Liz B-F

The pizza bianca with pecorino is among the most heavenly delicious things I've ever tasted, especially when it's fresh from the oven. The squeaky, salty cheese is superlative. I like to take home a whole pie and eat it with a little sea salt on top.

Florent would be on my "tried and true" list--always good breakfast or burgers, 24 hours, and it always had a better scene and atmosphere than the trendy, tacky velvet-rope places around the "new" neighborhood. The people-watching always brings surprises, but the junk food is reliable. Definitely Katz's. The hot pastrami is always exactly as good as I remembered, or ineffably, inexplicably better. (Inexplicably, because how could anything on this earth be as goddamn yummy as a Katz's hot pastrami sandwich on rye with Gulden's mustard and a can of cream soda tastes in my imagination? But the real thing is almost too good to imagine.) A few of those old New York coffee shops--La Lanterna, Caffe Reggio--I always leave happier. Lombardi's would've been on my list for most of the time I've lived in NYC, but lately something's been wrong...sometimes the pizza is as delicious as always, and other times it's uneven and strange and different, which frankly breaks my heart. 'Ino probably isn't old enough to be "tried and true", but I've come to rely on it for delicious, affordable food each time. And my top pick might be La Taza de Oro--consistently turning out great Puerto Rican comfort food and a crazy-cheap, rich, special cafe con leche.

Yum! Thanks...

I'm in New York, and one of my New Year's resolutions is to try a really delicious, aged rum (but why wait till New Year's?) I'm a rum neophyte, so the plan is to go to a bar (WD-50?) and buy it by the glass...Any recommendations of what to order first?

Thanks!

I keep hearing about fancy black salt, pink Himalayan salt, etc being served at restaurants around the city...I'd like to try some of them at home...any idea where I could buy any of these rare salt varieties retail?

Sarma, I'm a new eGullet member, and it was actually the thrill of finding your posts that inspired me to join! Pure Food will be a splurge for us, but we plan to have a meal there over the late fall or early winter. (We've had juices and shakes at Pure Juice--yum.) I'm looking forward to hearing all about the new fall dishes.

I live in the Meatpacking District near Toby's bar, and the thing I liked best about this book was its love-letter-to-New-York aspect-- "[T]hat’s the thing with all of New York: you often can’t tell whether you’ve been made privy to some esoteric kiss or whether you’ve been defiled in some irreversible manner not in your immediate capacity to understand.” It was a good read, sometimes poignant, and hard to put down.

I read a library copy of Cooking for Mr. Latte a month or so ago, before I'd found eGullet, and I wrote a bitter little note on it in my journal ["The precious, self-conscious Mr. Latte book astonishes me with its hoariness. Are there really women my own age living on the Upper East Side (West side?), dating, wearing barrettes, cooking meat with cream sauces, and shuffling home from frequent, early-ending dinner parties with their Tupperware tucked into those little old lady pushcarts? And if so, why would a semi-known writer ever date one of these women, when the ultra-competitive New York singles scene is filled with Aisha Tyler types who run around in bikinis watching football and ordering room-service beer at various W hotels?"] Today I've enjoyed reading several of the Mr. Latte threads on eGullet, and--for me--I wasn't so much bothered by Hesser's self-conscious winsomeness (which I read as tongue-in-cheek)...it was more that the book was such a throwback that it read as a sort of spoof of Fisher or other food writing of past generations. I can see why some readers found the book charming, but to me, it never quite rang true enough...even the moments of apparent personal revelation always seemed really retro...the Forsterish conflicts with older female relatives in Italy, the fragile mother-in-law bonding (reminiscent of Madeleine L'Engle's adult novels from the 50s and 60s), the stoic friendships and quiet, plodding coupling. It seemed so firmly set in yesteryear. I might've read it differently had I not known what era it was supposed to be set in...minus the airplane scenes or 9/11, I would've assumed someone of Shirley Hazzard's generation had written it...then again, I tend to think really great writing (even on a fun, frivolous theme) sells itself even if it challenges my suppositions.

Cry Baby Tears extra sour candies, even though these things have actually burned my tongue (and not with heat) Altoids tangerine sours (sometimes eaten with a real tangerine on the side) Limes topped with big chunks of good French sea salt Lemons topped with big chunks of good French sea salt If all else fails, a plate of plain raw limes or lemons Underripe plums (I like them the normal way too) Extra-sour pickles Walkers salt and vinegar crisps (I don't live in the UK, so these require an expedition)

Top five favorite teas: -Lapsang Souchong -Rooibus -Fresh-picked camomile tisane (hope this isn't an atrociTEA!) -Taylor's of Harrogate mango tea with marigold blossoms -Gunpowder

I had a great experience eating at the bar at Aquavit...really nice, unpretentious service and lots of complimentary aquavit samples.