RWBooneJr

1 hour ago, Kev29 said:

Also, most world class dining cities have dead zones. Just ask resident of New York's upper east side. 

There are lots of good restaurants on the Upper East Side.

Sincerely,

Upper East Side Resident

4 hours ago, DonRocks said:

The internet as *you* know it started around 20 years ago, but you don't have an M.S. in Computer Science from 33 years ago - the internet is here to stay; all you see is the interface to it. People have been conversing since the beginning of mankind, and the internet has brought the world together to be able to do it, instantaneously and essentially for free. In the past 20 years, use has grown by two orders of magnitude, and for it to grow by a third order of magnitude, world population would first need to quadruple - this is not exactly a sign of impending doom; the internet is the most permanent form of communication that there is, and a repository of information that is millions of times safer than Fort Knox.

I know the Internet is older than that and I don't think it's going away, but it will be very different from what we now know.  Mine was more a comment on how fast things change and our inability to predict that change.  And also that regulating the unpredictable in any real way is probably impossible.

On 12/5/2016 at 10:36 PM, DonRocks said:

I just looked at this article again.

Remember I said this: The internet will one day have a form of regulatory government.

I want someone to pull this post up a century from now, and see whether or not I was right.

(I apologize for using the obsolete word "post," but I don't know what things like this will be called in 2116.)

Cheers,
Rocks

The Internet as we know it started around 20 years ago. 20 years from now, it will be gone. I have no idea what it will become, or if this "post" will even be here. But it will always be one step ahead of any government regulation. Technology evolves faster than laws get passed and take effect. And people never voluntarily submit to rules, particularly when those rules purport to control ideas.

For a cheesesteak, I've always been partial to Jim's at 4th & South, which are in the same vein as Dalessandro’s.  But cheesesteaks are like relationships -- the first one you truly fall in love with will always be special, and the standard against which you judge all that come after.  NY style pizza is the same way.

I lived in Philly briefly in the 90s and make a point of going back a couple of times a year.  I always want to go Oyster House and Zahav.  Every time.  DiNic's in Reading Terminal Market is also a favorite.

All of these places are pretty obvious and highly touristy, but I still love them.  I guess Philly is more of a nostalgia trip for me than anything else.

Danny Meyer's North End Grill (review) has been my go-to for a while. But there's a ton of places in Battery Park City now, including a hipster food hall in Brookfield Place. This article from the Times is actually a year and a half old, but it highlights most of the newer places.

Nothing political per se, just actual, verifiable facts, which serve as the most likely explanation for why the Nazis have come out of their hole and why they feel emboldened:

(1) Donald Trump said many things most Americans consider racist and, in fact, that a Nazi might also say (there can be no real dispute for anyone that actually listened to him as a candidate);

(2) Trump made campaign promises founded on such remarks, like that many of the Mexican immigrants in this country are rapists and murderers and we're going to build a wall to keep them out (again, it is inarguably true that he said this and many other, similar things); and

(3) A lot of people voted for Trump anyway, which necessarily indicates that they either share these views or that their opposition to them is not strong enough to influence their vote (for whatever reason).

So, the Nazis now have a basis to believe that, unless Trump was lying about what he said, they have a real opportunity to advance their agenda.  The current evidence is:  (1) the President supports at least some of that agenda; and (2) enough of the electorate doesn't care to do anything about it.  

To bring this all back to my original point:  Welcome to the America where Nazi's now literally feel that they have a place at the (dinner) table.  You may think that is wrong, but the Nazis no longer do  -- and they probably won't be convinced otherwise in the next two months.  So I strongly suspect that you'll see quite a few of these people in DC the weekend of January 20th, and many others in close proximity that oppose them.  If so, it will probably suck big league/bigly to be in DC then.

3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

They think they have 50 million members; I think they're a tiny fringe group.

Their membership may be small, but they now believe they have over 60 million people who either sympathize or will acquiesce.  At a minimum, if you heard what Donald Trump said and voted for him anyway, you have indicated that you will not oppose the racist agenda he campaigned on.  And, as the crowds at Trump's rallys demonstrated, a large number of his supporters probably do support that agenda. So, these Nazis now believe they have a green light, which could very well be true.  The only way it wouldn't be is if the candidate all these people voted for turns out to be a liar.

3 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

... Or, maybe they did exist and were in hiding. ...

Bingo.  Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, it is going to suck to be in DC the third weekend in January.

20 hours ago, DonRocks said:

It's very important that the restaurant is not blamed (or even named) for this - from everything I've read, they had absolutely nothing to do with it. ... The restaurant is donating $10,000 to the Anti-Defamation League because of this - kudos to them, but it's unfortunate that they felt obligated when they did nothing wrong.

But no one would judge the restaurant harshly. Maggiano's Little Italy in Friendship Heights comes off very well in the article .  

The real story is that we now live in a country where it's suddenly possible - in the Nation's Capital, no less - to accidentally host a dinner for Nazis.  Also, being blatantly anti-immigrant in a restaurant - particularly a large chain restaurant - is so stupid, you kinda have to wonder how these people managed to live to adulthood.  Not to mention that the restaurant in question purports to celebrate a group of immigrants who, less than a century ago, were subjected to precisely the same anti-immigrant bigotry.

Oops.

21 hours ago, franch said:

haven't had the chance to go here yet. for those who have been, how does this compare to Le Relais de Venise/L'Entrecote in NYC/Paris?

I love the one in NYC, which incidentally is where this happened.

2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Here's an example of a URL that won't work:

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php /topic/47823-modmarket-a-denver-based-healthy-real-food-franchise-in-bethesda-row/

You see the space I put in after "php" in the URL? (I put that space in there so it wouldn't auto-resolve, and so that you could actually see the URL).

Anyway, simply put a "question mark" after the letters "php" and it will work. 

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php? /topic/47823-modmarket-a-denver-based-healthy-real-food-franchise-in-bethesda-row/

If you take out the space of the top URL, and click on it, it won't work. 

If you take out the space of the bottom URL, it will work.

That's the cheat - it'll all be resolved within weeks, with my apologies.

This will also always work:  http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=47823

On 10/29/2016 at 3:27 PM, Pool Boy said:

It would be a large undertaking to create it. It would be an ongoing undertaking to keep it up to date. But it would sure be handy. Anyway, just one way to potentially solve the sometimes requested map function. I am sure there might be easier ways, just thought I would throw it out there for eventual consideration.

LIke this one, perhaps?  The restaurants are a little over a month out of date, but never much more than that.  The bars need work.

Le Bernardin isn't far.  If you're on the Highline, go to the Bubby's next to the Whitney for brunch.

How much time do you have?  The Airtrain will take you to the subway (E/J/Z at Jamaica or A at Howard Beach), which opens up a lot of possibilities and avoids traffic issues.  You can also catch the LIRR at Jamaica station if you want to head into Manhattan.

1 hour ago, DaveO said:

You should check to see if the guy that originally opened Friday's is still there, still trying to pick up women.  Look for a very old, very horny guy.    (I thought that was an amazing tidbit of restaurant history).  

Alan Stillman sold TGI Fridays in 1975 and started Smith & Wollensky, which he still runs.

On 8/24/2016 at 8:22 AM, johnb said:

I was a grad student in NYC in the late 60's and remember that original TGIF ...

I live a couple of blocks from it.  It's now a fairly decent Irish bar, oddly named Baker Street, and still has what is essentially the original layout.  Not a bad place to go for a burger and a pint, with a slightly older crowd from the neighborhood.  It's light years better than the typical post-frat-house Irish bars on seemingly every block.

On 8/19/2016 at 0:46 PM, DaveO said:

Gandy Dancer (here and Baltimore), Man in the Green Hat (the Hill), Whitey's, Royal Lee Bar & Grill, Garrett's (also had good burgers), Charring Cross, Poor Roberts, Maggies, Zebra Room, ...

We were probably in the same bar many times.  I was the underage drunk guy.  I'm guessing that doesn't narrow it down.  

Meyer and Gislason both moved to New York.

Thrillist has what purports to be a current list.

On 6/25/2016 at 4:13 AM, DonRocks said:

Alas, Arcade Bakery isn't a complete secret ...

Nope:  New York’s Best New Bakery Is Located in an Office-Building Lobby [New York Magazine, Sep. 30, 2014].

I stop in every time I have to go to Centre Street.

You could eat pretty well along that corridor: Wiseguy's, Pho 75, Guajillo, Ray's Helldugout, Bayou Bakery, Earl's, Me Jana, Ray's the Steaks, Minh's, Cava, Green Pig, Screwtop, Pete's, Four Sisters, Amsterdam, Delhi Club, Moby Dick, Lyon Hall, Liberty, Northside, Mala Tang, Water & Wall, Yona, Kapnos, Rus Uz, Earl's, and SER.  Also on the fringe are Layalina, Puppetella, Ravi Kabob, Ravi Kabob II, Ravi Chatkhara, El Charrito Caminante, Astor, and Bonchon. That was fun.

Quote

I'll be in California for a couple of weeks, so if you want me to review any restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley, or San Francisco ... or North Bay ... or even Sacramento..., let me know - maybe the next thread will focus exclusively on those restaurants, and I'll do, say, three of them (maybe more - whatever I can fit in, time-wise). Whatever you want. Start thinking about what you want reviewed in the Northern San Francisco area, and think about yielding to people who will be visiting there in the near future.

Can I start by suggesting this or this (whichever is your preference), or perhaps this or this (if you want a more interactive experience)?

Too bad we can't force Don to review this place.

I am an attorney that specializes in insurance coverage disputes.  My practice is limited to professional lines insurance (D&O, E&O, etc.), so I have no real experience in homeowner's claims.  But the one thing I can reasonably advise* in any situation like this is to notify your own carrier immediately.  They have an interest in making you whole that the other carrier might not and should handle all of the interaction with your neighbor's insurer.

* I note (hopefully obviously) that this is not intended as legal advice, but is instead just a friendly tip.  Please feel free to PM me if you have questions, though any attorney's free advice is worth what you pay for it.