Gastro888

OK, sounds like PL is ahead of the pack. Can someone answer the question as to why its served pre-sliced? We would prefer to cut our own steak but if the cost of having a fantastic porterhouse means having someone else cut our steak, than so be it. They don't have mashed potatoes? No, really? Wow. Isn't that like a ramen shop not serving gyoza?!

Don't go to Doyers Vietnamese. Busboy's coming from DC which is near Eden Center, the best place on the East Coast for Vietnamese food. NYC's Vietnamese food scene is lacking. I can get anything I want up here but a decent ca phe su da and banh xeo? JNope.

Thanks for the great advice, everyone. DutchMuse, are you serious about palming the host at Sparks? Wow. If that's the case, I won't go. For me personally, I don't believe in that practice and I refuse to participate. I'll take my business elsewhere. Wouldn't getting a table for 4 for a deuce at QM be a bit wrong and deceptive? We'd be doing this on a Saturday night and I'm pretty sure they're going to be busy. Raji - we both didn't like the din at the Bar Room. It was too hard to have any sort of conversation. The food was enjoyable, the atmosphere not so much. (Oddly enough, we would've been happy if the food was served in an environment like JG but that's just us!) We don't mind driving for good food. Actually, if we were going to do PL, we'd do the one out in LI. I heard from friends that the LI outlet is a bit better in terms of atmosphere. (Comments, anyone?) My main goal is to have a fantastic steak, regardless of cost without the frou frou chichi attitude or rush. And I refuse to palm anyone. Friggin' ridiculous!

I always see these yummy-looking Korean desserts available for sale in Korean supermarkets, ready-to-eat cafes and specalty dessert shops. They seem to be made from sweet rice flour and coated in either brown flour, seeds or bean paste. I really enjoy the plain rice cakes that have the light brown powder on them. What are they called? Can you make them at home? If so, how? I'd like to think they're healthier than eating ice cream but the potential carb count scares me...

Out of the four places mentioned above, where would you choose to go? We don't drink so wine lists are unimportant - key factors that are important: -Quality of the porterhouse (can you get the porterhouse uncut at PL's?) -Mashed potatoes -Dessert -Ability to have a conversation (ex: The din at the Bar Room in the Modern killed our date night. Great food but we couldn't hear ourselves think.) The first two are the most important. I've heard good things about all four restaurants but I wanted to check in with the eG crowd to see what the opinions were on these places. I know you don't go to a steakhouse for the chef, you go for the steak. That being said, if it's not on this list, where would you go? Thanks for your help.

Mob scene. Especially on a Saturday. Try showing up for dinner around 6-6:30pm at the latest. I know that's painfully early... I haven't heard of any Hunan places in Chinatown. That would be interesting.

Jean-Georges was a bit cold and snotty when we went for lunch last month. That's just my take on things but I do prefer a bit o' warmth with my service. (Maybe it's cuz I'm not a native.) The food was quite yummy, tho. Well executed.

Hey, it's Chinatown - where there's good food there's loud Chinese people. Your chances of good conversation are better at Allen than in the Bowery. I don't know if Ping splits his time between the two restaurants. I wouldn't be surprised if he did and/or if the better chefs were out in Queens. It's sad but it seems all the good chefs are out here. Great for Queens but sad for the Manhattan folks and those tourists wanting to have a taste of good Chinese food.

Bleah. London Lenny's is so-so. Not bad but not outstanding. You'll be disappointed if you just came back from the left coast!

It is bigger and the food's about the same as the one on the Bowery but didn't it get damaged in a fire recently? I thought it was shuttered. If not, then definitely go to the on on Allen b/c you'll be able to talk while you're eating. (And admire the oh-so kitchy bamboo decor.) Ping's is great for seafood but (I hate to say this) the one in Elmhurst, Queens is far better than the one in the city. Don't get me wrong - Ping's in Manhattan is great. Go, you'll have a good time. Taiwanese dim sum? Oh, I'd like to know as well. All I know is that XO Cafe in Manhattan does "ja mantou" (fried montaou) with the sweetened condensed milk on the side. Now the thing is - is the ja mantou lightly fried; is it fried whole or sliced then fried? Ah, the beauty of fried bread...

Lovely blog, johnnyd! Do you live in the part of Maine where you can come up for the summer and work on a blueberry farm? I saw that one time on the FoodNetwork. It looked like a neat way to make some extra cash. One couple said they paid off their vacation picking the blueberries. (But it sure looked backbreaking...)

American style - toasted bun, grilled hot dog, light on the catsup & mustard with a bit of onion and relish on top. Asian style - hot dog fried rice. I know that's cheesy but my mom would make that for me as a kid. Stir fry rice, minced onions, peas, carrots and hot dogs with some egg & top with scallions. Honestly, if given a choice it would be mom's hot dog fried rice all the way. <3 mom's cooking.

Oh wow, thanks HKDave & porkfat! Now I know why AzianBrewer said it was an undertaking. Wow. So is the red paste that served with bibimbap gochujang? Or is it something else? I'm sorry for my ignorance. I was told it was gochujang & thought that it would be better if I made it at home instead of buying the preservative filled stuff.

Prices haven't changed that much. Go to Oriental Garden or Ping's for a good meal. (Me, I like me some Ping's.) Congee Village on the Bowery is small but makes for a wonderful dinner. It's just not the greatest place for conversation. It would be nice if you knew which place you wanted to go to so that could call beforehand and arrange for a banquet style dinner since your son is heading off to college. A few days, some C-notes & you'll have the makings for a good dinner. Go to Tai Pan or Egg Custard King for egg tarts. I like Tai Pan's po-tat, which is Cantonese Portguese style egg custard. (That word doesn't look right) It's a perfect combo of egg, lard and sugar. Yeah, boy!

Thanks for the tips, Domestic Goddess! So I can keep the gochujang in a regular ol' fridge for like an eternity? Nice... How do I go about making it?

So seriously, if you don't have access to an empty plot, or enough space or sunshine to grow things indoors and you don't have easy access to a greenmarket, what should you do? I'm not trying to be snide here but just trying to see if it's even possible to grow something under these conditions.

Hello! Question: 1) How do you make gochujang? 2) If I make gochujang, how long will it last in the fridge? 6 months? Thank you for your help!

Oh, sounds interesting! Please do give some details. Where is Santouka?

That sounds like a wonderful idea but how does one accomplish it on a tight budget? What if you can't afford the luxury of spare space or are forced to share fridge/freezer space with a roommate? Or two? I would love nothing more than to grow vegetables, freeze large cuts of pasture-raised meats and shop at farmers markets all the time but due to space & budget constraints, I really am unable to do so. I love shopping at the greenmarkets, I just can't plain afford it and the nearest greenmarket is about 1 hour away via train or car. For some of us, it is something we want to do and would prefer to do but it is extremely difficult.

Leftover Chow Kwey Tow from Banana Leaf in Flushing, NY. Go pork fat!

Whoo hoo! It's the cranky old lady sauce! That's some good stuff. I named it that because, dang, she does look a bit cranky.

"Lo" means to mix. "Tossed" makes me think of a salad... but it's all semantics, I suppose.

Dry ho fun = gon chow ho fun. Beef ho fun with gravy (and lots of it!) = sup chow nghow ho If you really want to go all out: "Dow see sup chow nghow ho"= Beef chow ho fun with black bean sauce gravy. Oh yeah. NOTE: All of these phrases are in Cantonese.

Great dim sum at Ruby Foos? Doubt it...

My experience on three or four visits has been of very tasty pork, well cooked and moist. I ordered seconds of it last time I was there. ← Was there this past Wednesday. It was a good experience overall but nothing worth standing in line for. The pork was dry and overcooked. If you had good pork the last three or four times you were there, than you were lucky. I'd go again next time I'm in the 'hood.