spaetzle_maker

The photography in Uyeda's book is delectable.

Agreed that's a fine drink though if the vermouth in question is that fresh and that good I'm more likely to go the Bamboo route or maybe even just on the rocks with a twist. I drank a frightful amount of vermouth on the rocks this last summer, and didn't regret it one bit. I've always liked a 1:1 ratio in my martini, but worried it meant I was unsophisticated I'll have to try a 1:2 ratio but I am wondering what the "Bamboo route" is?

← The churros are amazing too!

That's pretty curious about the wine - At ssam bar, I've always been served wine in a normal wine glass. At noodle bar, however, wine has been served in a small juice glass.

Last night, I enjoyed the Smoked Palomino: amontillado sherry, mezcal, grapefruit, lime, salted rim. Perfectly balanced, deliciously smokey. Totally blew my mind and is probably now my favorite cocktail in nyc. Close contenders for favorite are the Watermelon Sugar and the Whoopsy Daisy.

nicknormile, welcome to the boards! What a wonderful post!

Huh? You mean the dijon spaetzle?

What a wonderful and well deserved review!

no celery ← I've had that dish a few times with varying amounts of celery. I think the time that it had the most celery in it was that night that you (Kathryn) had it. I happen to love this dish - I can't get enough of that nigori, chamomile broth. I also enjoyed some dijon spaetzle with a duck crepinette (sp?). Delicious. I approve of their spaetzle

You might want to try Russ & Daughters.

Definitely! Definitely! I feel like I caught onto those late in the game. They're delicious. Even when I'm not planning to order them, something is amiss in the world when they're not in the menu...

I'm curious about what's going on too. I remember Kevin telling me that they were definitely going to be shaking things up in the menu - I wasn't sure when that was supposed to happen, but from the size of the menu, it seems that it'll probably be soon? Something about homemade rice cakes and pasta amongst some other things? I didn't get the feeling that they were going to be more of a bar with snacks though... I think that the food is just going to be a lot different. I agree about those scallops - really delicious.

We went there, right? I completely agree - it was fine, but not more than that. And we tried a lot of different dishes. I think it said the new chef has been there for 4 months, which would include that visit . . . Off night? We didn't order well? The review surprised me. ← Yes! That's exactly the visit that I was thinking of. It was towards the end of May, or in early June. We ordered a variety of dishes - I don't recall anything that evoked a "WD-50 meets Lupa" impression. Perhaps these dishes hadn't yet been introduced on the menu? Most of what we ordered was traditional trattoria style food - I remember the pizza being slightly disappointing and the pastas were good, but I didn't find them to be as good as Lupa. Well, I look forward to hearing more impressions about Perbacco and some more menu recommendations.

When did the new chef arrive? I went there towards the end of May and found the food fine enough. It wasn't anything I'd rave about though.

That's very interesting.

I've really enjoyed the fried chicken (with cornbread) at Redhead. I've only had one cocktail there - a jalapeno infusion. I remember enjoying that cocktail immensely, but am kind of fuzzy on the details aside from the fact that jalapeno was a major flavor component (it was a gin based cocktail). Currently, they are closed for dinner on Sunday and Monday.

I normally eat at ssam bar on sundays. I cheated on them for that burger. I guess "you get what you get".

I wouldn't say that the meal was "bad", but I didn't find it revelatory or even as enjoyable as some other similarly priced options in the neighborhood (Redhead, for instance). My statement about green vs. purple broccoli wasn't a statement that the dish was bad - I actually thought it was "pretty good". But thanks for the info. If purple broccoli is only subtly purple, that's really probably not something I would be able to see. As far as the burger goes, it would have been good if there were some more toppings that can add back moisture into the overall product. That's precisely why I ordered it with cheese, but unfortunately, it didn't come with much cheddar on it. The bacon was extremely good though once it came back crispy. I guess I could have asked for more cheese when I asked for crispy bacon, but then I run the risk of sounding as crotchety as my grandmother. Not that she would eat bacon. Or cheese with a hamburger.

The fregola with corn and marscopone was good - I would have enjoyed the guanciale if it had been cooked. It would have added some contrast to the texture and provided more depth of flavor. But I love the way the corn mimics the size and color of the fregola - that's a combination that I've been enjoying a lot the past few summers at restaurants in the city (Otto and Babbo come to mind). The burger was dry. I asked for it medium, it came out medium which was good. The color was perfect, but the meat itself was dry and not as flavorful as I'd like. The bacon was so undercooked. Who would do that to heirloom bacon? I guess maybe some people like that - but I really don't. I don't normally send things back - I find that process embarrassing, but I did send this back and they were really nice about it and the bacon returned all crispy, tasty and gorgeous, so I was glad I did that. The cheddar on the burger was nice - I kept on craving more of it to make up for the lack of fat in the burger. I didn't enjoy the bun. I thought it was a little bit chewy and tough on the exterior. I don't indulge in burgers very often and I feel like I sort of wasted the indulgence on this one. I started off with a side of "purple" broccoli with clams. Pretty good - I thought I was being healthy, ordering broccoli and all, but there may have been a lot of butter in the sauce. I do happen to be truly colorblind, but I don't have a problem distinguishing between green and purple. My broccoli was definitely green. Donuts for dessert. Nice enough. Not too special. I felt like I wasted my dessert quota on them. Kirby Cocktail. Meh.

What does "the audacious one with the charred leeks" mean? ← big. bodacious, bold, salty, olive oil-slicked robust flavors. ← How big was the filet?

What does "the audacious one with the charred leeks" mean? ← That must be how the branzino introduced himself. Did he recite the specials as well?

It's here and it's as good as we remember. Tristar strawberry shortcake! It's where it all began... I think a Momofuku Shortcake Bar would be cool

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but there has also been an absolutely terrific lamb loin from Elysian Fields Farm that is occasionally available as a special. The accompaniments may vary - when I had it, it was with the same accompaniments as the fried lamb belly. The meat is so tasty - the lamb loin is not to be missed.

I've tried most of the spring menu at this point - my favorite is "The Rite of Spring". Love that pickled ramp brine. It's refreshing and savory at the same time. Other favorites are the benton's old fashioned, the french maid, the swiss mist and the coda. I also enjoy the Hotel D'Alsace. I can never decide between the chang dog and the wylie dog - they are both incredibly good. I haven't yet had the john deragon dog - but it sounds like it gets a lot of votes so I'll have to try it out soon.

That's exactly what I always say to people who complain about the expense. ← I once stopped in at Franny's for a snack of some vegetable dishes, pizza and wine and ended up spending more than 80 dollars. That was a pretty expensive snack.