foodboy

So, what deli was it?

Not to go on a tangent, but I'm surprised you found attitude at Katz's and not at Serendipity. Their frozen hot chocolate is amazing, but what a bunch of jerks running that place! I remember one of their waiters was trying to get down the stairs and yelled to the customers ahead of him to hurry up. (Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen).

I believe it's a "young garlic" soup, with delicately fried frog legs on the side. Whatever it is, it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Don't think sopa de ajo. This is a more opaque, velvety-textrued soup. You can dip the frog legs in it. I also had a beef dish with bone marrow and black truffle custard on the side. I don't remember all the details, but it was great, too. Usually, at top-flight restaurants, I am more impressed by fish preparations than beef. This was a definite exception. For dessert, my fiance and I each had a different "sampler." You pick a theme (chocolate, citrus, etc) , and they give you four mini desserts in that theme. Together, we tasted 8 different desserts. I wasn't crazy about this approach. I think I would have preferred one or two desserts in larger portions. If you don't count dessert, this may have been the best dinner I ever had.

The best block overall (not just for restaurants) is 20th St. between Park and Broadway: Gramercy Tavern Patria Teddy Roosevelt's Birthplace Location of the first Ramones Rehearsal Veritas (though I've never been there) A reasonably-priced hooker named "Cheetah"

Been to Luger's twice and I just don't get the hype! I wonder if the waiters can differentiate the best steaks from the others and if they give the best ones to regular customers, VIP's, etc? Any waiter who gets a sufficient eyeball of me would conclude that I'm a piss-on gerbil of little or no influence. The best steak I ever tasted was a strip steak at Eddie's in Great Falls, Montana a few months ago. Flavor and texture unlike anything I've ever had. I wish I had made more of an effort to find out where their steaks come from.

Wow! That place was serving wings as far back as the late 70's/early 80's (maybe earlier, for all I know). It's the first place I ever had them. I was only 7 or 8 at the time. As for the Menendez brothers, when did they own the place?

Thanks for the replies, but I already booked at Grill 73 in Bernardsville. I hope I don't regret it. I will consider the other places for future meals. As for Cafe Cucina, I've never eaten there, but I've been drinking there every Christmas Eve for the past 6 or 7 years.

I want to celebrate a birthday this Saturday night with a party of seven. Birthday boy on the Adkins diet, so no pasta, carbs, etc. Also, no Japanese. Otherwise, looking for excellent food above all else. Should be casual dress, but pricey is OK. Needs to be within half-hour of Somerville. Any advice? Thanks... P.S. Origin is already booked for the evening.

How is the weekend brunch at 11 Madison Park?

I think it's awesome. I actually enjoy it more than I've enjoyed dessert at places like Jean Georges and Bouley. As for other great chocolate desserts, about 4 years ago, the chocolate souffle at La Caravelle was excellent.

Thank you all for your feedback. I'm looking forward to the trip!

Foodwise, (more so than service or atmosphere) what are the very best restaurants on these two islands? I would like a place that really emphasizes local ingredients and, possibly, Hawaiian or Pacific cooking.

A few years back, we brought my Grandpa to a now-closed restaurant in Tribeca for his birthday. Something he ordered was not prepared to his liking, so he complained to the waiter. The waiter killed him. We never went back.

Should I expect the quality of the meat (or preparation) to differ based on whether I order steak for 2, 3, 4, etc?

Nothing wrong with the foie gras with dried fruit puree, either.

Bux, I'm only referring to absolute enjoyment, rather than enjoyment per dollar. Again, this begs the question of criteria in rating restaurants. Has value traditionally been considered in the star rating system? As for considering the refinement of the cuisine or the ambition of the cooking in a rating system, I think this is valid. If one person's idea of enjoyable food is something that is simple to prepare or requires simple ingredients, that's fine, but it wouldn't take an extraordinary restaurant to please such a person. I think the 4-star designation should require the ability to achieve something that most restaurants cannot.

For overall enjoyment, I would put Gramercy Tavern ahead of Le Bernardin, Bouley and Jean Georges, all 4-stars. This is based on the food first, but also on service and atmosphere. Maybe the food there is not as ambitious as some other restaurants, but I still think Tom Colicchio is a genius. Just Saturday night, in the less formal Tavern room, I had an appetizer of octopus with shaved fennel, sweet peppers and lemon. It was as good as anything I've ever eaten.

Just got back from Congee Village with three companions. The best thing about this place is that it's across the street from Fried Dumpling (that's more a compliment to Fried Dumpling than an insult to Congee Village). We went there first and had some fried dumplings as an appetizer. Our one vegetarian friend had vegetable egg rolls and said they were good. As for Congee Village, I don't think I've ever complained about bad service on this board before tonight. We showed up around 8:00 and were told it would be about 45 minutes for a table. We were seated around 9:10. OK, maybe it's not always easy to predict wait times, so I can accept that. When it was time to order, one of my friends asked for duck lo mein with Chinese broccoli. Now, the kicker is that I specifically called in advance to ask if they serve this. Not only was I told yes, but I was told the price ($7.95) and was told that it was sliced duck (as opposed to duck pieces, I guess). The waitress explained that they don't serve this dish. I recounted my phone conversation, but she didn't seem interested, nor did she suggest an alternative dish. What makes this especially frustrating is that noodles, duck and Chinese broccoli all appear on their menu. They could have made a similar dish if they wanted to. Also adding to the bad service is the fact that our soup came after the congee (although that might be the intended sequence) and we had to ask several times before receiving water and rice. There was no effort to refill our water or tea, and we had to remind our waiter about a dish that was ordered but had not arrived. When I went to the men's room, one of the waiters beat me severly and took my wallet (OK, I made that part up). Finally, on our way out, someone stopped us at the door and said she needed our check. We explained that it was on our table, where we left it, upon which she looked on our table, then gave us an "OK, I have it" gesture. The food was good. We had the following: Turtle Soup (for one) - I had always wanted to try this, since reading about it in a Dickens novel. It had an earthy flavor, but wasn't really what I'd hoped for. For this, I fault the nature of turtle soup, not the execution. West Lake Beef Soup - This was good and was served for 4. It had chopped bits of beef, cilantro and egg drop. Scallion Pancake - I didn't try this, but our vegetarian friend said it was good. 2 orders of Congee (one with pork, duck and chicken, one with duck and meat balls) - I had the first one and enjoyed it very much. This was the first time I've ever had congee, so I can't compare it to anything, but it was very enjoyable. My companions agreed. Deep Fried Bean Curd Casserole with Black Mushrooms - This was very good. Sauteed Beef with Bitter Melon - This was excellent. The beef was very tender, with garlic and black beans in the mix. Despite the service, I would give this place another try because: A) I would like to start my meal at Fried Dumpling again. B) There are many dishes on the menu that I would still like to try. C) I'm not convinced the bad service we received is represntative of the whole staff. The table next to us had a different waiter, and he actually seemed friendly.

I loved the bruschetta with poached eggs and tomato. I also had a sandwich (I wish I could remember what was on it, some sort of salumi) that was excellent for about half the sandwich before seeming too salty. I've been there twice and enjoyed it, but wouldn't say it's great food. It's not priced like a top-tier restaurant, so I can't complain. I also can't compare it to Craft, never having been there.

I suspect that this post illustrates that different people judge food by different criteria. While I don't know firsthand what "authentic" Chinese food is, let's say for argument's sake that Shun Lee is not authentic, while many of the Chinatown places are. Then, I could see why fans of authentic food might not like Shun Lee. Personally, my criteria are simple. If it tastes good, I like it. Maybe that's because I have much less dining experience than many of the posters here. Based on taste alone, Shun Lee really impressed me when I went there about 2 years ago. The soft-shell crab might have been the best I've had, including NY Noodletown.

I was there once in the Fall of '01 and had the tasting menu, in order to get a broad representation of the menu. Other than two dishes (one of which was a seared tuna, which is not difficult to do well), the food simply was not that good. One dish, squab, should have been served with a saw, as it was impossible to penetrate with a knife. Really cool atmosphere. Probably fun with a large group.

Planning dinner for two on Valentine's Day (yes, I know, that's amateur night for fine dining!). Need a table around 5:30, since we have theater tickets. I understand Nougatine is cheaper and less formal, which is fine by us. How would the food there compare to the main dining room at Jean Georges? Another question I have is whether Nougatine offers a tasting menu, how much it is and whether it might be possible to be finished by 7:30. Any thoughts?

Actually, Paula, can you elaborate a bit on your experience? Did you feel rushed or that you received inadequate service?

That's disappointing, since I'll be going for the first time this Saturday evening. Still, I imagine the prix fixe menu will be enjoyable. I also noticed that their Web site is down, with a message about non-payment. Maybe they're cash-strapped, and thus the behavior.

ironically i do go to bars, smoke occasionally, but still wouldn't mind seeing smoking go bye-bye, if only to make the law consistent. if there's one thing i hate it's inconsistency. if there's another thing i hate it's people not recognizing the inconsistency in their arguments, for or against.