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Stephanie

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Everything posted by Stephanie

  1. Oh yeah, definitely. I got a bad MSG headache when I was there, so bad that I'm reluctant to go back.
  2. Well, I would too if I'd only had the Joyva version. Fresh halvah is wonderful, especially the marble kind or the one with chocolate on top.
  3. Well, the chow mein was definitely there last August. You have to really search all the menus up on the wall--I don't know what heading it's under. Of course, maybe they took it off the menu after all.
  4. If you're feeling really brave, go to Nathan's and get the chow mein on a bun. Or the frog's legs.
  5. That's what they seem to be, anyway. I have no idea as to what else they could be. I like that place because the portions are huge. The $11.75 portion of feijoada could easily have fed three hungry people.
  6. Stephanie

    Dinner! 2003

    Nigella Lawson's recipe for caramelized onion and lentil pilaf that appeared in last week's NY Times. Even though I had all the right ingredients (including curry leaf--not terribly easy to find), kind of a boring meal. Should have turned up the spice levels even more. The salad I made with it was good: cucumber with a dressing of Greek yogurt, olive oil, dried mint, and fresh parsley. Put me in a spring mood even though we got slushy snow today.
  7. It's Cantina da Lina in Astoria, on 30th Street just north of Broadway. Basically takeout only, though there is a counter with 2-3 stools.
  8. In my neighborhood, there's a tiny Brazilian takeout place run by a husband and wife (she does the cooking, he mans the register). They have daily specials, and Saturday is feijoada day. The version that was presented to me last night was a huge portion of stew with black beans, pork, sausage, shredded collard greens, and BIG pieces of fat, served over rice. It came with toasted yucca flour (that had crispy pork in it) and orange pieces to go on top. It was wonderful, except for the fat chunks, but since I'd never had it I'm wondering how authentic that version really is. What constitutes a "definitive" Brazilian feijoada?
  9. What's wrong with Cool-Whip? It's the perfect accompaniment to Jello. Sometimes you just want pure junk food.
  10. I could have used that knife guard this weekend when I got a nice cut on my thumb as I was using my chef's knife to peel an onion. Thank goodness it wasn't deep enough to require stitches.
  11. I would think white cheese would be the lesser abomination, given that yellow American cheese is probably that color because of food dye.
  12. Well, unfortunately, there isn't. For Ashkenazis observing the rituals, all grains are out, as are legumes such as peas and beans, as well as corn. Anything fermented. And, btw, olives are out as well. And only pickles specially prepared for Passover are permitted. Yup, the list is long.... I have seen Passover noodles, but I don't know what they are made of, and I don't know how they taste. Frankly, if it's not a real noodle, I'm not interested. I have read on several sites that quinoa is OK for Passover. I don't know how strictly observant the people hosting the seder are, so if you make something with quinoa in it you may want to bring printouts from the Web as backup! Barley is always out. I think spelt is very iffy.
  13. Only if your idea of raisins in cereal are those nasty, sugary things found in Raisin Bran. Fresh raisins are a wonderful addition to cereal--they add sweetness so you don't need the extra added sugar. I'm a definite raisin lover--could you tell?
  14. I will be looking forward to my mother's cooking, especially her matzo ball soup, and taking home as many leftovers as possible. I also plan on conniving my way into a few parties; I figure if I plan right, I won't have to cook at all. I detest Passover macaroons, and Passover cookies are only marginally better. My favorite dessert is plain old dark chocolate. At home we always had Kopper's Coffee Beans, which is solid chocolate with coffee in it shaped to look like the beans. Since I'm not really observant the rest of the year, I treat the Passover dietary rules as a test; if I can make it through the 8 days without blatantly eating chametz, I've passed. My rule is: if I can read the list of ingredients, I will avoid products with chametz, but I will not ask the person behind the counter if the soda they're serving me is made with corn syrup or what oil they cooked the fries with.
  15. Stephanie

    Nobu

    I too, enjoyed the meal very much. I have nothing further to add regarding the decor and the piss-poor acoustics (I had to shout at the people sitting next to me, urgh). Regarding B, I don't think we were necessarily meant to consume all the sauce. Since it was not covering the tuna, some could have been left to the side. But, it did complement the tuna well in small doses, I thought. The pan-seared sea bass had an interesting smoky aftertaste, as if it had been grilled rather than seared. The black cod with miso was absolutely heavenly. I know that many other restaurants have this dish on their menus now, but I can't see how any of them would surpass Nobu's version. There was an exact balance of sweet and salty, of fat and flesh. As for the sushi, I have had better elsewhere. And there was way too much wasabi on a couple of pieces. For the record, they gave us amberjack, tuna, king salmon, Japanese snapper, and an unagi roll. The addition of clams in the miso was unexpected, at least to me. Interestingly, they didn't provide spoons with the soup--the waiter said that in Japan people just pick up the bowl and slurp it, like tea. But all in all, it was a lovely, relaxing evening with fun, lively company. Now I can say I've been to Nobu!
  16. Liza -- "American cheese" is that yellow cheese like substance that's made with vegetable oil and not milk like real cheese should. (I think its vegetable oil...someone pls correct me if I'm wrong.) Kraft's Singles comes to mind. Cheers, Soba Actually, American cheese is not too bad IF you get the kind sold at the supermarket deli counter sliced to order. Land O' Lakes is good; Boar's Head a close second. They're pretty much "real cheese," as opposed to the plastic-tasting stuff in the dairy aisle.
  17. Stephanie

    Fish + Cheese

    Mom would add cheese sometimes to dishes using filets (flounder, sole), usually in the form of a cheese sauce. She didn't use anything stronger or more exotic than sharp cheddar. Never saw anything odd about it.
  18. As far as I know there's only one Delicious Orchards, and it's in Colts Neck along Route 34. I grew up near there and we used to go all the time. They've expanded a lot over the years; not only do they have an amazing produce department and a huge in-house bakery, but they have a meat & cheese counter, a chocolates counter, frozen foods, and gourmet items (grains, condiments, tea & coffee, etc.). Their Web site can be found here. If you don't have a car or know someone who does, there isn't much shopping you can do. Their mail order business is limited to gift boxes, pies, and cider donuts.
  19. Definitely. I try to avoid that these days by making my matzo sandwiches in the morning, not the night before. When I was a kid, Mom would actually make kosher-for-Passover rolls. They didn't taste all that good plus some kids would give me grief because they thought I was cheating. Eventually, I told Mom I'd just deal with the matzo. Oy, that reminds me--Passover is less than a month away!
  20. I just happened to think of this last night as I was putting together today's lunch. When you were a kid, did you ever bring to school anything (a) you thought was gross but your parents foisted upon you anyway or (b) something you loved then but look back on now with "anti-nostalgia"? These would be the kind of things NOBODY would trade you for. Mine was chicken roll. Anyone ever heard of that? It's various bits of cooked chicken meat, plus skin and fat, pressed into a fat roll shape like a breakfast sausage or a kosher salami. Slice and put on bread. Lord knows how much calories and fat were in there-I don't know if they even make it these days. I put up with chicken roll sandwiches for a few years until I begged Mom not to buy it anymore.
  21. They seem to do this in the Asturia province of Spain. When we were in Madrid, my friend and I went to an Asturian restaurant and she was thrilled to be able to order a steak covered in a blue cheese sauce. (I however went with the hake in cider casserole.) She enjoyed herself tremendously and I think the meal is permanently imprinted in her memory bank.
  22. That's the Village Den. I used to live around the corner. The Village Den is actually the diner on the corner. It used to be fairly scruffy for a diner, but it's been totally spruced up, interior-wise. (No idea how good the food is.) I didn't think that bar, which is on Greenwich Avenue proper, had a name at all.
  23. Plates--it's easier to microwave that way.
  24. I ate at Bloodroot a long time ago, and if I recall the food was pretty decent. It's one of those feminist collective veggie places that were around in the '70s and has managed to stay open all this time. I think they even put a cookbook out.
  25. Now that I find myself living a mere 20-minute or so walk from Kabab Cafe, I'd love to join some eGulleteers one evening. However, I'm a real wuss when it comes to offal/organ meats, so are there any other specialties of Ali's that someone can recommend? (Or conversly, things to avoid.)
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