Restaurant Recommendations

[lefty]

You're killing me. I noticed a MMFK cookbook at W&S the other day. Maybe the cookie recipe is in there.

lefty

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by gdl203

The new refocused Ssam lunch counter concept (just the Duck Bar, three dishes, 4 or 5 side plates) is actually great.

And Milk Bar right across to finish with a nice espresso and cookie.

Will give a try.

Thanks for the Hung Ry rec. Really enjoyed it, have gone a few times and have sent friends there. Along with Toto it is the best lower-mid range priced Asian food I've had in this country.

 

[gdl203]

Lefty, pm me your address and i'll send you a bunch of cookies SField, Ssam duck bar is not as well thought out and addictive as Hung Ry but it's a nice, perfectly cooked piece of magret on rice with a yummy scallion pancake and the condiments make the whole difference- great sauces and the crispy shallots are

Did you make it to Hung Ry before they changed the lobster dish into a cold soup? That was my favorite of all.

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Lefty, pm me your address and i'll send you a bunch of cookies

SField, Ssam duck bar is not as well thought out and addictive as Hung Ry but it's a nice, perfectly cooked piece of magret on rice with a yummy scallion pancake and the condiments make the whole difference- great sauces and the crispy shallots are

Did you make it to Hung Ry before they changed the lobster dish into a cold soup? That was my favorite of all.

Did not have either, pity I missed it. Going again in June.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by SField

Did not have either, pity I missed it. Going again in June.
The current cold dish is ok but not as strong as the duck for example. The previous seafood dish was spectacular. Lobster, bass (sometimes hake, pollack), sunchokes, hen of the woods in a slightly tangy fish broth.

 

[riverrun]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Recent NYC meals at Jean-Georges, Eleven Madison Park, Ma Peche, Maialino, Osteria Morini, Momofuku Ssam, Hudson Clearwater. Maialino was fantastic - particularly the rabbit and olive garganelli. The pig of course was excellent. Ma Peche was pretty good but I preferred the duck lunch at Ssam - company was better at Ma Peche. Milk Bar cake truffles are so freakin delicious. Morini not bad - weaker for lunch, better kitchen and service for dinner. Hudson Clearwater was good but not excellent - except desserts which were surprisingly well done. EMP - always excellent but not as satisfying as JG JG - still by far the best lunch in the city. Incredible food, ridiculously high value for money
Interesting list. My experience with those place has been: Maialino sounds unnecessary (aren't there already more roman restos and danny meyer restos than one city could possibly need), but in practice it's just always great. Really one of my consistently favorite restaurants bc I can go there for any meal and with almost and group and have a great experience and great food. Ma Peche is pretty decent but Ssam is much better IMO. Also the crowd at Ma Peche is often pretty weird, post work midtowners during the week, the drinks are significantly worse than at Ssam, etc. Morini - only been once, which is part of my complaint because it's always annoying to get into. Liked the space sort of but the food underwhelmed. Based on the food morini for convivio was a bad trade. Way too popular and much of a pain to go to given how distinctly not stellar the food and service both were, but I'm definitely not writing it off. Hudson Clearwater I haven't been to but look forward to trying. EMP was awesome the one time I went but I haven't been since they overhauled it. JG - never been. want to go.

 

[clee1982]

London:

Applebee's Fish (Borough's market), few of the cheap and cheerful place in London (http://applebeesfish.com/). Just order seafood, don't bother with anything else. It's not a fish & chip place, more like how Italian would have done it.

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by gdl203

Lefty, pm me your address and i'll send you a bunch of cookies


Thanks, mate. What would you like from SF? Overpriced lukewarm coffee with attitude?

lefty

 

[scientific]

i was a big fan of Spiaggia back in my Chicago days. nice to see it get some credit here although not sure what the problem with the decor is? all i remember was the view which was awesome

edit: granted it's been 6 years since i've been there but still, cant imagine what the problem is?

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by scientific

i was a big fan of Spiaggia back in my Chicago days. nice to see it get some credit here although not sure what the problem with the decor is? all i remember was the view which was awesome

edit: granted it's been 6 years since i've been there but still, cant imagine what the problem is?

It's cold and feels like Patrick Bateman's go to place when Dorsia isn't giving him a last minute res. It is in absolute desperate need of an update.

 

[JLM84]

Boston (my hometown)
Stella
The Butcher Shop
Oishii
Bina Osteria
Dali (Somerville...outside of Boston)
Beehive
Henrietta's Table (Cambridge)
Rialto (Cambridge)
Myers+Change

Philadelphia

Distrito/Amada/Tinto (Jose Garces restaurants)
Amis (incredible)
Marrakesh (possibly my favorite. So many courses and you eat all with your hands -- delicious)
El Vez
Lolita
Opa

DC
Bodega

London
The Square

 

[RSS]

Colombe d'Or (St.-Paul de Vence) for the art. Go light on the food.

 

[Advent]

Vevey, Switzerland

Anyone have any suggestions around this area?

 

[gomestar]

Ate at The Mark by Jean Georges last night. Overall very good, some dishes better than others, and service that was very good but IMO felt a little disconnected at times. We started off with a mixed cold seafood app. w/ shrimp, lobster, clams, and oysters. The oysters were top notch, the lobster was a good tail but I missed the junk in the middle to spread on some bread (my favorite part of a lobster). We paid dearly for that starter. The pea soup was excellent, and my grilled lamb was even better. My side of broccoli rabe was too close to raw to enjoy. All three deserts were superb.

The wine list is good and fairly reasonable, obviously some picks were better than others. We had two great wines for good prices.

Overall it was enjoyed, but for the price I'd recommend ABC Kitchen over The Mark.

 

[whnay.]

Earlier this week in London.

St. John

Ok, started with the cuttlefish in its own ink with sweet onions - good but not great. Next was braised duck leg with celery and carrots - wonderful. Ended with the custard with biscuits - well executed but uneventful.

So - better than your average bear but not really worth the effort if your crunched for time and you only have a few meals to spare in London.

L'Atelier JR

I've always been a skeptic of this outfit - as many of you know - outposts in a lot of major cities, etc. Started with the crab tartare with sesame toast and pickled veggies - 4/5, next was the egg cocette with mushroom cream - 3.5/5, foie gras with grilled apricots followed - amazing and then finished it off with lemon souffle with rasberry sorbet - best dish of the trip (made to perfection).

Nice, relaxing atmosphere for a 2 star and not particularly expensive with a nice selection of wines by the glass.