New York Restaurants

shit i have 3000 plans on sat (among them an event at franklin park in the afternoon if bell/ian feel like stopping by!)

i could stop by!

i just made that shit up

Sanskrit, the point of the oyster fap is that during happy hour during the workweek, oysters are half price. You can go on Sat and I might even be able to join you but it'll cost ya.

oh rite
do it do fridays then?

i should probably just scroll upthread

ok i just did nix that

LET'S RIDE BIKES

Sunset Park is great. I really like the dim sum at 8th Avenue Seafood Restaurant and it's pretty easy to get in there when the more widely known places like Pacificana are too packed to get near. The people who work there are very kind and generous as well. Another good Chinese restaurant in SP is called Lucky 8--they have great fried rice. Ba Xuyen has the best banh mi in the city and really good spring rolls, ice coffee and avocado shakes.

i noticed the had a durian shake but i was way too scared to try it!

Recommend me some stuff to order at Congee Village. I'm not very experienced with *real* Chinese food.

Durian shake is presumably from frozen durian, which doesn't really have the odor.

I don't really like Congee Village, it's a bit greasy. I would go somewhere else for real Chinese food (unless you want to do karaoke and eat Chinese food at the same venue). Amazing 66 on Mott Street is good, so are any # of intimidating gross looking hole in the wall places on Grand Street/Hester Street/E. Broadway and so on.

I'm *really* into the Lucky King Bakery on Grand Street right now. They have awesome char siu bao, green fried ball things with black sesame and peanuts inside and there's all kinds of dim sum in the steam cupboard behind the counter for like $1.50 each. I just ask them to show me all the stuff in there because I don't know the Chinese names. A full dim sum meal there is like $7! Also, good coffee. They have congee and noodles and Chinese donuts too.

i love lucky king.

wasn't the person who picked CV and it was chosen because we had a large party. Anyway, we ate: snails in black bean sauce, scallops w/ginger and scallion, vegetarian congee, fillet of beef in some kind of sauce, baked rice w/chicken and shitake mushroom, snow pea leaf w/garlic sauce and some kind of soup dumplings. Everything was good.

Tried Northeast Kingdom on saturday and everything was pretty spot on apart from an overcooked piece of salmon (called home smoked on the menu it felt like it had been left on the grill too long). Great house cocktails, would drink many old bushwicks and roof gardens.

Its a little tightly packed in there however this did mean we could earwig the conversation of the gay hipster couple next to us and get an eyeful of the look the older gave to the younger when the younger suggested they get a joint bank account.

Oh, I like that place.

I also like joint bank accounts.

Figaro gone

casting ill health to the wind, i braved the shack, and an hour on a nice night was worth it for a stack

in other news, I now live 2 blocks from a taco truck!

i ordered from what must be the worst thai restaurant i have ever had, udom thai in prospect heights. the duck salad was made from chicken! so fucking shameful. and it also tasted like it had cold spaghetti sauce in it. i don't even know what that was supposed to be, but spaghetti sauce, cashews, soggy fried chicken pieces, and iceburg lettuce = the most pathetic attempt at thai food i've ever seen. and i've eaten thai foor in suburban new england.

lol

I don't know if it's worst ever but we ordered udom for takeout once ... not so hot

The two stand-out meals I ate over the past two weeks in NYC took place at: Casa Mono (RAZOR CLAMS!) and Jade Asian Restaurant in Flushing.

ive been wanting to try casa mono, though heard that the wait times can be ridiculous and its super packed and uncomfortable.. also, how much was it?

i havent been eating well lately... saving money for the tasting menu at eleven madison park again. mmmm

Most of the dishes are in the $12-15 range; we probably got 10 of them for five of us. I have to admit I don't know what the total bill was, as my brother and his wife were buying (a very belated engagement dinner they claimed they owed us).

oh, thats it? that sounds like a bargain. 10 dishes for 5 people was enough? maybe i should finally give it a shot. thanks! love razor clams, but have only had it prepared cantonese style... is it just thrown on the grill there? err, i mean on the planxa?

yes planxa yes delicious YES

also great: sweetbreads, lamb, sardines, duck egg.

on my way to WD-50

dont get wet

Natalie Portman was at the table next to us.

casa mono can be a little cramped (got seated at the end of the bar once and waiters kept bumping me) but the food's pretty great, co-sign on the razor clams

also spicy grilled pork with pickled watermelon

how was wd-50? been there once w/ mixed results

mixed results, though my entree was the best.

Pork Belly with caper emulsion, capers, sunchoke and ancho crusted pineapple or something.

My favorite just closed: Col Legno -- a great little Italian place on East 9th.

my favorite everyday-sushi place, Kirara, closed... so sad. it was by far the best non-high-end sushi in new york :( :( (:

From my last Trip, Minca Ramen on 5th between A and B, the most awesome char siu pork and the freshest tastiest daikon salad.

I am excited for the opening of Curry-ya (Japanese-style curry) in a week or so (brought to us by the Rai Rai Ken/Soba-ya/ etc. etc empire. It's right next door to Rai Rai Ken and looks ready to go.

Japanese curry scares me, no food should be that shiny.

col legno RIP. it was a great place.

phil, after i teach you to cook we should celebrate at casa mono (or perhaps bar jamon next door).

Casa Mono is one of my favorite restaurants in NY, but the tables are so tight. I try to go between 2-5pm not that they're open all day.

I've had one very good meal at wd~50, but my last time there was probably the most dispassionate meal I've ever had at that pricepoint. Uncoordinated service, assembly line feel, no manager in sight. I'll probably never go back.

yeah im so looking forward to being able to actually make something for myself... and yeah, casa mono or bar jamon sounds great!

yah, both places are so tiny. i walk by around 5ish pretty often, though, and that seems like a good time to go.

i usually eat lunch around 3 or 4 anyways

yeah we probably won't go back to wd-50 either. my meal was decent but my wife hated her entree (some kinda fish with "cocoa nibs" in the sauce, very weird texture and taste)

we almost bailed out from the very beginning when we arrived at 5:55 for our 6 o'clock reservation. restaurant is supposed to open at 6. we go in and they said we're not ready yet, come back in 20 minutes and sent us to a bar down the street. my mouth almost dropped open. but it was for a birthday and we didn't have any backup plan so we decided to stick it out.

I was pretty surprised when Bruni bumped them up from 2 to 3 stars. for the amount you're paying I think it's a crap shoot on whether you get something amazing vs. a bunch of "works in progress" that don't taste that great.

lunch @ di fara pizza today. TOTALLY lived up to the legend. and my son loved it, basil, cheese and all. YAY.

http://offthebroiler.files.wordpress.com/2006/05/IMG_5216.JPG

looks so good! ^^

Mmmmm.

Forgot to mention that I had a pretty perfect plate of pasta at Little Giant while that crazy thunderstorm raged outside.

Last night I had the steak at Aurora (@ Grand and Wythe) ... it levitated!

My favorite Japanese bakery Panya got closed by the health department :(
I don't mind that there may have been mice baking my curry pans.

Wha...? Are they gonna reopen?