Jesikka

If they HAVE to go to Mars 2112 (and who wouldn't want to take a spaceship to get to dinner?) you should grab takeout from the nearby Bouchon Bakery to get you through the experience.

My last meal at Union Square was mediocre at best. If you're looking for Danny Meyer I would consider Eleven Madison Park or Bar Modern. Bar Modern could be good with kids because it has a really varied menu and the plates are small and thus adjust well to small appetites. Plus, taking the kids to MOMA is a necessity. Landmarc is a great place to take kids. The menu has everything a typical steakhouse would, plus wines that are less marked up and lots of options for stretching your kids' palates (boudin noir, marrow bones). I believe they have a children's menu and I know it's a child friendly environment. The food is quite good at that price point .

I'm confused as to why everyone keeps talking about Morandi as a neighborhood spot. What I meant by saying "I'll probably give Morandi another try in 5 or 6 years when. . .people who live in the neighborhood can walk in without waiting" was that eventually the scenesters and fashionistas will tire of Morandi and it will just be another Italian option in the west village. Do you think you need a reservation to get into Sushi Samba around the corner these days? (I don't know the answer and if it's yes I don't want to know because it will depress me. And yes, I do think Morandi has much more potential than Sushi Samba, but they're comparable in terms of popularity at opening.) I didn't expect to walk in without a reservation last night; I had a reservation! I simply don't expect to wait 45 minutes beyond it. We would have let the waiter know that the meatballs were cold had he come over while they were being tried. Morandi was clearly stretched past capacity, be it Ms. Williams, the four lovely hosts, or the twelve waiters exchanging kisses at the table next to us.

I know McNally's restaurants and was hardly expecting a quiet neighborhood joint, but I can't think of a single other place in NY where I've had to wait more than 10 minutes with a reservation. If there are too many bookings, they shouldn't give a same day 8:30 pm reservation. Had the food been good, however, I would have been satisfied with my free glass of wine. Serving meatballs cold isn't ok.

Although they appeared to be one and the same, I can only assume that Rich is eating at an entirely different restaurant than the Morandi where Dave H and I had dinner last night. To begin with, we arrived (admittedly a touch late thanks to a very confused cab driver) and were told that we would have to wait a few minutes for our 8:30 pm reservation. My first few attempts at getting to the bar for a glass of wine failed, so we stood huddled in our coats in the crowded entry area waiting to be seated. After forty minutes and my third conversation with the four hosts, we were finally offered a wine list and each given a glass of wine on the house. (Ok, it's a new restaurant, I can forgive minor service flaws. A free glass of wine helps significantly. Of course, we did have a reservation.) Just 45 minutes after our scheduled reservation, we were taken to a table in the back. Basing many of our choices on reviews we had read on this site and others, we decided to order the burrata, finocchio alla cenere, the polpettine and the baked pizzoccheri dish. We had happily settled into commentary on the un-Italian atmosphere, incredibly fake looking wine in straw bottomed bottles lining the walls and a Richard Gere sighting when our appetizers arrived. I started with the mozzarella and Dave H. with the fennel. Although I assume the mozzarella was fresh, the outside was rubbery like a store-bought version. However, the middle contained the creamy deliciousness that is mozzarella in Italy. The peppers and arugula were a nice complement, if traditional. We traded appetizers. The honey, fennel and orange dish was completely unmemorable. Although certainly in season, the fennel and orange were both largely flavorless and the overall dish seemed to lack any interesting elements. I'm not sure if it was an issue of low quality produce or technique, but this one didn't do it for me. We may have taken a bit too long eating our appetizers (perpetuating the long wait for reserved tables scheduled too closely together), because when our entrees came out they seemed to have been cooked long before they were served. The pizzocheri, which was baked with cabbage, speck and fontina was served several degrees too hot, but it was quite good. The rye pasta was rolled super thin and the entire dish reminiscent of a gratin- and who doesn't like a starch covered in melted cheese? Based on my small number of experiences with her cooking, Jody Williams shines with Italian comfort food. Unfortunately, while I dug into the pizzocheri, Dave H was sampling the meatballs, which he declared "maybe just a little on the cold side; possibly reheated under the salamander." We switched plates and I bit into the ice cold meatballs. They tasted potentially delicious, had we begun eating them when we arrived at Morandi. The watery thin tomato sauce did not do justice to the well seasoned meat. As someone who devours the polpettine at Il Posto Accanto as often as possible, I don't think they held a candle. By this point the girl with the British accent at the next table over had begun screaming at fever pitch and had called over each of the waiters to adjust their clothing, make air kisses, introduce them to her "gay husband- isn't he so gorgeous?" and announce that her wine tasted like "that Australian Shirazz shit" and hopefully wasn't $2000 a bottle. The guy two tables over began drinking from the Pellegrino bottle of the couple who had just left. We decided to skip dessert. Although I'll probably give Morandi another try in 5 or 6 years when the meatpacking crowd is over it and people who live in the neighborhood can walk in without waiting, I doubt I'll rush back. This city just has too many affordable neighborhood Italian places with better food and atmosphere.

p.s. on a sidenote was a little disappointed by Momofuku Ssam. After reading how the chef does pork so well, I expected a great meal. After trying the pork buns and the pork ssam I enjoyed it but thought it was pretty basic w/ maybe one or two twists. ←

Think of me as the one would rather eat a cup of foie gras than a cup of TastiD. Pop rocks for topping.

I sincerely doubt that since that article in 2002 the delis and TastiD shops that sell the frozen yogurt have started weighing and measuring the product, but I wouldn't know. Even if a cup of TastiD contains far more calories than advertised, it is clearly not going to have as many calories as a cup of foie gras, for instance. I was not suggesting that TastiD is a substitute for pinkberry, I was suggesting that all frozen yogurt is a poor substitute for ice cream- it is really an entirely different product. I think that frozen yogurt is something that could taste perfectly delicious, particularly if it tasted like yogurt. Pinkberry may or may not be that.

This past summer I tasted the frozen "yogurt" from TastiD after years of not tasting the stuff, and I couldn't believe how chemical and disgusting it was. I'm all for things that taste good and are low in calories (try, um, fruit), but good taste is always my first priority. The statistics on TastiD that juuceman is referring to are from a 2002 New York Times article. Basically, most TastiD shops do not make the product correctly, resulting in better taste (still awful) and higher calories. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A9649C8B63 I haven't gotten a chance to taste Pinkberry yet, but I like the idea of a frozen yogurt that tastes like yogurt, rather than attempting to be low-cal ice cream. Let's face it, they're two different products and they're never going to be substitutes.

I actually am a real estate attorney, so I suppose I can ask myself (although I don't currently know the answer). I think I would plan on keeping the stove when I move and replacing with a version similar to what I have now (a $500 Avanti), but there's no way to know for sure that my next apartment will have a 24" space. I won't leave my place until I buy something, which will certainly be several years and possibly more (but one never knows). Did you try any of the stoves? I'm interested in knowing what is really great to cook on.

My issue with the Avanti that I have now is that basically only one burner is useful, because the others do not create enough heat. Cooking a dinner party for 10 is a challenge with one burner. I was thinking of spending about $2000. Any suggestions for getting ranges at cost/discount would be much appreciated. My research since I posted turns up options by Viking, DeLonghi, Capital, FiveStar, BlueStar and AGA. They all seem to be just a bit pricier than I was thinking- given that it IS a rental.

I am thinking of replacing my Avanti gas oven/range with something for a bit of a more serious cook, but I live in a rental and I'm limited to 24 inches. I think Viking may make a 24 inch stove, but I'm not really entirely aware of my options. I don't really mind spending money on the stove itself (I've lived in my rental for 3 years and will probably be there for at least another 2-3 before I buy a place), but I can't change the configuration. Ideally I'd like a gas range with an electric oven, but you can explain to me why I'd prefer something else if need be. Thanks!

Yakitori totto. Jean Georges.

Perhaps you could stop eating out to save money to buy an apartment in Manhattan?

I forgot to add Yakitori totto to my list of places that I like in that 'hood. It isn't open for lunch, but it's inexpensive and great.

When I worked around there, I would grab lunch from Bouchon Bakery (great sandwiches, salads and soup for lunch), Grand Sichuan, Pam Real Thai, Margon, the Daisy Mae BBQ cart (although they may suspend this one in the winter), and Wu Liang Ye- all of which can be done reasonably cheap.

In my mind, Quality Meats and Smith & Wollensky are two entirely different animals (though both serving beef, of course ). S & W is a bland, heavily franchised steak house with little character other than a nicely chosen wine list. Quality Meats has charcuterie (absolutely delicious), some of the best bread in the city (probably involving the most fat), a delicious coma inducing hamburger, a really beautiful and funky setting, and a completely modern menu. One is an aging- if somewhat solid and certainly decent- giant and the other is an fresh look at the whole steakhouse thing. I'm not saying that there's nothing in the city that's as good as Quality Meats, but when I take an interviewee out for lunch I often use QM and would never pick S&W. I'm not complaining that the review is too late, I'm just surprised that Bruni has reviewed so many steakhouses of late and not given this one any play. I suppose a bad early experience might have kept him away, but I'd think a new restaurant by this group would be hard to ignore.

I think Quality Meats is underappreciated in the real world. I've had some really fantastic meals there lately. The steak is as good as anywhere in Manhattan and some of the sides are fantastic (marrow bones, potatoes). QM is certainly underappreciated by the NY Times. Why hasn't it been reviewed yet?

I am someone who has "boosted" Le Troquet in past years and am extremely sensitive to salt, although I love it. However, my last visit with Pierre45 and my wife Colette resulted in all of us agreeing the food really was oversalted. ← I just got back from a 9 day trip to Paris, which I'll post about in some detail soon. In response to your questions about where to eat, I would say we had great meals at Arpege (I would have been quite angry for anything less at that price point, but it still managed to exceed any of my meals at 4 stars in NY); Les Magnolias, Sensing, L'Ami Jean and Au Bon Accueil. I would definitely recommend Sensing for lunch- it is 55 Euro with wine included. We had no problems whatsoever with the service and found the food to be delicious. I also loved the room, although I can see how the projections could be maddening from certain seats. Les Magnolias is a DO NOT MISS. It was a really quick and easy trip out of Paris (about 30 minutes by train) and the food was a great deal and extremely well executed. I think it still has a few kinks to work out, but both of us agreed that it will easily end up with 2 stars in the future. Au Bon Accueil was only 27 euro for the three course lunch. My fish was flawless and they served these great little salami slices with the bread. It was great modern french cooking with really interesting and inexpensive wines by the glass. Plus, it's just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower (climbing those steps was a great way to work off all the foie gras, etc). I compared L'Ami Jean to Casa Mono (it's Basque) while my best friend compared it to Momofuku Ssam Bar- highest compliments from each of us. The food was rich and delicious. The price was somewhere between 30 and 36 euro (I can't remember exactly). The rice pudding was enough for six people, but we finished it all (don't try that). We didn't do any three stars for lunch, so no specific recs there. We made all our reservations in English (some before we left but many from France on a pay phone) and had no problem whatsoever. We made many reservations day of. The only reservations we couldn't get were Spring (it has less than 20 seats and we were calling the day before) and Fogon on Friday night at an earlyish hour. If you're at all interested in cooking, we loved our cooking class with Paule Caillat (her info is on the forum on cooking classes) and we went to the markets with her, which was a great experience. The Bon Marche food hall sells the amazing butter that they use at Arpege, but we somehow failed to fall in love with the market itself. Barthelemy or the cheese shop in the Place Maubert market for cheese. Hevin for chocolate (and chocolate covered cheese). Bread from Eric Keyser. Great croissant on Rue de Poissy in the 5th at a tiny no name bakery. Desserts from Pierre Herme (mythical). I have so many more recommendations and a few things to skip, so feel free to PM me if you want more ideas.

Thank you! We are leaving tonight but will continue to check for more suggestions while we are in Paris. So far we have reservations at L'Arpege on Monday, a private cooking class with Paule Caillat (has anyone taken one of her classes recently?) on Wednesday and lunch reservations at Les Magnolias for Friday. John, I especially want to thank you. I have printed information for our trip from SO many threads that you have organized or commented on. You have really done a great job making the France forum accessible. If anyone is interested in grabbing a meal with us while we are in Paris we would be delighted to meet fellow egulleters. You can pm us. Jessica

My best friend and I are going to Paris for 9 days at the end of Jan/ beginning of February. We're very excited to eat in Paris, but we don't know much about food specifics in the city. We've got a reservation at Arpege in the middle of the week, but we haven't made any other reservations. We probably won't do anything else as high end as Arpege, although we might sneak in one additional 2 or 3 star lunch. We are also planning on going to Les Magnolias, although we have not yet made a reservation. He has never been to Paris; I've been several times but not in years and I don't know the city well. We are staying in an apartment right near Notre Dame, and we will be able (and excited) to cook as well. We would appreciate suggestions for restaurants, bistros, markets, etc in a variety of price ranges/ locations. We eat everything. Also, I know this is off topic, but if you are familiar with a gym I might be able to use for the week, advice on that topic would be appreciated as well.