TarteTatin

A Full Plate is the opposite end of that "mall" from Deuce. Same side. Really worth it. Deuce's food doesn't really thrill me. However, it is owned by a former Delilah's manager, and (I think) ex dancer!

9 out of 11. Lots of guesses.

Bodine St. runs North and South. It's inbetween 2nd and 3rd. Between George St. and Wildey. Half block south of the Stables. If you go to Deuce, which is on 2nd St. at the Liberty Walk, and walk a block west in that block, its in that new shopping center area. There's also a new Sushi restaurant there and a couple of bakeries and coffee shops. Not to mention a custom made corset shop and a natural dog and cat food store...

The only place we've found so far with private rooms is Le Procope. They have different rooms for different amounts of people, and they offered us different priced menu options. It just seems so touristy, and I don't think they are that respected food wise? John's suggestions seem good. I'm sure some of The Flo Group has upstairs private rooms. We'll be investigating those. Oh, of course, Chez Jenny has the private rooms upstairs. Thank you all for your advice so far!

Yeah, the BBQ syrup was really intriguing! As a matter of fact, the fried chicken over a thick, tasty, Belgian Waffle, even more so... They put the chicken over the waffle and then drizzled the BBQ syrup onto the whole thing, like a sauce. The only way to describe it is that it was a BBQ sauce that was a tiny bit more syrupy, I suppose to go with the waffle. It was delicious. Not cloying, not too sweet, just perfect.

Yes, it's in my subject line description...30-60 people.

I know John Talbott has posted a compendium of private rooms in Paris. We've looked at those options... Our 20th wedding anniversary will be held in Paris next April. We have investigated many restaurants already via a friend in Paris who has called places for us. Le Comptoir just won't do private parties, even if it is a year in advance. Crazy Horse would be fun, but that too, is extremely pricey. We have a couple of friends of friends, that run boats on the Seine. How fun would that be! Different boats would charge around 3,500 Euros plus about 50 Euros per person for dinner or lunch. That's pricey for us. So, we've resorted to contacting places that have a website that we can email for prices, with separate rooms. Tourist places, mainly, like Le Procope, All the restaurants of the Flo Group which include: Bofinger, Chez Jenny, etc. etc. Are they too tacky, do you think? Would our friends from Paris, England, Germany and the U.S. (all are into good food and wine) balk at going to these places? What do you think? Where should we book? Thank you for your advice!

Just came back from this gem of a place in Liberties Walk in Northern Liberties. If you know where Deuce is, it's in the same "walk", but further north. It's actually right by the stables on Bodine St. The little cafe gives the appearance of a coffee shop. They have hand painted tables by a local artist, mismatched chairs and silverware. They serve their ice tea with mint in a quart size Ball/Mason jar. They serve veggies in a flower pot. Very cute. The food is creative and amazing and inexpensive! The influence is definitely Southern, with a Vegetarian bent as well. Sounds like an odd combination, but they really pull it off. I had Fried Chicken over a thick Belgian Waffle with BBQ syrup ($9). Tasted great! Chicken breast pieces, very moist. Hubby had Crab Cakes with tangy Remoulade Sauce ($10). They came with a side of cornbread and marinated cukes...We ordered a small side of fried pickles (for anyone who has been to Creole Connection in New Orleans, you know how good these are!). These were not pickle slices, they were whole little pickles. The batter for both the fried chicken and the fried pickles was tasty. Not sure what it was, but very fresh. We also had a side of Mac and Cheese, made with whole wheat pasta, really, really good! Sides were $3 a piece or 2 for $5. I had a Mint Ice Tea, hubby did BYOB with a couple of Red Stripes. The whole thing, including tip, came to $30! Can't beat that! The menu is full of interesting items: Slow cooked BBQ ribs, pulled pork sandwich with southern slaw, four different types of Po Boys: Catfish, Chicken, Meatball and Eggplant. They have Spinach and black bean burgers and other sandwiches served on a Challah roll...Pecan crusted Lentil loaf with mushroom gravy...Catfish fingers, polenta, salads, all sorts of veggie items....the sides included fried okra, collards, the french fries looked great at another table. They are sweet potato and white cut mixed fries...etc. etc. The priciest entree are the crabcakes at $10. They are open Mon-Sat. lunch/dinner and Sat/Sun brunch. "Good grits" as they say!

No, I didn't mean it literally, Katie! I'm sure they do things the right way.

We like the list at Fork as well. Roberto Sella, the wine guy and part owner, has a place in Tuscany. It's near Pienza, Montalcino...He brings back some very interesting Italian wines, from small producers that he's met there. Fork is also interested in French wines, and used to have really cool wine tasting dinners. Lots of Rhones, which we love. And, the list changes periodically; that's good. To me that means they are constantly looking for new and interesting wines to serve. As far as good value lists, both Standard Tap (most wines $24) and N. 3rd ($19.95 for everything on list)....No, they're not incredible wines. But you can't beat that price when you're out for a basic, weekday meal. Can't remember, but doesn't Bistro St. Tropez have a decent list?

Oh, Brett waited on us, Katie. Sorry we missed you!

Amada for lunch today with clients. OH, MY GOSH! Delicious! I've been following the thread (actually, from my search there are about 5 different threads), salivating, and it really is true! We all had the $12.50 soup/sandwich or salad combo. What a deal! Two of us had this outrageous Gazpacho with Cucumber and Saffron on top, served in a square glass bowl, very contemporary, with a side dish of fried cheese. (can't remember the name but it was delicious) The other two had a white bean and ham soup, also delicious. Three of the group had a Spanish sandwich, I know I'm not being very descriptive, but it was a business meeting and I couldn't pay enough attention to what they had. It was with meats and beautiful looking; and served with a side of so tasty fries with a special sauce on top. (Katie, can you help with the descriptions, please!) I had a Salad with great arugula, frisee, avocado, fava beans (wish there were more), green beans, maybe asparagus there...huge and delicious. We didn't have any of Katie's wonderful selection of indulgent libations (darn, why don't Americans have just one drink at lunch?) The total check was $65 for 4, which isn't bad at all for lunch!

I guess we're just tough customers. Been hearing for a long time about how wonderful Radicchio is. Chefs and restaurant people seem to go there on Monday nights, good fish, etc. We went tonight, Monday night, May 1st. First time. Yawn. Bruschetta topped with tomatoes drowned in olive oil was served on bread to start. Shared an app. of Insalata Mare. Served cold, squid, scallops, clams, mussels, shrimp. Sounds grand, not a lot of anything, served with lemon, olive oil, and celery. Oh, how fennel would have flavored this dish instead of celery! It yearned for fennel! It is the season, so there's no reason to have the bland celery with the bland seafood and no real taste of anything. And in addition to plain lemon juice why not microplaned lemon zest as a garnish? I wanted the homemade Gnocci, so I asked for it possibly with another sauce besides the Marinara. They recommmended a Gorgonzola sauce. Yum, I said! Yet there was no taste whatsoever of any inkling of a bit of any cheese sauce, let alone Gorgonzola. MAYBE it was a cream sauce with a bit of shallot. BORING. Don't say you'll happily make me a Gorgonzola sauce and then serve a basic cream sauce. And no green! No garnish! All white! It so wanted some chives, or parsley, or something on top to make it look appealing! Hubby ordered the whole Branzino, as Radicchio has a great reputation for fish, and they filet it at the table. Hubby used to be in the biz. His comment: Fish Mousse. He said if he had filleted it that way at the restaurants he worked at, he would have been sharply reprimanded by the Chef. Yes, its tough to get a filet in one piece from a cooked fish, but that's the reason for fileting it tableside. But one generally is able to get the whole filet or re-assemble the fish on the plate so that it doesn't resemble fish mousse. Bland. The mash potatoes and steam table broccoli and tomato side dishes didn't help. A biscotti covered in powdered sugar at the end was the hit of the meal. I'm sorry, but I guess we must be tough, harsh, or missing something???? Normally, I would say, don't go out on Monday nights, don't order fish on Monday nights, etc. But.... Will we go back? Probably not. The food was plentiful, hot, and there were no off flavours. The atomosphere was pleasant, with some interesting people to look at. But there is, for us, no reason to return.

Only went once a few weeks ago in New Jersey, Costco near Philly. But, as farm to city/CSA people, we found all the samples tasted like chemicals, with a definite aftertaste.

Just had Chincoteague oysters over Easter weekend and they were super. Brought some home, good for a week or so, and hubby fried them from a recent NY Times recipe. Delicious.

Good olive oil. Not virgin. In bulk. Better wine selection by the glass than at the bar in RTM. I know, it wouldn't be the same if they went too fancy. But for those of us that don't drink beer at all, we're stuck. Fresh, LOCAL fish.

First whole food (I've been told): Periwinkles picked out of their shell with a pin by our Italian friends...cooked in a tomato sauce for days after being soaked clean for days as well. My parents had left me with their best friends and I hadn't had anything but baby food and milk or whatever; they came home and our friends told my parents that is what they gave me and my eyes lit up! This was on the Southeast coast in Connecticut. Near New London, probably Stonington or somewhere...

I think my favorite place was Alsace and Champagne. Hubby is Burgundy and Rhone. Burgundy might be a little too much like Napa... Provence too crowded in the summer. I think I'd choose Alsace, since the architecture, the cuisine, everything is a bit like a French/German combination. Very different and not a lot of other English speaking people; which makes us feel like we truly are in a different culture. It's not all Charcroute....good grits and wine!

Bonjour! We are in the beginning stages of planning a party next April for our anniversary. Lots of friends actually said they'd join us, coming from US and England, in Paris. How fun! We don't have a ton of money, so don't want anything fancy. The only place I can think of would be upstairs at Chez Jenny, which is not a bad idea. Does anyone else have any recommendations? Oh, how I wish it could be Le Comptoir! They'd never go for it...

We had a business lunch there last week. Two of us had the decadent lobster truffle macaroni and cheese. Big pieces of fresh lobster meat, didn't lack in taste or taste frozen, it had taste! The mac and cheese was so tasty, rich, but not too rich. I would have liked a touch more truffle taste/aroma. The third in the party had the crab cakes with homemade potato chips. Three lunches, water for all, came to a ridiculously small amount of money. The mac and cheese was $12 a piece, wow, what a great price! Waitress was super. We're in for the dinner. Let us know!

Cloves and whole Cardamom pods in Indian food. Hubby cooks amazing Indian meals, but puts whole cloves and cardamom pods/seeds in them. I absolutely hate when I bite into one! I like the taste, but wish I didn't have to have a mouthful of them.

hubby makes a Tarte Tatin (of course), with quinces...Yum.

WOW. Sounds decadent. We have to go. Anyone else been there?

We had a pulled pork sandwich, meaty ribs, cornbread, collard greens and baked beans tonight. Got them from Zeke's....! Driving back from the burbs around 5:00 this afternoon. In the area, so thought we'd see if Zeke's was open to get some take-out. Prentice Cole (the owner), was there and so were three other parties...but they were trying to close up. Outside of the restaurant there was lots of wood, since they smoke everything there, it makes sense. And, the smell coming from the restaurant! As we left our car, it just filled my nose. Yum. We weren't ready to eat yet, so brought it home in the car. Boy, was that ride home tormenting! Anyway, the pulled pork was super, bread was just okay. The ribs were delicious, tasty, meaty and fatty. Both could have used a bit more sauce, I thought. But they were both very moist. The cornbread was good, a little undercooked in the middle...collard's had nice big bits of ham in them, baked beans were okay, but dipped the pulled pork in the baked bean sauce and it was super. There is enough left for a full meal tomorrow too.

I was thinking Smoked Joint has take out. If not sandwiches, then really good ribs or mac and cheese... (Note to Carlson, i.e. your sig line: I love Previn and your lovely Helen London!)