glenn

Our restaurant is considering using this service and we're interested in learning about any experiences anyone has had with them.

Put it up for a vote! :)) Granted, I don't have the most discriminating palette in the world, but I stand by my opinion. I've never thought much of the food at Katz's and it always amazed me that they're constantly in the various "best" lists. But then again, so are Corner Bistro's hamburgers. So much for public opinon. The fact that I've continued to eat at Katz's for so many years attests that I haven't let my distaste for their "tipping policy" sway my opinion. I honestly don't think their food rates more than a satisfactory, except for the great hot dogs. On the contrary, I love good pastrami, have been going to kosher and kosher style delis since I was a wee tot (and remember when there used to be a deli on virtually every block), and I think 2nd Ave. Deli's pastrami ranks high up there. Not the best in the world, but better than Katz'. I'd love to hear other opinions, but my opinion stands. Now, just as importantly, who makes the best knish? Specifically, kasha and potato (round, not square), my favorites. I think Moishe's is good, but to me they don't taste completely fresh. The best I've had was on Grand St. and in, NJ, Bergenfield and Ft. Lee, though I can't remember the names of the delis.

I hate being blackmailed. Let them increase the prices and pay the sandwich guys more. I recall my first such experience with the blackmailers -- I was unaware of the custom, and being young and poor, I balked at giving the guy any money and got a small very fatty sandwich. Regardless, I wouldn't buy a pastrami sandwich at Katz's no matter what the price. It's a chancy proposition - quality wise - as far as I'm concerned. I don't know about inhouse or outhouse, but I know what I like, and the pastrami at 2nd Ave. Deli is far superior to my palette. I also give high marks to Ben's. And sigh, goodbye to the wonderful sandwiches at the Carnegie Deli.

I've been eating at Katz' for 25 years, and FRANKly, I never thought they rated anything more than average. The meat, as previously stated, is unpredictable. It's been a few years since I've eaten there, but I always found if you didn't tip the sandwich guy (and get in return a few gratuitous slices while he was making the sandwich), the sandwich really sucked and was small. Some people may say that's a beloved Katz' tradition, but I thought it was/is obnoxious. The only reason I kept going back was for their great hot dogs and fries, though the fries seemed to have gone downhill the last few times I ate there. And 25 years ago it was a trip to eat with all the sleazy hookers an drug addicts. But times have changed and now they get a Sunshine Theater type crowd, i.e., yuppies. And their knishes basically suck, being a notch above the ones you buy from street vendors, but that problem was circumvented by stopping in that knish place just up the street (Moishe's??) and sneaking them in. Is that as bad as sneaking in egg foo young to the cineplex? Anyhow, it pays to go a little ways up to the 2nd Avenue Deli and get the best jewish deli food in nyc. And if atmosphere is what you're looking for, the 2nd Ave. Deli does a whole lot more for me than the depressing atmosphere at Katz'.

Ain't it a weird location??!! I don't know of any location on Kennedy, I think you're referring to the Summit HOuse on Summit by the JSQ path. Your friend was right though, the Terhune locale is better, no comparison. I've eaten at both locales about half dozen times. Terhune has the atmosphere and I think the food is noticeably better. I've gotten mixed service at the Terhune locale, but it's forgiveable since the servers are usually very friendly and seem like they've been working there since 1922. I once had to wait for a check for an eternity because our waitress was having coffee with diners at another table. I've only ordered the basic stuff, i.e., veal parmigana, rolatini, pasta and the like, and always found it filling and decent. I like the heaping salad that comes with every meal. I wish they would improve the bread and desserts though. The bread tastes like an italian bread bought at pathmark. This place definitely should be included in the neighborhood joint thread.

owen, re the price of Meinl -- my cost for 4 bags (500g) was just over $11/bag, which includes shipping. Not bad. When you go to checkout, you get a credit for VAT if you don't live in a EU country. jaybee -- day 3 on the meinl and the verdict is in. this time you took the words (word, actually) out of my mouth -- bland. Perhaps it's unfair for me to be judging at this point -- I've been drinking graffeo dark for 2 weeks (1st time trying graffeo). The graffeo is strong and has quite a kick to it, quite the opposite of the meinl. I generally like to switch between mild and strong coffees, but I find myself craving the graffeo after a few days of being w/o it. I'm curious to learn what your experience is with the meinl as espresso, though it seems much to mild for that purpose. Anyone care to express a vote for their favorite mild coffee?

I was so tempted to ask, but I figgered i'd let nosey rosie do it.

My first inclination was to say a decent restaurant in Jersey City, but I think I said that a few million times. Actually, it surprises me that Jersey City doesn't have a decent Filipino restaurant. There's a large Filipino population here, but all that's here is the fast food places that keep the food warm all day long (possibly all week long). For that matter, I don't know of a decent Filipino restaurant in all of NJ - nor nyc any more. The excellent one on 14th St. is no longer there from what I hear, and Cendrillon, a Filipino fusion place on Mercer, has been going further and further downhill the past 2 years.

Today was day 2 trying the Meinl, King Hadhramaut, the premium blend. I use a french press. It was pretty mild, which I like, and flavorful. Nothing extraordinary though, but the jury's still out. I need to experiment a little bit.

eGullet.com See my post about coffees in the general seciton. Click here

Ok, this topic is of much interest to me, so can we come up with a list. Question though, would a separate list be necessary for espresso or do you use the same bean for both? Anyway, my vote goes to graffeo dark (used with a french press) as my favorite so far. [then again, I haven't tried that many so called quality beans.] I'm curious about anyone's experience with the lighter blend as I've never tried it.

I've got a few days before I'm out of Graffeo and will try the Meinl. If you like dark roast, I highly endorse Graffeo. Will report back on the meinl.

Well, I think that leads to a much broader topic... many restaurant owners have no business owning a restaurant. It seems many intelligent people lose half their brain cells when they buy a restaurant. It is not a good businessman that falls for a sales pitch about something he knows nothing about and doesn't bother to take the time learn about it. Ignorance is no excuse, for most people anyway. [And as long as we're talking about ignorance, independance is definately way up there.]

Basically, I am a slow learner (read -- idiot) when it comes to anything mechanical. Add lack of patience to my character defects. Both are not endearing qualities to the espresso making ritual. Having said that, I have come a lot further than I ever thought I would in producing a shot --- the mere fact that I was able to do so and have it come out passable (as good as the designated busboy makes it) amazes me. However, the Grimes article made me realize that there is so much more involved to making a great shot. Jeez, I never in a million years would've thunk the cup needed to be preheated until I read the Grimes article. [i don't believe he mentioned how you heat the cup -- is it "permissible" to nuke it, or do you have to put it on the cup warmer on the machine?] And the pressure?? I thought the machine took care of this?? But I guess not. At least not entirely. You and Bux "scared" me off from getting a machine similarly to the Grimes article -- you laid it on the line, that espresso making is not for a lazy ass like myself who doesn't have the patience to go through learning the scientific process and then learning the "art". But I am coming around, slowly but surely. Since our previous discussion, I have been much more discerning and critical of the coffee and espresso I drink, and my taste buds have become more sophisticated. In the past, I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between shots, and I don't think I ever really thought about it that much. I never knew such a world existed. But now that I've had some excellent shots, I can appreciate good espresso. I've become snobbish and refuse to order espresso or coffee from just anywhere. Yes, I want very much to get a machine, and it's very much on my mind, but at this point I don't have either the patience to completely embrace myself in the science of espresso making and then all the experimentation that will follow. And if I do muster the motivation, I'm not sure I could maintain such enthusiasm - my fear is I'll have yet another coffee "device" sitting in my kitchen cabinet gathering dust. I dunno. Right now I'm kicking around the idea of having our sales rep from the coffee company come in to give me a lesson or two. What's particularly irksome is my inabiltiy to produce a shot with the crema just right. [is levazza that bad? should i get them to change?] I use the French press regularly. I've got the graffeo (dark) down to a science --- about 55 grams for 28 oz. of water, and plunge after 3:40. The rocky helps immensely.. I've got it on the coarsest setting and that seems perfect.

I gotta take issue with you here. If a restaurant chooses to post their menu (with or w/o prices), they are obligated to keep it up to date as well as all the other info. So sez glenn. Seriously, a restaurant has no business having a menu posted that is not accurate. If they cannot maintain it, or afford to have it maintained, then the menu simply shouldn't be posted. Put signature dishes on w/o prices or something like that. The Jerry's website was a nightmare to maintain since the menu was constantly changing, but we did it. And it was costly. If a restaurant has a menu on its site, then I believe it's an indication of amateurism not to keep it up to date and probably a reflection of how the restaurant operates. And definately is definately the most missspelt word on the net.

Our restaurant carries some wines from Yugoslavia that come from small vineyards [the owner has rights to the majority of the harvest]. Just curious what people's thoughts are of Yugoslav wines. I am a complete novice, but I do know what I like, and I love the sauvignon blanc... it's called Simcic (pronounced Simchich). Anyone hear of it?

I got the King Hadhramaut, 4 500g bags. That seems to be the premium blend. I love the graffeo and if it's at least as good, I'll be one happy camper, or at least almost tolerable to deal with in the morning. Nah, think I'll try it the old fashioned way, with a sledgehammer . Speaking of which, I love the Rocky and am now tempted to get an espresso machine, though the Grimes article made me think twice about that, not to mention being scared off by Steve and Bux. I've also been practicing making espresso at work where whe have a professional machine and haven't come close to perfection... we use Lav... beans, or whatever it's called. I do have a couple of gripes about the rocky --- i had to detach the cup holder since I'm not using it for espresso and put a bowl underneath the doser... it really detracts from its appearance, not to mention it's a bit of a hassle. More importantly, and I don't know if this is typical with the Rocky, I have to give it a shake or 2 while it's grinding to get all the beans to grind. I hope this is not harming the machine.

Click here for Meinl It's uncanny.... I placed an order over the weekend and rec'd it Tuesday. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, still finishing up my graffeo.

Didn't I turn YOU on to Amanda's? :confused: And YEESH, are you suggesting braving Washington St. on a weekend night? And Amanda's is packed on the weekends! And did you forget you're talking to someone who'd rather have a miserable meal with lousy service and ridiculous prices in a place that only served ground pepper rather than put up with hordes of people??? Or eat my wife's cooking???

thereuare, as long as you clarified your view of Oddfellows, I'll take you off my probation list of PPUR [persons providing unreliable referrals]. I'm a little confused though, why do you have to get married twice? Seriously, thanks for the info on Lighthouse, congrats on the upcoming nuptials and awfully sorry to hear about your China 46 experience.

haha... they initiated recession tuesday, wednesday and thursdays because you're completely broke after eating there on the weekend. I can't believe I paid $75 for two (including a 7.5% tip) with no drinks. Jeez, hell's Kitchen cost less and I had 2 margaritas. They'll be out of biz before the year is up, so sez Carnac.

Rosie, inquiring minds want to know, what's the skinny on this place? It's your job to find out these things! And I had to check, but it is BERNARD'S INN, unless they spelled [spelt??] their name wrong on their website.. http://www.bernardsinn.com/ . [and bernardsvile wasn't a typo!]

Hmmm... not sure what you're referring to, except possibly the new place that was supposed to open in or right around liberty state park but got delayed because of 9/11, or so the rumor has it. And your place Cascina was closed today. Why not, it's only the busiest day of the year! So we were able to get the last reservation at hell's Kitchen... not to go into detail, but I can't believe we waited 2 years to go back there. That place is so original - the spices and dishes quite imaginative. And dang, did it feel good to eat in a real restaurant for a change.

The other brain cell kicked in... it's called Cafe Newport and I believe it's at the end of washington.