kathryn

In Manhattan Chinatown? There's a Columbus PARK but no Columbus Street. Columbus Park is between Baxter and Mulberry, a few blocks south of Canal. "A short walk to Little Italy" doesn't really narrow it down much, either. .

From the PDT book: The Mariner 2 oz Compass Box Oak Cross Blended Malt Scotch Whiskey 1/2 oz Black cardamom syrup 1/4 oz Pineapple juice 1/4 oz Lemon juice Lemon peel Stir with ice in a rocks glass. Twist a lemon peel over the drink and drop in glass. Black Cardamom Syrup 48 oz. simple syrup 3 oz Black Cardamom pods Combine and boil for 7-8 minutes over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool for 2 hours. Fine-strain but do not press on the beans.

Definitely check out this site: Real Cheap Eats. I think you're thinking right in terms of pizza (Pies: Motorino over Co and John's over Arturo's; slices: South Brooklyn or Joe's, personally), burgers, Chinese, but I heartily second Katz's Deli, and would add on Russ & Daughters (especially if you split a bagel sandwich), maybe some Italian subs (Torrisi at lunch, Defonte's, Faicco's), falafel (Taim, Azuri Cafe), perhaps Caracas Arepas Bar, Zabb-Elee for Isaan Thai food, the Dosa man in Washington Square Park (lunch mostly). There's a single kinda boring concessions stand at the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island; you might want to eat before/after. Near the ESB, I'd go to Koreatown. Korean BBQ joint Madangsui will be about $20pp. Or you could walk to No. 7 sub and get gourmet sandwiches. Near Ground Zero and Wall Street, the Tribeca Shake Shack isn't too far away and neither is Chinatown, as the whole island kind of tapers and gets narrower to the south. It will depend if you're down there on a weekend; lots of cheap eats vendors and food trucks are only in the Financial District on the weekdays. I'd personally just walk the 20 minutes to Chinatown! In Chinatown, like weinoo, I like Great NY Noodletown. But mostly for roast pork, roast suckling pig, roast duck, flowering chives with beef, and less so the wontons (like most of Chinatown you must order carefully to avoid the clunkers on the menu). Also in Chinatown, I also like Noodle Village for wontons (fried or in soup) and claypot rice. 456 Shanghai Cuisine for fried tiny buns (sheng jien bao). Maybe Shanghai Cafe for soup dumplings. Red Egg for dim sum. Xian Famous Foods for cumin lamb hand pulled noodles. For Central Park, on the north end, Amy Ruth's for chicken and waffles. Near the UWS part of Central Park, there's a Shake Shack at 77th and Columbus. Near the UES, for museums and Central Park, that's a harder neighborhood. We've definitely walked to the UES Luke's Lobster from 5th Avenue and that was a bit of a longish walk. Closer options: at the Met, there's the Sigmund Pretzel Cart, which is one of the few places doing high quality pretzels. At the Whitney, Danny Meyer's Untitled supposedly has gentler prices for lunch. Near Times Square/Bryant Park/Grand Central, Szechuan Gourmet is our go-to: pork dumplings in chili-soy, cumin lamb, mapo tofu (make sure you order the Sichuan dishes). Heard good things about Cafe China and Lan Sheng but haven't tried yet. Near Union Square, you can do a nice duck lunch at Momofuku Ssam for ~$15pp (weekdays only). Dos Toros (as weinoo mentions) or Num Pang for even cheaper. Or maybe the new location of Baohaus. Near MoMA, second the halal cart at 53rd and 6th. It's on the southeast corner during the day, and southwest after dark. The one on the SW corner during the day is a fake. Look for yellow bags that say We Are Different under a circular logo. The red sauce is insanely hot; the white sauce, creamy and delicious. I think it's something like $7-8/plate now.

Unfortunately, the Brooklyn location of Motorino has closed, but the East Village location is still going strong. They also have a nice lunch prix fixe on weekdays. $12 for a salad and a single pizza. Artichoke tends to have thicker crust than most NYC places. I like the square slice there, but find the other ones too creamy/heavy/rich (artichoke "dip" slice) or too sweet (plain/margherita).

Bar Room at the Modern?

You should have gotten the Shack burger. Custard is very good dependent upon the flavor -- not sure where else you can get Midwestern style custard near NYC.

I was not blown away by Roberta's non-pizza dishes. We ordered a la carte -- 8 savories, 3 pizzas, 2 desserts -- this past May. Some of the dishes were under-seasoned (testa, tripe, pasta), one-note (the poached duck egg desperately needed acid), and undercooked (pink pork is fine, hard to chew rare pork isn't). Also IMO peanut butter and mint were NOT meant to go together in a dessert. I would return only for pizza, and only if the wait wasn't long.

You mean Ranch 99? http://www.99ranch.com/store_locator_1.php No, there are none in New York.

Here's the name of the shop: Minamoto Kitchoan 608 Fifth Avenue (entrance on 49th Street) http://www.kitchoan.com/

They can and do. Kenny Shopsin even has a cookbook/memoir out where he reveals some of his secrets (parcooking, parbaking, common bases for dishes, pancake mix, etc.). It's called Eat Me.

Without knowing where you're from or where you're already planning to go, I might say: Blue Ribbon Bakery Market - savory matzoh cracker with garlic, rosemary and parmesan cheese Victory Garden - salted caramel goat ice cream with creative toppings like havlah, figs, roasted tomatoes, etc. Doughnut Plant - interesting seasonal/creative doughnuts like blackout, tres leches, pistachio, green tea, carrot cake, etc. WD-50 - our only real molecular gastronomy offering Txikito - Basque tapas Momofuku Milk Bar - Christina Tosi's sugar-obsessed dessert lab for a revolving menu of items like apple pie cake, pretzel cake, dulce de leche cake, candy bar pie, cereal milk soft serve, grasshopper pie, crack pie, corn cookie, etc. Zabb Elee - Issan (Thai) food Takashi - organic/sustainable Japanese yakiniku, heavy on the offal Xi'an Famous Foods - food from Shaanxi province in China, don't miss the cumin lamb hand pulled noodles Shopsin's - family business, weird hours, oddball menu & service, breakfast and lunch only. No copying what others are eating. No cell phones. No parties greater than four. Don't go if you're picky or have allergies or want modifications or are sensitive to cursing. Items like freakfast sliders, mac and cheese pancakes, slutty cakes, sandwiches with the "bread" made out of french toast or pancakes, made-up soups from around the world (i.e., "this is what I think Kenyan soup would taste like" not "this is the kind of soup they eat in Kenya"). Some people hate it; some people love it. Halal Guys cart at 53rd and 6th - make sure you go to the southEAST corner before 8pm, and the southWEST corner after 8pm. Defonte's - you know that "sandwich day" episode of 30 Rock? That's this place.. Torrisi Italian Specialties - upscale-ish American-Italian with global influences (Jamaican, Chinese, Jewish). No reservations. Show up at 5:45pm to put your name down. There's a nightly prix fixe menu (~$50) for dinner based upon what's local and fresh. It changes all the time. Mile End - Quebec food -- pastrami, poutine, Montreal bagels, sells out quickly Kabab Cafe - Egyptian food and offal Red Hook Ballfields = a series of food trucks serving arepas, huraches, ceviche, elote, agua fresca, and more (open only during the warmer months) Joyride Truck - caffeinated frozen yogurt City Bakery - pretzel croissant and the baker's (aka leftovers) muffin Sigmund Pretzelshop - pretzels the way they were meant to be, they also do pretzel sandwiches and interesting flavors and dips See also M. Wells (assuming their new location is open by the time of your trip)

I had an amazing eggs benedict with fennel hollandaise and crispy pork belly at Jam last week. Definitely a good choice. I see from your previous trip report that you hit up Xoco, why not try Frontera Grill or Topolobampo this time around? Nothing really like them in NYC. Probably easier to get in for lunch than dinner (not sure when your trip is). You might also want to add Purple Pig to your list. Makes for a lovely late lunch or pre-dinner nosh. Not sure a trek to Chinatown in Chicago is worth it, especially with NYC's embarrassment of Chinese riches lately (Henan, Shaanxi, Fujian, Dongbei, etc). I liked Lao Sze Chuan a lot when I went last year but it seemed on par with Szechuan Gourmet, Chengdu Heaven, etc. And if you like cocktails at all, go to The Aviary. I don't think there's anything really like it in the entire country. They take same-day reservations over email (chosen randomly), and if you don't get one, the wait isn't very long if you show up shortly before they open (6pm). As a NY cocktail nerd, when we visit Chicago, we arrange our schedule around drinking at The Aviary.

Check out Stumptown (29th and Broadway, closer to Penn Station), Culture Espresso (38th and 6th, near Times Square), Joe the Art of Coffee (inside Grand Central and also on the UWS at 85th and Columbus), Zibetto (mostly espresso, closer to Central Park, on 6th Ave between 56th/57th). Momofuku Milk Bar Midtown also brews Stumptown (drip and cold brew, no espresso). It really depends where you are -- Midtown is big.

Best French Toast I've had in NYC is either at Five Points or City Bakery. I've made the Five Points one (bourbon and vanilla bean) at home using Balthazar brioche, sliced thickly. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/06/sunday_brunch_bourbon_vanilla_french_toast.html Note that it calls for both whole milk AND heavy cream, as well as scraping a fresh vanilla bean, and adding 1/4 c. bourbon. What kind of milk were you using? French Toast with skim or 2% milk never seems to turn out as well.

Good to know! The reservation policy does seem a little limited. Although we welcome our guests to join us on a walk-in basis, a limited number of reservations are available for parties of six or more prior to 6:30 PM.

From their site: franny's cannot accommodate parties larger than 6 and does not take reservations. We are a first come, first serve restaurant and parties are seated when completed. franny's is not currently offering private events.

For a quick breakfast near 20th and 6th/7th: City Bakery on 18th and 5th Avenue (for, say, a pretzel croissant and coffee) Doughnut Plant on 23rd and 8th (I prefer the cake doughnuts) La Maison du Macaron on 23rd St between 6th and 7th (FKA Madelein Patisserie, it's not just macarons, they are a French patisserie with croissants, brioche, etc.) For lunch afterwards, you're not all that far from Eisenberg's, Shake Shack, Eataly, or ABC Kitchen. For a group of unadventurous-to-adventurous eaters, it's really going to depend where you can get a reservation at this late point (since the trip is next week book ASAP), how much you want to spend, and the size of your group (more than 4 is big for Manhattah). I would try: Craft Hearth Blue Ribbon Bakery or Brasserie Hill Country (most picky eaters are totally OK with BBQ) Westville Redhead Peels Freemans or perhaps pizza at Motorino/Keste/etc.

The problem with 900 Degrees is that it feels like 900 degrees in the restaurant if they seat you in the section by the oven! Also, the rumble of the 1 train below can be a bit distracting. I'm not sure it's nice enough for a business dinner. What about Peasant or Rubirosa?

I don't know that I'd lump the word of the professional newspaper or magazine reviewer in with that of the yelper or twitee. Certainly, your experience or my experience at a particular restaurant may be better or worse than that of said reviewer; but I tend to trust the pro a bit more. At a minimum the pro is (supposed to) have a baseline of experience in dining out. Maybe do some fact-checking. For individual Yelp reviews, I wish you could flag them as: - reviewer has no familiarity with this cuisine/food - reviewer has totally unrealistic expectations - reviewer went on opening night and complained that things weren't perfect - reviewer is a vegetarian/vegan reviewing a steakhouse/meat-centric restaurant - reviewer is posting a retaliatory negative review because wasn't comped when asked - reviewer is superficial positive review based only upon attractiveness of wait staff/bartenders - reviewer is reviewing the wrong restaurant - reviewer is giving a poor review because they preferred the establishment that used to be in the same space, but closed - etc. A friend calls Yelp "what happens when you give Livejournal users credit cards." Real reviews from real people remind us that real people are often idiots. Not to mention that the default filter is the unexplained "Yelp Sort" where "certain" unfavorable reviews get filtered out. I use Yelp on my iPhone has a directory as well but I believe the overall star rating affects the order of the search results, especially in less-populated areas.

Any word on when they open to the public? I assume they'll do weekend dim sum!

Oak Cross, sorry, I neglected to mention that.

Theirs is "smoked cardamom" syrup, BTW. Not sure what makes it "smoked." The Mariner: 2 oz Compass Box Scotch 1/2 oz Smoked cardamom simple syrup 1/4 oz Pineapple juice 1/4 oz Lemon juice Lemon peel Stir with ice in a rocks glass. Twist a lemon peel over the drink and drop in glass.

I just checked and it does not contain that recipe.

From the NYT today: JOEY PHADUNGSIL, who cooked at the original Rhong-Tiam, is now the chef at Sura Thai Urban Kitchen, 2656 Broadway (100th Street).