Rodalpho

I went to fatty crab with a friend last night. After a forty-five minute wait at the incredibly crowded bar, getting pushed aside like bumper cars, we got a seat outside and ordered: Green mango with chili/sugar/salt dipping powder. The powder was overwhelmingly sweet, with very little chili or salt. The mango itself was fine, although we only got four little slices, which was miserly for $5. It was tasty and refreshing, but I would not order this again. Shrimp sambal salad. This consisted of a few pieces of boston lettuce, some sprouts, sliced scallions, sauteed leeks, and four decent sized shrimp. The waiter advised us to make little wraps, burrito-style. The shrimp were well-cooked but had very little flavor; with sambal in the name I was expecting something a bit picante. Overall the dish was bland, uninspired, and not a good value at $13. Wonton Mee (large). This was the standout dish of the meal. Fatty crab has a fantastic stock, and this benefited from it. It was a simple dish of wontons stuffed with shrimp and pork in the broth with some fried noodles and various herbs, but it had intense flavor. Recommended, $15. Singaporean Black Pepper Mussels. I believe this used the same stock base as the wonton mee, with a great deal of added black pepper. The mussels themselves were rather small and chewy, but again the stock made up for it. This came with four nice pieces of toast to soak up the juices. Quite good, $12. Short Ribs Rendang. The short ribs were long braised in a slightly sweet sauce, then covered in dried coconut shreds. This also came with a scoop of coconut rice. The shortribs were cooked perfectly but I was expecting something more flavorful as it was described as "cooked with keffir lime, coconut, chilis". The coconut rice on the side was quite good. This dish was a disappointment. $22. I wasn't impressed with Fatty Crab. Not only is it not a destination restaurant but frankly I wouldn't go back.

Browsing around on seamlessweb this evening for dinner, I happened to notice that they had added the Bagel Buffet on 6th ave and 8th street. Back when I attended NYU in the 90s I used to go there all the time for seriously cheap, filling, and decent soup and bagels. So I took a look, you know, to get that old nostalgia back, and noticed that they listed "mexican style" tacos, tortas, and burritos on the menu, filled with real-deal stuff like pollo asado, carnitas, cocina, etc. I figured I'd take a chance, since all the guys working there had always been bourdain's classic latinos from Puebla, and ordered a carnitas torta sandwich and a bistec taco, for a grand total of $7.70. It wasn't the best mexican food I've ever had by a long shot, not up to the quite tasty Pio Maya down the street, but it came out a bit less expensive. Has anyone else discovered mexican food in unlikely places? Spill!

This is great news. They weren't kidding about wasting cardboard; they would deliver large boxes full of, like, a single banana. Now if they'd just commit to quality in their produce...

I live a couple of blocks away and hit Crispo with my friends all the time. Actually I think of it as one of my major "finds" this year, alongside Mole on 1st and Houston. The food is almost up to Lupa's quality, but you can usually walk right in and be seated. It does have a bit of a bar scene; if you sit up front you'll need to shout.

I order from freshdirect 1-2 times per month. Their packaged foods are fantastic. Their meats (I usually get 2" strip steaks, I'm a bachelor) are quite good, for the price. It's in the produce that they fall behind. I don't expect them to pick out the best of the best like I would at the market myself, but all too often I open the box and see wilted lettuce, or asparagus past its prime with loose tips, or gray cauliflower. I always complain, and they always happily credit my account when this happens, but then I'm stuck without a veg to eat for dinner. Still though, living in manhattan you can't beat freshdirect for delivering staples like soda and milk. Sure beats carrying that stuff around!