Jason Perlow

You asked for them: Storefront Interior Jack buys Vienna Beef sausages, buns, and genuine Chicago relish and pickles and sport peppers to serve on the hot dogs. Condiment mise en place In addition to the Chicago Dogs and Italian Beef, J's will soon be smoking various BBQ items, using a pellet-based smoker. Italian Beef. Jack will only say that it's choice cut Angus beef. His cooking procedure, method, recipe, et cetera are all top secret. With Giardinera Kielbasy, with brown mustard and kraut. Vienna Beef Chicago Dog, with Neon Green relish, Chicago pickles, Sport Peppers, Tomato, Chicago yellow mustard and Celery Salt on a Vienna Beef poppy seed roll.

Daisy is even sexier in person than she is on TV: Jay-Lo has got NOTHING on this Brooklyn Girl! I was really intrigued about her story of how her life changed in an instant from being neck deep in the fashion industry, to having a near-death experience and finally deciding to go to culinary school (click)

Now, that I could see spending two grand on.

You're referring to La Dinastia and La Dinastia II: http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py?stx=la...5&Submit=Search

I like Dr. Browns but as you say its also an HFCS soda. There are better black cherry sodas on the market, such as Boylans. Stewarts Orange 'n Cream is also HFCS based but there really is no equivalent other soda to it on the market. Dunno about Cricket Cola. Never tried it. But Boylan's Cane Cola is by far the best Cola on the market (when it isn't Passover or imported from Mexico) I see no Coffee flavored soda is listed. Manhattan Special rules.

I doubt it, I think he uses a DSLR. I use a $350 Canon A620 which does really poorly in low light conditions -- these photos I really had to tweak because its very dim in that restaurant. But it focuses very close and works decently for what I need it for.

As I said, its a dump. Its bad Chinese food at its self-indulgent worst. Which is why I keep going back.

Blinis, with creme fraische on top and the Ikura. Use it as you would Caviar.

I've never been to any other Cuban Chinese joint in Manhattan. You talking about La Dinastia? I haven't been there.

I can't say I am a huge fan of the Chicago Dog. But I am intrigued these guys have Italian Beef sandwiches.

It does look like a tasty snack.

That is seriously messed up.

I would be surprised if Mitsuwa couldn't get it for you.

Some Solar Do Minho shots:

Yeah figure out what the hell happened to the okonomiyaki.

I love that spicy pineapple vinagre. I had never tried it until I saw your show. I think we buy pineapples just to make it now. The pineapple meat is a bonus!

There was a raw food restaurant in Montclair that was at Taste of the Nation 2006 that had some really nice stuff: http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=31871407 The Energy Bar (973) 746-7003 307 Orange Rd Montclair, NJ 07042

The brutally hot weather has to be great for business for those guys.

As I said to him in the podcast interview we did with him recently, there's nothing better in terms of ratings for a show or a book when people make up petitions to try to yank you off the air or take you off the market. I'd be thrilled.

It's been a joke in a Seinfeld episode, and its also one of my favorite late-night dumps to eat at. Dirt cheap, and great "Bad Chinese American" cuisine, with a Latino twist. As I stated in my recent admission on the Chinatown Brasserie thread: Well, there is probably nothing more downscale in my mind than La Caridad 78. La Caridad is a dump, and I like it that way. After spending $137 on upscale Chinese American food last night and having just a few canapes to hold me over at the Brasserie Ruhlmann cocktail party tonight, I had to go eat something substantial. And cheap. Theres nothing cooler than practicing your Spanish with a bunch of Chinese waiters. Un Egg Foo Young de Pollo, Por favor. La Caridad makes a mean Egg Roll, with both pork and shrimp in it. La Caridad is the only Chinese restaurant I know of with this bizarre condiment selection on each table. And they serve you BREAD. House Special Fried Rice. So bad, so good. General Tso's Chicken. The La Caridad version actually has a bit of tangyness to it. Asopado de Camarones, one of the Cuban selections. Nice amount of shrimp in it. Spare Ribs. Behind the counter is this array of steamer trays that they use to hold trays of yellow rice (and a few other things) that they serve with the Cuban plates.

Magic I don't remember the entire list but in addition to what was photographed, we also had a phenomenal Chicken and Garlic spring roll type-thing, where the chicken was ground up and cooked into sort of a springy texture, with a LOT of garlic in it, with a spring roll wrapper. The beef triangles were excellent as were the Pea Shoot dumplings.

Magic at the very least go and have the Dim Sum, its definitely inventive and different from standard Chinatown Dim Sum fare, at last from the four or five items I've already tried.

WAY out of touch! That's in line with every high end place in the city right now, especially "see and be seen" type places that Chinatown Brasserie is aspiring to. The Chinese Balthazaar.

It was a long day.

Daniel I think the dishes are skillfully executed, and I will most definitely be back to try the full Dim Sum menu when it's ready. Since you asked, I don't beleive that the main dishes suit my regular personal preference in Chinese food -- lately I'm very much into authentic regional styles of Chinese cuisine, such as real Sichuan and Shanghainese and Hunan and Hong Kong-style dishes. From time to time I like a Chicken Chow Mein or a Beef and Broccoli, but I tend to like that in a more downscale version, if that makes any sense. That being said the main dishes are excellent in terms of quality and I think the restaurant concept as executed by Eddie Schoenfeld and his team -- a freshening of the type of Chinese food popularized in the States using top ingredients -- will be very successful. I enjoyed the evening and I think everyone should give it a try.