kathryn

Don't forget to book Alinea on February 1st if you plan to visit in April. They open the book up for the entire month for April on February 1, at 10am Central time.

How about Tocqueville or Gotham Bar and Grill?

Degustation has lost Chef Genovart to Vermont, just so you know. 456's soup dumplings are good but on the smaller side, and more delicate/less greasy, with thin skin. If you seek soup dumplings with a thicker, chewy skin, that are fattier/greasier, you'll be disappointed at 456 (as you may know, thick skins and greasy broth are usually considered bad in Asia). 456 does amazing sheng jian bao though. The soup dumplings are good, but I think Red Farm's are better -- extremely thin skin, light and delicate filling, very flavorful and not greasy soup. But Red Farm's soup dumplings are much more expensive. See also The Best Soup Dumplings in Chinatown.

> John Dory Oyster Bar Try Pearl Oyster Bar. > Breslin (staying at the ACE) Spotted Pig (no reservations), Prune (reservations via phone), Fatty Cue (OpenTable). > Momofuku ssam Try Ma Peche (momofuku.com for reservations). > Casa mono Tertulia? May be a bit crowded still. > BLT Prime Minetta Tavern? They're on OpenTable now, or you can try to go early/late and eat at the bar. > Oh Taisho Yakitori Totto. Takashi (Japanese BBQ/yakinku, get there early due to long lines)? > Union Square Grill I think you meant Union Square Cafe? Maybe Maialino? Craft? ABC Kitchen? All 3 serve at the bar if you can't get a reservation. > Pulinos Motorino? > Totto Ramen Rockmeisha or Ippudo? For Chinese, Sichuan at Legend, Cafe China, or Szechuan Gourmet. Sheng jian bao or soup dumplings at 456 Shanghai Cuisine or Shanghai Cafe. Roast meats at Great NY Noodletown. Cantonese seafood at South China Garden. Claypot rice and wontons at Noodle Village. Dim sum at Dim Sum Go Go or Red Egg.

No vermouth, huh? 2nd the Jasmine. CocktailDB.com also turns up the Roman Candle: 1 oz Campari 1 oz cranberry juice 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice Shake, strain, serve on the rocks, lemon twist.

For a regular reservation, send an email the morning of with your name, phone number, party size, and desired seating time. They will respond by early afternoon. There are three seating times: 6pm, 8pm, 10pm. They always accept walk-ins. For a kitchen table reservation, send an email 4 weeks beforehand. There are two seating times: 6pm or 10pm. Only parties of 2 or 4. The kitchen table serves a 10 course tasting of cocktails and bites. $165pp. A reservation for The Aviary does not count for Next. The menu is a mix of a la carte drinks ($15-28) and a 3 course prix fixe ($45) as well as a 7 course tasting ($125). Selections change frequently. Here's a photo of a recent menu.

Envious. All thanks to my husband who found a bottle of Stagg in a random liquor store in suburban Wisconsin, and carefully got it back home without the TSA confiscating it from his checked luggage.

My husband and I have gone through periods of making the same PDT cocktail over and over for a few weeks at a time. Some favorites: Benton's Old Fashioned Mezcal Mule Shiso Delicious Staggerac Vieux Mot

Maialino has a pizza bianca/mortadella sandwich on their breakfast/brunch menu.

I spoke to some friends who dined at Alinea a few weeks ago and their experience mirrored mine. The portions were enough to leave you satisfied but not large enough to be uncomfortable, until the dessert course. They tried valiantly to finish the tabletop dessert, came close, but ultimately failed.

From the list that NY Post has: Graffiti 224 E. 10th St.; 212-464-7743 Size: 410 square feet Seating: 4 tables, 28 diners Nook 746 Ninth Ave.; 212-247-5500 Size: 350 square feet Seating: 10 tables, 24 diners Caracas Arepa Bar 93½ E. Seventh St.; 212-529-2314 Size: 700 square feet, including kitchen and bathroom Seating: 13 tables, 29 diners Abistro 154 Carlton Ave., Fort Greene, Brooklyn; 718-855-9455 Size: 475 square feet Seating: 11 tables, 26 diners Smith and Mills 71 N. Moore St.; 212-226-2515 Size: 400 square feet Seating: 7 tables, 16 diners, plus more at the bar Westville 210 W. 10th St.; 212-741-7971 Size: 350 square feet Seating: 9 two-top tables, 22 diners

Momofuku Ko is 12 seats. Prune only seats 30 according to their site, and I believe that is counting the large private dining area in the basement. Here's a list of tiny restaurants from the NY Post: http://www.nypost.com/f/print/lifestyle/food/squeezed_mKQ1XvB3GLhvfPjJnSzllN I don't think anything on that list is as ambitious as what you're thinking of, though.

Many restaurants are closed on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is a Sunday this year, and lots of upscale restaurants don't serve Sunday lunch to begin with. According to OpenTable the following will be open for Christmas Day lunch: Bouley Maialino Tocqueville There's also Jean Georges whose Facebook page says it will be open but you must call, I tried but I couldn't book on OpenTable.

I've dined at Alinea before and found it to be perfectly satisfying but not too much food... That is, until the final " " course. Don't feel compelled to eat the whole thing. We didn't finish and I didn't see any tables who did.

My current favorites are: Great NY Noodletown for roast pork, suckling pig, duck Noodle Village for wontons in soup, claypot rice 456 for sheng jian bao (pan-fried soup dumplings but with a more bready wrapper), soup dumplings If you're worried about crowds, make a reservation at Peking Duck House (good peking duck) or Red Egg (dim sum). And buy your movie tickets ahead of time/get to the theater a bit early (unlike other cities, I find that movies sell out hours before in Manhattan and the good seats go fast as well).

Your biggest issue will be the huge lines and crowds in Chinatown that day. It will be flooded with people on Christmas Day.

I've stayed at that particular Westin and the area immediately surrounding is a little bit barren/empty, but if you're into cocktails, don't miss Drink. It's about a ten minute walk away, as is an outpost of Flour Bakery. What I found most annoying about staying at that Westin was that it was on the Silver Line (a dedicated underground bus line). Be prepared for two transfers to get to some places. We didn't really eat in the neighborhood of the hotel, so, sorry I can't be of more use there.

Odd Duck in Austin, TX. A pork belly slider with sauerkraut and shaved turnips and aioli -- fatty, crispy heaven between a bun. Creamy, cheesy, perfect goat cheese grits with a poached duck egg, wild mushrooms, and grilled turnip. A punch in the face of sweet umami flavor. Fresh shrimp, perfectly cooked and so sweet, served with arugula, broccoli, texamati rice, sherry vinegar, and gruyere cheese was great but my friends didn't think much of the salad/rice combo. Venison sausage with sweet potato salad, cheddar, aioli, and pecans was great and gamey. Amazing. And they were out of 1/2 the menu by the time we rolled up around 6:30pm on a Saturday (menu changes daily, very market-driven). I'd definitely go back and bring a bottle of wine next time (they are BYOB and parked permanently in an empty lot, surrounded by picnic tables, and Christmas lights).

Do note: Spanish restaurants can have wacky hours. Some close on Sundays/Mondays. In Spain, my favorite foods were pimientos de padron (small fried green peppers where the occasional one is spicy), grilled squid, grilled razor clams, poached octopus Galician style, fried croquettas of jamon, thinly sliced jamon iberico on its own, seared foie gras on toast, toasted bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil, chorizo, thick bittersweet chocolate with fresh churros, torrija (Spanish french toast), creme catalan (Spanish creme brulee), and cafe cortados. Many photos are here. When I went in 2009, I enjoyed Cinc Sentits (our splurge meal - excellent), Quimet i Quimet, Cacao Sampaka (chocolates), Tapac24 (probably would be where I'd go now that Inopia has closed), Hisop (though Cinc Sentits was much better), Escriba (chocolates/pastries), La Granja (hot chocolate, Carrer dels Banys Nous 4) and the churreria a few doors down, and Cafe Viena (overrated by Mark Bittman in the New York Times but fine for a jamon sandwich on a tourist stretch of town). We didn't make it Jamonissimo. Go to Paco Meralgo for your seafood fix. Great grilled clams. Best pan con tomate I've ever had. Excellent torrija. And they're open on Sundays (many Barcelona places aren't). And they take reservations. I've sent multiple friends there and they've always come back in love with the place. I liked Bar Pinotxo in the Boqueria for breakfast/seafood as well. Garbanzo beans with blood sausage for breakfast! Croquettas! Breakfast/lunch only. We didn't get to try El Quim or Kiosko Universal. Quimet y Quimet is wonderful; heartily second the recommendations. Be prepared to squeeze in and fight for a prime spot at the standing room only counter. The smoked salmon, yogurt cheese, and truffle honey montadito is a thing of beauty. We also liked the air-dried beef one (cecina) if you want something non-canned. All the toasts we tried were fantastic though; we went back twice in the span of five days. La Granja for hot chocolate with a stop at the generic looking (but delicious) Xurreria for churros next door. La Granja is at Carrer dels Banys Nous 4. They will let you bring in the churros from the xurreria. La Granja also specializes in Melindros which are sort of like a ladyfinger. La Pallaresa might be worth a stop, too, for their ensaimada pastries, a Mallorcan specialty filled with almond paste. Escribà for fancy desserts and chocolates. And the tap water in Barcelona strongly tastes of chlorine, just so you know.

You can get jamon iberico bellota but only from one producer up until very recently. There are also non-bellota grades of jamon where the pig's diet is either entirely cereal feed or a mix of acorns and cereal feed. The bellota designation is important! Jamon iberico in the US is usually Fermin brand. The sales person at Despana explained to me that the Fermin pig is acorn-finished in the last 3 days of life (which surprised me), as opposed to being wild and acorn-fed for its entire life, like the 5Js brand. The 5Js brand has a lot more cachet. What you had at Boqueria was likely regular jamon iberico OR possibly jamon iberico bellota, but both were Fermin brand. Only in the last few weeks has 5Js (Cinco Jotas) brand been available in the USA (due to years it took for FDA approval). Only the paleta is available for now. The bellota is coming soon in 2012, as it takes much longer to cure. The 5J's paleta is much more expensive than the Fermin jamon iberico bellota. The 5J's jamon paleta is $175/lb, hand-sliced at Despana. The taste difference is evident: the 5Js jamon is nuttier, sweeter, and much more luscious of a jamon than Fermin's. If the 5Js paleta is already this good, I can't wait to taste the 5Js iberico bellota! In Spain, you will be able to taste more producers, of course, as well as jamon iberico from different regions, different parts of the leg, etc.

242 West 116th St? You'll be pretty close to Amy Ruth's for fried chicken and waffles. If you keep going west, you'll hit Columbia. You may need to walk a bit to Morningside Heights get to some restaurants, though. Consider: Absolute Bagels Hungarian Pastry Shop Thai Market Kitchenette Indus Valley Red Rooster (may be too pricey) Taquerea Y La Fonda Mexicana Dinosaur BBQ Awash Cascabel Taqueria

Well, they only serve the duck bowl with those sides for weekday lunch. The menu structure may have changed to automatically include the pancake now ($14 + $2 surcharge = $16).

Rotisserie duck over rice is $14 I think but the lettuce is $1 extra and the chive pancake is $2 extra. You'll probably want both add-ons and to share a side, too.

Not a lot in the immediate few blocks but you're within a short walk of lots of great stuff in Cobble Hill. Try Mile End Delicatessen, Sottocasa Pizza (run by an ex-Kesté guy), Hanco's Vietnamese Sandwiches, Bien Cuit Bakery. Lucky for you Serious Eats also just did a great neighborhood guide for that area. Don't miss the additions in the comments.

I looked on Google and there's the Aloft Hotel in Brooklyn, as well as the New York Loft Hostel, 249 Varet Street, in Bushwick. Are either of these the one you meant? I don't think that there's anything called the Loft Hotel. If you're staying at the New York Loft Hostel, you are very close to both Roberta's and the L train, Morgan Ave stop.