Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

@mantisbog- Yes! Just peel, seed and grate the squash and use it as you might in any cabbage slaw. Here's a good recipe from Mark Bittman: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/dining/17minirex1.html

Shanghai Cafe Deluxe might have better dumplings by a hair, but Shanghai Asian Cuisine/Manor has much, much friendlier service that for me leads to a way better experience. Still, while some are better than others, I never really met a soup dumpling I didn't like.

Yeah, the rules are tricky. No nightshades, no salt, no vegetable oil. Olive oil is okay, and animal fat is okay. Starch is fine, but never with meat, and vice-versa. So, chicken is fine and bread is fine but a chicken sandwich is a no-no! It's all making my head spin.

This reminds me of Russ and Daughters' Beet and Lemon Shrub. It's like a lemonade flavored with pickled beets, giving it a vinegary tang. So so good.

Smoked pig's foot: best of both worlds.

Nelson George's Hip Hop America has the definitive passage on St. Ides and hip hop, fwiw.

their bloody mary mix rules.

You're not kidding about the unassuming storefront--when directing friends here, I always tell them "you're going to see what looks like the entrance to a parking lot. That's it."

I hadn't been in a long time either, probably three or four years, and it was pretty much the same as I remember it. I mean that in a good way.

@seriousb, Martin's pretzels are so crunchy that I can't eat them in my office without people hearing me crunch, and showing up to ask if I have any to share. They're delicious. Pro tip: the "broken bag," $5/lb for pretzel pieces. They're just as good, and you can then afford to share.

I love Tuscany! It may look like a parking garage from the outside, but they serve the best slice near my office hands down. Will have to try the sandwiches...

If you don't mind eating on the street and they're a bit adventurous, the Jamaican Dutchy cart on 51st St. and 7th avenue is great. There's also Hing Won, a good Chinatown style place on 48th b/w 5th and 6th (much closer to Rockefeller Center). Check out midtownlunch.com.

so is the egg safe to eat after the 34 minute water bath, and the simmering is just for appearances, or is the egg still partially raw until you simmer it?