greenwich st

Maybe this has been overhyped lately, but I have been drinking about 4 - 6 mugs of green tea a day to help regulate my blood sugar for weight loss purposes. I have been losing weight without trying very hard, so I think it's working. It's also known to have anticarcinogenic properties.

We just ate at Le Villaret a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it -- and I agree it's a very good value. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't figure out how to link within this site, but if you're interested in our experience there, it's described under "Sunday Lunch in Paris".

Chelsea reminds me that we also like O Mai for delivery -- steamed bass, the monkfish and peanuts on cracker, the spring and summer rolls. They'll go down to the W. Village, though they occasionally get kind of pouty about it.

Hey Luckylies, what do you get from Tea and Sympathy? Never considered them for takeout...

Where can one find "Vere" and "Plantation" chocolates? Also, does anyone know the chocolate place on West Fourth Street? Is it any good? I believe those chocolates are locally made, right?

We live in the West Village -- our typical orders are from Westville, Bar Nocetti (pizza) and, my favorite, Moustache, which doesn't seem to suffer much through delivery. Unfortunately my child doesn't like their food very much.

Just spent a few days in Paris and noticed the novelty of many lunch-y places that seemed to specialize in a salade/tartine menu. I planned a lunch for my family at Cuisine de Bar -- on arriving we found the service very snotty, so decamped down the block to a much friendlier place (Le Confiturier, 20 rue du Cherche Midi) that also served a choice of Poilane tartines/nice salads/homey desserts. Another similar place, on the rue Jean-Nicot is called Simple. I do think this is some kind of trend.

Okay -- our five-day lunch in Paris is over, and here's a report: Favorites: We enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch at Mon Vieil Ami with French family. (Thanks to John Talbott for this great suggestion.) Although the streets of L'ile Saint Louis were clogged with tourists, my daughter and I seemed to be the only Americans in the restaurant. The service was polished but friendly and informal, and the room attractive, and comfortable, though every seat was taken. We enjoyed the food, particularly our main: veal breast (not fatty and great crust) with carrots, served family style. The starters and desserts were also good, though less remarkable: nice braised vegetables, pate en croute and a (du jour) cherry gratin (not really gratinee'd in any perceptable way -- more compote-like) and an unexciting raspberry glace/meringue thing. Our French relatives seemed very pleased with the meal and commented on its good value (menu about 38 Euros, I believe) We'd go back because the full experience was quite positive, but won't really be daydreaming about any particular dish, aside from the veal breast. La Cerisae was on summer break. I substituted Le Villaret. When we arrived at 12:45 the place was still empty, slowly a few tables (all French) began to fill. Both the decor and service were basic, but we loved the food and felt this was a great value: 26 Euro high quality three course menu, including an amuse-bouch (small cup of chilled cream of cauliflower soup) and little gateaux with the check. We started with shellfish bisque and a great, unusual mussel soup/salad dish -- cold mussels in an intensely flavored shellfish cream topped with a luscious celeri remoulade flecked with chorizo. Then pintade with girolles in jus (simple but cooked to perfection, juicy flesh, crispy skin) and rouget -- again, tender flesh, crispy skin, luscious, fairly complex sauce. Dessert was a kind of strawberry melba. Excellent, and we'll return next time. Chez L'Ami Jean: Second time here was even better. Only problem: the servings are so ample, a three-course lunch is incapacitating! Again, we saw no Americans, which seemed odd, given the press this place has gotten. We ordered the charcutail plate -- insanely copious, all delicious; a cold egg/cream thing in a cup with a sort of tasty piperade at the bottom, served with wavy, ham-topped, buttery croutons; and, the best: a mess of petoncles (like tiny scallops) served on the shell with a buttery, herby, ham-shard-enriched sauce that none of us could stop sopping up. Next, beef cheeks -- spoon tender, quite good, but my daughter was not enchanted by it; pigeon for husband, nicely rare, and quail for me -- both wonderful, though somewhat similar preparations with girolles (the theme of the week). We ended with vanilla custard with strawberries (the other theme) and chocolate pots de creme, rich, bitter, coffee-flavored, intense. The space is tight -- some tables more comfortable than others -- and has a jovial, neighborhoody ambiance at lunch. Service is efficient, reserved at first, but warms quickly. The handsome chef came out twice and made a charming fuss over our daughter. We can't wait to go back. And, on a minor scale, we really liked a tea room called Le Confiturier, on the rue du Cherche Midi, where we stopped for lunch after fleeing Cuisine de Bar down the block. Cuisine de Bar has gotten enthusiastic mentions here and elsewhere, but we were offended when they they tried to put us at a very uncomfortable table d'hote in the back room of the nearly empty restaurant, and then made snide comments when we politely requested a more comfortable table. In contrast, the reception at the much prettier and more comfortable Le Confiturier (20, rue du Cherche-Midi) was gracious. Both places specialize in "tartines" and salades -- our salads were fresh and sophisticated, the tartines luscious on Poilane bread. We started with a surprisingly excellent gaspacho and ended with lovely, homey desserts. The place was packed by one o'clock with well-heeled neighborhood types and the service never lost its aplomb. We also enjoyed dinner at Le Clos des Gourmets (Avenue Rapp), though less, perhaps because our French family did not dig it, which was a bringdown. It was good, and we'd go again, but not make a detour for it. Disappointments were: Dinner at Cafe Constant: Not expensive, in our neighborhood, and the simple upstairs room is airy and comfortable but food was weirdly uneven, with worst item a dry, overdone cuisse de canard, accompanied by a luscious compote of figs/dried fruit. Service was friendly but almost too relaxed -- seemed like the place was run by college kids who could barely remember what was on the menu. Dinner at Cap Vernet: I would try again in winter, but this time there were only belons and fines de claires on offer and no other shellfish besides a dish with gambas. My husband's bar was overdone. My sole was nice but rather plain -- though I did enjoy the parsley flan side. It was okay, with pleasant service, but nothing that distinguished it from a nice New York City meal. So that's lunch for this year -- we're looking forward to trying Le Soleil, Le Troquet, Le Petit Troquet, and all the other tempting suggestions we've gathered here on our next trip.

We just had a very good meal at the Clos St. Pierre after a visit to the chateau garden at Gourdon -- great recommendations. We had the cheaper lunch menu -- 27 Euros for melon/jambon (ordinary), magret in a delicious jus with simple courgettets and a chocolate ice cream/chantilly dessert that was naive but absolutely satisfying, plus wonderful canapes and almond cookies. There is a more elaborate menu we'll try next time, but no ordering a la carte, at least for lunch. The terrasse was very charming, though the town is not much to look at otherwise. I would recommend reserving, which we did, because it filled quickly, and the inside is fine but not as lovely. Only drawback that day -- a plague of nastly little fliesl, so we did a lot of swatting while gorging.

Thank you for all these suggestions -- we have booked at Cap Vernet for next Saturday, and Mon Viel Ami for a family lunch on Sunday. Le Petit Troquet sounds good, and we're juggling slots to include that, plus L'Ami Jean, which we already love, and La Cerisaie. We tried for a dinner at the new Camdeborde but couldn't get in -- so lunch there, too, one day. We'll report back!

We're going to be there for 5 days in July, cooking dinner and eating out every lunch. Our 5-year-old daughter is very restaurant-ready but conks out by 8pm, hence lunch! We're staying in an apartment in the 7th -- already counting on at least one lunch at L'ami Jean, which we've loved, but doubt they serve lunch on Sunday. Any suggestions? We're also spending two weeks in Vence -- hope to try La Litote and will report back, but would love other lunch suggestions in the environs.

The new Wild Edibles on Bleecker has really disappointed me on the four times I've bought fish there -- not for sushi. Once the fish smelled so funky we had to throw it out. Service is charming but thumbs down for the product.

Ooh, ouch. Another child actor sacrified to urban legend. As for Continental table manners, French people are supposed to have both hands at or above table-level at all times. My French husband can't enlighten me as to why -- we joke that this has something to do with ensuring an atmosphere of wholesomeness at the dinner table, but does anyone have a real explanation?

Just tried this place (on the strength of this thread) and had a wonderful lunch. The ramen was okay, but the least impressive part of the meal. What we loved were (really fantastic) ramps with bacon and egg, sauteed pea greens, little fried soft-shell crab sandwiches with hoisin sauce and even the smoky chicken wings -- not normally my favorite chicken part, but the smoke-infusion elevated these. Even my 5-year-old pigged out here. It was fun for her to watch the cooking action from her counter seat, and the service was very child-friendly. Re Snausages' unpleasant experience: we were aware of the owner training someone in knife skills right behind the counter when we were there. The lesson was quite detailed, insistant, and audible, however, we all agreed after, there was nothing mean or disrespectful about it. (Compared to some behavior I've witnessed in professional kitchens, it was a picture of civility.) So our experience was great, all around.

Thanks, Snowangel. This is great -- like online cooking school.

Re viva's post and fifi's reply, I just made a braise -- not one of Molly's -- with boneless beef shoulder chuck. It came out pretty dense and dry. The butcher had trimmed off pretty much all the external fat before he tied it. When it was done, it had a hard-ish, gelatinous looking strip of fat running through it -- should this have melted? Did the butcher trim too much fat? Or did I do something wrong? I cooked in in wine (almost covered) on top of the stove for about 3 1/2 hours for 3 1/2 - 4 lbs. It was hard to get the temp right and I spent the whole time hovering in order to correct the flame that kept either sending it all to a boil or letting it die to a sub-simmer. Was that the problem? Anyway, I'm back to Molly for my next braise!

Thanks, Paula -- I especially like the broiling idea, as it helps resolve the cooling-off-chicken -while-sauce-is reducing problem.

Hi Paula -- I used: 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp sweet pimenton 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 1/8 tsp saffron threads as well as: 1/4 cup mixed chopped flat-leaf parsely and cilantro and I used the green olive mix from Gourmet Garage, which I didn't pit -- I probably used 2/3 cup instead of 1/2, pitted, as recommended. The recipe also calls for 1 salt preserved lemon, 3 garlic cloves, 1 medium yellow onion for one chicken or 2 3/4 lbs legs and thighs.

Well, we do lobster all the time, but I can imagine that many people are afraid to deal with them -- otherwise, nobody would get that Woody Allen scene (in Annie Hall, right?) Even our cats keep a respectful distance when we hold the big ones done to floor level to let them take a whiff. And honestly, if my guy wasn't willing to do the live-scalding thing on a regular basis, I'd probably wuss out myself. And even he wimps out when it comes to knifing them!

I did the Morrocan Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemon last night. It was easy and came out very well. I didn't use mashed chicken liver in the sauce because I was using parts, but I can see that it would have been an improvement -- just a little more richness. I did feel that I probably would add a bit more herb and spice action as well as more olives -- the quantities of these seemed a touch conservative to me -- when I make this again. It's not exactly a weeknight dish in terms of ease of prep, but it's not huge deal either -- especially if you buy the preserved lemons, as I did -- and the results are impressively tasty. I wonder if anyone who has made the Wolfert version could comment on differences?

Thanks, Gifted, for the kugel recipe, and Jayne, for the onion tip!

Hi Pam, thanks for doing this! I wonder if anyone has a potato kugel recipe they'd like to share. I've just been assigned one and haven't ever made it...actually not sure I've even eaten it. (My grandma only did noodle kugle, and that was sweet and with cheese, so it's not appropriate....)

Someone mentioned liking "Chinese restaurant tea" a while back -- I like it, too, and I have as yet to reproduce it at home. I've told that it's oolong, and I've tried cheap supermarket bag oolong (awful) and expensive loose oolong -- great, but no cigar! So what IS the secret of Chinese restaurant tea?

Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck makes a very good thin crust pizza they call "skizza", for some mysterious reason.

Foodie, I think you're thinking of Michel Guerard, author of "Cuisine Minceur". I second Cookwise as not-terribly-tempting recipe-wise. Also, I've never used a recipe from a gift cookbook -- guess it really has to be my personal choice to work. Chinese Gastronomy -- that's a blast from the past! I adored that when I was a teen-ager in the '70's. As I recall, the Sesame Peanut Sauce and Spongy Bean Curd were favorites. I ordered it out of print a couple of years ago and haven't used it. It's comforting to have it again though. But when I think about it, I usually only try somewhere from 2 to 8 recipes out of a given book. And I'm not one of those talented "I never use a recipe", instinctive cooks -- in fact I am fairly awkward and unconfident in the kitchen and I heavily depend on recipes as a kind of crutch, I guess But another reason I seem to need lots of cookbooks is for inspiration. I guess recipes really work as a kind of abstract, almost pornographic, goad to get me off my butt and into the kitchen. And once I make something a few times and feel I've pretty much mastered it, I often drop it or teach my husband to cook it, so I can move onto something else. This is sounding increasingly dysfunctional as I write it, but there it is! I have some kind of culinary A.D.D. and the multiple cookbooks are part of this.