Week in NYC with 4 Kids

[docsconz]

Dean, you have a beautiful family! The photo of your daughter eating the turkey sandwich is priceless!

[Varmint]

The rain today was a pain, as it really limited what we could do. We had a very nice breakfast at Annie's. After spending the morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we had a most lousy lunch at Burger Heaven, where the burgers were far less than heavenly and our waitress could only hope to get to Purgatory. We got take out chicken from Pio Pio, and I have to say that I wish I could take that green sauce home with me. Great stuff. I've also learned to make egg creams, as the kids have become very fond of them. So have I.

[Pan]

What cute pictures of your kids! I'm glad you all enjoyed Katz's and Grimaldi's.

For those of you reading this thread who aren't in the New York area, today really sucked! Much of the day, New York was drenched by a downpour of truly monsoon-like proportions, and as someone who lived through two monsoon seasons in a part of Malaysia that gets an average of 180 inches of rain a year, I know what I'm talking about here.

So what's on tap tomorrow, Dean?

[Varmint]

SHOPPING!

Bagels and chocolate croissants in the apartment, followed by a long walk down Madison Ave. to satisfy my pre-teen daughter's shopping angst. We'll likely hit Mars 2112. Chinatown this evening.

[Megan Blocker]

SHOPPING!

Bagels and chocolate croissants in the apartment, followed by a long walk down Madison Ave. to satisfy my pre-teen daughter's shopping angst.  We'll likely hit Mars 2112.  Chinatown this evening.

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Hope you caught a bit of the UES flurries this morning, Dean (a bit of winter magic, just for you) - and enjoyed your walk down Madison. That's one of my favorite strolls, and it includes some good food stuff, depending on where you start (Maison du Chocolat, Lobel's, EAT...).

[porkpa]

The last time I ate lunch at EAT was about five years ago. At the time I believe they were charging something like $16.00 for an egg salad sandwich. They must have eclipsed the $20.00 plateau by now.

[hshiau]

The places my pre-teen daughter likes to shop are Uni-qlo down in Soho, Limited Too, and H&M. She likes some of the Madison Avenue shops just fine but we don't want to be affording that.

[Megan Blocker]

The last time I ate lunch at EAT was about five years ago. At the time I believe they were charging something like $16.00 for an egg salad sandwich. They must have eclipsed the $20.00 plateau by now.

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True...but still good for window-shopping/people-sighting, you see.

[Varmint]

Breakfast in the apartment, lunch at Mars 2112 (food not as awful as it could have been). We then worked our way down to Soho and stopped at Otto for dessert. They initially told us we had to stand in the bar area, but when they saw my 6-year old's head didn't even reach the top of the tables, they graciously gave us a table. Olive oil, lemon lavendar and hazlenut were my choices of gelati, but I really loved their caramel -- more like an uber-brown caramel with an initial bit of bitterness followed by a great richness.

We then joined some friends for dinner at New Green Bo, where we sampled all kinds of great things.

We're dead tired, as it was cold and windy (and yes, we got a bit of that snow!). Tomorrow is a matinee at the New Victory Theater. Meals? I haven't a clue.

[Varmint]

Breakfast was bagels and muffins in the apartment, and lunch was some no-name, quickie pasta/panini/pizza place in Midtown. Actually, it was pretty good. We had dinner at B. Cafe, a fairly new Belgian place on 75th Street. The moules frites were loved by my wife and oldest son, and I REALLY loved the Belgian ales. I mean, LOVED them!

Tomorrow is our last day in the city. The kids have requested a return to Annies for breakfast. Lunch is an unknown, but dinner is going to be at Tony di Napolis on the UES. Local friends who have never been before will be joining us. We're not expecting a great culinary experience, but it should be lots of fun.

[Varmint]

A return visit to Annie's for Saturday breakfast (apple pancakes and pumpkin waffles -- mmmmm) was followed by our single worst meal in the city. Some deli across the street from the Carnegie Deli had room for us, and we were in a bit of a hurry. Well, let's just say that this place ain't Katz's, and it wasn't cheap, either. It was a complete rip-off, and I'm glad I can't recall the name -- wait, it was Ben Ash's or something like that. My daughter -- the picky one -- made the mistake of ordering ravioli in a deli -- well, they were hard as a rock and had freezer burn on them. My mushroom barley soup was flavorless. Pickles were limp and lifeless. Just not a good place.

Dinner at Tony di Napolis was surprisingly good. We went with Fat Guy and his family, and we had a great time. Mozzarella and tomatoes were very good (the tomatoes actually had flavor). Caesar salad was crisp and not overdressed (we asked for it lightly dressed). We then had shrimp scampi, linguini with white clams, ravioli di Napoli, chicken parm, veal saltimbocca. Maybe another dish, but I can't recall. Dessert was a huge chocolate cake/ice cream thingy and a sweet strawberry shortcake. Oh, we also got some mini-canolis and a brownie sundae. Really, it was pretty darned good, and I'd go back. I have a picture on my home computer that I'll load later.

So, we're home now, having had a great trip. My kids got to eat at an authentic deli, an authentic Chinatown restaurant, classic NY pizza, Belgian food, Peruvian chicken, great bagels, a top-notch NYC dining institution, NYC diners, and, of course, they had lots of egg creams. I'm learning how to make them, as I came home with several bottles of U-Bet syrup. More importantly, we came home with lots of memories. Thanks everyone!

[porkpa]

Dean,

Thank you for sharing. I'm glad the McCords had a great time. Sorry about Ben Ash. Its really terrible, especially when compared to its neighbors across the street the Carnegie and Stage Delis.

I wonder if anybody knows whether this Ben Ash is at all related to the Ben Ash that used to exist in Montreal. The origibal Ben Ash(the person) founded a great Deli dynasty in Montreal and along with the founders of Schwartz's and Ben's were the founders and leaders of the smoked meat culture in Montreal. In addition to having owned and started several good delis in Montreal through the years, Ben Ash's wife was/is the sister of the three brothers who founded and whose children and grandchildren still run the Snowdon Deli there. To anybody who hasn't been there IMO Snowdon Deli epitomizes what a great deli should be.

On further thought its highly unlikely that there can be any relation between the terrible joint in New York and the great dynasty that began in Montreal. Ben Ash must be spinning in his grave.

Porkpa

[Fat Guy]

There's a 1991 New York Times story that mentions "the Ben-Mohas, a father-and-son team that runs three Crystal Gourmet fast-food restaurants in Manhattan. They came to New York from Montreal, where they operate delicatessens under the name Ben-Ash." Another story, in 1996, refers to "Jake's Steakhouse, 1155 Third Avenue (67th Street), owned by Sam Ben Moha, who owns Ben Ash Delicatessen on Seventh Avenue and 54th Street."

[Varmint]

Here's a few more pictures.

The ultra-chocolate pancakes at Annie's.

Proper technique for eating a soup dumpling at New Green Bo.

Platters of food at Tony's di Napoli.

Fat Guy contemplating whether or not to share any dessert.

[docsconz]

Nice pics, Dean. The one of your son with the chocolate pancakes is particularly priceless. His smile speaks volumes.

The linguine with clam sauce in the background being served looks pretty good. That is one of my benchmark dishes at a certain type of Italian restaurant. When done right it is one of my alltime favorite dishes. When not....

[Fat Guy]

Tony's exceeded expectations and provided an entirely pleasant meal and dining experience. Not that expectations were high, and not that it was a fabulous meal, but Tony's does a good job with family-style Italian-American fare. The veal saltimbocca was a really good example, and most of the other stuff was quite good for what it was. The linguine with clams dish was probably my least favorite. While it was topped with lots of fresh clams and was an amazingly generous portion, there was little in the way of an actual coherent clam sauce, and the seasoning was weak.

[docsconz]

Tony's exceeded expectations and provided an entirely pleasant meal and dining experience. Not that expectations were high, and not that it was a fabulous meal, but Tony's does a good job with family-style Italian-American fare. The veal saltimbocca was a really good example, and most of the other stuff was quite good for what it was. The linguine with clams dish was probably my least favorite. While it was topped with lots of fresh clams and was an amazingly generous portion, there was little in the way of an actual coherent clam sauce, and the seasoning was weak.

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That's too bad. If it failed that test, I would not have liked it. The key to a great clam sauce is the clam juice, but that is probably fodder for another topic in another forum.

[Varmint]

Yes, the linguine was also my least favorite dish, even though it looked as if it would be great. I agree that we should start a new topic on the keys to good clam sauce.

[docsconz]

Yes, the linguine was also my least favorite dish, even though it looked as if it would be great.  I agree that we should start a new topic on the keys to good clam sauce.

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I just did - here. Well - it is not exactly what I first stated. I started it on the best WCS in NY. A more general one in cooking would probably be good too.

[maggiethecat]

So, we're home now, having had a great trip.  My kids got to eat at an authentic deli, an authentic Chinatown restaurant, classic NY pizza, Belgian food, Peruvian chicken, great bagels, a top-notch NYC dining institution, NYC diners, and, of course, they had lots of egg creams.  I'm learning how to make them, as I came home with several bottles of U-Bet syrup.  More importantly, we came home with lots of memories.  Thanks everyone!

Who could ask for better than that? I think the McCords did it up right, and I loved the pictures.

(They also made me gasp. I met your kids, what, three years ago? They look so grown up!)