ZenFoodist

We went this past Saturday night and turned up just as the largely Islamic clientele was breaking its Ramadan fast. Our, like every other table, was presented with the traditional platter of bread, dates, and fried, coiled, honey-soaked dough (I forget the name- think of Greek thiples...) for a "sweet" segue into a more savory meal. We were all also given cardboard coffee cups filled with a banana fruitshake libation of sorts. The floor was fairly dirty and the blanquette we sat on along with the numerous pillows that adorned it were quite soiled. We didn't let this bother us as the very spirited owner (whose white chef's coat was pretty filthy come to think of it) and his meager staff scrambled to get what we were told were complimentary bowls of harira soup on the tables along with glasses of water and pots of tea. The families who were seated next to us admired our toddler and we exchanged pleasantries and in general it felt like we were eating in a very hectic household of a friend somewhere in Morocco. Things were going well. About 30 minutes had passed and all that we had had was the fast-breaking platter that was brought to us upon our arrival. My husband, who had a slight fever, was in desperate need of water and none had come yet. He was beginning to lose interest. I very kindly spoke to one of the over-extended waiters and water and tea and soup appeared instantaneously ( no spoons or napkins though- service really needed some ironing out...) We received two glasses of mint tea upon which the pot was removed from the table- we've always had a whole pot in other Moroccan places...Our waiter was extremely friendly, very engaging with our son, flattered that we knew and appreciated Moroccan culture/cuisine. He suggested we have an order of chicken bisteeya ( 3.50) mixed cold Moroccan vegetable salads ( 6.00) and a Vegetable tagine ( 9.50). It sounded perfect ,and considering we had had a huge West Indian take out lunch hours before from Singh's, it was the perfect amount. Everything, incidentally, arrived at once and was delicious. Our waiter continued to visit with us and somewhere in the middle of what had begun as a lovely, off-beat meal...it began to get...well...strange...It was almost as if he had been drinking. His stories began to get a bit ribald, he spoke loudly, dropped the f-bomb multiple times in describing how idiotic most Americans (not us of course) are in their perception of Morocco ( can't say I disagree) told us the private suites at La Mamounia were a mere $100 a night ( absolute rubbish!!!) and most importantly shared that he wasn't even a waiter at the restaurant, that he just lived in the nabe and his family was friendly with the owners in Morocco and he decided to help out the overhwhelmed staff- that he was really an off-duty police officer. It was sooooo odd. We listened politley and nodded our heads a lot and hoped he would go to other tables that were in desperate need of service. Finally we requested the bill and this guy proceeded to do the Dominick's thing that I so loathe...he began to eyeball the dishes (exactly 3) mumble numbers, squint his eyes as he did "intense" mental math and then said 37 dollars! At a place like Dominicks where there are no posted prices, this could have worked, however we knew what everything cost from the menus. My husband gave me a curious look and whispered that it was way off in the two seconds that our waiter had his back turned. Then it got really weird. The waiter actually began to rush us as my husband got his wallet out, telling us to pay cash. He said that he was on his way out. He could sense that we knew something ws wrong and was intentionally crowding us and prattling on endlessly and not allowing us to speak to one another. I really can't describe it properly, but it was Twilight Zoney. My husband, so poilte, said " We had a great meal and I don't mean to question your calculation, but I don't think this is the right price." The guy, without missing a beat replied almost menacingly at this point, "Okay just make it 35 bucks then." At which point, I ,who was getting really annoyed because I knew we were being taken for fools, asked how our three plates could have been 37 dollars...He was flabbergasted and just looked at us for a few seconds. Finally he mumbled something about the Ramadan platters costing money...Whatever. My husband had had it and just put the money on the table and decided it was time to leave. Poor guy's hectic trial sched was finally catching up to him, he was getting the flu, and he decided it just wasn't worth it. As we packed our son up, we observed our waiter walk to the front exposed kitchen area, confer with the owner (our money still in hand) point to our table, hug him goodbye, exchange a lot of laughter, and then leave with the money still on him. On the way out the owner tousled my son's hair, apologized for the rushed service and told us to come back again when he could "pay more attention" to us. Outside the restaurant, as we were putting our stroller in the car, one of the Moroccan families who had sat next to us and apparently overheard our waiter stopped us and told us that we had been "thieved" ??? They said that there was absolutley no charge for the traditional fast-breaking plate (they compared it to a basket of bread in a diner ) or the harira during Ramadan. Very shady and quite disappointing as the food we had was well-prepared. Wonder if the owner was in on it or just made the mistake of letting a knave help him out. Won't be going back to Jour et Nuit anytime soon.

Is Pret-a Manger still around? I remember reading an article awhile back about how the Brit chain wasn't as well received here and about a famous pastry chef leaving her restaurant to consult for them...Claudia Flemming?? Even though Pret offers dozens of items, it's perceived mainly as a specialty sandwich shop so it would count towards my initial request.

Not that restrictive.....I think what I originally meant to request but didn't, was establishments specializing in or famous for one type of food...so even though the hummus place has three different types of hummus, or the rice pudding place has 20 flavors, or the ramen place has 5 variations AND sells dumplings....not a prob. BUT not obvious places like ice cream shops or pizzerias- something more unique. Hope that helps :) lisa

Is TOSSED, that salad place on lower Park Ave South, still around? Even though there were many variations of salad it's still single item in my eyes :)

Pan, I just read a review in New York Mag a couple of issues ago and saw some buzz about it in the NYT I believe. It just opened up a few weeks ago and specializes in four differnt types of hummus if I recall correctly. The article in NY Mag focused on this place and the new Dumpling Place. I will find the address for you later on when our teething baby decides to go to sleep :) lisa

Also wasn' t there some grilled cheese place that opened up a few years ago? And a fondue or dip place? (not the ancient La Fondue of a million years ago....) Help me out here.....

Alos Custard Beach if it's still around....I know there are a plethora of ice cream/gelati/ices places but frozen custard is different and special :)

Thought of a few more- the Venezuelan Arepas place, Dawgs on Park, and Beard Papa.... I know there are dozens but just can't seem to remember anything these days. Since my son was born I have given up clipping and filing as I did in the past and now I'm paying the price :)

Like the new hummus place in the E.Village, that popover place from awhile back, the rice pudding shop that I'm willing to bet has long since closed, the cheesesteak shop in the W. Village, Gus' Pickles, the Peanutbutter restaurant, the new hummus place and Dumpling Man....what other single item food places are there here in Gotham?

As a Siciliana, I'd love to imagine myself in Sicilia, but it's really very Ischia-ian as I suspect is the owners' intent :) Sapori d'Ischia= Taste of Ischia Now if anyone can reccomend a restaurant that will remind me of Palermo (no Joe's of Avenue U...) I'm there! lisa

We eat/shop there all the time. Don't miss the budin di carciofi, the pasta that is tossed with pancetta and truffle oil in a large hollowed out Parmigiano Reggiano that is wheeled to the table ( forgot the name of this dish), or the warm chocolate polenta for dessert. Tap water is not served, there is no ice, and no lemon served with your espresso- it's rather Italian. The restaurant, housed inside a import-factory in an insdustrial part of Woodside, has great live music. The night when Paolo Siani plays is always a good one. It's fun to shop the shelves after dinner and I've gotten good deals on Sicilian tuna and imported cheeses. More another time. I have an infant who is wailing for latte di mama :) lisa

Thanks Sanguinella..... I thought I was going pazzo :) for a sec. Even called my grandma to reassure me. Zeppole is female plural (never with an "i" ending). Technically there could be a zeppolA...and she has seen it spelled zippole same as you in you guessed it...Calabria! Mille Grazie, lisa

Hmm...I'm Italian and a bit confused now...I've never heard zeppole referred to in the singular....However in Italian, feminine nouns which end in A as in "ragazza" change to, in their plural form, an E as in ragazze. Masculine nouns which end in an O, when pluralized, change to an I. RagazzO to ragazzI.... I've only seen zepolle spelled as such, here and in Italy. Am I wrong? (sorry if I offended you about Alton, btw, something about him just irritates me...)

The shards of cheese at the bottom of the bowl of freshly grated perorino romano that managed to escape the grater.....

The yellow label is also comprised of pellet-like granueles....

Was at Patel Bros. in Jackson Heights and picked up a box of each on the recommendation of a lovely Indian woman. Are these really popular everyday teas in Indian households as she stated? Can I use either to make homemade chai? What proportion of tea to water should I follow in general? Is either tea brand used exclusively for a certain libation? For my chai I used whole cardamom, clove, black peppercorn, and cinnamon pounded with my mortar and pestle, added to water and allowed to boil. Then I added the loose Lipton Yellow Label and some sugar, steeped it, added some milk and voila! Actually wasn't as good as the cups I've had in my favorite Indian places:( Help please :) Lisa

Alton Brown or whatever his name is really annnoyed me with his horrid pronunciation of zeppole...."ZE- POLE-AYYY" instead of "ZEP-OLE-EEE" Like come on.....

Our son Michael Jude was born in November and of course, he's the best little boy in the whole wide world :) We've kept him in for the entire winter fearing fever before the 8 week mark and finally in early February began to take him places. Peter Luger's was his first Big Restaurant. We got there super early for lunch, before anyone else actually, and and he slept like what else...a baby. The waiters and maitre'd said babies were always welcome and for whatever the reason I couldn't believe it. I was so nervous about bringing him to a so-called high end restaurant. I have no prob bringing him to all of our little hole in the wall places in Queens, however I feel uneasy about bringing him to more lavish places in Gotham. I would of course never let him disrupt a dinner with crying, I'd never nurse him at a table, and would promptly take him outside if he ever got fussy. I think our etiquette would always be excellent and we'd be very sensitive to the other patrons' dining expereinces. I know that dining out is quite a luxury for many people and I would never allow it to be ruined. I'm curious about restaurant's actual policies....My husband and I dined at Daniel in NYC a few Saturdays ago for my 32nd b-day and I was amazed by quite a few adorably-clad, well-behaved toddlers. I would never even have thought to bring a child. Should one ask about the policy when making a reservation or simply assume babies and young children can be brought anywhere unless otherwise stated. (I personally would always ask...) Is it even legal to bar babies from restaurants? Tell me everything there is to know about babies and dining establishments:) I'm curious about all this stuff as this is a first child and we are accustomed to eating out very often. Grazie, Lisa

The cauliflower was cut into chunks, boiled briefly with a bay leaf to make it more tender, drained well, soaked in a bit of egg and then dredged through bread crumbs to which copious amounts of pecorino romano, black pepper, and chopped parsely had been added. The florets were then fried up in some olive oil and served room temperature or right out of the oil depending on how undisciplined you were :) No sauce....although my Long Island bred husband always pines for a bowl of marinara everytime we have this now in the style of calzones east of the Nassau border. I never quite could figure that out. The remaining breadcrumbs were added to the remaining eggs and glumped off a spoon into the hot oil and we'd eat these fried up bread patties on Italian bread sometimes for a Catholic School lunch. My Irish classmates called them "BOBS" Bread on bread sandwiches. I called them heaven :) Which explains why I've never been able to stay on Atkins for very long..... lisa

oh and pickappepa sauce.....

Sriracha, Harissa in the tube, truffle honey from Tuscany, chipoltes in adobo that I've whirled around in the blender and put in a squeeze bottle, Maldon sea salt, and Kosckiusko (sp.) mustard......

Sunday dinner for me always meant a trip to my paternal grandparents' home in Astoria, Queens where my parents, Aunt, Uncle, cousins, and maternal grandmother would feast on spaghetti, bracciole, meatballs, sausage, and tender chunks of pork slowly simmered in tomato sauce. (Strangely enough when my grandma unexpectedly passed away, a pot of her spaghetti and meatballs was in her fridge and we ate it late one night after her wake. I even saved a small cup of her sauce and put it in the fridge to share with whoever my future husband would be. Sadly it never survived the freezer burn....)The minute we'd come bounding through the door of their blue awning-ed, white aluminum sided modest two-family, my Dad and I would immediately lunge for that fragrant pot of bubbling sauce on the stove and sample a meatball sprinkled with some pecorino mashed down right in the lid of the pot. Often there would be a roast beef surrounded by carrots, onions, and --horrors!---canned White Rose potatoes all nice and browned and crisp on the bottom. In this world of Yukon Golds, fingerlings, and Peruvian purples, I still crave the taste of those silly canned spuds. They instantly transport me. My mother laughs that her "gourmet" daughter has such a strong affinity for such a pedestrian product. You can't mess with memories, I say... There would often be a frittata or broccoli rabe and eggs or fried cauliflower. Sometimes long skinny green Italian peppers stuffed with anchovies, rasins, and breadcrumbs in the Sicilan tradition. Sometimes small eggplants split down the middle filled with parsely, salami and a chunk of provolone and baked in a thick tomato sauce. A tossed salad and good, crusty bread always rounded things out and no matter what yummy cookies or cake my Grandma Rose would have made there'd always be a carton of Breyer's ice cream. To this day as much as I love Haagen Daaz, Ciao Bella, and Ben and Jerry's, I have a strange feeling of mushiness whenever I see a tri-colored Breyer's container in someone's freezer. It's like seeing some old friend with whom I don't have very much in common anymore but once loved and continue to love oh so very much. My Grandma Rose would stir my ice cream up with a teaspoon, round and round in a little ceramic bowl until it resembled a thick, sweet soup. Pure heaven. I sometimes find myself doing this even now at a grown up thirty-two years old. After dinner I recall fondly my grandpa scouring the dishes before he'd put them in the dishwasher. I never understood why he basically washed them first, so untrusting was he of the dishwasher's industrial strength. He never let anyone help with this task and always entertained his daugters in law's testimonies to the wonders of his Maytag appliance with a wry skepticism. My Grandma, who was a hairdresser, gave haircuts to everyone after coffee and my cousins and I read the "funnies" in the living room. Eveytime my grandma began a sentence with "You remember so and so.....?" we knew that person was surely dead....victim to a stroke or heart attack or other depressing malady..My grandparents' house was where I was called "Precious Angel" and smothered with countless kissess. It was the only place my dad was called not Frank, but "Frankie." The food never really changed much. It wasn't exciting, gourmet fare by any means. It was simple food prepared with tremendous love which is why yes, I do believe my grandma was a fine cook. I recall during my angst ridden teenage years complaining to my mom, herself quite the gourmet, that the food at grandma and grandpa's was boring and predictable. Silly girl I was! My granparents have been gone for seven years now and boy...what I'd do to have those Sunday dinners with them again. I wear the engagement ring I inherited from my grandmother with great love and pride, however her Sunday sauce pot is my most treasured heirloom. Every time I use it I offer her and my grandfather a "Hail Mary" I know they'd love and I reminisce joyfully over our Sunday Dinners.

Just last night at our dear friend's wedding our waiter offered as one of the fish entrees "HAL-EE-BOO." It took me a few secs to realize he was talking about halibut and when I actually ordered it, pronouncing it correctly, lhe ooked at me aghast as if I were some unrefined moron. Strangely enough he called the MOET, Mo-ETT.... Weird guy,weird wedding, awful food.

You seem to have done very well for yourselves (just re-read your initial post...little confused, btw, about why you'd go to Ben's especially if you mean the one in the Bay Terrace shopping center) The soup buns are superior. We always start with quite a few racks....enough so that we can all have eight each, at least. Sometimes I go for twelve. I adore those things! All seafood dishes are superb. We tend to order a few whole fish when we go with large parties. The sea bass is our favorite. A few weeks ago we had monk fish which was outstanding. The spicy brown sauce with a shower of scallions is our standard, but the chili sauce is excellent as well. Their water spinach, watercress, or "hollow vegetable" are always cooked perfectly without sloppy, heavy-handed oil excess. (I'm content to order a vast amount of buns and a few heaping plates of vegetables and call it lunch) All their produce is first-rate. The spicy shredded beef is totally incendiary and fantastic. The handpulled lo mein noodles are excellent especially if you request them sauteed with seasonal greens and garlic as we do...no meat. The rice cakes, as you perfectlly described, are one of our mainstays. I like them with shredded pork and preserved turnip. I tend to buy huge bags of them in the frozen section of our local Korean markets, Han Yang or Han Ah Reum, and throw them into soups of any ethnicity. Koreans call then dduk and they are identical to the ones you have in Chinese places. They are a great change from tortellini or kreplach etc. in soup. I love them sauteed with scalliions and Korean Gochuchang paste for a quick pick-me up. Those lion's head pork balls are to die for. I'm glad you tried them. I just love this place. We've honestly never had a bad meal. Yangzte is only one of many phenomenal places wedged in between those couple of blocks. You owe it to yourself to take that 7 train out here more often :) Lisa

When Yangzte has razor clams in black bean sauce as a special you should jump at them. One of my family's faves for years....