Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I went to Cafe Boulud today for lunch and it was OKAY, nothing special. The room was way too cramped and with the lunch rush for RW even more so. A starter of pistou soup was flavorful, but wasn't really anything special. Entrees of agnolotti, salmon w. bacon and lamb were poor to decent, with the lamb being the best albeit it full of inedible chunks of fat. Dessert was the star, my favorite being the pot de creme layered cake of sorts and delicious house made vanilla bean ice cream. For $24 plus tip and tax not a bad deal, but I certainly hope the food is much better here considering the normal prices and caliber of chefs.

I have to agree, SE Team you all do a great job, but we are all human and mistakes are made on occasion.

Understanding the 'column' is called "Raising the Bar" does make more sense, but I am hopeful you understand the confusion from a readers standpoint.

Keep up the good work though.

Shake Shack, but would put Txikito up there as well.

I stick by DiFara, although there is a noticeable difference in their pies vs. slices.

Shocked to see people voting for Bleecker St. Pizza

Nice write up, and for the most part I agree with everything here. I think it certainly has lived up to the Bolton quality of food and while the space and prices are a bit different for the neighborhood it doesn't stick out too much IMO. I loved the rillettes, croquettes, 'pork rinds' and liver. The jagerwurst was good, not great and the octopus disappointed us. Regardless, I think with smart ordering a great meal can be had without breaking the bank. Is this restaurant a microcosm of the neighborhood? No, not at all. But the neighborhood is changing and for this resident I'm looking forward to some of the change (key word some). With restaurants like Frannys, James, The Vanderbilt and bars like Weather Up and Cornelius, clearly there is a market for this type of atmosphere and establishment.

Where is DiFara's? Blasphemy!!

Also the BBQ Chicken Pattie at Little Miss Muffin...best pattie in the area IMO. Christie's does better beef fillings, but LMM does better chicken.

Richman's review can be found here: http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-q/2009/10/bloggers-gone-berserk.html

Great work Adam, as always!

There is also the Gyro burger or pita burger I've seen around. Simply a middle eastern/med. version of a burger stuffed into a pita with traditional toppings.

I very much agree on the bun. That is what ruined the burger for me. How was the meat packed when you had it ED? When I was there i was packed too dense, cooked medium-well and then had that overly dense bun, which of course made it only a so-so burger. On the other hand, the strip steak was wonderful. Cooked properly, seasoned well and with great flavor. Also loved the Vesper Bret, Spaetzle and Pork Belly Terrine.

http://always-eating.blogspot.com/2009/07/prime-meats-name-says-it-all.html

Very good tips kathryn. I went last year and had a blast as well, but the heat was brutal. This year should be better, and a number of the pits I went to will be here again (recap here: http://always-eating.blogspot.com/2008/06/big-apple-bbq-afternoon-to-remember.html). I'm looking forward to the new Pappy's Smokehouse as well. Best thing I ate last year though, Big Bob Gibson's Pulled Pork (Chris Lilly is the BBQ king).

Greatest Grilling Success Story: Preparing a seemingly endless feast of grilled treats for hungry friends last summer. With only a single burner gas (yes I know) grill we plowed through grilled flank steak with a roasted chimichurri sauce, grilled lamb, pork and turkey sausages from Ottomanelli's, grilled romaine salad with caramelized shallots and bacon (yes grilled as well!), grilled corn and black bean salad (grilled on the cob then sliced off) and even a grilled pizza, complete with red onions, fontina, gruyere and fresh herbs. What's more amazing than the fact that we created all this on a little grill in a Brooklyn backyard, is that we actually finished every last bite of the food!

that can't be Joe's in NYC, the ovens are on the other side of the counter...and there is actually a plant in the background by a brick wall.