TrishCT

The River Cafe is a beautiful restaurant full of fresh flowers. Wherever you sit you will have a million dollar view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline, and from the bar area outside, a glimpse of Lady Liberty. The menu changes depending who the chef is, and the place has attracted a lot of top chefs along the way. The restaurant is still in its glory, in my humble opinion. Although the meal may not be the level of New York's top restaurants, it is quite good. Another huge plus is the service. The waitstaff is attentive not intrusive, and they find a way to make people feel very comfortable. There is a special place in restaurant heaven for staff like that. If you are going for a special occasion, let them know!!! Finally, they serve a dessert called The Brooklyn Bridge. At least one person should order it at the table. Desserts can be be quite good and it's a lot of fun sharing them. This is lovely special occasion-type place.

I've caught bits here and there. Very disappointing crop of contestants. Agree with the choice of Guy...he really stands out in this field, because he knows his stuff and has an energetic personality.

I would say Lupa and Becco do not belong in this thread. They are not low priced. Becco's pasta special is what...$21.95... for three pastas. $22 is not especially cheap. Especially considering Becco usually includes two really cheap simple pastas, and one interesting special filled one like lobster ravioli. It's not a bad deal...because it also includes a nice antipasti as well. It's an okay deal. And the rest of the menu doesn't qualify as being low priced. So unless you all get the pasta special there isn't anything "low" priced. The wine list is very nicely priced as well. But all in all it is not a $10 for a nice plate of ravioli type of joint. Lupa's pastas are meant as appetizers. If you get a pasta and a main dish you will spend at least $30 and that's without anything to drink. Not low priced in my opinion. So far, not many reasonable OG alternatives have been mentioned. Was hoping there would be a lot more. I mentioned Trattoria Trecolori on the OG thread because it has the same or lower pricepoint as OGizzal (love that phrase, Daniel). So where do you get some low-priced, good ravioli?

Restaurants would like 20% no question. Do they get it? Sometimes. But putting aside the fancy, more expensive places... I don't see a lot of 20% tipping in the regular mom and pop, diner, and smaller places. I see more 15% tipping from typical New Englanders, 10% if they are feeling especially cheap. Contrary to the popular belief that better service = better tips, I often do not see that at all. I have dined at places where the service was exceptional and my dinner guests were very satisfied..as the popped off a 10% tip. When that happens and it comes to my husband's or my attention, some extra dollars will find there way in...but often it doesn't come to our attention...especially when you are a guest and someone else is picking up the entire tab. As for the Dunkin Donut change cups...big subject of debate. When the dust settles I'd say it's more of a place to dump some spare change. I doubt anyone calculates an amount based on the price of what they are buying.

I've been dragged to OG numerous times. For some people it is a "Let's go celebrate so and so's birthday" kind of place. And I go. With a smile. Inside I cringe. Agree with the breadsticks and salad comment. Both are quite edible. But the red sauce..oh my gosh...so bad....so next time I try the chicken marsala...oh my gosh...deplorable... So the next time I get the salad and bruschetta...okay I can deal with that. My in-laws, whom I love, are your typical OG customers. They were so happy when the one in Times Square opened up because that gave them somewhere to eat when they went to NYC to see a show. One time, I went with them to the theater and told them I made reservations at a little italian restaurant nearby. I could tell by their shifting eyes they were uneasy, but they humored me much as I humored their OG outings of yore. My choice was Trattoria Trecolori. Once pop-in-law dug into his black linguine with clams and mussels, and mom-in-law sampled the tiramisu they were hooked! At a comparable price to the OG, no more OG for them when they come to New York !!! I like to think I did my part for humanity.

I'm not sure of its exact neighborhood (SoHo, Village, NoLita all blend in to me), but Cafe Gitane is pretty good. No-frills decor. I've been for brunch and lunch.

As a journalist myself, I just don't think writers should abuse their positions for sexual favors. I read some of GG's exercepts in New York Magazine, and in particular it seemed that Burt Reynolds was very aware that he should sexually satisfy Gael in order to get good press from her. There is such an ewwwww factor here.

There were about 7 or 8 varieties of chocolate bon bons, and of those 7 or 8, there were only a few pieces of each. As for the gift, I gave to someone from another state. Had I been around when he opened it I have no doubt there would have been sharing.

I went to Kee's in SoHo a few weeks ago, and as others have posted, there were very few varieties to choose from and I was only looking to buy six pieces. Very disappointing. I guess it's hit or miss? I sampled an orange confit chocolate that Kee was nice enough to offer me in the store. I gave the box I bought as a gift. Was told they were very good.

Then a lot of people on here suck too, because a number of folks on this board, myself included, also contribute to Chowhound in various ways. I find Chowhound to be a useful resource, especially when I am traveling. I do not consider it a rival or threat to E-G, the two are totally different and serve different purposes. We'll see what happens...

This is something I'm curious about, not being in the business. What would be the practical value for anyone more than a few years out of school of being on the show? With Project Runway, the publicity value was obvious even if you didn't come in first. The cash grand prize of $100K would be pretty good for the amount of time spent; however, if it's like Project Runway they don't just write you a check, although they make it sound that way. Jay McCarroll of PR didn't even take the money because (as I understood it) it was in return for licensing arrangements that he didn't think were that good. I didn't know what the equivalent would be with food, but I doubt whether they just get a chunk of money, and that's only if you come in first anyway. Also, by going on the show you risk humiliation if you are kicked off early, which would be more of a problem for a person who's farther along. Those shows are not completely fair and it could happen to anyone. ← While at a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he was asked why people agreed to be interviewed by his "reporters" considering they were going to be the butt of jokes... Stewart replied... "People will do anything to be on television."

After reading some other posts here I tried to think more about what loses me on this show. First, I thought Ramsay was a hoot, but his show wasn't...and that PBS show didn't grab me either. I loved original Iron Chef, and am now just warming up to new IC because I really want to see some of the challengers. They are fascinating. It is less about the food. Top Chef is about food...and we can't taste it...which is a critical part of judging it... Project Runway was about (when it wasn't The Santino Show), fashion, which I could understand by looking at it.... I could judge it vicariously. Since the producers of both shows are the same...I suspect there will be much more behind the scenes drama to get the audience engaged. It will be heavily dependent on the cast grabbing people's attention. Compared to PR--Cynthia reminds me of Heidi (the Appalachian contestant, not Ms. Klum). I think she was brought in as the lowbrow factor to entertain the crowd. She's not mean enough for Santino... that honor will mostly go to what's his name, David? The guy with blondish/whitish hair? In one of the promos he turns to a contestant and says "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" in a bitchy way.... Hey David, lighten up it's just cooking! Sheesh now I'm mimicking Santino... Also, Handmc, there is an annoying tagline on the show, like "You're in or you're out..." I believe I heard "Put away your knives..."

I watched this show because it came on after Project Runway, otherwise I would have skipped it. I have no real interest in watching the remainder of the shows...if I happen to be around I might watch...but it isn't must-see like PR. The best thing I liked was they booted off Ken...and that was actually refreshing to see the "enfant terrible" go right away. That was the most frustrating part of PR, watching the ET stay week after week, but I digress. (I am interviewing PR's Emmett McCarthy for a magazine, what a cool guy.) But just like that Ramsay thing and that other cooking comp. show on Fox...can't remember name... Cooking competitions like this for some reason don't entertain me. I think Bravo is about two years behind on cooking shows.

Interesting, in another thread Chris said his episodes are airing in October... I'll watch tonight...who's in this battle?

On the original Iron Chef, the chefs were also given a short list of secret ingredients, so although it was a secret, they were prepared for whatever they got. Hey Chris, when are your episodes airing?

ViceVersa is one of my faves for italian/continental. Le Madeleine has nice french. 21 Club has a pre-theater prix fixe special. If you've never been, it's old school New York, old boy, clubby... kinda out of place nowadays, almost like in a time warp (and not so much about the food, although it can be pretty good). My one meal at db Bistro Moderne was my last, as service was so cold and rude it spoiled the meal.

"Then again, if they really like chocolate, they prefer dark to milk..." Not necessarily.

Sounds like some very interesting chefs. I can't wait to see the judging debut of Chris Cognac. Coff..coff...Jason and Steve...pick up the phone and call FN...

I thought I heard in a tv interview with the woman who picks out the steaks that they also select some filets and some sirloins. "We can use them," I thought was what she said. What that means, if anything, I don't know. I would defer to Mr. S. Shaw. As for the sundae...my daughter ordered one and loved it. I had a problem with the schlag which tasted like cool whip to me. I thought the key lime pie was terrific (without schlag). I like the pic of the Luger coins on your table...ahh the "meatorific" memories.

Campbell Scott told me in an interview that he co-directed Big Night along with Stanley Tucci (they were high school classmates). It was his first directing experience, after acting for years. He said making Big Night was great fun but he found himself getting very impatient with Isabella Rossellini for no good reason other than all of a sudden as a director he wanted to hurry things along in each scene. He was kinda mad at himself for being like that, especially since he vowed never to be like that when he was a director. Anyway... Campbell directed another movie called Off the Map...which did not get much play at the box office but if you EVER get a chance to rent this on video or DVD do so! It is just terrific and it does involve food in meaningful ways. It stars Sam Elliott (like you've never seen him) and Joan Allen. My all time fave though is Babette's Feast. A woman finds meaning in her life again through the art of creating a beautiful meal. Truly inspiring. Footnote...Can you ever watch Willy Wonka (the original) and not crave chocolate?

Actually I refrigerated each individual flavor (except for the last one because it got cool on its own) to get them colder than room temp (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). I wouldn't use warm jello, it will melt the other layers. If you re-read the recipe on RecipeGullet is does mention refrigerating the jello in the cups for 5 minutes or so. Also...I made a mistake when I made my first one. When unmolding I dipped the pan in hot water. It started melting the red layer. That's why the red is so messy in my pictures. Just dip in warm for a few seconds and repeat if needed. Do NOT melt it like I did. I am making another one this weekend we'll see how that goes. **Thanks for the tip about the dollar store glasses...good idea!

Personally I love the idea of using coconut milk. It sounds tasty. So much creativity on here. Randi I think your "jigglers" are really cute. I don't have any martini glasses... sigh... so if anyone makes them in them please post a pic, maybe I can justify buying some.

For my mold, I used grape, berry (that is the WILDEST shade of blue!), lime, pineapple, orange, raspberry. I am wondering what this would look like in a martini glass.

Nice job Rachel! I used two tablespoons of yogurt and that seemed to work out fine. I wouldn't go three either.

A young reporter I work with told me her favorite jello shot is orange jello made with half water, half orange-flavored vodka, and in each shot is a mandarin orange segment which has been soaked in the vodka.