LESider

I went recently with four people and we had a pretty tasty dinner. I'm not sure that I would go back though. Not that anything was great, its just a lot of money and for the same price you could go elsewhere and have a better experience. We shared two orders of the pasta with lobster and shrimp. It was made with a red sauce and the texture of the pasta was excellent and the sauce was great. My favorite dish hands down. I can't remember what I had for the entree. One of the other folks I was with had the Veal Chop and I wished I'd order this. We sat upstairs and its an attractive room. it does seem to attract a certain sort of customer. the waiter we had was nice enough but forgot all the specials. We all ordered espresso's and they were horrible. not even drinkable. kind of a bummer that a restaraunt of this caliber can't teach their waitstaff how to make a decent espresso. Overall, we had a good time. One thing that I took away from the experience is that there are a lot of 2-3 star restaraunts in town making delicous food and the service is the one place that often sets these places apart.

you can also use half a lemon dipped in salt to clean the copper.

Nice article Craig. I am a big fan of Amaro as well. My first experience with it was in the early eighties, as my stepfather's father wanted a bottle of it. We couldn't find it anywhere. Seems that at one point they had a fire at the Fernet factory and production ceased for a spell. Once we got our hands pn a bottle I had to try it and I must say it was pretty harsh. Obviuosly the reason Jaegrmeister does so well is because its so sweet. Americans love their sugar. Bitter does not seem to be a favored flavor component to the American Palate. The next experience I had was in my old neighborhood in North Beach,SF, where it's the shot of choice for the bartenders. Strange yes, but it did help the old digestive system out. I've since enjoyed the other Amaro's you describe in your article and I'd agree that Averna is the smoothest. Fernet is still more easily found and if you ever find yourself with an upset tummy there's no better fix.

Here's a short list by food item of my fave Vietnamese dishes in NYC Pho: Pho Bang at 5 Pell St Pho Bang (Mott/Grand)) Cong Ly (Hester/Chrystie) Grilled Pork Chop: Green Bamboo (Mott/Canal) Nha Trang Bahn Mi: Bahn Mi (Forsyth/East Broadway) Bahn Mi (Broome/Mott) was recently at Vietnam on Mott below Canal. pork chops were ok and grilled fish was good but not recommended overall...

1.Pancho Villa (16th and Valencia) 2.Fifth Floor, another possible :Farallon (food is good but atmosphere will wow her) 3.Ideale (Grant St @Vallejo) not a joint in the east coast sense of the word. those places don't exist in the West...think trattoria. 4.Ton Kiang or Yank Sing 5.Dottie's True Blue for a kick

some possible burger contenders, not in any particular order 1. Zuni Cafe 2. Moe's (Grant Ave) 3. Fog City Diner 4. Red's Java House (gotta give it a nod and wink) 5. Joe Grinds his Own Chuck Daily....

I'm a big fan of the Irish stuff and have stumbled across a new find. Well new to me anyhow. I was doing some research on foodstuffs in Ireland and came across a brand I'd never heard of. Sure I'm familiar with Jameson's, Tillamore Dew,Powers, Paddy's and even the northern stuff: Bushmills. This one is really has to be the smoothest I've tasted. Its called Green Spot. They don't export it to the USA, but do to a one shop in London: Milroy's of Soho. It's put out by Mitchell and Son of Dublin(21 Kildare St). They now produce it at the Middleton Distillery. Its made of 7-8 year old pot still Jameson Whisskey and matured in sherry wood. My girlfriend happened to be heading to Dublin recently and I had her bring some back, which is how I got me hands on it. Excellent stuff, grab it if you come across it.

Chinese Brocolli - Steamed and served with a dollop of Oyster Sauce.

Why doesn't anyone mention Hop Shing's ? I'd put them up against anything in NYC's Chinatown.

I have to agree with Nina on this one. As much as it hurts me :biggrin . The waiter's have never been anything but nice to me and my friends. We even held a table for much longer than they would have liked but they were never rude. I'm not buying it. I once went with three vegetarians (it was my b-day,bless their hearts and stomachs) and while the waiters laughed they were never condescending about it. They were very gracious and accomodating. I dunno, they make a great steak to me , and I always order Medium or Medium Rare without issue. I must add though two nights ago a friend said that she had a lousy piece of meat there. She grew up on a Heartland farm is more familiar with Beef than I. But who knows. They do a good job and I'd have no trouble recommending them or going back when the mood hits.

No Bacon, No Tomatoe and Onion Salad for app''s ?

I think the Chinese do cook Lobsters well, but I prefer less sauce, more lobster . My favorite preparation is Steamed/Broiled lobster with drawn butter. Is there a specific dish that in Chinese Cuisine that anyone favors?

nice work Mamster. I'm with you on boosting the curry with some of the other ingredients . I was recently in one of the thai markets in Chinatown NYC. I bought some Frozen Keffir Lime Leaves, some Coconut milk, the kind you pointed out, and some Oyster brand fish sauce. The Guy and his wife were all excited to show me the difference in quality between various brands.(nevermind piling things onto my order ) He said the Oyster Brand was excellent. Its definitely a nice light amber color and tastes good. now here's the real kicker: Maesri vs Mae Ploy. For canned Curry Paste I always pick the Maesri. Love it. But for the tub I've gone with the Mae Ploy. Well, he had some Maesri on the counter and said it was better than the Mae Ploy. He opened up both and made me stick my nose in them. Well, not IN them, but getting a good whiff, you could actually smell the difference between the two. and it was noticeable. It was nice to have a shop keeper actually take the time to explain some things with some knowledge and enthusiasm. Few and far between in NYC.

Believe me, if 71 Clinton Fresh Foods is any indication of the success of his restaraunt he'll be fine. It's still busy every night of the week. It's not a big space, but it's always occupied. I would think this restaraunt would be right up e-gulleter's alley. Wiley's smart, he (and maybe his father) decided to open a restaraunt in a place where the rents were still reasonable. That's a sharp move for a fledging restaraunteer. He's brought all those Upper East Sider's down South in their towncar's. It'll happen again. Oh there might be some kvetching at the start by the general public and the food media, that is may be too "out there" He may then add some salad's and then people will return. It's gonna be the next big thing.

There is a better corned beef than what you get at the local market. While Hormel or whatever brand is making dogfood. the canned corned beef you can get from New Zealand is much better quality. I know it when I see it and it ususally has a church key to open it. Anyways my mom used to make a dish she learned in Tahiti called Puna Petora. It was made with Corned Beef, Onions,Garlic, Soy Sauce and Green Beans. If I remember correctly you fry the onion /garlic mixture up in some oil, add the corned beef, keep frying, then add the green beans and finish with some soy suace. it was actually pretty tasty.

that was my initial thought. i suppose there are a few gems, but for the most part, those places look disgusting. flies. odor. the whole thing. I think the uptown, Western stores are better at presenting themselves to a finicky audience. I'm not necessarily convinced their product is actually more hygienic. Also, all the New York Chinatowns have been undergoing a lot of modernization. The newer places are quite sterile in appearance, reminiscent of what you'd find in Vancouver, Singapore, etc. I'm with you on this. I go to the markets on Grand and Chrystie often. The place isn't Citarella, but they put emphasis on what's the most important thing: the product. I don't have to eat it there. in and out, with a couple of extra bucks in my pocket.

Joe's Bar in the East Village on 6th has some older decorations up . But that place next to Bloomingdale's really has to be the nastiest bar I've yet seen in NYC. That place freaked me out and I like dive bars and the characters they attract. San Fran has some really good ones South of Market and in the Tenderloin. Honorable mentions: Li Po in Chinatown.

The Macanudo Club on the Upper East Side is pretty nice place to smoke a stogie and have a cocktail

After you've poured most of the oil of the potatoes into a container you may want to drain them a little bit . Then add to the egg. I think that this helps the egg adhere to the potato mixture and make a more solid tortilla.

There is some foreshadowing in this post as C.Palmer is going to roll out a couple of more Kitchen 22's. I believe one is slated for the upper Sixties.

The one thing that bummed me out was they were playing Hall and Oates on the jukebox. the bbq needs lots of work, but their burgers are great!!! what's next a Pizzaria where the pizza sucks, but the gelato is awesome ??

Long Island Ice Tea's- the drink that yells out: " watch out, amateurs approaching" Thunderbird. fortified wine. Pouilly Fuse from the Derelict's Region.

My girlfirend recently went to Newfoundland. btw, she says its pronounced : prounounced New -Found-land. not "New finland" as I have always referred it to. but she's Irish, born and bred. so they talk funny to begin with. they have some crazy ways up there and she visited in November. pretty feckin cold and dreary to the the umpteenth point. She said that she found a can of seal meat in the Printmaking Studio she was visiting. I promptly sent her on a hunt. not for seal pups, but for a can of Seal Meat. alas, none could be found in the markets. That would be a great conversation piece. She did say she tried the Battered Cod Tongue in my honor (that's my girl!) and found them to be distgusting. slimy was her description. One of my good friends, Wally, a hulking man beast of immenent proportion hails from Newfoundland. he sayd she didn;t go to the best place. go figure. Summer is supposed to be beautiful up there...

The hallways smell like Pernil, now, not cabbage. ...thanks sorry if it sounded like a "back in the day" type of question. But it has prompted me to go out and get Outlaw Cook ,which I look forward to reading... Are you wroking on a new tome now?

not a dumpling but a pork bun worthy of mention. It's an old favorite to some, but for anyone who hasn't had them they are a revelation. I'm talking bout the Hop Shing Pork Bun (baked mahogany exterior). Available at Chatham Restaraunt. to find them: 9 Chatham place. If you head South on Bowery past Cana. it veers to the right slighty and you find your self in front of the Chatham Rest. Dim Sum a Go Go is across the way. you'll see the pink hop shing boxes in the window. soo good.