kathryn

Momofuku Ko does not take parties greater than 4, so that is automatically out.

Payard has a new bakery downtown in addition to the chocolate bar. http://www.fpbnyc.com/

Second freezing one-serving sized portions (I use plastic Ziploc bags or Gladware), individually quick frozen shrimp (the precooked kind is even more of a time saver if you remember to defrost the night before, as it just needs 1 min of warming up in a sauce), miso marinated salmon/cod, chili, curry, and soups. We always have shelf stable gnocchi (you can get this at Trader Joe's), a variety of short pastas, and cans of artichoke hearts, diced tomatoes, chickpeas, and white beans in the pantry. In the fridge, prewashed baby spinach is very versatile and can be easily thrown into a pasta sauce or tossed into a side salad. Pasta with chickpeas/white beans, tomatoes, spinach, fresh herbs, topped with pecorino/parmesan/fontina/etc. is quick and easy. Lately I've been making these three recipes a lot: Chickpea, Spinach & Squash Gnocchi - with aforementioned shelf stable gnocchi, and don't omit the splash of balsalmic Orzo with Lamb, Olives & Feta - add more lamb for a higher protein content White Beans, Spinach & Tomatoes over Parmesan Toasts - the topping for the toasts freezes well This casserole also freezes nicely. I throw in some shredded chicken, more cumin than called for, some cayenne pepper and salt. Chilaquiles Casserole See also Mark Bittman's 10 Minute recipes.

If you're dead set on visiting One if By Land, have a drink at the bar before your dinner and then walk to Blue Hill, which is only a few minutes away walking.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/tabla-is-closing/

Missing from Sam's NYC list: Counting Room, Summit Bar, White Star. And if you count restaurant bars, it gets even longer: Vandaag, Eleven Madison Park, Yerba Buena, Momofuku Ssam Bar, Peels. In Austin, I liked Peche and the bar at the restaurant Parkside (didn't make it to East Side Show Room). On a recent trip to Milwaukee, we loved Bittercube's residency at the restaurant Bacchus, so it's worth keeping an eye on where they land. They were at Bryant's cocktail lounge previous to Bacchus. Just got back from DC, and would add the Gibson to the Columbia Room which is already on the list.

There's no way Angel's Share deserves a spot that high on the list, especially above Violet Hour. It's 2nd tier in NYC to PDT, Pegu, D&C. No Sasha Petraske bars either (Milk & Honey)?

We started our DC cocktailing at the Gibson in the patio on a Wednesday evening just after 6pm. Two gelato based drinks were enjoyed. I had the The Virgil: Cruzan Black Strap, Dolin Rouge, Kubler Absinthe, Mint, Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters, Angostura, Vanilla Gelato. My husband had the Odd Duck: Hayman's, mango gomme, Basalm Fir tincture, Fever tree lemon soda. Both were good. Not the best but I had never had but I appreciated the creativity, wonderful service, and sitting in the backyard. After the bugs began to feast on me, we moved into to the bar where I enjoyed a drink whose name escapes me, but contained mezcal, lime, agave, and absinthe. Well balanced and very enjoyable. My husband had something with both a peaty scotch and a bit of gin if I recall correctly -- not the safest combination but the drink was enjoyable. We also had an old fashioned made with their signature Hellfire bitters, that paired well with their maddeningly addictive chickpea fries. It was decent until the copious amounts of ice began to melt, making it quite watery. A problem we encountered at a lot of DC bars. Too many drinks being made with crappy, small ice in this town! The drinks served up at the Gibson were fine, though. Two days later we made it to Proof for dinner. Overall, the menu of cocktails didn't excite me. The drinks here we tried were not good. We only had two and I have no idea who was behind the stick, but I basically left most of mine untouched. I had the Yarmouth: cachaca and manzanilla sherry with elderflower liqueur, grapefruit bitters and Hitachino Nest's herbal spirit (hops, coriander and citrus). The ingredients never really came together in the way I'd hoped and it was too herbal and unbalanced for me. My husband's Post colonial was a little better (rum, dubonnet rouge, Chartreuse, Peychaud's) but nothing special and I think maybe the Chartreuse proportion was out of whack. Disappointing. Additionally, a lot of the housemade drinks seemed to contain honey syrup, which we both find cloying sometimes in cocktails. Again, since we sat at the table, we had limited interaction with the bartender, and had no idea who was behind the stick that Friday night. Maybe we just chose the two that were weakest. The food however, was really good. Hoping to grab better drinks elsewhere, we decamped to the Passenger while waiting for our reservation at the Columbia Room in back. Tried a Rhum Ti punch which was fine (maybe needed more lime) but had far too many ice cubes so it got watery fast. My gin, lemon, absinthe drink was not good at all and I didn't finish it as it was too heavy on the absinthe, so the taste of the gin was lost over time. My husband also ordered a mescal, sherry, lime drink, also served on the rocks, that was mostly sherry with a bit of mescal to finish. It was a good idea but I think might need some refinement or work. It also had far too many small ice cubes and turned to water very quickly. Since my husband got the drinks, I didn't see the bartenders work but I suspect they were freepouring. The Columbia Room, however, was fantastic. Started something unnamed. I believe the base spirit was cognac served with Lapsang Souchong Tea (a smoky Chinese tea with Fujian province), Benedictine, prosecco, orange twist, in a champagne glass. Delicious, not too sweet, not too boozy, not too dry. Next was the Knickerbocker a la señor: dry sherry, fig and orange granita, vanilla, crushed ice. Paired with orange fig blue cheese and raddichio salad with caramel caviar. Delicious and the cocktail and food played very well together, especially the fresh fig against the sherry, fig, and vanilla elements in the cocktail. My husband then asked for their version of the Mai Tai which they serve with Appleton Reserve, housemade orgeat, orange, and perhaps another element or two. It was also excellent -- far too many Mai Tais are just booze delivery devices or fruitier than jello. This was a quirky but balanced Mai Tai. Great service. Good ice. Great technique. Great bartenders who were entertaining. Guests all enjoying fabulous drinks. I'd be here all the time if I lived in DC (and be much much poorer I'm sure). Thank you, Derek! After dinner the next night, we popped into PS7's where I'd heard a lot about their cocktail list. Gina, their mixologist, wasn't behind the bar that night. And the drinks we had weren't good either. I watched as the bartender sometimes freepoured, sometimes used a jigger, shook drinks in a shaker for 3-4 seconds tops, do a poor job of stirring, and didn't bother to taste any of the drinks going out. My husband's Happy Together (mezcal, chocolate bitters, orange) was fine but served in a short glass with too many ice cubes. Watery, again, in just a few minutes. I liked my Rickey Ricardo but it was a bit watery as well -- couldn't tell if it was the recipe or the bartender's doing but it didn't look like there was a lot of gin to begin with in the drink (I watched him freepour into the glass). My Sun and Sand was far too sweet, especially with the root beer crust, the vanilla was overpowering (I think it needed some acid component), and I just couldn't finish it. Minus points too for the TV set to The Apprentice (ugh) and the bar being right by the bright, frosted glass, sliding kitchen doors (ugh) and the tub of popcorn left without the lid on all night (no wonder it was stale). Of all of them I'd definitely the Columbia Room again, the Gibson is a strong maybe, and I'd do Proof for food & wine.

Thanks, Mitch! Made a reservation for Proof, we'll see how it goes.

Husband and I are headed down for a few days to see family. Between family commitments, I am thinking that we'll hit up the Columbia Room/Passenger and the Gibson. Are these the two must hit cocktail lounges in the city? We probably won't have the opportunity this time to head out to PX.

I've been using the Oxo Steel Double Jigger a lot recently because it has both the 1/4 oz. marking and 3/4 oz marking. (Although we also have a plethora of the 1/2-3/4 and 1-2 oz jiggers.) Does your Oxo Steel Double Jigger not have a 3/4 oz. marking? Or are you talking about the Oxo mini measuring cups? For drips, I typically lay down a mat or paper towel when making a drink to deal with the drips. Not ideal, though.

Aldea would be closed. Hours from their site: Hours Closed on Sundays (AND LABOR DAY) Lunch: Mon - Fri (11:30am - 2:00pm) Dinner: Mon (5:30pm - 10:00pm) Tues - Thu (5:30pm - 11:00pm) Fri & Sat (5:30pm - 12:00am)

Huh, I've definitely made a reservation at Degustation before, but I don't think it was for a Sunday. Perhaps you can explain that this is a special occasion? Le Bernardin, Jean Georges, The Modern, and Adour are all closed on Sundays. And Adour's Open Table account says it is on its annual vacation as well.

Also, this coming Sunday (the 5th) is Labor Day as well and some restaurants which are normally open on Sundays may be taking the weekend off.

Apparently, though, they cook everything to medium-well unless you specify "juicy" when ordering. I wasn't impressed with my burger there and thought the meat had very little flavor or seasoning.

Trader Tiki now has passionfruit syrup available. Just picked up a bottle a few days ago but haven't tried it yet. My notes from the Beachbum Berry books say: Passion Fruit Syrup * 1/4 cup sugar * 1/4 cup water * 1/2 cup thawed frozen passion fruit pulp Place sugar in boiling water, then stir in thawed frozen passion fruit pulp. Keeps 2-3 days.

Non-VIPs are only offered 6pm or 10pm dinner reservation times at Minetta Tavern but if you really want to try the Black Label burger, you can: a) have the burger at the bar b) have the burger during brunch

This might interest you: http://aht.seriouseats.com/ This guy has nearly the same quest as you: http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2010/08/must-have-burgers-in-nyc.html Note that some places who have a notable burger only serve it at lunch (Peter Luger, Little Owl, Prune).

I know that cocktailkingdom.com has been trying to source them for sale online. No news yet. Ask Ed Hamilton, founder of Ministry of Rum, very nicely? We got ours from a bartender who probably got it from Ed or someone who's close to Ed.

I know that some Danny Meyer restaurants have specifically gluten free menus, like Blue Smoke. Friedman's in Chelsea Market is completely gluten free. Keste has gluten free pizzas on Mondays and Tuesdays. Otto will also do gluten free pastas on request. I think S'Mac or Mac Bar or perhaps both (?) do gluten free mac and cheese. Never really liked anything you could get at Babycakes, alas. A friend who is dairy-allergic (as in the take me to the emergency room kind, not the lactose-intolerance type) really likes Lula’s Sweet Apothecary and their ice cream is gluten free. East Asian can be tricky (especially sushi) but I'm wondering if Thai food could be more forgiving, assuming it's a place cooking traditionally and not adding in soy sauce.

You can keep track of when there's going to be a DJ at the Counting Room here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brooklyn-NY/The-Counting-Room/206956411845 We had a similar issue when we went on a Saturday night, on the later side and chose to go back on a Sunday instead. Really enjoyed my A Lazy Spring (Beefeater Gin, Rosemary-infused Bianco Vermouth, Lemon, Honey, Black Peppercorn) and Karmic Fate (El Jimador Blanco Tequila, Plymouth Sloe Gin, Lemon, Egg White) whereas my husband was all over the Salt & Ash (Chichicapa Mezcal, Grapefruit-infused El Jimador Blanco Tequila, Lapsang Sweet Vermouth, Maraschino, Agave, Angostura, Orange Bitters) and Italian Heirloom.

BTW, someone from Chowhound reports that the former manager of the old Hell's Kitchen branch of Grand Sichuan (9th Ave and 50th) has moved on from the St Marks location of Grand Sichuan to open up his own spot, Great Sichuan (with a very similar menu) on 3rd and 27th. It's very possible that he hired the old HK GS chefs as well. If I'm in Times Square, I'd rather go to Szechuan Gourmet in any case. Have you tried Lan Sheng?

Alex, I never did finish writing up this trip (it was last summer, year of 2009) and unfortunately Inopia is closed.

Oms/b? http://www.riceball-omsb.com/

We used to have a juice press but: - it took up too much space (counter space is at a premium in a Manhattan kitchen) - there wasn't enough clearance to use it (handle would bang up against the bottom of the kitchen cabinets) - it failed miserably in extracting all of the juice from limes (the squeezing element was optimized for oranges making it way too big for limes) - the suction cup feet eventually gave out