VivreManger

In my local Whole Wallet Market cooked whole Dungeness crab was on sale today for about $7.00 a pound. I live in western Massachusetts. So the glut has spread to the East Coast.

Tofu Valley is not carnivore friendly. I have not been pleased by the quality of charcuterie in this neighborhood. Although it is not exactly what you are looking for, I can unequivocally recommend the roast beef at Serio's Market on State Street in Noho. Their rare store-cooked roastbeef is tastier and almost 50% cheaper than Whole Wallet in Hadley.

I was dubious about deep-frying at R&G. In general I am not a fan of deep-fried Chinese food. That is why the crab preparations at PPQ Vietnamese Cuisine, and Thanh Long seemed more appealing. In the end, I had no complaints about Swan's and I enjoyed discovering the Patisserie de Polk a few blocks down the street.

Wound up at Swan Oyster Depot this AM. Had the half a crab, steamed, chilled, eaten with lemon juice. Simple and delicious. I would have liked to try the other preparations, but time and opportunity worked against me. Still I have no complaints.

Does R&G prepare dungeness crab any way other than deep-fried?

I believe that local fresh Dungeness crab is now in season in the Bay Area. Would Harbor Village for instance offer any fresh Dungeness crab dishes at lunch? Any other spots likely to feature it and prepare it well?

After the Sunday brunch, I am off to Berkeley for dinner with some cousins. They suggested the following: Cafe Panisse, Rivoli, Lalime, or Oliveto. Based on preliminary research Rivoli does not seem in the same league as the others. I have twice been to Cafe Panisse -- upstairs a la carte, not the prix fixe below and don't feel the need to go again. What I had was not so spectular that it merits a third visit. Of the two remaining Oliveto seems the more interesting. I find the home-made salumi particularly appealing. Any responses out there?

Actually I am from New England, not NY. The Times in this case functions as a national rather than local paper. I guess the assumption reflects a Californian's view of the world, the mirror image of Steinberg's famous New Yorker cartoon. But perhaps Carolyn had some other contacts in mind besides mine. In fact the NYTimes article was in its Sunday Travel section where it regularly covers out of town dining.

Has anybody been to Green Zebra since the weather has changed and the local produce has become less appealing? As has been noted above with the coming of fall, local vegetables will diminish. I was thinking of goiing in late November, after Thanksgiving, when I will visit Chicago. My family has one veggie and one veggie fellow traveler and this might keep them happy. Any updated reports? I could imagine lots of winter root vegetables, roasted, pureed, and sauted. There are only so many ways of making brussels sprouts appealing. What else will be appearing in the local larder?

The two Shelburne Falls places mentioned in my post yesterday are A Bottle Of Bread Water Street (413) 625 6502 Sat. 12-2:30; 5-9. ; Sun.11-2:30;5-8 (see their CiderDay Menu) www.bottleofbread.com Tusk N Rattle 10 Bridge St (413) 625-0200 Sat & Sun., 4-11 The third rec -- in Greenfield -- is: The People's Pint 24 Federal Street (413) 773-0333 thepeoplespint.com Sat. & Sun. 4:00-11:00

The website is www.ciderday.org The activities seem spread outover a number of towns: not only Colrain, but also Deerfield and New Salem, among other places. Shelburn Falls boasts two restaurants worth visiting. Unfortunately I can't remember either name, but one is located on the main street heading south from route 2, on the right hand side, just before the automobile bridge. The other place is located right next to the bridge of flowers which is more or less parallel to the automobile bridge and a few hundred feet to the west. This second restaurant is on the north west side of the bridge. If some checks out the Shelburn Falls website and lists the names here, I could identify the two places. The first has a name like Tusk or Tuscan and features an interesting amalgam of Mexican and some Indian food, well prepared with a good variety of local beers. The second has a veranda that overlooks the river and the bridge of flowers and features some local produce. The area also produces local organic beef, but unfortunately neither restaurant seems to carry it. The best place in Greenfield is the People's Pint. Their pulled pork sandwich, an occasional special, is superb. They are a lefty hippy brew pub with live music on many evenings and somewhat erratic opening hours. I think they are closed on Mondays and for lunch. I don't know their weekend schedule.

Has anyone tried Curtis BBQ in Putney off exit 4 on I-91 in Putney, Vermont? I have heard mixed reports about their chicken & ribs.

My cousin and I had a very pleasant evening in the care of Derek and his colleagues this past Saturday night. In fact we did first courses at Indique and followed it up with main course and dessert at Palena. One disappointment, we did not try the famous chicken since it takes 45 minutes to pain [sic] fry and then roast. Had we known I would have ordered it, crossed back to Indique and then returned when it was ready. A word to those who wish to avoid disappointment in the future. By the way, of the fried veggies, I thought the lemon the most spectacular. The next best item was the onion. The puffed and fried potatoes were good, but not worth a detour. We had the squab and foie gras in place of the chicken, such hard luck. We enjoyed that dish very much. I particularly admired the way the squab leg was prepared differently from the breast so that the distinctive taste of each part was respected. The foie was excellent. The lime tart to end the evening looked like we were eating breakfast, a deeply yellow custard flowed out of its pastry shell with each cut and thrust, rather like a sunny side egg on toast. The shell was not so soft as to grow soggy under its filling nor too hard to be yielding to a fork. The custard incorporated bits of lime so that it had a surprising and rewarding consistency. Derrick introduced us to a newly arrived St. Emilion that was quite agreeable. Saturday night in mid-summer is a great time to try the cafe since it is not packed. The banquettes are more dramatic and comfortable then the tables and chairs in the dining room itself.

the distinction that needs to be made here is, i believe, that between being not allowed to sit at your OWN table that you RESERVED when a single member of the party has arrived and being refused seating at a more egalitarian, come on-come all, first parties come, first parties served, before the entire party has arrived. I accept this distinction.

Sounds good to me.

No confusion. I did not mean tapas and I understood that these dishes were single plates a la carte, rather than tapas. Since we will be only two, the time seems not a problem. There still remains the Indique versus Paleo question and the other issues raised in my other post. TNX

I am asking for suggestions and price/quality comparison on these two Cleveland Park establishments. I will be flying into BWI, arriving in Bethesda around 6 so the earliest I could make dinner would probably be 7:30. The best deal at Paleo is probably the $9 plates but by that hour the bar/cafe area may be packed. Today there probably is still time to reserve Indique for that hour, however. Quite apart from the question of reservations and wait, what other recommendations does your assembled wisdom have about these two places? Do you believe that there are any places in or closer to Bethesda that compare. I have eaten at Jaleo, which was fine, but does not need repeating. Looking over the board and taking into account travel time and parking, Cleveland Park seems a reasonable destination and both these places have gotten good reports. BTW last week I tried Pesce after several years absence and ATC I don't think it is superior to Johnnies' Half Shell.

Waiting for the whole party to be seated. I agree that this is a pretentious and obnoxious practice. It should have nothing to do with the quality or formality of the restaurant. Gordon Ramsay's Royal Hospital Road in London, considered one of the best in the world, and in my experience certainly the best for service, offers the early arriving guest a choice of waiting in the lounge or being seated at the table. I chose to wait in the lounge, but the head waiter was happy to accomodate my preference and I think all restaurants should. Cafe/Bar $9 plates. I am not sure I understand the options here. Are the small plates available both at the bar counter and at the tables located near it or only at the counter? Saturday night around 7:30 Given my travel schedule, the earliest I could get to Paleo would be about 7:30 -- 8:00. As I understand it, the cafe/bararea takes no reservations. At that hour on a mid-July weekend, would the place likely be packed. I should add that last weekend I happened to go by there at around 9:00 and while Indique seemed to be bursting at the seams, Paleo was doing a civilized and comfortable business. APOLOGIES FOR THE WEIRD FORMATTING i AM FORCED TO WORK WITH AN OUTDATED BROWSER WHILE MY COMPUTER IS BEING REPAIRED.

If I knew its location more precisely I would not be asking the question. As I understand it, this is not Uighur cooking. It betrays no evidence of Turkic cuisine, but rather is a Muslim variation on Han cooking.

Within the last few days I noticed somewhere on the Net a Chinese Muslim restaurant -- lots of lamb, interesting breads, no pork, less rice -- recommended in Rockville on the Pike. but I have lost the details and can't remember the precise name. Any body out there know the answer? And if you do, do you have any report on it? In December I enjoyed the China Islamic Restaurant in Glendale, California, and would like to try an East Coast version. Thanks

Do the Happy Hours work on Saturday or is it just a weekday deal?

Was thinking of trying it this coming weekend. Any recs out there?

Locke Ober's may be the classic impress-the-client restaurant in Boston. The place reeks of tradition and gentleman's club, but the food has been updated by Lydia Shire. However I have not been there in years so my recommendation must be taken with some salt and other condiments as well. The other places generated buzz are Radius and Clio.

A month ago Eric Asimov ran an article on the Gumbo Cafe on Columbus & 107th. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/dining/26UNDE.html My daughter loves rice and beans and I like cajun so we thought to hike up the 30 blocks from the Museum of Natural History. Since it is unlicensed I bought a few beers along. No luck. The place was closed on a Thursday evening at about 7:00. anybody know what happened?

In the 60s there was no Space Invaders et al.