Tell us about your favourite restaurant of the moment

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minibar at Cafe Atlantico. 30+ tiny courses for 6 people twice a night, featuring salmon with a pineapple skin, sea urchin with pomegranate air, liquid cantalope ravioli 'cured' in a calcium bath , lobster speared with a pipette of its own juices, cotton candy wrapped foie gras, and all other kinds of weirdness that shouldn't work but absolutely does.

Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 13:04 (nineteen years ago) link

its not fried, its like, just really oily like it was fried.

it may as well have BEEN fried.

AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:08 (nineteen years ago) link

Right now my favorite place is GATTITOWN, which is a ginormous pizza buffet/arcade/game-room dealie, which is like heaven to a 6 year old. Not a very foodist answer, sure, but does YOUR restaurant have a BALL PIT.

nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:16 (nineteen years ago) link

its not fried, its like, just really oily like it was fried.
it may as well have BEEN fried.

That would be a nasty naan. Maybe it was a paratha (which should be oily and deliciously so).

Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:18 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm still amazed at how everyone seems to dine out so much. I've only been to one restaurant in the last month (great Tapas place in Ladbroke Grove).

Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Nothing in Amory, although Pickle's Drive-In does very nice fried catfish. The place that never fails to make me happy is Pho Saigon in Memphis. An order of spring rolls and the chicken curry soup would be a treat right now.

Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Spiceroot in Williamstown - I don't know how to rate it among Indian restaurants but I'm quite happy with it when I get a craving for lamb curry. Classic for "student special" menu of cheapness and plenty.

Garcia's in the towns east and west of mine - Mexican food. Good, lots of menu options (most of which I haven't tried), and cheap.

Maria (Maria), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:39 (nineteen years ago) link

anyone know of a *good* - and i mean really proper, decent mexican place in london. there must be one. i LOVE mexican food when it's done well. done badly, as it is everywhere i've had it in the uk, it's the absolute bottom end of shit food. i'd kill for a san fran chicken burrito right now.

stelfox, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:43 (nineteen years ago) link

if anyone ever serves me a fried naan, i will punch them

i'll be going to the restaurant at the hopi cultural center soon, and one of their menu items is navajo tacos -- tacos on native american fry bread. get me one droolbucket.

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link

oh no, fried bread can be a total joy. there's a wicked hungarian fried bread that i love, but a fried naan would be 'orrible. they should be like big fluffy, doughy pillows, not all greasy and hard.

stelfox, Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:50 (nineteen years ago) link

there's a place in hampstead road, recently opened, called mestizo that i've heard great things about. if reports are correct, then there is good mexican food in london at last. i've been meaning to try, but various financial hurdles keep cropping up.

lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:53 (nineteen years ago) link

Kelsey took me out a couple weeks ago to a place in Edgewater called the Indie Cafe, which serves both Thai and Japanese cuisine. It doesn't look like much from the outside -- it's quite small -- but it's very tastefully done inside, with an attention to detail that extends to the food. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I ordered a soup and salad. The soup was a vegetable soup with tofu -- really tasty broth, robust and not too salty. The salad was asparagus spears in a spicy orange sauce, with sweet tofu -- everything artfully arranged on the plate. We also split an appetizer of tempura/maki, which was quite delicious as well. Anyway, the fact that I didn't even order an entree and was still mighty impressed and satisfied with my meal means that I am very much looking forward to returning.

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 14:59 (nineteen years ago) link

what an odd name for an asian restaurant.. "indie cafe"

phil-two (phil-two), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:01 (nineteen years ago) link

appetizers are always better than entrees!

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:02 (nineteen years ago) link

Ian's Pizza continues to provide pleasure and excitement. Last week I had a mozzarella & tomato slice with an olive base. Two nights ago I had a Steak and Fries slice after my gig, then brought home a barbeque chicken & pineapple slice for lunch the next day along with a macaroni & cheese slice for my girlfriend.

Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:09 (nineteen years ago) link

jaymc - where ist the Indie Cafe?

n/a (Nick A.), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Broadway, just north of Thorndale

jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 15:29 (nineteen years ago) link

anyone know of a *good* - and i mean really proper, decent mexican place in london. there must be one. i LOVE mexican food when it's done well. done badly, as it is everywhere i've had it in the uk, it's the absolute bottom end of shit food. i'd kill for a san fran chicken burrito right now.

I think this is a lost cause, Dave. Trust me, I know!

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 16:13 (nineteen years ago) link

I don't currently have a favorite, but this new Sietsema list looks like a good place to start exploring (for those in the NYC area):

http://villagevoice.com/nyclife/0523,cheapchownow,64696,19.html

o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 19:05 (nineteen years ago) link

ok, when i get back to the city, who wants to come with me to arthur avenue for pumpkin bureks?

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:25 (nineteen years ago) link

the INDIE CAFE!!! hahaha

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:32 (nineteen years ago) link

recently i went to a great pakistani restaurant in a former diner. it still has the banquettes & counter in place! awesome!

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:32 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh, I forgot to say, my current favorite is a Carribean/South American place called Tropix in Oakland. A big deck out the back, AMAZING cornbread, Brazilian beer, jerk chicken and curry and crabcakes...fucking great.

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:33 (nineteen years ago) link

i am going to a "nouveau concept" spanish place in 30 minutes!!

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:33 (nineteen years ago) link

what does that mean?

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:34 (nineteen years ago) link

La Sirena Grill in Laguna Beach.

http://photos12.flickr.com/18114679_a192d4a6a7_m.jpg

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

i'll see in half an hour! (xp)

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:43 (nineteen years ago) link

There are a lot of real food experts on ILX. I wish I was one of them!

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:43 (nineteen years ago) link

you can be! just double your food intake until you know more about food!

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:45 (nineteen years ago) link

"there is no teacher as wise as experience"

--nostradamus

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:46 (nineteen years ago) link

I took Alex in SF to watch a "soccer" match and in return he introduced me to the JOYS of a brunch at Memphis Minnie's. Oh. My. God.

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:46 (nineteen years ago) link

droolx0r

s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

They fly all their ingredients in from South Carolina! Despite the dictates of cost and common sense!

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

what's the nearest cross street to it, adam?

oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:50 (nineteen years ago) link

Not sure...Stanyan?

Did you go there?

Yakuza Ghost Six (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 22:56 (nineteen years ago) link

No but my sis lives right off haight so I thought I'd tell her about it. so at the least she'd remember it when i was in town next.
what's that fried chicken place around there that's awesome? i went there twice.

oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 23:00 (nineteen years ago) link

Powell's?

oops (Oops), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 23:13 (nineteen years ago) link

I have really enjoyed Edendale Grill in Silverlake the last couple times I went.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 23:14 (nineteen years ago) link

I have really enjoyed Edendale Grill in Silverlake the last couple times I went.

The great Silverlake food of the moment is Gingergrass

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 8 June 2005 23:17 (nineteen years ago) link

*anyone know of a *good* - and i mean really proper, decent mexican place in london*

You need Café Pacifico (Langley St, Covent Garden) in your life!

Mog, Thursday, 9 June 2005 09:47 (nineteen years ago) link

NB my favourite central London restaurants are:

Kulu Kulu, Brewer St (sushi)
Mela, Shaftesbury Ave (Indian)
Café Pacifico (Mexican)

and I would love to be able to eat at Claridge's every day.

Mog, Thursday, 9 June 2005 09:49 (nineteen years ago) link

omg i am so going to MILLIE'S PANCAKE HAUS tomorrow. i passed it last week and sorta forgot about it until i started hankering for pancakes just now.

http://www.roadfood.com/photos/1739.jpg

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 10 June 2005 03:18 (nineteen years ago) link

how can anything spelled "haus" be bad?

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 10 June 2005 03:20 (nineteen years ago) link

I think probably West Town Tavern. Have the lamb. Or the potroast.

Paunchy Stratego (kenan), Friday, 10 June 2005 03:22 (nineteen years ago) link

yum, i love pot roast.

metal assembly (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 10 June 2005 03:23 (nineteen years ago) link

ten months pass...
Well we just back from Cay Tre 301 Old Street. Found out that they were outstanding. For a experience of 5 years living in Vietnam, I can tell this one offer the most authentic so far as their menu only has 10% chinese stuff like aromatic duck etc..., The most difficult Vietnamese dish to cook is "Pho", everyone can cook it but just a few make it nice, Cay Tre does it. Viet Hoa and Khoai seem like just half way, they cover the menu by many chinese dish which you can easily find in a Soho restaurant menu.
For the dodgy big spring roll Cay tre does, I can tell you why. Spring roll is differently made through the length of Vietnam. Hanoi Spring Rolls are big, double the size and slightly different with the Saigon version. Cay tre chef must be a guy from Vietname Capitol, Hanoi, as when you go through the menu, you can find most of the dishes are Northen Vietnam, from Hanoi.

tarbucndge, Sunday, 23 April 2006 14:23 (eighteen years ago) link

OK but the spring rolls made by the chefs that moved to Minnesota were more massive than even Cay Tre's but a million times nicer - and had pork, prawn, bean thread, onion, carrot and spices in them. Minnesota also has a lot of Hmongs amongst its recent Vietnamese immigrants. Is this a coincidence?

We've been raving about Cay Tre for a few years now.

suzy (suzy), Sunday, 23 April 2006 15:20 (eighteen years ago) link

on the not-cheap-but-not-ourageous tip, my favorite restaurant of the moment is BARBUTO in NYC's far west village. small menu of nontrad Italian-ish dishes: interesting salads*, hearty pastas, a beautiful half roast chicken swimming in herbal green sauce. wine list isn't too daunting though I tend towards martinis, they know how to make 'em. the space itself is a former garage on Washington St, go later this spring or summer when they open up the sides.

*the salad w/squid & black chick peas is nice but ask for the unctious alioli dressing on the side if youre squeamish about richness like me.

m coleman (lovebug starski), Sunday, 23 April 2006 15:22 (eighteen years ago) link

I wuv Raeburns in Paisley. Been going there regularly since it opened, and have never had a less than excellent meal yet. Friendly staff, fresh local ingredients, cracking house wines, imaginative menus, unstuffy, unpretentious, unhassled. Would recommend it to anyone.

ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 23 April 2006 15:29 (eighteen years ago) link

Just tried Viet Grill in Kingsland Rd. Definitily this is 2nd branch of Cay Tre. Their Feudal Roast Beef and Honeyed quail with lotus seed broth are fabulous. I've never tried it in any Vietnamese restaurant.
Tips: Go to Cay tre first, ask for Viet Grill. They the will give you a discount card. Bring it to Viet Grill and you'll have 10% off the bill. Found it out last week, when I was waiting for a table at Cay tre.

huge, Monday, 24 April 2006 15:06 (eighteen years ago) link

it has its problems but its nice here overall. the mohawk trail. the valley. its pretty. for some reason i was really surprised that both my kids LOVE coming home when they come home from school. they speak of this place so fondly. i never wanted to go back to my neck of connecticut. it was lame to me. but its different here. you do have to have a lot of tolerance for ex-hippies though. they are kinda the scourge. not the fentanyl crowd.

scott seward, Wednesday, 28 February 2024 04:39 (three months ago) link

i dunno. i probably shouldn't look an oblivious and annoying gift horse in the mouth. better to be surrounded by ex-hippies than maga nation.

scott seward, Wednesday, 28 February 2024 04:43 (three months ago) link

Some places boast that they've kept prices stable, but then they add on a 3+% fee. A place we're going to next week:

As a way to offset rising costs associated with the restaurant (food, beverage, labor, benefits, supplies), we have added a 3% surcharge to all checks. We do this in lieu of increased menu prices. You may request to have this taken off your check, should you choose.

There's a place here that adds a 10% fee on all checks, unrelated to tip, no taking it off. I feel like it just puts the wait staff in an awkward position to explain it to anyone who looks at their check, and feels like a slightly scammy way to keep the prices appearing the same on the menu.

Jordan s/t (Jordan), Wednesday, 28 February 2024 15:27 (three months ago) link

when i used to wait tables a lunch/salad bar place at the Bourse across the street from the liberty bell in the late 80s in philly we would add a gratuity if someone had any kind of accent. tourists, you know. but they really didn't tip. we would get 10 germans at a table. we had to do it. but people would ask about it every once in a while. sometimes if you were lucky you would get a table of 10 people and they would leave a big tip! we called that a double grat. cha-ching!

scott seward, Wednesday, 28 February 2024 15:37 (three months ago) link

i'm torn. the friendly's in town - there used to be two! - tasted like poison and i kinda always felt like i was gonna die after eating there but starbucks sucks too. well, to be fair, i have only been to starbucks once. in the 90s. their coffee sucked. it tasted burnt and i hate burnt coffee. not a fan of french roast either. i will always have fond memories of friendly's in the 70s though. and those butter-toasted hamburger buns.

https://www.recorder.com/Starbucks-applying-to-take-over-Friendly-s-on-Mohawk-Trail-54183907?fbclid=IwAR201qnYQQiMgtg7O5pU8WC5rxETKIXoowdzO4sFgf9M3yev1Wu3qRFFnw4

scott seward, Thursday, 29 February 2024 14:51 (three months ago) link

There is very odd cafe in Shibuya where you walk through this baroque exterior straight out of Vienna's 6th district and inside is this cloistered set of benches not unlike a church, theater or train all focused on these massive 10 foot tall speakers playing classical music on this *serious* hifi. You're expected to be silent (except for your whispered order to your server) during your visit.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%90%8D%E6%9B%B2+%E3%82%AB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7+%E3%81%83%E9%9F%B3%E3%80%81+%E6%B8%8B%E8%B0%B7&tbm=isch

citation needed (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 29 February 2024 17:28 (three months ago) link

Just heard some people on a radio show talking about that place (Dave from Dirty Projectors)

Jordan s/t (Jordan), Thursday, 29 February 2024 17:32 (three months ago) link

They have an excellent magazine selection available for perusal. While waiting for my colleague I picked up a thick glossy edition about vertical coffee cultivation and it was amazing (nb: I could barely read it but the pictures were excellent).

citation needed (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 29 February 2024 17:39 (three months ago) link


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