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The Ten Most Recent Posts By kathryn

From Talk

It's Balthazar, Not Balthazar's

Posted by kathryn, May 21, 2007 at 3:58 PM

I'm not sure why it bothers the pedant in me so much, but it drives me nuts when people add an "apostrophe-s" to the end of a restaurant's name.

It's Balthazar, not Balthazar's, because there is no person (fictional, live, dead, or otherwise) named Balthazar. Why do people do this? I never used to notice it. Now I see it all the time. Some cultural thing that I'm not picking up on?

(It's almost as bad as when people recommend restaurants and give the wrong name or a misspelled version of the right name. Google, people. Use it, please. For the children.)

10 Comments

From Talk

ISO Good Soup joint in the East Village

Posted by kathryn, November 30, 2006 at 10:28 PM

My boyfriend works from home on 3rd Ave and St Marks. He's a fan of various soups and stews: lobster bisque, chili, tortilla soup, clam chowder, and more. There's not a Soup Man, Pax, or Hale and Hearty in sight. What to do? Can anybody recommend a good soup joint, especially for to-go or delivery?

2 Comments | Tagged: east village, nyc, restaurants, soup

The Ten Most Recent Comments By kathryn

From Required Eating

Sampler Platter: From the Serious Eats Team

Restaurant mado is on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Not in Milwaukee.

kathryn at 6:02PM on 04/27/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

@alktraz: your comment is exactly what Adam is saying. He is quoting what Wired Magazine is reporting is the difference (water), but his comment located below that quote is that he thinks the water theory is wrong.

kathryn at 1:01AM on 04/24/08

From Slice

Openings and First Reports: Artichoke

Stopped in for a creamy, delicious spinach and artichoke slice this afternoon. Really good. The sauce is so thick -- could almost be used to dress pasta! I loved my artichoke slice and will definitely be back. I didn't try any of the other pizzas since my favorite Sicilian in the neighborhood is already Vinny Vincenz.

The place is kind of messy, random wooden boards, with big hunks of cheese and rolls of bread sitting out, basil peeking out of a wooden crate, a tomato can propping up a window. Definitely gives it a Di Fara feel. They apologized for not having any cold soda when we asked for a Coke. The two guys there were very nice and seem to have picked up fans in the neighborhood already. Good luck to them!

It's like Di Fara in that their specialty is unique from other pizzas in Manhattan, and the owners obviously put a lot of care into their product, at least the signature artichoke and spinach pie. But I think I like Dom's stuff better, although it is comparing two very different styles.

kathryn at 6:33PM on 03/30/08

From Eating Out

Where to Eat in Austin

I wish I could make it out to Kreuz this year but we're going to Salt Lick instead, even though I pleaded. We ate at Smitty's and Black's last year but Kreuz was closed as it was Sunday. Alas!

kathryn at 3:00PM on 03/05/08

From Ed Levine Eats

Chocolate Guide: Downtown

Chocolate Bar makes some good bars but I gather that's not what people are looking for on Valentine's Day.

Oh, and Kee's no longer makes everything herself -- last few times I've been in there, she's had a few helpers.

kathryn at 12:00PM on 02/13/08

From Talk

Pizza Pilgrimage to NYC- where not to miss?

I echo Ed and norman.

Una Pizza Napoletana. Also, go early. They close when they run out of dough.
Totonno's in Coney Island (and only Coney Island).
Di Fara in Midwood. For me, best time to go is before they open. Before noon. Probably better on a weekday than weekend.

If you have time, I would add Patsy's in East Harlem (and no other Patsy's).

kathryn at 9:04PM on 02/09/08

From Ed Levine Eats

Chocolate Guide: Midtown and the Upper East Side

What about Debauve & Gallais?

kathryn at 8:55PM on 02/09/08

From Talk

Best places to eat in New York City

At Gramercy Tavern, the Tavern Room is walk-ins only and I would definitely feel comfortable eating there dressed casually. It is one of my current NYC favorites. The Dining Room, of course, is more formal. For Union Square Cafe, the bar counter is always open for incoming guests and I believe they hold very few tables for walk-ins. It is usually difficult to secure a reservation on short notice. I would pick Gramercy Tavern over Union Square Cafe; plus, I've always had good luck walking into the Tavern Room, if I go on the early side. I haven't been to the Spotted Pig yet. If you choose Balthazar, try to make a reservation; they also take walk-ins, but waits can be long. Same goes for Lupa; the waits are long if you don't have a reservation, and the restaurant does not have a large waiting area, so good luck. Otto is easier to get into, but service can be lacking.

The poster who recommended Jean Georges: they don't serve lunch in the main dining room on the weekends.

kathryn at 9:16PM on 01/29/08

From Recipes

Cook the Book: Thai Chicken Soup with Chinese Black Rice

How is this healthy when it has coconut milk in it (high in fat)?

kathryn at 8:57PM on 01/29/08

From Required Eating

Sunday Reading

I think Phase II of the Slice Survey should include an updated list of regional styles, a community-recommended "who's best," a sampling of the top 2-3 of "who's best" in each style, and a report, accompanied by extension documentation, tasting notes, and infographics on the size, weight, and structural components of each type of pie. Oh, and a chart displaying properties across all styles. Perhaps if we average them all out we'll find the most "United States" style of ALL pizzas.

kathryn at 11:45AM on 01/27/08

Responses to Comments by kathryn

From Slice

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

I moved away from Pittsburgh the Bay Area (where there is plenty of good pizza) and i STILL crave Aiello's!!!! Pittsburgh pies do have a unique taste- its the sweeter sauce.

Ohio Valley pizza certainly deserves its own category- its pretty unique.

If you want true Ohio Valley Pizza, you have to go to the Firehouse in Ambridge, PA on Merchant street. Only open on the weekends, the business is run by firemen to support the firehouse (we're talking real social capital here). Its not my favorite (really dougy crust) but its certainly an experience.

Another experience would be Tony R's pizza in Sewickley on Nevin Ave. A tiny pizzaria run by Tony (who does all the deliveries himself) and his two sons.

katie123 at 2:03PM on 05/07/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

I disagree with the water theory. The best pizza I have had outside of NYC was in North Carolina - two brothers who moved down from the bronx to open up a place. It's how you make it as well as the ingredients.

exvaxman at 1:22PM on 05/04/08

From Required Eating

Sampler Platter: From the Serious Eats Team

Thanks so much for posting the link to Dorie's piece on the book Hungry for Paris. I'm going out to buy it tout de suite! Sounds absolutely fantastic! In case it's not clear on her site, here's a link to Alexander Lobrano's website: Hungry for Paris


LoCo at 4:06PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

It may help those engaged in this melee to know that there is no one "NYC" water. Upper Manhattan and the Bronx get it from one source and reservoir system. Manhattan south of 110th St or so (I'm not sure where the boundary line is exactly) get it largely untreated from the Delaware River and southern Catskills through a different reservoir system. Brooklyn and Queens get it from another source, and I don't know where Staten Island gets theirs from. As many have pointed out, you can get good pizza from places other than the lower 2/3 of Manhattan and outside NY City. I'm sure there is water so bad that you can't make good pizza from it, but it's clear that you can do fine with lots of different kinds of water. For what it's worth, Phoenix gets its water from the Colorado River, the source of a lot of Southern California's water. The City of L.A. gets theirs from the Owens Valley, east of the Sierras.

gustoct at 3:09PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

Slightly OT...but when I was in NYC for my first wedding anniversary 10 years ago, I had a pretzel from a street vendor that I could swear tasted like smog. Not exactly a good thing, not exactly a bad thing...but distinct and unforgettable. So I don't know if you can rule the water thing out...though I agree that bad pizza is probably due more to user error than bad water. =)

akk328 at 2:43PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

h2o? maybe-I think it's a northeast us thing: I've traveled all over the US and there's nothing like NY/NJ/PA ( I live in Central PA) pizza. California pizza just doesn't have the sauce flavor or the great foldable crust.

benlee: FYI-San Fran's great sourdough is from a decades-old starter, but there are also specific cultures/spores present in the air out there. They've even been named for the city!

foodiemama at 2:08PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

i'd say it's the italians.
that and all the tough customers in ny.

norman at 8:23AM on 04/28/08

From Required Eating

Sampler Platter: From the Serious Eats Team

@kathyrn: Thanks! It's been corrected.

Raphael at 6:49PM on 04/27/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

FYI, NYC water now is way different than it was when I was a kid growing up in the Bronx. There's way more chlorine now and it just doesn't taste as good.

varasano at 1:05PM on 04/26/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

As I've been saying online for 4 years, the water thing is 100% myth. I get emails about this several times a week. According to Maggie Glazer, the myth that baked goods are better in NY because of the water goes all the way back to the 1700's when in the rest of the country people used well water and not municipal tap water. Half the time this wasn't too far from the latrine. In other words the original comparison was comparing NY water, which comes from a pretty good aquifer system upstate, to other systems that would be comparable to what the 3rd world uses today. This rumor says more about how rumors and 'common knowledge' are passed down through the ages than anything about your local water system's shortcomings today. As anyone who's read my recipe (http://slice.seriouseats.com/jvpizza/) or tasted my pizza here in Atlanta knows, it's not the water...

varasano at 1:03PM on 04/26/08