tommy

nothin to it but to do it.

rosie, please reserve that type of nonsense for adam baldic's bio. regards. tom

story about the Waterfront: my friends would drag me there a couple of times a year. i was never much of a fan of the place. but, they have a good selection of beer and it was a good place for a group of friends to hang out and drink. so anyway, my friend and i walk in there at about 11 pm on sept 11. his brother worked in the the WTC, and we had spent from 10 am on hoofing it around NYC hospitals, filing out forms, looking for him, etc (never found him). at any rate, not that this bartender knew out particular circumstance at all, but we were the only 2 people there save about 4 others. the mood was obviously a little low. anyway, my friend orders me a wheat beer as i was still outside. now, i *hate* wheat beer. but he didn't know it. and all i wanted was cold lager. my feet hurt. my body hurt. my heart hurt. i didn't know where i was going to sleep or if i could get home. it was just Miller time is all. the bartender had poured the 2 wheats and i said to my friend "i can't drink this". the bartender hears this and said "well your friend ordered it!". i looked at him and said, "well, i know, but i can't drink it, do you have bud in bottles?" he replies with something along the lines of "well, i poured that already so you have to pay for it". i was like, "yeah, dickhead, don't worry about the 4 bucks, i'll cover it" (not in so many words). he huffs and puffs, what with the weight of the world being on his shoulders and all. apparently, this guy hadn't read the news that day and didn't notice that upwards of 7 thousand people were believed buried less than a mile from his bar. at any rate, after his performance, we didn't finish our beers. left him a quarter tip and walked out (paid for the beers). we get a block away, and this tosser comes running out of the bar yelling at us, calling us names and whatnot. it just didn't dawn on him that he might have been an idiot. needless to say, we won't be back. it's people like him who make the bars in NYC suck.

if i may be so bold, the reason that NYC bars suck so hard is, ready, hold on to your hats: people are a-holes. that's right. staff and patrons alike. god forbid you try to strike up a conversation with a cooler-than-thou barman, or a i'm-too-hot-to-be-talking-to-you patron. forget about it. so really, it's not the pub so much as the tossers inside. i'd put good money on the fact that if wilfrid, yvonne, me, our friends, and any number of others here on egullet, took over a bar in NYC for a few hours, it would be the best bar in the country. nuff said.

do they have a spiced lamb type of thing?

don't mind if i do! i'd also like to get a couple of thost chaps from the UK board to dinner. they sure do have some spirited discussions!

although i was looking forward to meeting some of you freaks the last time, i have to say that this time i'm looking foward to eating more than meeting. ;) i just love this place!?!?!??!!!

did they have any paragraph delimiters on the menu? ;)

you're being a little rough on good ole NYC, now aren't you yvonne? surely there's *something* in NY for you!?!

you might want to try this forum. it's generally a zoo, but you might get a good suggestion if you have patience. actually, checking in right now, it's an effing mess, not much unlike the useless njo.com forum. oh well. the nola forum served me well last year. too bad. good luck!

lommy?

sounded accurate as far as my experience goes. the wines listed are generally the ones i seek. pelligrini, hargrave, etc. all similar stylistically speaking. also, the comment about CA putting out some cab francs, but those being laden with oak, is accurate in my experience. i don't waste my time trying CA cab francs (with the exception of the two name producer that they mention, which is fat fat fat, and a bit pricey...fat is not always a good thing, but it's interesting in this application). I don't recall Bidell from LI being mentioned, but they make a nice cab franc. the problem with LI wines is that they are very difficult to come by outside of LI and any further west than NYC. Zoe in soho(NYC) has been known to have one or two on their list, as well as the Tasting Room (NYC). Tabla (NYC) as well. i've also seen a LI wine at Restaurant Above, in the times square hilton. i believe it was a cab franc. interestingly enough, LI seems more about style than varietal. i suppose not much unlike france. a wine predominately merlot from LI will have similar characteristics as one predominately cab franc. by the by, LI does a good job with their whites as well, staying away from oak and making some relatively exciting steely, acidic, and slightly herbaceous chenin blanc and SB. even their chards are drinkable! but don't tell anyone. ;)

ron, if you haven't already, and if you can, you may want to pick up the NY Times today. the article is actually on Long Island's cabernet franc. if you don't have experience with them you should. they are a bit "bigger" than their loire counterparts, but very good wines that make nice use of the grape.

i enjoyed emeril's immensely, and i'm not afraid to admit it even though i'm generally snickered at. well, i'm generally snickered at anyway, but for completely different reasons. i didn't, however, enjoy NOLA (another emeril place). but as a disclaimer i always mention that i was pretty buzzed when i went there. but i did feel overwhelmed with ppl and noise and food.

since there was a write-up in the NY Times about it today, and since it's another one of my day-to-day (in fact, favorites outright), i have the obligation to mention the cabernet franc grape. more specifically, cab franc from the loire valley. great values at 10-14 dollars. great at the table. wines from Chinon being most notable.

budweiser. i served them with spicy chinese-style mustard. i suppose sandra isn't too far off with her reisling suggestion...low alcohol, some residual sugar. i'd go with champagne as well. but as i've said, bubbles go with everything.

made rachel's pigs in a blanket for the superbowl. they were a big hit! everyone was well impressed that they weren't frozen. it don't take much to impress my friends!

where is this from?

cote du rhone is our "everyday" red wine. NZ sauv blancs (or any other steely non-oaked SV) for whites. each available for around 10 or 12 dollars. although, i'm getting back into zins. don't know if i'd pair them with much at the table, but they are a fun drinkin wine otherwise.

my favorite peppermill is one that will fit in my pocket so i can take it anywhere. this one is similar to the one i have. comes with a pouch.

or you could put "100 Main Street", as i would with the card that is in the magazine.

crunchy is a matter of personal preference. there is no right and wrong. i prefer broccoli to fight back a bit. i also like asparagus grilled to the point where they can just be snapped, with a little salt and pepper.

http://www.cafematisse.com/

the back room, which i assume you *didn't* sit in, is considerably less smoky and less noisy. the side long room on the street also nice as it has windows looking out. glad you had a good experience there. the valet parking is a big plus. i noticed that becoming a semi-regular there (once a year maybe) that i was given very warm treatment. they older waitresses can be gruff at times, but they seem to "adopt" you after a while.

i stopped by the store in ridgefield today. the place was a jumpin. couldn't find a parking spot! this one is *much* nicer than the little ferry/hackensack store. we were quite impressed. the fish, as rachel said, was pretty impressive. although, i did pick up on a bit of a fishy smell. but hey, whatareyagunnado. they had skate and lots of other fish that i rarely see. produce was fresh and plentiful. back to my earlier comment on not having thai/vietnamese items, i was wrong. this store had lemongrass (really fresh looking and really nice) and thai chilis, which are hard to come by outside of NYC. we bought a bunch of crap and the bill was 70 dollars. it was quite a deal. most interesting was the "rib steak" we bought. i assume that "rib steak" means "rib eye". although, i do understand that butchers all pretty much have different names for the same cuts of meat (can we get a little standardization here?!?!?). turns out this cut was more of a sirlion. but, for 2 huge pieces (probably 12/14 oz each) it was only 5 bucks. that's 2.50 each. that is absurdly cheap. grilled them tonite, and although they weren't rib-eye, they were decent and 1/4 of the price. yippee! lots of fresh sushi made by the fellows there. also sashimi grade fish. 20 bucks a lb for tuna, which is what i remember yohans in edgewater being. another interesting part: there were 2 woman in the middle of the store at a table making kimchee by the garbage can full. the woman was absolutely covered with spicy sauce, gleefully making tons of kimchee. pretty neat. well, messy, but you know what i mean. a great store. my affinity for asian women is probably another reason why i like this place.