JosephB

Last night we ended up at Sripraphai instead of Zabb. None of our companions had been to either yet, and were a little bit afraid of the promise of intense heat at Zabb. Next time. Anyway, as note above, the garden is delightful. Even after the renovations, the dining room never had much ambiance, not that it ever made a difference to us. That's why I was surprised when I saw how perfectly inviting the garden was. The landscaping and lighting are of professional quality. In place of music is the soothing splashing sound of a rather substantial fountain. The perimeter trees enclose the garden from the outside world, giving a real sense of escape. The tables and umbrellas are sleek, and well spaced. We arrived at 7:00 pm, before the rush. I wondered if service and food quality would suffer. After all, the garden almost doubled the size of the restaurant. Moreover, it's not simply a matter of additional seating. Servers must now split their attention between two distinct and separate areas of the restaurant. And the kitchen is potentially faced with orders coming in at twice the rate as before the addition of the garden. My party of 6 + 2 toddlers was served in the same efficient and friendly manner as usual (we're actually recognized at this point). All our favorite dishes were delicious (except for two clunkers ordered by one of the first timers in my group: pad thai - as bad as the version I once had at Ruby Foo; and crispy fried fish - dry.) By the time we left at 8:30 pm, the restaurant was near capacity, and everything seemed to moving smoothly. I asked one waiter how the kitchen was handling the additional load, and he told me that the kitchen space had also been expanded. Afterwards, I wondered whether he meant that the kitchen had been expanded when the dining room was originally expanded, or was expended yet again to accommodate the garden. I'll confirm that next time. The best weather for dining al fresco is just starting. See you in the garden. Don't forget to bring cash. But you won't need lots of cash here.

Today's NY Times $25 and Under gave a positive review to Zabb. Much of the review is focused on the food's intense heat, at least to the reviewer's taste. To show that he was not overly sensitive to chili, the reviewer pointed to the apparent pain experienced by his several dining companions: "Nobody I ate with there escaped a midconversation chili-induced breakdown." I'm planning a visit this week.

For ethereal potato gnocchi, I just don't understand the need for anything but potatoes (yukon work best) and flour -- stop.

The Benno dinner for $125 for non-members sounds like a great value. Of course it comes without Per Se's excellent service and special ambiance.

I would strongly second eatpie's recommendation of La Fondita. I was there recently with slkinsy, bergerka, and my wife, and we all agreed that the tacos were superb (5 for $10). As a bonus, the setting is glorious. La Fondita is centered within a beautiful and expansive plant and tree nursery. After you get your tacos, take them outside and sit at one of several picnic tables on the pond, surrounded by a feast for the eyes. The Aquas Fresca are also excellent. Otherwise, bring a few beers.

Glowing review in this week's New Yorker, Tables for Two.

I'll be sure to demand the peppercorns. I also understand there may be a special menu for Chinese folks. Thanks, Avumede

A colleague with pretty reliable taste is urging me to try Szechuan Gourmet on W. 39th Street in Manh. I'm a Grand Sichuan (51st Street) devotee. The original Szechuan Gourmet is in Queens. The Times said some good things about the Manh branch in 1/05. Asimov gave a mixed review of the Queens branch a few years ago. If you've been to Szechuan Gourmet, please give me your thoughts.

I would note that I had been calling Casa Mono for two days to get a reservation. Each time I was told that there were no cancellations, and the earliest reservation was 11:45 pm. We were walk-ins, and were seated immediately at 9:45 pm. I presume that we were eaither lucky because of no-shows, or that for mere mortals a reservation is never available before 11:45 pm, or they tell everyone they're booked to maintain the cache. Given the hot area they're in, Casa Mono would do just fine with a no reservation policy.

Every time I've been to Celeste, the owner tells me that he has just come back from Rome with a suitcase full of cheese. Very charming, but not very credible. Still, the place is great.

It was mentioned earlier that someone in the kitchen is Sicilian, which would explain the decidely sweet tomato sauce.

I have found that it's the meat guys at the UWS Citerella who know their trade well, while the fish guys are mostly order takers. I agree that the meat guys don't welcome orders that they can't fill straight from the stuff on display. Though I'm not sure at what point a butchering request requires a special advance order (the extra charge is bogus). Boning one whole duck probably takes some time, but doesn't seem like an unreasonable on-the-spot request. I do think, however, that you may get some grief from any butcher if you make such a request when the shop is busy, and you're not a really good customer. So I suggest you establish a good relationship with your butcher, which has to be a lot easier to do at a small shop like Otomanelli's. As for fish, there's no substitute on the UWS for Citarella, which generally has excellent quality.

To scale whole fish neatly, put them in an oversize bag, papper or plastic, and scale them there - it contains the scales and makes a messy job neat. Discard the bag when done. ← Thanks for the tip. I'll try it.

Well, that's excellent news because I can get to US at lunch time on Fridays. That gives me one more day of superb fish. The whole fish were displyed on a bed of ice. There were maybe 2 flatfish, and few wild bass.

Sam, very impressive -- textbook + + .

My wife went back later in the morning to by 2 pieces of mackeral, 2 pieces of sea bass, and one pound of scallops. The total was $19 and change. I estimated about a pound of fillets when I cooked it last night. So the prices are excellent, and better than Citarella. Besides, the fish was pristine, and delicious. As good as Citarella is, this was better - at least the fillets. I would even pay more for it. I'm looking forward to next Thursday.

Today is Pura Vida Fisheries' first day at the 66th Street Greenmarket at Lincoln Center. In fact, it's their first day at any Greenmarket. I discovered it on my morning walk to work. Pura Vida runs day boats in Hampton Bays, and will be at the 66th Street Market on Thursdays only, for now. The stall operator was very friendly. As for the catch, there were a few lobsters, scallops, fillets of sea bass, mackeral, fluke, and flounder, and some others that I don't recall. These fish were also available whole, but unscaled. Mr. fisherman told me that he's not allowed to scale at the market, which is too bad because scaling indoors at home is not such a good idea -- scales end up everywhere. This is an important addition to the neighborhood.

Bridge is running a moving sale on all items from 6/1/05 through 6/7/05. 30% off suggested retail. I'm not sure that this offer is any bargain. What is the practical meaning of "suggested retail"?

Bridge Kitchenware is having a moving sale from 6/1/05 to 5/7/05. 30% of suggested retail. I'm not sure that's such a bargain, though Bridge carries top quality stuff.

Maybe crabs, but Copper River Salmon is $25 per pound!

Sam, you never told me that you do Korean.

Exactly. I wrapped them rightly in several turns of heavy duty foil, then twisted the ends to pack everything tightly together. Completely watertight -- in fact, a fair amount of liquid came out when they were opened (this went into the sauce). Prior to browning these pieces, they rested for a while and then I patted them dry. Ordinarily, I brown the skin under the broiler when I do chicken legs like this. But it seemed like a waste to do with just two pieces. I often make involtini, but never with the skin. I use the thighs. I stuff, roll, toothpick, brown, and then finally braise. Your technique seems to be essentially the reverse, but with the skin on, and with the filling held together by the tight wrapping. Did you get any significant overlap of the skin when you rolled the legs, or did shrinkage take care of that? I would be concerned that some flabby skin would be tucked under the outer part of the skin which gets crispy.

Now that looks good.

Actually, I was quite serious about the smoke alarm. OK, the wide-angle lense was a bit of a dig.

You'll need a wide-angle lense.