Pan

Empire Szechuan has never been a real Sichuan restaurant, and that includes the original branch at 97 St. and Broadway, 1 block away from the building where I grew up and my parents still live. They started or came in around the beginning of a trend of fake Sichuan (and Hunan - think Hunan Balcony one block up on 98 St.) restaurants run by people who were really Cantonese and weren't really doing real stuff, though Empire Szechuan was good at first, and we ate there a lot then. The thing that's special about Grand Sichuan is that it's the first place where I had _real_ Sichuan food in New York - and that much of its food is not merely good but delicious and even special. They don't pander and don't adulterate; they just provide real stuff and leave "American Chinese" food on the menu, clearly labeled, for neighborhood residents who aren't comfortable with food that is firey, oily, and has "weird" ingredients like tripe, ox tongue, or bitter melon. And if you want a cheap lunch special, you can get ordinary American Chinese food like you'd pay the same amount for in another place, but you always have a much better choice.

Perish the thought! I'm still a regular at the Chelsea branch of Grand Sichuan, and its quality has never decreased, in my opinion. It's still salty and oily, but it's still delicious. There are many dishes I like there. I happen to like the Dan Dan Noodles very much. I also like the Sichuan Shrimp Dumplings, with the great sesame paste and hot pepper-accented brown dipping sauce. And that's not to mention main dishes, of which the good ones are too numerous for me to feel like typing out right now. I generally stick to the Sichuan specialties.

The place I'm thinking of _is_ a bakery. Am I confused? I can't remember whether they make their own pita, but they make their own cakes. If I am _not_ confused, then no, I haven't tried the place you're talking about. The place I'm thinking of is definitely a Syrian bakery, so I think I have the name right.

Here's the info: Damascus Bread & Pastry Shop Limited 195 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 625-7070 After work at Polytechnic U. a few weeks ago, I decided to walk to Atlantic Av. instead of going directly back to Manhattan, as usual. I had a nice, hearty early dinner at the Yemeni restaurant across the street, and followed it with a trip to this great bakery. I bought a little date cake (sorry, I forget the Arabic name), and I loved it so much that I immediately went back with my partially-eaten cake and bought 4 more. It had some rose water in it and some wonderful combination of spices. If you're in the area, you really owe it to yourself to give this place a try. It's just about right next to Sahadi's.

I am still very pleased with this restaurant. I went there repeatedly for dinner this past semester, usually by myself but once or twice with one friend. I still think it's the best Malaysian food I've had in the U.S., but I still haven't been to Malaysian restaurants in other parts of Queens, nor out west. They make delicious asam laksa and very rich curried beef (really rendang) noodle soup. Try their char kway teo, too, and their asam and sambal belacan dishes and roti canai. Heck, try anything. It's possible you may find something unexciting, but go several times and try different things. The waitresses are friendly, and it's unlikely that anyone will argue with your order based on the idea that "white people don't like that." Only once did a new waitress who didn't know me ask me whether I _really_ wanted asam laksa. Yes, miss: I've been eating it since before you were born. :-) Also, I got some kaya jam (very rich, very eggy coconut custard jam) there for a birthday present for my mother, along with a wish that her life be rich in years and happiness (kaya means "rich" in Malay). It costs $4 for a plastic container, and was very much appreciated.

Hi, everyone, and Happy New Year to all! I'm back after a prolonged absence, which was partly due to a busy semester of teaching. I'm on vacation from my teaching schedule now, and will make a series of posts to catch up a bit. First, I'll tell you a little bit about my trip to Ouest on Thursday, Dec. 26, my father's birthday. We were a party of 3: Me, my mother, and my father. My father is on a special diet low in both carbs and protein, so he had only a main dish, a very nicely-cooked sliced roast pork. Unfortunately, the green vegetable that accompanied it, some very high-quality spinach steamed very nicely with garlic, is something he can't eat because of its high potassium content. The kitchen was out of the cabbage side dish. Word for the wise: If you arrive late (we arrived around 9 P.M.), the kitchen will have started to run out of things. I started with the smoked duck appetizer. Excellent smoked duck, accompanied by some nice green leaves I couldn't identify, and something surprising: A friend soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk. It was perhaps unorthodox, but I liked it. My mother got the confit of duck. It was very good confit. She felt it was too fatty, but I pointed out that it doesn't really make sense to complain that confit is too fatty. One of the accompaniments to it were slices of excellent beets. For my main dish, I got sturgeon that was accompanied by an excellent risotto with a generous amount of truffle oil in it. It was a solid dish. My mother did not have a main dish, but got the potatoes with garlic side order. I didn't try it, but she liked it. For dessert, my mother was very satisfied with the cappucino sundae (I found it too bitter, not like a tiramisu or something, but I also don't drink coffee because it's too bitter for me). I had a terrific bread pudding with prunes and a delicious clove sauce. My father did not have dessert. Service was very slow, making the experience reminiscent of dinners we had in France last summer (I'll post to the France board about some of those experiences). While waiting for my parents, I had a glass of Chinon ($9.75) to reminisce about that same trip. Appetizers were about $8-12, main dishes mostly in the low $20s (some were listed in the high teens), and desserts about $8 - by no means out of line. To sum up: I was in no way blown away by the experience. Based on one dinner, Ouest is not comparable to Jojo at its best several years ago (which I would have rated 3 stars), but it is a solid 2-star that will give you value for your money. And I almost forgot to mention that their bread is very good sourdough, and the dip they give you for it is excellent hummus. And just a reminder: They run out of things. For example, they had no more of the "game" special, which would have been cornish hen. Actually, we didn't believe there was any game on the menu because we consider both cornish hen and squab to be poultry. Anyway, if you care deeply about having your choices limited, try going early rather than late. Also, they have walk-in tables if you didn't get a reservation.

Thank you, Stefany, and thanks for caring. Michael

Steve: I'm glad you and your wife enjoyed your birthday dinner. It sounds wonderful, and I really enjoyed your descriptions. I like reading your posts when you describe food.

Stefany, I'd normally agree, but my friend is too sick to make her own chicken soup right now. Her boyfriend, though, could pick some up. (I don't know whether he would make some for her, and I'm not sure whether I will ask. My friend is also my ex-girlfriend, you see.)

My only comment is to remind people of how many lives are taken by drunk driving. Do whatever you have to do to avoid that, including simply not drinking wine with the meal. If others won't be the designated driver, you have to take that role. Or don't drive. And know yourself so you can know how you tolerate alcohol - not based only on your subjective opinion but also on the opinion of others who know you well and have been able to judge your reactions when you had had a glass or two and they hadn't. When in doubt, please take care of yourself and the other people on the road (and nearby places) and be conservative. I wouldn't want to hear that any of you were involved in any fatal or otherwise severe accidents.

I'm posting this for a friend. She wants recommendations of restaurants or stores in New York (Brooklyn or Manhattan, preferably) that make good, soothing matzo ball soup or consomme. The criteria are that the broth must not be fatty, and she prefers that there not be much that's more solid than matzo balls or something similar. For example, I mentioned that Teresa's makes a good chicken soup with pieces of chicken in it, and she said she'd prefer no pieces of chicken. She doesn't care what the ethnicity or religion of the people cooking the soup are - Jewish, Chinese, Italian, whatever. I think that she would probably prefer the soup not to be very spicy, either. (She's looking for something that's partly curative.) Thanks in advance for your opinions, which I'll pass on to my friend.

Sandra: I and a friend of mine were at Katz's last night around 2 A.M., had pastrami sandwiches, and enjoyed them. They were a bit fatty (I knew there would be some fat on the edges because of the piece the sandwich guy gave me to taste, but it tasted so good - better than usual - that I said it was great). We took off some of the fat and enjoyed them. My friend also got some matzo ball soup, which he likes there (I've tried it before and also liked it). I also got some pound cake, which was very rich and also enjoyable; it was a big piece, so I tipped the guy a dollar. I washed it all down with some Cel-Ray, which is a unique taste that's not for everybody but which I like to have from time to time, partly for sentimental reasons. Put me on record as having absolutely no problem with tipping the sandwich guys. I have found that they give good service, and I think they deserve the tip. I haven't found that they gave me bad service before they realized I was tipping them. Once, I even forgot to tip one and came back later to give him a tip. (I always tip a dollar per sandwich, for what it's worth.) As for Second Av. Deli, I've previously mentioned that the last time I went there, I asked whether they had lean pastrami, was told they did, ordered a lean pastrami sandwich to go, ate it, found it was very tasty, but _REALLY_ fatty - just excessive. I resented that and haven't been back since. At Katz's, they give you a sample; then, you make up your own mind. I like that. I don't like lying, which is what the 2nd Av. Deli guy did.

I must preface this by saying that I am not much of a wine connoiseur, so keep that in mind. However, if you do have a chance to drop by Vittoria Sattui Vineyards in St. Helena, I'd be curious to know what you think. My brother and I visited their vineyard only because I liked the look of the main building on the brochure the car-rental place gave us. It looked like an old Tuscan or Umbrian brick house. Anyway, they gave us a free tasting. We found their red wines odd, but we liked their whites. I liked their Muscat wine so much that, though I hadn't planned on buying wine on that trip, I bought a bottle and shared it with my parents, who also really enjoyed it. My brother liked their Johannisberg Riesling so much that he bought two bottles. All for whatever it's worth. And yes, I think it would be nearly impossible to find those wines for sale anywhere other than the vineyard itself, certainly not on the East Coast. Unless things have changed in 3 years or so, you'd either have to buy it there or order a case to be mailed to you.

So I gather Daniel serves only dinner nowadays. Do you know why that decision was made?

Yeah, you're right, Ruby: That's the story. But considering the meaning of the story puts a way different connotation on the word "shlemiel" than "sucker," etc. A shlemiel is a clumsy or perhaps heavy-handed person who creates trouble for others. Anyway, that's how I've always understood the word.

My folks always told me that the shlimazl (literally: slim luck)was the one who always tripped and the shlemiel was the one who tripped him.

Well, if nothing else, this thread has provoked controversy and increased interest in this book. I look forward to reading some reviews by eGulleteers after they have read the book. I may well be interested in reading it, myself, but I think I'll read M. Boulud's book first.

I'd call someone who did that as something other than a joke a "shlemiel." What's the big deal in telling the waiter that the fois gras goes here and the duck goes there? Can't you find more important things to be irked about? Just to digress for a second: On Sept. 17 or so, when I was taking a taxi from my place in the East Village to my folks' place on the Upper West Side, I got caught in terrible traffic on 3rd Av. My thoughts were: "This traffic is a disaster... ...Wait a second! This is not a disaster. It is a mere inconvenience and slight annoyance, and it may cost me an extra 5 bucks or so. So what? The important thing is that I am alive, I have a place to stay, and nothing terrible is happening." In the scheme of things, isn't it an extremely minor annoyance (if any) for the waiter to bring the right dishes but ask who gets which dish? Sheesh, some people are impossible! (Hey, nothing personal. You're probably a nice guy, except to waiters who forget who gets which dish.)

That neatly sums up my attitude about decor. Well said.

I just thought I'd tell you. Thanks to you all, I made sure to call before 3:30 New York time. I was the first to get through and reserved for dinner at 8 on June 26. Thank you very much for your help, and I'll be sure to report on my experience when I get back to New York.

Wow! You folks are so picky! If a restaurant is expensive, I want decor. If it isn't expensive, any nice decor I can get is a bonus. I prefer not to sit near the door if it's cold; I prefer to have enough space to back up my chair enough to get up and get to the bathroom easily when necessary; I don't like to sit where I can smell smoke; and I prefer not to sit right next to the waiter stand, where that's an issue (but I enjoy sitting where I can see the kitchen; that's fun). Otherwise, I don't much care where I sit, as long as I can get the attention of the waiter. What I care most about is having good food (and, when I'm paying, for a fair and affordable price). A place with great food and great decor (and, of course, great service) is simply a great restaurant, but if the decor is just OK but unobjectionable, the service is acceptable, and the food is fabulous, I'm OK with that. On the other hand, if the decor is great, the food is mediocre, and the prices are high, I'm not interested in eating there at all. Back in the 1970s, Maxwell's Plum was known for having unique, interesting (many would say loud) decor, but the food was well-known to be mediocre. So when my older brother and I were in that neighborhood, we would get permission from the friendly staff to look at the ceilings, but we did not stay to eat there.

Please continue! The Madras Woodlands in New York (was east, IIRC) was a very pale shadow of the branch in Delhi (or, I assume, the original branch in Madras). Harbin Inn was an old standby Cantonese that served Chop Suey and Chow Mein. A childhood girlfriend's mother took me there with some frequency. I remember it being old, somewhat dirty, and cheap.

Sripraphai.

I'll keep everyone informed, Jayask. I'm glad everyone had a good time at the food fair, and I'm feeling a good deal stronger today, fortified by echinacea and goldenseal. Those herbal remedies really are helpful. What would I do without them?

I didn't mean to suggest that you meant to suggest it was a comprehensive list. Say, just what is a melancholic thistle?