Pan

Bluesman, that menu looks fine, but if you want another suggestion, eggs scrambled with farfel and some vegetables with some nice strong spices is a really pleasant thing for vegetarians and carnivores alike.

I really don't care what they call it, as long as it's delicious! But what annoys me is that the "selected areas" where the series is available include "Nassau-Suffolk areas; and New York City suburbs," but not the city itself.

The first seder I'm going to is held at the home of my militantly-vegetarian cousins. But they do eat eggs and make a great egg salad! Another dish I'm thinking of is one my mother and I made years ago, when we had an all-Italian seder with dishes from Edda Servi-Machlin's cookbook (her first, I believe). The dish was potatoes and tomatoes with fresh rosemary and I suppose a bit of olive oil and salt, baked in the oven (al forno). It was great! My other cousin makes a delicious rhubarb/raisin chutney which is not a mere seasoning but really a side dish. I mean, the possibilities are really almost endless. You could make funghi trifolati using kosher wine. You could make sauteed zucchini slices with tomatoes, onions, and whatever herbs you like. Etc., etc. And don't forget salad! I particularly like Hungarian cucumber salad (use a recipe that doesn't include sour cream, so as to avoid making the meal milchedik).

That meal at Abac looks really interesting! Bryan, thanks so much for sharing this with us. I'm really enjoying it. Did you fit in much "normal" sightseeing in between meals?

I take it, none of you have ever been there?

Great report, Majra! It must have been really hard on your daughter to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto while having a fever, but I'm sure she's glad she got there. I went to Tokyo and Kyoto in 1975 when I was 10, and I particularly loved Kyoto. I want to know what was in that medicine.

I realize it's not about food, but I have to ask: Tower Records is still in business in Japan?

I'd have much more sympathy for them than the MTA workers, because the lack of deliveries during a strike wouldn't paralyze the city. That said, I thought the MTA workers had very legitimate gripes, too; it's just that I had a problem with them holding the entire city hostage in the unique way that a transportation strike can do that.

How credible is it that low-paid workers would go out on strike and picket (thus denying themselves the opportunity to work and earn money during those hours) just to "swindle money," as the comment that you link to claims? I haven't been in those areas lately. To what extent are the strikers in fact "disturb[ing] the peace," and have any of them been arrested for doing so? Did they try to frighten you?

Hi, everyone. I'm going to a party at Salmon River Saturday night at 8 P.M. Should I have dinner there or eat somewhere else first and just have drinks? What do you recommend I order?

Speaking of buzz, am I the only one who finds it ironic that there are already three pages about an establishment that has not opened yet? Is this the equivalent of the Hot Stove League in baseball?

I feel tired just looking at your report on Per Se! How long did the meal take?

Huh? How would that explain three tables that were seated later getting served before these folks?

Ellen, I really enjoyed your blog! Continued good luck to you on your weight loss, your knees, your gig, and life in general!

Bob, I'm really glad you had a good time, but it looks like you didn't get out of Midtown at all on your trip. I think that's understandable, given the focus of the trip, but I hope you get a chance to explore more of New York next time.

Klary posted the following in the Dinner! thread: So I thought it would be a good time to bump this thread. I'm particularly interested in reading more savory rhubarb recipes.

I went to this restaurant as part of a party of four for dinner tonight. The paintings on the wall are loud and the music is a bit New Agey, but the food was not at all similarly cheesy. We had the following: Garden Salad ($3.95) - Large salad, looked like a typical American salad. I didn't try any. Roti ($2.95). Normal roti, several (at least three) slices. Eggplant Burta (Eggplant Cooked over Line Charcoal, Pureed and Tempered with Garlic and Spices, $10.95) - Delicious! Madras Chicken (Pieces of chicken Gentle Simmered in a Roasted Coconut Gravy with an Assortment of Spices, $15.95) - Excellent. Goan Shrimp Curry (which I ordered, $18.95) - Perfectly fine but not notable. I was thinking of the rendition I had had several years ago at Passage to India in Harrisburg, PA, and this version certainly didn't displace those memories but was quite acceptable. Chicken Tikka Masala ($16.95) - OK and seemed to be what my friend who ordered this was looking for. I had Masala Chai ($3 for a bit more than a cup) and what was supposed to be a plain lassi and was actually pretty sweet ($2.50, I think - the takeout menu I'm consulting doesn't list beverages) with the meal, and a friend had decaf coffee ($2.50). We also liked their papadams and sambhars, especially their rendition of the red raw onion/tomato/chili sauce. In spite of the garish art and music, this is a classy, very worthwhile, fairly priced Indian restaurant with some versatility, able to execute dishes from both southern and northern India well. I recommend it. Natraz Indian Cuisine Special Buffet Lunch Every day (Note: All our food was made to order, and I don't vouch for their buffet lunch) 125 Main St. Nyack, NY 10960 Tel.: 845-353-6655 Fax: 845-353-6235

Yeah, but that was my point: That the original derivation was pretty clearly Chinese, based on what I know and have read. And your point about its original meaning gives rise to another question: The derivation of "budu," the Malay word for "fish sauce." But that's off-topic for this forum.

There's also a semantic problem with the word "ethnic," but I won't revisit that again in this thread...

I doubt Malay has a good claim. Kicap in Malay means soy sauce, and surely, the Malays did not invent soy sauce, did they? I seriously doubt that!

Interesting reading, hummingbirdkiss. I really learned how to use chopsticks in Malaysia, but that was at Chinese restaurants; in Malay and Indian restaurants, chopsticks were not offered, but people ate either with their right hand, with spoon and fork, or with a fork. And if we're considering the Indian Subcontinent to be part of Asia, chopsticks certainly are not prevalent there. They're more of an East Asian thing. I don't remember ever "drumming" with chopsticks. I doubt I thought of it, despite my musical bent.

Unless you're in Tuscany and speaking Toscana. "Vino nero" is a local term for red wine, I do believe.

Thanks. I appreciate your reply and will look forward to your girlfriend's cousin's remarks.

Pan. I think you know where I reside so the answer is no.I don't see where it matters.[...] ← My implication was that if you've never dined at a restaurant, it seems questionable to have a view of how good or bad it is, or to cheerlead for it on any basis other than I suppose being a friend or/and fan of someone involved (but then you could be accused of being personally biased). No offense, just making explicit what was implicit in my question. And I now see that your objection is evidently to the nature of the review, not to the pro or con judgment on the restaurant that is contained within the review. (Or is that incorrect and do you object to any kind of negative judgment in any review?) I could offer counterarguments to your critique of critiquing, for the sake of argument, but would rather not do so in this thread. For the record, I have been ignoring most of Bruni's reviews and didn't read this one. It just struck me as odd for someone who's never been to the restaurant to offer an opinion about the review. If it had been a good review, would you have been as likely to criticize it?

tan, have you dined at Varietal?