tupac17616

Not to be the least bit argumentative, but rather I'm merely curious... why do you own a book whose recommendations you don't tend to agree with? ← Many reasons. For one, I don't know whether I agree till long after I've bought the book. Then, I use the Michelin practically as an address book; their info is good and accessible. For traveling around Italy it's handy in a pinch. I also have professional reasons for keeping up with the guides. Finally, I'm not anti-Michelin at all -- I often agree or at least see their point -- but this morning looking at the Bibs in the brand new book for the city where I live and another I know my way around, I was pretty appalled. ← Your perspective makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks!

Not to be the least bit argumentative, but rather I'm merely curious... why do you own a book whose recommendations you don't tend to agree with?

I don't have the guide myself, but according to ViaMichelin: Firenze Del Fagioli Il Latini Cibreino Il Santo Bevitore Roma niente I can't vouch for the total accuracy of this list, but I can say that I went to the first three places in Florence this summer and enjoyed them all. I also thought I remembered Trattoria Ruggero on Via Senese having a Bib Gourmand, though I could be wrong.

just for anyone who happens to be searching through this thread later on, i'm gonna go ahead and say: DO NOT GO TO PEN... a completely empty restaurant at 8:30 on a saturday night doesn't exactly corroborate the claims i read of this seafood restaurant being where thai people go to celebrate.

there are few, if any occasions, i can think of for which i would not choose manresa to celebrate, but that's just me. hell, i find myself inventing occasions just to keep going back there again and again. that said, although you've already been to quince, i have a hard time believing that putting yourselves in chef tusk's hands and asking to have the kitchen cook for you would lead to anything less than a very good meal. chez panisse, too, can be great, though sometimes a bit inconsistent. ue's comment that it bested tfl for him made me smile. that's high praise. i do agree that sometimes chez panisse's highs can be very high. certainly a different type of meal than that offered by some of the other places mentioned, though, as you well know from experience. in a way, it depends what kind of place you are after this time. sorry that i can't be of more help. but i've not yet been to some of the sf big name places (dining room, mina, danko, though i had great cheese and desserts at bar of the latter). and i've not yet made it over to ame or coi, though they're both on my to-do list. that place i mentioned in the first sentence above keeps getting in the way!

That's interesting, I've never seen scooped gelato in Italy, only paddles. That's what I saw about 99% of the time, too. FWIW, the few places that scoop whose gelato I tried were consistently mediocre. I came to regard the presence of a scoop instead of a paddle as a harbinger of crappy gelato. Re: mmm_chocolate's experience, I agree. Grom's NYC prices suck. They're much more reasonable (and they have cones!) in their Italy locations.

Anyone know the Thai translation for a very hot/spicy "fish viscera sauce chili soup" that I had a few days ago? Would it be gaeng tai pla, or is that something else?

Great photos indeed! I went to Tofuya Ukai about two weeks ago. Really nice meal. The shirako I had there was the single best mouthful of food I had during a week in Tokyo.

Thanks, Peter! I actually spoke with one of the staff at my guest house about muay thai the other night... Her: Have you ever watched muay thai? Me: No Her: Well, invite two not-so-good friends out for drinks. Buy them drinks. Then more drinks. Start stupid argument for them. There you go. Muay thai.

just a quick update, as this is the first time i've had internet access here in bangkok. staying on sukhumvit soi 19, which is proving to be a fantastic location for catching either the metro or the BTS. already eaten at my choice, polo fried chicken, chote chitr (twice), thip samai, raan jay fai, dalat aw taw kaw, kor panich. i found the chatuchak market and the mbk center food court to both be kind of disappointing. beyond all that, though, this city is truly street food heaven! i am walking around a lot, and snacking (read: stuffing myself silly) between meals. passing so much wonderful food all day, it is impossible to resist. i picked up "thai hawker food", which has been great for getting some great items on the street. i have to admit, i underestimated the wealth of street food this city offers. it is really amazing. that's all for now. off to dinner at thanying. tomorrow, celadon for lunch. after that, who knows. 'til next time!

I realize this sounds stupid, but my trouble is coming in not quite being able to match up different names for the same neighborhoods as I look at maps in different places online. From what I gather, the Saochingcha area is in the Banglumpoo area?

Hmm. Thanks for the info. I'm definitely misinterpreting the maps I've seen. It looked like Chinatown was sort of a middle-ground for the city, but it sounds like the search continues. I'd say my budget for accomodations would be an absolute max of $50/night. So far, I've been looking at places in the $20-50/night range.

Yaowarat Road is sounding better and better. Judging from the map, it looks like staying there would provide me with great access to street food within easy walking distance, and also easy access to the SkyTrain to get to other parts of the city. Is that right?

Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to know. (And thanks for the hotel info, too!) California via New York via Texas. Thought right now I'm in Tokyo and next week I'l l be in Shanghai before I head over to Bangkok. Needless to say, I am one happy guy right now. I am not surprised to hear what you say about the taxi cabs in Bangkok. Hopefully, if I can figure out how to use the trains to get around, then smile and point to a piece of paper with my list of places, I can find some locals nice enough to help me out! Wonderful! Thank you for passing this along.

What a beautiful city. I am in love. We arrived the day before yesterday. Dinner the first night was at Tsunahachi in Shinjuku. A very nice set tempura meal was a beautiful introduction to Tokyo. Woke up early the next morning to hit the Tsukiji market. We got there just after the tuna auction was ending, but still the market was a lovely sight. It was interesting for me to compare and contrast it with the better fish markets I've seen in, say, Italy. Very cool. Instead of waiting in a 2-hour line to have a sushi breakfast in a place whose racist proprietess had singled the three tall white guys in the crowd, telling us "there's not room for you." Absolute bullshit, and that made me incredibly angry. Yet we quickly found consolation in purchasing a tray of uni from Hokkaido from one of the market vendors, grabbing a few pairs of chopsticks, and making the unadorned roe our breakfast. Then it was back to the hotel for some fruit and pastries to provide a sweet cap to the meal before a long nap. Much of the rest of the day, thankfully, was spent relaxing. Dinner last night was at Kyubey in the Keio Plaza Hotel, as the Ginza location is closed on Sundays. If we were going to have sushi in Tokyo during this trip (and how could we not?), it had to be last night, given the fact that the fish market will be closed for the next several days for New Year's. We lucked out in being able to reserve two spots at the counter (a bit stubbornly, perhaps, the only place I would consider having sushi). The meal, simply put, was absolutely incredible. And surprisingly, a great deal. With a boring omakase listed fish-by-fish on the menu, we chose to create our own, getting a beautiful progression of fish for just over 10,000 yen. This is going to be a great week.

Thanks for the advice on the BTS. Right now I know essentially nothing about Bangkok, and my vacation actually begins tomorrow (although I will not be in Bangkok until about 2 weeks from now; Tokyo and Shanghai will come first), so maybe I can start by trying match up the neighborhoods as defined on, say, Expedia (Yaowarat; Downtown-Siam Square; Silom-Sathorn; Din Daeng; etc) with the BTS locations. Re: the MBK center recommendation..."comfortable" in what sense? I have absolutely no problem with street food. I'm incredibly adventurous, and I will eat anything. Being my first time in Bangkok (and in Thailand, for that matter), this will deifnitely not be a trip filled with hotel restaurants or fusion cuisine. But rather, (hopefully) a search for some of the most delicious Thai food that Bangkok has to offer. Whether that is on the street or in a restaurant is no matter to me. In fact, from what I understand, I am in for a treat as I start to learn about Thai street food in Bangkok. BUT... that said, I certainly completely ignorant of Thai street food, and largely ignorant of Thai cuisine in general. Would the MBK Center still be a good starting point for me to "break the ice" in that sense, as I slowly begin to learn about the cuisine and start to explore the great street food to which Bangkok is home? Sorry for the stupid question, but what are the "Big Cs"? With the MBK food court, the "tourist friendly" thing kind of scares me. But do you mean that in a good way? The reason I ask is that, if at all possible, I want to avoid Thai cuisine that has been dumbed down or otherwized bastardized to appeal to a larger audience of unadventurous (Western) tourists. Re: where I will be staying....that's what I am trying to figure out! Guest houses or cheaper hotels are definitely what I had in mind. I am not looking for a luxurious place to sleep. Just a young guy traveling by myself; and I am honestly just there to eat! To give a rough price range, I was hoping to spend a maximum of $50/night on lodging. The food budget, for all intents and purposes, is infinite. I know it's weird, but that's just how I travel. Thanks for the Sukhumvit Road hotel recommendations and the food recommendations. With just one week in each city, I plan to eat strictly Japanese food in Tokyo, Chinese food in China, and Thai food in Bangkok, though; so I don't think 5-star hotels and restaurants serving Western cuisines will be something I even consider on this trip! I am happy to hear what you say about the street restaurants, by the way -- I love spicy food . Thanks also for the beverage recommendations. I've heard the wine prices there are horrendous. That, combined with the fact that I don't particularly enjoy beer, will probably mean plenty of good old H2O for me that week.

Not too long from now, I will have a week to eat my way around Bangkok. I have never been before, and so I am very, very excited. What, in your opinion, would be the best neighborhood for me to make my home-base? I'd like to choose my lodging with at least some regard to its proximity to delicious food, whether street food or restaurant food. Oh, and any Bangkok eG'ers want to meet a young farang for some food while I'm there?

you must, must, must go to Eataly

I'm with you, though I might have said "leathery." Have you tried Madeleine, on W. 23rd Street? Macarons seem to be their specialty, though they're displayed in a refrigerated case. I've not had a chance just yet, but would like to sometime soon. Although the refrigerated case is perhaps not the best sign

chefboy, if you've not yet tried the macarons at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, I think you've still yet to try to the best in the city. They are impeccably fresh, delicate, and delicious. Like you, I'm a macaron fanatic, and I've tried every place I could possibly find: Bouchon Bakery, La Maison du Chocolat, Fauchon, Financier, Georgia's Bake Shop, Almondine, Ceci Cela, Tisserie, etc, etc. Bouchon's flavors are interesting, and they are quite tasty, but they are far too dense/chewy for my tastes.

I am with FG on this one 100%

Somehow I find it quite amusing that reading (I assume) Kitchen Confidential has given you the urge to do brunch there There are so many better options that the other eG folks have already suggested, my friend! Help them help you.

Alas, I overlooked an important word in Nathan's original post: "entrees" . For me a primo portioned as a primo for $25 is not cheap. A primo portioned and often ordered as a main course for $25 is another story. Having no main course above $25 is certainly a reasonable criterion for (NY) "cheap". And FWIW, I find Al Di La to be the best in this category.

Call me cheap, but like foodie52, I just don't see a $25 plate of pasta as "cheap". Babbo, for example, is a damn good restaurant. But even with a plethora of pasta options under $25, is it cheap? Definitely not.

i note with chagrin that i have yet to include any thanks from tupac17616 i enjoyed reading about your adventures, GB