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Happy Little Lamb (or whatever the latest name variation is) on Main ST. in Flushing

I have usually had truffles in foie gras mousse, but the best way I ever had it was shaved into a pan of melted butter, sauteed for a minute, then mixed in with a light pasta with romano cheese.

Ruus and Daughters whitefish salad on a everything bagel

NY style mustard and onions

Joe, that was a great meal. We have to get back there next time I am in NYC.

Do the opposite of going to a 'singles' bar. Go to a nice, quiet, cocktail bar right after work and sit at the bar. Places like Death & Co., PDT, Dark Star, etc. These type of small and quiet cocktail places tend to have rules against guys mashing on gals, so you can control the scene. Stay for a cocktail or two and see who you can get into a great a conversation with. I have met some of the nicest ladies while doing this, so it should work the other way around. It's very low key, and you tend not to meet drunks or yahoos in these types of places as well.

The Negroni and other herb and bitter based cocktails are both aperitif's and digestif's. Either way the herbal components are good for you, whether it is to stimulate the appetite before, or to calm down your belly after a large meal.

I'm not Jewish, but grew up in Park Slope, and the 'burbs as a teen, and I love Cel-Ray. On more than one occasion I've sat at Katz's late night with Joey D. and watched tourists sit at the orgasm table, while downing a late night pastrami and a few Cel-Rays, to sober up before heading back to the burbs. Now I've moved to coastal Maine and there's no Cel-Ray here! So I make do with a Moxie (special edition made with cane sugar.) I only drink soda rarely, and don't like most of the crap out there, but a few soda's are grown up enough for me. Cel-Ray, Moxie, Manhattan Special, and Blenheim's Spicy ginger ale.

Are you sure the recipe didn't call for boneless short ribs? Two pounds of boneless would be the perfect amount for 4 people.

You say that, "In opening Pearl in 1997 Rebecca introduced the lobster roll to those unfortunate New Yorkers who'd never eaten one on the coast of Maine."

Many, many New Yorkers have been familiar with the lobster roll from way before this. Ask anyone who has visited the South Fork of Long Island like the Hamptons, especially Montauk and Amagansett and they will tell you about the restaurant called The Lobster Roll, or affectionately "Lunch",where, since the 1960's, they have served what has come to be known as the New York Style or Long Island Style Lobster Roll. This is a mayonnaise based version with some chopped celery in it. As opposed to the Maine style which usually, but not always, uses just lobster with some melted butter in a toasted roll.

I've been to Kobe and had no problem finding excellent, grade 10-11 wagyu beef (out of a max 12), at several places. Even the big department store Sogo had that grade available.