NYC Mike

Made the Deep Chocolate Cream with Rasberry Coulis from the Dessert book last night. The taste was just out of this world but I have a question about the consistency of the cream, perhaps I went wrong somewhere or could make adjustments for preference. After refrigerating for a few hours the chocolate was almost the consistency of ganache. It was liquid going in the cups and spoon-able afterwards but quite thick, I imagined it was supposed to be more like a pudding which was looser. Perhaps I cooked the creme too long before adding to the chocolate or could I increase the liquids? Could someone that has tried this before offer tips? Thanks, Mike PS here is a pic hopefully showing the consistency sorry for the poor quality and thanks Jmahl for the how-to.

Thanks all! So if it calls for 1oz. compressed fresh a 1/2 oz dry active or 1/3 oz instant? That is nice and clean. Any quality difference between types? Any cases where you might prefer one type to another? This seems slick, would there be taste issues with the whites absorbing freezer tastes etc? Mike

One of my new year's resolutions was to learn how to cook. I've modified it to learn how to bake since the Mrs. is a kick a** cook and sharp objects are not exactly a match made in heaven for me. Not to mention early/easy successes has bred enthusiasm! So Chris, thank you for this thread. Two questions: 1. Yeast Types and conversion rates- Active Dry -vs- Compressed -vs- cakes? Are there different quality characteristics for each or are they generally interchangable and is there a straightforward conversion calculation I can use if a recipie only lists quantity for compressed and I have active dry on hand? 2. Freezing Egg Whites- I have used a ton of yolks lately and am wasting the whites. I read above about this but I have a use/storage question. Do I continually add egg whites on top of already frozen ones OR do I have multiple containers with dates and number of whites written on the sides. When I need to use them do I defrost first, please elaborate about the uses for frozen whites? Thanks! -Mike

← Yes, Mary Mac's more than made up for anything else we might have had. I can still taste it. South City reminded me of an Italian place we have in NYC called Tony's, they get great press and are always packed to the gills but the food is poor quality compared to other places in the city.

The wife and I got the new Gourmet Mag in the mail and Montreal had been on the places to see list for way too long so we made all sorts of plans and juicy reservations based on the always helpful, expert advise of fellow eGulleters. Then work called on Thursday morning with a special request (far outside of my normal territory) meeting Thursday late in Buckhead and Friday AM in the lovely Atlanta suburb of Roswell (it really was lovely). Funny enough, to twist the knife a little bit, right near our hotel in Buckhead was a restaurant called Au Pied de Cochon . So it wasn't a total loss I dragged the Mrs. with and we made a weekend out of it. We had three meals together, 1 in Roswell and 2 in Midtown. In Roswell we ate at Pastis. This place was packed at 2ish with a ladies who lunch crowd. We shared 3 aps and has a dessert each. The twice baked cheese souffle was amazing, we fought over last dibs, the charcrute plate was also great and the chicken and blue cheese salad was ok for me but my wife liked it. I am not really a fan of salads or pounded dry chicken breast on anything but the quickest way to get my wife's attention is to say chicken ceasar. Desserts were excellent, I had tarte tatin and she had creme brule. The place is really very loud, those ladies who lunch know how to party! What a very nice surprise and a very nice lunch. We had dinner at South City Kitchen. I should have come to eGullet before going here, I bet not many of you eat here! This meal was not good at all but surprising enough the place was packed tight with people waiting to be seated. In general everything, including the nightly app and entree special was grossly overseasoned which might have been ok had our waitress asked just once if I wanted another beer . The only thing we thought was decent was the fried green tomatoes until we had Mary Mac's and realized we had been fooled the night before!! Thank god for eGullet, after the SCK disaster I got our next and best meal recomendation here. Mary Mac's Tea Room! Now that is grandma's cooking at its best. The fried green tomatoes and newbie on the house potlikker were great. Chicken fried steak with biscuts, gravy, grits and cream corn for me and the smothered pork chops with baked apples, veggies and cornbread for the Mrs. It was the best of each we had ever had. Peach cobbler for dessert was a perfect end to a perfect meal. Mary Mac's is a must see for anyone going to Atlanta. Mike

Yes and No. The VIP table just provides a point of reference and comparison to Curlz's service. I think Curlz's service was obviously very bad. I can also infer from Curlz observation of the VIP table that their service was very good. Was Curlz's bad service due to the fact that there were VIPs in the house, I don't think so, my impression is that service is in this establishment is potentially uneven and bad in general based on Curlz's review and the fact that the other table was VIPs was responsible for their good service. So, do I need to go out $350 pp AND be a VIP to get good service? Maybe Curlz experience is a one off, someone had a bad day, out of left field thing but its doubtful. -Mike

At $350 a head anywhere, including Vegas, that bums rush with the dish delivery and shabby wine service just sucks. At $100 PP or $50PP I would have freaked if a dish came in while my fork was digging in one already. I would out them loud and hard here. It is the beauty and power of the internet and places like egullet. Restaurants that practice this kind of selective service should beware that a good name will only get them so far, the rest must be earned daily. There are too many choices. It may have worked when the easily impresionable Bruni's of the world were the only opinions to draw from but now you can help save 1000s of readers like me from the same piss poor experience at what sounds like an overrated, inconsiderate restaurant. If they did it to you, you can be sure it is happening to others like you. -Mike

Thanks everyone for the amazing recomendations!!! -Mike

Yup! After reading the magazine and this thread I booked rooms and started asking questions here.

Based on fchrisgrimm's and others raves about Anise we switched around the resos for next week. Now we have: Late dinner thursday at Au Pied de Cochon. Lunch at Le Club Chesse Friday Dinner Friday at Joe Beef Dinner Sat. at Anise. If you had to choose 1 market to walk and eat through March Jean-Talon or March Atwater which would it be? Any of the magazine noted cheese shops have a cafe tied to them to sit and eat cheese and bread in? Best place for poutine and a pint? Thanks! -Mike

I Did!

It is comical at best considering the processed and chemical garbage that is in most store bought goodies including but not limited to corn syrup, mono and diglycerides (my mom's cookies never included those!) and the oh so popular vanillin when real vanilla is just too expensive for the billion $ candy/cake makers bottom line. -Mike

This is a take on the kids dish "Ants on a Log". This one dish blew us away completly, the sorbet and combo was just amazing. mike

Melted aged provolone.

Au Pied de Cochon is open 5pm to midnight every day except Monday. Au Pied de Cochon's Website ← Thanks for this!

We tend to avoid "scene" type places in NY just because. We prefer casual, low key or unassuming places like Blue Hill or WD-50. Lemeac looks good for Thurs. dinner. In the article "Farm Boy" in the magazine it mentions that at 10PM dinner service is at its height at Au Pied Du Cochon. They don't have a website that I could find. Would this be a late night or lunch choice? We love the whole farm to table movement and would love to try this place. Mike

Thanks for the replies. Using Leslie's article as a guide..thanks Leslie!! We are going to shoot for Club Chasse on Fri and Joe Beef on Sat. I get the impression these places are more casual so jacket and tie not required? Ideas on after dinner bars or nightclubs? Latin music maybe? Walk up Main? Is there a Main street the hotel can point us to? We would love the walk, the cold is just an excuse to stop and have a snack. Would still like a recomendation for a 10PM or later spot for a casual bite and cocktail for our arrival day. Is Montreal a late city? Would Cavalli fit the bill? Thanks!!

next, arriving the 2nd. and thanks!! Brab

What a timely issue and a great read. My wife is graduating from ICE in NYC next week and she has made one special request as a graduation gift, that we go away somewhere without the children for the weekend where she can eat to learn and shop, drink, dance etc. (lucky me ) Our first thought was Paris since flight timing and clock changes make it possible to pull off a weekend run with a few sleeping pills and lots of cafe creme but she has to show up for her first day of externship Monday and jetlag coming west is usually nasty and she will be at least 12 hours on her feet. After reading the new Montreal edition we have decided to make a road trip out of it could use a little help from you all. As of right now we will leave by car to arrive for a late dinner Thursday. This will be our first time! We have booked rooms at L'Hôtel XIXe siècle, rate was great, got a recomendation. Also here is a general list of desires: 1. For the late night thursday, something casual, jeans etc, late night active so we are not alone etc, eat with our fingers even or a good pub type place for good beer and snacks. 2. One special place where we can eat from a great Montreal chef. Saturday night, and able to get reservations this close. Nothing too crazy, like 100 USD or so pp before wine and drinks. 3. A few lunch deals ala JGs in NY. We really eat all types of food so no matter there. Perhaps the more montreal typical the better. Places where we can maybe sneak in a few more great meals at lunch time prices. 4. Raw cheese! The magazine has sugesstions, anyone have a clear favorite? 5. chocolates and pastries and coffee? Thanks! -Mike Edited to add hotel booking info.

New York Magazine, New York Post, and Strong Buzz have all reviewed it. ← have any non-publication affiliated egullters eaten there and care to report? ulterior epicure. [edited to fix formatting and grammatical mishaps] ← Based on my very limited experience on EG the silence from the NY crew speaks volumes on the subject. mike

As a native of the Upper West Side, I would have to disagree with you, despite the technicalities. We always consider the Upper West Side to extend to 125 St. west of Amsterdam. Does anyone like Sal & Carmine's anymore? ← Me too, The rest of the city hadn't actually found Washington Heights until this decade. Instead of having to explain where it was to people when I was growing up I just said the UWS.

What an awesome thread, thanks for the bump up. Hey Daniel, can you give me an idea of time spent and total cost? What was the variation in price for those lobster rolls from place to place or was it fairly uniform like a slice is here in NYC? -Mike

WoW! Nice turnaround to the Veritas story Daniel. Awesome writeup and pics, thanks!

Has anyone been their Monday wine dinner? Know cost, how the communal seating deal works? Hearth Wine Dinners -Mike

After 20 years + of smoking I did not even consider cold turkey! I went to the doc and got patches and a Zyban supply. I was supposed to be on the pills for 3 months and the patch for at least double that time. After two weeks, I was off both with no cravings whatsoever. It was really a no pain quitting experience. 8 months later, I don't even consider slipping backwards. My sense of taste and smell is amazingly different. I will agree, my alcohol consumption is way down, not sure if it is related but it sure might be. I've been on a no drinking binge for a while now. I will have to test wine and food taste difference, I haven't yet. I expect it will be better than before. My weight has jumped a good 20lbs. with no substantial increase in eating or change in physical activity. So my metabolism took a hit. Wife bought me a heavy bag for V-Day which serves as my notice to get with the program before I get traded in for a newer model. -Mike PS. What BobMac said