tommy

mods: please merge. thanks.

do you think they didn't have a choice? oh my.

show me one person on this entire site who won't tune in to watch a flay-morimoto match-up. there's your answer.

teams? oh dear.

maybe his sauce isn't cooked at all.

no, they didn't. and that was the last time i'm going through the motions.

do with know if chakra is open on mondays?

rosie, have they sorted out their online poll issues?

heated crab dip is all wrong as well.

i liked it. and it's easier to get into than nobu NY. i'll probably return as well. edit to add that i had 125 omakase with paired wines. not cheap, but you could do a lot worse in vegas.

i know little about port (except knowing what i like) and even less about sherry. however, i recently tasted a Toro Albala Don PX sherry and thought it was delicious, if not a bit port-like.

coughy, if history is any indication, you will soon be told that you simply don't understand the subtle approach of Blue Hill.

over the years i've found that if you order what the Perlows order, you'll be all sorted out.

i'll never say never. i know better. edit: ok, well, i just saw a Red Lobster commerical pushing their "lobster pizza". i don't think so.

it might be interesting to remove cost from the equation just as an experiment. say, for example, if one could afford to eat at Vong 3 times a week without too much concern over making the rent payment. or, if a 7 course tasting at Vong was $15.50.

tasted like watered-down french food to me. now i'm confused.

oddly enough, yeah. i was there last week before a Devil's game. i had a glass of water that tasted like ass. now i know why.

Lou, what was that Riesling that you brought? i'm getting the feeling it's pretty hard to come by these days.

wrap-up of an egullet-type dinner in this thread.

it wasn't actually pee, but a off-odor. it was subtle. the average person probably wouldn't even detect it.

i found myself in "jackensack" today and figured i'd take one for the team. pad thai was ketchupy and gloppy. not my favorite style by far, but i suppose some people might like it. tom yum koong was really good. crispy duck with tamarind sauce was a bit sweet as one might imagine. duck could have been crispier, but it was pretty good. i think the sauce killed some of the crispness, although the fat layer wasn't anywhere near completely rendered, and rendered is my preference. pad woonsen was not the cold acidic bean thread noodle salad i was expecting, but rather a hot dish with chicken and veggies. not a bad dish overall, but it took me my surprise. the place is attractive for a thai place in a strip mall. however, there was a pretty nasty odor when we walked in (and i imagine it stayed). smelled like, well, it smelled like pee. 2 cokes and a tea and the bill was about 39 before tip. BYO.

are you saying that his restaurants suffer because of this? i'm not sure i've seen an actual decline in Vong, although that might very well be the case.

the Market Basket is selling prime dry-aged t-bone/porterhouse for something silly like 13.99/lb. i cooked some up last weekend (when they were 15.99/lb) and they were delicious. the man tells me they're dry aging these things for 4 to 6 weeks. i really don't understand the aging process all that much, but i know that 21-28 days seems to be standard. regardless, if they get darker as they get older, you can pick out a slightly less-aged piece by looking at them in the case. i went for the darkest steaks, and they were intense.

i can only speak from my perspective with any certainty. but there are a few things i know: - i discovered thai food in college back in 88 or so. - there were no thai restaurants in my town at that point, and now there are at least 3 in that town. - there were no thai restaurants in the suburb that i currently call home, and now there are several thai and vietnamese restaurants. - when i first went to vong, i was in my mid-20's, and it was all very exciting. now i'm in my mid 30's. - when i first went to vong, i had about 100 thai meals under my belt. now i have about 1000. - when i first went to vong, i had about 20 high-level dining experiences under my belt. now i have a hundred or two. i'm pretty sure vong is doing the same thing they've been doing. but i've already done it countless times both at vong and at other places. i bet i'd really enjoy 66 and Spice Market, but i really haven't gone out of my way to go to either (although mrs. tommy went to 66 a few times right after it opened and reported back that it was decent. given we didn't rush to return, well, that says something to me at least). sam says that these places haven't been met with the same level of enthusiasm as Vong. perhaps the people with whom he associates are different at this point? i think the dining public in general is different, and i know for sure *i'm* different. i mean, is 66 doing pretty well? i assume so, so *someone* is enthusiast about it. and i bet i'd be if i was 25 again. as mrs. tommy is fond of saying, i'm becoming "no fun" to eat with, because i expect so much from restaurants. to be young and naive again.

that seems like a reasonable assumption. and as you go on to say, service, atmosphere, and everything else is a factor in pricing as well. some people don't want to pay for high-end service and fancy stemware. others don't mind as much, and often prefer the perks that go along with upscale dining. that said, i've tired of Vong over the years, but it was certainly a favorite of mine in my 20's. but you'll find me there before you'll find me on the 7 train to sriraphiaiaaia, although that's meaningless as they're so different it makes no sense to compare them.