Pan

Congratulazioni, Foodman and mrbigjas! Franci, that polpette dish looks very good! Ah, heck, everyone's contributions look good.

Where would lower highlevel start?

But you're near Pennsylvania Deutsch country now, aren't you? Besides, you have the Reading Terminal Market, right?

Damn, what did you bring up in those big suitcases?! I can see you're having fun. I'll definitely be enjoying this blog. I hope your sick relative gets better.

I was in Fresh Meadows seeing my flute repairman yesterday. Afterwards, I took the 17 bus into Flushing and hit my favorite places, but it was too early for me to be hungry for a full sit-down meal. I bought a couple of snacks at A&C Supermarket (the Ting Ting Jahe ginger candy now costs $1.49 a bag, up from $1.29) and then stopped by Chao Zhou for two leg quarters of Soy Sauce Chicken to go. I then walked over to Unique Pastry on 40th Road, got a Hot and Sour Vegetables Bing at Unique Pastry, and spoke with the proprietress. Unique Pastry right now has temporarily suspended its sitdown operation but is continuing its takeout operation as usual and the bing tasted exactly the same as always. I then went to Spicy & Tasty and got five cold dishes to go - the spicy chicken, the hot chili noodles, the seaweed, the eggplant with garlic sauce, and the bamboo shoots in hot oil. So far, everything from Chao Zhou and Spicy & Tasty is just as great as I remember. I have yet to open the eggplant or the bamboo shoots. They packed large containers of all the dishes, so I'll be eating them for a few days. I think I'll have some Chinese food for breakfast this morning. By the way, I stopped at the teahouse on the corner of Prince and 39th Av. and got some Taro Milk Tea to go. It was the strongest bubble tea I've ever had -- really strong and slightly bitter tea flavor. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but considering how tired I was yesterday afternoon, maybe it was what I needed that day. Next time, though, I think I'll hit another place for tea.

Good tongue, that's creme fraiche in there for a little acid and "funk". Thanks again for comming in (and for the very nice comments), it was a pleasure to meet you guys. ← The pleasure was all ours, believe me! I hope to have the occasion to come back fairly soon.

Percy, how did you get the asparagus spears to stand up?

Sethro makes an awesome dessert at Chanto with those strawberries! I loved the taste of them; they remind me of the little wild strawberries I gathered on the slopes of Mt. Butternut, in the Massachusetts Berkshires.

← I can't see any reason why it would be. It sounds like it's the same as the last time I ate there, after they changed their chef something like 12 years ago.

mascarpone, his wife and I had a great dinner at Chanto tonight. We started with an amuse bouche of crudites (sections of beet, baby carrots, a baby zucchini, and a section of celery) with a dip that I believe had olive oil, miso, and pureed cherries in it. The cherries were not noticeable as a separate flavor, but the blend was good and went particularly well with the celery, I thought. Next were the appetizers. Two of us got the King of Kimuchi and one got the Fluke Carpaccio. The King of Kimuchi was brilliant! There's no possible way I could do justice to it, but it was such an imaginative mixture of flavors and textures, with everything really fresh and high-quality! Inside the kimchi leaves were various things, including bitter daikon sprouts, fragrant cilantro, cashew nuts, absolutely unfishy tuna, scallops, and grilled shrimp, and there were pignoli on top of the leaves. The Fluke Carpaccio was much subtler but also excellent. We were then given ume siso rolls as a kind of palate cleanser. They were accompanied by very delicate very young ginger and also contained pickled ginger. Following that, I got the Sauteed Black Cod and my dining partners got the Hanger Steak and the Giant Shrimp Tempura. I really liked the cod, which was a perfect flaky fish cooked in Sake Kasu (lees) sauce and accompanied by lovely green and white asparagus spears - subtle and harmonious. The Hanger Steak was just perfectly cooked, with exactly the right amount of char, and the accompanying vegetables were delicious. The Shrimp Tempra was less flamboyant than the cod and the steak, but was made with very good panko and tasted good. We then were given a milk sorbet topped with a lot of orange foam and a small piece of subtle basil. It was very refreshing, a perfect palate cleanser. For dessert, I ordered the Sticky Coconut Cake, and the others ordered the White Sesame Tiramisu and the Chocolate Fondant. The Sticky Coconut Cake itself was good and reminded me somewhat of Malaysian kueh bakar (wood-roasted cakes) -- a complimentary remark for me. It came with a very soothing, excellent dessert soup made with coconut milk and little balls of watermelon. But the portion of the dessert that was most amazing was the condensed milk ice cream, which was not nearly as sweet as I would have expected and had somewhat of a cheesy taste. The tiramisu was subtle and harmonious. The chocolate fondant was a fairly typical molten chocolate cake made with good chocolate, but one of its accompaniments was a plum wine jelly which was lovely. We were also sent out another dessert, which we all thought was best of all: A great take on brittle, which included among other things popped rice, sesame seeds, and I believe poppy seeds, and which was only slightly sweet and a bit salty; wonderful stewed baby strawberries, which were somewhat tart and somewhat sweet; and a soy milk float, which was delicious and again only somewhat sweet. Goodness knows I have a sweet tooth, but I love desserts that dare to be only a little sweet. Sethro came out and spoke with us. He is not only a great pastry chef but also a really cool guy. I chose to have sake pairings with my meal, and they were very well-chosen. The sake that accompanied the kimchi was subtle and a bit fruity; the one that accompanied the black cod was a bit stronger; and I loved the dessert sake. We loved the space, which is an example of good modern architecture, has tall ceilings and plenty of space between tables, and lets patrons on the 2nd floor look out the big windows at the street below. The plates were also remarked upon as pleasing. Our service was great. The servers are knowledgeable about the food and drink and helped select the sake pairings, and seemed genuinely interested in whether we were enjoying our food and drink. Having tipped just over 20% on the entire bill including tax, I believe I still undertipped. I will have to remember to make it up to them next time. The entire staff was gracious and highly professional. Chanto is a relaxing restaurant, but make no mistake, these people are serious about their food and service, and are putting out a great product! [Edited to add that we enjoyed the selection of bebop and post-bop that was playing on the sound system. I thought it was really appropriate for the neighborhood, and hearing it helped prompt us to go to Small's afterwards for some great live music in similar styles.]

Taiwanese isn't so common here. I'm tempted to say Shanghainese, but Cantonese (or "Cantonese"-American) is way more common.

Thanks, John and Rich. I'll consider that idea.

But I think that's a perfect example of Kent's point. I'm a huge Katz's fan and have been for decades. But "the best pastrami"? Even if you just mean in NYC, isn't that a stretch? ← I have yet to try the pastrami places in the Outer Boroughs that I've seen recommended on Chowhound (posted -- where else? -- in a thread called best pastrami), but it seems to me that someone who calls Katz's the best pastrami in New York is not sticking their neck out. What's your candidate for a place in New York with better pastrami than Katz's? I haven't had a chance to try smoked meat in Montreal, so I can't say that Katz's is better than that. Unprovable, and therefore a good discussion topic. And yes, characteristic of New Yorkers (among others), such as in the following examples: eGullet topics on "THE BEST" in New York Chowhound "The Best" board for New York

Michelle, I'll be away this afternoon and for most of the evening, so since by the time I get a chance to read this thread again, it'll be Shabbat there, I'll wish you Shabbat Shalom now. Enjoy your food and wine, and I'll look forward to reading all about the meal later.

I'd be reluctant to order blind because there are certain things that I don't want to eat. For example, bell peppers are no good for me.

Of course! Is there anyplace where that isn't a common phenomenon? If so, I'd like to know about it. Perhaps there are some places that suffer from regional self-deprecation.

No, u.e. These can be bigger and are stewed in a rich, somewhat salty brown sauce seasoned with star anise, and the ones I had were accompanied by root vegetables (potatoes, carrots) and ginger, if I remember correctly. The ones I had weren't impossibly fatty at all, but were in fact falling off the bone from long cooking. The knuckle-sized spare ribs that are standard fare in Cantonese dim sum houses are cooked in black bean sauce. Looks like you had a great meal in Suzhou!

I think it sucks for a delivery person to demand an amount of money. When I was poorer, I used to tip $1 most of the time for delivery of $5.95 noodle soups at the defunct 13th St. and 1st Av. location of Mee, which I believe is why I ended up getting rusty nails in my soup twice. (I refused to deal with the restaurant after the second time and told them why.) The deliverymen had bitterly complained about their tips. Nowadays, I usually tip at least $3 per delivery (close to that even for delivery from Teresa's just around the corner), and for delivery from Congee Village (over 10 blocks away) or in bad weather, I tend to tip $4. Needless to say, I now do takeout more often. However, the delivery people like me and the food normally comes promptly and piping hot. (Sometimes, delivery from Congee Village take a while, because they are just so slammed!)

I went to Mancora last night with a friend. I felt the experience was not so great this time. I liked the mojito I got (my friend got a mango mojito which was too sweet for me but did taste nicely of mangos), but the food was so-so. First, the good point: I appreciated that they were willing to substitute very good roasted (and a bit candied) sweet potatoes for the roasted peppers that usually come with their Churrasco (Argentinian sirloin). (Bell peppers do a number on my stomach.) Now the criticisms: I ordered the steak medium rare and it came well-done (very slightly pink in the middle but dried out). I sent it back and it was replaced with meat that was essentially seared such that the middle was rare and the outside was done. It tasted good but the insides were really too tough and stringy. My friend got a tuna special (also grilled) that seemed a bit overdone to me, with the fish very slightly but noticeably fishy. Keeping in mind Fat Guy's currently active tutorial and Q&A about dining, I am recognized as a regular in this restaurant because I've eaten in a few times and have often gotten pollo a la brasa for takeout and had a drink at the bar while waiting. The server didn't know me but was fine; however, I was recognized by the hostess and the bartender who brought the mojito for me. I don't think that any of the problems I had were likely to be related to not knowing people at the restaurant. The tab was $55.40 plus tip ($66.00 total), by no means exhorbitant, but I wish I could depend on the uniform quality of their food a little more. It may be a while before I go back for anything but the chicken.

Michelle, it was interesting to read about the wine tasting. I haven't gone to a large number of wine tastings but have found them fun and interesting. I have one question about your report: Is there an advantage to cutting back on production?

When I was living in rural Malaysia, the chickens that were killed for food were more often cocks than hens, because hens lay eggs and thus are valuable for as long as they continue doing so, whereas one can do without some of the cocks and anyway, some of the eggs that were allowed to hatch grew up to be cocks, so people who kept chickens often had a few roosters around. In any case, the roosters that were slaughtered were all adults several months to years old, and they were normally slow-cooked in curries and soups. As long as those muscular yardbirds were cooked long enough (a few hours), the meat was no longer tough but was highly flavorful. And these birds weren't chopped up into tiny pieces.

Can't the vendors (whether farmers or not) at markets simply choose not to lower prices for someone who tries to bargain with them? OK, that's a rhetorical question, and one that was already answered in the affirmative in this thread. So to those who object to the decision of other customers to try to bargain, is the idea that you believe it's simply rude and disrespectful for them to try? Because I don't buy the argument that someone who bargains is trying to take advantage of the seller. This is a business transaction, and it takes two to decide whether and how to negotiate. If someone is selling produce and is such a pushover that s/he will lower the price when s/he would do better by maintaining it, s/he probably won't remain in business long. Farming and retail sales of food are businesses and the laws of economics do apply to them, as we all know.

When we were in pasars in Malaysia, we bargained. Sometimes, the fishmonger would decrease the price on the shrimps, sometimes not. Then we decided whether to get them or not. What often happened was that if we were completely uninterested in something, the vendor, who was trying to get rid of it, would actually follow us, calling out increasingly lower prices. I believe it is still standard to bargain on the prices of cloth and clothing for sale in pasars, but if those prices are already low, the vendors may not go down. I remember bargaining on the price of flipflops, but I don't remember if I got the price down. I found on my last visit, in 2003, that fruit vendors really seemed to have pretty set prices at pasars. I was surprised by that, given my previous experience of bargaining EVERYWHERE except for restaurants and a small number of department stores (which were just coming in) in the 70s -- EVERYONE bargained with the fishmonger who drove his bicycle through the rural township where I lived, carrying the daily catch of ikan selayang and sometimes ikan kembung (both types of mackeral, I think) -- but I didn't really have trouble accepting the new ways because the produce was fantastic (what I wouldn't give now for fresh bananas and rambutan and jambu air like they had for sale!) and the prices were fairly low for an American. No-one seemed to hold it against me when I tried to bargain, though. I did not try to bargain on the prices of cooked food (whether premade or to order). Prices were marked, and quite fair, in places like the Pasar Malam (Night Bazaar) in Kota Bharu. I don't think that kind of bargaining is normally done in Malaysia, but I of course stand to be corrected.

You're right. It's a shame that CB doesn't serve chicken feet, because really good chicken feet are something that I would gladly pay a premium for. I haven't had any really good ones since the last time I was in Malaysia. Ed, when would you advise us to go for dim sum at CB? 10-noon or so on weekdays? Are they open that early? If I usually spend about $13-15 for dim sum at a place like Jing Fong or Harmony Palace, how much should I expect to pay at CB? $30 per person for lunch? Do they have salt-baked shrimp with jalapenos?

It makes it a great pastrami place, and to me, that's sufficient for mention in ANY guide of New York food or restaurants. And as far as I'm concerned, who cares if 100,000 places make lousy pastrami? I think that's irrelevant at best, and if it is relevant, it's inasmuch as that makes the pastrami at Katz's that much more revelatory. Perhaps not, but perhaps enough for at least one Michelin star. But I think that the greatest dim sum restaurants, or at least some of them, also serve great dinners. That would give them a much stronger claim on stars. Of course, the Michelin inspectors have their own biases (or, if you prefer, point of view), which I don't share.