ErinB

I'm going to be in Providence for 3 days next week. We'll probably be doing at least one dinner out at a nice place and also will be looking for some places for lunch. I'll be staying at the Westin. I went through the previous posts and it seems like these are the suggestions: Alforno: Italian, which I've heard excellent things about, especially their baked pastas. Neath's: What kind-of cuisine is this? Can anyone elaborate more on this? Gracie's: New-American XO Cafe: ?? Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm looking for: lunch options with good food close to my hotel any great ethnic food if i had to choose 1 high end meal, where should i go? I'll post a full review after my trip.

thereuare, That's interesting that you had that experience. I was there about a year ago, and had some of the best service ever. Very attentive waiters, friendly, etc. Actually one of my favorite dining experiences ever. I wonder if they were just having an off night, or if it has slipped ...

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think we're going to do Joe's. They have a nice outdoor area, and we made a reservation. I'll let you know what we have and how it is.

ITA. I've had one meal there. There are so many other places you can eat with better food and better prices. It wasn't a bad meal, but it didn't stand out.

I'm visiting LA from the East Coast. Staying in Marina Del Rey. Looking for a really good Sunday brunch that's not too formal. Price isn't an issue. Ideally, it would be great if we could find something within 15 minutes from us, but we'll drive anywhere for really good food.

I'm in Charlotte for the next 3 days from CT. I've looked up the indian place, Jaipur and can't seem to find it listed? Anyone know anything about this?

Kelly - welcome to Egullet. And, your post is not suspect, since other people on this site have also said the same thing about Taste ...)

Ditto on the miso sake glazed salmon. Also, I would also second the person who said "ignore the low-fat part of the cooking." This is one of the most sensible cookbooks i've read in regards to "low fat cooking." She still uses just the right amount of fat where it will give the maximum amount of flavor.

My favorite smoothie cookbook is "Super Smoothies." I always try to use a mixture of fresh and frozen fruit. I always freeze my bananas. My favorite combination of the moment is peaches and blackberries. In terms of calories, fruits like cantaloupe and hondeydew are low calorie, use low-fat yogurt. This book also uses soymilk and silken tofu in some of the recipes.

Just had an excellent meal at Diwan last night. We had the venison chops, tandoori halibut, and the chicken vindaloo. I asked for the wild boar chops, but they didn't have them. Initially, i didn't mention Egullet, but then when they didn't have the wild boar chops, i told them i was from egullet and mentioned Suvir's name, and that they were highly recommended. The service was very good before i mentioned egullet, but after we mentioned egullet, we got a free round of after dinner drinks and the chef came out and talked to us. My friends, who didn't know about the site, were highly impressed. I haven't been to many indian restaurants, but in terms of the tandoori, it was the best and highest quality i've ever had. I thought the chicken vindaloo was very good, but nothing amazing. We also had the chai pot de creme, which was amazing. There were so many spices that came out with each bite.

Flajoe, thanks for your report. I agree with all of your assessments .. I've been to most of those places .. I prefer not to add toppings to pizza like Sally's because it weighs down the crust and changes the cheese texture. You have to be careful about what you add. Tomatoes are usually ok. Meat is not. That's my little evaluation.

I personally think that's the reason why they wouldn't push back the opening is to heighten the drama of the tv show. And it sounds like a lot of other things that happen in the future are staged as well ... I have been reading everyone else's posts, and after thinking more about the show, i'm getting more and more skeptical. I mean how are you supposed to know what's real and what's not. I'm sure the average viewer won't care ... but for people like us .... I'd be interested to know, after the show was over, how many people he kept, and how many he has to fire.

Overall, good show. Product placements: really annoying ... but i guess i should start getting used to them. But, seriously, did anyone count how many times Coors was mentioned or shown? Also, i'm pretty sure Rocco was forced to stick to the deadline, to heighten the drama of the show. The NYTimes article mentioned that normally a restaurant opening can be and is delayed ... And - yes -- the pink panther music was hilarious ... hehehe. Are all landlords in NYC that serious? He was seriously out of control. What does he expect? He has a restaurant that's being filmed on TV. I'm surprised he allowed it in the first place. OH - that's right, he probably needs the rent money. Zilla: they had to hire 100 people to make up for the large amount of incompetent people that they've hired.

The whole conversation was very weird. On second thought, maybe she was just mixing me up with something else she was doing. I'd better call and double check my reservation.

I was in Tofino 2 years ago ... We had a great meal at a restaurant, but i can't remember the name of it. It was in a small plaza that had a sporting goods/clothing store ... It was Pacific Rim cuisine. I had halibut soaked in sake over rice with a curry sauce and vegetables. I think it may have been the Raincoast Cafe, but i'm not sure ... It was not right downtown, it was a little outside, but pretty close.

Where are you coming from? Do you want to eat in Westport or are the surrounding towns ok?

I ate at Thali of India twice, and it was excellent. I had the chicken palak which was great. The chicken was very moist. I also had, i forget the name of the dish, but lamb with a curry cream sauce with raisins and nuts. Again, the lamb was fresh and very moist. I also ordered the vegetable samosas which were very good, but just had potatoes in them. I prefer my samosas with raisins. But the crust was very light and not too greasy. The person i was with ordered the mixed tandoori grill. It seems good, although i am not too experienced in tandoori food. All of the meat was very fresh ... The servers are very friendly, and the one night we were there they had a guitar player. I also ate at this great sandwich place for lunch in Honeoye Falls ... Juniper Beans. Great sandwiches, freshly baked breads etc.

Wavy Gravy has been discontinued as well ... a long time ago. They've discontinued so many damn good flavors. Remember the Peanut Butter Cup ice cream ?? Rainforest Crunch ?? I'm hungry for ice cream now.

I ate there about two years ago. It was actually really good. Can't remember exactly all of the details, but i had lamb chops. We ate in the garden which was really nice.

I just made a reservation at Diwan for July 23rd. They asked me what i wanted to order. Should I have requested something special? I've never had that asked before ...

Brownie Batter ice cream is lame. What's the point when you have chocolate brownie fudge.

I always add tips on top of the wine tab. Have i been wrong to do it all along? What about wine by the glass? I also assume that if there is a sommelier, you should tip extra?

Bovinity Divinity was discontinued a long long time ago. It was my favorite flavor, and i was very upset. Ben & Jerry's ice cream has not been the same since.

I just started icing this tea at night - because it has no caffeine in it. It's also known as red tea, and the brand i buy is republic of tea.

What makes thai iced tea thai ? vietnamese ? Is it the type of tea they use or something they add ?