zeitoun

The exact same thing happened to me 5 years ago at Chez Jaqueline in the village. Their tiramisu consisted of a coffee soaked sponge cake with heavy cream. I did not even touch it and respectfully requested that it be erased from my bill. The only time I ever did that.

Could someone tell me what the differences are between the couscous(es) prepared in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia? Also, as i understand it, within those countries, couscous might be prepared differently also. I once had a tunisian couscous prepared by a jewish tunisian family that was completely different from the couscous i had at an arabic tunisian owned restaurant in Paris.

Well, you might be right. I was talking from personal experience, it is possible that the guy who asked me that question was being a little difficult. All i know, is that it took me 15 minutes to explain that i wanted a doner and not a shish kebab !! I would agree with your 75% figure, so as promised i snapped some pictures of the other 25%: chicken on the left and mixture of lamb/beef on the right my favorite condiments: tomatoes, onions sprinkled with sumac, pickles (no turnips available that day ), parsley and a generous spread of mashed garlic A heavy sprinkle of tahini and voila! This is another example of what they offer, all sorts of kebabs at the bottom, hommous, bb ghannouj, taboule, mousakka in the middle shelf. Raw meats (that you eat raw) on top. Just a note to say that i was there on an "off" day unfortunately, the guy who normally prepares my sandwich to perfection (bebsi guy with a moustache) was not there. The chicken shawarma was a little overcooked to my taste. There is also one other place i like on Steinway St. called Kabab-gi, it just opened a few months ago. When you go, try both places and compare!!

Shit? I wouldn't be so blunt as to say that, but you are not far off IMHO. Doner and kebab are two different concepts. Doner which is a turkish word means "revolving" and it refers to the turkish version of the arabic shawarma or the greek gyro. It is the meat that is revolving on a vertical grill and shredded with a knife. A doner cannot be "kebabed" so to speak since a kebab is meat already on skewers (either cut in cubes as in chich kebab or ground beef as in kafta) that is cooked ON the grill. So, if you were in Istanbul asking for a doner kebab, you will be most likely asked if you want a doner or a kebab. What makes a good shawarma? as i stated earlier, it's all in the vinegar!!!!

I would personally skip Navarro. I was quite unimpressed with their wines and relatively speaking, Navarro is one of the "most popular" wineries in the area. However, the winery does have a nice deck overseeing the vineyard, where people can sit down and eat for a "picnic" type of lunch. In addition to Londer Vineyards, I would recommend Roederer Estate for their sparkling wines. It is more “commercial” but they make good stuff. It is important to note though that Pinot Noir is the main grape being grown in the region so this what you should shoot for. You’ll be amazed with what you can find. The valley also has beautiful apple orchards, the most noteworthy being The Apple Farm which is partially ran by Don and Sally Schmitt, the former owners of the French Laundry in Napa. January would not be a great time to visit but I would recommend anyone to stop by in the summer or the fall. The farm is absolutely beautiful.

I spent a few days in Mendocino last summer. My general feeling was that as far as food is concerned, I was quite uninterested. There is this one place that locals rave about called Cafe Beaujolais which I thought was not that great. The only positive memory I have of my stay is when my wife and I decided to drive down to the Anderson valley for the day. You will find great wineries there if you know where to go. My favorite was a visit of a little winery called Londer Vineyards. It is not on the main strip so nobody stops there. You can go there by appointment only, Dr Londer has no tasting room so you taste his wine in his own kitchen!!! He makes one of the greatest pinots i've ever had, he will give you a private tour of his estate, and he KNOWS his wine. There is nothing greater than discussing a particularly great wine with the person who actually made it.

I have tried many versions of this great dish and the one I enjoyed the most is Keller's Bouchon recipe. It takes time (over 30 hours), involves many different processes, but yields wonderfull results. The highlights: - Keller makes a reduced, sirupy and aromatic wine marinade first that becomes the base of the dish. - Short rib meat cubes are seared and browned on all sides then thrown in a pot with the wine base, rich brown stock and more aromatics. - The whole thing cooks for 3-4 hours and then the whole pot is refigerated for 24 hours to "soak" the meat. - The next day, meat is removed from the liquid and the liquid is strained and reduced further. - Each vegetable garnish and the lardons are cooked separately. - Before serving, the meat is reheated in the cooking liquid with all the other ingredients. I assure you, this works!!!!

I am not familiar with alfanoose, i'l definitely give it a try. As long as the shawarma guy has a thick moustache and asks me if i want "bebsi" with my sandwich Shawarma is marinated meat (generally chicken, beef or lamb) that is layered and piled on giant skewers, grilled, and shredded off the grill with a knife. I am sure many of you understand it in terms of appearance however the preparation of the meat itself is what makes shawarma what it is. A good shawarma should be marinated for a long time in essentially a little oil and loads of vinegar with all sort of spices and aromatics. You should be able to taste the acidity of the vinegar. I will try to have pictures soon!!

I was reading with interest the thread on "Chickpea" on Astor Place. I just didn’t realize that some people could fall head over heels for a good shawarma, so I’ll be nice and share my little secret Note to all shawarma lovers out there: having some roots in the middle east, I have roamed around this beautiful city of ours for years in search of a decent shawarma. Some of you might know this already but the stuff you get in the NYU area or on Atlantic Avenue, albeit good, is an adaptation of the original middle eastern shawarma. The one decent place I know which makes shawarmas that are more reminiscent of what one could eat in the streets of Beirut, is located in Astoria, Queens on the corner of Steinway Street and 28th avenue. It is lebanese owned and is called Al Manara, it serves shawarma (chicken and beef), perfectly seasoned and delicious “kaftas” on skewers, and kebabs. I would recommend trying it the way it is served in the middle east with sumac flavored onions, tomatoes, parsley, PLENTY of pickles (kabiss in arabic, especially the pickled turnips), tahini, and garlic paste. No lettuce, no hot sauce. I go there regularly and will try to take some pictures next time. It is quite a trip in itself but very well worth it.

Well, as long as it is all done intrastate, it is indeed pretty close and easy. No difference really. Whether it comes from Napa or the Hudson valley, it's coming by truck and will hit your market stand in 1 to 4 days. Now, bringing it from Chile is a different story, first it comes shipped by boat in special containers (1 to 2 weeks), then it goes through various inspections when it passes the border (days and days). So, as Pedro mentionned, your fruits or veggies will be picked unripened and will be allowed to ripen in dark containers, not the best of conditions.

I thought the same until while on a trip in central america years ago, I picked an orange off a tree, peeled it and ate it in the middle of the grove. A completely different experience. This does not mean that I have not eaten any other orange since then though. The difference in quality is more noticeable with some vegetables or fruits. You will taste it if you were to eat a not freshly picked tomato or apple for instance.

THANK YOU! I knew I had read this somewhere and that someone I trusted said it! But I guess it's not like a lobster is a puffer fish. If it gets left in there's not likely to be an autopsy (except on the lobster, maybe). So maybe next time, those lobster leftovers won't end up in the garbage - I'll make a stock with them. (Still wish I could find and identify that little sac!) ← Well, the sac is easy to miss, it is small, does not quite resemble a sac and is located where one wouldn’t bother to look. It contains a darkish bitter substance which is plain inedible. I've been told that it is the brain (makes sense location wise) but I don't know if I can confirm that. The first time I opened a lobster I realized that there was only one way I could tell what was good or not, just taste everything separately!

This is all very true, anything that grows in a tropical or warm climate that hits the market shelves in NY for instance is shipped from far, far away. In addition to citrus fruits I would add pineapple, kiwis, mangoes, bananas, papaya, cactus fruit, guava, figs, avocado and the list goes on! For your average New Yorker, these products are technically "not in season, nor fresh, nor local" 365 days a year! We still eat them year round though! Within that same token, it is interesting also to note that there are ingredients that we consider "seasonal" which still have to travel thousands of miles to get to us: chesnuts are a perfect case in point. I won't mention truffles. If you consider the above, then why not eat south american grown tomatoes or apples in the middle of spring if they are available? Well, because for some of us who live in the northeast, since these CAN grow in our own backyard, we DO have a choice not to. And we all know that there is a notable difference in quality if you compare what was picked yesterday and what was picked and preserved in temperature controlled containers for two weeks.

I would agree with the above that there are elements of the head that are more flavorful than others. I use the French Laundry cookbook's instructions when preparing lobster and lobster stock in general. With this method the shells covering claws and tail are not used for stock. The carapace covering the head is removed and set aside. The tomalley (the dark greenish viscous part which is full of flavor) is removed and set aside for another use (I would use it to flavor a sauce or even eat it raw over rice). The whitish hairy gills are removed and discarded - why? taste it and you'll understand why - so is the small sac located right behind the eyes. What is left basically is the inner cartilage connecting the legs together with small chunks of meat lodged in between. This is what contains most flavor and is used for stock only. I would use shells to make a quick sauce but I find it not suitable for a stock infusion. Of course, it is possible to use everything also, nothing wrong with that, but I tend to think that this method gives the stock a cleaner flavor.

I just caught this thread, Monica, this is splendid! I particularly enjoyed the market pictures. Markets are my favorite places when i get a chance to travel. I have never been to India. Would love to one day... Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!!

I asked one of my just returned from Japan friends about this. Her points are as follows: 1. Sushi is generally better in Tokyo than NYC and you can get very good sushi in Tokyo for $50 if you know where to go (meaning one of your friends takes you to a place they know) 2. The high end places in Tokyo that are accesable to normal people are generally around $200 for sushi. She counts herself as a normal person, Waseda degree and Japanese passport notwithstanding. 3. There are more expensive places in Tokyo for sushi that can go way over $200 but they are not accesable to normal people; they operate as "clubs", you have to be a member. It may be more fair to compare Masa to this kind of place. 4. Non-Japanese food in Tokyo is quite expensive; you can expect something like Jean Georges to be double the price in Tokyo as compared to NYC. Given some of the things on the menu at Masa, like the caviar, truffles and foie gras, Masa might be priced more like a non-Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. I also had dinner on Friday (at Eleven Madison Park) with another friend, who is Japanese-American and who has lived in Tokyo for the last 4 years. Her comment was that her lunch costs her $15 every day(!!!) and every place in Tokyo seems expensive to her. She's an ex-pat with a company paid for 2 bedroom apartment..... I think the "club" thing may be hiding things in Tokyo. There is at least one similar example in NYC. The Nippon Club on West 57th operates a private, member only dining room and I've been told by people who have eaten there that it is one of the better high end Japanese restaurants in town. The Nippon Club FYI is an exclusive business club dating all the way back to 1905, and it occupies 7 floors of a high rise. Anyone know a member? ← I might have been misleading with my sushi in Tokyo analogy, which was incorrect. Indeed, excellent sushi is available at much less than $350 a head. As you are indicating, Masa falls in a category that goes beyond your average sushi restaurant be it in NY or Tokyo since the latter do not feature items such as Foie Gras or Caviar on their menu. Masa is rather part of a very small pool of restaurants that offer luxurious products in a unique and particular setting. So in terms of the overall experience, it would be more appropriate to compare Masa with the likes of ADNY than with a good sushi restaurant in Tokyo which is not considered luxury in the Japanese sense. The idea that I was trying to convey earlier in this thread is that from a monetary point of view, to experience the very high end in cities such as Tokyo or Paris for example, one has to be ready to pay $300 or $400. That figure is a standard. A traditional Ryotei for instance fits the description of a high end restaurant in Japan. As mjs said, $500 is common at such places because it is considered the standard price to pay for luxury. In a similar fashion, if you want three star or even two star cuisine in Paris, you should be ready to pay big bucks, $150 will get you close to nowhere. This all serves to illustrate my original and primary point, that in New York, we should be glad that luxurious four star food generally costs us less than $150. A quick note about the Nippon Club: my wife's father is a member and a few years back, she had the opportunity to have lunch there with him. It offers traditional Japanese food that she qualified as "okay". It is expensive but not outrageously priced. According to her, similar food in quality can be had at Nippon Restaurant or Nadaman.

Claude is far from being a quaint village patisserie, i'd say that everything there except the pastry is truly "mauvais gout"! I would agree with you on the croissants though, Claude's croissants are pretty inconsistent in quality. I've had decent ones but also terrible ones. As for the other places you mentioned, I would also second you on that. Good croissants are simply impossible to find in NY. Sad but true. The same applies to pains au chocolat, chaussons aux pommes or even brioche!!

I would agree that the quality of their breads is remarkable. Their little pizzas are heavenly, the potato pizzetta being my favorite.

Lady M's pastries are indeed more than decent, they are made by this European trained Japanese lady and are available at takashimaya on 5th Ave.

I am always in search of good dominican food, i wasn't familiar with this one. Another place i would suggest that has consistently served good dominican food for years is El Economico on broadway and 231st street (on the 1-9 line). Always great for Sancocho which they make daily.

I think he is right. I would be curious to know how you would compare Claude's pastries with Payard's in terms of flavor and sweetness. Do you know of any other pastry shop that does a decent job in your opinion?

I would even say that Claude, although not a restaurant, would be on my number one list of “tried and true” places, I am of course referring to the thread started a few days ago by Pan. It is true, Payard might have the looks but I find that in recent years it has gone down significantly in terms of quality . There is an inherent problem with french pastries in general in this city in that they simply tend to be too sweet and “rich”. Payard has in my opinion taken a deep plunge in that direction. I think Claude’s pastries are more akin to the pastries one will find in France as they tend to be lighter, less sweet and heavier on aromas. Yes, an éclair might be simple and traditional in concept but there is a world of difference between a good éclair and a bad éclair.

I added this quote from a previous thread, which makes reference to Patisserie Claude in New York City. Not sure if this french pastry shop was ever discussed on this forum, but I think it would be of particular interest to some of you in the city who are craving for good and cheap french pastries. Patisserie Claude is located in the West Village, and has been there as far as I can remember, Claude himself is (as Luckylies pointed out) one illustrious grumpy Frenchman who sells affordable pastries ($2.50 a piece!), croissants, quiches and all sorts of “petits biscuits”. I personally think that finding good french pastries in New York City is quite a challenge. I have to say that despite the owner’s bad temperament, his grouchiness and his notorious fits of rage (I have witnessed one man run for his life after he confronted Claude about a cake he had previously purchased), I still go to Claude for his delicious eclairs, operas, pear mousses and praline cakes. Claude (who is a very nice man once you break his shell) has a sense of refinement for pastry that many “Patissiers” in New York do not have. In this list, I would include Ceci-Cela, La Bergamote, Petrossian or even Payard. Anyone familiar with the place? Any opinions?

This interesting debate raises another interesting observation. A $350 dinner seems outrageous to some of us because we are accustomed to the $80 to $150 range (pp for a tasting menu) we would normally pay at high end establishments. This kind of debate should be a reminder of how lucky we are in the US to have the opportunity to eat great food prepared by great chefs at such affordable prices. This is all relative of course but take France for instance where the norm at high end restaurants for a tasting menu falls in the 200 to 300 euro range (with the current exchange rate that would be $280 to $400!). If you order a la carte you will easily spend 50 euros for a salad and 90 euros for an entree. I would not even venture into mentioning Japan where a high end dinner outing will cost you at least $500 a head. Masa’s prices, even for sushi, would have been considered the norm had it been located in Paris or Tokyo, where average salaries by the way are not necessarily any higher than the average New Yorker’s salary. At least here, we have the luxury of expressing outrage over a $350 dinner!

Is this the place owned by this guy who has a cooking show on the Discovery Home Channel? I think it is called Cooking in Brooklyn??