Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Sorry, this isn't a "best" but...

I really like Kaffe 1668 - it's been consistent when I go there before work. In the interests of economy, I bought a coffeemaker for my office, and have been using Gorilla's Poco Fundo (sp?) beans to make drip coffee.
It's been good enough that I don't need to add milk or sugar. Also, Abraco and Cafe Grumpy lived up to their reputations.

Agreed that the Mudtruck is not very good. Also, 9th Street didn't stand out to me, but I ordered something involving milk, which didn't really allow for evaluating the espresso alone.

Zibetto feels more like an espresso place than a drip coffee place to me. Abraco has good coffee but it's very strong, and I think the espresso is better. Stumptown's coffee is a bit too mellow for my preference, but it tastes great. Joe the Art of Coffee is good but not memorable for whatever reason. The Mud Truck doesn't even place. Eh. I think my absolute favorite would have to be either 9th Street Espresso or Jack's Stir Brewed.

I am from Wales in the UK and I have a Second home in LA, and I go there around 6-7 times a year. The thing I miss the most going there is having Cadbury's Dairy Milk. there are so many gorgeous chocolates in the UK - Mars, Galaxy, Snickers, etc. And they just cant compare to the chocolate in the US. I will say the sweets/candy in the US in great, but the chocolate cant compare.

i will defend the black/white biscuits, they are kinda nice. everyone likes them in the UK!

Collegekid19 asked for an Italian restaurant. Del Posto is nice. I don't know exactly why, but, while there and even later, I kept thinking "nice!".

My favorite was Mesa Grill, Aureole was fine but they run a summer special throughout the summer, they may not even officially participate. Trying to get into Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park is just an exercise in frustration for me. I would've called a month in advance but just forgot about it and now both places are booked solid. This year I am going to Tabla with my sister, not my original choice but like others I feel Danny Meyer does the most honorable job with RW. We'll see how it goes.

Restaurant Week is indeed a great *idea* but you need to be aware of the pitfalls:
- huge crowds and rushed service
- restaurants that cut corners (i.e., chicken and fish, none of the signature dishes, etc.)
- getting shut out of reservations since you didn't call 28, 30, or 31 days in advance
- the *really* high quality and popular restaurants usually do not participate
- restaurants that already have a prix fixe deal that is in that price range (Devi, Tocqueville, etc.)

I've always had a good experience at any Danny Meyer restaurant. As well as restaurants that typically don't have a large lunch crowd but are popular for dinner.

@collegekid19--don't know if Ino does RW, but it's pretty inexpensive for a regular night out, and SO worth it!. We love love LOVE going there for the truffled egg toast and panini. Ino is one of my favorite spots in the city.

Restaurant Week is taking a beating here, and I think it's a great idea. My boyfriend and I are on a budget and don't get to eat at all of the fantastic places in NYC as often as we'd like. RW is a chance for us to try something that's normally out of reach. Once August hits, it's back to checking things off on the "Best Cheap Eats" issue of NY Mag! We love Restaurant Week! (almost as much as truffled egg toast...)

I second Bar Room at the Modern -- had a terrific dinner last year. And Lupa for lunch; if I remember correctly, we got not three but four courses, all delicious. Worst was lunch at Asia de Cuba a couple RWs ago: it's a good thing the friend I went with and I like the same food, because get this, for the RW menu we could only order one dish from each course, to share! We couldn't believe it. The portions were decent, but it was just so bizarre. Don't know if that's still the case, but I would be wary...

Any suggestions for Italian?

I'm right in line with most of the posts so far...I love a good old fashioned mustard/vinegar/olive oil vinaigrette.

If you want to go low-fat, however (which my wife occasionally insists that we do), pick up some xanthan gum in the baking aisle of a Whole Foods, etc. v">Bob's Red Mill markets it. It's one of the additives that the big food companies use to emulsify/thicken their salad dressings.

Dominic
the zen kitchen

Thanks for sharing ideas for the potato & fruit salads & thoughts on bottled dressings. Interesting to hear about dressings available in other parts of the world---thanks!

One main complaint about most bottled dressings (aside from the freshness factor) is the incredible amount of sodium they contain. My mom used to use those Good Seasons packets, but I haven't seen them in a while. And thanks to CanadianFoodieGirl for the tip about the Annie's dressings; next time I'm in Albuquerque, plan to pick up several varieties to sample. Homemade is fresher and better, but am always on the lookout for new and tasty flavor couplings. Oooh-la-la! Food is so sexy, isn't it?

The first time I was cooking for my French husband, I asked him if he wanted French dressing on his salad and he asked me, "What's that?" I brought the bottle out of the refrigerator and showed him that bright orange stuff with French Dressing on the label. He looked a little apalled and said, "Why don't I make the dressing?" which he did with olive oil, vinegar and digon mustard. It was an eye opener for me. That's the only way I make it now except I add some dry parsely and garlic. I love to use balsamic vinegar but he doesn't like it as it is too sweet for him, the purist. For potato salad I marinade the potatoes first in the basic dressing above and then mix in just a little mayo with maybe a splash of pickle juice.