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The innovative Bruno Pizza deserves a mention in this thread. I posted a meal report on Chowhound a few weeks ago, when my girlfriend and I went there: http://www.chowhound.com/post/bruno-pizza-1023783 I would sum up our first time there this way: It's a very interesting restaurant that is really like no pizzeria I've ever been to (Franny's in Prospect Heights is closest, or was closest when I went there [it's been a few years since the last time], but the taste profiles of the things I tried there were less unusual). They embrace strong flavors, including spicy/peppery, smokey, fermented/funky, perfumy, salty and fatty, and they combine them in interesting ways, so that even if the particular combination of toppings you try isn't completely to your taste, there are others. Their ingredients also seemed to be of consistently high quality, and they know how to make a really good crust. Plus, their wine list was great and if you drink wine at all, having some wine to cut through and combine with those strong flavors should be part of your experience. It's really too bad to read about Totonno's deteriorating. This is the original Totonno's flagship in Coney Island, right? None of the others count, really, as they're just paying for the privilege of using the name and aren't connected with the family. By the way, mikeycook, next time you're thinking about going to Grimaldi's, try Juliana's, which is just around the corner and which is now the Grimaldi family's place (Grimaldi's is not; I believe it's owned by people who bought it from people who bought it from the Grimaldi's).

That sounds amazing! Was it? Can you remember which courses you felt worked best?

A question about wine service: Did you ask what price the wines that they recommended were, or were you actually surprised by the prices when you saw them on the check? I always look at prices unless someone else is treating me and money is no object for them.

If you are interested in Korean barbecue, I haven't been to Kang Suh in years, but my favorite places - and many other connoiseurs' - if you're staying in Manhattan and not going to Northern Boulevard or elsewhere in Queens - are Madangsui and Don's Bogam. I'm not knowledgeable about the places in Queens, Nassau County, and Northern New Jersey, but if you want to save money and have what people I very much respect say is equally good if not better Korean food, including barbecue, check around.

I was shocked to be informed of Steven's death by a friend on Facebook whom I know from our interactions on this site. I have several longstanding friends, several of them fellow musicians, whom I met on eGullet and might never have met otherwise. Like many of the others participating in this thread, it has been years since I posted or read anything on this site - so long, in fact, that I had forgotten my password and had to go through the password recovery process. I learned a lot about food, dining, alcoholic beverages, and the restaurant industry from my years of reading and participating on this site, and I have enjoyed many delicious meals and many hours of great conversation via the friends I made here. I encourage everyone reading this thread who hasn't already done so to read the full New York Times obit and especially the blog post by Jason Perlow. Fat Guy and Jason will always have a place in the history of food blogging and interactive food websites, and I can add some personal recollections of the incredibly impressive illustrated online clinics that were given on different kinds of cooking techniques, the threads on particular dishes that a whole host of people cooked in different ways and posted photos and recipes for every month, the interviews and Q&A's with some of the most famous and cutting-edge chefs and food writers, the incredibly funny threads by Anthony Bourdain (I'll never forget the one in which he said he felt like he had been skull-fucked by a walrus after a night of wining-and-dining debauchery with his friend, Michael Ruhlman). I really can't imagine what a horrible loss this is for Ellen and P.J. I hope you and the others who loved Steven will have friends and relatives around to comfort you in the months and years ahead. My heart goes out to you.

I can't believe I forgot my main dish: Sicilian Spiced Duck Breast w/preserved orange & root vegetables - an excellent variation on Canard a l'Orange. It was delicious.

Where did you go, and how was it?

Grace: Grand Sichuan St. Marks is my standby for pickup and delivery, but in Chinatown, I like South China Garden (formerly Cantoon Garden) best for banquets, and my most common standby for informal solo or small-group dining is Great NY Noodletown. Another good place, especially for lunch (I believe they still close early) is Wing Huang on Lafayette St. Excellent roast duck, as good or possibly better than Noodletown's, and that's saying something.

Hi, everyone! I took a friend out for dinner at Scarpetta yesterday and am just posted a review at Open Table, so I'll copy it here, with some additional text: All dishes were good and these were great (I'm listing these and the following dishes essentially in order of pure deliciousness, but the first two are really a pick-'em): Duck/Foie Gras ravioli w/Marsala reduction; Polenta fricassee of truffed mushrooms (awesome texture on the perfectly combined cheese and polenta, and great mushroom and truffle taste); Coconut Panna Cotta w/fantastic guava soup & caramelized pineapple; Short Rib Agnolotti w/hazelnuts, brown butter & horseradish (what a fabulous combination!). All had strong tastes w/subtler ones in a delicious balance. Braised Short Ribs of Beef w/vegetables & farro risotto were about as good as a dish of its type could be: reminiscent of my mother's long-cooked beef stews, but w/totally tender strips of beef braised in wine & perfect vegetables along with the "farrotto." Rhubarb tart w/pineapple gelato & Muscat gelee - not enough rhubarb but otherwise excellent. (I almost couldn't taste the small amount of rhubarb at all - too much sugar, but great pineapple taste and a great little tart.) Black cod - not as good, somewhat fishy, not for everyone. Good, fair-priced wines (we had the Rose on the menu for our first quartino, then a good red wine whose name I regret I have forgotten for our second), terrific service! Overall, my friend loved the service and food more than I did and felt it was among the best meals he had ever had, or at any rate that the duck/foie gras ravioli was among the best pasta dish he had ever had. However, I really do agree with him that the service was excellent. From beginning to end, everyone was very professional, helpful, and welcoming. And as for the food, I'd rate it a solid 3 stars on my personal 4-star rating scale - a fair value at just under $200 even plus tip in New York prices. Plus, this is a restaurant that takes its interior decorating seriously, and it shows and was very much enjoyed by us, as were the presentations of the dishes - including some, like the fritto misto, that we didn't eat but saw being delivered to other tables. This dinner was a special occasion - a celebration of one of my best friend's Ph.D. dissertation defense - and the restaurant came through admirably.

Thank you! I reserved a 10-course kaiseki at Kyo Ya for tomorrow. I'll report back.

I appreciate that pointer. I still don't know if I can even get reservations, though. They're not on OpenTable, and they open for dinner at 5:30 (in 35 minutes). So I'll see.

WD-50 is too risky, in my opinion, at its price point, given the value of money to me. We could love it or we could hate it. As for 11 Madison Park, I had a disappointing experience there a couple of years ago and don't plan on going again on my dime. Sake is fine, and I will try to get reservations at Kyo Ya this time. If they are booked, I will consider other places, and if I can get reservations, I'll certainly keep other recommended places in mind for another time. In any case, I will report back and thank you for your suggestions.

What about Kyo Ya? I've never been there. Their kaiseki looks very interesting.

Hi, everyone. I figure that my query is likely to be useful beyond the particular occasion that's generating it, and it's no longer 2009, so I've taken the title of a 2009 thread and changed the year on it. So here's the situation: I want to take my girlfriend out for a great meal for her birthday. She loves delicious food, with or without some wine (and 1 to 1 1/2 glasses are usually sufficient for her). Last year, I took her to Degustation for a 10-course tasting menu with some wine (no pairings), which she considered probably the best meal she had ever had. It cost me some $240 including tax and tip, as I recall. I'd prefer not to pay more than that again this time but would be happy to top that in quality, if possible. My absolute maximum, including 2 glasses of wine apiece, tax, and tip, is $300 total for two. To give you more ideas, my girlfriend has really enjoyed the wide variety of cuisines represented in the restaurants I've taken her to. She's enjoyed Burmese food (Rangoon Restaurant in Philadelphia), various regional Chinese cuisines, North and South Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian (though all the coconut in our meal was hard on her stomach), Greek, Turkish, Italian (loved Lupa), Ethiopian, Yemeni, Moroccan, etc., etc., and also lunch at Jean Georges, dinner at the bar at Momofuku Ssam Bar, and a delicious dinner at Apiary (it was on a Friday, so no prix fixe, and it cost $150 for the two of us and was worth it - I thought our meal was outstanding in every way). One place I've been to without her that impressed me recently was the Bar Room at the Modern ($60 for a Restaurant Week dinner, including the second-best sweetbread preparation I've had in New York [Degustation's was the best]). I also liked the appetizers I had at a Restaurant Week lunch last summer at Gramercy Tavern quite a bit. What I'm basically looking for is a varied meal, bursting with imaginative flavors; excellent, fresh ingredients cooked expertly; a good wine program (I'd consider beer pairings, too) including well-priced wines by the glass ($14 or less) or/and quartino/demi carafe, etc.; preferably, not such a huge amount of food and not so terribly rich that it will be a real problem for a sometimes delicate stomach; and all possible within $300 for 2 people. What do you suggest? Thank you very much in advance. By the way, her birthday is actually on Wednesday, February 24, but because I've been focused on practicing up a challenging work for a concert on the 23rd, I think it will end up being a post-birthday meal, just like last year. Finally, I looked up Momofuku Ko. Their dinner menu is $125 and their weekend lunch is $175. If their wine prices aren't outrageous, it might not bust my budget too much. Do you suggest I go that route, or would you suggest some other possibility?

This looks like a fun place to take my girlfriend. I love the big pictures in your report, weinoo!

You should look at the Pre Theater thread for some ideas, but I have an easy answer for your quest for non-upscale Greek food near Times Square: Go to Uncle Nick's, 747 9 Av., between 50th and 51st Sts. It's probably best not to go at super-peak hours, but their food is good and the place is informal and inexpensive. There's also a very good Greek bakery (no place to sit inside, but very helpful counter people) called Poseidon, on 9th Av. between 44th and 45th. Their items can be a little oily, but they taste good, and they have both sweet and savory pastries.

For my money, and with all due respect (chacun a son gout, etc.), Carmine's sucks and doesn't feel like anyplace in Italy at all. It isn't good Italian-American food, either. And it's not even that cheap, especially for what it is. I wouldn't recommend it at all, especially not for a wedding reception.

I went back to Pylos recently with my girlfriend. We got a couple of mezedes (she particularly liked the octopus, which she had never had so tender) and perfect Greek comfort food: Moussaka for her and Pastitsio for me. We shared, and both were thoroughly pleasant. Because of how we ordered, it didn't even cost much - probably about on part with Kefi.

I don't think I've ever seen a hugely positive review of Buddha Bodai, but Shark's Fin Soup rarely has actual shark's fins in it - those are very expensive! The idea of the soup is that it's thickened, as if with shark's fins. I'm not sure I really understand the idea of vegetarian pho. I guess it must be made with vegetable stock, or does it have some kind of vegetarian mock-beef stock? Anyway, I can't give you any first-hand pro or con on Lan Cafe, but one thought I have for you is that Banh Mi Saigon Bakery, Mott St. between Hester and Grand, makes great Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch (I believe they close at 6 PM, although their menupages.com page says they close at 7, so maybe they extended their hours). The #6 sandwich on their menu is Banh Mi Chay Buddhist, and while I haven't had it (I usually stick with their spicy Banh Mi Ga - i.e., chicken sandwich), I'll bet it's great, and though I may be wrong, it strikes me as a much more likely thing for Vietnamese people to have than vegetarian pho. There's no place to sit there, though, so keep that in mind. If you have any interest in pizza, there's very good pizza in New York and it's easy to get pizza with no meat toppings. For the most part, New York isn't really strong in Vietnamese food.

For South Indian, I haven't tried Pongal lately but do remember liking it when I did. I love Saravanaas - if you go, you'll do best by getting idli, masala dosas/utthapams, and dessert - and Chennai Garden. Madras Mahal is also good, but perhaps a cut below Saravanaas and Chennai Garden. Almost any of the recommended Italian restaurants make vegetarian items. For example, Lupa has excellent vegetable appetizers, and you could easily make a good meal out of them with or without a vegetarian primo, and dessert. (Lupa is not THAT close to a subway, but you didn't say how far you're willing to walk! To most Manhattanites of normal mobility, ANYWHERE in Manhattan is close enough to a subway.) Dim sum is indeed difficult for vegetarians, but you could try the vegetarian items at Dim Sum Go Go. Some of them are very good - I particularly recommend the Chinese Parsley Dumplings and Mushroom Dumplings - and they also have vegetarian items on their regular menu. Have a look. Some of their regular menu items are excellent and some are kind of bland, but I think you have a very good chance of having a meal that is good there. It's actually my standby for dim sum and I always get at least one or two vegetable dim sum items when I go there, though I'm not a vegetarian.

(1) Do the restaurants have to be in Midtown? If not, which locations do you favor? (2) What's your price range? (3) Do you have any cuisine preferences, other than dim sum? (4) Do you have any other preferences (decor, etc., etc.)? Once you answer those questions, people will be able to give you useful recommendations.

Yeah, I also would recommend Rocco's, if you're staying in Manhattan, and don't like Veniero's or Ferrara. However, if you're willing to go to Bensonhurst, Villabate is wonderful and far superior to Rocco's or any other place I've been to in Manhattan.

I really don't frequently eat in the West 70s, but right near there, on 77th and Broadway, is Big Nick's, a diner where I had a decent, very cheap meal quite a number of years ago. I've been to their 71st and Columbus location more recently and didn't like it, though. Do not consider this a recommendation. I'm just posting in order to inquire from people who may have been to the 77th St. location more recently: Is it decent nowadays, or not?

Affineur (a word I learned on these boards).

Nope! And I've had wonderful food as a tourist in other cities, sometimes thanks to posts on eGullet.