stefanyb

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Jeff, Go and take a look at the "outdoor" space at The Park. It reminds me of the Tuilleries and the minute I saw it I started planning some party because it is just so inviting. This restaurant is on 10th Ave and 18th St, I think. Take a look. The food is pretty good also (Mediterranean).

You haven't lived until you've tried a frozen Mallomar! The crunch, the sweetness, the melt-in-your-mouth frozen marshmallow, the chewy cookie bottom, mmmmm.

I'm with Ruby. Home is cramped, inconsistent and often has skimpy portions. Gotham is far more professional and reliable. You'd be much better off there. However, I've been to a number of highly regarded restaurants on Thanksgiving with my extended family and I have never been anything but disappointed. When a particular holiday requires that the majority of diners will be ordering the same items, my experience has been that the food is prepared and sometimes even plated in advance and it shows. Mark Bittman's Minimal Thanksgiving would be far better than even a 4*, IMHO.

I have a few family faves that the kids love but others at my usual 10-14 person group would like some infusion of newness. Do you have a particular favorite for veggie sides in the traditional mode?

I've heard that they serve a good matzahball soup. Sounds weird to me but does anyone know about this?

Tony Bourdain just made this info available. It'll be in the new Columbus Circle ultra/mega/stupendo/mixed use site. Thats all I know.

This rack of lamb was not meant to be anything but roasted to a particular doneness. When I ordered it rare I certainly didn't want it cold. This restaurant, though very good, is a steakhouse with a predominantly conservative menu. They definitely didn't intend for this lamb to be raw but I was doubting myself because I ordered it rare and wondered if thats what I got, at least in someone's mind. BTW, I returned 4 of the six chops and had them cooked more and believe it or not they didn't get ruined.

I just returned from Strip House (NYC) where I had ordered rack of lamb and received, to share, six lamb riblets that were crusted in breadcrumbs and mustard but were otherwise essentially raw and cold. Now, I like my meat rare, when I eat it (which is rarely, ha ha). My question is at what point in rareness is lamb too rare? I'm not referring to personal preference. I'm referring to Escoffieresque correctness.

Pat- I enjoyed reading your reviews. I have been to many of those you mentioned and basically agree with your assessments. I realize that you didn't mention restaurants up Cape past Chatham but if you did, I would add one - Inaho in Yarmouthport. The only restaurant on the Cape that I would go to regardless of where it was. I actually had some of the best toro there that I have had anywhere,and I have eaten Japanese food up and down both coasts of the U.S.

This is not really a joke, not really funny and not really about food, it just cracks me up every time. That said: A man goes to his weekly psychiatric session. The shrink asks him how his week went. He says: "Okay, but when I had lunch with my mother I made a terrible Freudian slip". The shrink says: "Really, why don't you tell me about it". The man responds: "Okay-- we went to a lovely restaurant. We ordered two bowls of soup. When the waiter brought the soup I tasted it and thought it needed salt so I decided to ask her to pass the salt but instead I said - You F@#$%kED up my life you miserable, hateful, castrating B%$TCH!" (It does mention soup, salt and tasting)

Regarding bottle tops on wine bottles...I had a funny experience at Avra (NYC, Greek, fish). I ordered a bottle of Retsina. My knowledge about it was rudimentary, at best- I did know about the resin flavor but not much else. The waiter brought the Retsina, removed the bottle top with a standard bottle top lever opener-- with great flourish and a cloth draped over his arm-- poured me a tasting in my wine glass; I swirled it sipped and pronounced it fine whereby he poured for the table and put this pop type bottle into a cooler by the side of the table and covered the side with a cloth. The bottle-top remained in the place on the table where a cork would normally be just waiting to be sniffed (?) To me this all seemed rather hilarious.

How exactly do you obtain honeydew juice? With a juicer? By mashing and pressing honeydew flesh? Whats the secret?