gingerbeer

i am probably commenting on ancient, resolved issues by now but i read the first half of this thread with fascination (i have a meeting now so nca't read anymore) and thought i'd offer up some of my opinions: 1. a trailer can be really cool. in fact, here in london there is an infamous chocolate trailer - Choco Star - actually it's really an old ice cream van - that travels around dispensing all amazingly delicious chocolately things (brownies, cakes, hot choc) etc, and is run by a chocolate maker who used to work with Pierre Marcolini. This van moves around all the time and looks like it could sell awful soft serve with stale flakes stuck in it, but it's become a legend, turning up randomly at farmer's markets, etc, and it's a business idea that's really worked. a permanent trailer for burgers has no less great potential. 2. looking at the menu you posted a while back, i think it is too much. why not just be simple and amazing? e.g. a burger, a cheeseburger, a mushroom/veggie burger, a chicken sandwich. there's something for everyone there and it cuts down the prep that you have to do. same with the shakes - choc, vanilla and maybe you could have one flavour that always changes? 3. i have a suggestion with the fries - i think beef tallow is the way to go, but also, perhaps you could be creative in seasonings? for example, nandos has a peri peri dry seasoning that it shakes on its chips and which elevates them to something wondrous, i've seen similar uses of dried oregano. you could offer double-fried french fries, and have some seasonings that you make up yourself that people could sprinkle on them if they like. 4. you could name your burger joint after your son.

This was a really interesting post, thank you! I've been to CF 3 or 4 times. The first few times were in a mall in Chicago (I think Old Orchard?), and I had the same thing every time - a huge chicken sandwich with fries which was pretty delicious, in that way that it was completely unsophisticated and tasty and I was afraid of how much fat I was consuming. I think it's that type of reliably good-average food - you know you can order the same thing every time and it will taste more or less the same but you also knew that you could not eat there every day without feeling bad about yourself. The last time I went was at the Short Hills mall in NJ, and was 6 years after the initial CF visits and quite recently. My experience and exposure to food had dramatically changed in that time and I felt reluctant even upon viewing the menu - I didn't find anything that sounded exciting and it all sounded incredibly unhealthy (and sometimes, things can be fatty or sugary, but the quality and experience of tasting them outweighs that concern, whereas with CF the food is, as I said, on the good side of mediocre). I remember looking at the 'light options' part of the huge, rambling menu and being shocked by how unhealthy it was. In the end the food I had was really unsatisfying, and really overpriced. I think you have to go to CF knowing what you are getting - food that is better than average (but firmly within the range of average - by average I'm considering stuff like Olive Garden, where I went once with 3 family members and we all ordered different things and it all tasted like cardboard soaked either in insipid tomato or some awful bechemel-like sauce), which you are going to pay a lot for. If I went again I'd order something insanely unhealthy because the real joy you're going to get from the food is indulging in its more unhealthy elements, the same way as eating a big fat cheeseburger of average origins is sometimes exactly what you want.

i agree with everyone else. there's no good sushi in LES. as adrian posted, ushiwakamaru is nearby and would be my first choice. also nearby are blue ribbon in soho and jewel bako in east village, though the latter two are considered somewhat overrated. jewel bako's $50 sushi or sashimi omakase is one of the better deals for the quality IMO. ← Hmmm Blue Ribbon looks worth trying...

Ahhh I was reading about Ushikawa with my mouth watering and then I realised it's not open on a Sunday, which is the day we're going... Ok, if not on the LES, what about the surrounding areas? I am willing to travel for good food.

That's actually what I really wanted to do, but the person I'm with is quite adamant that they want sushi. Fortunately though I'll be coming to NY 3 times a year from now on, and maybe moving here in a year or so, so I will have another chance

I am visiting from London and don't want to miss out anywhere exciting or good! The person I am going with requested sushi particularly. Please let me know your best suggestions... less expensive is always better than more Thank you!

a cafe or another type of casual place. i need to meet a friend tomorrow in that area, and in between or around 5th + 6th aves. (i'm sorry if this is unclear, i'm not in NY very often!). i'd like it to be nice and cosy but not too expensive if possible! also - i love all food and will try anything, so extra points for something exciting in that department. though even if it's just a good place to have coffee, that's fine. thank you xx

I went there today for brunch. The good: - The design. It's completely charming. The seats, the little BBRs, the colours, the menus, everything was like a set from a Wes Anderson movie. It's absolutely great. I thought the uniforms were cute, too. - The brunch. My scrambled eggs were delicious - fluffy but moist - my bacon was cooked perfectly and my sausage delicious. Even the baked beans tasted good. My bubble & squeak was a little bit too crispy but otherwise nice. - The bread - the bread for toast was cut thickly and as soon as we arrived we were given some really good rolls, and never-ending top ups of water (though we weren't surprised with additional new bottles and therefore extra $). - The chocolate souffle. Really, it's the best I've had in a long while. - The salted caramel ice cream (we thought we were given too little, at first, but because it was quite intense any more would've been too much). - The service. We were 1.5 hours late, due to oversleeping, for our reservation, but they were kind and patient and accommodated us with no problem. The dining room was quite empty though, so I don't know if it will always be this way. A friend arrived 45 minutes later and they accommodated him graciously too. - The drinks - all were good. The elderflower cordial especially. - The menu. Pretty much everything sounds like it would be good to eat. There were none of those '...' moments. The average: - My fruit salad, while it included dragonfruit, kiwi and other such delights, was served sloppily and drowning in juice. - The toasters for your table - a good idea, but, seemingly difficult to execute. The server decided to put it at the end of our table after our table was already littered with drinks, teapots, etc. So we had to plug it on ourselves and awkwardly make space and follow his instructions. Doing this earlier, when we first ordered, would've been cleverer. We also went through several pieces of toast trying to get the right setting for not burned or underdone - some guidance would've been helpful. The bad: - We were six people, and since there are only booths, it was quite cramped. Apparently they only have one table for more than this amount of people. - The servers' knowledge of the dishes. They were not too sure what a few things were. - The prices. I guess we should've expected it. It came out to 46 pounds a person (drinks including cheap champagne, brunch, dessert). That's not bad, I know, but you have to be prepared for it. All in all, I really enjoyed this. I am going to go back again - especially for afternoon tea (we saw it floating past us and it looked so good). I just hope that the standards and service doesn't slip once it gets busy and full - without the great food, it would be a gimmick and the prices totally unjustified. If it stays the same, I can't imagine it won't take off. It was utterly charming. Incidentally, it was 10 x better than the brunch I had at Automat a week ago - there, we were given 45 mins to eat (!), the eggs were cold, the bacon overly crispy, and the service forgetful. The service is the major difference from The Wolseley - it's so gracious and sweet compared. OH, and we did press for champagne, but no one turned up! I guess people press it all the time?

i don't think ariane deserved to win since all she did was cook the meat, but why is everyone assuming that jamie should've won? it was radhika who made the marinade for the lamb, and that was the flavour that they liked. i can't believe danny could be so dumb... my favourites to get to the finals are stefan, jeff, jamie and radhika. i think ariane will lose out sooner or later when things get especially creative.

I am completely inspired to start a blog now After I finish my degree this year, I might go back to SA and learn how to cook - and perhaps document what I learn?

I've been watching these as I take breaks in between studying. The UK version (at least the old ones) were far better than the US ones - they spend more time showing Ramsay teaching the chefs how to shop for food, prepare it, etc, plus it's missing that melodramatic music. And the follow-up visits are interesting. Did anyone see the one with J Willy's? To me, it seemed the biggest problem was that the owner, John, just stood around open-mouthed, staring at everything dully, leaving the servers and cooks to flounder on their own. He seemed to have absolutely no idea what to do. Ramsay took over, and I couldn't help but think that as soon as he left, it would be back to square one because the manager was just standing there like a piece of furniture constantly. I think in the UK version this would've been something that would've been addressed, but the US show is so formulaic they had to just follow the restaurant is bad - GR investigates the kitchen and it's disgusting - there are dramatic talks - GR gives the place a makeover - new food is miraculously taught to the chef - restaurant is a great success and everyone loves everyone formula - so what's the point?

i love maggi noodles.

I think most people expect diabetics to say something, but I know a lot of diabetics (a family full of them) who never say they have an dietary requirement, then 'eat around' the food, which leaves much to be desired. I think because even if you say 'I have diabetes' sometimes people don't know what to do with that - does that mean no sugar, low GI foods, or something else entirely? Etc. It's not as simple as 'I have an allergy to carrots'. Anyway, that's all off topic, but, it's nice to see someone so accommodating Then again there might just be people who are watching what they eat and it's amazing to find something delicious you can eat in that situation, too.

I know this is probably a really annoying thing to hear, but from my own experience it's hard to go to a function if you're diabetic, need to eat very healthily, or something like that, and for everything to be things you would have trouble eating. Could you just do a fresh fruit platter for dessert, without the mousse?

i had hot porridge (oats) with stewed apple and brown sugar, from borough market here in london. lots of people stopped me to ask me what i was eating because it looked/smelled so good! then i had an apple, pear and mint juice, fresh. and then a cup of tea.

no that sounds so good!

mmm this is all so inspiring. ok - next question, HOW do you make your sandwich grilled/toasted? i always get a pan hot, butter one side of each piece of bread, fill in the sandwich between the unbuttered sides and then put the whole sandwich in the pan until it's brown and kind of crispy. i know some people toast the bread before, some people grill it then fill it, etc. you?

Jeff's dish looked pretty good, I wonder why she spit it out - surely she must have tried unusual food in her lifetime? Also, watermelon + feta + tomatoes were good, but... it wasn't exactly original or exciting. Arianne kind of annoys me.

being the piglet i am, i shall eat all of these.

ok, i must go!

Mangal 2 is one of my favourites, and tonight was no exception. For starters, we had unbelievably hot and fresh bread, really the same as Turkish pide. We were also given huge platters of olives, warak inab like things, the best taramasalata I've ever had, hummus, potato salad, cous cous and pickles. Then the meat came. Oh my god. I've never eaten lamb chops so tender, meltingly so, or rice and chunks of meat that are so addictive. To make it even more interesting, Gilbert and George were seated at the table next to us! They looked quite sweet in their suits. Apparently they go there every night: "They have dinner in the same Kurdish restaurant in Dalston at the same time every night. Gilbert and George walk there and return by bus or minicab" (from Wikipedia).

cake!!!!!!!! i love cake. what i really can't understand is people who prefer ice cream to cake. cake is so much better. that cake above makes me want to lick the screen. i've also noticed, even in putting together my blog for a few days (that's not a plug, i promise) the most featured food in literary food scenes is... cake! you know why? because it's crazily delicious.

i've always been put off trying it because of how it looks outside (i know tht's terrible). you and food snob have convinced me though. i'm going to give it a chance.

i made earl grey and lavender cupcakes, once, inspired by one i ate at hummingbird. they were pretty good.

Ooooh! That looks REALLY interesting, and I recognise some of those items on the sample menu! Thank you so much for that And, to both of you, for the encouragement!