Megan Blocker

I say both, Alinka! They look really good...your pancakes and Ann's are making me drool. Maybe it's time for breakfast for dinner tonight. I had a croissant from Andre's Cafe this morning, along with a cup of decaf coffee (trying to keep the caffeine intake down on Sundays, as I've been having trouble getting to sleep on Sunday nights, just like in grade school) and some Bonne Maman raspberry preserves. Yum!

I agree with Sneakeater - this is not a destination restaurant, but it's a strong addition to the neighborhood. I had dinner here tonight with my friend Cristin, and we had a great time. Now, if you take wine, me, and Cristin and shake them all up together, it's always going to be good. But the ambience and food tonight definitely helped. We started out with two drinks at the bar. A rose and glass of Champagne for me, and a glass of Bordeaux and then one of Champagne for Cristin. We got there early on purpose, in order to check out the bar scene. It was hopping, though most of the seats were taken by folks eating dinner. We were seated relatively promptly, by an only-slightly snotty hostess. We ordered a bottle of Gerwurtzraminer, and I started with la moelle (the bone marrow and toast). At 8.75, I expected one marrow bone. I got three huge ones, and could not make my way through it. I could have used a little more parsley, but other than that, all was good. Cristin got a kick out of watching me spread the alternately light and dark bits all over my toast. We both had specials for our mains...I had the duck confit, and Cristin the seafood risotto. The confit was good - not unbelievable, but solid. It was served inside of a mashed potato cake, topped with toasted breadcrumbs, and surrounded by a wine reduction. Also on the side was a nicely tart green salad. The risotto was great - two huge head-on shrimp, two large diver scallops, and lots of veggies, including some gorgeous, fat asparagus. Dessert was a glass of Sauternes (me) and one of Muscat (Cristin). We also split the mandiant, which was like a delicate bread pudding with cream on the side. Service (aside from the hostess) was excellent and attentive, and the entire evening was less than $100/person, start to finish. All in all, a good, solid night. I'm thrilled to have a decent French neighborhoody place nearby.

Personally, I prefer Coca-Cola Zero over Diet Coke. Coke Zero has a blend of sweeteners rather than just one, and the combination works better than any of them do alone. It's pretty darned close to the taste of regular Coke, and you almost don't notice an aftertaste. ← I HATE the taste of regular Coke, and love Diet Coke. Probably because I was raised on the latter. All of these new potions are lost on me. Mike, I love that you're a soda fan...what's your favorite soda to drink with a burger?

Diet Coke and Chinese food!!!

Woo-hoo! Diet Coke, baby! I hear ya on the lunch front...I'm eating mine right now. At 3:15. Grrrr... ETA: Susan, that sandwich looks real tasty - the toast looks warm and crispy!

Chefboy, I know nothing about the situation at EMP, but I can tell you that 50%+ turnover within a year of a new manager is not unusual, at least in the business world. I've seen it happen many, many times. That said, four months is an impressive timeframe.

Penne, bucatini, spaghetti, campanelle, orechiette. Yum!

Wowza. Reminds me of a sandwich my grandfather taught me to make...peanut butter, mayonnaise and bacon. Seriously, it's actually really good.

Hearth! You could eat at the pass-through!

God, I REALLY miss working in that building.

Smokin', huh? Makes me think of Snowangel and her beloved smoker... and those asparagus also look mighty familiar... I think I saw them on the Dinner! thread recently.

Interestingly enough, I don't think it's been banned...I think someone mentioned this at the beginning of the thread. Something about Charlie Trotter continuing to serve this, but not foie gras...

To clarify, I don't think foie gras bans have anything to do with direct anti-French sensibilities...just trying to clarify Lonnie's post. However, I do think they have a little bit to do with reverse snobbery (I think foie gras is targeted, and not factory-raised chicken, because of it's high-cuisine associations.), and I do think that those who practice reverse snobbery often associate that which is French with that which is high-falutin'.

OMG, those are so beautiful. I want fries now, but I know nothing I can find in Midtown will even begin to compare...sob.

I used to have that during boarding school! Every once in a while they'd open the waffle iron at night...so tasty.

It's my own recipe - adapted from Martha Stewart! To make the ones I made today, I subbed in vanilla for the Grand Marnier and lemon zest for the orange. The recipe halves and quarters really well - I made a quarter recipe today, which made seven madeleines...keeps me from eating a dozen in one go, which is a totally doable thing. Here's a link to the recipe on RecipeGullet.

It depended when I was growing up...my mom hosted a lot of cocktail parties, mostly business-related (she was second-in-command and her boss lived in a condo, so she did a lot of the entertaining in our house). At those, I mostly hung out in the kitchen, though this was in the 80's, after the living-and-dining-room-only barriers had been breached in entertaining. I knew at least half of the guests at each party, and they would come in and say hello. Sometimes I was recruited to pass hors d'ouevres. I had to go to bed at a certain time, but I remember sneaking out of my room and leaning over the railing on the second floor and listening to the laughter and the tinkle of the ice in the glasses. Sometimes they played the piano. Straight dinner parties were for close friends and family. My brother and I were always included at the table, unless there were too many people to fit (I think our table seats 12 or 16 - haven't seen it with all its leaves in a long time), in which case the young folks would be seated at a table in the living room (connected to the dining room by an archway) or, if we begged, allowed to eat on the couch in the family room. None of my close friends has children yet, so I haven't had to deal with this issue. However, I have huge issues with the parents who take their children to restaurants and let them run rampant (this happened to me last weekend), as though they expect the other patrons to care for them. As long as my friends don't behave this way, I can't imagine it being a huge problem. I will still expect some adults-only time, though - I have a terrible potty mouth, and I can't be expected to hold the naughty talk in FOREVER!

Madeleines again for me today...lemon zest and vanilla! I left them in about 30 seconds too long, but otherwise they were great!

Pie for breakfast!!! Oooh, muffins (BTW, Klary, you're too hard on yourself, as usual). I NEVER make muffins anymore...I used to make them all the time when I still lived at home. I think I'll make some blueberry and take them into work this week.

So, I had roast chicken for dinner last night...the idea behind that is to use the lefovers for the next few days in different ways. Today for lunch, I piled up some of the cold breast meat (which I drizzled with pan juices before refrigerating last night) and topped it with a warm corn and tomato salad. I used frozen corn (nothing good at the market this morning), which I defrosted and then sauteed briefly with a little garlic and olive oil. Tossed that with some plum tomato, parsley, salt, pepper, and a little red wine vinegar. Yum!

Unfortunately, no...I'm in Yorkville (Manhattan).

Hungary is known for its pastry (especially croissants and cakes). I had some great one while in Budapest. In budapest many places serve farmers cream cheese with paprika and onions...does this cafe have any? ← Hey, Percyn! I walked past yesterday and checked the menu...didn't see anything like this mentioned. They do have many kinds of streudel, and some palascinta. As I eat there more, I'll start a thread!

Exactly...I think Lonnie's point was that some Americans have a tendency to demonize the French for this very reason, turning a love and appreciation for things culinary into decadence and gluttony on par with the late Roman Empire. Ironic, really, considering we're the country with the weight problem.

That is so odd! If you out to a Chinese restaurant, you share! It's one of the best things about going there...tasting a bunch of different things. That said, there are people I won't go with, because they hog. And other people who won't try new things. These kinds of people are off my list. At least for "sharing" restaurants.

Since I don't have outdoor space, it's either takeout or just sitting in front of the AC.