emmapeel

Based on the interesting I hate cheesecake thread pondering foods you don't like, What did you once hate but now have learned to like or even love? I used to hate ketchup, white potatoes and beef, but really like them now. I still don't use ketchup on fries but I do on burgers. Some others are Caviar, Fish, Sushi, Mussels, beets, raw onions, pickles and collard greens. I've learned to enjoy so many new foods since my youth. What are some of yours?

I've been there.

That is very serious...as is the rest of the story.

I have two Le Creuset grill pans, but only use the little square one. It's seasoned and easy to clean now, but at first cleaning it was a bitch! It gets very hot and it doesn't smoke as long as there is no oil on it. I oil the steaks, but once they are cooking, I begin getting the smoke factor (a moderate amount). I do have a semi-useless exhaust. I open the windows from the top and hope for the best. After the first time, I've got the smoking under control. I wasn't able to make a decent steak at home without it, but Fat Guy is probably right and I'm going to try it with my cast iron pan next time.

Yes, I'm with you, although I can take it. But when considering a Coconut Cake recipe and the frosting calls for cream cheese, I say "Next!" And I don't even bother with Carrot Cake.

I see this as the problem with sharing. I don't think it's selfishness on their part, it's about compromise. When ordering to share, it is assumed that the diners will come to a consensus, and it's not always possible. I think this is the nature of the thread -- do you "avoid dish duplication." My answer is "within reason." So I'll have my deep fried General Tso's Chicken and steak frites without a blink. I am not necessarily interested in trying others' dishes anyway. (If I wanted what they ordered, I'd order it as well.)

There is a restaurant, Yodo of Japan, which is easily overlooked because of it's location and odd hours. (It services the 9-5 crowd and closes at 2:30pm and opens again for dinner.) It has the best Tendon I've had in town (and I've tried plenty.) I have never had a bad meal there. They also have reasonably priced, fantastic combinations at lunch. I had dinner there once, but the menu was so authentically Japanese, I didn't know what to order. Since then, they have changed the menu, so the dinner and lunch menu is the same.

Because Belgium is a such a Beer Mecca, I did try a Cherry Beer there that was very good, but I only tried it because I'd read that it was great, but it was more like drinking alcoholic Cherry Coke in a way. Beyond that I keep trying to like it, but not quite yet.

Beer, I just don't get it. Herring I've acquired a taste for Cheesecake, but I didn't like it for years.

Here Here ! ← Yes, you're right, so I started thinking about it and realized that some people really don't care what they're eating. It's hard to explain to someone who is always on a diet, that I take food selection very seriously. There is one friend I dine with and we have the same tastes so we always get duplicate meals. When ordering Thai, Chinese, or Indian it's always a family style selection.

Wow, Pan, what a menu, I can't wait to try it and the photos looked great too. Thanks for the research. This Chinese outing will be my first attempt at Congee. Coughy, don't look in any Chinese kitchens edit (or a lot of NY kitchens)...just don't look. (I know what you mean.) Another edit: If they continue to pass inspection, it's probably fine, and as long as I don't see rats having a party, it just doesn't bother me.

I don't mind sharing, and my order usually reflects it, but I don't like to negotiate to get what I want, i.e., I want beef, and they don't, then I suggest chicken and they say "Nah, why don't you get the shrimp?" Then I say, "Well what are you getting?" "I'm getting the pork, is that ok?". "Sure" I answer, "but I don't want shrimp". Then they reply, "well I'm not eating beef or chicken and shrimp or fish is the only thing left." For crying out loud, it's MY dinner. So occasionally, I just order without others in mind, and take the heat.

My cheap meal tonight is Chicken in Milk. Chicken $5.75 Milk $0.79 Sage $1.29 Lemons $0.66 Garlic $1.50 (several bulbs) Total $9.99 I have the pepper, salt, cinammon stick and butter in the pantry. It's a great dish, very little work, and it is good for two meals.

I like Uncle Nick's for Gyros and Niko's Mediterranean Grill and Bistro (upper west side) at lunchtime offers a great Gyro with a mixture of sweet potato and potato fries that are great and the tzatziki is excellent so ask for extra.

I've been searching for this thread and finally found it. I'm sure there are more recommendations. I intend to try Congee Village first, but does anyone have other suggestions?

Josh, you're right, I don't know where my Domino's is, but I know it exists because in a blizzard we had, I was looking out the window at the snow and a Domino's guy was struggling with his bike through the snow. (It was so funny, I felt so sorry for him, but I'm still laughing years later.) I hope he got more than a decent tip. I'm also sure the customers couldn't get food from anyone else (except Chinese) that day. btw, your specific suggestion sounds great, I might try it. I've never been to Fay Da bakery on Canal.

I agree with you about the Bangladeshi food on 6th street not being good. But I have enjoyed Haveli on 2nd Avenue (one time it was off). Thanks for the update ... I have heard about Jackson Heights also, and plan to go, for Indian, Central and South American places. I've heard good things about them as well.

Some the food related reasons I love NY have been mentioned (Katz's, Zabar's, or any place that has good pastrami.) The ability to eat a great meal at 1am or later, like (Blue Ribbon). Our Pizza is great, great hot dogs, great burgers (but you can have equal or better anywhere in the states - although maybe not pizza -- or bagels for that matter.) Now I realize your friends want the Manhattan experience, but I have to answer the question from a native's standpoint. For me the real New York offerings are based on cultures. People from other countries come here to live and think "let's open a restaurant on a shoestring" and their offerings are so good, cheap yet authentic, but they can't afford to be in Manhattan, so you will find them in places like Queens and Brooklyn. Outside Manhattan there are surprises that happen, like a Jamaican restaurant in Queens where 3 people eat 3 courses for $30 and the food is really good. (Sorry, I can't even tell you how to get there it's so complicated and it's on the border of Long Island.) There was a time when Greek cuisine was really cheap in Astoria, Queens, but the real estate boom ended that because it's so close to Manhattan. But it is still very reasonable and I feel Astoria offers some of the best food shopping around. So if you consider that New York is comprised of many neighborhoods and that cultures cling together, if you were to visit an Arab neighborhood in Brooklyn (Atlantic Avenue) you could eat fantastic Middle Eastern cuisine, or if you were to visit Flushing, Queens, your Chinese eating experience might be more authentic. I cannot think of where the Hispanics' (non-Mexican) best offerings are (probably East Harlem and Northern Manhattan), but the Italians offer Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. All of these cuisines can be had in Manhattan also. The South Asian population has a hold on E. 6th Street for Indian, the Koreans are all over 32nd Street (east and west) and you can find Japanese there also, and great soul food in Harlem (but don't go to Sylvia's.) Harlem also offers a few spots for African cuisine such as La Marmite (Senegalese) (2264 Fredrick Douglass, at 121st Street.) Some of the best bread I've ever had is from the Sullivan Street Bakery in Soho. If your friends like Greek cuisine, they can go to Uncle Nick's on 9th Avenue, but expect to be rushed. (It's reasonably priced.) If your friends want French cuisine, they might consider these recommendations. In my current life I love NY because of my telephone..."Hello, delivery please!" (Talk about being jaded. ) Edited to say...I want to be in Maine!

I like Scapple but haven't had it in years. If I were to leave New York, I think I'd miss White Castles (although I rarely eat them). A transplated native New Yorker took her sons to a White Castle because she missed the burgers so much, and soon after lunch, her sons threw up!

Manu, the Peruvian restaurant is gone and Regional is about to open in it's space. I have no idea of what the menu will offer, but the space looks nice (blond and dark woods) and it has barrels as part of it decor. I don't know if that is for wine or beer. There is a bar, a banquette with tables, and in the front there is a communal table which is bar height with stools. The kitchen remains in the rear, but now has frosted glass. The lighting is reminiscent of Carne's, sort of drum shades hanging from the ceiling in a line, in orange and white. The doors/windows are capable of opening to the street. We're getting lucky with all these new places (Picnic, Creperie, Cafe du Soleil) opening. I'm really curious why the place is named Regional, and hope that it refers to the menu and not the cocktails.

How about Barney Greengrass?

Fifi, that looks downright astounding. I have to buy loin pork this week and try it (but of course I won't have horsemint. No matter.) I've learned so much from you this week that I'll come up with something great. Thanks for the great blogging this week, it was very different and informative and your photographs are spectacular.

There are many things, but the one I hate is to chased out of a restaurant. This doesn't happen in the finest restaurants, but in "popular" expensive ones, nonetheless (i.e., Japonica). I understand that tables need to be turned for a restaurant to be profitable, and I'm all for leaving when I'm done, but when the waiters constantly check to see if one is finished with a course, or try to take it away, (I think to push one along) I am tempted to slow down. Regardless, all the hovering of the waitstaff leaves me tense and no longer able to enjoy the meal. I eat a a moderate clip, no slower or faster than most. This happens only when a restaurant is busy. I don't mind when a check is delivered before it's requested though, I think that is a acceptable method for a busy restaurant to announce "Your meal is over, leave!" Does anyone have an idea of what an acceptable time limit for a table is for dinner? I think two hours is about right, for several courses. If one is eating an entree only then of course, less time is required.

Crisp. I love bacon. If you were to ask anyone who knows me what my favorite food is, they would answer unwaveringly, "BACON". So the question I have is, why did it take me so long to discover Turkey Bacon is delicious? I had it this morning for breakfast and I think I will select it over pork from now on if it's available. I never ate it because even though I know people like it, I just thought, "no, it's a substitute." I was wrong.

That's a riot. I should have added that the trip they wanted to take the the country was understandable, since they took us to their most wonderful farm house in Chartres for a few days, and it was amazing. And without our requests, they designed these fascinating sightseeing trips all around Paris every day. (Honestly, I wanted to see Paris on my own, but they insisted, but the upside was that they created a wanderlust in me for traveling alone that I worship.) And the food that they cooked was outstanding, and gave me insight into a Parisian's cuisines and culinary habits (and no one was fat! )