La Niña

Yeah- $35 and $45. I did the $45. Definitely worth it.

Went there for lunch last week. Chocolate souffle was delicious.

You just figured that out?

It's a scene, something out of a movie, but the food is pretty bad. Except for the ricotta cheesecake, which is really good. Not worth the shlep. It's 3 blocks from my house, but I never go there. And it's not cheap, either. Very old school red sauce Brooklyn Italian vibe. But again, the food just isn't good or interesting.

It's lekvar, not levkar. http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/lekvar.html

Today William Grimes writes about Moutarde, a bistro on my corner which has only been open a few weeks. No idea why he's paying attention to it - I don't think it's special or interesting. I don't get it. I also think it should probably be in $25 and under. He talks specifically (and very favorably) about the tarte tatin - which wasn't so good, in my opinion.

One can only pray.

On Friday, Toby and I stumbled onto a fish store on Mulberry, north of Canal. Definitely a cut above. English-speaking guy, somebody obviously cares about what they're doing, fresh stuff, better and more interesting selection...it's on the west side of the street, it the middle of the block. Not a tiny place, not too big either. I bought some shrimp which were terrific, and Toby bought some roe...

That thingie that Tommy has is similar to my mini-chop (it's a little itty bitty Cuisinart - great for garlic in larger quantities). I also have that garlic slicer that Jim Dixon has - I love that too.

Chef - I'm just playing devil's advocate here - the land of the free also means free from second hand smoke, no?

Even when one grinds nuts by hand, say in a mouli (sp?) grater? Another difference is that pressing the garlic also smashes/smushes it. Chopping doesn't do that. Hence the difference in the release of oils/liquids.

I think the difference between pressing and chopping is significant. Pressing releases liquid and oil that chopping does not. Similar to the difference between grinding nuts and chopping nuts. Very different result. The press I like is the good ol' reliable "Susi" by Zyliss, made in Switzerland. It comes with one of those plastic thingies that you can push through backwards through the holes to clean it.

Causes me physical harm. Eyes burn and tear, cough... And my clothes certainly do stink the next day after I'm in a smoky bar, no matter where I hang them.

Campbell's apartment in Grand Central Station. I love that bar. Great martini. Great room. Had my first date with my beau there. I had no idea they allowed cigars - never tried there. Will they be able to continue to do so after the law goes into effect, I wonder...?

I think it's because the restaurant owners have had it both ways, when smoking has been allowed. Non-smokers have become conditioned to expect to have to tolerate it.

Sheeshah is what the Egyptians call it. In usagae, means the same as hookah. I think sheeshah comes from hasheesh. Hooka refers to the pipe. Ali smokes honey-soaked tobacco. It's wonderful.

Yeah I've been there many times. I like it, but it can be quite a scene sometimes...

Stone, second-hand smoke isn't only about the health risks - it's about the unpleasantness of enduring the second-hand smoke in the moment that the smoking is taking place. I think that's part of what mogsob meant.' We walked into an adorable, welcoming bar on Sunday night. I was immediately hit by a wave of putrid cigarette smoke, and we walked right out. And I was unhappy about not being able to stay and have a drink in there. It would have been so nice if there were a separate room for smokers (with proper ventilation and barriers, health risk to workers notwithstanding). I might even dash in there now and then for a cigar puff - but I'd be able to have somewhere else to linger that would be smoke-free...

Speaking for myself - I don't want to wait until I get home to have a cigar, when the urge strikes. What if I'm a half hour, or more, from home? And I know that lots of cigarette smokers like to have a cigarette right after a meal. It's not *only* a question of a "fix" - it's a question of the timing of the enjoyment of the smoke.

I am an occasional cigar smoker, and my beau is a frequent cigar smoker. We go to the cigar bars - but now I'm concerned that they're going to be absolutely filled with cigarette smoke... Bond Girl - which cigar bars do you like?

While I'm sure you're right, Martin - it doesn't change the fact that for me, smoke is a problem most of the time. My eyes burn, I cough, my food tastes different... Still, I hate the *idea* of this law. I guess I wish that the law would ban smoking in restaurants, but that bars in which food isn't served would have the option (and would have to clearly indicate which type they were). Interesting about the water pipes in Astoria...I do adore sharing a sheeshah with Ali after a meal there...for some reason, it doesn't bother me the way cigarette smoke does. Nor does cigar smoke (in moderate amounts)..

All bars - With exception to cigar-bars and private clubs. So what's to stop bars from calling themselves cigar bars? And will we see a zillion cigar bars open?

Ah, so you're asking for VIP treatment.

So what produces that charcoal-y, black, slightly charred-tasting business on the bottom of a crust (DiFara doesn't really have that). I always thought it was the masonry the dough was sitting on, like brick...? But that doesn't have much to do with the heat source. There are those places downtown now - Li'l Frankie's, and that other one - where they make a fuss about having a wood-burning oven, and not only for pizzas... edit: I don't think that the black char thing is necessarily better - it's different. Sometimes when there's too much of it, it can overpower the other flavors of the pizza...but it can be very good, too.

I used to have a big opinion about pizza being better from a brick/coal/wood oven...then I discovered DiFara's. He has plain ol' pizza ovens. Sally's pizza is just beyond words wonderful. So is Pepe's. So is Modern. So is the Spot. Serious pizza people have got to eat in New Haven.