Cleo

I mentioned this to my sister, since she is planning a fundraiser there in early May. We knew that the restaurant closed, but that the catering and event part is still in business. Anyway, she had a meeting with the event planners at Capitale yesterday afternoon, and since I told her about this thread, she asked them and according to them, they are still doing events there and have no plans of shutting that down. Hopefully they will still be around for her event in May!

Last night I made the wing sauce from the bottle of Frank's. It was 1/2 cup of Frank's hot sauce and 1/3 cup of butter. I didn't eat it, but apparently it was a hit with my guests.

I can deal with the heavy plastic plates (at other people's houses or parties), but the thought of using an old-fashioned paper plate for anything is repulsive to me. Plastic utensils don't bother me so much, like when I'm at work. But in my house, never a paper plate or plastic utensil is used. And everything just goes right into the dishwasher.

It's just beginning! As I said earlier in this thread, I just had a baby in October. Take my advice...cook all you can this week and do whatever else you can because once you have the baby, you will first be tired!!! But it's so worth it!!! Good luck!

I had my first baby in October (she's 3 months old today !). It's so weird now because the whole pregnancy seems like it was a million years ago! Anyway, during the first trimester I was pretty nauseous. There were many days that I would sit at my desk at work and eat macaroni and cheese and plain white rice for lunch. It just made me feel better. Once the nausea passed (at about 13 weeks), I didn't have any real cravings except for chocolate milk. I just couldn't control myself each morning. And the only thing that I really couldn't tolerate during the entire pregnancy was chicken. It just made my stomach turn.

Congratulations! I’m in the same position. I had my first baby (an amazing girl!) in October and I just went back to work this week . As so many people have said, planning has been the key. In addition to trying to be organized, I’m also trying to lose weight, so it’s especially important to plan. The planning was going well while I was on maternity leave, but now it’s even more challenging now that I’m back at work. I don’t really cook ahead and freeze things because we don’t really eat a lot of stews/soups, but I will cook a large amount of roasted vegetables at once and keep them in the refrigerator to have during the week as a side dish. On the weekend, I also plan out a basic dinner menu for at least Monday-Thursday, so I’m not scrambling when I get home. The meals are not gourmet, but easy and relatively healthy. On the weekends, we either order in or just sort of wing it. We’ve been taking our daughter to restaurants and it’s been fine…we just go early and it makes it less stressful for me. She usually stays asleep in her stroller anyway. Here in New York, we have the grocery delivery service Fresh Direct, and it has been a lifesaver for me. I get groceries delivered on Sundays and have all the fresh vegetables, meats, etc. for the week. If you have any service like this, use it! Good luck to you!

Thank you! But don't be impressed just yet. I keep going back and forth on whether I should even attempt to make a few dishes, or to just order in! I recently moved from the upper west side to 23rd & 1st, and Russ & Daughters or Ess-a-bagel just might be calling my name! We'll see how the week goes.

My family is coming to my place on Sunday for our Chanukah gathering. There's a total of 6 adults and 2 children (plus my 7 week old baby, but she doesn't eat much---yet!). They're coming over around 11 or 12 and we'd normally do bagels and lox, etc. (and of course latkes), but since we had a baby naming for my daughter this past weekend and had a ton of that food, I was trying to plan something else. But I'm at a loss. The only thing that I know is that we'll definitely have latkes, and for some reason, my mother is insisting on bringing her homemade macaroni and cheese. I was also thinking that I'd make some sort of fritatta. I was also contemplating making a French Toast Bread Pudding, but I feel like I'm leaning toward too many starchy dishes. Does anyone have any suggestions for some dishes that might be good for my Chanukah brunch?

About 5 years ago I bought an apartment on the upper west side and gutted and revovated the kitchen. My plan, like yours, was to stay there for 3-5 years. With regard to the refrigerator, I originally wanted one that would be flush with the counters because I liked the way it looked, although I prefer the top-freezer style. One thing to consider about the side by side counter-depth models is that they are generally wider than the top-freezer style. Therefore, you will lose some of the counter space next to the refrigerator. I ended up with a top-freezer model because I didn't want to sacrifice the counter/cabinet space, and I didn't think it was necessary to double the cost of the refrigerator. The plan that you have looks very nice. You definitely have to think about re-sale now, but, speaking from experience, I don't think the refrigerator depth will make the difference. The one other thing that I would recommend is getting some lighting under the upper cabinets. I didn't do that and I always wished that I did. Although my kitchen fixture was bright, I always felt that I didn't have enough light directly on the counters. By the way, I sold my apartment a month ago...exactly 5 years and 1 day after I moved in! (And for 2.5 times what I paid )

In theory this might be fun, but the few times that I have been on any of those boats, the food was absolutely awful.

In a weird way, the break-the-fast meal is one of my favorite meals of the year. I LOVE bagels and lox, etc., and it's not that I don't eat it throughout the year, but somehow after not eating all day, it just tastes so good! This year I'm pregnant and won't be fasting. But I've been thinking about this and plan to eat relatively light things during the day, so that I can still enjoy the meal at the end of the day along with everyone else.

I'm 33 weeks pregnant with my first child now and can totally relate to what a lot of people have said here. I was pretty nauseous from 6 weeks to about 13 weeks. Didn't actually throw up a lot, but had a constant feeling of nausea and did a lot of dry-heaving. It was nagging and just wouldn't go away. The worst time of day for me was right when I got home from work and had to think about dinner. Ugh. Anyway, the thought of food was repulsive. It's funny that other people mentioned chicken, because I couldn't eat it either. The sight, smell or thought of it made me want to fling myself out the window! (Even now I can only eat chicken once in a while.) My doctor just said to eat whatever made me feel okay during that time, and not to stress about getting the right nutrients. I don't think I ate a vegetable during that time. I did eat a fair amount of macaroni & cheese--it seemed to work. The other thing that was mentioned was talking about food. Don't keep talking about it. During the time when I wasn't feeling well, the absolute last thing I wanted to talk about was food. I couldn't even read food-related websites, e-gullet, or literally anything that mentioned food (including restaurant reviews, recipes, etc.). It was weird...my whole world had changed! But right around 13 weeks I was sitting at my desk at work and suddenly realized that I felt better. I never thought that day would come! People are constantly asking me if I've been craving anything, and the truth is that I really haven't had any odd cravings (I think my husband is secretly disappointed that I haven't sent him to the supermarket at 2am!) I'm sure it's hard for her to believe while she's living it, but the feeling will go away! And then take advantage of the 2nd trimester...it really is when she'll feel the best!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner as well since I was also going to suggest Sable's. Very good stuff. Definitely keep it in mind for next time.

I totally agree with this. For some reason my husband loves this place. I can (barely) tolerate it once in a while. But when I do get dragged here for an occasional lunch when we're in a hurry, the italian sandwich is okay.

Another vote for lunch here! It's delicious!

Since I live in Manhattan and don't have a grill, I either cook the corn in boiling water or recently I've started to cook it in the microwave. But I was thinking about roasting it in the oven tonight. Any suggestions for temperatures, times and/or methods (husk on or off)?

People always look at me like I have 2 heads when I tell them that I hate strawberries. I love all other kinds of fruit and I want to like strawberries, but I just don't get them (or any berries for that matter). And what I really hate is when a perfectly good chocolate dessert has fruit mixed into it in any way, shape or form. To me, the only acceptable fruit that goes with chocolate is bananas. And even that's marginal.

Just wondering, if you got there at 6:30 and the place was only 1/4 full, why did you sit at the bar for a half hour? Why didn't you just sit down at a table and order a drink there? In any event, I agree that you should have told her that you had to be out of there in a hurry.

Pan, since you live in NY, I would recommend the Duane Reade brand of stool softener. There is the kind with a laxative and the regular kind without a laxative. Buy the regular kind. I'm usually not one for generic brands, but there really is no difference here. I've also tried lots different types of fiber and I continue to take Fibercon caplets (although I buy the Kirkland brand at Costco). Sometimes the straight psyllium can be a little harsh on my system. I have had trouble with my digestive system forever, and a combination of extra fiber and the stool softener keeps me going (literally!). I also recommend Prilosec over-the-counter for heartburn and indigestion. It works wonders. Unfortunately, at 6 months pregnant, the heartburn, constipation, etc, only gets worse, and I can only take Tums. But I still keep up with my fiber caplets every day!

I was at the game on Friday night too. We have season tickets, but (thankfully) we don't go to every game. At the start of every season, we always compare the food prices to the year before to see how much everything has gone up. We always get a good laugh, but it's really so pathetic (the prices AND the food). Most times we bring our own food, not because we wouldn't spend the money, but because the food is so bad. Friday night we didn't have a chance to get sandwiches, and I wasn't in the mood for a hot dog, so for the first time in 4 years, I got pizza. Mistake. The small slice comes in a box, and I might as well have eaten the box, because that's exactly what the slice tasted like. And all for the bargain price of $4.50! Anyway, back to the wine that Mike got...does anyone have any idea how much that bottle cost?

Just for the record, pregnant women are not supposed to load up on so much "juice". Although people perceive it to be healthy, it has loads of sugar. According to the nutrition info on Mott's website, an 8 oz. glass of apple juice has 28 grams of sugar. According to the nutrition info on Pepsi's website, an 8 oz. glass of Pepsi has 27 grams of sugar. I'm not saying go ahead and drink Pepsi, I'm just stating the facts. I more or less only drink water with the occasional ginger ale or Sprite mixed in to settle my stomach.

Interesting topic since I am 5 months pregnant. And lemme tell ya, during the first 3 months, when I was feeling like hell, that last thing I wanted to eat was fruit or vegetables. Luckily that passed and now I eat a relatively balanced diet (including the occasional cheeseburger or potato chips). Anyway, I definitely think it’s a little strange that the instructor showed up with cookies and potato chips since you would think that he or she would want to promote healthful eating. However, I completely agree with the Elion_84’s theory that it’s cheaper and easier for most people to pick up a bottle of soda or a bag of chips rather than go through the effort of making a nice fruit salad. Especially for a bunch of strangers. And especially since most people are coming straight from work. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t go out of my way, but most people won’t and don’t. It's nice that you put the effort into bringing a healthy option.

We make these with Hebrew National cocktail franks. No matter what else we serve, people just can't get enough of these!

I'm pretty much a purist when it comes to tuna sandwiches. I like nice white water-packed tuna with Hellman's mayo, celery and red onion. On any kind of bread, but, depending on my mood, my 2 favorites are a bagel or a 7-grain. I like tomato and iceberg lettuce on the sandwich. I also like dill in my tuna, but then I'd rather not have the celery in there. And I have been known to put potato chips on my tuna sandwiches.

You should definitely reserve tickets for the Uffizi (we loved this museum) and the Accademia (where the David is). I was in Italy this past September and everything was pretty crowded. But when you have the reserved tickets, you just bypass all of the people in line. It's great! The easiest and cheapest way is to call this number in Florence: 011 39 055-294-883. You can call 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes you can reserve for both. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and only costs a few euros more than the normal entry fee. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services. And it's so worth it. Also, you don't pay in advance...you just give them your name and a time frame that you want to go, and they give you a reservation number. When you pick yup your tickets, you pay. If for some reason, your plans change and you don't show up, you don't lose any money.