Megan Blocker

BAR ROOM!!!! I'll add my voice to the chorus. If you're looking for something super-casual, a 'wichcraft has just opened at 48th and 5th - wouldn't be a bad place for a quick sandwich.

That just shows how much farther there is to go in developing an educated constituency for cocktails. (It's exciting, really.) ← Exactly! I consider myself lucky to have this opportunity to teach. Booze is usually a pretty good inducement, so there's not a lot of arm-twisting involved.

I agree, Sneakeater. I brought three friends with me on Sunday, and they were getting impatient about their drinks (and these are people who are used to fine dining, not Olive Garden, so it's not like they're completely uncultured). I did a little quiet explaining about the fact that ordering a cocktail at D&Co. is like ordering a dish at, say, Degustation. It's going to get there, it's going to be good, but we're not talking immediate gratification here. Five minutes is a worthy price to pay for such delectable creations. If you're worried you'll go thirsty, order your next round while you still have a few sips left, and calm down.

You're raising your sons right, Bruce - cucumbers RULE. This blog is fantastic so far...can't wait to see what the next few days hold!

Had a great time at Death and Company with my friend Faith. We got there right at 7 and snagged a couple of seats at the bar. We were there for seven cocktails, and enjoyed all of them thoroughly. Sadly, my camera died before I could get a photo of our last round, but here's a sampling... I started with a Mig Royale (top right), and Faith went for a Company Buck (top left). For our second round, we had a 19th St. Special and a Lucino's Delight (bottom left). I went for a Fancy Free (bottom right) while Faith finished tackling the Lucino... For our last round, we had a Pink Lady and an Oaxaca Old Fashion...fantastic, though at that point the tequila was a bit much for me. All around a really good time. The crowd evolved over the few hours we were there; started out a little older, more cocktail-focused, became younger, though not rowdy, as the night wore on.

One of my all-time faves...always on hand. Good point about the iceberg, too - sometimes a wedge salad with a little spiced-up Thousand Island dressing is all you need.

I have also re-discovered egg noodles this year - love them with braises and stews. I feel like its renaissance has already been in full swing for a while now, but cauliflower comes to mind. I never ate it growing up and have been terrified of it forever. But thanks to the general eG obsession with roasted cauliflower, I finally saw the light.

Thanks, Lumas! I made risotto tonight (with roasted cauliflower, more details here), and a green salad on the side...very tasty, and easy, too.

I think my favorite thing about risotto (besides how delicious it is) is what a great use it is for those bits and pieces you always have lying around the kitchen, particularly if you're a single gal with leftovers. Tonight's dinner was a classic example. I had some leftover roasted cauliflower, I always have onions, garlic and wine, and I just made a big vat of chicken stock a week ago. Ta-da...risotto with roasted cauliflower! I started with a simple soffritto of onions and garlic, added the arborio and salted and toasted it, a quarter cup of Gewurtztraminer (since it's what I have open), and then the stock. Finished with the cauliflower, some salt and pepper, a bit of parsley, and some parmesan. Easy peasy, and really delicious. The burned bits on the cauliflower brought a really deep flavor to the risotto.

Hear, hear! Lumas, can you add this to RecipeGullet when next you get a chance? It would also be great if you could share you wisdom here , or even here. Klary, brava - that meal is beautiful and exquisitely photographed.

What, like "just back from a dip in the pool?"

Tonight was Chinese delivery, but last night was a pan-roasted chicken breast with herbed cappelini and a sauce of braised roasted, pickled, and fresh peppers. On the side, a green salad (more on that here). That steak looks divine, Percy.

As is well documented on many topics here at eGullet, I am completely in love with green salads, and have one almost every day. Last night, I made this...romaine with red onion, cucumber, and a vinaigrette. I don't know if I'd call this my favorite, but it's up there...

It's not really the season for strawberry shortcake, but if you're on a mission, you might want to call Two Little Red Hens...they're on the UES, but they're a traditional American bakery, and I think they usually have it around in the summertime... Like Kate said, the best idea may be to find a good, spongey cake, buy some decent strawberries, macerate them, and top the whole thing with some fresh whipped cream.

Had dinner out with two under-21's (18 and 20) last week at a three-star; all were served. Interestingly, the last time I was at EMP, in November, we ate next to an extremely young-looking couple, who were drinking cocktails, then wine. Wonder if that's what started this whole business? My head is spinning at the possibility! ETA: That three-star dinner was on the 28th; so, not before the thread started. DAMN!

But what if it gets you to order MORE food? Then the pot brownie might be allowed. Ba-dum, ching. But seriously, folks...while I agree that Bryan's original post came across as a bit, em, entitled-sounding, I think he clarified himself later on. I don't think he felt entitled to something he didn't get, nor was he horribly offended by the experience. He was just surprised, because it didn't mesh with what he'd experienced in the past. Did the restaurant do the legally correct thing? Sure! Did they do something different from what other restaurants typically do (at least in the experience of several people who've posted here)? Yup. (Edited because I am extremely anal and wanted to divide my paragraphs.)

Well, I can add my voice here. When I was underage and eating out in NYC with my mom or dad, or aunt or uncle, or whomever, I was frequently served wine, and was never refused service at a restaurant. Same thing went when I ate out in Philly during college, at least at nicer places. Probably not any more statistically significant, I realize, but just adding my own experience, which dates from about 1996-2000, when I turned 21.

Lucy, that looks fantastic. Is that sour cream on top there? Could you tell us more about the recipe? Maybe you could even share it over here...

Made pork tenderloin tonight (more info on this topic), and ate it with some leftover gratin dauphinois and some peas tossed with brown butter, sage, and parmesan. Got a new camera for Christmas, and am still waiting for the manual to arrive in the box o' presents I shipped back (the camera itself, I brought in my bag with me), so I haven't quite mastered it yet.

Oh, man! Wish I'd checked this thread out earlier...I made pork tenderloin tonight (really simple, just studded with some garlic, rubbed with thyme, salt and pepper, pan-seared, then finished in the oven), but this would have been excellent, especially with juice from the Honeydews my mom sent today. Going in the file...

Tao is definitely closer...don't know about large groups - you should call. I agree with the Stone Rose suggestion, too - nice post-pasta walk up to Columbus Center, and a gorgeous view of the park.

I would have KILLED for this law last week...my cousin's 25th birthday and the night he got engaged, we tried to set up cocktails for about 10 people at either Flatiron or Pegu, but they wouldn't allow us to bring my 17-year-old cousin (the other cousin's little brother). So we ended up somewhere far less exciting. Very disappointing. Of course, these are bar/lounges, but the principle is the same, the result is still frustrating - he wasn't even going to drink. All in all, it seems a very sensible law, and I would love to have it enacted here in NY. Perhaps we should start a letter-writing campaign?

Plain Greek yogurt with granola and a little brown sugar is popular in my house. Cereal is too dangerous...can't keep it around, I'll eat a whole box in two days. Love the stuff. But granola I can control myself around.

Sadness. Then again Play Doh (I think that's how you spell it) is edible, but I'm not sure TK would approve.It was bright blue, so even if the taste was Ok the color would have put me off. I have another 8 lbs. on the stove right now. ← Playdough in the soup is much more an Achatz/Alinea thing than TK/Bouchon, I think. ← Like a blue, salty roux. If memory serves from my Play-Doh eating days.

OK, deep, dark secret here: I am a huge SATC watcher. Not so much an "Oh my God, I AM Carrie!" type, more the type who has watched my DVD's of the series many, many, many times. Good background stuff for cleaning the apartment. So here's my question about the whole SATC/Cupcake theory - I think there's only one episode of SATC where the girls visit Magnolia (when Carrie first meets Aidan in Season 3). Pretty amazing, then, that this one small scene is claimed as having started such a trend. Is this true, or did the Magnolia scene in SATC just serve to fan the flames of a Manhattan-based trend, broadcasting it via HBO to the rest of the country, making Magnolia more of a tourist stop than anything else? Is it just a marker in the development of the trend? I find it weird when people quote it as the origin.