Megan Blocker

A flatbread wrap from Fresco with chicken and roasted veggies, dressed with herb aioli. Eaten during a training class - good catering choice. Yum!

And I think Frank has a secret jones for Bradley Cooper. But, as we've established, such is the way my mind works. All BC, all the time.

Cold chicken. Every time. So weird. Oh, and Chinese food - the bad kind.

For all those garlic lovers out there, Mark Bittman's column from today's Times is all about dishes made with abundant amounts of garlic! Supposedly these spring from his interest in Christopher Ranch's peeled, packaged cloves. However, you can always peel your own - just blanch those babies in some boiling water and peel away! ;-) Link to the article: click!

Ditto! I'm from Connecticut (but went to prep school in NH and spent ample time with my family in NH and Mass), and all I can think about now are foliage and apple orchards. I think a road trip may be in order this fall... BTW, for my fellow New Yorkers, Hearth has some delicious cider doughnuts on their fall/winter menu - or, at least they have for the past couple of years. So good, and almost a worthy substitute.

Frank pulled out some more fancy language today... And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Oh, my. Interesting concept - a comparison of "uptown" and "downtown" Chinese food. Here's a link to the review: click!

A Skinny Cow fudge pop. I looooove them, even though it's total sacrilege. Also made fudge brownies for my colleague (it's his birthday tomorrow), and I'm having major trouble resisting them. They smell AWESOME.

Katz's is a great choice, but be aware - it's most likely out of your 15-minute cab ride radius, depending on traffic that night. Carnegie Deli is definitely within 15 minutes - really, within walking distance. (I do, however, prefer Katz's myself!) Can't argue with Babbo or Gramercy Tavern - but with dinner at Babbo at 5:30, you may want to think about something lighter than DB for lunch that day. How about Aquavit? It's very close to the Waldorf (a lovely 7 block walk). However, you may want to take advantage of your early dinner hour to enjoy a brunch or a large breakfast rather than a lunch. The neighborhood around the Waldorf is pretty corporate, so the "scene" there is quiet on the weekends. You could go for breakfast at Balthazar, down in SoHo (and go shopping afterward!). Just as an aside, you may be able to get later dinner reservations through the concierge at the Waldorf - it's certainly worth asking! Also, if you have time, you may want to check out the Pegu Clubfor an after- or before-dinner libation. People have been raving about it on this thread. I went for cocktails myself last Friday, and it was lovely - definitely on the list of places I'm taking my mom the next time she's here!

Chicken paillard (singular - just me!) with a corn, tomato and basil relish on top. Served with a green salad of romaine, cucumbers and red onion on the side.

I love L'Impero, but I think Babbo would be more fun - L'Impero is more stately, but Babbo's a bit more lively. Plus, being in the Village, it's easier to get to from Jersey than L'Impero (which is in Tudor City)!

Good call - that pappardelle is too-licious! Can't believe I left it off the list...

This is SO common. I have a friend whose mother will not let us load the dishwasher when we visit, even if she isn't there eating with us. Weird!

I'm hanging my head in shame and guilt, but I had a hamburger (medium-rare, with tomato, lettuce and mustard) with REALLY crispy fries and a Diet Coke (nectar of the gods). Salad for dinner tonight, I think.

There was shrimp from a truck?! I never noticed a truck anywhere along the road to Spouting Horn. Darn. Sounds like I missed something great. I guess I'll have to add it to my list for our next visit. ← Yes!!!! Oh, sooo good. I guess the truck was really more at the fork in the road, where you can either go to Poipu or Spouting Horn. Here's a link to an earlier thread about it: click! Definitely try it the next time you're there.

I always help clean up...but I can't bring myself to let people do it in my house. I'm too much of a control freak, I think. That, plus, I don't have a dishwasher, so you need to be good at handwashing to really help me out, and it's amazing how many people just aren't. Clearing the table is cool, though.

Then I would go for Babbo!!! I LOVE the pappardelle at Gradisca, but Babbo is a more "special" experience all around. Save Gradisca for a fun dinner sometime later in the year...

Option #4 for me, GG! Although, I do love having a friend in the kitchen, chatting with me while I cook or clean up. Not working, just sipping something yummy, and preferably alcoholic.

Do you have a price range? My recommendations would be: - Pappardelle with lamb ragu at Gradisca (13th between 6th and 7th) - Pappardelle bolognese at Babbo (Waverly and MacDougal) - Pappardelle with duck ragu at Paola's (84th between 2nd and 3rd) Happy hunting!

Did you have shrimp from the truck on the road to Spouting Horn, Call_the_Duck? That was my favorite meal when I was in Kaua'i...

So excited to follow you around for the week, Susan! Duck and risotto sounds heavenly...

Let us remember that this is a show created by Darren Star, who also created Sex and the City (you may not all be SATC fans, but you can't deny it's incredible success and influence on popular culture). Like Kitchen Confidential, SATC was based on a book (all right, collection of columns) that were inherently dark and somewhat depressing musings on single life in New York. Star took those stories (in the first season, some almost word for word) and lightened them up for mass consumption, no doubt disappointing some die-hard Candace Bushnell fans in the process. So, while many may have been hoping for something more Bourdain-esque , we shouldn't be surprised that Star is editing out the more foodie-oriented aspects to deliver a mainstream product.

That too, but then again, it is just television. I can put up with that specific suspension of reality more than the other one. ← Fair enough. The lack of multiple visits actually stood out more to me - maybe because, unlike the critic-chef relationship, it didn't pay off in a scene where BC took his pants off. You can probably tell what my reasons are for watching this show...

As I said previously on the thread, this would never, ever, ever happen in real life. The food reviewer for the New York Times gets sent to review her ex's restaurant? The conflict of interest would be disastrous for the reviewer if that information came to light, which this day in age it definitely would have. Can you imagine? No, it's total bullshit. Think about the stink that happened when Jean Georges wrote a liner note for Amanda Hesser's book and then she went on to review Spice Market -- this is even more of a breach of ethics. ← How about writing a review of a restaurant after only one visit? Same deal. I suppose it could have been a "Diner's Journal"-type thing, but I doubt it. Plus, even then, multiple visits would be expected.

The reviewer? Try the daughter of the owner/the waitress. They so CLEARLY are setting up a love/hate/His Girl Friday relationship there. Yes, it was full of stereotypes. Yes, it was annoying that none of the chefs or sous-chefs were women. But, I suppose there's time for them to correct that stuff. Plus, I just luuuurve Bradley Cooper. I can always watch with the sound off.

Oh, wow - that looks fantastic, Gourmande! Beautiful quiche (sounds pretty yummy, too!).