Timo

dag, thanks for the recommendations! sorry it's taken so long to report back. school and life does sometimes get in the way of food...we had a great weekend foodwise and otherwise in amsterdam. two favorites: - Balthazar's Keuken Elandsgracht 108 http://restaurants.diningcity.com/amsterda...azarskeuken/en/ Balthazar's keuken was really special. easy to find and get to, but it still seemed like a pretty local place. (well.. we were the only ones not speaking dutch at least) the menu is fixed, your choice of entree. really nicely done, simple food. a few goofs here and there (overcooked veal, beatiful cheese that was unhappily drowning in a cloying sauce) but, to be honest, we arrived late with no reservation and things had to be a bit rushed for us. Super deal for your money. - Restaurant Greetje Peperstraat 23 http://restaurants.diningcity.com/amsterda...tml&top=top.jpg (Thanks for the rec. Chufi!) Turns out none of the locals know where Peperstraat is... but don't let that stop you from visiting. Restaurant Greetje was so exciting because it seems so.. Dutch! We had mixed appetizers, heavy on the seafood, even a black pudding (not sure if that is dutch..). oxtail and pea soups were especially good. My boyfriend had a special dish - Limburgs Zoervleisch i think is the name - but it was a beef stew, in a vinegary broth actually. this sounds awful in words but it was in fact so piquant and the beef so well cooked that i think it was my favorite dish of the trip. i had north sea red poon (i don't get to try many North Sea fish in new York) that was not especially to my liking but i'm glad i tried it. for dessert, another sampling platter, like the appetizers. my favorite was the Hangop with chopped mint and prunes. sounds unexciting. but it isn't. hangop is something of a dutch yogurt, i take it. maybe someone can further enlighten us? anyway, it is delicious, and i have never had prunes that i enjoyed so much. the space itself is nice and very homey. i think restaurant Greetje may be new? they seemed to be working out minor kinks still... but nothing so much that distracted from the food. they were very surprised to have two new yorkers for dinner though, which gives me the impression Restaurant Greetje is also largely undiscovered by the masses at this point.

super thread! my friend and i decided to go to amsterdam next weekend. me, for the first time!!! i am really excited, even more so after coming across this thread. it'll be my birthday on sunday and i was wondering if anyone has any birthday-dinner recommendations? i would love something authentically Dutch, and something reasonably nice since it's a special occasion. if it helps, we're staying in what i think is the 'East' part of town. (sorry - my sense of geography leaves much to be desired) anyway, it is where the Amstel meets the Singelgracht. but we'd be willing to go out of our way for anything really good! Hartelijk dank!

well said lambretta- and cakewalk, not that i would encourage 'lumping up' of cuisines, but think about how we enjoy chinese food in the US. your average american diner may not always know exactly what region of china the dish she orders in a chinese restaurant originated in. but, in my opinion, this is not always a problem. hopefully, this diner will enjoy the meal enough to learn more about the culture/country it came from, and maybe start trying other dishes from the region. on the same note, i think what the smithsonian is doing is a great introduction (or re-introduction?) to native american food. they've made it very accessible, and it's likely that the 'introduction' the restaurant provides will pique people's interest enough to make them seek out a similar experience again.

oh- and thanks for letting me know about the pow wow! i will be there. ; )

Thanks everyone! but ::sigh:: Mohegan Sun doesn't count. anyone who advertises on the subway is automatically disqualified. This is very disappointing. Mitsitam seems to be doing well in Washington. (tho i've never been - but i will be in Washington next week for the Folklife festival so I will be sure to have a meal or two there.) So here we sit in New York - the city with everything BUT a First American restaurant i guess. This is also a little disappointing on a more philosophical level. How can we have so many Starbucks (there are over 200 Starbucks within a 10-mile radius of my block) and not one Native American restaurant?? It's not because of the food - any First American meal I've had could more than hold its own against McDonald's. It's true that many Native American foods are served at various restaurants. (pre-contact and post-contact traditional foods) BUT in today's mainstream market these foods seem to have lost their heritage. Says the columnist Dale Carson: "It would be a wonderful thing if the broad contributions of Native American foods and cooking to our modern food culture were better understood." I heartily agree. I also think a Native American restaurant in New York is extremely viable. In a city where everyone has seen everything, it would be such a treat to come upon. If anyone has the investment capital, please let me know. Meanwhile, what do you all think? How educated are you about Native American food traditions? Do you think a restaurant like this would be an effective way to educate people about these foods and promote them?

hi all- just wondering if anyone knows of a good first american/native american/american indian restaurant in the city. (pref. in manhattan, but any boro is cool) my dad always tells me that new york is the one city where you can eat anything at anytime, but today i wanted a first american restaurant and even after a little research i couldn't find one. if there's already a thread about this on eGullet could you point it out? i'm hopeless with the search function. ; ) thanks! -timo

yes, i am too close to the jamba juice in the columbus circle 'mall' (ug, i hate saying it) also. but i like the cranberry one. with bee pollen. gives you a nice buzz. ha! (pun intended)

ha! my first cookbook was the charlie brown cookbook too!!! i remember making linus's (or maybe lucy's...) lemon lollipops with my mom once. oh, and red baron brownies. there was also a recipe for marshmallows, which i never knew you could make at home. i thought you had to buy them... i still have the book actually. maybe you should track down a copy of this book, as it seems to have a lasting impression, haha.

this morning at zabar's the cheese guy made me try the manchego before cutting my wedge. ha, of course i didn't mind. but i am picky about just how ripe a cheese is. i also only scoop the cornichons from the bottom of the barrel. the ones on top aren't as vinegary. this really tends to piss people off that i take the time to choose my cornichons. crazies. i try to check eggs in the cartons, but i am usually already balancing a basket with one hand and end up spilling the carton of eggs while checking them. this also seemed to piss people off... the new clear cartons have made my life and the lives of my fellow grocery shoppers a lot happier.

ooh... and jacques torres new little factory. yum,

phew, thank you pat! i can now eat my puffy tacos in peace - without worrying that they were contaminated with baking powder. i second the suggestion for earl abel's. i found it very creepy eating there, because it was like it doesn't age. the light fixtures, the mirrored walls, even the waitresses look like they have been there since it opened. (and i mean that in a good way!) so creepy, but extremely fun.

wait -do puffy tacos really have baking soda in them? i was watching rob walsh on that obnoxious morning show (what the heck is it? have a nice day s.a. or some cheesier title) anywho, he said that puffy tacos get their 'puff' because the tortilla is never baked, you just drop a raw tortilla in the oil. well... when it comes to tex-mex i am clueless.... so it very well could be that i misunderstood.

oh no.... not to be the pessimist in the bunch; but - good italian in san antonio? this is a challenge! well, i happen to really like REGGIANO'S, in stone oak. it is a neighborhood joint (atleast for those of us in stone oak) and is also a family run business. for the most part, it is very 'refined italian' and even i will admit that they have their on/off days. but, when they are on, they are really, really on. i almost always get the prosciutto and arugula pizza, but their quail salad is great. of course, any of the pasta dishes are great to exceptional. the menu changes seasonally and if they have something special (particularly seafood) that sounds good, order it - the chef does an excellent job sourcing. the crowd Reggiano's attracts is confusing - sometimes it will be retirees; sometimes barbies and their sugar daddies. other times it will be mobbed with yuppies, but they mostly gravitate towards the bar or drool at the plasma screen, so they won't get in the way of a very enjoyable meal. ok, and since a good slice can be just as soul-satisfying as any quail salad, i also have to say i really like FLORIO'S PIZZERIA. when i moved here from the east coast, it seemed as if san antonio is where pizza went to die. but - my search for the perfect slice ended at florio's. it is the quintessential joint, paper plates included.

oh, i agree with theabroma and would give liberty bar a shot, if only to see the building! this month they've been knocking down bits and pieces of that brewery across the street... (don't worry - just the ugly parts so far) not sure where that is going... but i think the bar will stay. i also like mexican manhattan; there is an entrance on st. mary's as well as on the riverwalk. it has much more character than your average riverwalk joint.

during four years of high school, i brought a nutella sandwich almost every day for lunch. it eventually earned me a reputation... now i tend towards: -nutella panini ( i put salt on these along with the nutella, and they are best if the nutella starts to ooze out and get the tiniest bit singed ) -nutella stuffed naan. (buy the naan tho... not sure what would happen to nutella in a tandoor)

still... the piece did leave me with a slightly bitter aftertaste of hessergate...

foodman- i assume you are asking if i got to take any olives with me? no - olive trees bear fruit in the autumn, so any uncured olives would be a little grody by now... and the orchard doesn't cure many of their olives at this point as far as i know. mostly they are used to make soaps, cosmetics, etc. (maybe this is more profitable? but it seems unfortunate)

ah - i agree with the desert pepper fans out there. roasted corn chipotle is my favorite. of course, in texas it is hard not to go with the fresh stuff since it is so readily availiable and usually cheaper. as far as chips (and i won't count chips from restaurants/local markets) i really like the mission brand chips (any variety is good). maybe they are just fresher, so they taste better, but they are also very salty which is important for me. once on 'the splendid table' they did a chip and salsa tasting, and i think they ended up saying the utz chips and tostitos salsa were the best, or some similar meshuggeneh idea. not sure where their tastebuds were.

i forget the title of the book, but i recently saw a recipe for a 'texas baguette'. it looked like a regular baguette, really, but maybe larger. well, sorry i am not being very specific here, i will try to find the details.

how about kramer's junior mints on seinfeld? being saved by a junior mint is sure to give you a new outlook on life... SATC always had potential for some great food scenes, but it was always egg-white omelettes and cocktails. once at carrie's book release party, they had some little cakes that looked like tiny manolos.i would've eaten those.

i spent yesterday morning touring sandy oaks olive orchard and learning about the (booming?) business of olives in texas. thought maybe some eGulleters would like to do the same: the class i took ('growing olives for fun or profit' [or both!]) was offered through n.e.i.s.d. in san antonio, but many people there were not from s.a., so i am sure anyone can take it. it is led by sandy winokur, the owner of the orchard. she is very knowledgeable, but isn't afraid to tell you about the mistakes they've made at the orchard. (since olives in texas are relatively new, mistakes are common!) the orchard is in elmendorf, tx (20 mi. south of san antonio) and the drive is beautiful. at the time it is a small operation (the oldest trees are only around 7 years old) but nonetheless it is impressive what they have accomplished. here are some of the younger trees. there are quite a few different varieties growing on the orchard, as some do better than others in this particular climate. i was surprised to learn that some varieties will begin producing fruit within two to three years, (however, most generally take around five years) so many of the trees at sandy oaks are already productive. at this time of year, buds begin to form on the branches of the tree. eventually the trees will flower and then produce fruit. the buds are teenytiny in this pic, but they are there, atthe ends of this branch. the orchard is also a nursery! you learn how to propagate new trees, and some young trees are for sale. an olive press on the farm. originally it is from egypt (i think) i'm sure it was fun to ship to south texas! right now, it is not in use, but plans to replace a donkey with an electric motor and to get an o.k. from the health department are in the works. these are the baskets that the olives are put into after being crushed. (here, of course, they are decorative.) they are stacked five high in a press to extract the oil. unfortunately, no olive oil from sandy oaks is currently sold (olive oil soaps, cosmetics, and olive leaf tea are produced, however) and the only texas olive oil on the market is 'first texas' (i think - maybe someone else knows for sure..) which is made with olives from texas and california. all in all, i would really recommend the tour for anyone remotely interested in growing olives. or, anyone interested in learning more about olive oil. (or if you just need an excuse for a nice drive...) also, i personally think that it's exciting to learn about the business in texas, as it is such a new industry but has a very good chance of becoming successful. i don't know when the next class is, but the grove's website is: sandyoaks.com and the phone is: 210.621.0044

triple-ziplocking and happy underpants (both!) should do the trick. what are we bringing back?

Los: i have only been an s.a.er (is that what we're called?) for about 3 months. i grew up on the east coast, where of course there are no cattle to be had. i was also a vegetarian when i moved here, so i gawked when i saw all the steaks being served en masse. but - i have found there are quite a few good places to get steak around san antonio, and am no longer a vegetarian: texas land & cattle:( this is near the airport, sort of... maybe closer to north star mall) after getting into town on a late flight this was one of the most convenient places - normally i wouldn't have sought it out because i have a firmly held belief that the closer a restaurant is to an airport, the worse off it will be. but surprisingly it was great steak - and their frites (in texas they call them 'crispy fries' haha are the best i've had in texas) ruth's chris: okok, you can go to one of these anywhere and get a pretty good steak i know, but you can tell yourself that the steak will surely be fresher in texas. saltgrass: (on 281, near 1604) again, i was turned off by the chain-like appearance, but for some reason, restaurants whose outsides are coated with neon seem to know how to cook a good steak. central market: ok, if you are still upset with these restaurants' incompetence, then the nice people at central market (in alamo heights, i think) will be more than happy to help you choose a steak, wrap it up for you, and send you on your merry way.

great job rachel! ted is my favorite on queer eye, but i always felt sorry for him because he gets stuck trying to explain the importance of breaking the surface tension on a souffle to an ex-marine. and hildi i agree--what schadenfreude when the poor sister of the straight guy bit into a sushi roll stuffed with wasabi!!! haha, well atleast the food bit is often the most entertaining part at the end, even if things don't always work out.

yay! i was so happy when i saw mr. grimes' review this morning in the paper! suvir - your posts have been such an encouraging voice for my forays (successful and otherwise) into learning about the cuisines of india. i am sure you have had the same impact on countless other egulleters, and i couldn't have hoped for such a success as amma to happen for a better person! congrats to everyone who made it happen, and best of luck always!