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Gerhard, I can tell that this blog will be a great deal of fun. You may consider yourself nothing special as a cook, but while I can't taste your creations vicariously, I can tell that you are ambitious and willing to work hard on complex dishes. I also enjoyed the photos! I'm a New Yorker but actually have some South African heritage. My grandmother Sylvia was born in Malmesbury not far from the Cape, and always told me she came to the U.S. at the age of 7 speaking nothing but Afrikaans (though I figure she must have understood some Yiddish as well). I hope to visit your beautiful country someday.

I'm glad to see that someone with more expertise than I shares my opinion.

Mike, it was nice meeting you yesterday. Sorry we didn't get to talk much.

Thanks for your interesting contributions, scottie. Your remarks about yucky medicinal tea remind me of traditional Malay akar kayu (literally, "woody roots"), a usually bitter infusion of which is drunk for curative purposes. My mother used to drink an infusion of akar kayu every day as prescribed by a traditional medical practitioner in the rural area where we were living, and they seemed to have kept her blood pressure down as long as she used them. Of course, as with any other medicine, there's no way to prove that in her case, her blood pressure wasn't down because she was thinner and more physically active during that period of time, rather than because of that plus the akar kayu. Ayurvedic medicine definitely deals with humors, as does traditional Chinese medicine, though the two systems are different. While I was reading about the different tastes that should be included in Indian meals, I was thinking about Chinese food, too. Sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and pungent. Sounds like a possible Chinese formulation, as well. I hope someone comments on whether it is.

Let me clarify: I figured those Capsicum Noodles were for long life. I wasn't looking at the official list of dishes. There was no other noodle dish.

I don't know the answers to your questions, Stan, but I do like to go to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I love how the "normal" flavors there are Red Bean, Ginger, Mango, Pineapple, Green Tea, etc., and the "exotic" flavors are Vanilla, Chocolate...

Loved the pictures, which are more meaningful because I can remember all the dishes. Rachel, Rosie, and Kim deserve a lot of credit for organizing such a large party. Thank you!

Interesting. I figured it was, but I'll try to remember to ask.

Welcome, mascarpone! I'm sure you'll get some more good replies in this thread, but you also might want to look at search results of threads with "Arthur Avenue" in the title. Note that the first thread to come up is this one, and some of them may not answer your question but still might strike your interest.

Sorry I didn't see you, Stan, and I'm glad you were able to make it. It was a really fun occasion, topped off by a much longer Lion Dance than I expected. My favorite dish was probably the Long Life Noodles. It's quite uncommon to get noodles that are al dente in a Chinese restaurant, and that was the extra touch to a tasty dish. The soup dumplings were probably the best I've had, and the jiaozi were excellent. I won't go on and comment on every dish, but I thought it was a well-constructed banquet with alternating savory and subtle dishes. The seafood soup Soba mentioned was an excellent palate cleanser and I share his high opinion of it. I also noticed the dishes other parties were having. They all looked good and smelled good. China 46 is clearly a very good Chinese restaurant, and I will mention it to my cousins in Teaneck. But I think the thing that was most fun was making the trip and meeting some people I knew only from their posts. I won't name names, but you know who you are, and I'll see you online and probably at other gatherings.

I wouldn't go to a Starbucks in France, either. Fortunately, I've never had an allergic reaction to any but the longest-haired dogs. Ditto for cats.

Marlene, I was joking about the PETA people. You won't get lost if you take an E train in the Uptown/Queens direction and get off at Lexington Av. North of 14 St., all streets are in order (14th, 15th, etc.) with lower numbers further downtown and upper numbers further uptown. Just remember that Lexington Av. is one block west of 3rd Av. Then there's 2nd Av. Really, it's not complicated. But if you take a cab in Midtown in the early afternoon, you may sit in traffic for 20-30 minutes while moving a few inches. I'm serious! Any New Yorkers feel like I'm exaggerating this?

Whether it is a mistake on Starbucks' part to prohibit dogs is something that won't become clear for some time. If the place is successful, though, it might be because of that, despite that, or that prohibition might have gotten some people into the store and turned off others, ending up in a wash. edm, I'm certainly not part of a "backlash." I have no particular reason to want dogs in restaurants. All I'm saying is - well, something like what menton1 just posted. France is France, after all, and while I wouldn't join a hearty chorus of "vivent les chiens aux restaurants," I will shout "Vive la France!" with the most conviction any etranger can muster.

Based on how it tastes, I'm saying that Dom uses full-fat ricotta, but I will try to remember to ask him. baw, sorry you can't make it next Saturday. Anyone else coming?

I agree, but remember that Dominic makes them in the order he makes them in. I suppose I could have requested the regular pie first, but in fact, he made a couple of mistakes in our order. First, he made a plain square pie when I had requested one with artichokes. A guy waiting for a pie was happy to take that home, so no harm done, and none of us minded waiting longer for the artichoke square pie. But actually, the reason why we didn't have the regular pie until the end is that Dominic asked whether our order was complete when he had finished the rest of the items for us, and I told him there was still the plain regular pie. I guess both of them were kind of special-order items because both the porcini and the broccoli di rabe are special items. I think the artichokes are listed on the menu as a "special item" too. Calzoni themselves aren't special order items, however; they are listed on the regular menu. I might say that I disagree with Sam on the amount of filling vs. crust. When you have filling as good as the filling of the porcini calzone, it's hard to be excessive. I understand that you are correct. They are packages of wet mozzarella cheese packed in plastic and come from his home village near Caserta, if I remember correctly, and I observed him cutting one open, draining the liquid, and then slicing it and putting it on top of the sauce on some of that great pizza dough. It's hard for me to say what's best about Dominic's pizze and calzoni, but the crust is remarkable in itself, and that's saying a lot.

If you think that permitting dogs in restaurants makes good hygiene impossible, don't go to France. For an American, seeing dogs get fed really good human food in restaurants can take some getting used to, but it's all part of the experience of learning how people live in different lands. And isn't that one of the most interesting things about travelling?

How long are you in the New York area? Glad your back is better!

StInGeR: I do have a pertinent question for you, though. Do you remember what dishes you had at Wo Hop? Some are good. I'm trying to remember because it's been some time since I last ate there, but I think there was some string beans dish that I liked. glenn, I knew very well that you weren't intentionally writing a slur.

Thanks, dumpling. I know the parking lot you're talking about, so that at least narrows it down.

Great pictures, Sherri! I do agree with everyone that the plain round pizza was the least interesting of the things we got yesterday, and that it was still pretty damned good. But as for which of the other things were best, I think that's purely a matter of individual taste. And it pays to come back and try different ingredients. So am I meeting some eGulleteers at DiFara's again next Saturday? How about earlier, like at 1:00 or 1:30? Who wants to come next Saturday, January 31?

That calzone was prosciutto and broccoli di rabe. The two cheeses that Dominic uses in every calzone are mozarella and ricotta, and there's actually a third cheese: Genuine parmigiano reggiano in big rounds that he grates on top of the calzoni after pouring olive oil on top of them. The meal was undoubtedly as good as the best previous meals I've had at DiFara's.

StInGeR, Wo Hop is definitely not fancy, but I don't think it's very good, either. We'll have to agree to disagree on that. glenn, thanks for your reviews. Just one tangential point: The adjective for Pakistan is Pakistani. "Paki" is a slur that to some people is as bad as "nigger." But please keep the reviews coming, if you have more!

Remember my warning about the usual speed of surface traffic in Midtown around midday vs. walking. If you take a cab, allow at least 30 minutes if you get it right away. In that case, you might get there early - but don't count on it. By the way, are you thinking it might be dangerous for you to take the subway, or that you might get red paint splashed on you by a PETA member? I wouldn't worry about being robbed in the subway.

Thanks for letting us know. Does anyone know if the article is online?

Just a thought: I'm enjoying reading all of these emails, but not all of them focus on food. I think that if you included only the parts related in some way or other to food and drink, you might generate more interest. For example, the information you provided about a Greek club was terrificly interesting, but a club, after all, is a place not only to dance but also to drink and eat bar food.