lia

It's the drier kind that's usually in thai curries...chewy.

Probably my favorite restaurant in the city. my husband and I work around the block from the Upper West Side location, so we're there regularly and order in MORE regularly. My number one favorite dish is: (copied off Menupages, cause I'm too lazy...) 78. Bun Xao Stir - Fried Rice Noodles with Shredded Vegetables, Egg and Crushed Peanut, served with Nuoc Cham Sauce On The Side ( Choice of Shrimp of Chicken or Vegetarian I usually get it with tofu. lots of the nuoc cham and lots of chili sauce as well. I agree with most of Fat Guy's picks; the summer rolls, the papaya salad, the curry soups -- I also love #1, the spring rolls...they may be an acquired taste though, because they're a little weird. the teriyaki steak cubes are wonderful, always tender and flavorful and I love the taro chips. Their sushi is ok. good spicy tuna roll. They have something called tuna tiradito that I'd never heard of...slices of raw tuna topped with minced garlic and a nice splash of strong truffle oil. Interesting. Tuesday night we skipped appetizers and he got: Ga Sate: (Sauteed White Meat Chicken Within Sate Sauce On Top of Pineapple, Cucumber, Bean Sprouts, Tomato, Herb & Crushed Peanuts ( Slightly Spicy )), which was very good but VERY rich and I got: Curry Thit: Sauteed Sliced Pork with Vegetables In Coconut Milk and Curry Sauce, served with Pancakes, which was very spicy in a nice mouth filling way...but not enough pork and the dish was kinda ruined by the addition of bell peppers. Had I known the bell peppers were in the dish I would have requested none. There were several slices of eggplant though which added body and substance, so in all, i'd recommend it. And oddly enough...they make the best pina colada in the city...

ha...thanks for all of your input, the cake came out fine...I wasn't worried about the flavor, just whether the texture would work. The flavor is actually a lot more mellow than I thought it would be...I thought the hazelnut would come out MUCH stronger...

I'm having one of those cravings that belongs in a certain other thread...and I'm going to make the Elizabeth David/Laurie Colwin flourless chocolate cake. No almonds in the house (the recipe requires 1/2 cup ground) but I do have hazelnuts...can I sub without destroying the most perfect chocolate cake in existence?

Daniel, I've always liked you and your posts. We may have to fight over this one. I respectfully suggest you wait til it opens, walk through the store, THEN make the decision as to why or why not it's bad. The only con I can think of goes with the rest of the Mallification of NYC (or whatever the f* that term is); that the presence of stores like these in the city drives rent up in the neighboring 'hoods and the "little" stores have to close because they can't afford it anymore...whether or not the business is successful. But that's happening all over the city...and Union Square has kind of always had 'brand' places...even if those brands have gotten a little more upscale over the years.

Oh man, I am happy about this. I love that place, only been to locations in California, so this'll be a treat. They can't sell wine there, can they? ETA: What's Forever 21?

I've seen this recipe for Banana-Black Bean Empanadas lying on a desk at work. Thought it sounded nasty, but I was intrigued and made it anyway. They weren't nasty. I've made them many times since. and at Citrus, a restaurant on the Upper West Side in NYC, they have a spicy tuna-banana roll. Again, I couldn't imagine how that could possibly be any good, but it was delicious and I get it every time I'm there.

over the years, i've cut out recipes from magazines and newspapers....back when I was organized, I taped them into journal type books...but by now the tape has dried and they're all hanging out. I tried putting them in postcard/album type books, but again, that didn't last too long. Now, most of my printouts and cutouts are stuffed into that same journal, no organization whatsoever. I also have a recipe folder on my HD, only alphabetized, never felt the need for sub folders. I love the scanning idea...never thought of that. However, when comes to actually making a recipe that I have on my computer...I print it out. If I need to use a recipe that's scanned or copied/pasted off the internet, it'll be printed out. As i've said, the printouts are stuffed in the book with the old cutouts. If I scan the cutouts, I'll still need to printout the cutout (urp) when I want to make the recipe so this whole idea isn't saving any paper/space...

I can't tolerate the artificial butterscotch chips anymore, so now I sub in Skor or Heath bar bits. Wonderful. I used to LOVE the Bisquick recipes. I'd make the Impossible pies all the time in High School and tell my friends they were quiche.

Now that is just plain mean.

Just piping in to add another vote of love for the Red Hat Ladies. You don't have to be 75 to join do you? I thought it was 50+ and I also thought they were widows...(in which case I hope I never get to join...)

I used the Cakeman Raven recipe as well. But please someone give more info on the beet juice. Can I just juice a beet and use that? Won't the flavor be strong? Or should I use dianalane's suggestion to cook the beets first? hm...I wonder how the liquid in canned beets would work....you'd need to cut the vinegar then, no? eta: I'm eating a piece now, and it's really an amazingly delicious cake. Even better than the version at Billy's Bakery which is where I got hooked on the thing in the first place. I just want to make it look as pretty.

Beet juice? I can use straight beet juice? I just made a lovely "Beige Velvet Cake" which I'm sure will be delicious, but how ridiculous is it that I COULD NOT find red food coloring anywhere? And it was an impulsive decision made this afternoon so I didn't have time to order anything from King Arthur or somewhere. Never thought of beet juice.

Daniel, I mentioned waaay earlier on this (I think) thread that the only upscale mexican restaurant in manhattan that we like is Mama Mexico on Bway and 102 (irritating strolling singers or not). Los Paisas deli around the corner on Amsterdam is definitely the best cheap authentic, and del Valle is a very close second. However, I've been working on my carnitas, mole and posole recipes so that's been keeping us in more than out! Just the phrase, "soft pork taco." damn, is there anything better?

Love seitan. Love tempeh too, but I've never had any luck cooking anything edible with it. There used to be a good 'organic' restaurant called Au Natural in NYC on 2nd Ave and 55th st. (I also worked there for about five minutes, but that's another story.) The food wasn't all vegetarian, but the 'fake meat' dishes were excellent.

Yeah. "Del Valle" (there's actually a first word in the name, before "Del Valle", which begins with "T" and which I can't tell you) is a really good place. It serves Pueblan/Oaxacan (or maybe it's just Pueblan -- I don't know enough to know) cuisine, based on moles that are made fresh every morning. The moles are incredibly good. I'd give this place a high recommendation. Before you call a restaurant like this "amazing", however, you have to put it in context. The prices are very low (the good part) and, as a consequence, the quality of the meats they use is very low (the bad part). Of course, the low quality of the meats is masked, to an extent, by the fabulous moles. Nevertheless, while I'd say "'T' del Valle" serves non pareil cheap food, you shouldn't go in there expecting anything more than that. ← Tulcingo Del Valle. yes it is every bit "amazing" cheap or not. I've never been in the place but a friend lives nearby and I visit him just so we can order in...

This one has been my fave since I discovered it at the chocolate show a few years ago. similar to Chantico, but more natural tasting and you can control how thick you want it. Sometimes I just heat up some milk with a huge spoon of cocoa powder and a dollop of condensed milk, but no matter how I take hot chocolate, i ALWAYS add a generous sprinkle of cayenne.

chufi, please explain the Speculaas cookies, they look delicious. Isn't it funny how you've never heard of something, then you see it constantly? I'm planning a trip to London in march, and I was reading something about a French bakery called Laduree that recently opened in Harrod's (I think) and the article went on about the macaroons, which were colorful and unlike any macaroons I've seen anywhere else. Now of course photos of these particular type of macaroons are popping up everywhere and I'm completely intrigued. Anyway, after trying Nigella's Sticky Toffee Dessert a couple of weeks ago, and not being too pleased with the results, I was happy to find a Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe online here since I lost the original tear sheet from NY Mag quite some time ago, and that's what I'm going to make right now!

I should edit my Blondie's post but that was sooo long ago. I wasn't writing about Blondie's at all, I was talking about Atomic Wings at Down the Hatch. Haven't had Blondie's in a couple of years and I have no memory of their blue cheese sauce. Atomic Wings has the nasty cheap boring dressing.

I hear you....but I'd rather eat air and skim milk than some nasty fake sugar and fake fat.

yes

Margarita up, no salt, splash of Chambord.

Or when you go to a table to see if you can get anything for them and they ask you for a soda. Fine, you go get the soda and arrive at the table at the exact same time as the soda-bearing waiter and busboy who were also asked. Regarding the cellphone debate, I work in a loud large restaurant, so cellphone chat doesn't really bother anyone. Howevah, if you're not going to ANSWER the phone, then PLEASE turn the ringer off. Regarding Silly Chicken, I wouldn't have taken it back. Sure I would've taken the order for Silly Chicken 2, but I would have asked the customer if she wanted me to leave SC1 on the table or if she would like it wrapped up. If a customer genuinely dislikes their dish, or there's something wrong with it, I'll take it away and void it off the check no question. But if there's nothing wrong with it, and they just decide they've ordered more food than they really wanted, sorry, they're paying. If the entree hasn't come to the table yet, it depends on whether or not it's ready. If it's about to come out, and not an extremely popular dish that can quickly go to another table, again, I'll ask if they'd like it wrapped to go.

Well aren't you a pumpkin. That recipe looks good enough to try even if they're nothing llike the PF cookies. Did you make them?

I still can't forgive PF for discontinuing Molasses Crisp and that was years and years ago. What a perfect cookie. I'll still eat an original Brussels or Bordeaux.