glenn

Not to be the stick in the mud that I am, but I wonder about driving after having 5+ glasses of wine. We really need to an eglutton bus.

Hedonistic, gluttonny and P-I-G are the words that come to mind after attending this gastronomic event, that is, the wine dinner last night. And I mean that in a GOOD way, VERY GOOD. Five courses (salad, pasta, venison, filet mignon and dessert) paired with a wine, unlimited glasses. Every course was superb, though kudos to the venison and steak. The menu is here. I especially liked the bordeaux that accompanied the steak, though by that time I was in no condition to make any intelligent judgments. Amanda's remains one of the finest all-around restaurants in the area. Service was impeccable. Any place that regularly fills my water glass catches my heart ;-). Seriously, I never felt more catered to at any restaurant. A few minor complaints. They failed to inform us that there was an 18% gratuity, either on the phone when making the reservation or when presented the check. I hate when that happens. Next, the cheapo c-fold towels in the restroom were rough on my tender hands. Third, they should have served a more decadent chocolate dessert. And last, they should issue a STRONG recommendation not to drive for those who can't hold 10 or so glasses of wine. Add to the expense the cab ride home and the ticket I probably have on my car now. ;-(

when is this? sorry, too lazy to read 4 pages of ________. ;-)

Hey Rosie, thanks for the tip on Amanda's wine lover's dinner on Wed, just made reservations. What a great idea on the restaurant's part. Next thing ya know, restaurants will capitalize and dedicate a whole week to VD.

The abridged version -- Rosie and Arthur had a love affair on the air, he called her a queen and a princess, lots of valentine's day stuff, nj monthly voting and lots of shameful self promotion ;-)

Hey Queenie, great show!

Too high? Too low? If you get much lower than 25%, I think yout prices are approaching scandalous ;-) Ok, my worthless opinion on all this. If I get wronged in a restaurant or basically in any dealing, I generally only care about a sincere apology. And to push the envelope, that hopefully the restaurant or whomever learned something and takes steps to prevent the mishap in the future. If I'm not out any money, like I don't have to get my levis dry cleaned because the server spilled a bottle of wine, the apology is all that's important to me.

Not to stray from the subject (god forbid) - but can someone please explain the rationale for excluding liquor? I have seen gift certificates with this caveat way too often and I scratch my head each time. The cost of liquor (to the establishment) is far less than it is for food. Usually around 25& to 30% with a much smaller labor cost than it is for food. Am I missing a part of the equation?

The recitation of specials with or without prices is bothersome for people like me, that is, brain dead with no retention. I don't understand why restaurants can change menus frequently but can't print the specials daily.

I'd be interested in learning any of the details concerning why they closed. This place opened only a short time ago (2 years?) to good reviews and I believe a *** rating in the NYT. I'm assuming it closed for lack of business. I wonder how much the loss of chef Yeo impacted business. [in the interests of full disclosure, I worked in its previous incarnation, Flowers, which was owned by the same party that owned AZ. I'm also working on a project and may want to include any relevant material.]

But thanks for trying. ;-) I'm just guessing, but I think some places would accomodate by printing up a special menu without prices. With computers, it's no big deal. If it's a party of about 8 or more, it should be even less of a problem.

So, what is your suggestion? Leave $100 for the "regular" service staff and another $25 or whatever for the captain? Which would calculate to 25% instead of 20%. I don't agree/disagree, just trying to understand the point. And if it is your opinion to leave $125, then are you saying that when there's a captain, one should tip more?

ccoking.com has the magnum plus in stock and ships to Canada. I join the crowd in praise of the Magnum. I also have a Perfex, which is a helluvalot prettier than the Magnum, but that's all it's good for, looking pretty. And I admit to having the Perfex salt mill also, but I never used it. Anyone looking to buy a very pretty salt and pepper mill combo?

Based on that philosophy, hereafter known as THE tommy PHILOSOPHY, he'll get around to eating at Fascino sometime in 2006 or so. I'm surprised at some of the responses coming from a bunch of eglutton elitist foodies (is that what we are?). I think it's pretty pansy ass to wait until you have the security of reviews and other people saying it's ok to go eat somewhere. No sense of adventure.

Insist that the fearless forum leader go there promptly and issue a detailed review post haste. If that fails, be adventurous, be a guinea pig, and you issue a detailed review. Seriously, I love checking out new places, as long as they're within MY geographic sphere, which is pretty limited much of the time. As far as giving a place a chance to iron out the kinks, baloney. If their doors are open and they're taking your loot, they better be offering something of value in return.

A thousand apologies, I had no idea. I edited my post accordingly.

Cheap eats......... Kitchenette – Broadway & Duane (plus a new place upstate, or uptown - same difference) - if for nothing else, go there for the peanut butter chocolate cupcake and/or the brownies. But there’s lots of other great items. They serve among the best brunches in the city (standouts include pancakes, thick bacon, french toast, home fries), as well as great lunches, but stick to the hearty sandwiches and soups. I never had dinner there. Comfort food on the cheap, under $15. Cowgirl (formerly Cowgirl Hall of Fame) – Hudson St. & 10th St. - it’s kind of hard to justify a Tex Mex / Cajun place as uniquely NY, but this place is an original. It’s cheesy, festive and fun. There's lots of novelty items including the infamous ice cream baked potato. The food is not amazing or anything, but it’s good ol’ fattening comfort food. Cheap, under $15. Pakistan Tea House – Church St. – although I’m not overly familiar with Pakistani food, I’m sure there are lots of better places in the city. But I highly doubt any place is a better value. Zillions of dishes, mostly vegetarian. Everything tastes fresh, probably because of the high turnover. The décor is minimalist, no, make that non-existent, but who cares? You’d be hard pressed to spend $10.

Pan, I posted early on about Eisenberg's. I'll try to think of more. Thanks for your reviews -- your mini-review motivated me to check out Madras tomorrow as I'll be in the area.

Btw, back to my worthless opinion -- lists without explanation are worthless. Like someone said, you might as well just read Zagat.

Ohmygod, please tell me about your experience(s)!! And have you looked at the prices lately, like in the last year? Well, I suppose you could find a combo of app, entree and dessert to fall below $50, but that's WITHOUT tax and tip. [and jeez soba, I used to respect you :-))]

That's what I thought we were talking about, that is, cheap eats. Maybe I misunderstood. Personally, I'd prefer to see what kind of an eclectic list we all can come up with of cheapo restaurants. And I would confine it to Manhattan; otherwise the list would be limitless. And after we're done with such a list, then move on to a list of "non-fancy" places. :-)) I also thought we were only including quintessential NY places. Last, I agree with previous comments that anyone that recommends a place needs to write a few sentences or so about why the place should be included. Anyway, just my worthless opinions.

I strongly disagree with $30. With a glass of wine, tax and tip, that's about $100 for 2. Without the wine, it's $75 for 2. I don't mean this in any sort of offensive way, just an observation, but this board has mostly leaned towards discussing the more expensive places. I guess $30 seems cheap from that perspective. There are plenty of places that are a lot cheaper and worthy of being on a best of list, chinatown joints being a prime example.

Good point and that is certainly the experience I've had with almost every place I've worked for. They've all gone under, so I guess you have to depreciate the business 50% once I get hired :-). HOwever, just sort of thinking out loud, a restaurant built from scratch should retain much of the value from the contracting expense, i.e., plumbing, kitchen construction, electrical, HVAC and other miscellaneous construction. And I wonder how much of that $12 million Keller is spending is being spent on such things. Furniture is probably almost worthless to a potential buyer, but it is not a major expense compared to other items.

Forget it, you're stuck. I wanna get my mitts on those fries before you inhale them all.

An investment, no matter how large, is (mostly) irrelevant to profit. From an accounting standpoint, the investment is capitalized and in no way affects the profit and loss statement except for interest expense, depreciation and amortization. From a practical standpoint, a portion of the investment would be recouped upon the sale of the business.