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ExtraMSG: I have a few responses to your latest post. (1) If your argument is that Zagat's is a good guide for people who are happy with it, you are right. And then we can also say that McDonalds performs an important service for a lot of people. And candy corn is a good product for happy kids on Halloween. OK, accepted. And then? (2) I hope you're not assuming that all of us would rather go to any old upscale restaurant than a good cheap eat. I don't go to expensive restaurants that often but have sometimes found them disappointing, and among the meals I remember as the greatest of my life, some were at expensive restaurants and some at cheap ones. (3) One can have plenty of problems with Zagat based on things other than a presumption that the complexity or expense of the product being served should be considered in one's ratings. When I filled out Zagat surveys, I would give both Grand Sichuan and the old Jojo's 3's. But that may point out some of the problems with the 3-point system. 3 stood for "excellent," as I recall. 50 St. Grand Sichuan is excellent in my opinion, but I do think that a Vongerichten restaurant at its best would have deserved a 4 in a system in which 4 stands for a category above "excellent." And that's only partly because of the differences in service and (to a lesser extent) ambience, which are rated separately in a Zagat survey. The food was great in both places but I do think that, despite the apples-and-oranges aspects to comparing Sichuan-style food and French-influenced nouvelle cuisine, there was something extra in the degree of imagination and perfection that the pre-renovation Jojo used to serve up. Alright, perhaps that is partly complexity, but it's not complexity for it's own sake. Vongerichten used subtle mixtures based on essences of fruits and vegetables in season, and that created delicious tastes I haven't found elsewhere. In addition, desserts were fabulous at the old Jojo, and when I was too full to have dessert, I ordered a Muscat wine that was ambrosial. Of course, great desserts and great wines are not part of the experience at Grand Sichuan. Now, on the other hand, if the dirt-cheap Kashmiri wedding food restaurant I ate at in Srinagar or the babi guling place I ate at in Denpasar could be transported to New York, I'd probably be singing a somewhat different tune. But then, where are all the authentic Colombian and Mexican places in Jackson Heights to be found in Zagat? If such places were there, I think you'd have a much stronger argument that Zagat provides a good alternative for gourmets and connoiseurs. I daresay, most eGulleteers have little use for a guide to middlebrow food which the "average person" would like. And actually, I think that's partly a misunderstanding. I believe that there are many lovers of good food who get Zagat because they think it will be a reliable guide for them. Most of them probably do find places that satisfy them, but they could have gone to a more reliable source.

I remember that TV ad for Armour hotdogs vividly. I should; I saw it over and over again as a child growing up in the 70s. Another one I remember is an ad for something or other where the kid said "borgesmord" instead of "smorgasbord." I ran into the kid and his older brother a few years later on the M104 bus going home from school on the Upper West Side. But that ad wasn't a favorite of mine; I felt kind of neutral about it.

That's really evil! I never knew any bank did that.

Thanks. These put a smile on my face. I sort of remember the "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" one but I don't remember what product they were selling, and ditto for the bologna and the Easter Bunny slogans.

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but to my knowledge, "Massaman" curry is a version of Thai Muslim curry, inspired by the Malays (Yawi) in the former Malay sultanates of southern Thailand. Sheep do not do all that well in such tropical climes (for example, their fur is patchy and yellowish). Goats do much better. So I think a goat curry would be a good deal more common in Thailand than a mutton or lamb curry, but I stand to be corrected. I could also imagine a water buffalo Massaman curry...

Roz, in my experience, Indians' take on how to cook okra is very different from Cajun style. Cajun style emphasizes the mucilagenity (?) of the vegetable (e.g., by using it in gumbo), and Indian okra dishes tend to minimize that property.

Favorite soups....Well, these are off the top of my head, and in no particular order: Laksa Tom Yom Gung Tom Ka Gai My father's beef/vegetable soup with all sorts of vegetables and wine Soupe de poisson Minestrone Zuppa di verdure Mulligatawny Cold cherry soup Cold borscht (The last two for summertime) A really great chicken soup Some kind of Chinese noodle soup belongs here, too, and does congee count as a soup? It's really a porridge. I noticed someone mentioned goulash. I agree; Gulyasleves is also a great soup.

I take it you've never seen a Zagat survey, Bux? Part of the problem with the structure of their surveys (at least as of a couple of years ago, the last time I completed one) is that surveyors do not have a 0-30 scale. Instead, one is limited to a scale of 0-3, which is arguably rather inadequate for the very broad selection of restaurants one might want to rate. How Zagat's comes up with its 0-30 ratings from thousands of 0-3 surveys is a mystery to me. As for Zagat's being "democracy in action," who gets to pick the text describing the restaurants, and who chooses which restaurants to include - first of all in the surveys and then in the finished product? Is that purely a majority vote? If it is, things have changed a great deal in the very recent past. And that's not to mention egregious cases like a description of a restaurant that a Zagat's guide said was "better than its rating." Also, I used to live in a big apartment building on the Upper West Side where someone always left a whole pile of blank Zagat surveys in the mailroom. Do you think piles of Zagat surveys were left on the ground floors of little tenements? Well, to my knowledge, they weren't. And I have to wonder how many surveys made it to the "Outer Boroughs," when the surveys were still all paper. Now that submissions are (all? mostly?) via the Internet, has anyone noticed any lessening of the extreme Manhattan bias (including a somewhat less extreme but to me laughable Upper West Side bias) that used to mar the Zagat Guide?

My favorite food slogans are "Fink means good bread" and "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good." I don't love Smuckers, though I used to have their "Simply Fruit" or whatever, and their preserves are generally fairly decent for a mass-marketed commercial food product, I guess. But I used to eat Fink bread when I went to Cathedral School in 3-4 and 7 grade, and at the time, I thought their bread was actually pretty good - far better than Wonder and such-like - and I particularly liked their raisin bread at the time. My favorite food ads were: (1) The TV ad for Hebrew National hotdogs that ran in the New York market during the 70s and 80s, I think ("Uncle Sam says we can use fillers, but we don't. [Man in Uncle Sam outfit frowns.] Uncle Sam says we can use meat by-products, but we can't. [Frowns again.] We're kosher and answer to a higher authority. [Footage of the sky with clouds."] (2) The posters that used to be all over the subways and buses in New York in the early 80s that showed people of all sorts of ethnicities (Native American, African-American, Hispanic, Asian) with the legend "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's" and a picture of Levy's kosher rye bread. Why aren't ads like those run anymore? Is the influence of Jewish culture decreasing in the New York area as more non-Jews immigrate here? I wonder. If Katz's ever goes out of business, I'll know that traditional Jewish food is really dead here. But anyway, what are your favorite food slogans and ads?

Jason, what is the precise meaning of the verb "to chan"? Never heard that one before.

Great report, Lauren! I'll have to try the cheesecake island the next time I go, if it's still on the menu at that point. If it isn't, there will be a bunch of other fascinating, pleasurable creations to choose from.

Is "there" El Maguey Y La Tuna or Mexicana Mama?

I went to the Chelsea branch of Grand Sichuan today and ordered the second of the Dishes for a Prodigal Daughter - a cold vegetable dish I love - and Dan-Dan Noodles. The noodles were the same as always, but the cold dish was different. I spoke with the waitress about it. I said that it usually has not only celery but also carrots in it. Actually, the green hot peppers are also usually sliced smaller, there are fewer of them by comparison to the celery and carrots, and there is less liquid, with the sauce being a perfect combination of soy sauce, hot oil, vinegar, a touch of something sweet (rice wine or/and sugar), etc. Today, it was not great but merely OK, and I left most of the hot peppers (I usually eat them all little by little, along with the celery and carrots). The waitress told me that their regular chef was off and a new chef was substituting. She also told me before I left that she had spoken with the chef about my mild but substantive complaint. She explained that the regular chef is usually off Tuesdays, though that's of course subject to change.

Those "Singapore mei fun" are nowhere to be found in Singapore, from what I understand.

Best burritos ever? Better than La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara? I doubt it.

Mjc, I think it's perhaps a pity the server didn't ask what you found less than fully satisfying about the dish. I would think they would want to know for their own possible benefit. For what it's worth, my other comment is: Have no fear of having your posting privileges revoked and don't take Bux's remarks as an insult. He's making an important point (which I agree with) emphatically, but not by way of pointing at you and saying you are, therefore, a Hell-bound sinner.

We rented a car from Easycar. Pay very close attention to the terms of the contract and the rate they are charging you! My brother got a special internet discount and it took over 30 minutes of refusing to accept a more expensive rate and insisting they call headquarters (they hung up on the higher-ups the first time instead of speaking with them after my brother spoke with them!) before they corrected the contract. Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for the explanation, Louisa.

I'm glad you had a great meal, and thanks for the excellent report.

Thanks for your response, Louisa. What distinguishes gastro cuisine from the rest of the cuisine at ADPA?

The view is breathtaking. I went there once for a terrific Restaurant Week lunch. I don't really have any advice, except that their scallops were among the best I ever had.

At the prices they charge, aren't those in the main (plus doctors, etc.) the only people who can afford to go more than once in a blue moon?

I don't mind being asked if I like the food if the question is sincere. That is, if I'm in a high-end restaurant and I'm asked whether I like the food, I'm likely to take the opportunity to point out anything that doesn't fully satisfy me, especially if the waiter makes it clear s/he really wants to know. When I'm asked the question in a lower-end restaurant it's very often though not always insincere: i.e., the server won't take something back unless there's something seriously wrong with it (it's cold, it's spoiled, it's the wrong dish, etc.). When I complained that it seemed like the dishwashers at Teresa's were using a different dishwashing soap at a certain point and that I could taste the perfume of it in my fresh orange juice and even the tap water, do you think they replaced the orange juice or refunded the money? Nope. But my complaint might have done some good because it does seem like they may have stopped using that soap, despite the fact that the waitress seemed to find my remarks weird. Sometimes, though, the wait staff want to know that I really like the cuisine. If I go to a Sichuan restaurant and order tripe in hot oil, they may doubt that I'll really like it, so when they ask and I tell them it's delicious, that's important data for them, if they actually file it away and remember it.

It happens a lot in middle-of-the-road restaurants. I've never experienced it. Could it be a regional thing?

This really makes me angry. I went to a restaurant on a date and our conversation was interrupted three times by different members of the wait staff asking "are you still working on that." What's more, they had plenty of tables free, so they had absolutely no evident reason to want to rush us. I glared at them and have never been back, even though I've always liked the food there and the place is less than 2 blocks from my apartment.