Bond Girl

Not sure where this is...Quague, I think...but I heard that Stone creek Inn is rather nice.

Cafe Lotus is very good, scenic too. The chef that heads up the restaurant in Amankila can kick any NYC four star chef's ass anyday.

Cafe Lotus is very good, scenic too. The chef that heads up the restaurant in Amankila can kick any NYC four star chef's ass anyday.

Guilty as charged. Although I don't have aspirations of molecular gastronomy or ever want to own sou vide machines, I do look down my nose at people who use regular table salt and have lightly salted butter in their fridge. Don't even get me started on those who use ready made supermarket pasta sauce. When I'm on vacation. I get more excited about the local farm markets than the Manolo Blahnik shop. On that point, I waste more money on kitchen gadgets and food than I do on designer clothes. Some people probably think I need help, but I just think they have bad taste in food.

Congrats!!! May you be forever happy in domestic bliss. Giving the price gudeline, and where you are, I would try Landmarc or Azafrans, both not very intimate or romantic but then again, wedding parties are usually more festive than romantic. If you want to trek a bit further, you might want to try Hearth, which would fall more or less in the $60-$75 range as well. There's also The Orchard, which is BYOB and good solid Italian/American Food-definitely worth checking out. If you are going to be a party or six or more, try giving Alex at Tia Pol a call, there is a private room in the back you can take over, or the booth that seats up to 6 in the main dining room that you can reserve. Hope it helps.

Just tried the pain du chocolat. Pretty damn amazing. The typical pain du chocolat one purchase from the shops is a whole bunch of stale bread wrapped around a stick of poor quality hard chocolate. The pain du chocolate here is a nice flakey buttery crust with a light bread and a lovely chocolate grenache like cream on the inside. I am in heaven.

A French style bakery on the corner of Union Square The plaace is clean and airy, and although I haven't try everything, the Macaroons are quite nice. The Almond Croissants are too sweet and a bit too big in size, but the plain croissants are excellent, especially if you got some good jam to go with it. Financiers and Tiger Cakes are both very good. There's coffee and upstairs seating, And, if you meet the kitchen staffs are so nice that one of them even look after my dog while I ran in to pick up some baked goods. Defintely a good spot for morning coffee and afternoon meets. Tisserie 857 Broadway Corner of 17th Street

Probably not much given the exchange rates, desserts are from $9 to $14 andthen there's the drinks or tea.

The pea cabonara was to die for, although my artichoke and palm hearts were pretty good at holding my attention, I kept on reaching for the pea carbonara at the middle of the tableand when that was finished I wanted some bread to mop up the sauce. My dining pals' Perogie was really tasty too, even for a beet hater like me. But by that time, I was already very happy with my food. The soft shell crab poppers really got me into a great mood, I love eating apps like that: simple, honest and good, and I was stealing bits of things off my dining pals' plates. The yellow tail tebbouleh went missing very fast and there was the mysterious disappearance of a large section the smoke trout on blini. Hey, what good is going to kick boxing if I can't get to eat? And, I enjoyed every bit of the food I ate last night. The salmon with artichokes and white soldier beans (hi Steve!) went on to delight me after the peas, although the peas now have a tough competitor in the form of the chickpea pancakes. Rancho Gordo should be happy to know that no one did nore justice to those beans than Mr. Telepan. As for the pancakes, they were surprisingly spicy with complex blend of flavors that works beautifully. My friends' helibut was pretty nice too with very delicious chanterelle mushrooms, and since I had the soft shellcrab poppers, I didn't try to pillage the crab entree with zucchinis on my other friend's plate. When dessert arrived, I announced that no one is touching my strawberry with prosecco. I know that it's nice to share, but a girl has to protect her interest too. But, that didn't stop me from sticking my fork into my friends' buttermilk flan and chocolate cherry tart. Well, my friends weren't as selfish as me. As far as the food is concerned, every dish I had at Telepan is the sort of thing I can eat over and over again and love every bite. Service was more than decent with constant attention to the level of water in our glasses and refilling my ice tea, so whatever issues that were previously there must have been ironed out. If I live on the upper west side, Telepan would be the place I get together with my girlfriends for brunch and a place I stop by after work when I don't feel like cooking. It's just was one those nice warm places, that you just can't help loving.

I'm not crazy about La maison, but love Dubov et Gallais and Kees. That woman really knows chocolate.

The thought and ensuing images of first question....very disturbing Yes, how is the new breakfast service going? And, can I get squash blossoms for breakfast?

Western omelet, eggs still soft; rye toast, well done, buttered; home fries, no bell pepper; cranberry juice and tea with honey. Navy blue with a thin light gray vertical stripe, gold toe, 100 percent cotton. ← Rich, my boy...I'm starting to get worried...

That would be scary... the fondness of our culture for useless personal information really boggles my mind. Do we really talk about what someone like ...say Daniel Boulud has for B-fast? Do we really care? For my own selfish sense, I kinda like it this way. At least I can still get a reservation there...for now. Neal is better than Rick Moonen....that I totally agree with. Although, I'm not sure what Mr. Moonen is doing right now after the demise of RM. Do we know what he had for B-fast orwhat color socks is he wearing?

I have Christine Farber's "Mes Confiture" but my usualy method of Strawberry jam, which gets lots of requests from friends (who didn't have the good sense to know that it costs about $10 to make a jar), is to cut them in quarters, squeeze in the lemon juice, and throw lots of suar on them . Heat them up, skim frequently, and taste frequently on a cold plate. If they are not tart enough, I squueze in more lemon juice. When the whole mess reaches 220 degrees on the thermometer or if it sets on a ice cold plate. I spoon it into a sterilized jar and screw on the lids.

Neal is a star already!!! If he isn't the best chef around, he's in the top three list. (he's also one the nicest chef in the world as well.)

To go into every thing I had at Oceana last friday would be really boring, bot to mention cruel, for those who haven't been there. Needless to say that it was one of those heavenly experience that one languish in for weeks after. There was a sinfully seductive corn panna cotta, that had a silky smooth texture with the most delicate corn favor in your senses. A slightly spicy but fresh crab course that made way for a perfectly cooked salmon topped with cactus. Personally, I can't stand salmon. It's one of those overly popular fish that seemed to be on the menus everywhere, and when you order it, it's dry and greasy. This salmon has the tenderness and the cleaness that marks a true great cook. Simply perfect. And, just as we thought things couldn't get any better, we were served a sable fish with greens, a sweet rice and kalemansi lime sauce. For those who think Cornelius Gallagher's Tuna Tartar is to die for, this one trumps that. The melt in your mouth sweet sable fish is perfectly balance by the slightly bitter but mellow greens, and the two are support by the rice. Although the combination seemed fine enough to stand on its own, the Kalemansi lime sauce adds an extra mouth puckering tartness and made the whole dish virtually sparkle. I always knew Cornelius Gallagher can cook but this is true culinary genius! Desserts are solid with a pistashio ice cream in a chocolate cup, and a cream brulee. There was a strawberry foam thing that I didn't much like, but who reallly cares with a dinner so wonderful? As we walked out of the restaurant absolutely happy, my friends, a pair foodies and die hard Gilt devotees, said to me: "You know, we have to admit, this is way better than Gilt." But, I always knew that.

6 hours at Manresa last year. Lost count of the numbher of courses.

I am there as well (with dog in tow)

That being said, I agree. I don't doubt they serve a superior product. But, at least from what I've read, there's nothing "Room 4 Dessert" about the breakfast, which is what I have a qualm about. Secondly, I am entering b-school in the fall, so stop being a jerk. Third, I only offered this as constructive criticism to R4D. I'm the last person who'd want to see R4D fail. ← There's nothing about R$D that says specialty product either, but chefs stop by there all the time just to pick up small quantities of things like sodium alginate...It's what we call alternate revenue stream. R4D like any smart small business understands the concept of diversifying your revenue stream. You will learn the importance of that in B-school, as well as other concepts like "Think outside the box" (which CBS, at least when I was there, champion). Michel Pham, if he still teaches there, offers an excellent class on Market and Porter's Five Principals. I strongly suggest that you check it out. But, this is not a thread about marketing dessert bars, so let's go back to talking about the food.... Those of you guys who hasn't had Will's ice coffee, go down there and check it out. There's also another concoction with squash blossoms that he made for Paul Liebrandt last night, go check that out too

If you pay attention to the product differentiation aspect of marketing in B-school, you would know that while you can get a brioche or a pancake anywhere, but at what quality and to who's taste? That's like saying you can get a piece of fish everywhere, why bother going to Oceana or Daniel for that...Or, a car is a car, there shouldn't be a difference between a porsche and a honda. Sorry....(from another columbia B school grad)

Now open for Breakfast. For $6 you get a choice of OJ, orange soda, tea or coffee (or cafe in "R4D speak"), with Brioche, poundcake, or mini grilled cheese. If you are there in the mornings, go check it out.

why not? (hypothetically) Chefs love it, when other people cook for them (at least the ones I know)

For someone who did not have that choice of two menus, I second the idea for a one menu system. I think for anyone who made the reservation to go to Alinea, $50 is a minor differential issue.

Definitely not $25 and under. Unless you just get one entree and a non-alcoholic drink. That might still go over the $25 limite with tax added.

Sometimes it's people like Julia that restore my faith in humanity. I always make a habit of passing on my restaurant leftovers to a homeless person, but I never have the kindness to take on such a project. Like duck, I hope that this will change.