Orik

Burmese - Cafe Mingala around 72nd and 2nd (I believe there's another one in the East Village). On a single visit, some of the dishes were very nice (young ginger salad) while others were quite uninteresting (crispy whole fish in Tamarind sauce). I couldn't say how authentic or good this was compared to what it can be.

I believe it's been closed for a while. Hopefully I won't be required to bring photographic evidence

Seemed a bit awkward, given that I didn't know anyone there and hardly posted here over the past few months. Waterfront is on 30th st. and 2nd (there's also a Brooklyn branch, the original one, I think): http://www.waterfrontalehouse.com/

To avoid feeling like a stalker - we happened to be at Molly's today around 2:30pm and saw your group (and the crawlers for liver cancer) there. This was our first meal there in well over a year and it will probably lead to continued preference of the smaller, fattier, tastier burger at the waterfront ale house.

Thanks Tommy for your kind encouraging words. well, I know this for a fact Unfortunately, the assertion that Diwan can stay good is false. It is quite shitty now, but Amma is better than Diwan ever was.

After two more dinners, I stick to my opinion that Ola is, for the most part, significantly superior to Chicama. Of the appetizers, I would focus on the ceviches, the meat balls and the empanadas. If specials are available, they are also worth trying (such as grilled squid with a croquette of squid ink rice in aji amarillo sauce). Of the meat entrees, the mixed grill, the lamb dish and the tenderloin were all good. Crispy pork would probably be way too fatty for most people. Interestingly, cocktails have been taken off the dinner menu (not selling enough wine?), as has the crew and cast credits.

errr...I've owned this book since 1998 (I believe I've also discussed Mr. Todiwala's kitchen on eGullet before). Quite odd.

Here is the thread on Amuse.

It is also fairly amusing. I stand by my initial assesment:

Well, for what it's worth, the lamb chops are also better than anything you could get in Tel Aviv

We've tried the tasting menu once (out of over a dozen visits) and found it to be a relatively poor way of sampling the cuisine. Generally speaking, I've found Diwan to be very consistent and while we have made no mention of eGullet (or any other secret organization), we get the same 'vip' treatment described on this thread. I can see how someone would be underwhelmed given the nealy comical hype in some parts of this thread, but I do think their tandoori dishes are by far the best in New York. I still prefer Bukhara Grill for Aloo Korma, Methi Machi and the such (but don't tell Hemant).

One common problem with restaurant Yukhue, other than chewiness, is that they freeze the beef to slice it, resulting in a vrey cold to frozen dish. Also of note, Sakagura used to serve a 'Maguro Yukhue', substituting tuna for beef and quail egg for chicken's.

Seems like someone finally managed to define American cooking.

Not to Polish food though. That one is hopeless and can't be polished into haute-cuisine. So should I try the pasta tasting at Babbo?

My liver hopes so.

A sober(er) version: Ola, Douglas Rodriguez's latest restaurant, opened in the space previously occupied by The Alamo. I have never dined at the alamo and while it seems like the remodelling was done in a haste (hence the fresh paint smell) and on a lower budget than what was available at Patria or Chicama, the results are pleasant. It was reported that the restrooms were, regrettably, not renovated. The menu bears some structural resemblence to that of Chicama. A short list of small dishes (e.g. foie gras on toast), a list of cocktails (swooningly described below), ceviches and some 'pure protein' entrees on one side and a list of appetizers/tapas, some 'new ideas', a mixed grill offering and side dishes on the other. The wine list offers an extensive list of relatively inexpensive bottles and several beers. One thing that struck me as odd was the indication on some dishes that they are low-carb (or pure protein). I would like to think I've imagined this, but the dessert menu had one dish prepared with Splenda... We sampled a Cuban Mojito, served with much more than a sprig of mint and probably quite a bit more than a single shot of rum, a Martini-Mojito - much sweeter and with more lime and, quite unnecessarily, a frozen citrus-saffron margarita that had just the right amount of saffron to flavor without overwhelming. I believe all cocktails are priced at or around $9. Mackerel ceviche with horseradish and scallop ceviche with lime and aji were both very lightly pickled and served in what would pass as a sauce on a flat plate (rather than immersed in liquid). Both dishes were good, although the horseradish sauce had some parts that brought tears to my eyes. Ceviches are priced around $15. From the tapas, we tried a very nice (although not quite latino) dish of foie gras and fig empanadas and a dish of oysters rodriguez that suffered from typical fried-oyster issues (i.e. the oyster flavor was not pronounced). Finally, we had a mixed grill plate - lamb chops, short ribs, sweetbreads, kobe skirt steak and a highly spiced sausage. All items were quite good - the sauce/marinade on the skirt steak was somewhat overwhelming but the meat itself was of very high quality. We advised the kitchen that serving this dish on a warm plate would allow diners to enjoy it before it gets cold. We had two (very unnecessary) glasses of some Spanish red with this dish. She had dessert, but I don't quite recall what it was --- Ola 304 E 48th St. Phone: (212) 759-0590

Slightly too drunk to give a fair review of Douglas Rodriguez's new place right now, will fill in more details tomorrow morning: 1. It still smells of fresh paint. 2. Much better than Chicama. 3. Great scallop ceviche. 4. Very good service. 5. Good Mojito. 6. Good Martini-Mojito. 7. Great saffron-citrus margarita. 8. Lovely mixed grill, but they should heat the plate. 9. Very nice foie gras empanadas. Overall, a great addition to the neighborhood, which has too many steakhouses (a huge chris's ruth is about to open across the avenue) and not enough of anything else.

At least one of the bottles was a 94 Rioja Alta, another one a 99 Conn Creek Cab. I think I also spotted a 99 c.n.d.p (or was it a 2000)...it's all a blur. The great food (esp. the brains, although next time I'll try and get some more exotic parts), Ali's personality and (of course) the company made for a lovely evening. We have to thank a certain boroughphilic eGulleteer for introducing us to the place and for all of her other recommendations...

alligator=very slightly fishy chicken nutria=somewhat fishy rabbit how about some fishy moose?

Carelessly. You're much better off trying the bone marrow at Blue Ribbon or anywhere else where the kitchen understands the effect of size on cooking time. My experience with the marrow at prune left me feeling very much like goldilocks responding to the bears' porridges... In any event, I think this thread is quite indicative of why the level of New York restaurant is not higher. If you can please people (eGulletarians even) by serving them dishes 'flavored' with fish, uncooked bone marrow and suckling pig that can't even compete with the typical street festival offering, why try any harder?

That space was (is?) occupied by Alamo - a tex-mex spot we often considered visiting for some obscure entertainment value, but never did. I wonder if we'll see a nuevo-tex-mexicano...

Stone -- if the eggplant is very bitter, salting and rinsing is not going to help. If it's only slightly bitter, or if it is on the heavy side, you should salt it. Jason -- Moussaka is not strictly an eggplant dish - there are many recipes that use potatoes, but in any event it's a favorite of mine as well. Sometimes I make an upscale version with proper lamb ragu and with half the eggplants roasted, squeezed and mashed with parmesan as an extra layer. Other favorites- - Whole eggplant roasted in a pizza oven, split in half and fresh raw tahini poured on top - Fish flavored eggplant (a sichuan dish that is not at all fish flavored) - Eggplant Jam (see here http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recipes/jam...ggplant01.html)

Turns out I'm German.

Actually, it might be genetic and closely related to the initial dislike of Cilantro (which is easier to overcome), so it probably is your probelm.

Robert, We had: Amuses: - Homemade pate served on tiny toasts (very good) - House cured salmon with (goat cheese?) in crispy tuile-like cups (ok) Both were served on a bed of panko. Crudo: - Salmon belly in carrot vinaigrette (very good) - Scallop slices with herring roe, (mussel juice?), chives? (great, sliced somewhat to thick for me) Appetizers: Fennel soup with cod cakes, apples? and nuts? (lovely, wish I had more than one cod cake) Lightly poached mackerel with pomegranate juice (nice, but I probably would have treated the fish differently, allowing for a more robust sauce) We were comped a tasting of (bay?) scallops with chestnut sauce and walnuts (I believe it was spiced with nutmeg, coriander, thyme, nutmeg and white pepper?) - very good. Entrees: - Lamb chop with lamb cannelloni - just great. A huge improvement (to me) over the last version (which was served with Israeli couscous, reminiscent of the Israeli army) - Very slow roasted 'flat iron' steak - a dish from the tasting menu served as an entree - the duck breast of steaks. Dessert: - Pear soup with fromage blanc sorbet. we had two glasses of some reasonable French white and two glasses of the Martinelli zin. Interestingly, the total cost was nearly identical to that of a very simple (in a bad way) meal we had last week at Prune. The gap in (subjective) value was quite amazing.