kathryn

Strong Buzz used to be a weekly newsletter and then more recently switched to blog format -- I believe the newsletter is now just postings from the blog, but in digest form. However, as a blog, I don't think it's nearly as influential as the ones that have already been mentioned, nor as influential. Of course, we need to also mention Frank Bruni's Diner's Journal weblog for completeness.

Well, after complaints they moved it all into a separate site: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/ (It's not like all of NY Mag or Citysearch is about NYC dining. Eater NY is, though.)

Two single shack burgers (2 * 4.75) + one order of fries to share (2.75) + two cups for water (free) + single scoop of frozen custard to share (3.75) = $16. Tax is already included.

Ssam Bar has a tasting menu, actually, but it's not written on the standard menu. $75 I think. Not sure if it's dinner only though, I'd call and ask.

FWIW the bar is much more well lit than the main dining room. The mirrors help reflect light too.

Ditto to the Midtown Lunch link. Overall, you'll do better if you stay out of midtown, though, and stay in any neighborhood that has some sort of ethnic population remaining. You can eat very well and quite cheaply if you make it out of Manhattan into the other boroughs. Flushing, Queens' Chinatown has a bunch of places that are super good and super cheap. There's tons of happy hour, early bird, late night, street cart, take out window, etc. ways to keep your stomach happy but your wallet full. My latest favorite is the weekday lunch at Pamplona (28th/between Madison and Park Ave South) which has a skirt steak and avocado sandwich for $6.95. I think the most famous NYC cheap eats are probably bagels, slices of pizza, halal carts, hot dogs (Gray's Papays Recession Special), and maybe the Chinatown 4 fried dumplings for $1 joints. Some more links to explore: http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/33527/ http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/fe...ap-eats-pyramid http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/08/gui...e-food-nyc.html http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/...ive-1-menu-item http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/07/dol...all-over-n.html http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2008/ [although NY Mag's definition of cheap often means "high value for price" and not "under $10" like Time Out NY's does] http://www.nypost.com/seven/08162008/enter...4639.htm?page=1 (Actually, I think Chowhound is probably a better resource for cheap eats than eG.) BTW, the halal cart that is famous is on the SE corner of 53rd and 6th, only after sundown. Their lamb/chicken combo plate with yellow rice is pretty big and tasty for $6. Make sure you get the red and white sauces! It's the one with the giant line and like 6-7 staff members all cooking, taking orders, giving change, etc. in an assembly line fashion. The line's long but moves quickly.

Yes, Ssam has upgraded their lunch service. Check the web site. They don't serve as much as they do during dinner, but it's more than it used to be. As for A&D: It's dark but you get used to it. The new cocktail menu is very good. The atmosphere is quite cozy, lots of candles, chandeliers, exposed brick, faux library/study with the books and shelving and paintings. It's romantic and the food is good.

In my experience PDT is the hardest. The tables and booths seem basically all reserved already. I think they have two 2-top tables. Bar is first come, first served. Capacity is quite small. I've shown up at 6:45pm on a Friday, and it's packed, but Death & Co is not yet full. I think New Yorkers tend to work later (past 6pm) so Friday will be easier than Saturday. Meanwhile, I went to Pegu Club at 6:30pm last Friday and it was half empty. They have shuffled up the menu a little recently and there is a red bell pepper based drink with cucumber that is fantastic. PDT: smallest, no standing, very popular, and hardest because it also takes reservations for tables/booths, bar is first come first served D&C: a little larger and easier to get into than PDT, no standing, no reservations, but Kelvin the doorman is a sweetheart and good about calling you back Flatiron and Pegu: they allow standing and are much larger, only take reservations for large groups IIRC And if you're into cocktails, be sure to try some at Tailor, of course. The downstairs lounge is huge and has banquettes, standing counters against the wall, and the bar. They are quite popular on the weekends, though, with a non-cocktailian crowd. Go earlier rather than later. And since you'll be in the neighborhood, try the new list at Allen & Delancey by Alex Day of Death & Co. The bar there is rarely full, and it's gorgeous. I love the booth up front, very cozy.

I would too! Once brought a ravenous friend along with a big group to Ssam Bar, got some bread and butter while waiting, and we ended up eating four loaves. I love that the butter is pre-softened and comes with a good deal of salt and pepper on it (I am often annoyed if there is no salt on the table if there's high quality bread and butter around).

Yup, pork shoulder steak with buttermilk dressing. It's been on the menu a little while but I think the most recent incarnation is the best and easiest to eat. And that buttermilk dressing is killer. The bread and butter is very good too -- I thought bread refills were complimentary? They had morel butter for a while but I think that's gone now, drat.

Apple kimchi is back! Burger's jowl, maple labne, arugula, Honeycrisp apples. Just as delicious as it was last year. New take on wild striped bass: fennel, yogurt, concord grapes. I liked it but didn't love it, but my fiance loved it. I am still working my head around this one. New blood sausage dish with pickled lime puree, frisee, black mission figs and toasts was fantastic. Long Island duck breast, dijon spaetzle, brussel sprouts, five spoke cheddar, pear puree, pear cubes, and duck js was also phenomenal. Tien also mentioned some new experiments in pates in croute coming soon. Pheasant and lobster mushroom, I think. Might be on the menu as early as tonight. Didn't get to try the poached Chatham cod (out of stomach space) or the Jersey succotash (pancetta, corn, chanterelles). Hope the PB&J comes back soon.

Assuming you are adventurous/don't mind offal, I'd do for the appetizers: the lamb's tongue vinaigrette with three minute egg, crispy pig's foot (don't worry, it doesn't really look like a foot), grilled octopus, or tripe (comes with bread, very messy). If you are trying to save space, the salumi plates are also very good but a much smaller portion. You can get the salumi they make in-house (prosciutto, lamb's tongue, lardo, spicy salami, and more) or the salumi that Mario Batali's father makes (slightly smaller selection, still very good). It's all great, though, and at the very worst, you'll wish you brought more people with you, so you can try more things out. For pastas, I love the goose liver ravioli the most and so has everyone I've ever taken there. Others like the beef cheek ravioli, chianti stained parpadelle, gnocchi with oxtail, or mint love letters, but I think the goose liver wins over those four -- to me it is perfection (still haven't tried the lamb's brains yet though). Personally, I am not a huge red sauce fan and though the gnocchi and mint love letters were good but not great. (IMO Hearth's gnocchi are better) But YMMV. For the main, the fennel-dusted sweetbreads are fantastic. The pork chop is excellent: well-cooked and juicy. Quite large. Easily split between two. The rabbit is also nice, too. The skirt steak is only OK, stay away from that one. Not that it's bad but not as great as the others. I've also heard wonderful things about the duck and lamb chop. There are often very good specials too (had some excellent and tender braised pork cheeks once time). Save room for dessert. If you are very full, you can get the assortment of gelati and sorbetti. A trip in early summer yielded: olive oil gelato (perfect as usual), hazelnut gelato, bittersweet chocolate gelato (so intense, and dark, like a punch in the face with chocolate), espresso gelato (so smooth and gone in about two seconds flat), coconut gelato (wonderful even if you don't like coconut), pineapple sorbetto (nice and sweet), green apple sorbetto (sharp and tart but refreshing), rhubarb sorbetto (very tart), mango sorbetto (addictive and reminiscent of Indian mangos), and huckleberry sorbetto (nice and with bits of real huckleberry). I also like the seasonal fruit crostata (right now it is still Tristar strawberry hopefully although it may have changed, strawberry season will be over with the first frost in the autumn). The chocolate hazelnut cake is also nice. Other popular desserts are the maple cheesecake or the semifreddo. And the petit fours are pretty good too. Have fun!

Time Out NY says Sapporo. http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/re...29/raging-bowls

Oops! Good catch. Grand Sichuan in Midtown WEST is closed. Grand Sichuan in Midtown EAST and Chinatown are the 2 he's no longer running. He was there and moved on, his mini empire is really the West Village, East Village, Chelsea, and Jersey City, NJ locations.

Grand Sichuan ("International" part is sometimes appended) is the name, not Grand Sichuan House. The guy who runs the 3 most talked about ones also has some GS restaurants he's no longer associated with (the ones in Chinatown and Midtown West). Here are the three in Manhattan: Grand Sichuan International 229 9th Ave at 24st (Chelsea) Grand Sichuan 15 Seventh Ave. South at Leroy (West Village) Grand Sichuan International 19-23 St. Marks Place (East Village) between Second and Third Ave. RIP the Midtown West location.

Yes, my cumin lamb wasn't too dry as previous complaints on eG but rather less crisp than it should have been. And not sizzling hot (temperature-wise) like it used to be. Actually if you want your meat + cumin fix, I recommend Grand Sichuan's Cumin Beef. Similar preparation but they give you a lot more heat. Last time I had it, it came out burning hot, fresh from the fryer. And (filling-less) steamed buns on the side, IIRC.

Had my first less than stellar meal here ever today. Well, that description might be pushing it. SG just used to be #1 with a bullet on my list. Today's meal was merely good instead of amazing and excellent. The heat has definitely been toned down. The mapo tofu portion size has gotten smaller and it is no longer NUCLEAR spicy. But at least now it's edible. The braised goat (special) was a little cold when it reached the table, and too full of bones and tendons. The cumin lamb was not crispy enough or spicy enough and kind of lukewarm. Like it may have been sitting out a while. But the sauteed pea shoots with garlic (also a special) were great, though, as were the dan dan noodles as well as pork dumplings with roasted chili soy. Maybe I'll do more appetizers next time. It's a shame about the spice factor being toned down, though. I used to get waitresses at SG saying, "Are you sure? Are you sure? It's spicy!" Tonight the guy just took the order, nodded, and left.

Shake Shack does make a mushroom burger, you'll be fine. They also have chicken wursts. http://shakeshacknyc.com/2007%20Menu.pdf

"casual, inexpensive" reads more like "I want a sit down place that's about $20-25pp including tax and tip" to me. Really, you want cheap eats, no-frills, take out or counter service. This means delis, street carts, pizza joints, burger joints. You could go to: Shake Shack, Dosa Man, Papaya King, kati roll joints, the halal cart on 53rd and 6th, Katz's (get a sandwich to go and split it), Artichoke, Joe's, Sullivan Street Bakery, any of the 4 or 5 dumplings for $1 joints.... A lot of this is neighborhood dependent, as people tend to eat lunch by their offices on the weekdays. My favorite cheap eats secrets in Gramercy/Madison Square Park area are the secret takeout menu at Pamplona, and the sandwiches at Lamazou. I would start here: http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/33526/ http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/fe...ap-eats-pyramid http://midtownlunch.com (they have a new contributor who is focusing on Chinatown I think) http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/08/gui...e-food-nyc.html

Do you already have a reservation for Per Se? If not, your schedule may not be possible. Per Se opens its books 2 months in advance. Not sure why you'd want to do both WD-50 and Tailor. I think WD-50 serves lunch now, BTW. I recently went to Le Bernardin, it was quite expensive, not sure it would be worth it if you have such limited time in NYC. For steak, why not Peter Luger? Also missing from your short list are Italian (Babbo?) and non-sushi Asian (Momofuku?). Also you're missing some time with quintessential NYC food: pizza, smoked salmon and bagels, pastrami sandwich from Katz's.

Kyo Ya isn't doing the kaiseki right now. They also have a terrible phone or landline, whenever I call, it sounds like the woman answering the phone is 5,000 miles away (hiss....hiss...) so I couldn't really get a straight answer out of her as to why they aren't doing the kaiseki meal right now, just that they might bring it back in the fall.

Figures!

Found them for $3.75 each at this very place. They seem exactly like the ones you see at PDT and Death and Co. Holds about 4-5 oz. I'd say. I washed them and am chilling some in the freeze.... Quite useful for home cocktailians in NYC. It's more of a housewares stop than a place to sit and drink a cup of tea, BTW.

Did the razor clam preparation have celery in it when you tried, Nathan? I didn't like the dish at all, mainly because I hate celery.

Thanks to FG's tireless posting in the Momo Regulars thread, I stumbled upon an open seating for 2 on Sunday night (thanks, FG). I have to chime in an say that the sweet corn ravioli is fantastic, and I also loved the Muscovy duck. The shaved foie remains great as does the soft-cooked egg, and spicy fluke in buttermilk. And my fiance was practically licking the remnants of his yellow cake batter ice cream at the end. But my favorites were the corn ravioli and duck. Sweet corn ravioli, charred corn kernels, diced chorizo sprinkled on top, crumbles of cotija cheese, pickled red onion (spicy!), generous amount of lime zest grated on top. Three perfectly shaped raviolis. Great contrasts in the way the flavors and textures played together: sweet corn puree with salty sausage with creamy cotija cheese with a bit of a kick from the pickled red onion. Smelled wonderful, tasted even better. Given that I probably can't get back into Ko before corn season is over, I'll be headed over to the Red Hook Ballfields this weekend for the next best thing. As for the duck, it was cooked perfectly, fatty skin, charred Chinese long beans, crunchy mung bean sprouts, fresh water chestnuts, pickled cherries, garnished with jus. Really balanced overall, with very flavorful duck meat: meaty, tender. Overall, this dish felt traditionally Chinese. I really appreciated the crunch of the fresh water chestnuts, too. Some of the best bean sprouts and long beans I've had (crisp, flavorful, fresh). Not one component failed here. No culinary fireworks, just perfect execution. (Given that it was a 9:20pm seating on Sunday night, the staff in the kitchen were friendly but looked a bit tired. I think Chef Serpico mentioned having been there since 8am, presumably due to lunch service. Yikes.)