encyclopedia is not very informative, at least as far as Ramen is concerned. [RAH-mehn] 1. Asian instant-style deep-fried noodles that are usually sold in cellophane packages, sometimes with bits of dehydrated vegetables and broth mix. 2. A Japanese dish of noodles, small pieces of meat and vegetables and broth. (Edited by jhlurie at 3:23 pm on Aug. 9, 2001)

That's actually cool in a stupid pointless self-destructive kind of way! I wonder... I never actually went into the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans, but I had a drink from there on the street. I wonder if their version of the Hurricane had absinthe in it?

Pavlova is a desert I believe. A fruit-tartie type thing with cream, I think.

There must be TWO Cuban restaurants down there. Old River Road is an offshoot of River Road... a bit further south. The restaurant I saw was clearly on the current River Road (actually around the corner from River Road on a street called Dempsey) somewhat further north by the Dime bank. But I'd rather follow a good recommendation any day than random chance with an unknown place (I do still think the name is Azúcar because while I was unable to see the previously mentioned wall mural completely, the reference on Yahoo matched at least the first letter--I was able to make out the letter "A" while zipping past at 40mph...), So, Rebecca's will be the first of the two I check out unless someone comes back with absolute raves about this other place. (Edited by jhlurie at 10:22 pm on Aug. 5, 2001)

Got a mango-black bean salsa today at Whole Foods in Edgewater and it reminded me of our older thread where we were debating the differences between Salsas and Chutneys. Has anyone dug up any further info on if there is any major difference. Take out the black beans and today's salsa was chutney. I swear.

For the first time I noticed a Cuban restaurant while driving down River Road in Edgewater. The sign--painted on the side brick wall of the restaurant--says "Cuban food and Cigars" (but I'm assuming what it REALLY means is Cuban food and non-Cuban Cigars! :) ) The restaurant lookup feature on Yahoo mentions an Azúcar, but without much other detail. Has anyone been there?

Not that I'm looking to get messed up, but I'm curious... is there ANY form of high proof alcohol that's actually WORTH drinking besides the noticeable effects on your nervous system? Alcohol, of course, in not naturally a good tasting substance in quantity. I'm supposing there may be a few high proof Rums and schnapps out there that qualify...

Where in Northern NJ do you all buy your fresh produce?

I know its strange... but I actually like the burgers at Johnny Rocket's by the way--especially the "Number 12" burger. Rocket burgers are thin, slightly uneven patties that are cooked to a bit of a crisp on the edges and have a bit of a crunch to them. The Number 12's innovation is that instead of using ketchup or BBQ sauce it uses a sweet red sauce that tastes pretty close to cocktail sauce.

I ate at the Jackson Hole near Laguardia Airport a few months back and was NOT impressed. The burger was as described by Jason--conceptually at least--but not in execution. If it was steamed grilled, it doesn't fully explain how the cooking was so uneven. Maybe I just went on a bad night though... If Jason and Andre manage to retrieve the old posts you will see my very favorable opinion of White Manna, so I won't repeat it yet.