bpearis

Aren't taro leaves the plant that gave Jeffrey Steingarten fits and extreme mouth discomfort in the first article in It Must Have Been Something I Ate? In his case, they were raw, I'm pretty sure.

Coulda sworn NY Mag dissed them too, but now i've lost the link.

of course, sripraphai is the real standard for thai -- but maybe you're talking manhattan. and angon is certainly a contender.

I was there as well last night -- had the achar gosht, chicken dopeaja, and a "mina's special" which was a seafood biriany (shrimp, tilapia, some other kind of fish). everything was great, just super delicious -- and no tummy trouble this time (i too have suffered on occasion in the past). it's not cheap -- $60 with three beers, tax and tip -- but it is certainly worth it.

Sharing is totally the way to go. You could order one or two appetizers and two mains and it won't be too much food for two people. Halim, samosa chat, achar gosht, chicken dopeaja, fish kofta curry, dhal fry, all good choices. You can also ask the waiter to let Mina (not the waiter) choose something to compliment the other choices and she won't do you wrong.

i think that was pancakes. that platter was all sugary stuff. it was a great episode last night. nobody does fights (the verbal kind) like the gilmore girls.

I had OTTO's hot chocolate on Saturday and found it a little too hazelnut-y for my tastes. The whipped cream on top was delicious, though. That front bar room is a real scene on early Saturday evenings...

That's a hit... on the WB.

Gilmore Girls is one of the best-written shows on TV. It has to be, otherwise something like this would disolve into pure whimsy (it comes close sometimes). Season Two was probably the best but even at worst it's still better than most of the crap on TV. It's not just food references, either. What other show would reference Borges, Grey Gardens, The Shaggs, Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny, have Grant Lee Philips as the town troubador (absent this season so far), Norman Mailer as the show's idea of a celebrity cameo, etc? ABC Family shows reruns every day at 5pm EST. Yesterday's episode was when they all "slept with the zuchini," to bring it around to food again. Also, the very first episode of season one has a one-take sequence of Sookie in the kitchen nearly causing accidents at every turn was worthy of Scorsese. Anyone that says this show is just for chicks is an idiot.

This is pretty much how i feel about Fornino, a little too much topping. And those pizzas in the third category, I can't bring myself to order one there's so much going on. It seems like Fornino is on one end, and Una Pizza the other, with too little topping for my taste (thought the crust is great). It is certainly a great addition to the neighborhood. Fornino delivers but the pizzas, somewhat unsurprisingly, don't travel so well. But if you're willing to pop them in a hot oven for five minutes they come back to life pretty well.

The show is Iron Chef, not Authenticity Chef. Those grits did seem a bit busy, though.

I'm sure just being on Iron Chef would make you want to learn to use a pressure cooker -- it could be handy with all sorts of things, give the time constraints. I also found it odd that almost none of Jeffrey's tasting comments made it into the final show, but he got more action in the middle of the show than usual. And as to the use of the tasting spoons... they're just doing it like they'd do in their restaurants.

That beef and pickled mango dish is on the menu now, I really liked that. I've found if you let Mina just make stuff for you, you can't go wrong. The few missteps I've experienced have been from letting one of the non-Asian waitstaff (who seem to know nothing about the food there) reccomend something that usually turns out to be something on the bland side.

From tetsujustin's Jewel Bako report from the Eating in New York thread... As of this week, that wall doesn't exist. JB is expanding into the space next door. While the dining room will remain untouched, the wall in the sushi bar room is coming down and the sushi bar willl be expanded (though not sure exactly how much). The other side of the restaurant will be Jewel Bako Robata, the Japanese grill thing, though you can get any of the food in either side of the restaurant. The omakase will incorporate robata items into it as well. This is what Shimizu-san and Jack Lamb told me when I was there last week, at least. They hoped to open January 24. It was supposed to open a month ago, and did for one day, but the grills weren't getting hot enough and Jack decided to close it down until they could do it right. My meal was almost identical to tetsujustin's. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. The sushi was all amazing as usual, but felt some of the apps lacked the magic that they usually have. Plus, with trying to get the other side open, Jack was absent for most of the meal and his flowery descriptions of the food (and the sake and wine, if you do the pairings). That said, I had barracuda (blowtorched with sea salt and lemon) for the first time and that was awesome. Jewel Bako has been my favorite NYC splurge restaurant for three years and have no doubt will remain so. Jewel Bako also seems to have raised the price of omakase from $85 to $100 which stung a little when I've had such perfect dining experiences there in the past. I chalk it up to the kitchen being compromised somewhat from the renovations. I have to imagine once it gets up and running and serving American kobe and other delicacies, the will be gunning for a lead review in the Times, which is where a restaurant of this caliber belongs (not in the $25-and-under column which it was initially placed). But I worry that some of the charm of the original tiny space will be lost. We shall see.

He can't lower prices, it's the only way he can afford to only be open four days a week.

I am eating the Roast Pork Italian as we speak. Having not been to the Philly location, I can't judge against it -- but this sandwich is very, very f-ing good.

Slice weighs in with an in-depth report on DeMarco's.

Nice article by eG's own JJ Goode in the new issue of Time Out NY on outer-borrough faves opening Manhattan outposts -- Angon, Sezchuan Gourmet, Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches and DeMarco's. Maybe this will give Angon a well-deserved boost. I need to go back soon.

Jewel Bako is only open for dinner.

How about tweaking this one a bit: Doner Party Kabab House

Unless they've changed since I went last year, Koi serves the gigantic American style sushi that is really hard to eat in one bite (unless you're okay with looking like a chipmunk). In particular, a peice of eel sushi the fish extended at least two inches off the rice on both ends. How are you supposed to eat that? Their fish is very fresh, but there is no comparison to Jewel Bako in my opinion.

This review has in spades what is missing in Bruni's -- multiple references to sexually transmitted diseases. Les Halles has the best fries I've ever eaten. My weren't burnt, though.

Always closed on Wednesdays, yes.

More unbelievable than Sandler playing a chef of Keller's status is that his character doesn't know a lick of Spanish. None at all (although this drives some of the funniest moments in the film). I like James L. Brooks a lot, but it's obvious he's never spent time in a restaurant kitchen.

Luger's and Shake Shack are in the 100 list, just not the top ten.