Liz B-F

Thanks so much! I hadn't thought to try Economy Candy for anything other than guilty pleasures...but I checked online, and they do have really good dried-fruit prices.

What are your favorite places to get cheap but great groceries in Manhattan? I'm especially interested in bargains for produce, and for dried fruits and nuts.

'sNice has delicious red velvet cupcakes...as tasty, I think, as the red velvet cake at Mary's Off Jane. 'sNice 45 8th Ave at W. 4th 212-645-0310

I like Taim (Waverly between Perry and West 11th)...of the three kinds of made-to-order felafel balls (green, roasted red pepper and harissa), I like the harissa.

My current favorite is the beef burger at Westville...delicious, high-quality grilled meat...exactly the right size...yummy bun...good bun-to-meat ratio. Less unweildy and uneven than the Corner Bistro burger.

Stonehome Wine Bar is very nice...we had very tasty food and good service there, and the wines by the glass and flights are good value, especially if you're used to Manhattan prices. The small-plate approach was nice for pre-theatre dining. We found the food uneven at Thomas Beisl...my salmon tasted frozen and both the food and service seemed uninspired and perfunctory. We were underwhelmed by dessert, too, which is heartbreaking at an Austrian place! It's so very near BAM, though, that if you order right...the most classically Austrian meat dishes are best. The BAM website has a good listing of nearby restaurants.

I don't know about the BEST, because I haven't comparison-shopped (like with fries or pizza or burgers), but I used to love the wings at The Reservoir on University.

West Village here. We do lots of take-out and delivery. Tea and Sympathy for mac and cheese, shepherd's pie, sticky toffee pudding. Kitchen Market for chili con carne and cornbread. Pie by the Pound for pizza...they actually deliver here. Lombardi's used to, but now they make a huge fuss that we're one block out of their delivery zone. Moustache for ouzi, pitza and baba ganouj. Surya for chicken tikka masala and good fresh nan. Cheesesteaks from Wogies. 'sNice for panini, smoothies, and cupcakes...my favorite new place. Occasionally Benny's burritos, although we've had mixed experiences with them. Lassi apparently delivers now...it's on my list to order soon.

A pizza bianca from Sullivan Street Bakery, fresh from the oven Skirt steak with red wine sauce and frites at Florent at three am Seafood stew at the bar at Gramercy Tavern Katz's hot pastrami Guss pickles Terminator sub from Mike's Deli at Arthur Avenue Tuna tramezzini with red wine at 'Ino Suzy's Smokin' margarita at Suenos Mac and cheese, then sticky toffee pudding, with strawberry tea at Tea and Sympathy Smoked tuna tartar at La Lanterna di Vittorio Black grape gelatto at Il Laboratorio del Gelatto Daquoise cake at Tartine ...and Amy's Bread, fresh from the oven at Chelsea Market. ...and the Union Square Greenmarket!

I haven't tried Hummus Place yet, but I would recommend the hummus and baba ganoush at Bread and Olive (24 W. 45th, between 5th and 6th.)

It sounds great!

The vegan cupcakes at 'sNice on 8th ave near W. 4th street are surprisingly delicious--and I say this as someone who firmly believes that cupcakes should be made with enough butter to make a healthy 20-year-old keel over. The cake is dense, moist and cakey...the icing is sweet but not tooth-jarringly.

It's also catering to the giant mobs of bridge-and-tunnel tourists in search of celebrities in the New Meatpacking District on Friday and Saturday nights. (And to the actual celebrities they're looking for, on Thursdays and Sundays.) I completely agree that it would be at its best as a really laid-back neighborhood pub, especially in the winter when it's so cozy and English and has such tasty hand-cask ale...maybe it'll mellow into that.

Things I always buy at Chelsea Market: -Picholine olive bread from Amy's...delicious (the potato bread and the prosciutto bread are also delectable) -Amy's cashew bars (Can you tell I love Amy's bread with a passion?) -Portolet cheese...sort of a pasturized cheddar type thing, quite addictive...from the little Ronnybrook Farms outpost across from Amy's -Smoked mozarrella at Buon Italia -Italsol brand olive pate at Buon Italia Smoked mozzarella and olive pate on an Amy's baguette=heaven.

The two things that strike me about this story--and the reason I won't try eating at Agave now--are the fact that a manager was saying anything at all about the "quality of clientele" in front of customers who were having a meal, and the way both the waitress and manager handled customer complaints and requests. Eye-rolling? $12 margaritas that are made the "same way every time"? (Fine for a $6 margarita, but $12 drinks should have rare mezcal in them or be home-infused with rosemary...getting off topic here, though.) If your friends did indeed put gum on the table, it would've been understandable if the staff had been frosty to them. But he said that the quality of the clientele had gone downhill in front of other customers--customers who definitely didn't put gum on the table! And then a half-hearted apology? At Agave's price level, part of the deal should be good, accomodating service. I can understand a manager having a crappy day and being upset by customers leaving gum on the table, if they did so, but he should've gone back into manager mode after his slip and tried to make up for the mistake of spilling out over the sides in front of other customers. Either a full-fledged apology should have been offered or a drink comped, probably both. I will stick with Suenos.