Pan

Sneakeater's your father? ← Also surprisingly spry for one his age! ← Sneakeater, according to the Wikipedia article on Prospect Heights, the Brooklyn Museum and the Main Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza are also in the neighborhood, so there's more than one asset there. But anyway.

You can't do much better (or much cheaper) for lunch than the delicious wonton noodle soup or roasted meats over rice at Great NY Noodletown, on the Bowery at Bayard. There's a whole mess of hand-pulled noodle shops in Chinatown - we had very good noodles at the newish Tasty Noodles on Doyers St. for like $5. The ramen places mentioned (Ippudo, Setagaya) are fine, but a bit more moolah than the Chinese noodle places. Breakfast at Balthazar is considered classic. Great pastries and breads. And Falai Panetteria, on Clinton Street, has some wonderful baked goods...the aforementioned bombolino comes to mind. ← Yes, Arturo's is only for dinner. I agree with most of these recommendations but was really underwhelmed with the slice I got at Vinny Vincenz several months ago and I was also unimpressed with both the artichoke and crab slices at Artichoke. Sneakeater, my father, who grew up in Crown Heights in the 1930s, always said that Bed-Stuy began on the other side of Flatbush Av. from Park Slope. I did some checking, and I can see that there is some history of calling that area Prospect Heights, but even now, it doesn't seem to be a universal designation. I take your point, though.

Yes, easily. You should TOTALLY go to Katz's! If you want to go to a pizzeria in Brooklyn or fairly downtown Manhattan (which would eliminate Patsy's East Harlem), you might want to consider the following: Arturo's, on the corner of Houston and Thompson, for semi-thin-crust pizza (whole pies only, to eat in) and jazz. If you go there, get a clam pie. Franny's on Flatbush Av. in what I guess is actually Bed-Stuy (just across the street from Park Slope) for upscale pizza plus other stuff (caveat: I haven't been there in years). L'Asso in the northern reaches of Little Italy (or is it "NoLiTa"?). (Caveat: I haven't been there yet and, therefore, can't personally recommend it.) Do a search of this board and any other sites you consider to be useful, under those names, and see what you think. I love DiFara's but haven't been there for a bit less than a year, because I'm not willing to wait 2 hours for a pizza.

I've never been to Daniel, so I can't help you decide.

Look starting here. The main problem was the service, but the food was also not good enough for the price we paid, in our opinions. No, I don't disagree. It's a fair value and a nice room, and you'll have excellent service. My sense is that the best dishes are the most traditional and least fusiony ones, but some other people disagree. I agree with Sneakeater that Degustation is best as a meal for a couple or possibly three people, not a larger group, because you'll all be seated at a counter.

The didn't give us potato chips with the crudo. There might have been garlic chips in it; I'm not sure.

If you have even a tiny plot of land, grow it. When I was living in rural Malaysia, there was some growing in an approximately 4 foot x 4 foot (3.25 meter x 3.25 meter) plot of soil outside the kitchen area of the house we were renting - along with ginger, sweet potatoes, hot peppers, and probably some other things I've forgotten. I don't think it required anything but rainwater that naturally poured onto it from the heavens. Edit: Oh wait, you're in Iowa, aren't you? Scratch that. I think it requires a tropical climate.

It was orange in color, not in flavor, and chili-based. I don't remember what other elements were in that dish, but it was great!

Robyn, you might consider Degustation, as well. Have a look at my meal report. I'd describe it as terrific modern tapas. Full disclosure: I haven't been to Corton but was very much underwhelmed by EMP when my brother and I took our parents out on the occasion of my father's birthday in December, 2007 (so consider the passage of time, for what it's worth). My brother and I also found lunch at Jean-Georges to be fairly priced but really just a good 1 1/2 star meal.

I really want to thank those of you who recommended Degustation. I had a great dinner there with my girlfriend two nights ago. I didn't take notes during dinner, because I was concentrating on the experience, and it was a post-birthday present for her, but we both had 10-course tasting menus and shared 5 glasses of wine (roughly 2 1/2 each, with the last glass divided in two for us by a waitress) plus comped half-glasses of muscatel with dessert. The portions were very small, so the amount of food was substantial but not ridiculous. Service was superb, and the experience was thoroughly indulgent and pleasurable. To the best my girlfriend and I can reconstruct, this is what we had: Amuse bouche: Pork croqueta on one side of the little dish, tortilla of runny quail egg and some other things on the other side. Both excellent. I liked the croqueta more, and she preferred the tortilla. 1st course: Hamachi crudo with a delicate, herbed accompaniment; I forget the details, but we both liked it. 2nd course: Slightly breaded, fried artichoke hearts with raw clams or oysters (I forget which) in mussel broth with grapefruit foam. Like everything else, this was beautifully presented. I love artichoke and enjoyed that part of the dish, but this was the only dish that, on balance, I didn't like - but through no fault of the restaurant; I simply have always hated raw clams and oysters, no matter what. My girlfriend loved this dish. 3rd course: Sardines. On the left, a small piece of skin-on sardine that I believe was topped with some herbs and was over some kind of vegetables; on the right, a "sandwich" of sardine and, I believe, confit of shallot inside two small pieces of toast, topped with one or two miniature slices of hot red pepper. This course was rather salty, but as always, combined with other flavors (spicy, oniony, etc.) Fourth course: Flash-fried baby cuttlefish (my girlfriend remembers delicate breading on them - maybe the waitress said oatmeal breading), accompanied by some kind of non-rice risotto (amaranth? oats? I think amaranth) in black squid ink. This may have been a course that included some deliciously fresh parsley. Fifth course: Scrambled but still partly runny duck egg presented with black pepper and salty, delicious, crunchy lamb bacon, presented in a cleaned eggshell whose top had been neatly cut, presumably by some kind of circular cutting implement. Very salty, but very good in the small portion we were given - kind of upscale, gourmet comfort food. Sixth course: Grilled pork belly (small piece) and octopus (two small pieces). Neither of us remembers exactly what accompanied this. I believe it came with an herbal broth that was drizzled on the plate and several kinds of herbs (tarragon, parsley?), but I'm not sure. Anyway, pork belly has too much of a solid layer of pure fat for me to love (I ate the meat and left behind most of the fat), but I loved the octopus, and both of us really enjoyed this dish. The crackling on the skin of the pork belly (I believe, done with a blowtorch) was also very much enjoyed by both of us. Seventh course: Grilled sweetbreads in an orange hot sauce. We both really liked this dish. I thought it was brilliant, and probably the best sweetbreads dish I've ever had. Eighth course: Slightly cooked foie gras on toasted Mallorcan flatbread with lots of little bits of the green parts of scallions, some tiny pieces of green pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt (garlic chips may have come with this). My girlfriend called this "orgasmically good." I liked it, too. :-) Ninth course: Breaded oxtail served with potato (my girlfriend says a slice of potato, but I remember the potato being mashed or nearly so), garnished with a slice of hot red pepper. We both really liked this. I think this course may have had a lemon chip on top. Tenth course: Brioche soaked (overnight, I think it was) in cream, sprinkled with sugar, blowtorched to caramelize, and served with slices of orange and pink grapefruit. We had two glasses of a Spanish (Basque, I believe) Gewuertztraminer/Chardonnay blend that was wonderfully fruity and floral (it was the first wine on the wine list); a sparkling Txacoli', sort of halfway between a Champagne and a sweeter sparkling wine like an Asti or Prosecco; another wine whose name and other useful descriptions I can't remember, but which I started out not liking because of a particular kind of perfumy overtaste, but which worked better for some later courses; and a very good Rioja; and finally, the comped Muscatel, which was somewhat dry for a Muscatel and cut through the brioche nicely. We found that different flavors were constantly being balanced by one another - salty, hot-peppery/black peppery, sour/acidic, herbal, oniony/garlicky, fatty, sweet - and by the wines we chose in consultation with the waitstaff. Our primary waitress, in particular, was impressively knowledgeable about wines. We both enjoyed the composition and presentation of the dishes - a kind of artistry that we two musicians were able to enjoy on an aesthetic as well as purely gustatory level - and the progression of the courses, which struck us as going from lighter to heavier. We also enjoyed the fact that different kinds of dishes and cutlery were used for each course - not really an important part of the meal, but definitely a nice touch. My girlfriend said it was one of the greatest meals she's ever had, and for my part, it was definitely one of the best I've had in the last few years. It's sad to say, but I've been disappointed by high-end meals several times. This was not one of those times. It was an expensive meal, for sure (I believe it was exactly $200 even before tax and tip), but the entire experience was worth the money, although I surely won't do it again for at least a year if not longer. My only caution to anyone who'd choose to do the 10-course tasting menu is that while they definitely ask about food allergies beforehand and I do believe they'd be willing to be somewhat flexible about foods diners hate, you also have to be flexible and adventurous. If not, I feel fairly certain that the staff can put together some kind of meal that will please you. One final thing I didn't mention yet, but which I think shows something about the establishment: The man who checked my down jacket and woolen sweater on that cold night also poured some of our wine and performed some other tasks, which demonstrated to me that he is part of a team of staff with multifarious duties. I was about to hand him a couple of dollars as a tip before leaving, but he declined, saying "If you enjoyed the meal, that's all that matters."

How about Provencale Soup de Poisson? Is there anyplace that makes it with really spicy aioli and sharp grated gruyere like I used to have in Nice?

I disagree with this action. Service fees are standard and work very well in countries like France and Italy, and I think the regulation should set 20% as the top amount. I'd speculate that many diners, upon seeing a service charge of 15%, would conclude that the restaurant doesn't want a higher-percentage tip, and that could end up decreasing tip receipts for the waitstaff. More importantly, the requirement that service charges be imposed only on groups larger than 7 is ludicrous. I suppose Per Se will have to revamp its billing now.

Do they let you take out leftovers from restaurants in Seoul?

Potato and cheese blintzes have both been common, traditionally, in Ashkenazic Jewish cooking from Eastern Europe, so it's surprising if potato blintzes have been uncommon in the cooking of their non-Jewish neighbors. But if I'm correctly understanding what you're saying, it's not that they are uncommon, but that they're called by a different name?

That was a shame. I had a wonderful dinner at Cena during its brief existence. At the time, I thought it was one of the best meals I had had in New York.

Thanks, Pan I'd go with your assumption, as I haven't seen these before in the markets drawing from the Gulf of Siam or the Andaman Sea. But the Thai fishing fleets are moving farther and farther afield (haven't the Somalis grabbed a couple of Thai fishing boats?) I have a question back. I've heard the term "bamboo clams" used. Are these the same thing? Cheers, ← I have no idea.

I'm loving this report. I've excerpted two of your great poetic aphorisms, but also your mention of razor clams. I assume they get them trucked in from the South China Sea? Are they very fresh-tasting when they get that far inland?

She's totally into great food, and I'm sure it'll be more formal than the cheap but good restaurants we usually go to.

That food looks good. What does "civet" mean, in the context of a fish, rather than a cat?

I haven't been to Baoguette, but there's been extensive discussion on Chowhound.

Thanks, oakapple. I respect your opinion and I think I will indeed go for a tasting menu at Degustation.

I'm thinking of taking my girlfriend to Degustation for her birthday. I can't find a website for them - do they have one? Would you recommend I do this? I've never been there. Is the 10-course tasting menu the way to go? How much does it cost nowadays, and where can I see the menu? My other idea is to go to Babbo, but since I don't already have a reservation and her birthday is later this month, that might not work as well (I suppose we could show up early before the restaurant is open and try our luck, but then I'd need a backup plan, but that could be Lupa, so I'll await your advice).

We're actually living in Hong Kong at the moment and so have our fair share of Dim Sum here... probably will try and stick to dishes we can't get here... ← Yeah, Hong Kong has wonderful dim sum. It's possible that there are more Malay-and-Indian-influenced curried pao and dumplings in Malaysian dim sum palaces, but I don't know that, and it makes perfect sense to me that you'd want to concentrate on stuff you can't easily get at home.

Back in the day (1970s), there used to be a great dim sum eating hall in Penang called Halaman. If I were going there today, I'd want to know where today's great dim sum palaces are, as well as where to get great hawker food. Which eating halls do you folks like?

Rona, I find travelers' checks a pain nowadays. ATM cards are much more convenient. The problem arises when you have an ATM debit card. The last time I was in Malaysia, someone counterfeited a copy of my card and used it to pay for a trip to Southern Thailand about 6 months after I got home. I had no money in my bank account for a week, until the money was reimbursed. Did you ask the stall owners if they would accept Singapore dollars?