Pan

We weren't rushed at all, but you're not the only one who's complained about that, so it does sound like that may be an issue. I'm just curious whether you usually like the crust of Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizza. It does normally fall apart in the middle and is normally eaten with knife and fork. At Keste, I was actually surprised that it was reasonable to pick up the slices of pizza with my hands, because that's really not a thing to do in Naples. Agreed on the amount of basil in the Margherita.

No, I don't see a prix fixe by Cru getting nearly the fame and widely good reputation of Jean George's prix fixe. What does "point" mean in your example about the expediter (who, please remind me, does what exactly)?

Yeow!

What about the longstanding very gently-priced prix fixe at Jean Georges? I seem to remember Fat Guy saying something like that they'd lose money on that, except that the prep cooks would already be prepping for dinner, anyway. Seems dubious to me, but I'm no expert on the inner workings of restaurants. Do you think Jean Georges is actually losing money on lunch? And they're hardly the only high-end restaurant with a fairly longstanding gently-priced prix fixe. I feel sure you could give some more insight into why prix fixe deals do not all have the same effect on a restaurant.

Happy Anniversary! Please be more specific about what kinds of places you and your wife would have in mind.

Do you remember any of the names of those drinks?

Yes, those appetizers look typical to me. Two of them are chicken and beef sate (aka satay), though seemingly not served with the usual peanut sauce. Uncle Ben's? Perish the thought! I have to say, though, that I didn't think much about what kind of rice I was eating when I visited Indonesia. Thai rice is popular in Malaysia, and I thought I remembered it being medium-grain, but a Google search seems to indicate it's actually long-grain. Glutinous/sticky rice is also used a fair amount, to excellent effect. There are also more unusual rices - black rice and red rice. My feeling is that any kind of good white rice would be acceptable as a vehicle for Indonesian food that calls for white rice. At any rate, I wouldn't think that a difference in white rice variety would come close to ruining the taste or texture. That said, I've found that good basmati rice does notably improve the experience, by comparison with inexpensive short-grain American rice. It has a nice nuttiness and stands up to sauce better.

I had dinner at Keste tonight with my girlfriend. We arrived a bit before 8 o'clock and waited about 5 minutes for a table. We liked the pizza very much. We ordered: Insalata fresca (baby arugula, sliced grape tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano, a small slice of good Italian bread): This had a somewhat excessive amount of balsamic dressing; nice fresh ingredients, though. One pizza margherita: Tthe basil was unevenly distributed, so that some slices had little or none and one had a lot; the tomato sauce was excellent, naturally sweet from the tomatoes, the overall taste was satisfying, and the crust was excellent Neapolitan-style crust. One pizza del papa (butternut squash cream, imported smoked mozzarella, and slices of unpickled artichoke): It took a few seconds for me to get used to how the smokiness suffused the whole pizza, but I've always liked the taste of smoked mozzarella. I've never had a pizza like this one. It was delicious. Same comments about the crust as before - nicely thin, with good wood-smokiness. With an iced tea for me, the total bill came to $42 and change before tip. Service was friendly. I highly recommend this place but hope it never becomes too busy for me to go to! Thanks to everyone who's recommended it. For those of you who don't like it - more for me! By the way, I've never been to Una Pizza Napoletana and don't have any great urge to go to a place where I understand I'll pay considerably more for less food.

James Oseland was wearing batik Jawa like a shirt I like to wear. The motif on it is a common classic motif in Indonesia and Malaysia. Thanks for all the photos! Indonesian cuisine is one kind that I really don't think of having with wine. Most Indonesians are Muslims, and among Christians and Hindus, beer is drunk much more than wine (and after all, grapes don't grow so well in equatorial climates). By the way, the Opor Ayam does look very good to me, but where's the Acar Timun (pickled cucumber)? Are you sure you were served pickled eggplant?

Gobo was OK - not great, but fine to go to once. I wouldn't be excited about going again, but it's certainly an acceptable and inexpensive lunch. My dining partner got their idiosyncratic vegetarian "lasagna," made without actual pasta ("swiss chard & sun dried tomato rice lasagna"), and I got "tender sliced seitan in ginger marinade with asian kale, squash, brown rice," which wasn't very gingery but had good texture and was fine (the "lasagna" was probably more interesting). These were lunch specials, and the portions were very large, which made me wonder how big the dinner dishes would be. The bill was $25 plus tax and tip. I'll look forward to trying some of your recommendations in the future.

Update: It now sounds like we may be going to Gobo.

According to their menupages.com page, Aamchi Pao is open only for dinner and late night. Thanks for the recommendation of Gottino.

I don't know, Steve. That sort of vaguely rings a bell, and could be fun. Anyone know the name of that place?

I'd like to revisit this thread. How many of the recommendations still apply? Also, specifically, I'm going to be having lunch with a friend this Friday, probably in the West Village. I'd like recommendations for delicious food that's gonna cost us $20-30/person, inclusive of tax and tip, and that's not too carb-heavy (my first suggestion had been dim sum in Chinatown, and that was her demurral). We're both flexible in terms of cuisine, but a selection of options would be great, because she can be picky.

I think it would really depend on the balance. I like rich, but there has to be a lot of other flavor to balance it out.

That tom kha gai actually looks very rich to me! Much richer than what I get in Thai restaurants.

Sam, how recently have you been back to Grimaldi's? It gets panned a whole lot on Chowhound, with some people finding it not inconsistent but consistently bad.

Degustation has no website and their menu changes often. I highly recommend it!

This is exciting to me. At those prices, I surely plan on checking the place out!

Yeah, I had 3 courses total when I went to JG for lunch, including dessert.

Had the exact same menu recently and I couldn't agree more. If you break this down it's in the same league as JG from a value standpoint (four courses plus dessert at JG will run you $64 compared to $68 for the gourmand menu at EMP), and having just returned from lunch at JG I feel pretty confident saying the gourmand menu at EMP delivers considerably more complex and refined cooking. The foie gras dish on the gourmand menu actually carries a supplement at dinner! The cost of entry is higher, but if you look at the whole package I think this is one of the great lunch deals in town right now. ← But it also sounds like the inexpensive lunch prix fixe at JG is a better bet than the inexpensive lunch prix fixe at 11 Madison Park. Right? [Edited to say: Who needs 5 courses including dessert for lunch at JG? That would be a HUMONGOUS meal!]

I didn't read the article; I went to Anthos for lunch and had the prix fixe, with a $5 supplement for the hake: My meal report The meal cost more than lunch at Jean Georges and was a poor value.

The anonymous "reviews" on menupages.com should be ignored, but the menus - though not always up-to-date - are a useful reference (as are the phone numbers and addresses). Another site, which has photos of actual menus, is menupix.com. But it's best to look at restaurants' own websites (many of which are linked from menupages.com), where available.

I can't help but notice Anthos on that list. It is in no sense a "cheap eat." The cheaper sister restaurant of Anthos is Kefi. And even Kefi, while a great value, is not quite cheap, as far as I'm concerned, since it's around $30/person for dinner, plus tip.

There are lots of Italian restaurants that fit within your range, including Lupa, particularly if they wouldn't mind actually paying a bit more, including tax and tip. Babbo would be too expensive, but some upscale places have "Cucina Povera" menus for $35/person or so. Hearth does, and I believe Insieme? You might be able to work an angle this way: They can have Cucina Povera and you can get a much more expensive a la carte meal.