bethala

i must admit i have no idea exactly where the courts are. the last time i went for jury duty, i was a manhattanite. the times has done an occasional piece on where to find lunch when doing manhattan duty, but i don't think they've ever done a similar service for the other boroughs.

thanks for that recommendation, chefdaiz. i didn’t mean to post such a panicked, unresearched thread, but I was panicking for my friend. the idea of being on jury duty and not knowing where to spend treasured lunch time is truly panic-inducing. after taking a deep breath and looking at some of the older posts, i found the following spots were the most recommended in or near the area: Queen Yemen Café & Restaurant Teresa’s Noodle Pudding Little Bistro anyone have any fresh comments on any of these? thanks again, beth

please help! i have a friend who is on jury duty in downtown brooklyn as we speak. can anyone recommend some lunch options? suggestions greatly appreciated by my friend for her current situation and by me for a civic fate that i will surely meet one of these days.

i agree, harry and david not up to snuff on the peaches (i think their best product is pears, and those sometimes disappoint). but the nj stone fruit has been really good this summer. i picked up some excellent nj white nectarines at balducci's, eh, i mean citarella, a couple of weeks ago. and i hate to keep talking about nectarines while you guys talk about peaches, but they are what i prefer. that said, i'll add that the only nectarines i've had that were better than frog hollow's were ones that i smuggled from paris' grande epicerie de paris, and they were actually from australia: impossibly sweet, holding seemingly more than their weight in juice. i only wish i'd had the nerve to bring in more than just two.

doc, thanks. i totally missed that frog hollow thread. from reading it, it seems as if frog hollow has improved its product over the last few years, with better fruit and better packaging for mailing. both my cherries and nectarines arrived thoroughly cushioned with nary a blemish. looking forward to trying the pastries when the summer fruits run out. i'll also add that i completely agree with russ parsons' statement from the frog hollow thread: "but i don't understand people who don't blink at $8 desserts complaining about a spectacular $2 peach." (even though now it's more like a $4 peach.)

haven't tried the peaches, but can vouch for the nectarines. i received a box over the weekend and have been enjoying perfectly ripe, round, fleshy fruit all week. at night, i eat one alone, over the sink, and in the morning, i cut up and stir into plain 0% fage greek yogurt. no need to add sugar or honey. i also enjoyed frog hollow's bing cherries in may. again, perfectly ripe, sweet-tart fruit. i know this place is expensive, but sometimes i'd rather pay more for fruit that i know is going to be perfect than to pay less repeatedly for fruit that's just so so. if anyone has tried frog hollow's pastries, i'd love to hear feedback. frog hollow farm 888-779-4511

thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! unfortunately, i didn't get to try any of the suggested places this past weekend. plans changed, and so the eating plans changed, too. i'll be visiting again some time before the end of the year and will be sure to let you know what mex i check out. cheers, beth

I love it when people put things into context. A good comparision is always helpful in "exotic" food situations. Thanks!

i've long stopped paying attention to the fact that ny mag calls uncheap stuff cheap and just look at their "cheap eats" list the way i now look at the Times' "$25 and Under" column: a reference for not-expensive, but probably not-cheap, meals. in the times column, rarely is the whole meal under $25, but maybe one of the entrees is. at least "$25 and Under" gives prices of dishes in each category, so it's a bit easier to predict how much everything is really going to cost, factoring in getting full and ordering beverages. and what about the tastes-like-another-one effect that happens at places that have what i call "addictive" food -- things like dumplings and little salty things that taste so good that you figure you'll just order just one more plate of them. it always adds up. as much as i love and adore al di la and franny's, you simply cannot get out of either one of those for "cheap". indeed, last week when i decided to just "drop in" to momofuku for some pork buns and a bowl of soup, it was only thanks to seeing certain posts on eGullet that i knew ahead of time that, with sake, it'd set me back $50. but, for some reason, every publication seems to want to describe it as "cheap". the ny mag list is more a list of places with a high rapport qualité/prix. guess it's up to us to keep track of the truly "cheap" eats. (edited to correct typos.)

thanks, raj. this all sounds great! wish i could give some of these places a try. i'll be sure to pass this info. beth

i remember bonte, but, sadly, i never once went in. your mention of dobosch torte reminded me of cafe sabarsky, which i'm sure has already been mentioned in this thread. excellent viennese pastries. i'm going on thursday! and completely forgot about black hound, despite the fact that i picked up an excellent german chocolate cake there last week. i feel that they do a better job with american style cakes. i ordered a bûche de noël from them last year and was disappointed with how dry it was, especially when i'd ordered a much better, less expensive one from financier in previous years.

i second fauchon and financier. cannot speak to petrossian or bouchon, as i've never tried them, and haven't been to payard in a few years. recently, i've been enjoying these little cookies called abricotines from fauchon. they are a sandwich cookie consisting of two soft, macaron-type cookies with very fresh apricot jam between them, then half-dipped in dark chocolate, which is then dipped in slivered almonds. it is all i can do not to get some each day i'm in midtown. then it is all i can do not to moan aloud as i eat them. the high price tag ($39/lb, i believe) prevents overindulging.

i have a friend who will be working in calcutta next month. she would like to eat chinese food there. does anyone have any recommendations for chinese places in calcutta?

finally went in yesterday. i forget which brother was holding court, but judging from this thread, i think it was greg. he had five or six bottles open for tasting. the wines were all incredibly delicious, reasonably priced, and in absolutely pristine condition (love their fanatacism about maintaining the proper temperature). i thought this would be a place where i would drop in for a few minutes, but you really do need to give yourself some time, as the selection of french and italian wines is pretty large, and there seems to be no fat or filler among the choices.

kitchenmarket in chelsea can be a good resource, too: kitchen market 218 Eighth Avenue @ 21st. st. 1-888-HOT-4433

clotilde - as guides go, it goes without saying that Chocolate & Zucchini is not so bad, either! your site is a wonderful resource for making eating decisions in paris. chocolateandzucchini.com

indeed, 400,000 requests for 8,000 seats! thanks, rich.

for future reference, what is the best way to make a reservation there? is there one day out of the year when they are taken, a la herbfarm, or some similar such procedure?

i second the stone street options, which will become even more appealing as the weather cools down a bit. when i worked down there, i especially enjoyed financier for its oil-poached tuna salad and all of its pastries. i don't know whether its recent expansion has affected quality, but i visited the newest one a month ago and saw that they were prepackaging the salads. i also enjoyed a little turkish sandwich spot in the area. unfortunately, i don't remember the name of it, but it was on the southern corner of fulton and gold, just a bit east of the strand bookstore, across the street from a triangular shaped "park". clean spot with good, fresh chicken and lamb gyros (or plates over rice), and barstool seating. at the 40 wall street location of the mangia chain, everything (that's left) goes half price after 3 PM. for treats, there are a couple of branches of leonidas chocolates, one at the end of stone street on hanover square and the other at broadway and cedar. don't really care for their "pralines", but the chocolate covered orange peels are among the best available.

thanks for all the suggestions! sounds like chicago is a mecca for tex mex, compared to ny. i'll let you know if i get to try any of these after my visit at the end of the month.

thanks for a very informative report! i'm curious, what is the byob corkage fee?

We encountered a new one tonight - a "beef tartare just seared" at l'Histoire de....... in the 18th. PS It wasn't. ← this sounds scary. please, do tell.

thanks! sounds delightful and reasonably priced. but does byo mean no margaritas?

thanks for the rec and the resource! i'm already enjoying reading the LTH threads by austin tex mex fans living in chicago (i'm originally from austin). i've bascially given up on trying to find good tex mex in new york, but would like to try in chicago, as chicagoans often brag about their mexican food and i visit chicago pretty regularly. i've been to uncle julio's on a few previous visits (dirtly little secret: i like it, for what it is), but - and i don't mean to blaspheme - i did not really enjoy the one meal i had at topolobampo a few years back (could've just been a fluke). i'll be visiting chicago in a couple of weeks and am looking forward to discovering some good mexican food while there.

for me, that alone will make it worth a trip. thanks! ← Yeah, I'm not a fan of the dark brown clear stuff some places put on EF-Y. Roux gravy is the way it's supposed to be made. King Yum is -the- classic. ← The roux type is definitely the OG....the clear dark version is perhaps introduced during the Szechuan invasion around the late 70's and 80's. ← the OG and definitely the superior version. i'm always so excited to see EFY on a menu, but then so let down if i come to find it's made with the clear stuff.