weinoo

Phil works a couple of nights a week at the Long Island Bar, in Brooklyn. Give them a call to see when he's behind the stick. All of the bars you mention are quite good. If I were going to add one or two to your Death & Co. wish, I'd be at Pegu Club 1st, because it really was the incubator for so many more. Dead Rabbit, Pouring Ribbons, Attaboy (nee Milk and Honey - RIP) are all fine too. The restaurants you mention all seem to me to be mentioned because of maybe how hip they are or were, or because of the scene, etc. But I think there are better choices for the actual food. For Italian, for instance, Rubirosa would be my choice above Monte's. We're big fans of Wildair, for a great wine list, excellent food and fine service. No reservations, so get there early-ish, or you might have to wait. When we have to wait, we go next door to its sister restaurant Contra, where they have good cocktails. King is great, recently reviewed in the NYT. We also very much enjoyed our 2 meals at The Beatrice Inn. And it's hopping. I don't know much about Shabu Tatsu; when we want Japanese food (non-sushi) in that neighborhood, we hit Sobaya, for their house made, awesome cold soba noodles. For hot pot style dining, we're fans of Hot Kitchen. For my money, the best burger is still to be had at J.G. Melon's, though Minetta Taverns' and others are good too. The newest McNally restaurant, Augustine, is fun to check out, but the real killer is the 9-story atrium lobby bar between it and Tom Colicchio's Fowler and Wells, in the classic building at 5 Beekman Place. For breakfast, I highly recommend Russ and Daughters cafe. If you'd like delicious dumplings and other dim sum, I'm still a fan of Nom Wah, on Doyers Street. Oh yeah, Staten Island ferry is great for stupendous views of lower Manhattan. And free. And you can get into the Met museum for anything you wish to pay. But the new Whitney is a stunner as well. And I'm still a fan of hot dogs at Katz's (on their griddle) or the original Gray's Papaya (72nd and Broadway). And since it's the season, a walk (early) around the greenmarket at Union Square is fun - Wed, Friday or Saturday for the most vendors.

I actually avoid Blue fin as well, not because of the flavor (which is awesome), but because they're pretty damn near gone. Any number of other species work well for me.

A dearly departed butcher (RIP Jeffrey) I used to frequent would sell the chuck-eye to me on request, to take home and grind for a really great hamburger. He would also sell them to Shopsin's, ground up for their hamburgers.

3 words - farm-raised salmon. Equals lousy salmon.

And I finally got mine as well!

If you get a chance, do check out Pop + Dutch in Provincetown when there.

Still waiting.

First thing I was going to say when I saw the pictures - you've discovered Despana! The trick is to go around 11:45 AM!

How much do you like your daughter's MIL?

I think the real problem, Paul (and don't hire me as your electrician), is that every apartment in our complex (1,724 apartments!) got a certain amount of juice when the complex was built. Of course, when the complex was built, people weren't running things like dishwashers, multiple air conditioners, hair dryers, washer/dryers, all sorts of electronics, espresso machines (when my Silvia is running, the light in the bathroom flickers) Cuisinart combo ovens...well, you get the picture.

Thanks - I've been looking at the Miele gas ranges and they sure have me thinking...

Doesn't it always ? Running a 220v line would cost over $1,000 a floor - and we're on the 15th floor! Refrigerator size is still to be determined; I don't need anything quite as monstrous as that GE. The wine fridge will most likely have to fit a 24" opening.

So, a couple more limitations (as I said above, coop apartment living)... Range and no other appliances which need more than 120v electrical. I'm pretty sure dual-fuel ranges are out. I also want to have an under-counter wine fridge.

After living in our apartment for what is now close to 14 years, Significant Eater and I have decided to take the plunge and renovate our kitchen and bath. There will be challenges, not the least of which is that our's is a cooperative apartment building; everything (design mostly) has to be approved by management and board of directors. We bought new appliances when I and a friend did a make-believe renovation in 2005...pix of my kitchen appear way back in the blog we did in 2011. The amazing thing about the appliances we bought in '05 is that the dishwasher (Miele), range (Bosch) and fridge (Amana/Maytag) have never needed a single service call. So they've done their jobs well. Actually, I wouldn't mind keeping the Miele, but I realize that keeping a 12 year old dishwasher in a brand new reno is probably not the greatest idea. Now here are the questions. I plan on going fairly high-end for appliances - like I want a pro range and believe I will be able to vent it legally to the outside via my bathroom window (at least that is what both our architect and the president of the coop told me). What appliances are people liking these days, in terms of performance and reliability? I don't want to say price is no object, because it is. But I'd like to hear everything.

When life hands me this: I cook this: Risotto with ramps and white asparagus.

Ham and pea soup (which was served before the paella posted above) repurposed as ramen. With asparagus, pea shoots, mussels and clams.

Hey, who you calling Scuba? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Last night's paella mixta. Chicken, Long Island shellfish - scallops and clams. Grilled scallions and grilled first ramps of the season.

Took another drive to Whitestone, Queens yesterday; all of a sudden I spot this place, which I'd never seen nor heard of: I knew I had a bunch of mushrooms at home; I just didn't know what I was going to do with them. But fresh Durso's fettuccini with mushrooms turned out to be a good idea.

Tammy, the guy who wrote The Spice Companion has a highly-regarded store here in NYC. The store is called La Boîte, and Lior collaborates with a diverse array of chefs and others, from Jim Meehan on cocktail seasonings to Eric Ripert on, well, other stuff.

No more you say?

I've heard somewhat the same thing, Paul. A friend mentioned it wasn't terrible, but it was no Franny's.

Nothing's hidden in this city. But, Le Coucou has been a favorite since its opening. An old classic like Le Bernardin (where we had dinner a week ago) is still wonderful. Other very enjoyable meals we've recently had include Beatrice Inn, Wildair (which is casual and doesn't take reservations), Ssam Bar, and Le Coq Rico. If you want to go to Brooklyn (which is basically a short subway ride), Olstead and Faun are both worthy choices.

I just added these 2 used books to my collection...trying to up my game:

Slightly off-topic, but good Sichuan restaurants have really upped their game in New York City over the past decade. Even in Manhattan, there are a good dozen places to get quality Sichuan food in restaurants.