weinoo

I've been able to achieve some pretty nice results with my vac pot on a consistent basis. And it looks really cool. But in a coffee house setting, I imagine it's a pain in the ass compared to doing pour over.

As you quoted above, I find the bagels at Russ & Daughters to be, to my taste, the most authentic. Ess-A-Bagel and Murray's Bagels are also good.

Well, at least the best appetizing .

Great posts. I have had issues with places that carry "freshly-roasted beans" when those beans were roasted weeks ago. I am lucky enough to live across the street from a place that gets in freshly roasted beans 2x a week, so they're never more than 2 or 3 days old. Dolcezza occasionally fits that bill too - like the Verve Street Level that I picked up last week (roasted 3 days prior), and which, btw, was a fine espresso shot and was really good brewed via pourover. I will definitely take a drive up to Petworth and your shop the next time I'm down in DC with my car.

Pok Pok Phat Thai (nee wings), of course, is one of the 2 famous NYC outposts of Pok Pok, Portland, where Andy Richter rose to fame. Also, I think it's on the LES, not in the LES .

This topic forced me to go to Russ & Daughters this past weekend. Their bagels (I don't really know the source) come in two sizes - mini and regular. The minis are just over 2 ounces, the regulars just over 3 oz. - so they're like the bagels I remember from when I was a kid. Eminently edible untoasted. But of course, at R & D, there is so much more to choose from other than bagels...

I just picked up some Verve Street Level Espresso at Dolcezza and am looking forward to giving it a "shot" with Rocky and Silvia tomorrow morning!

I don't understand...I use my Rocky for both espresso and drip (and the occasional French press, aeropress, siphon, Moka, etc.). How is it too much trouble to change the grind - it's takes under 2 seconds!

I live around the corner from Kossar's, and often buy bialys fresh out of their ovens. Then I take them home and toast them, as I prefer dough that's cooked all the way through.

I really like the pastrami. It's just that the sandwich is literally unmanageable to eat.

Why are you phasing out red vermouth? I buy Anitca and decant into 3 smaller bottles. It lasts until I finish all 3 without any real change to the flavor. I see you're loyal to Plymouth/Beefeater. Do you have any loyalties to the rye or bourbon?

The original H & H is closed. There are still H & H bagels, but not from the same ownership. Bialys and bagels - it's like comparing apples to oranges. Bialys, in my opinion, should always be toasted (like an English muffin), whereas a good, fresh bagel doesn't need to be. Let's not forget bulkas and pletzels, either! Kossar's does mail order - shipping is expensive, but the more you buy, the more reasonable the shipping becomes. If you happen to be in NYC, Hot Bread Kitchen sells their bialys at various retail shops. Russ & Daughters carries them, as a matter of fact. They're awesome.

So is this place under new ownership, or has something else happened? We stopped in last night - while there are still burgers on the menu, there is nothing stating that the beef is ground in house, as the menu used to state. The rest of the food menu looks different as well. Also, there seems to be a reduced beer menu. Anyone know what gives?

Acme Restaurant just celebrated its 1st birthday. A return dinner was therefore necessary - even if I'd eaten there at least 7 or 8 times during the course of their first year. Happy Birthday, Acme.

Crack notwithstanding, Italian salsa verde is my favorite of the green salsas - I happened to have some on my Roseda Farms' sirloin just the other night...and it was one of the best $22 steaks I've had in a long time. I've seen recipes for salsa verde that contain bread, but when I make it at home, my main ingredients are Italian parsley, anchovies and capers. Do you use bread in your recipe, Dean?

What are you drinking?

You mean this... And this... Just had lunch here yesterday . One of my favorite lunches in the city, and a good deal at $20 includes the chive pancake, boston lettuce leaves and a side order.

And then, I went back to my post on eGullet 4 years ago, when he was on TNFNS - even then I knew he was a d-bag; now, it's only that much more obvious.

Because it's a 500-seat restaurant, opened by a celebrity "chef," in the heart of Times Square?

Adams Morgan seems to be becoming the noodle center of the district, as Taan has joined Sakuramen in serving ramen, and Pho 14's opening is imminent. Located smack between Cashion's and Mintwood, Taan opened its doors just last week, and we gave it a try tonight. A wonderful greeting by the hostess (and all the servers are super nice as well) and we were led to our "table." I use the term "table" loosely, because it's all high tops or bar seats, none of which have backs and therefore, none of which are comfortable in any way, shape or form - at least not once you reach a certain age; sadly, mine. A full bar exists, and there's an upstairs lounge which will be used as, well, a lounge area on Friday and Saturday nights as business picks up. Service will be until 2 AM. Anyway, the food. A bit more ambitious, at least as far as the apps go, than your usual ramen joint Fried green tomatoes were a starter that I enjoyed; good frying technique and little tidbits of fried pork accompanied the 4 or 5 slices of green tomato. The duck breast over dashi risotto is an interesting concept, but I no love. Oh, the duck breast slices were nice and rare and fatty and tasty, but the risotto was a little gummy for my taste and needed salt. And I don't think the accompanying pickled daikon radish added much to the dish - nice that they're trying something different however. On to the ramen...there are 4 or 5 ramens on the menu; 1 duck confit, 1 vegetarian, and 2 or 3 with pork...in a rare case, we both ordered the duck, since neither of us really wanted pork belly tonight. Vegetarian - well, what's the point? I don't really know how to rate ramen, but the broth was rich and tasty. The half egg was nicely cooked; the white just set and the yolk all oozy. My portion was skimpy on the duck, while my wife's had a whole leg in it, so we shared. I don't know if the duck was confit or not, since it apparently had surrendered much of its flavor to the soup. The noodles were okay, if slightly overcooked to my taste. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this ramen a 5.5 - there's room for improvement, and there's room to expand the ramen offerings as well. I don't know if Taan will move into a regular rotation, especially with the other noodle possibilities in the neighborhood. And if it turns into a bit of a zoo, with the lounge and full bar, I'll be heading to Sakuramen instead. And who knew Adams Morgan would become a neighborhood with a multiplicity of noodle offerings - keep 'em coming, I say!

We had a delicious meal last night at Mintwood. The chicken liver tartine is a thing of beauty and my wife's smoked chowder with sunchokes and mussels was fine and dandy. But the highlight was my order: wild Scottish wood pigeon, the breast wrapped in a forcemeat of the pigeon's dark meat, heart, liver, etc. This was all wrapped in Savoy cabbage and bacon, cooked perfectly, and served on a bed of forbidden rice. Wow - a knockout, with a perfect portion priced at $19. You know it was wild, as I happily picked out two pieces of buckshot from my serving.

What timing! Yesterday's NY Times has an article on the dumpling craze - they're no longer confined to Chinatown, and they're spreading like wildfire:

Actually, I often judge a bar by whether it can make a Martini or a Manhattan properly. It's great to be able to throw 6 or 7 ingredients into a shaker, to be sure, but when you're dealing with the primacy of 3 or 4 ingredients, let's see how well you do. I do the same at a bistro. If your French fries suck, then your restaurant has a problem.

These places are all over Chinatown. Everyone has their favorite. Mine is Prosperity Dumplings on Eldridge Street.

That's a good deal - I have to get there for happy hour. And I never bother ordering a Martini at any of our "neighborhood haunts," after way too many disappointing staples.