people love park side but i've never been.
I went five years ago for work with a guy who had part of a table in the main room. (Some of the tables are “owned” by patrons so they have access to them and have little plaques with their names on them. One of the other names on the table we were at was Alphonse D’Amato, lol).
I got there early and got a drink at the bar. While I waited, regulars arrived in a steady stream. It was like the scene in Goodfellas after the Lufthansa heist when Carbone walked in with his wife and her new fur coat. Everyone was dressed 20 years out of date and the women wore tons of makeup. It was hilarious.
I was pleasantly surprised by the food, though. It is definitely Italian-American, but executed very well.
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Thursday, 14 March 2019 16:59 (five years ago) link
got to love a place owned by a guy named Tough Tony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Federici
― mizzell, Thursday, 14 March 2019 17:23 (five years ago) link
any recommendations for a good not super expensive French Bistro/Brasserie ? no specific area
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:08 (five years ago) link
never been there, but this is the same people as Casa Enrique and I hear it's good: https://henrinyc.com/cafe-henri/
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:08 (five years ago) link
oh I also like le barricou in williamsburg
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:10 (five years ago) link
oh yeah, also really like L'Antagoniste in Bed Stuy
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:12 (five years ago) link
little bistro in sunnyside: https://cotesoleilnyc.com/
and they just opened another in jackson heights: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bistro-eloise-queens
same weird strip mall as the french bakery
― dan selzer, Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:12 (five years ago) link
so many queens restaurants have that same long/narrow shape like they used to be phone card stores or something
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:15 (five years ago) link
I've heard good things about L'Antagoniste, I have to go there. I like Chez Oskar and it's very close to me but some of their dishes are hit or miss. The time I ordered garlic mashed potatoes and they were not garlicky and also cold was a bummer. But other things there are great.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:15 (five years ago) link
go when it's warm, the backyard is nice
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:16 (five years ago) link
le garage in bushwick is very good, probably the most consistently pleasant/satisfying nice-ish restaurant in that neighborhood
― adam, Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:19 (five years ago) link
For something easy/walk-in/dine by yourself, I like Bar Six and L'Express still.If you are in Tribeca, I would grab a drink at Frenchette, nicely curated natural wine selection and cocktails. It's kind of a scene (loud, hard to get reservations for dining in) but the interior is beautiful, I want to steal so much of the furniture.
― Yerac, Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:20 (five years ago) link
Amelie also has a good happy hour but it gets packed.
Actually, maybe skip Amelie for eating, I had some bad octopus there.
― Yerac, Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:23 (five years ago) link
nice ! lots to check out
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Thursday, 14 March 2019 19:43 (five years ago) link
Chez Moi is a more consistent version of bar tabac, which is also good (DT Atlantic area)
― YouTube_-_funy_cats.flv (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Thursday, 14 March 2019 20:07 (five years ago) link
xp I was finally able to get into Frenchette a month ago and it was awesome. It is definitely a little more scene-y than I like, but the food was excellent though rich. I had a beef and carrot main with oxtail and spaetzel that was delicious. The sauce had so much gelatin it just coated your mouth. Drank a 1997 Morgon that was fun.
Great food and drinks, but a little expensive for more than once in a while.
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Thursday, 14 March 2019 20:26 (five years ago) link
Yeah, that is why I was saying to just get drinks there for a stop. The food is excellent (i've had blowfish, sweetbreads, duck and lamb dishes and everything has been great) but it's on the pricey side. Frenchette and Le Coucou I think are worth it for every so often splurges. Heh, I think I also ordered a beaujolais there last.
― Yerac, Thursday, 14 March 2019 20:45 (five years ago) link
Still haven’t gotten to Le Coucou, but I want to go. I’ve gotten a little lazy about having to jump through hoops to get reservations at the hot places.
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Thursday, 14 March 2019 21:12 (five years ago) link
Gotten gotten. My English is terrible.
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Thursday, 14 March 2019 21:13 (five years ago) link
Le coucou is relatively easy but it's more formal, it also has a beautiful dining room. I have a friend that has the private reservation number for frenchette so it is easy for us to go. I don't go out that much for food in ny because I cook a lot but when I do go out it's usually french or japanese or has an interesting wine list.
― Yerac, Thursday, 14 March 2019 21:22 (five years ago) link
If there was consistently great and easy ethiopian or indian around I would probably eat that more regularly.
― Yerac, Thursday, 14 March 2019 21:24 (five years ago) link
Just went to Prune. think my butter quota's finished for the year but it was terrific.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, 15 March 2019 01:35 (five years ago) link
last night a bit of a Ft Greene crawl: Walter's, to Mo's, to The Alibi for late-nite. *mwah* chef's fingers
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 16 March 2019 15:32 (five years ago) link
had a cocktail at Walter's made with Root liqueur that tasted like a rootbeer float. the young woman who bartends there is an ingredients maniac with a photographic memory for drinks she's made.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 16 March 2019 15:34 (five years ago) link
Gonna be on the border of Bushwick and Williamsburg with the whole family in a couple of weeks. (East Williamsburg? Is that a thing?) Got any recommendations, besides Roberta's?
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 16 March 2019 16:05 (five years ago) link
win son is slightly fancy but very good taiwanese
frost is excellent old school italian, almost as good a scene as nearby bamonte's but way more chill
― adam, Saturday, 16 March 2019 16:35 (five years ago) link
Which stop are you near? If it's Graham there is the Bagel Store that has really excellent bagels. Their other location on Bedford is the one they usually showcase about the famous rainbow bagels but the Graham one has it as well. Those are fine (kind of sweet) but I usually prefer the french toast and bacon egg and cheese ones (the bacon egg and cheese is *in* the bagel). I used to bring them into work once a month and people went mad for them.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 16:36 (five years ago) link
But if you are staying near Roberta's I would just eat there every day. I think they have a takeout window now too. Plus momo sushi beside it.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 16:39 (five years ago) link
roberta's takeout is fantastic. they deliver too, if the roberta's experience seems to exhausting
― adam, Saturday, 16 March 2019 16:43 (five years ago) link
closer to williamsburg proper, but i love okonomi on ainslie st for their set menu japanese breakfast/ lunch. you get fish, rice, soup and vegetables and it is simple but so good.
― mizzell, Saturday, 16 March 2019 17:01 (five years ago) link
Anyone tried Bozu?
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 16 March 2019 17:42 (five years ago) link
Bozu is our favorite restaurant in williamsburg. I am sure there is better japanese/pricier that has opened since but we used to go there once a week. I haven't been in awhile so I don't know if that's nostalgia that makes us like it so much.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 17:45 (five years ago) link
This was the core stuff we galways got: Tofu salad, pork betty ( I would have to eat this all since my spouse doesn't eat meat), miso salmon, party bomb, yellowtail bomb, shiro bomb, stinky roll, white and red roll.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 17:51 (five years ago) link
I think we'll be by ... the Montrose Ave stop of the L?
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 16 March 2019 17:53 (five years ago) link
There's tons around, more near Bedford. It's a really good neighborhood for food. I do get DUMPLINGS! from Vanessa's on Bedford a lot. I could eat there every day. I am half taiwanese so I prefer the thick skin DUMPLINGS! and theirs are totally good and the food is really inexpensive. When my brothers' families came to visit and people were too tired, I would just get a ton of random food from there for all the kids. They still talk about Vanessa's.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 18:18 (five years ago) link
the vanessa's on 14th is kinda near my office, i get takeout from there occasionally. love the sesame pancake sandwiches in particular.
― adam, Saturday, 16 March 2019 19:06 (five years ago) link
t's kind of funny how all the Vanessa's have slightly different menus and prices.
― Yerac, Saturday, 16 March 2019 21:34 (five years ago) link
We really enjoyed Win Son, thanks. It was only 5 minutes walk from where we were staying, and even though they said there was a 2-hour wait, they had take out at the bar, which only took 10 or 15 minutes, and allowed us to have an excellent cocktail while we waited.
Roberta's was really good, too, but really no different or any better than similar styled pizza places in Chicago. Juliana's, on the other hand, next to Grimaldi's and from the former matriarch of that family, I found a big disappointment.
Had good Israeli food elsewhere, and good Chinese, and excellent Korean in Brooklyn at Insa. Grossest food was probably the cookie dough scoops my kids got. Pasteurized or no, nobody needs a softball sized chunk of cookie dough. Barf.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:09 (five years ago) link
Spent the last day visiting friends in Montclair, New Jersey by the way, which has a pretty vibrant suburban food scene. But my kids got to see Stephen Colbert driving around, and I learned that Richard Thompson and Patrick Wilson are both local residents. Oh, and both Warren and Dan Zanes from the Del Fuegos, a former drummer from Guided by Voices, Christian McBride, and the brother of Camilla Parker Bowles. The latter is apparently, and probably not surprisingly, some kind of dandy. But I bet he eats pretty well.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:12 (five years ago) link
Did you get anything else besides pizza at Roberta's? I think Roberta's kind of were one of the first to make pizza like that with those combos of ingredients at the time ( just had to look up to see when they opened, 2008). Because yeah, I definitely see a lot more of that style everywhere else now. I miss their hot oil and olives.
― Yerac, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:13 (five years ago) link
Best sit down pizza I’ve had is Lucali but haven’t been in years.
For Israeli food I must plug my friends’ excellent (and now quite successful) cafe, Reunion.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:15 (five years ago) link
(In Williamsburg)
I like Lucali a lot, I like the simplicity of their menu.
― Yerac, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:18 (five years ago) link
I think 60% of a pizza's favorability ranking is based on how hungry I am and who I am eating with.
― Yerac, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:25 (five years ago) link
Roberta's we also had ...'Nduja and grilled bread? That style is just Neopolitan, no? Spacca Napoli in Chicago does the same style, and opened in 2006. When I looked up that info one of the first things I saw was a piece mentioning Roberta's, and saying, yeah, it's good, but we have pizza this good at home. Lucky both of us! There are a few more in that mode in this city.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:29 (five years ago) link
I don't think they consider themselves neopolitan. Or at least not strict neopolitan. I remember their garden being a big talking point when their ingredients would come up. Even though I lived close by when they opened I didn't go for several/many years, even though my bread and chef friends often talked about it. It's so weird that I barely ate pizza like half the time I lived in NY.
Ha, I think most people just assume Chicago only has that casserole pizza. which I am kind of into sometimes.
― Yerac, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:43 (five years ago) link
Anyway, I shouldn't talk. I just ate supermarket brand pizza today for breakfast.
― Yerac, Saturday, 30 March 2019 19:55 (five years ago) link
Roberta pizza is good but they’re I own for the other stuff as well/in addition to.
― dan selzer, Saturday, 30 March 2019 21:34 (five years ago) link
What crazy people think Chicago has only one type of pizza!? Chicago style is for tourists, or special occasions, like when you want to be very full or feel kinda cheese-sick.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 March 2019 22:10 (five years ago) link