Pan

I want that catfish! Thanks for posting that eye candy, Varmint!

Congratulations, Jason! This seems to be evidence of a lack of the animosity some of us have felt existed between the Times and eGullet.

"Touch what?" was my first thought (and my second and, like, tenth). I guess you don't want the different dishes on your plate to touch one another, as in the fish on one side, the vegetables on another, or whatever. Is that right? And what about rice? A chopstick-full of meat and then another chopstick-full of rice?

You know I fully agree with you there. "$25-and-under" should really be $25-and-under. And I would object if the Times eliminated the "$25-and-under" column and abdicated coverage of inexpensive restaurants to the Voice, Newsday and such. I also agree with Bux that it would be great if the Times reviewed more restaurants, but that's a business decision that they so far haven't been willing to make.

Have fun, guys! I look forward to further reports.

Oakapple, do you think that the neighborhood trattorie Bruni presumably experienced during his stint in Italy may be influencing his choice of reviewing neighborhood restaurants he considers worthy (a choice I appreciate, by the way)? It seems to me that in Italy, the neighborhood trattoria is really part of the community, and that Bruni would like to encourage New Yorkers to think about our neighborhood restaurants that way, too. The other thing I'd say is that he is making a real effort to bridge the gap between the $25-and-under category and the luxe category. I think we've all agreed that in the past, coverage of mid-priced restaurants has suffered from concentration on high-end and sort of moderately low-end restaurants in the Times.

I'm glad you enjoyed the place, snausages. I was there again tonight, and was glad I hadn't eaten much before dinner. I ordered Salta with lamb. I didn't even know what salta was; I just thought I'd try it. First, the cup of soup came. Then, the salta came. It was essentially a large bowl of very hot, steaming soupiness, which I was told to eat by dipping pieces of the large flatbread I was given into it. I also had the use of lemon slices, which were put on the table when the chicken or lamb soup was put on the table, and some hot sauce which was provided on request. The salta tasted of a bitter gourd they must use as a main ingredient in it, I figure (I also recognized small pieces of lamb, potatoes, and carrots as ingredients). With some lemon juice and hot sauce, it was more palatable, though it wasn't my favorite thing. But they weren't finished bringing food! Next came a plate of salad including some cheese that looked like feta but tasted a little different (less salt, probably a bit creamier), and finally, three large boiled lamb chops. I was hungry enough to finish most of the food, but it was really a pretty unbelievably humongous portion, topped off with 2 1/2 cups of Yemeni tea. I was charged only $13 for that feast and left a $4 tip, which I figured was the least I could do for the unexpectedly large amount of food I was served. I'll definitely go back but plan on trying out some of the other restaurants in the neighborhood in the next couple of weeks. I agree that the place is a real hangout of friends, but there was at least one non-Arab while I was there tonight, and I think the couple at Table 10 may have also been non-Arabs. But regardless, you get a good welcome there, though when there's only one person waiting several tables, you're best advised to simply pick something to order and not ask too many questions. The young man who waited on me last time showed up in the middle of my meal and gave me a warm greeting; he seems like a friendly and effusive person by nature and was also clearly happy I had decided to come back.

As someone who hasn't been there, the prices you mention leave me wondering whether it's a good value, especially for someone who doesn't live or work very close to that neighborhood.

WNET's website doesn't seem to turn up any listing, either. I've always liked Pepin's shows.

Good idea, mascarpone. Folks, let's not get too far off topic here. The topic here is Seoul Garden Restaurant. By all means, continue your discussions about kimchi and MSG, but please put the continuation on the "Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific" forum, and feel free to post a link here. Thanks a lot.

Thanks, hzrt8w! Just one question: Is haum ha basically the same as what's called Belacan in Malay and Terasi in Indonesian - Black, very strong-smelling shrimp paste that's a good ingredient in moderation?

Thanks, Rob. I'm sure that wasn't funny at the time, but it's hilarious to read about!

There is or was until recently a sort of bar and grill or something on Greenwich Av. in New York called the Dewdrop Inn. On principle, I would never want to go to a place with such a dreadful punnish name.

Please give some English translations or descriptions of some of these things. I love Chinese food but don't know all the Chinese names for things. And please keep posting!

What are arbols? You'll probably be amused to know that en.wiktionary.org gives "tree" as the English translation of "árbol."

And, to go on to something completely different: Lalitha, I haven't tried that Georgian tea, but it sounds interesting!

My face really lit up when I saw that you're blogging again! Your first blog was awesome! I look forward to this one.

A Google search producted the following from http://www.holymtn.com/tea/caffeine.htm: "As regards tea, it should be noted that all types of tea contain less caffeine than coffee." (Incidentally, this is from the website of a company called Holy Mountain Trading Company, http://www.holymtn.com/, which looks interesting.)

I take your point but note that Totonno's is justly famous and has received praise in the Pizza Forum thread, very much including from yours truly. Most of us did find the plain slice at Grimaldi's and the original Patsy's in East Harlem superior, though, and DiFara's continues to be my favorite New York pizzeria, so far. But I don't think any of us questioned that Totonno's is one of the top places for a slice in the city, and all of us loved the fact that it's owned and run by a family who are obviously terrific people and have great pride in their work.

Yeah, how big is a "big" tea party at your mother's? She has lots of friends! Or is it that they're just coming for the food? Seriously, that looks like a Hari Raya spread. Amazing.

I agree on bread baking. I used to love the smell from the Silvercup factory as I was driven into Queens on the Queensboro Bridge on the way to Baba's (Ukrainian for Grandma's) in Astoria. I even found the smell of the bread baking in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia in the 70s delicious, though the bread itself had almost no taste whatsoever. Another food I left out is limes. I love the smell of limes and lime juice, especially Malaysian limau nipis.

I understand. Yes, rosemary oversaturation is pretty hideous. Sorry you had that experience, and I hope my question didn't prompt any nightmares.

I remember the Chock Full O'Nuts at 116 St. and Broadway, and there may not have been any booths (that part I don't recall), but there were a bunch of tables.

Despite the fact that tea contains caffeine, it isn't addictive, at least not for me. I drink tea often but have no trouble going x-number of days without it. I've never, ever had any withdrawal symptoms from tea, like my father used to have withdrawal symptoms from coffee (especially splitting headaches) on weekends when he was still drinking non-decaf coffee.

You know we're going to wheedle you to tell it now, don't you? For the record, I love the smell of rosemary and most any type of evergreen, but rosemary is strong and it is possible to use too much of that good thing in a dish. Ditto for thyme, another great but rather strong herb.