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I'm headed up to NYC this weekend and looking for cheap eats recommendations up in the Washington Heights area (179th and Broadway, more or less). We'll be driving, so if it's a little ways away, that's fine. Ethnic is good. Anybody?

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I'm going to NYC the first weekend in June--despite being born in Long Island, I probably haven't been to Manhattan since I was 6. So, needless to say, I'm trying to cram in as much as possible!

I already have reservations at wd~50 (sooooooo excited), but after splurging on Mr. Dufresne's tasting menu, I'll probably be looking for some more bargain-oriented places. Any recommendations? I'll be staying in the NYU area, so bonus for close proximity.

I can't wait to have black & whites and GOOD bagels...

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An overnight trip to Manhattan last week gave my partner and I a couple of dining-out opportunities that are worth reporting on. On Thursday night, his grad-school prof treated us to dinner at Triomphe, in the Iroquois Hotel. Although it was hard to find any recent reviews of the place, much less any online buzz, what I could locate indicated that it is one of the better places for a meal in the Theatre District, so I was intrigued to try it out. By and large, I found it to be an excellent choice. Though the menu doesn't come across as anything particularly special, there is obviously a steady hand in the kitchen who does well with good, classic ingredients. My salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, beets, pistachios and rum-soaked raisins was a bit overdressed but the flavors were fine. My partner was satisfied with his beefsteak tomato salad, though I cringed at the thought of ordering such a dish at this time of year. The entree special of perfectly grilled halibut over a ragout of white beans, chorizo, and spinach doesn't sound like anything special, but again, the cooking was spot on so it lingered in the memory. Our host's partner had a small plate of quail that made me jealous, given that it looked every bit as good, and larger-portioned than what I had had at Restaurant Eve a few nights prior. I don't recall much about our desserts except that a blueberry ice cream that was part of it. It's a relatively small, awkwardly shaped space with closely placed tables, but I didn't feel that we were intruding on other diners, or vice versa. Very professional staff and a lovely evening. Keep this one on your list for a good Midtown choice.

Truth be told, however, the best meal I had on our trip (and better also than my birthday meal at Restaurant Eve) was lunch at Sylvia's, the classic soul-food restaurant in Harlem. Given that we arrived just as a local college graduation was completed and many of the grads and their families were heading there for a celebratory meal, we were lucky to get seated almost immediately. I gravitated immediately to the grilled catfish, while Bob had the grilled ham, which each came with two sides. We both opted for the black-eyed peas, then he for the collard greens and I for the mac 'n' cheese; a wonderfully light, flaky cornbread came on the side. (One downside: it's served with little plastic cups of Promise margarine.) The sides were a hit--the greens cooked with smoked turkey were salty but deeply flavored. The black-eyed peas were perfect, and the mac 'n' cheese was hands-down the best I've ever had. The entrees were almost an afterthought--the catfish was fine even if the portion was relatively modest sized. Bob's ham consisted of four thin slices, each nearly the size of the platter and served with pan juices. The damages? $30 plus tip. Outstanding! Sylvia's obviously gets the tourists (it's even listed on the subway maps), but outside of the margarine I couldn't see that it's compromised its cooking to that trade (chitterlings were that day's special). I'd go back there in a second, if only to get a full portion of that mac 'n' cheese!

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Heading up to NYC for a weekend male-bonding trip with my bro and my dad. We'll be hitting a subway series game on Friday night in Da Bronx and staying somewhere in Manhattan. What is the verdict on Craftbar? I made reservations through OpenTable for Sat night. WD-50 has some availability later in the evening, but it might be too late for my ol' man. My dad is the kind of person who thinks I'm a little screwy for placing such importance on food, yet when I take him somewhere interesting (most recently Oyamel) he generally enjoys it. My brother is up for anything.

I was thinking we could wander around Arthur Ave before the game and have some old school Eyetalian snacks. I've never been-- is it worth a look?

We might need to do some dim sum for lunch too. So if there are suggestions there, that'd be great.

Thanks peeps,

Al

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I really liked Craftbar when I went last May, much more than my visit to Craft in November. But that might partially be explained away by being not pregnant at Craftbar and pregnant at Craft. The morels at Craftbar were life changingly good.

Heading up to NYC for a weekend male-bonding trip with my bro and my dad. We'll be hitting a subway series game on Friday night in Da Bronx and staying somewhere in Manhattan. What is the verdict on Craftbar? I made reservations through OpenTable for Sat night. WD-50 has some availability later in the evening, but it might be too late for my ol' man. My dad is the kind of person who thinks I'm a little screwy for placing such importance on food, yet when I take him somewhere interesting (most recently Oyamel) he generally enjoys it. My brother is up for anything.

I was thinking we could wander around Arthur Ave before the game and have some old school Eyetalian snacks. I've never been-- is it worth a look?

We might need to do some dim sum for lunch too. So if there are suggestions there, that'd be great.

Thanks peeps,

Al

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I haven't been to any of Chef Colicchio's establishments, but I had a fantastic experience last Saturday night at wd~50. I plan on writing a full review soon, since there really is no way to succinctly summarize that sort of culinary experience. As long as your fellow diners are openminded, I think it would be a lot of fun.

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Great review Betty. We just stayed one night in NYC and didn't make it to WD-50, although we met Stupak (a former class-mate of Melanie).

I just wanted to add a quick recommendation: Payard Patisserie & Bistro on Lexington Ave.

We were surprised to see how big it actually is on the inside and the assortments and varieties of confections/pastries/savories and breads reminded me of Europe - Paris actually. We were on the run, but had enough time to enjoy a cappuccino, a piece of plum/puff pastry and a "martinique" which had poached pear and caramel mousse inside. The latter was very sweet and although it had a nice caramel flavor, it didn't really do it for me. The puff pastry with plums though was delicious and it reminded us of my dad's plum cake in Germany (which is not as sweet though).

We didn't get a chance to taste any of the chocolates and since we stopped by M. Cluizel and some other chocolatiers earlier we opted out on even more sweets to try ;)

I will also post a more complete review of the different stores we visited on our trip on my blog (-> signature)

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My weekend in NYC: Resto (Murray Hill), Bouley, Inoteca (Lower East Side)

Resto is a Belgian place that recently got 2 stars from the NYT. We ate there late on Friday night and at 3/4 full this place was loud (hardwood floors and tin ceilings). Bitter Ballen (deep fried veal meatball/fritter) and lamb ribs were quite good. Housemade sausage were just ok, and frites were kind of subpar. The lamb ribs were the fattiest thing I've ever eaten--in a good way. Beers were outstanding, but for some reason most of the patrons were drinking wine.

Bouley: Let me just say that it was everything I hoped it would be. $48 lunch tasting menu is a steal.

Inoteca has an all Italian wine list and simple menu. It gets crowded, so go early or go late. I only had a cheese plate, but I was sitting at the bar and could see everything coming out of the kitchen and it all looked great. I wish we had a place like this in DC.

I need to eat a salad now.

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I'll be staying at the Waldorf (Park Ave in the E 40s) for three nights next week. I expect to have fairly little free time, so it's essential that I'm prepared. Is there anything good to eat in that vicinity? I'll be traveling with a picky eater of a client (as usual) so nothing too, uh, interesting.

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I'm going to NYC next weekend. I don't know anything about the restaurants there. I'm staying in the financial district. anybody have any suggestions for good restaurants down or near that area? i'm going with 5 other guys in the mid 20's so i'm looking for anything too fancy. i would like to try something more adventurous but i'm not sure all my friends would be up for it.

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Relatively inexpensive, mostly late night, dining over 2 weekends in NYC:

Yakitori Totto (251 W. 55th nr. B'way) -- serves until at least 1 AM, yakitori bar also with tables and booths. Reasonably subdued ambiance (easy to talk), great sake list. Three of us had a bottle of sake, numerous skewers of grilled chicken and other things, including eggplant with miso, prawns, enoki mushrooms wrapped in bacon, eringi mushrooms (seemed to be like cepes), pan fried dumplings, fried chicken, and a daily special consisting of raw, marinated salmon and salmon roe. Total bill was about $35 per person, and we felt we had over-ordered food, but it was all so good.

Sake Bar Hagi (152 W. 49th nr. 7th) -- open until 3 AM -- located one level below street level, this izakaya was completely different from Yakitori Totto -- crowded, LOUD, hot, buzzing with youth. The decor consisted of numerous flat screen tv's broadcasting sports and some posters in Japanese. Incredibly inexpensive, extensive list of sakes by the glass or bottle -- if you order a glass, you get about 5 or 6 ounces and they fill it the glass to the brim. Terrific specials -- we enjoyed the grilled sardine stuffed with spicy cod roe, spicy cod roe dumplings and unagi tempura with lemon salt, plus Japanese fried chicken, grilled chicken meatballs, grilled duck and grilled pork belly. They also have big plates of yakisoba and other noodle dishes, salads, etc. We had a bottle of sake (720 ml) for $40 and the food was about $20 per person. Again, we were so full we could have ordered less, but it was all so good!

Park Blue (158 W. 58th betw. 6th and 7th) -- open until 3 AM -- sort of a piano lounge with some small tables in the back. When we walked in, we weren't sure what to expect because it looked a little seedy, but wow, what a find! They had an extensive list of wines, all by the half bottle at pretty reasonable prices. The food was all small plates, including a very nice and pretty substantial truffled macaroni and cheese. We also had the mini cheeseburgers, which were cooked to order medium rare and served on a brioche bun. At $8 each, they were a little pricy, but really juicy and delicious. They were a little bigger than the ones at Tallulah and quite a bit more satisfying. The french fries, recommended by our server, were seasoned with some kind of paprika that had a real kick to it. We also had spicy meatballs with polenta -- they weren't very spicy. The food was pretty filling, and all of the small plates were in the range of $7 to $12. At the table across from us was someone who worked at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant at the London Hotel a block away -- he seemed to be a regular, and we chatted for a bit. The half bottle of chateauneuf du pape we had was about $38, and the food was about $35-$40.

Mandoo Bar -- (2 W. 32nd nr. 5th) -- this place is well known because of the window in the front where passers-by can watch the dumplings being made. We had a light lunch of pan fried pork dumplings (goon mandoo) and boiled or steamed kimchee dumplings. That plus 1 OB beer was about $17 plus tip for 2 people. Other tables around us had dolsot bibimbap which looked wonderful. At the table, the server mixed up the sizzling rice and other ingredients and added hot sauce to the degree of hotness requested by the customer.

Brunch at Artisanal -- 32nd street betw. Madison and Park -- their cheese selection is phenomenal, but the regular brunch dishes are a little ho-hum. The eggs benedict, for example, was really pretty ordinary, and the potato galette that came with seemed to have been under the heat lamp for way too long -- totally dry and overly browned on the outside and somewhat mushy on the inside. Breads are very good. The fondue of the day sounded really good, but we weren't in the mood for that at noon on a summer day.

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I was in NYC last week and tried the newly re-opened Shopsin's now located in the Essex St. Market.

The menu, formerly 4 pages is now only 2 pages, but it still has some 30 pancakes and 50 soups.

I had the Diego- poutine topped with poached eggs, side of bacon, and i had 1 piece of cantaloupe and honeydew. delicious breakfast decadence.

I'm glad they still serve poutine as well as their amazing plantain, cinnamon, and parmesan pancakes.

I then went next door to the Saxelby Cheesemongers. They had a great selection of locally made cheeses and were very nice and helpful. Got me a slab of Turp Farm Square Cheese- a raw goat's milk cheese from Vt. outstanding.

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I'm going to NYC next weekend. I don't know anything about the restaurants there. I'm staying in the financial district. anybody have any suggestions for good restaurants down or near that area? i'm going with 5 other guys in the mid 20's so i'm looking for anything too fancy. i would like to try something more adventurous but i'm not sure all my friends would be up for it.

You might want to try Landmarc which is just into Tribecca but only about 6 blocks from City Hall. Extensive menu that both foodies and non-foodies should like, great inexpensive wine program, causal atmosphere. It is the type of neighborhood restaurant every neighborhood wants.

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I'm going to NYC next weekend. I don't know anything about the restaurants there. I'm staying in the financial district. anybody have any suggestions for good restaurants down or near that area? i'm going with 5 other guys in the mid 20's so i'm looking for anything too fancy. i would like to try something more adventurous but i'm not sure all my friends would be up for it.
The last few months I have been spending most of my time on the Lower East side. Paladar is my favorite great latin american food, entree prices from 15-20ish. Very good (and strong) mojitos. It is on ludlow a block or two south of Houston - usually decent eye candy for mid 20's by the way. Also good are inoteca (panini and good wine list) alias (modern american type food). Or go up to gramercy-union park area. Both areas have a lot of really "new york" restaurants with a cool casual environment, affordable and with plenty of other young people and post dinner options.
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I have been in New York working this week. As a treat my sister brought my niece up to spend the weekend. In case any of you have girlie girls who you need to entertain in New York City, I can recommend both the America Girl Place's Cafe and Ellen's Stardust Diner (http://www.ellensstardustdiner.com/). Sure the food is just fine at both places but wow how much fun for a 6 year old girl.

And... the Shake Shack is awesome! Seriously, $8 for the Shake Shack Burger and cheese fries. Even after a 6 block walk back to the office, everything tasted fresh. I took particular note that the fries were better than average, and not at all greasy... first fried food I have had in the non-trans fat world of New York.

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Went to New York for a wine tasting yeserday and was in dining heaven for all of $40!

Lunch at Gahn Mi Oak on 32. Seuol Long Tang. Perfect broth, loads of soft adn beefy flavored rice, good noodles, generous amounts of beef and a plate of the best kim chee and some radish pickle. I had to sit on the floor so it was all consumed quickly

Dinner at Katz. Pastrami 1/2 and tongue 1/2. The tongue was cold and good but noting special. The pastrami was smokey, moist, a little flatty and wonderful. I asked for full sours and a green tomato and got 3 pickles and one tomato. Perhaps even better than the pastrami. I was debating getting an appetizer of chopped liver (that will happen if your cholesterol is 137 and your LDL is 37) but wisdom, and a desire not to burst from my pants won out in the end. $25 with a tap Anchor Steam.

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Review of Eleven Madison Park, August 31, 2007

Eleven Madison Park is simply sublime.

The meal began with a quartet of incredible amuses: big eye tuna, a greek pastry filled with sweetbreads, a foie gras mousse served between what seemed like little meringue cookies, and a fine goat cheese layered between thin wafers like a napoleon. I wish I could describe them more properly, but I can report that all were amazing and set the tone for the innovation and expertise that would follow. The tuna particularly was among the freshest I've tasted, and it made me wish at first that I had ordered for a first course the big eye tuna salad with duck proscuitto that is currently on the menu.

Another amuse followed -- chilled cucumber soups with smoked Maine trout, chilled yogurt and a garnish of caviar. Light, airy, and delicious. Each flavor stood on its own and yet combined elegantly in the mouth.

And the gougieres! No one does gougieres in DC, let alone ones like these perfect fluffly little round gougieres baked with aged cheddar. Who needs the tasty olive bread with these morsels to savor?

As I often do, I let the sommelier choose my wine pairings and she recommended a Crozes Hermitage Blanc (2006) for my first two courses. It was an inspired choice. My first course was the Maine diver scallop ceviche with lobster and clam, finished tableside with watermelon broth and meyer lemon oil. Any concerns I had about not ordering the tuna were instantly dashed by this original dish. The watermelon broth and lemon oil with tiny diced watermelon and tomato was the perfect touch of citrus and sweet to accompany the luxurious scallops.

Next, I enjoyed Chillean turbot cooked sous vide with ratatouille, saffron fumet, and tarragon. A small dish, I might have been disappointed if this were my main course, but as one of four, it was an ideal proportion, expertly cooked and bursting with the flavor of fresh vegetables.

I believe that I will likely never again have pork as good as this. I've certainly not had it as delicious before. My third course was Vermont suckling pig confit, topped with a crispy layer of skin and accompanied by a puree of cippolini onions, pork cardamon jus, apricot chutney, and a braised leek. Paired with a glass of Domaine de la Côte de l'Ange, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone Valley, France 2000, this was a course I will remember for a very long time.

Another course that will linger in memory was desert -- a new addition to their menu is the golden pinapple souffle with pecorino and lemon-thyme ice cream. The pecorino rounds out the souffle, transforming it on first bite into something not quite savory, not quite sweet. The tart spice of the lemon-tyme ice-cream, served on a block of ice, was delightful complement. A muscat paired well with this dish.

I savored the final mignardise with a French press of Graffeo coffee from San Francisco, which is now my new favorite coffee.

Everything I tasted was superbly executed, artfully presented. And I felt incredibly well taken care of by the restaurant staff, many of them young, engaging, helpful, and very observant. I don't get to NY often, and I like to try new places when I do, but Eleven Madison Park is one to which I must return. It was an extraordinary meal worthy of the accolades Chef Daniel Humm and his staff have received.

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Thanks for the great post JR. I first tasted Chef Humm's cooking at Campton Place in SF in October 2004 and was completely blown away by what was clearly my finest meal of the year. The following November, after Danny Meyer had signed him to head the kitchen at 11 Madison, I saw Danny at Tabla and told him what a coup he had engineered by bringing this brilliant young chef to NY. The 5-6 meals I've had there since have only reinforced that view (though I will admit that none of those meals have topped that evening at Campton Place). If I want a great sitdown dinner in NY, the first two places I think of are 11 Madison and Chef Andrew Carmellini's equally sublime, but more casual, A Voce, just 2 blocks further uptown (on 26th and Madison). In my opinion these are the 2 best young chefs cooking in Gotham today.

Review of Eleven Madison Park, August 31, 2007

Eleven Madison Park is simply sublime.

The meal began with a quartet of incredible amuses: big eye tuna, a greek pastry filled with sweetbreads, a foie gras mousse served between what seemed like little meringue cookies, and a fine goat cheese layered between thin wafers like a napoleon. I wish I could describe them more properly, but I can report that all were amazing and set the tone for the innovation and expertise that would follow. The tuna particularly was among the freshest I've tasted, and it made me wish at first that I had ordered for a first course the big eye tuna salad with duck proscuitto that is currently on the menu.

Another amuse followed -- chilled cucumber soups with smoked Maine trout, chilled yogurt and a garnish of caviar. Light, airy, and delicious. Each flavor stood on its own and yet combined elegantly in the mouth.

And the gougieres! No one does gougieres in DC, let alone ones like these perfect fluffly little round gougieres baked with aged cheddar. Who needs the tasty olive bread with these morsels to savor?

As I often do, I let the sommelier choose my wine pairings and she recommended a Crozes Hermitage Blanc (2006) for my first two courses. It was an inspired choice. My first course was the Maine diver scallop ceviche with lobster and clam, finished tableside with watermelon broth and meyer lemon oil. Any concerns I had about not ordering the tuna were instantly dashed by this original dish. The watermelon broth and lemon oil with tiny diced watermelon and tomato was the perfect touch of citrus and sweet to accompany the luxurious scallops.

Next, I enjoyed Chillean turbot cooked sous vide with ratatouille, saffron fumet, and tarragon. A small dish, I might have been disappointed if this were my main course, but as one of four, it was an ideal proportion, expertly cooked and bursting with the flavor of fresh vegetables.

I believe that I will likely never again have pork as good as this. I've certainly not had it as delicious before. My third course was Vermont suckling pig confit, topped with a crispy layer of skin and accompanied by a puree of cippolini onions, pork cardamon jus, apricot chutney, and a braised leek. Paired with a glass of Domaine de la Côte de l'Ange, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone Valley, France 2000, this was a course I will remember for a very long time.

Another course that will linger in memory was desert -- a new addition to their menu is the golden pinapple souffle with pecorino and lemon-thyme ice cream. The pecorino rounds out the souffle, transforming it on first bite into something not quite savory, not quite sweet. The tart spice of the lemon-tyme ice-cream, served on a block of ice, was delightful complement. A muscat paired well with this dish.

I savored the final mignardise with a French press of Graffeo coffee from San Francisco, which is now my new favorite coffee.

Everything I tasted was superbly executed, artfully presented. And I felt incredibly well taken care of by the restaurant staff, many of them young, engaging, helpful, and very observant. I don't get to NY often, and I like to try new places when I do, but Eleven Madison Park is one to which I must return. It was an extraordinary meal worthy of the accolades Chef Daniel Humm and his staff have received.

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We had a 9 PM reservation at AOC Bedford (Bedford and Downing Streets, West Village), and arrived at 9:20. It was perfectly okay that they had given away our table, since we didn't call. However, the manager told us we'd have to wait ten minutes, and we waited over forty.

AOC Bedford used to be a hangout of some wine friends of mine, and other than the fact that they let you bring your own wine, I can't see why. It has a certain rustic charm, but the service is amateurish, the wine list is very overpriced, and the food itself is decent at best. We found a 1998 "Confuron" Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru on the list for $80, and that seemed like the one no-brainer they had. However, when they brought the bottle, it was Confuron-Cotetidot, not Confuron, so we ordered a half-bottle of 2004 Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches rouge instead, for the painful price of $54 - actually, we ended up buying two of them. Fortunately, we had brought our own 1989 Clos St-Hune VT to start with.

Octopus in carpaccio ($13), EVOO, D.O. dry red pepper, and A.O.C. fleur de sel was stuck to the plate, as if it had been plated eight hours before and was locked in aspic. Once you pried it off, it was a decent carpaccio, but paled next to the steamed Eggplant ($14), served with A.O.C. goat cheese, calamata olive purée, and smoked sweet corn sauce. This vegetarian dish was the course of the night, much better than the braised, shredded Duck ($15) in a brick dough, with a boring, tasteless butternut squash purée.

The specialty of the house is the Suckling Pig ($32 per person), an unfortunately tasteless leg that was saved by its brilliantly crisped skin, served with confit, whole dates, and braised endive that tasted of nothing but overwhelming vanilla. A cheese cart was tired, and full of predictable cheeses in varying states of edibility.

You'll notice that the "A.O.C." and "D.O." designations are limited to such items as salts, peppers, cheeses, and other minor accoutrements, and that pretty much sums up this restaurant - ideas that are nice in theory, but just don't deliver in practice. All-in-all, not "bad," but too expensive, and not recommended.

We walked by the construction at 10 Downing Street, which will be Scott Bryan's new venue. Happily, Bryan will be leaving Veritas and returning to his strongest format - a smaller, less-extravagant restaurant. I will never forget the meals I had from him at Luma, his old restaurant in Chelsea - they were amazingly inexpensive, refreshingly informal, and some of the best dining experiences I've ever had in this country. Put 10 Downing Street on your future to-do list.

The next morning I stopped into Carnegie Deli for a quick bagel with cream cheese, and there was only one basketful of plain bagels - no sesame, no poppy, just plain. I had it toasted and it sure seemed like it had been sourced from a wholesaler, because it was no better than your typical streetcorner, fruit-market version, i.e., just a couple small steps above a toasted bun.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Don -- if the rest of your dining plans aren't set yet run, don't walk, to Eleven Madison Park or Blue Hill. JRinDC

I was only there for a night. :angry:

I went to Eleven Madison Park in late 2002 or early 2003, and it was good, but not great. That having been said, I've heard from numerous people that it's fantastic right now, and really look forward to going back.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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I was only there for a night. :angry:

I went to Eleven Madison Park in late 2002 or early 2003, and it was good, but not great. That having been said, I've heard from numerous people that it's fantastic right now, and really look forward to going back.

Cheers,

Rocks.

I believe that was during the Heffernan era, and I had the same experience as you did. Incidentially, at that same time period Andrew Carmellini (A Voce) was at Cafe Boulud, doing incredible work (somewhat) under the radar.
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If I want a great sitdown dinner in NY, the first two places I think of are 11 Madison and Chef Andrew Carmellini's equally sublime, but more casual, A Voce, just 2 blocks further uptown (on 26th and Madison). In my opinion these are the 2 best young chefs cooking in Gotham today.

The mention of A Voce brought to mind that I had made notes of our dinner there last year a few months after Carmellini opened which I hadn't posted (the future Ms. Ol_Ironstomach nee Gubeen -- congrats to you both :angry: -- passed along that she had heard good things about it but hadn't yet been):

We began with appetizers of his duck meatballs and sheep's milk ricotta cheese. The generous bowl of creamy ricotta, served with crusty grilled bread, was a comforting start, but the meatballs, made with pork and foie gras, and nicely set off by a dried cherry mostarda, were a standout. We couldn’t settle on a pasta dish to share, so per our waiter's suggestion, got half-orders of scampi ravioli and a dish we couldn’t pass up: "My Grandmother's Meat Ravioli.” The former was served with zucchini in a lobster sauce, and was my wife's preference of the two. I, however, thought the ravioli was superior – perfectly cooked pasta, all soothing tomato meaty goodness. For the mains, we had wild black bass and one of the specials, roasted guinea hen. The fish was steamed and served in a spicy tomato broth with shrimp dumplings, zucchini and new potatoes. The guinea hen was flattened, rolled around a filling of foie gras, and then itself wrapped in pancetta, and served over spinach and agro dolce jus. All of those flavors came through in each bite, and were an exceptional combination. This dish was the highlight of the meal for me. We had a 2004 Romano Clelia Fiano di Avellino Coli di Lapio, an Italian dry white that paired particularly well with the bass. We ended with glasses of grappa and a chocolate dessert that was fine but not as memorable as what preceded it. The service was excellent: attentive, knowledgeable waiter, friendly staff.

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I strongly second the Blue Hill recommendation, and weakly echo the Eleven Madison Park recommendation.

I've eaten at Blue Hill a couple of times over the last few months and I've really enjoyed all my meals, especially the pork & chicken dishes. The cooking is simple but very sophisticated, and they use great ingredients. The tomato salad I had last time I was there was amazing, and the tomato/cucumber sorbet that was served with it perfectly set off the rest of the dish.

EMP is nice, but I don't think it out performs its price point the same way that Blue Hill does.

I would also check out Momofuku Ssam if you can.

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Ditto on Blue Hill. I was there last night and had an almost impeccable meal. You know that when your ONLY complaint is that the almonds didn't quite work right with the rest of the strawberry dessert that you are having a truly great meal. I had the tasting menu, and I was very happy that I did. The meal opened with an amuse of cherry tomatoes with olive oil and salt, accompanied by a garlic...cracker? A wee bit of toasted garlic heaven, at any rate. Next I had this absolutely amazing bread. As in possibly the best bread I've ever had. I learned from the waitress that it's made by Amy's Bread and is their organic peasant wheat bread. I'm ordering some online today. It was fabulous. It was joined by some arugula salt and some carrot salt with fresh chopped tomatoes. Simple, powerful, and divine. Next was the official first course -- summer fruits and vegetables with purslane, tomato sorbet, and basil (I'll be reading the "official" titles off the menu wherever possible). What a dish. Those tomatoes were perfect, and the combination of the grilled tomatoes with the grilled peach was lovely. Next was the Long Island skae with baby fennel, tomato, and coriander. This was one of the two real stars of what was obviously an amazing menu. I have never had skate prepared that well, and I may never have it done so again. It was tender and moist, peeling away from itself almost as if asking to be devoured. And it was. Following that amazing dish was the second real standout -- the baby lamb with creamy quinoa and corn. Wow. Skate and lamb, as far as I understand, are two difficult dishes to cook well, let alone perfectly. The flavor of this dish was just beyond. My mouth is watering even now, just remembering! For dessert, the menu began with strawberries with a mascarpone mousse and ricotta sorbet. Wow. There was a delightfully tangy sauce that perfectly counterbalanced the sweetness of the strawberries. My first imperfect moment entered here, though, because of some unfortunately heavy almonds. I think that if they'd been maybe toasted slivered almonds the experience would have been better, but these were coated with something that tasted stale to me, and sadly, the flavor was so strong that it challenged the rest of the dish and lingered on well after the plate had been cleared. Fortunately, the final dessert was to come -- a coffeecup of plum cobbler with apricot sorbet. The plums were firm and rich, and the cobbler's topping couldn't have been done better. The apricot sorbet was so true to the fruit that my mouth kept expecting to encounter fuzz with each bite. The dish could have been a bit smaller -- I didn't want to leave any behind, but there were a lot of plums involved! I was eating alone, as Tripewriter was trapped down south, and I missed him tremendously, but the bartender and waitress -- in particular -- were both just very nice people and took very good care of me. They paced the meal well, kept me company without being intrusive, and listened to me without glazing over. Kudos to this restaurant -- I can't imagine not going again, and next time, Tripewriter's coming with me!

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We had a light meal at Soba Koh in the East Village on Saturday night. House-made soba noodles were light and tender, with less of the chewiness I usually associate with soba. I had mine hot in a dashi-soy broth with matsutake mushrooms. Others had cold soba with tempura soft-shell crab on the side. Also excellent was a first course chawan mushi with crabmeat, mushrooms and the lightest silkiest egg custard imaginable. It was a hot night, so we opted for Sapporo on draft, but they have an excellent sake list, as well. Very friendly service, with moderate prices. Recommended.

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that's interesting- I was in the East Village for lunch at Soba-ya on 9th st between 2nd and 3rd ave.

they had delicious homemade soba noodles.

we started with the Uni Tororo - urchin with yam- mmm- slimy

this place for lunch has these large portioned lunch specials all with soba- i had the Sake Oyako Don- salmon with roe over rice as well.

my cousin had Sakuraebi Seiro soba bowl which was topped with tiny shrimp and mitsuba leaf tempurafor dessert, we had 3 ice creams- black sesame (like oreo cookies), yuzu (orange peel), and honey wasabi (weird)

pics

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This weekend, my friends and I went to Red Hook in Brooklyn to eat as well.

We went to the Red Hook soccer fields where every warm weekend, they set up food stalls serving Mexican, Salvadoran, and Honduran food- the pupusas were amazing. I had some aqua fresca and roasted corn on the cob, Mexican style- with mayo, queso cheese, chili powder, and lime.

Rumors fly that the health dept may shut these food stalls down, but hopefully they can survive for next year.

If you are in Red Hook, I would also recommend DeFonte's sandwich shop- this is the hoagie place all the NY cab drivers all go to. It's amazing. I recommend the proscuitto, eggplant, mozarella, and hot pepper relish hoagie.

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Tried another in the ever-expanding list of modern speakeasies that have opened up around the country in recent months - this one, PDT (short for Please Don't Tell) hides behind a phone booth in a hot dog joint on St Marks Place, between 1st Avenue and Avenue A. It's a little more casual than similar places like PX or Pegu Club, but the drinks are of a similar standard.

The Reverend Palmer that's mentioned in the linked New York Times article, with the tea-infused bourbon, was excellent - had a really nice black tea flavor, and wasn't overpoweringly lemony or so sweet you couldn't taste the bourbon underneath. The Silver Lily was nice as well, although it's probably just as well the room was dark - I think the color (gray) would be a little offputting in the light of day.

Since we'd just had dinner, we didn't avail ourselves of hot dogs, but if you get hungry while you're there, they'll bring over variously topped dogs from next door - I know that'd be a tad downscale for PX, but I would love to be able to order a bag of chips from downstairs to accompany drinks rather than having to do so before or after. Ah well.

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I would like to talk about my favorite Korean BBQ Restaurant in NYC- Woo Chon.

It's located on 36th st between 5th and 6th.

They may have my most favorite item ever on a Korean BBQ- the Yang Bulgogi- Lamb in a delicious marinade. For each item they have unique grill for the cut of meat- one for tongue, one for kalbi, etc. For the lamb- the grill has a small gutter with water in the edges. As the lamb cooks the drippings mix into the gutter for use later.

The lamb cooked this way is like candy- so sweet and tender. When done, you then take the gutter drippings and mix it with some white rice.

I would also recommend their premium tongue, kalbi and pork for the bbq.

Another great dish there is the Yukhwe- a dish with raw beef in caramelized soy sauce with a raw egg mixed in- served with sliced pear. If you are not fearing GI repercussions, this is a delicious guilty pleasure.

The place is open late as well- I think I've eaten there after midnight before.

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While there are obviously many great restaurants in NYC, mostly from midtown to the Village, it's well worth the time to trek north to the upper West Side (92nd and Lex) to dine at Sfoglia. It's a wonderful Italian restaurant, rustic in atmosphere with elegant cooking, and one that I wish we had in DC. Very small with only 10 tables, including one 10-seat communal table, so dinner reservations are tough to come by. Lunch is a great option with many of the same dishes available from the dinner menu. A recent lunch visit (10/10) offered a new menu with some really delicious dishes. Some standouts include the mussels with tomato, garlic, salami & fennel pollen; butternut squash gnocchi with cannellini beans and leeks; chicken al mattone -- incredibly crispy outside, very juicy inside; a perfect farro spaghetti carbonara -- melt-in-your-mouth creaminess with just the right amount of bacon and pepper; and the highlight of the day, the orata sotto sale.

All of the wines from the regular list are offered by the bottle or the glass. A wine reserve list offers other options by the bottle only. Well worth the trip up Lexington.

-Camille

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Looking for an atypical, yet good steakhouse in NYC. I've been to Dylan Prime and really liked it. Was thinking about trying Porter House (not sure how different it is). Any thoughts on Porter House or other recommendations?
STK? It's definitely atypical. In the meatpacking district, so caveat emptor.

STK Website

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This weekend, my friends and I went to Red Hook in Brooklyn to eat as well.

We went to the Red Hook soccer fields where every warm weekend, they set up food stalls serving Mexican, Salvadoran, and Honduran food- the pupusas were amazing. I had some aqua fresca and roasted corn on the cob, Mexican style- with mayo, queso cheese, chili powder, and lime.

Rumors fly that the health dept may shut these food stalls down, but hopefully they can survive for next year.

If you are in Red Hook, I would also recommend DeFonte's sandwich shop- this is the hoagie place all the NY cab drivers all go to. It's amazing. I recommend the proscuitto, eggplant, mozarella, and hot pepper relish hoagie.

Nice find. I figure that my 1st post here should be on a topic I actually know something about. Since I live in Brooklyn, let me both congratulate you on finding the ballfields (a place that I've been dropping by most weekends for the last 15 or so years), and to offer advice on more places to try to you or anyone else coming my way in the future. I'm on all the other food boards with this same name (if anyone cares about these things) and came here to find my way around DC when I come for a long weekend in late December. I didnt realize that there are Philly and Baltimore folks here as well, and look forward to getting good advice for when I'm there too. So... anyone for pizza at Difara's?

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