LESider

Welcome John, I really enjoy your writing, especially Serious Pig. I understand that you lived in NYC's Lower East Side some time ago. and I'm wondering if you have any memories of that you'd like to share? I'm also curious if you've been back lately and seen how much it has changed? Thanks much, S.

that's sounds right. They make the best dumplings in the area, pound for pound. six for a buck, just like Allen street but slightly superior. North of Grand on Eldridge. They also make a pancake with beef in it, that is ok as well. wortha try for $1.50

I am with you on this one. I sat there with my mouth open, thinking these 2 just blew the oppurtunity of a lifetime and it seemed as if they did not even care. I do not know if that is reflective of youth today or just those 2 but it was amazing. Did they know it was an opportunity of a lifetime? I don't know. I am pretty sure, however, that the folks on that show are not as up on what's hot/what's not on the restaurant scene as the people on this board are. From what I understand, C-CAP is a non-profit program to help inner city students get training for the culinary field (someone please confirm if they know for sure?). So no, I don't expect them to view this as a "touch your dream" event or even know that this is an opportunity that other culinary students would kill for. Hey, at 18/19 I thought I knew everything too! Oh well. It's easy for us to second-guess everything from the comfort of our sofas and from the vantage point of our *cough* extra years. More on C-CAP: C-CAP info that's it exactly. they don;t know the differnece bewteen Peter Lugers and Daniel. Hell, they might walk into Otto and wonder why a place that bills itself as a pizzeria gets by serving such sh*tty pizza?

I know Joe, as I go to Cooking School with him. I had him in my Intro to Hospitality class and am now in Culniary I with him. He's a confident young man, but he's not as cocky and arrogant as the show "edited" to be. He's a real nice kid. And I emphasize Kid. He's naive and I'm gonna give him some serious shit about that lame ass"special' he made. frozen mozzarella and tomatoes.jesus. Joe has sinced worked at Babbo's for some time as a runner after the show. He's basically a simple kid from Queens who dreams of running a banquet hall type restaraunt. He's doesn't strike me as being interested in being a great chef. I don;t think he realizes where Babbo is in the NY dining scene. Thats said the thing that I noticed is how full of themselves the staff are. Mario seems ok, but the pastry chef (name escapes me)seems like a b*tch. These guys are 19 years old and I'm sure the Babbo kitchen can be an intimidating place. She wants someone with a bit of "snap". I agree that they should have written the recipes down, but knowing Joe, he saw this as some kind of fun thing and didn't probably take it as seriously as the staff at Babbo takes themselves. I mean being a chef is hard f*cking work and they turn out some amazing food nightly. But try to have some humility and perspective. You were 19 once right? If you get the chance to not take yourself to serious at that age, I'd say you were doing the right thing....

Fatguy, do you know anything about the history of the dish. Was this one of Delmonico's specials/creations?

Pan, I understand. I actually would not necessarily order japanese food at a Korean restaraunt either. ( My friend did the ordering and I left it at that) . But I would recommend the grilled meats and mandoo at Woo Chon. It reminds me of something that happened recently. I went to Cafe Charbon in the Lower East Side for a late night drink and some dinner. My two friends ordered pasta. Cafe Charbon serves French Bistro food. I asked how his pasta was and he said it wasn't great. I was thinking: "that's because you ordered Italian food in a French Restaraunt" I do like Cafe Charbon though. decent food( stick with french cuisine ) with some interesting live music. They had a Cuban band (ala Buena Vista Social Club) that was really good. nice atmosphere on weeknights, very chill. Its at the corner of Stanton and Orchard.

Hi Amanda, As an addendum to this question, was "Sex and the City" an inspiration for your more personal food diary featured in the NY Times? Thank You

So I went with 8 people and we ate upstairs at WooChon on Friday night. I have to preface this report by saying there was more drinking than eating. We had some Mushroom Mandoo and Pork Mandoo (dumplings) to start as well as Cod marinated with Miso. The Madoo are pretty good and I like the pork best. The Cod was ok. We then had something like five tea kettles full of sake and some of that Korean "sake", which I belive translates into "dirty rice wine" . The name of it escapes me. It has a much thicker consistency than sake. But I love the taste and would recommend trying it sometime. Then a huge boat full of Sashimi arrived on the table. Now I've had some great sashimi here and some less than great.Friday night the fish was excellent. the boat had Toro,Hamachi,Fluke,Tuna,Salmon, Uni,White? Tuna and a few other pieces. Very fresh. The sushi chef then sent up some speacial plates of sweet shrimp covered with a chili sauce. I didn't like it. Followed by some seared scallops w/black pepper. We also had plenty of banchan in between all this and a couple of orders of bulgogi, which at that point was excellent. Overall, I like the place and would recommend it, especially the bbq.

I've been to Woo Chon in Manhattan numerous times and I like their BBQ Kalbi best. They also do ok spicy baby back ribs. I'm going there tonight and will try and report if I have anything memorable. I think Han Bat's Bulgogi is tops though. I've had their sushi/sashimi offerings and they have been hit and miss, due to the rotation of sushi chefs. They had one guy there who was really good now gone and he would do all kinds of little special plates. Live Lobster Sushi was one of em. I'm not sure the one in Flushing is the same owner?

First Katz's, now Peter Lugers. whoo. Well I'll say this: of all the over hyped , blown out of proportion, you have to go places that I've been to in NYC. Lugers was the only one that has lived up to the hype for me. The ambience pretty much sucks, but have had excellent steaks charred on the outside and red inside. its all about the meat. oh and that bacon. and those onion rolls. as far as the service (an anomoly in NYC) was with four guys and the table behind us rolled twice in the time that we were there. My friend made a point of slowing the waiters down and we had a great time. assert yourself, this is NYC for godsakes.

Couple of good spots on/off Bleeker: Faicco Pork Store 260 Bleeker Florence Prime Meats 5 Jones Street My favorite though is this place on the corner of 8th Avenue and 29th. They make all kinds of homeade sausage and I believe you can get some Gunciale there if you need it. The name slips by me. starts with a B. ---- oops just saw someone beat me to the post ....Salumeria Biellese is on 8th ave though for sure.

basically Fritz Maytag rocks. He's the guy responsible for Anchor Steam beer and the other elixirs coming out of Anchor Steam Company. Juniper has been available for a couple of years now and you'll see it at a number of bars that appreciate good spirits. Also available is Old Portero, the Rye Whiskey you mentioned. Its excellent. Here's a link to an interview with Fritz. Maybe Fatguy or Jason can get Fritz to do a Q&A. I think he may be an e-gulleter at heart and doesn;t know it yet... Fritz Maytag interview

Anchor Steam for me. but I like a less "hoppy" beer. I prefer Sierra on Tap over their bottled product. In Manhattan I'll take both of them over Brooklyn Brewery's product

The kind that wants to exclude the riffraff. That's the point of places like 21, Four Seasons, etc. Didn't Nelson Rockefeller have a quote about this issue? Yeah he said there's a sucker born every minute who will pay over 20 dollars for a hamburger...

yes, if sawdust, the smell of piss and horrible beer are considered good dining "companions". Try Molly's on Third if you like sawdust on the floor and a tasty burger on your plate

Hi Danny, I'm curious as to what made you want to open another restaraunt in Manhattan? With GT, 11Mad, USC, and Tabla, one would think you'd have your hands full already? Thanks for your time.

Nice Review Andy. I enjoy the book as well and have made some of the simpler recipes from it. I also appreciate the fact that the quality of the Photographs , Design and Paper is solid. I recently recieved a Daniel's Cafe Bouloud and can't say the same about it.

There's a plethora of "affordable" (for the lack of a better word) Italian restaraunts that have populated the East Village over the last couple of years that should be considered. Not saying that they are all great, but they are not all serving just spaghetti and meatballs: Max-( loved by many, too much sauce for me) Ave B and Fourth? Gnocco- E.10th St and Ave B Apizz-Eldridge and Stanton-mostly pizza Petrosino- Norfolk and Houston Supper-2nd St and Ave A Il Baggato- I Coppi Ill Covo del Est- Ave A and 12th/13th? also more expensive but delicious- Peasant on Elizabeth and Spring

Have you ever tried Mifune in Japantown for Noodles ? If not Mifune, there are bound to be some decent places with that area.

mmm. Lobster Butter

"I will see if I can squeeze some information from a regular visitor to Cuba when I next see him. It may not be until next month, but I don't suppose these are places one can reserve far in advance from the US with a credit card. " I'm sure Robert was saying this tongue and cheek, but to my knowledge you can't use a US based credit card or ATM card in Cuba. I carried Cash.

whoa Mogsob said: "3. There is little ethnic food in SF when compared with NY." Non existant in NY : Thai (don't make me jump on the 7 train), Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Mexican, BBQ (ok not ethnic). (I even think some of the Chinese regional cuisine is underepresented, I'm not the biggest fan of Szechuan) You'd think in the self proclaimed food capital of the world these cuisines would show up one of these days... I know I'm still waiting

Hi Dale, I'm curious as to whether you've had a Sazerac made with absinthe and if so what are your thoughts on the flavor. I know that its now made with Pernod but I think there is a diffference in taste between Pernod/Ricard and Absinthe. Is is true that the Sazerac is the first recorded cocktail? Thanks

There are some decent Italian restaraunts in North Beach L'Osteria del Forno - makes an excellent pork roasted in milk. and some tasty pizza's Rose Pistola- Reed Heron's restaraunt. he's an assh*le, but turns out some delicous food. Wine out of the chickens? your not talking about Caffe Sport right? Italain Seafood. RIP the old man who owned and operated it. Funny place and sometimes would turn out some amazing food. can be spotty Ideale on Grant @ Vallejo. They do in fact have some of the better Italian Food in the neighborhood and I would recommend this place. Caffe Macaroni on Columbus was turning out some good food a couple of years ago (one of the only places I've seen horse served in the states) Fior D'Italia is consitent. consistently bad. Mario's Cigar Store still makes a decent sandwich using Liguria Bakery's bread. There are some real crappy joints in North Beach too, Stinking Rose, Basta Pasta, Calzone's. too many to name. Dstone , where are the good restaraunts in NY's Little Italy?

Ernie's been closed a long time. They re-opened in the nineties as more of a club. closed down thank god. Mbutter, your gonna have a great time eating your way through San Francisco. Honestly, I think its a much better food town than NY. That's a bold statement, and one day when I have time I will lay it all out. Per capita there are more people interested in what they eat than NY. Look at the whole spread of NY City and what do you see? Hot Dogs and Pizza...