Pan

Dana, perhaps those of us who can go on the 10th should also indicate what other days/times we are available, in the interest of having the largest number of participants possible. Though that doesn't seem applicable to Franny's. In terms of rules, the only issue would be whether the get-together is of a type likely to result in substantive food-related discussion. If that's true once, it can and should be true twice. In case there are two groups and one doesn't contain any eGullet stuff members, we can deal with that closer to the time, but it isn't a big issue at all.

And probably not with a woman a third your age. ← I'd be arrested.

Opening time to 2 P.M. or so (possibly until 2:30 in some places), but it's best to arrive well before 1 P.M. if possible -- certainly before 1:30. The earlier you get there, the fresher the food and the more choices you're likely to have.

I'm wondering if you've had good Chinese food. It's pretty tough to hate an entire nation's food, especially since there are so many regional variations.

Indicate when you are available. So where are we going? Maybe we should have a vote on that? I'll start off neutral.

I haven't eaten at Silver Pond in a long time, because it's convenient to the LIE but not the subway, but years ago when I used to have dinner there in the late 80s/early 90s, it was really terrific! So it's not surprising to me that they would also serve excellent dim sum. If you want to check out a place closer to the Main St. 7 stop, though, consider Prince Restaurant. I doubt that you'll find better dim sum in Manhattan than in Flushing. You might find better dim sum in Brooklyn, though I cannot yet state that with first-hand knowledge.

Um, so no difference of quality there. Seriously, $13 is really expensive to me, which is why I go to the Temple Bar about once a year for a single drink.

Possibly pickled bamboo shoot? I don't know; I think it was the wrong size and consistency for bamboo shoot, but it's been a while, and I can't be sure. Salted mustard greens does sound possible.

When are you available, K?

You've asked great questions and brought up interesting issues, but I don't know the answers to your questions. The feeling I got was that the cuisine there is generally Hong Kong-style, with considerable overlap with what you can get at more or less Cantonese-style eating halls in Manhattan like Jing Fong, Golden Unicorn, and Grand Harmony, but there are some particular specialties at Prince. Examples of overlapping dishes include the fried leek/shrimp/scallop dumpling I had, the chicken feet, siu mai, broad noodles stuffed with shrimp or beef, shrimp dumpling soup, spare ribs in black bean sauce, etc. Whether the non-overlapping dishes show Taiwanese influence though, for example, I just don't know. It would be great to have some dim sum expert chime in here.

Your point is well taken, but if the baby likes things like beef broth, at Han Bat and various other Korean restaurants, there's the white cowfoot soup with noodles that's unseasoned (I don't remember the Korean name), with salt added to the taste of the customer. That might make things pleasant for the kid. And some of the items in the panchan (set of side dishes brought for the table) normally are mild. Grand Sichuan would be happy to make fried rice or wonton or corn/eggdrop soup or any of various other things that might be to the kid's taste.

The fruit I ate that people told me was nangua looked something like a honeydew and tasted pretty much like a cantaloupe, from what I remember or maybe it looked like a cantaluope and tasted like a honeydew. It was certainly nothing like a pumpkin. But this is a memory from 1987.

Is a $19 sidecar that much better than a $13 sidecar at Temple Bar? $16 pommes frites? Somehow, I doubt that the prices there are mostly based on quality. Can french fries be worth $16?

Unless it had a face carved into it and contained a candle within, I doubt it was a nan gua. ← Huh? ← Nangua would be one of the pronounciations for "pumpkin". Taiwanese, according to my father. ← In Beijing, it's much more similar to a canteloupe than a pumpkin.

I love that dish! Such fresh, delicious livers in such a concentrated balsamic sauce. The sausage dish is very pleasant, too.

Saturday nights for dinner are possible for me, though since I work from 9-3 in Brooklyn College, we're talking about going back to Brooklyn again for dinner. So if it's possible, I'd rather avoid Saturdays, at least in June.

Thanks for that great post! I'm glad you enjoyed your adventure in the Five Boroughs.

Noodle soups don't have to have mushy noodles, either.

Sue-On, I want to hear more about cilantro root. You buy it and eat it raw? Does it taste more like the leaves or the seeds?

Actually they do, but not all types do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeybee I've seen a lot of honeybees up close, and the ones I've seen flying around definitely have stingers, including the 3-inch-long Malaysian jungle bees, which seemed to me like nothing other than big, clumsy honeybees and docile to boot. Bees have to really perceive a threat to sting, as except for the queen, they can only sting once and the action kills them.

Yes, that's right. Say, are you interested in Korean food? I think that in particular, a loud diner-like place like Han Bat would be happy to accomodate a couple with a baby. Diner-like, cheap, and informal it is, but the food is very good. I have a feeling less informal Korean places would also be OK with a baby. Anyone else have an opinion about that?

I was going to ask how much they cost, but amazingly enough, they are listed on Chikubu's menu on menupages, so they're apparently a regular dish, not a special.

I'm flexible on that night, so I could make it there as early as 5 P.M. if that's what works best.

Too much cumin? Is that possible? Signed, Lover of Indian food

Unless it had a face carved into it and contained a candle within, I doubt it was a nan gua. ← Huh?