jogoode

Bruni reviewed BLT Fish (2nd Floor) and it's been open only two months--less even. It opened in very early March! I supposed he wouldn't have reviewed it if he didn't feel it was ready. What does everyone think about this?

I attempted to have a very basic, short conversation with one of the women in the kitchen and ended up sabotaging my order. I was embarassed. Luckily, this ain't Per Se: I'll be back soon and then I'll get the taco with rajas. Though I don't want this thread to turn into one about whether those who run ethnic restaurants should to speak English, I will say that, in my opinion, in restaurants like Tehuitzingo, I am a tourist. And so I'm happy to adapt and make it easier for them to serve me.

I went to Tehuitzingo again today. Another round of great tacos: carnitas, enchilada, and papas con rajas. Unfortunately, my poor accent ruined the latter: When one of the women in the kitchen asked whether I wanted rajas, I bet I said, "Sin rajas" instead of "Si, rajas". It was still good with some tomatillo salsa. I prefer their carnitas to their enchiladas, though the two are very similar. The key to their tacos, aside from great meat and sufficent onions and cilantro, is that the tortillas are warmed through. In fact, this time they were hot. I can't tell you how many tacos I've eaten that have been ruined by tortillas that taste raw.

On Eighth Ave around 126th, there is La Marmite, another Senegalese place that's supposed to be good.

That reminds me, Servants of God: Taste of Seafood (50 E. 125th St.) is good for fried whiting, collards, and candied yams.

I moved to the Columbia area from Brooklyn last summer and I have to say it's rough up here. If you're down to walk or take a bus across town, you're in good shape. We have easy access to Spanish Harlem and the African places on 116th between Seventh and Fredrick Douglass, as well as other African food in the general vicinity. I heard Africa Kine, on 116th, has finally reopened. As for the west: On Amsterdam around 101st there's the excellent Haitian restaurant Krik Krak, and six or seven blocks north, Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana is pretty good. Near 120th on Amsterdam, Panino Sportivo Roma sells good Italian sandwiches. Kitchenette, Amsterdam and 122nd, is good for brunch, if you like brunch--I don't--and for homey food.

Whiner, eh? I'll show you a whiner...Next time, we'll try Tehuitzingo. So, has anyone done any tacos exploring in Sunset Park? Las Conchitas (48-11 Fifth Avenue) is Asimov's pick. What about Corona? He likes La Vega (103-07 Roosevelt Avenue). That's close to El Grano de Oro 2000 (96-15 Roosevelt Avenue), so if I go to the former, I'll check to see if the latter is still open.

From today's New York Times: Best of luck to Chef Carmellini and to Chef Chemel!

I tried the tacos at Zaragoza; they were OK. There were three options: pernil, barbacoa de pollo, and oreja (de puerco, probably). The fillings were wet and made the eating messy and the tortillas soggy. The cilantro and onions sunk in the mess and weren't able to add flavor or contrast. All this detracted from the sprightliness that I look for in a good taco. Can't say, though, that I wasn't happy to crunch on oreja after work!

Thought I'd bring this thread back. Who's serving great soft shell crabs now? I can't wait to try them at Congee Village and Great NY Noodletown, as recommended upthread. But where can I get a great soft shell crab sandwich?

Tonight I'll be near this place--another of Asimov's recommendations--and might stop in:

You're welcome! And I'll thank Eric Asimov for the great article he wrote last year, which I now have as a bookmark on my browser next to those for the New York Times and Mapquest sites. I'll have to try an enchilada taco next time I go. Also, does anyone know why they call goat tripe "sangre"? Sangre means blood.

I'm dying to. Here's Robert Sietsema's review.

This southern-style curry is absolutely the hottest thing I've eaten there, and could be the hottest thing I've ever eaten. In retrospect, I enjoyed--kind of--experiencing something so spicy, but, yeah, it can ruin the rest of your meal. Banquo, am I remembering correctly: Is it a dry curry? Is it biege in color? I do remember that it's the only dish I know of at Sripraphai that includes makreua puang (pea "eggplants"). Great tip about the grocery, Ned. There's also a Thai grocer a short walk west from Sri on 39th Ave. Pretty basic stuff, but the few herbs and vegetables they sell are of high quality.

Any specific recommendations? I went to this truck last week and thought the carnitas were pretty good, but didn't try anything else. The one at 96th Street has more variety (not that that means anything about taco quality) and more Mexicans lining up to eat (ditto, maybe ).

Bastard! This is the first time I've made it far enough west to try them since I heard about them. Isn't del Valle supposed to have amazing moles? I'm sure that you veteran Upper West Siders have eaten the hell out of this place already, but tonight I finally tried the tacos sold from the taco truck at 96th Street. I had an excellent taco al pastor, but when I got to my taco de carnita it was cold--damn wind--so I can't judge it. Besides the wind, the time it took me to eat an excellent and greasy gordita with chorizo was another reason the taco de carnitas got cold before I tasted it.

I don't think we've had much action on a Best Tacos thread. I was inspired by an incredible carnitas taco at Tehuitzingo Deli and Grocery, on 10th Avenue, between 47th and 48th streets. The front portion of the store is a mini-deli and in back there's a little window where you can order tortas, tacos, sopes, etc. The carnitas were excellent and had crackling pieces of skin throughout the meat. The taco was served properly--meat cradled in two warm corn tortillas and topped with just cilantro and onions--and I didn't even have to ask, whereas near my apartment, around Columbia, lettuce and tomato tops my tacos if I forget specify. I also had cecina and lengua. The cecina was good--not overly salty, as I've found it can be--but the tongue was tough and lacked its usual luscious, fatty texture. On another note, I heard that the famous Roosevelt Avenuee taqueria El Grano de Oro 2000 closed. Can anyone confirm this? Here's a list of Asimov's recommendations that were in a 2003 New York Times article. (I couldn't find the Times link.)

Great to have you here, winyang! Now I'm craving pork knuckle. Have you eaten at many other Filipino restaurants in New York? If so, how does this one compare?

Glad you had a good meal, though I'm surprised you weren't impressed by the red curry. I've found it too be their most consistent dish. I usually have it with either chicken or pork. Next time I go, I'll make sure it's an off-time, so I'll have more control over which waiter or waitress I have. ← Much better meal tonight at Sripraphai. Everything was good and spicy--and balanced. I could tell immediately that my waiter would be loyal to my request for Thai spicy, because he giggled a little when I pleaded with him. Nothing new, though, as I was bringing a first-timer: fried catfish salad, beef larb with dried chilis and lime, panang with beef, and red curry with pork (I've decided I prefer it with chicken, though jungle is better with pork). I brought home soy sauce noodles for my girlfriend and stewed duck soup with rice noodles for myself.

I had the worst 5-for-$1 dumplings I've ever had at the Fried Dumpling on Mosco. The place was empty and the dumplings had been sitting in the pan for a while. Perhaps the dumplings are better when it's busy. I'd still like to try that dim sum place in Bensonhurst.

Ah, I should have figured it referred to rabbit. Am I the only idiot who didn't realize what that meant?

Menupages.com lists a dish called "'Floppy - Eared Chicken' **". The two asterisks indicate that you should "ask you server for details". The asterisks are not necessary.

Tonight we had some of our favorite dishes--greaseless tempura of shrimp-stuffed lotus root; tender grilled squid with scallion, soy, and grated ginger; unusually rich charred chilean sea bass with young ginger shoot--as well as a few new dishes, like simmered bamboo shoots with wakame. We got the typical good-bye treatment: The tiny owner lead us to the door, bowing and repeating "arigato gozaimas" in response to our compliments. But then she followed us outside, something she hadn't done before. She told us that in several months, Donguri will close for good. The chef, her husband, has a bad back. I'll be very sad to see it go.

Bruni's mention, in his otherwise positive Diner's Journal on Tandoori Hut, of bland saag paneer reminded me that last time I went to Angon a friend ordered saag paneer and complained that it tasted weird-- "soapy," she said. I tasted it and it tasted much different than it normally did, though not exactly soapy. It turned out that Azad used mustard greens and mustard oil in the dish that night. The bitter greens go beautifully with the paneer.

We crossed posts. Thanks for this, Apicio!