Eatmywords

Yup. Sri Lankan place in Flushing. They bring out a big pile of grey matter on a plate. ← Are you thinking of the Indonesian we went to, Minangasli? Meehan reviewed it. Was a little bland but def worth a try if you like that stuff: http://events.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/dinin...ews/01unde.html

You don't think the problem could be that E.vlgrs live too close to one of the better coctail bars in NY? Just kidding but seriously, I bet they intended of serving more food. Just that the cocktails are too good. Small plates or not the menu is somewhat ambitious......salmon/fillet tartare, oysters, procuito wrapped pears, etc etc......that's real food cost.....not like they're defrosting pigs n a blanket or opening a bag of nachos

They're willing to drop some cash people! Can't we do better than Burger Joint? Shake shack is another solar system for their needs. And since when is it so bad to smell like food? (not that I've ever smelt of a grilled burger unless I was making it)

Any price, ayy? In that case I vote Sugiyama. Assuming you like (or willing to try)a kaiseki style meal. It's an experience for sure. http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7143...y/sugiyama.html

lunch/dinner? one meal/several? going solo?

My spice tollerance is pretty lame (I prefer low to med). Nothing was spicy-hot. I don't see how they could have toned it down just for us as these 2 apps are obviously pre-made. The Jewel was great

Could I just say all of Little Italy? I yack when visitors ask to be taken there. Way over priced, boring and bad pizzeria-style food. I know it's good for tourism but I just can't stand it.

Yea, had a really nice super cheap lunch with a 6 eg'rs on Sat. Started with signature crab/pork and pork (only) soup dumplings. Skin was a tad thick and we had a bit of a hard time distinguishing btwn them (i.e little light on the crab mt) but still, they were both very good and no one scolded their tongue! Pan fried pork dumplings (2 orders) were above the norm. Soft on the sides with a crispy bottom. Scallion pancake was nothing spl. Spicy cabbage was interesting. Had a slightly fermented alkaline bite which I wasn't crazy about. Still, was decent. Spicy 8 Jewel. 8 ingredients, including beef, pork, soy beans, nuts, peppers and who knows what else served cold in a sweetish brown sc. Lots of flavors going on. I wish I could remember the other ingredients. (help) Really liked Ox tongue and Triples (-ie tripe, funny typo) w/spicy flavor (not spicy at all). Beef jerkyish texture (not as dry or tough), a bit sweet, awesome app. Mains: Shanghai Pan fried noodles w/chicken, pork, shrimp, brocoli over crispy and soft noodles (depending on where the sc was). Enjoyed the dual textures and the abundence of meats. As you can see, they don't skimp on the portions. We were going to try the whole eel from the Nyr's menu bot got talked out of it by waitron #4. Instead the eel and chives. A little salty but I liked the slurpy consistency. Long eel slivers sauteed chives in a thick brown sc. Liked it very much. Finally, Tong Po braised Pork w/steamed buns and baby bok choy accented w/star annise. (refer to Larry Lee's pic in Midtown Lunch thread). Pork could have been a little fattier and tad moist"er" but was still delicious in a steamed bun w/baby bok choy. Was a bit like brisket which I love anyway. All this, (plus a beer each) for $17 a person (thats including tax and a 20% tip). Can you beat that? Plus it was great to catch up with fellow posters.

The only one I've been to and was pretty good from what I remember (was like 7yrs ago) is Vegetarian Dim Sum on Doyers. Lots of vegie dumplings, faux duck, pork, chicken shaped tofu. Not bad if you like that sort of stuff. Heard of is Buddha Bodai, never been. http://www.menupages.com/restaurants.asp?a...edResturantIds=

Funny, my girl and I were exploring this area (E.Chinatown/E.Broadway) just last week after Golden Unicorn dim sum. It feels so raw. So many storefronts w/no English. We found 88 Palace dim sum mentioned in the article and made a mental to go next time. Anyone been? Does it compare to Unicorn (w/I feel is perhaps the best) or Jing Fong w/I is pretty standard/uneventful.

Like where (and do they have the meat buffet)? There's like a 100 places in Flushing alone. http://www.koreanrestaurantguide.com/data/ny/flushing_3.htm

I've had K-bbq many times but never was I given the option of choosing the raw meats buffet style as you described. I would be very interested to try it. Is there a name for this style of bbq? Maybe an eg'r can rec a place that does similar (assuming you can't find this one)?

I want to thank Eatmywords for the wonderful suggestion of Ava Lounge. It was fantastic and my staff truly enjoyed themselves. We arrived a little after 10 (following Damon Wayans at Carolines - hillarious). What struck me about the place was its size. Its much smaller than I had imagined. The view and the "vibe" were spectacular. We were lucky to get our own little area below the picture window looking out at Times Square. Drinks were decent (the Key Lime Martini was a standout however) but quite pricey - a little shocked with the final tab. All in all a perfect night. BTW, the food at Carmines while not great was pretty solid (especially the porterhouse). ← My pleasure dude!

of course it's b.s. (at the popular restaurants). heck, as I pointed out on the EMP thread, they'll do more covers on a regular weekend (a. they'll turn fewer tables; b. couples sitting at four and six tops). the whole thing is cynical. ← Not necessarily true.....I don't have the stats but many of the "popular" restaurants do more covers on Valentine's day than the avg Fri/Sat. -Deuces don't linger as long. Couples will accept early/late slots. Courses come faster (easier to time a room of deuces than muti sized parties) and as for seating deuces at 4tops and larger, most find a way to turn just about the entire room into deuces.

do you think they'll ask him why he didn't call first?

You're right I didn't call and ask "Say, I know you're a Danny Meyer restaurant and all but he doesn't like morph into Jeffrey Chodorow just for the day does he? You're not going to refuse to serve me cause I'm like a loser, right?" As for your first point, it's clear that you're unfamiliar with the layout of EMP. I also highly doubt that their turnover was any greater than a normal friday or saturday. in fact, it would have been less (more tasting menus....longer meals). oh, and the bar was half empty (as it always is) ← Because it was your bday (its apparent in your posts how upset you are/were) you're simply incapable of looking at this rationally. Regardless the layout, whether there's enough room for an army they didn't want to risk diners taking up space at the bar for prolonged periods (on this beloved holiday). It was part of the ambience they wanted to create. Btw, while I've never eaten in EMP I know the layout. (we went for brunch but they weren't open for another half hr. I should've called).

Bottom line is they determined eating at the bar would pose problems. It makes sense. Turnover is much greater on Vday ie pressure on the kitchen. Plus you (and potentially others) might have obstructed the trickle down from the bar to the tables. They didn't want to chance it.......that's all.........nothing personal. Did I ask why you didn't call first? oh yea, I did.

Obviously, they didn't want you hitting on anyone's date. Granted, it sucks they discontinued the tasting at the bar but you have to know Vday is that once a year insanity that turns normal operations into "whatever works best". You should have known better. You should have called. Really, does this deserve complaining?

For sure not the best but Rai Rai is a trip. The super slim, worn in wooden bar reminds me of a couple places my fam took me to in Tokyo.....very authentic. The tight seating (aprx 15 stools), smell of gyoza and everything else prepared inches from your nose makes for a unique and memorable NY experience. And it's in a great location, E.Vlg (2 blks N. of St.Marks)....perfect for walking around. For $7 large ramen w/assorted ingredients you can't go wrong........esp for tourists on a budget I think it's a good call.

I agree Mark's sentiments over Nathan's. The menu is more impressive than the execution. If you want Batali influenced offal chk out Casa Mono

I think shellygirl is correct, read the description; http://sfbayaxis.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv...e=Hot_Chocolate

Everybody's got an opinion about Chinatown. My wife and I like the tong-po pork (~$10, maybe more) at New Yeah Shanghai. It's a braised pork dish that has a wonderful flavor, served with clamshell-shaped white buns and will easily feed four. Here's a pic. FYI, David Chang serves a fancier (and more expensive, and smaller) version of this at Momofuku. We like starting off with an order (~$3, 8 pcs per order) of pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao). If you haven't had them before, be very careful when eating them because they're filled with very hot broth. We actually like the dumplings at Shanghai Moon House (a few storefronts away) better because the broth is lighter and less fatty, but... whatever. If you like, you could even hop around several restaurants and just do a xiao long bao tasting. That's always fun. I also recommend getting a vegetable dish, like the baby bok choy and black mushrooms. It's probably also less than $10. I can't always find the dish on the menu but if you just say "baby bok choy and mushrooms," they should know. If you're somehow still hungry afterward and craving something sweet, go to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory next door. Or you can go to the tea house just south of the nearby Haagen-Dazs for toast with condensed milk, etc. ← Just wanted to chime that this post epitomizes the perfect way to do C-town......nice going Larry. The Yeah braised pork pic is making me crazy. I must go this wknd!

Platt bashes then commends......likes food/desserts but not the space.......finishes with an avg star rating (2/6) w/seems uneven given the praise http://nymag.com/restaurants/reviews/27741/index.html

Maybe it's just me, but I believe the "cheesier" (more Americanized) the restaurant the better the Pad Thai usually is. After all, they have to distiguish their most popular dish from the field. It sucked at Pam too. I wonder how many orders Srip does.