dan.

Like we needed another reason to ignore the jerk.

Another vote for Hell's Kitchen. Good butchers, specialty shops, fair greenmarket by 59th street and wonderful restaurants at all price ranges.

There is a bit of a difference between not having an availability for three people and not accept parties of three all-together. The poster seems to be saying they do in fact reserve tables of three but had nothing available.

Yeah, not sure the ban still exists after midnight in a good number of bars I frequent.

Tomorrow's news today!

Had brunch here yesterday, which is $20 for three courses. Again, not a bad value. Heavy stuff though there are lighter choices. Had a really nice short rib with winter vegetables and a really lovely scallop, leek and mushroom casserole. Desserts were very nice as well. A serviceable fruit tart and that cute chocolate dome pictured above. A ton of food for 20 bucks, and it did keep me off my feet for the rest of the afternoon, but well worth it on a bitter day weather wise.

Zipi Zape is on the corner of Metropolitan and Berry in Williamsburg. It's been discussed in the Brooklyn Mobilize thread. I will add, they have great fish specials and though the food is tasty, the room is less so and now that the weather is turning you may no longer be able to sit outside.

For inexpensive tapas in New York, Zipi Zape in Brooklyn is really the only place I could think to reccomend.

The DVD features bonus footage of Keller teaching Sandler how to make "the perfect sandwich."

The point total was 48 to 45, no?

Re: Spotted Pig, I thought the same thing. Good for them though. I've really enjoyed the food there. The one stars seem kind of Zagatesque in their randomness or comparisons between strikingly different dining experiences.

Had the tasting with wine pairings Thursday night and though full, the restaurant wasn’t quite bustling. Seemed like most tables were doing a tasting however. As for the food, the amuse was a peanut soup with snapper and celery seed puree, don’t know how new this was but it really set the stage for the strong flavors they play around with. Highlights were the squab, hamachi with plantain gnocchi and the rice and beans. The flavors were all very strong and nicely balanced; you could almost taste each grain of salt go to work with the foie gras and the beet juice course. I loved the use of micro greens and herbs as accents. The smallest piece of cilantro made the rice and beans the wonder that it was. The strength of flavors worked with the wine pairings, which were strong and overwhelming on their own but balanced wonderfully once the matching dish came to the table. Only real weak moment was a tomato sorbet with olive oil powder and "toast," a play on a caprice salad that preceded the desert courses. Again, a really thoughtful use of herbs, here basil, almost pulled this dish together but the sorbet was overpowering and recalled tomato paste a little too clearly. Really great meal though and a nice evening, got to see the kitchen and meet Wylie which made for an enjoyable birthday for my girlfriend.

Didn't you just say that the captains and track photographers are the highest paid track employees? Or was I missreading? Or do they all make next to nothing?

It might help that the one who decides these things may be getting a little treatment over his Italian restaurant reviews. Or it might not.

While I'm pretty much addicted to the burgers, I'll agree, the fries pretty much suck. They remind me of Burger King’s improved fries of 10 or so years ago. An odd, unnatural taste and a strange processed crispness. They seem overworked, heavy and not exactly tasty.

The pork belly recipes from Fergus Henderson's "The Whole Beast" are all great. The boiled belly comes out soft and salty and the accompanying lentils are a great match while the roast belly has gorgeous, crispy skin.

I got to try this restaurant this past weekend, and it was very nice despite a couple of mistakes, but at the prices they are charging I feel it's almost not right to complain. The menu seems to change regularly as some of my dining companions were making return trips and finding different entrées printed on the menu. The appetizers and salads were wonderful and were the real showpieces for the local produce the restaurant aims to highlight. The oyster mushroom bruschetta was juicy and delicious and thought I didn’t have one myself everyone seemed to love the salad combinations. My main course, rabbit three ways, started with an outstanding rabbit liver spread on toast. It was light, smooth and flavorful and preferable to chicken livers done in a similar style. A velvety chopped liver with a sweeter, milder flavor. The rabbit sausage was almost as impressive. Not at all dry, which was a concern given the leanness of the meat and correctly spiced. The rabbit confit however was dry and was lacking in the flavor department. The dish was served on a bed of fairly bland lentils, which did little to spice up the leg, in fact it may have contributed to the lack of moisture on the plate. Again though, the liver and sausage were outstanding. Other dishes I sampled included the roast duck, which was very nice and seemed like a very generous portion and a goat cheese, eggplant dish that used half an eggplant as the container for an eggplant, goat cheese puree studded with the beans. The dish was delicious but so, so rich and huge considering it was the size of half a large eggplant. Also, there was nothing to cut the richness here, a couple of greens lined the plate, but some contrasting elements would have been helpful. All in all though, a pretty good meal at a pretty great price. Appetizers, entrées and two bottles of wine came to 45$ a person including tax and tip for six people.

Just returned from a food filled weekend in Saratoga, the best of which was a cream of tomato soup with dill at Mrs. London's. My girlfriend had been living on this stuff for a year or so when she lived up there and this was my first taste. Pretty unbelievable. Very strong flavours and very clean taste despite the richness of the soup. Also heard good things about the Italian bistro that took over the space in the old firehouse on North Broadway. Has anyone tried this restaurant yet?

Going up this weekend for my yearly visit. Plan on trying Beekman St. Bistro and then just seeing what happens. As an ex skidmore student I've done a pretty good job eating my way through town and have to say, the Wine Bar really is near the tops as far as food in the downtown area but the atmosphere just doesn't fit at all, maybe it's just the neo-80s lighting on the sidewalk but I don't know. Also regarding Italian, no mention yet of Meastro's under the Adelphi Hotel. From my experience, it is far and away the best Italian around.