weinoo

Pomp and Sustenance, by Mary Taylor Simeti, is about the history of Sicilian Food over 25 centuries.

I definitely thought of Otto except for the business dinner part; when was the last conversation you had at Otto?!

I've been asked by a friend what my choice would be for the best place to go for pizza, but it has to take reservations because it will probably be a business dinner. And it must have a wine list, too. My first thought was, well...I didn't really have a first thought. Any help?

I guess this is all part of the reason why a decent slice (and there are only a few) of pizza here in NYC can approach $5, and a good, whole pie is easily $20 or more.

That's exactly it, MaxH. No one is paying anyone or soliciting anyone to write reviews here on eG like they are on sites like Yelp. While you might get a review that's considered bad advice here, it is still posted by a well-meaning society member who hasn't been paid or comped, or has made those facts known. Shills are usually quickly ferreted out.

What?

I just wanted to gauge their sensitivity level. Appears to be rather high.

Have you checked into St. John the Divine? I did a wedding there once for 450 people and we brought in everything (including air conditioning!).

I don't necessarily understand what you mean. I didn't think there was anything to argue about or even to agree with.

You've brought up another point which amazes me: Do people really ask for comps? I've been out with professional reviewers and that thought or action has never crossed their minds over careers spanning 30+ years. As a matter of fact, that is way beyond my comprehension.

That would be great!

I don't know that I'd lump the word of the professional newspaper or magazine reviewer in with that of the yelper or twitee. Certainly, your experience or my experience at a particular restaurant may be better or worse than that of said reviewer; but I tend to trust the pro a bit more.

Yesterday, front page news in the NY Times, an article entitled In a Race to Out-Rave Rivals, 5 Star Web Reviews Go for $5. Not that I didn't know there were shills on a lot of these sites, and not that I trust any of the reviews on said sites, but the article is still a bit disturbing... Isn't it great to know how industrious people are? Of course, we have good old eGullet to trust, along with a few others, where shills are generally quickly sniffed out. So where else do you turn when you want an honest opinion?

On a return trip Friday night, the food was nothing less than delicious. And as a friend of a friend and family, in a group of 5, we got to try so many things. There is no doubt that Joe Ng and Eddie Schoenfeld are capable of putting out some mighty fine food, and with the sourcing they're doing for a lot of their product, it rises way above what passes for Asian food in so many establishments.

Who Likes Vacuuming? But then again, and at the risk of offending any of the hipster, johnny-come-lately coffee enthusiasts, I may have been ahead of the whole trend toward excellent coffee, since I've been doing pour over for 30 years...along with any number of other methods depending on mood, time of day, etc..click.

put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it,then pack the cubes in foodsaver vac bags in the freezer till use.. lasts long time Bud Freezing works nicely, but leave out the cheese and freeze. Then add the cheese when you're mixing it up with pasta and a bit of hot pasta water.

Back in March I started a topic called Restaurant/Bar annoyances. Lots of fun stuff covered in that topic, as it wasn't just related to service, but also to other things that go on in restaurants that happen to annoy me. Now, in the current issue of GQ magazing, Alan Richman goes off on a restaurant after experiencing some of the worst service he's ever encountered. While there apparently was some other weird stuff happening after his 3rd meal at M. Wells in Queens, the gist of the article is summarized thusly: The above article created quite a stir in the food community. Sam Sifton commented on it in Diner's Journal, as did Jonathan Gold (although his was just a sarcastic twee tweet), and I'm sure there were others as well. Now, today's Eater posts an interview with Village Voice critic Robert Sietsema, someone whose opinions I've always respected. Guess what? He agrees, even going so far as to point out: Of course, I don't know if it goes so far as to the conspiracy hinted at by Sietsema, but the bottom line, from these writers' points of views, appears to be that the concept of service in restaurants, at both the high-end and low (at least when you take price into consideration), is undergoing a paradigmatic shift. Discussing this on the way to lunch today with my significant other Significant Eater, we just don't know if we agree. Certainly, at the places we frequent, I'm not expecting Danny Meyer type service. But, while there may be glitches here and there, overall we are satisfied by the service we receive. Could it be better? Yes, I suppose. But it doesn't stop us from frequenting those places. How about you?

I've tried the minis from both Häagen-Dazs and Ciao Bella. Many of the bodegas here in NYC stock them. Good competition for the Dove bar.

This was a tasting for friends and family, so... It's nice to have Joe Ng back in the kitchen. And with Schoenfeld running the FOH, the food was flowing smoothly out of said kitchen last night. A friends and family where you actually get to eat - comfortably and fillingly. These guys are pros, and it shows, and obviously RedFarm has had a head start at Food Parc (where I've never been, btw). As anyone who has eaten at Chinatown Brasserie knows, Ng's food, at its best, is both playful and delicious. Here's a sample, the Pac Man Shrimp Dumplings... They were tasty too; and yes - that's guacamole supporting a fried slice of sweet potato, chasing Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. There are a number of tasty sounding vegetable dishes on the menu which I didn't get to try; I'll try to report more once I get back and start paying for my food.

I also tend to use the same cocktail glasses over and over again, saving the "special, fancy" ones for when there are guests. Of course, then every time I take those out of the cabinets, they need to be washed because they've got, in addition to dust, the wonderful NYC grime that seems to accumulate on everything. Makes sense to rotate almost everything here.

No your single stack is not FIFO. The first plate into the stack (on the bottom) is the last one out, not the first. Your last plate in, on the top of the pile, is the first one out. Hence your stack is LIFO (last in, first out), the exact opposite of FIFO! FIFO is what you would like to be happening, and it isn't! You must be an old accountant or an inventory clerk...I should have noticed that, but didn't!

Do you think the plates on the bottom will expire?

M&Ms and Oreos. What could be bad?

Perhaps the people in Dallas haven't figured out that you can park in the lot, go inside and order a burger, and take it with you. Well, everyone but Jeff.

Maybe it's just better than everything you've tried in the "best restaurants?"