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Photo of the Day: Hungry for a Shack Stack
As awesome as the shack stack is, if you eat too many of these, you may not make it to having grandchildren...
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
Also, How to Cook Everything by Bittman. Simple, straightforward and useful.
Union Square Falafel Battle: Maoz, Pita Joe, Moshe's, and Rainbow
I think that the $3.50 falafel from Rainbow is a better value than the slightly better $4.95 falafel from Maoz. But neither compares to Cafe Azuri. The consistency and crispness of Azuri's falafel, the variety, selection and care used to add the various salads and vegetables to the sandwich and the pita that has structural integrity while still being soft and tasty all combine to make it the best falafel sandwich I've had in NYC.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
The $25,000 for 5 bottles of wine or $100 truffle carpaccios don't seem quite as ridiculous to me as the $12 bottle of water, $9 cappucinos, $55 milanesa, $14 parmesan chunks, or $39 spaghetti. I suppose it's either because I'm not as familiar in the market for enormous truffles and expensive vintages of wine, or because the markup on the luxury items may be a larger dollar value, but a smaller percentage of the cost of those items.
Photo of the Day: Hungry for a Shack Stack
As awesome as the shack stack is, if you eat too many of these, you may not make it to having grandchildren...
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
Also, How to Cook Everything by Bittman. Simple, straightforward and useful.
Union Square Falafel Battle: Maoz, Pita Joe, Moshe's, and Rainbow
I think that the $3.50 falafel from Rainbow is a better value than the slightly better $4.95 falafel from Maoz. But neither compares to Cafe Azuri. The consistency and crispness of Azuri's falafel, the variety, selection and care used to add the various salads and vegetables to the sandwich and the pita that has structural integrity while still being soft and tasty all combine to make it the best falafel sandwich I've had in NYC.
Dear Slice: Should I Be Excited About Two Boots Coming to L.A.?
Two Boots is not great pizza, especially not for the traditionalist and certainly not worth going out of your way for-- but I do like a few of their specialty slices. In particular, the Mr. Pink. And the cornmeal crispy crust is nice. But it's not up to par with the best pizzerias and it's not a real authentic NY-style slice. It's its own style.
Shake Shack UWS Madness On Tap: Let the Frozen Fries Start Flowin' in My 'Hood
Shake Shack's fries have improved from barely acceptable (the first couple of seasons) to halfway decent, but they still fall short of the quality shown by the rest of the menu.
But the hamburgers at the new location are just as perfectly balanced and tasty as the original. The fries are a disappointment.
Killer Five Guys topping combos?
Cheeseburger (or little cheeseburger) with tomatoes, pickles and ketchup. Sometimes onions.
In general do like lettuce on my burgers, but Five Guys' iceburg lettuce is always disappointing.
Where Is It: A Pizzeria from 'Mad Men'
I believe that Mad Men films in LA and so this exterior may be on a studio backlot, or a re-dressed LA street and not anywhere near Kings county...
Shake Shack: A New York Spin on the West Coast–Style Burger
What makes the shack burgers work so well-- especially compared with an inferior burger of a similar style like Five Guys*-- is the balance between the beef, bun and condiments. The leaf lettuce and tomato used in the Shack Burger are just the right amount. Five Guys' iceberg lettuce doesn't add the same flavor. And the potato bun at the Shack ties it all together. The Five Guys bun is too thick-- it overwhelms the burger. And the brisket/sirloin blend in the Shack's patties gives it a more interesting and complex flavor.
I hope that Shake Shack uptown will have the same balance of burgers without the insane line in the park. This classic post from AHT remains my guideline for when to wait on line and when not to bother.
*Not to say that Five Guys is bad-- I enjoy their burgers and they have great fries, but their burgers don't have the same balance that the Shack's exhibit.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
Wtf?! Are all Nello's dishes laced with gold??? I can't believe people are stupid enough to pay those ridiculously high prices...
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
This wasn't a meal; it was a money laundering operation.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
@Peensez: I guarantee you that Nello's didn't use $2-a-box pasta for the pasta specials.
I, too, am amused by all the outrage. A lot of people made a lot of money off this guy: isn't that a good thing?
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
2 chunks of parmesan: $28
Not having to tolerate the company of the poor: priceless
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
@Nathan Teager: Haha, this made me smile. You're right. Give us your poor, your tired...and the occasional hungry millionaire.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
Why is everyone mad. He added about $50,000 to the US's economy. Remember that he is from Russia and deals in rubles. Now his rubles have become dollars. Go USA!
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
I find the outrage and disgust...odd. Why is it our business to judge what he does with his own money? @queenbleu, why should you detest the rich? He spent a lot on lunch - so what? At least he was more generous than he had to be with his server. Why all the anger? We have no way of knowing how he uses his money on a regular basis - nor is it our business. He might be just as lavish in his giving to charity for all we know.
Lighten up, people.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
@DCLSweetspot: Well, by that logic, why do we do a percentage for different dishes as well? It takes the same effort to bring out a plate that costs $20 as a plate that costs $8. We still do a percentage in those cases. Perhaps we should just give tips of a set fee rather than a variable percentage.
@sheba0915: a little strange that they didn't drink any vodka though.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
What funkopolis said... :)
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
I took my sweetie out for a lovely Thai meal on Sunday, no wine or beer and I had a diet cola. I didn't order appetizers because I was trying to keep the bill reasonable and it still came out to about $28 with tax and tip.
We each ordered combinations that included our dish of choise, veggie pad thai and steam rice. I was pretty satisfied!
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
It's always those little extras that add up, I guess.
Or the f*king crazy-ass wine!
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
@sanhedrin: It was a table full of Russians. Therefore, the amount of alcohol consumed was not particularly outrageous.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
He certainly can use his money however he wishes, but it doesn't stop me from finding this disgusting. And I'm not envious at all.
What A $47,221 Lunch Looks Like
I don't see why there are so many people upset by this. Sure, we don't have money like this guy, so we can't indulge like he does; for that I am either jealous or envious, can't figure which one. I can't say I am disgusted by it though. It's his money, he could flush it down the toilet if he wanted, and essentially he just did, but again, it is his money. Everyone knows restaurants charge ridiculous mark-ups on alcohol, particularly wine and Nello's is no exception. Hell, I drink wine that is $5 a bottle from my local liquor store and have seen it on menus for $8 a glass!! Okay, I'm jealous and envious and it seems most of you are too.
Photo of the Day: Hungry for a Shack Stack
Wow, how do you get your mouth around that beast? Either way I want one, it sounds and looks delicious by all accounts I have seen.
Shake Shack UWS Madness On Tap: Let the Frozen Fries Start Flowin' in My 'Hood
I realize that I'm going to upset a lot of people, but I ate here last week, after reading the slew of favorable reviews and truly believe that this place is a triumph of hype over content. I'm from out of town, out of state, in fact out of country, but I've been coming to your fair city for almost thirty years now and I used to rate the burgers at the late lamented McHale's as the best in town, so was interested to try this company's much-lauded offerings. I ordered a cheeseburger, medium, with fries, a root-beer and retired to wait for the pager to buzz. (Side note to the owners: when there's a long line, it doesn't sit well with the other customers when a friend of the serving staff wanders in off the street, goes up to the counter, engages three of the staff in conversation and gets his burger almost immediately while people waiting on line are ignored.) By the time I got my order, I was pretty hungry and found a place to sit and eat. What I encountered was a mouthful of heavily salted greasy sludge in a cheap bun, with the cheese as a fatty and tasteless covering. The fries were also smothered in salt, but otherwise tasteless and if I hadn't already guessed that they were frozen, the guy wheeling the piled-high cartons labeled "Frozen Potato Products" or something similar around the kitchen would have given me a big clue.
The root-beer, despite far too much ice, was actually rather good, but the rest of the meal made me feel decidedly queasy. If this is really what you consider to be a great burger, then I fear for your nation's health. A better name for this place might well be Heart-Attack Shack.
(I should mention that I also find the burgers in Le Parker Meridien's Burger Joint to be overrated, but they don't seem to suffer from the same sort of mania that this place generates and they're far, far less greasy.)
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
For years I went to Martha's Vineyard in August and entertained
using a cookbook I bought at a local bakery--Scottish Bakehouse
Cookbook by Isabella White. I used it until the pages came unglued
and put a rubberband around it. Julia inspired me to just use a
cookbook as a starting point and create your own style. Thanks, Elaine
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is the dirtiest (aka most used) cookbook in my kitchen, I always find inspiration in Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals.
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
The French Chef, of course! When we were married 38 years ago, my husband-to-be's next door neighbor gave us a Swing Way can opener and a copy of The French Chef. I have been using both all these years, but the French Chef has many more miles on it. I was 19, had never cooked and knew back then, in a very un-feminist way, that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. It worked! I love this book and always will.
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
Cooked to Perfection by Anne Willan
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food, by Andrew Carmellini. I'm a vegetarian, but there are still plenty of recipes for me to try. I repeatedly take it out of the library. Please, someone buy me this book for Christmas!
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
The Silver Palate Cookbook. Pavlova, anyone?
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
An autographed copy of Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cookbook. One evening after a school dance, friends descended on my parent’s home and one of them piped up, “Where’s the eggs benedict?” I popped into the kitchen and shortly produced something resembling poached eggs with Hollandaise. (One egg never made it past the side of the stove.) From that first effort, I prepared several other winning recipes like Knockwurst in beer. Fast forward 15 years and dozens of other cookbooks and I am co-author of Passport to New York Restaurants and auction correspondent for Wine Spectator.
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
My favorite cookbook is the 1950's edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. It has wonderful recipes for baking, especially cakes. Although there is a "revised, modern" Betty Crocker Cookbook, the 1950's edition was reissued unrevised some years ago. It's worth getting if you like real American home-style baking.
Win Tickets to an NYC Advance Screening of 'Julie and Julia'
The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young. The dishes really tastes like the ones I had growing up.
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The $25,000 for 5 bottles of wine or $100 truffle carpaccios don't seem quite as ridiculous to me as the $12 bottle of water, $9 cappucinos, $55 milanesa, $14 parmesan chunks, or $39 spaghetti. I suppose it's either because I'm not as familiar in the market for enormous truffles and expensive vintages of wine, or because the markup on the luxury items may be a larger dollar value, but a smaller percentage of the cost of those items.