Habeas Brulee

Chickpeas. I made a great lamb and chickpea tagine the other day.

I thought Chola was good, but not amazing. The roti canai (which I thought was a Malaysian dish?) was very nice, not nearly so greasy as the Malaysian versions I'm used to. The samosas were excellent. The vegetable fritters were fairly uninteresting, and I was very disappointed by the Savitri Amma's Medhu Vadai. As for mains, I had the chicken chutneywala, which I quite enjoyed. My friend ordered a ground (or maybe finely minced) lamb dish that I can't recall the name of, which struck me as too heavy on the cilantro and not quite balanced, flavor-wise, but he certainly liked it, as did my partner. Another friend who went with us has been searching for a really good malai kofta for ages, and Chola's version was it. Mostly good food, but not as great as I would expect for the price. I really am looking for a place with a more diverse menu, too.

Carrot cake, definitely. Not sure what else yet.

Raji - I'd actually love to hear about your favorite North Indian/South Indian/whichever subset of the Indian world restaurants, too. (Where do I go to get some good sali boti, hmm? I crave it and I can only find it in Boston, it seems.)

I love Indian food, and I've lived in NYC all my life, but I still haven't really found a truly extraordinary Indian restaurant in the city. I'm finally going to check out Chola tonight, which I'm very excited about, but I'd still love to hear everyone else's thoughts and recommendations. I am ready to begin questing for a favorite. Plus, I couldn't find a thread that really gathered together a list of everyone's favorite Indian restaurants yet. So, let us remedy that gap in our collective knowledge: What do you think is the best Indian restaurant in NYC? And why?

I went to Maison du Couscous last night. The waiter (who also seemed to be the owner, maybe?) was sort of funny and sort of obnoxious. He equated our saying that it was our saying it was our first time there with it being our first time eating Moroccan food, which it was not. He gave me and the one woman at the table next to ours extra napkins, saying, "Ladies usually end up needing extra napkins." On the other hand - the food was wonderful. The kofta cigars (an appetizer) were delicious, and I would love to learn what they use for the rolls. He said it was filo when we asked, but it looked and tasted nothing like any filo I've ever had before. I wonder if it actually was warka. If so, I'm now ready to try making my own warka at last. The Berber tagine had meltingly tasty lamb shank, artichoke hearts, carrots, potatoes, peas, and olives. The couscous was very light and fluffy, and even finer-grained than the couscous I usually make at home. The mint tea was splendid. The only thing I tried and didn't like were the dessert briwats, filled with an almond paste that I believe involved rosewater, orange blossom water, and some ground sesame seeds. It was the sesame taste that didn't quite work for me there, and they were a little too densely sweet for me. My partner thought they were good, though, so that may just be a matter of taste. The waiter-and-maybe-owner said they are revamping their website, and already have some new photos that will be up once their tech guy down the block makes it happen. He also said that they're changing their menu and adding a bunch of new dishes. He described some of them to us, and they did sound very good. I don't take well to sexism. As a woman, I don't need more napkins than my male companion. I bristle quite a lot at that assumption. But the food really was excellent; it was good enough that I intend to overlook my irritation at the waiter and go back for more. That's really saying something for me.

The chocolate mess is basically a baking pan filled with some brownie-type stuff, whipped cream, sprinkled, ice cream, crunchy stuff, toffee bananas... and they give you these adorable little rubber spatulas to eat it with. It even came with a little beaker of caramel sauce to pour on top.

Their chocolate sorbet is the best I've ever had.

*bump* It's that time of year again! Not this weekend but next, November 10-12, the Chocolate Show is back in town. I'll be going again, definitely. Last year it took me a few hours to wander around, taste all the samples, and check out one of the demos. Afterwards we were so burned out that my partner read our separate books instead of chatting, and I couldn't eat chocolate for a week. It was worth it.

I finally stopped by Max Brenner at Union Square last week, and I was underimpressed. The presentation is absolutely charming - I love the shapes of their dishes, and the way their chocolate mess is eaten out of a baking pan with small spatulas. But the chocolate itself was mediocre. While presentation does matter, taste matters even more, and I do not think that I will be going back.

I just got a yunnan pot. Does anyone know if it has to be seasoned before use, and if so, how? I soaked in water for a few hours, and was thinking of rubbing the inside with olive oil and seasoning it like I did my tagine, but I'm not sure if that's appropriate. Any advice? Thanks!

I'll second Podunk. Their apricot tea hot chocolate and their french onion tarts are delicious (as is everything else they serve). The owner is very sweet - always friendly and works with you on figuring out how to put together just the right tea for you. It's a bit pricey, but it's worth it once in a while. And they absolutely refuse to accept tips (I've tried my best to persuade them, but no luck).

Last time I made rosemary ganache, I steeped fresh rosemary (full sprigs, not chopped) in heavy cream, then poured the heavy cream over finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and stirred until the chocolate was melted and the emulsion came together. It made a fantastic filling for truffles. I don't have exact measurements, though, because I really just threw a few sprigs into the cream and added more when I decided it needed to be stronger.

I just bought a traditional Thai rice steamer, the sort with the metal pot and the large basket. It looks like the one pictured here. Think I could use it as a couscousier, too? Cook a stew in the pot and steam couscous in that basket above? And if I do, should I line the basket with cheesecloth the way you're supposed to when steaming Thai sticky rice in it? My thoughts are yes and yes, and as soon as I get a chance I'm going to give it a try. I just wanted to see if anyone else had any thoughts on or experience with this. Thanks!

I second the recommendations for Famous Pita on Coney Island Avenue and Coco Roco on Smith Street. Famous Pita has been a family staple all my life, and it really is that good. Coco Roco is one of my favorite lunch spots nowadays - it's cheap, delicious, and right near where I work. The skirt steak with rice and beans and maduros lunch special is about $6 and absolutely delicious. And a few new recommendations: La Parada on 4th Ave. between 31st and 32nd. It's another cheap, delicious spot. Last time we were there, my boyfriend got the pernil (Caribbean-style roast pork) and maduros, his mother got shrimp in some sort of very garlicky sauce, and I got the soupy rice with garlic. It was all splendid. There's a great review of the place here. There's a wonderful Malaysian restaurant in Bay Ridge just across the street and down the block from the Bay Parkway stop on the N, but I'm totally blanking on the name right now. Also, blilie - I've been to Little Bistro, and I thought their duck confit in steamed Chinese buns was very tasty. But they seem to have closed down now! I kinda miss them. I'd be interested in getting involved in a Brooklyn food group, definitely.