pastramionrye

no..one..else...has...any...insight...on...this....? c'mon...people////think...!

I was just wondering what restaurants in NYC do most of the work in-house: from the bread baking and pasta making to the charcuteries, pates, sausages and what not? a rough list would be great...or just start throwing out names...high-end, neighborhood or dives...doesn't matter, just want to find places that try to do as much in house as possible. thanks. jonathan

if we decided to go to sonoma, are there places (restaurants and wineries we must try? i like the suggestions of the oakville grocery, market, bouchon and terra. ty all.

I am going to SF area and want to spend one day/night up in Napa. Anyone know of some of the best wineries to tour around (nice scenery; not super tourist; friendly)? Anyone know of a place to get a good meal (can't afford FL, but was thinking of hitting up Buchon)? thank you. jonathan Also: while in SF i am going to eat one fine dining meal at Quince; but anyon e have any suggestions for cheaper eats. I love all types of food, and i am a professional cook. just a few things to know about me. PPS: I will also be in LA earlier in the trip and heard there is a great deli there that rivals the best in NYC for pastrami, but i cant remember the name. would love to go there.

this is not the restaurant with the awning that says HEIRLOOM on it on orchard street?

just want to report back in on my trip to nyc. thank you all for your reccommendations..... saturday (cold as a mofo)-walked around the city for awhile, then while heading back to our hotel, realized we were close to Daniel's Bagels. stopped in for a snack, and the bagels did not disappoint. delicious, chewy but tender. after resting back at the hotel we went to blue hill for a late dinner. the place was very charming. the food had some highs (the mushroom salad, the parsnip soup amuse bouche, the slow poached egg) and some lows (the lamb and pork entrees, the roasted pineapple dessert). but all in all a delightful meal. for drinks we went to the pegu club, where the drinks did not disappoint. and after champagne, a bottle of wine, chartreuse, a negroni and a gin, gin, mule, it was time for sleep. sunday-wife and i woke up and got bagels at murrays in the billage and brought them to my sister-in-laws. ate bagels and then walked around the village. headed to lupa for a late lunch. excellent charcuterie plate and pastas. felt the wine values were top notch. the restaurant has a feel that is even better than the glowing reviews people gave me. the only downers were the sweetbread main course and the meyer lemon gelato. next time i go back it will be all charcuterie and pastas (the bavette with caci and pepe and the special pork raviolis, MMMMMMMMMMMMMM). after some more walking, headed to the upstairs of the spotted pig for people watching and some beers. Great spot. just a great spot. and even at 4 o'clock, it was starting to fill up. by 5, it was packed. afterwards, we took PANS advice and instead of momofuku, we headed to chinatown for the best named restaurant in NYC, New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe. After dropping decent chunks of money at blue hill and lupa, my wife and i were floored at our $23 dollar check and the gluttonous feast that we had. My wife loves little dumplings and packaged things, so that is why i took her out for dumplings. and we filled up on juicy pork buns, spicy wontons, wonton soup and the honey glazed pork shoulder. great meal, great value. great recommendation monday-more bagels at Daniels, then off to the LES for my annual pilgrimage to Katz's. still doesnt disappoint, even as my mind and stomach builds it up every year. Pastrami on rye. the only way to go. that and a dr. browns black cherry soda. my wife ate part of my sandwich, so neither one of us were too stuffed. so we walked around the east village, enjoying the last moments of our first weekend away since our honeymoon. and anticipating our final meal in nyc for awhile. and that was 6th streets Little India. Amazing, delicous food for just an amazing bargain. An appetizer of meat filled samosas, naan bread, a stewed beef entree (that comes with mounds of rice and lentil soup) for like $12. TRhe restaurant i, believe, was called Sonali. Anyways, in a ity that often gets a bad rap for being expensive. you can definately eat well at the ethnic joints for cheaper than you could in Washington, DC. Also, Lupa, constitutes a real bargain, and is a total gem. Blue Hill, while charming, had a few too many misses for me to return there when given the so many choices of restaurants in NYC. thanks again. jonathan

staying near there.... and i settled on a late reservation at blue hill for saturday night.

any bagel rec's? also, does anyone know if the blue hill menu on their site is an updated one. or is it just representative of what they do?

upon looking at various threads and websites i think i have ruled out cafe gray (due to expense) and jojo (due to lack of enthusiastic suppport). now its between wd-50, blue hill and gramercy tavern (or should i check out craft)? as for me. i am a professional cook, love really good food like katz's pastrami on rye, short ribs, lamb shanks, pastas, etc. i like and am interested in the avant garde movement of food, i really am a cook that will be cooking comfort type foods for people. i am looking for a nice new york experience, not a stuffy over-the-top service (i would have gotten a rez at jean-georges if i wanted a full scale blow out); just something really f-ing good.

my plans are set with the exception of saturday night dinner so as it is now: saturday arrive by bus around 2 and enjoy street food dinner: either gramercy tavern, blue hill, wd-50, jojo or cafe gray sunday breakfast: bagels sunday lunch: late at lupa sunday dinner: late at momofuku noodle bar or another dumpling place like new green bo(?) monday lunch: katz's help me with saturday dinner, please!

were you suggesting blue hill or wd-50 over jean-georges, or as my cheapper meal? thanks.

i am thinking either jean-georges or grammercy for the nice meal, lupa and katz's for lunches and momofuku noodle bar for a cheap dinner. what are your other suggerstions for cheaper meals? what are your thoughts on blue hill and wd-50?

my wife and i are coming up for a quick weekend from the DC area. a little background. i am a professional cook at a nice restaurant in washington, dc. and i love food. my wife also loves dining out. we havent done much fine dining out in nyc, since we havent been there in awhile. looking for some suggestions from you guys/gals. looking for one nice meal out ($200/person max) one cheaper meal out (like lupa or prune) and one place we just cant miss (bagels or pizza or the momofuku dumpling place, my wife is a sucker for dumplings). some places i had in mind were ouest, grammercy tavern, wd-50, lupa, etc.) thanks in advance. jonathan

from my experience, maestro is the best all-around restaurant. service is excellent, the kitchen amazing, the food excellent, all the little extras delicious. while extremely expensive, i have found that maestro is a better value than the other high priced places in the city or nearby.

i can't say whtr bird is better since i've never had judy's or stephanie's; but to discount onebecause "brining is for sissies" is close-minded and ridiculous. maybe i'm being oversensitive; but cooks use a variety of techniques and tools in their repetoire, borrowing from the past and other cultures...being close-minded makes for a bad cook.