NYC Mike

Finally a review that is actually about the food at Gilt! Adam Platt writes as if he knows his way around a menu and a dish. It makes AP's opinion IMO much more trustworthy and valuable. I cancelled my Times delivery a long time ago, Bruni seems barely worth the time for free on the internet. I hope he does not actually influence diners. Man, that sounds good!! I would love to try that! This review actually encourages me to try Gilt. But, I'll pass on the $1000 glass of Screaming Eagle and leave that to some other shmuck to try. -Mike

WD or Blue Hill would fit the bill perfectly, they are very different places/experiences so check out the threads here on each first. They are both comfortable and casual, not stuffy NYC at all. Both are very memorable places. Which ever you do choose, let the kitchen select the meal and wines for you and please let us know how it all goes! mike

Good point. ← Yea and the profit makes its way to a really great kids charity too. I think anyone who would buy tomatoes or olive oil just because they saw Emeril's or perpetual sunshine's face on it deserves to eat it.

My wife says her greatest lesson learned in culinary school versus what she learned in her mother and grandmother's kitchen was that she had not learned how to cook meat and fish properly. What you get in DR/PR/Cuba is very well done meat, fish etc. usually with every little drop of mosture sucked right out. She thinks it might have been handed down for food safety reasons. Nevertheless, do not order bistek on the islands and think its coming in fat and juicy.

Oh yea, delivery is awful, they always lean the pie. Also for some reason it seems like a completly different slice when ordered by the pie. I think it might be rap pizza. I like Grandpa's too and they are really good for a pie. Very different than any of the other area spots. Anyone else notice that some of the best NYC pizza is greek and not italian?

I really don't do pies very often, my wife is a pizza hater. and my poor children unfortunatly take after her in that regard. Here are my favs (mostly uuuws where I live) -George's on 181st -Don't know the name right outside on the 1 train stop on 181st. -Famiglia on 96th -west side of 5th ave on 20th st. -Giovanni's in Little Italy the Bx -used to really like Original Rays on 4th but its a pita health food place now. and for squares its a pizzaria on Sheepshead Bay road in Bklyn close to the D train stop. It gets tricky since I don't know the name and there are two pizza places within two doors of each other on the same block. The really good squares are in the one farthest away from the D train.

I usually get fried chicken or chicken fried steak with fixins like peas and rice and cornbread and greens.

Sylvia's Restaurant 328 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10027 ph: 212.996.0660 I haven't been there in a little under a year though. -Mike

Ten and Tonic is the ol standby on the road drink for me. Love it.

It was part of the tasting menu, I didn't look to see if was on the regular menu. It was introduced as "bershire pork"though. I am not sure the website is updated as quickly as their menu changes based on ingredients.

I had an amazing pork belly at Blue Hill last week, it had both the butter tenderness and crispy top you mention. It was served with farro, pistachios and baby cabbage. Mike

My wife and I had dinner at Blue Hill NYC last night. It was my first time. I don't have dish by dish notes or pictures, I am not nearly an elegant enough writer to do the experience justice anyway. 8 hours later, I am still dumbfounded and speechless. It was perhaps the finest meal and complete dining experience I have ever had. I am still mentally debating which dish was my favorite ect. The decor is amazingly comfortable and the front of the house staff is attentive without you ever knowing they are there. Franco seems to know the name of every person and everyone is treated like a regular. Claire noticed we were not drinking wine and offered a complementary non-alcoholic drink that was wonderful with the food. Little things are never "little". We are big supporters of the "greenmarket" and "slow food" movements and go out of our way to cook and eat and buy to show our support. This meal was to me, the most perfect example of those ideals at their absolute very best. Each ingredient and combination oozed freshness and tenderness and the flavors were nothing short of explosive. I will for sure look for excuses, work and play related to find my way back to Washington Place and Blue Hill NYC. Mike

That is very cool! Any city with a heart like that can't stay down for long.

Habichuela con dulce- Sweet Beans Majarete- Corn Pudding Both are in advance, easy things.

Does "The Dinner Game" count as a food movie? It is the most hilarious ever!

forgetting the pickle is an unforgivable!! If you are making the uptown trip for Malecon you have to get the chicken, best in NY.

I agree Doc, the "Slow Food" movement and others like it are perhaps the most important of the current era, culinary wise. When I look over the dinner table at my three small children I would like to think there will be a bounty of things left for them to enjoy once I am long gone. It is less about taste, (although "local", "organic" and "seasonal" do tend to taste better IMO) and more about responsibility to the planet we share together. The flip side of this is the trendy factor, if you read the Telepan review in the New Yorker you can see the sarcasm of the author as it relates to those "buzz" words. Hopefully more of the important voices in the culinary world will speak up in favor of responsibility and own it. Far be it from me to cast a sideways glance at the master but I think he might have missed a great opportunity to leverage his leadership by leaving that ideal out.

Are you just eating more or is more of it sticking (literally, I suppose) with you? ← I think its just sticking more. I have always eaten well and haven't adjusted that at all post smoking.

I quit smoking 8 months ago after smoking non-stop for 18 years (I always said, no one likes a quitter ). About 2-3 months into the quit my sense of smell dramatically improved and about 5-6 months into it my taste buds came back! I didn't know they were gone but now that they are back I am in taste heaven. The difference is extreme. I won't get into where the hell my metabolism went off to or the 20lbs it left in its place. Mike

Casings on most of the time. I haven't had that recipe but the site is pretty good for Dominican "tipico" dishes. They have a locrio one with bulgar that looks good too, i'd sub in rice for the bulgar. locrio

Always used fresh.

Jason, Longaniza is a staple sausage item in the Dominican Republic where my wife is from. It is a very basic and sometimes spicy, very coarse pork sausage. I wouldn't really compare it to chorizo which is much sweeter and finer I think. They eat it deep fried with tostones, with mangu for breakfast and in locrio. Oh forgot, its prolly not suitable for paella. Try one fried up first, its aroma and flavor profile are very overpowering. Mike

I've never been to WD, but it sounds like it might be a bodum, except with the bodum you don't press down as you would with a French press. ← Yes, that is the one. Thanks Prasantrin.

Hi All, My wife and I had a pretty amazing tea experience at WD-50. Up until that point I've only been an very occasional tea drinker and then only earl grey or green tea in bags. I have always been a cocktail before a meal, wine during and expresso/coffee afterwards but I am toning that bit down. After some initial looking around it just seems like the flavor/paring combinations are awesome. Can someone point me to an site that can help educate me on pot types ect? What types of pots do you all use? Anyone know what kind of pot that was at WD, it had the loose tea in a cylinder in the middle? It was like a french press in a tea pot. Thanks, -Mike

Thanks all! I will try a few of these things!