tupac17616

re: Friday lunch -- I'm not sure, either, to be honest, where "Piano Row" is. But if I had to guess it's around 57th/58th streets between like 5th and 7th aves. I know I've seen a lot of piano stores there, if that's any indication. If that is indeed it, could do casual lunch at Burger Joint in the Parker Meridian, nicer lunch at Bar Room at the Modern, or fancy-pants lunch at Jean Georges (highly recommended for any weekday lunch you may have free). re: gelato -- My vote goes to Il Laboratorio del Gelato. re: breakfast -- Depending on what part of town you want to be in, my favorite breakfast spot is Clinton Street Bakery. Balthazar is also nice. And brunch or lunch at Prune. re: farmer's market: Definitely check out the big one in Union Square open Mon-Wed-Fri--Sat, and you don't even have to wake up early to do so! Have a great trip!

Many thanks, doc! Uni is a favorite of mine. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the wonderful ricci di mare.

Packing light is DEFINITELY an important goal for this trip. Since I lack any specific itinerary, I want it to be as easy as absolutely possible to move from one place to another whenever I feel like it. Thanks for the hints on guidebooks and bookstores to check out. I could probably also use a nice, compact little dictionary before I take off too, so I’ll check out the guidebooks then. Pistachio paste, eh? I love pistachios. I must investigate… Hehehe. I really got a kick out of this. Hilarious!

Oh, I've definitely seen the wonderful "Cooking and Cuisine of ____" threads. What a treat those are. And I've also seen Kevin72's outstanding "Year of Italian Cooking" thread. Both threads have been incredibly educational, not to mention delicious looking! In addition to that kind of stuff, though, I guess part of what I would look for here and in the rest of the Italian forum is some recommendations of specific restaurants, markets, and food shops in each of the areas. Places you've stumbled across on prior trips, place the guidebooks recommend that are actually worthwhile, etc. Part of the fun of traveling in general is discovering that kind of stuff for yourself. But eGullet has steered my food radar in the right direction time and time again, so I would be remiss not to ask for a bit of advice here! I'll definitely let you know if I end up near Montone, too! Thanks for the offer!

Grazie, pedalaforte. Good call on the agnolotti. And the bagna cauda. I've always enjoyed it with nice, crisp vegetables like radishes, but I was unaware of its regional origins. Hmm, and I thought tajarin were more typical of the Alto Adige. Guess ya learn something every day!

Oh, and not to worry, there will be pictures. Lots and lots of pictures, no doubt.

My questions are a bit large in scope, I realize, so maybe some personal background would be helpful. Like most, if not all of us here on eG, I love food. It’s kind of the lens through which I see the world. It brings me together with friends and family. It helps me discover new people, places, and cultures. Basically, it’s my passion. The past four years have been spent literally eating my way around NYC. I’ve been to probably about 450 different restaurants in the city, from Masa to 5-for-$1 dumplings in Chinatown and everything in between. As a result, I’ve developed quite a penchant for fine dining, but I certainly more than appreciate a very wide spectrum of experiences. I appreciate innovation, but highly respect tradition. I’m just as happy, for example, eating “haute Italian” food at Alto, L’Impero, and Babbo as I am enjoying the rustic simplicity of the cooking at places like Peasant and Al Di La. My favorite cuisine, not surprisingly, is Italian. My favorite restaurant I’ve ever been to anywhere is Manresa, in Los Gatos, CA. As I said above, I’ve not been to Italy before. This will be my first time. As you might have inferred from some of my food requests above, I definitely enjoy offal, pizza, and pasta, but I’ll eat absolutely anything. The more authentic, traditional, and regional specialties I can enjoy on this trip, the better. I don’t want the generic tourist spaghetti al pomodoro package; I want the real deal. I speak Italian pretty well, but not with fluency just yet. I want to challenge myself a bit to immerse myself in it as much as possible during the trip. It’s the only way I’ll get better. I don’t mind traveling for good food, either. I'm taking my sweet time during this trip, and I'll be in no hurry to do anything. I’m also comfortable having to find whatever mode of transportation is best suited to getting somewhere. I’ll probably be staying in various hostels and the occasional hotel for the most part, but I’d also considered trying a couple of agriturismo spots. Anybody have experience with those? How was the food? Sorry for 1,001 questions! I know I am asking a lot here, but eGullet has been an invaluable resource to me over the past few years, and I figured if anyone could help, it would be you guys! Thanks again.

For a lover of Italian cuisine, culture, tradition and language, is there any more exciting time than the days leading up to one's first trip to Italy? If there is, I certainly don't know it. Right now I am less than two weeks away, and I couldn't be more thrilled... Or, admittedly, more overwhelmed. Where to go? What to see? Most importantly, where to eat?! I will be there for 9 full weeks, so there are certain cities I feel like I have to see this first time around. I’d like to make each of these areas temporary home bases, from which I could explore the surrounding region by foot, bike, car, bus, or train. Here’s the cities (and surrounding regions) I’m planning on checking out, along with a few food ideas I’ve got so far: Palermo (Sicily) – pani ca meusa, swordfish, pasta con le sarde, tuna, cannoli, cassata, marzipan Naples (Campania) – pizza, insalata caprese, limoncello Rome (Lazio) – trippa alla romana, spaghetti alla carbonara, bucatini all’amatriciana, cacio e pepe, gnocchi alla romana, carciofi alla giudea Florence (Tuscany) – trippa alla fiorentina, bistecca alla fiorentina, pappa al pomodoro, ribollita, panzanella Bologna, Modena, and Parma (Emilia-Romagna) – zampone, tagliatelle al ragu, culatello, prosciutto di parma, parmigiano-reggiano, aceto balsamico Venice (Veneto) – fegato alla veneziana, cicheti, moeche, sarde en saor, granseola, seppie, pasta e fagioli Milan (Lombardy) – risotto alla milanese, osso buco Lots of ideas already, right? Well, I could use always use more for sure. After all, I’ve never been to Italy before, so I have no idea what I’m talking about! What else should I be eating in these areas? And now, the question becomes: where to find all of these things? Is it stupid to plan as little as possible, and try to rely on a sort of culinary serendipity to find the good places? I don’t really want to lug around any guidebooks, and while I’m sure internet cafes are quite common, I don’t know that I want to spend a lot of time on eGullet while I’m there either! So I implore you, my fellow eGulleters, for some help. Any recommendation of places in those cities, or even recommendations for day trips in the surrounding areas (have passion for exploration, will travel ) would be incredibly appreciated.

Well I heard that the saying "Google 15" was made up because employees gain 15 pounds their first year at work. I totally would pig out! ← Indeed. I have friends who are living testaments to the Google 15. It is no joke.

I went to A16 about two months ago on a visit to SF and I loved it. Simple food, of course, but good ingredients and good execution always makes for a nice meal. I had the pizza margherita, the burrata, and the tripe. I remember thinking my neighbor's gnocchi looked fabulous as well, but by that point, I was too full for anything else! I'll certainly be back. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts after your visits to Quince and Ame. I've been interested in both for a while now, especially Quince, which I will certainly check out when I'm back in the bay area next time. You didn't ask about breakfast, but if you're in search of a good one in SF, I can think of no better place than Tartine. I've been twice and really enjoyed it both times. Have a great trip!

I agree with one small caveat: If you don't like a place popular with the food board community, it's because you don't get it. That's the message I'm picking up from the last 4 pages of this ridiculous thread. And I've seen it again and again on this board and others. For what it's worth, I love Ssam Bar. One of my favorite places in the city, in fact. No, I don't go at lunch, and no, I don't often order the ssam (though I do quite like the momofuku ssam). But is it my place to criticize those who do these things, don't enjoy themselves, and subsequently write about it? Honestly, I couldn't care less. As long as you yourself are getting the best of what a given restaurant has to offer, why the hell would you possibly care what other people are ordering? ← no, this thread was caused because someone in a position of authority stated that Chang "is overrated" based upon one item, and his least interesting at that. if someone has an entire dinner there and doesn't like it...that's fine. that didn't happen. ← Exactly. So she made a ridiculous generalization based on one item at a restaurant that you apparently know how to "properly" enjoy and she doesn't. It's not the end of the world. Happens all the time. CitySearch, MenuPages, Zagat, etc are literally filled with such crap. The average diner is not making several visits to a given restaurant to figure out how they feel about it. They are going once. At whatever the hell time they want. And ordering whatever they want to order. Plain and simple. Yet, the average diner, of course, is not even reading this thread and doesn't participate in boards like this one, which makes the last 4 pages of arguments even more ridiculous and irrelevant. We know what Momofuku Ssam is about. You're preaching to the choir, man! ← agreed. this thread happened because it was Mimi Sheraton writing. if a civilian had written "I went and had the lunch ssam and it sucked" no one would have paid any mind. ← Yup

I agree with one small caveat: If you don't like a place popular with the food board community, it's because you don't get it. That's the message I'm picking up from the last 4 pages of this ridiculous thread. And I've seen it again and again on this board and others. For what it's worth, I love Ssam Bar. One of my favorite places in the city, in fact. No, I don't go at lunch, and no, I don't often order the ssam (though I do quite like the momofuku ssam). But is it my place to criticize those who do these things, don't enjoy themselves, and subsequently write about it? Honestly, I couldn't care less. As long as you yourself are getting the best of what a given restaurant has to offer, why the hell would you possibly care what other people are ordering? ← no, this thread was caused because someone in a position of authority stated that Chang "is overrated" based upon one item, and his least interesting at that. if someone has an entire dinner there and doesn't like it...that's fine. that didn't happen. ← Exactly. So she made a ridiculous generalization based on one item at a restaurant that you apparently know how to "properly" enjoy and she doesn't. It's not the end of the world. Happens all the time. CitySearch, MenuPages, Zagat, etc are literally filled with such crap. The average diner is not making several visits to a given restaurant to figure out how they feel about it. They are going once. At whatever the hell time they want. And ordering whatever they want to order. Plain and simple. Yet, the average diner, of course, is not even reading this thread and doesn't participate in boards like this one, which makes the last 4 pages of arguments even more ridiculous and irrelevant. We know what Momofuku Ssam is about. You're preaching to the choir, man!

I agree with one small caveat: If you don't like a place popular with the food board community, it's because you don't get it. That's the message I'm picking up from the last 4 pages of this ridiculous thread. And I've seen it again and again on this board and others. For what it's worth, I love Ssam Bar. One of my favorite places in the city, in fact. No, I don't go at lunch, and no, I don't often order the ssam (though I do quite like the momofuku ssam). But is it my place to criticize those who do these things, don't enjoy themselves, and subsequently write about it? Honestly, I couldn't care less. As long as you yourself are getting the best of what a given restaurant has to offer, why the hell would you possibly care what other people are ordering?

Oh, and for reference, I should also add the menu and wine pairing that we enjoyed: Cru - May 17th, 2007 Amuse Bouche Ricotta & Sweet Pea Tart, Red Wine & Fontina Arancini Yellow Basinga Tomato Gazpacho Maine Lobster and Smoked Sturgeon Caviar Leclaire-Gaspard Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV Assortment of Crudo Kisu, Suzuki, Big Eye Tuna, and Hamachi Bourgogne Aligoté 2005 Domaine Roulot Seared Sea Scallop with Rock Shrimp Confit Fennel, Grape Tomato and a Ginger-Savory Sauce Savenniére “Clos du Papillon” 2004 Closel Medallion of Maine Skate Wing Ragu of Runner & Yellow Wax Beans, Spring Onion, Frisée and Tomato Viognier Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes 2005 Villard Duo of Risotto & Pasta Vialone Nano Risotto Sea Urchin, Tomatoes, and Tarragon & Housemade Ricotta Cavatelli Crumbled Veal Sausage, Ramps, Speck and Baked Ricotta Salata Dolcetto d’Alba ‘Vigna Scot’ 2005 Cavallotto Long Island Duck Breast Wild Asparagus, Parsnip, and a Red Wine-Plum Purée Nuits St. George 1er Cru ‘Clos de l’Arlot’1998 Domaine de l’Arlot Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs Ramp Spaetzle, Cippolini Onion, and Pancetta Barolo ‘Cannubi’ 1997 Francesco Rinaldi Selection of Cheese Mt. Tam, Epoisse, and Tomme de Chataignier Coteaux de Layon Sélections de Grains Nobles 2003 Delesvaux Strawberry Consommé Rhubarb and Buttermilk Sorbet Warm Valrhona Chocolate Tart Chai-Caramel Ice Cream with Butter Pecan Bourbon Vanilla-Shake Maury Domaine des Schistes 2004 Mignardises Chocolate Amaretti, Thyme Caramels, Gingersnaps Château d’Yquem 1995

Pan, sorry I neglected to respond to this yet. Your question is certainly a relevant one. And very timely, considering that in the past six months or so, I've been doing A LOT of fine dining in NY -- Per Se, Daniel, Alain Ducasse, Jean Georges, Le Bernadin, Blue Hill @ Stone Barns, Eleven Madison Park, Picholine, Aureole, Country, Gordon Ramsay – and these meals are all still very fresh in my memory. Admittedly, the restaurant ranking game is not something I find myself to be particularly good at. But to answer your question, I'll try to provide some comparisons to the above restaurants: Cru is not four-star food a la Per Se or Alain Ducasse (N.B. I don't mean this from a strictly NY Times star perspective, but rather a looser association of 4-star=outstanding, 3-star=excellent, 2-star=good, 1-star=satisfactory.) Personally I don't consider the food at Daniel to be 4-star, while the service most definitely has been in my experience. Similarly I don't find the food at Jean Georges to reach amazing heights, but you won't find me arguing against the fact that it's the best lunch deal in town. And I thought Le Bernadin offered wonderfully prepared, if sometimes oddly contrived, seafood, but in a hectic service environment that I’d much sooner liken to a zoo than a fine dining restaurant. I digress, but I think it's important that I first clarify a bit about my own personal preferences, separating what I consider to be amazing food from what I consider to be merely very good. Cru is, however, a strong three-star, in my opinion. I found the food quality on par with recent meals at places such as Picholine, Aureole and Country, for example. Not as exciting to me as Eleven Madison Park, but I qualify that by pointing out that I found my meal at EMP to be outstanding and undoubtedly among the best I've ever had in the city, period. Furthermore, I felt the food at Cru, on the whole, was certainly better than Gordon Ramsay (which I still think should have three stars, but that's another thread), and lighter and more refined than Country. And this may not be Le Bernadin, but Chef Gallante certainly knows how to deal with fish. I found the seafood courses (especially the scallop) to be among the best of the evening. Service, as well, was top-notch. Our captain Carlos took great care of us, as did Rocky, the gentleman who, coincidentally, had also been my waiter at Daniel during a meal there where I enjoyed equally wonderful service. Do the waitstaff always get a bit more chatty with patrons having the kitchen cook for them? Probably so. Does that kind of attention make it any less special to receive, for example, an e-mail from them a few days later sending good wishes for my upcoming summer in Italy? Absolutely not. I found the hospitality before, during, and after the meal to be top-notch. It was not stiff like, say, Picholine or Gordon Ramsay. It was a more relaxed, casual form of service that can be more likened to a place like Eleven Madison Park. This is not to say it was overly casual. Rather, I think they properly read from us the direction that we would’ve liked the service to go that evening, and they ran with it. It was a celebratory occasion and a light-hearted sense of formality, not a solemn session of chef-worship, that we were in the mood for that evening. Overall, I often find the most important litmus test for my thoughts on a particular restaurant is if and when I see myself returning. That being said, I definitely found Cru worthy of return visits. I found the food both compelling enough and delicious enough to make me eager to see what else Chef Gallante can do. It was, by any standards, a blowout meal. It’s not everyday I find myself willing to drop 250+ dollars on a dinner. But I could quite easily see myself making this restaurant an every-once-in-a-while kind of place rather than a once-a-year splurge kind of place. Hope that at least partially answers your question. Oh, and yeah, ten glasses of wine does take a bit of a toll by the end. I certainly wouldn’t say I was dead drunk, but I’ve definitely been more sober.

I don't remember the specifics, but I think the exchange went something like this: Me: Hi, my name is tupac. I called earlier today to place my name on the waiting list, but I didn't have cell phone reception as I was traveling for much of the day, so I was unable to receive a call back if there was one. I was just wondering if an opportunity may have come up or not... Hostess: Well, it looks like all our tables are confirmed for this evening. I'm sorry. But you never know, sometimes the later 10 and 1030 reservations become freed up. Is there any time past which it would not be okay to call you? 11? 1130? Me: (hesitatingly) Well, I suppose not. Hostess: Okay, we've got your contact info, right? Give it to me one more time, just to be sure. Me: Sure, name is.... Random guy walking up behind the hostess: Actually, are you hungry now? I think we've got something for you. Right this way... This guy swooped in out of nowhere, put his hand on the hostess' shoulder, basically telling her "I'll take it from here." And that was that. I can't really attribute it to anything but some crazy luck. Sometimes, things just fall into place, and this was definitely one of those times. I had to go in with the mindset that there was no back-up, so as to avoid sounding like a bumbling idiot when pleading my case. But of course, there was a back-up plan. Coin toss between Eleven Madison Park and Cru, which were the other menus my sister seemed to favor. We had reservations at both, which I promptly canceled once the Per Se gods smiled upon us.

Gotta agree with you both. Looks is all the little macarons have going for them. The texture is absolutely pathetic, and the flavor isn't so hot, either.

Why is it that in a year that has included tasting menus at Per Se, Blue Hill @ Stone Barns, Cru, Country, Picholine, Aureole, Gordon Ramsay, L'Atelier and others, the meal I keep coming back to again and again is Eleven Madison Park? That little foie gras and truffle macaron. That salmon. That suckling pig. They haunt my dreams!

Tired of dealing with the two-months-ahead reservation policy, the early 5:30 and the late 10:30 reservations? Just do what I did last week. Walk in at 7pm and try your luck at landing a table. Worked for me. My sister had never done a tasting menu, so to celebrate her graduation from med school and mine from Columbia, she chose Per Se. The day before, no less. I got frustrated with the process of trying to jump through enough hoops for the cancellation list to yield us a spot, so I decided we'd walk in and see what we might work out. Nothing to lose, really. And it fell right into place. Lovely corner banquette on the upper level. A glass of champagne to toast the occasion. And with that, the feast began. She absolutely loved it, so I was really happy with that. She was really blown away by the Columbia River sturgeon dish in particular, remarking that if fish were always cooked like that, she'd eat more of it. She was not really a fan of the oysters and pearls. Guess that salted butter flavor doesn't do it for everyone. It was my third visit to Per Se, and I enjoyed it once again, though I didn't have that one particular dish that really stuck out in my mind as being incredible (on my two previous visits, these dishes had been a foie gras torchon with rhubarb gelee, and a butternut squash agnolotti, respectively.) Will I be back? Yep. In a couple of weeks, in fact, my friend will have a private party there. So I'm definitely looking forward to that. With my move out to California in the fall, though, looks like I need to pay a visit to a certain place in Yountville sometime relatively soon.

The Saturday before last was a good night. You see, a couple of friends and I kind of walked into the dining room at Country, literally in jeans and t-shirts on that warm, somewhat muggy evening. The formal dining room, of course, has a jacket requirement, so we were a bit underdressed to say the least. We walked in around 10:15, yet their last seating time is 10:00. We definitely wanted to do a tasting though, so with their fingers crossed, my two friends sent me ahead to see if I could somehow sweet talk the staff into accomodating us. This was no small task, but they kept telling me if any one of us could make it happen, it was me. So I figured what the hell, I'll try my best, see if I really have those restaurant "people skills" they're always talking about. Well, let's just say it worked. It worked in a major way, in fact. Rather than being presented with menus, Chef Doug Psaltis came over and spoke to us, asked if we had any allergies/aversions/etc, or if there were anything in particular we felt like eating. We wanted to give him and his staff free reign, but somehow the words "morels", "ramps", "soft-shell crabs", and "foie gras" seem to have slipped out. Whoops. Chef Psaltis said he'd come up with something nice for us. Before heading back to the kitchen, he basically told us to sit back and loosen our belts. We were in for a feast. Here's what we had: Canapes -- deviled egg with caviar, a candied grape tomato, and smoked salmon & chive creme fraiche on potato cakes Amuse Bouche -- chicken-fried frog's leg with garlic aioli I -- Soft Shell Crab -- frisee, cornichon beignet, gribiche II -- Seared Foie Gras -- cherries, pistachio, balsamic III -- Morel Mushrooms -- smoked chicken, arugula, country egg IV -- Sweetbreads -- risotto, ramps, parmesan V -- Bison -- artichokes, olives, beef jus VI -- Chevre Frais -- spring vegetable compote, olive bread Palate Cleanser -- popcorn-flavored caramel, popcorn sorbet, caramel-flavored popcorn, club soda VII -- Dessert: Souffle Tart -- rhubarb, pictachio ice cream, syrup Coconut Rice -- black sesame, mango, coconut Bread and Chocolate -- hazelnut cromesqui, gianduja, chocolate Pithivier -- chantilly, whiskey sauce Dessert Cart -- macarons, cookies, nougat, caramels, opera cake, pates de fruit, chocolates, earl grey pot au creme, meringue, etc, etc Overall thoughts: this is rich, at time even heavy food. Portions were certainly incredibly generous given the tasting menu format. We were quite full by the time all was said and done. The food quality was definitely consistently high across the board. My favorite course was the (huge) seared slab of foie gras with the cherries and pistachios. No fireworks or surprises in that dish, but just plain delicious. The soft shell crab dish and the morel dish were also wonderful. The sweetbread and bison were not my favorite, though the latter was one of my companions' favorite dish of the evening, so some of it is of course a matter of taste (that dish was heavy on the olives, one ingredient of which I am not typically a fan). Another highlight was actually the palate cleanser. The popcorn/caramel/soda combo simply worked. A phenomenal intro into the sweeter end of the meal. Desserts were quite nice, with my favorite being the coconut sticky rice. And the dessert cart. How can you really go wrong with a dessert cart? I'm pretty sure you can't. I should also mention that service was phenomenal from start to finish. They were incredibly accommodating to even give us a spot in the first place, but they really went the extra mile throughout. We had long since closed out the restaurant, being the last table left, but we still chatted with the chef afterwards, toured the kitchen, the private dining areas, etc. Really a classy operation all the way around. I'd be glad to go back sometime and have the chef cook for me again. I'll just need to be sure to arrive very hungry!

In what seems to be an endless pantheon of great NYC restaurants, Cru had always been a place I'd wanted to go, but had just never actually gone. Thursday night, I remedied that in a big way. A friend and I walked in to a sparsely populated restaurant, already a bit past 10:30, their latest seating time. I inquired with the staff as to whether or not the tasting menu would even be an option that late in the evening. In a testament to the fact that the NYC fine dining scene is really a small family, I noticed a gentleman who had been my server at Daniel back in December. He recognized me, too, came over and said hello, and went back to the kitchen to see what they might be able to do for us. We then took our seats at a nice corner banquette, and were presented with glasses of champagne. This was followed by inquiries as to whether or not we had any allergies, and whether or not we had brought our appetites. At this point, I was a happy man, as knew we were in for a treat. The kitchen would cook for us. The sommelier would pair wines. Really outstanding meal. I think it worked out to somewhere around 11 courses, with just about as many glasses of wine. (They are supposed to e-mail me the food and wine details, so I may add that info when I receive it.) A scallop course in particular really sticks out in my mind of being probably the single best preparation of that ingredient I've ever had. But really, there was not a glaring weakness among any of the courses, it was quite consistent. The pairings were also very nice. Especially the wine that came with the cheese course (By that point, the wine was taking its toll, so I forget the name.) After the check came, we also enjoyed a taste of Chateau d'Yquem with our server before we left (a bit before 2am). A wonderful finale to what had been a wonderful meal.

Yikes. I hadn't caught the 60th birthday part. Given that info, I agree with you 100%. FWIW, I've only had the thai jewels, which I quite enjoyed. Never had a proper meal there.

In a nutshell, my thoughts as well.

Stopped by this afternoon as I "studied" for finals. Sampled the vanilla (good but nothing special), gianduja (too chocolate-y for a non-chocolate-lover like myself. would've appreciated a stronger hazelnut flavor), and fior di latte (ridiculously outstanding), before buying a small half pistachio, half crema di grom. The pistachio was quite good, I thought, full of roasted nut flavor. The crema di grom didn't do much for me. The biscotti and chocolate chunks were nice for textural contrast, but I found the flavors in this a bit lacking. Next time, fior di latte for sure...

Yeah, I think their tete de cochon sandwich may be enough to lure me in to check out the late night menu pretty soon.