Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I'm intrigued by the idea that the water could make a big difference, but let's not forget other elements that make NYC cuisine (especially CHEAP eats) the marvel that it is: Large populations of the ethnic groups that make these foods, and the great competition that brings to make the best. The guy who opens a "NY pizza" joint in an area where there is no NY pizza doesn't have much competition- there's no drive to be truly great- just good enough to fill a niche. I suspect Brooklyn Water Bagels will make a passable NY bagel, but it won't compare with H&H, NYC bagels, Ess-a-Bagel, Murray's, Zabar's, etc.

One of my favorite memories from living in NY as a young resident at NY Presby was coming home on the 1 train post-call at 7:30 in the morning to grab bagels at Zabar's. I would get an onion bagel, and a little tub of cream cheese. Who needs it toasted when it's this fresh? I'd wander half asleep up Broadway breathing in the awakening city vibe munching on a perfect bagel, swiping some cream cheese now and then. By the time I reached my place on 93rd street, I was satiated, and ready for bed!

Then I moved to California, and didn't eat a bagel for a year.... but the produce made up for it in spades.

Tipping detracts from the experience of dining out. It's basically an unwanted opportunity to be judged. Tip too little, and you're 'cheap'. Tip too much, and you're a sucker, or philanthropist. Either way, you get to feel uncomfortable. Great!

The truly great servers who make dining out special, and for whom one WANTS to tip for great service are unfortunately few and far between. In the vast majority of instances I would be happy if a busboy took my order and brought me my food and I didn't get stuck with the situation described above.

Even better than Mexican Coke? BERMUDIAN COKE. I'm fortunate enough to be a dual-national and grew up tasting the difference between US and Bermuda coke. Now that I've had a chance to try Mexican coke (I'm in Mexico now), I can tell you Bermudian coke is even crisper, and less harsh than Mexican. In Bermuda, you can also find Sprite made with real sugar. I've even gone so far as to bring back Coke syrup with me and carbonate it with a tabletop carbonator! The people in customs tell me it's not that uncommon to bring a Coke syrup-pack across.

The first (and last) time I went to Di Fara I ordered two slices, and after waiting a full hour, still had not received them. Thankfully one of the (many) people who cut the line to order additional full pies was sypathetic to my starvation and gave but a slice from a fresh round cheese pie. It was a greasy, steaming mess. Good, but not remotely worth waiting an hour for. Who knows how long I would have actually waited to be served? At one hour there still seemed to be little hope that they would get to my order. I even asked if ordering a full pie would speed things up (no answer from the counter girl). The problem didn't seem to be that the place was too busy, but that their ordering system is totally disorganized, and it seems acceptable to them for people to frequently cut the line. Maybe I was just a little too polite. I only nagged them every fifteen minutes about my order. Bah... I don't need this much trouble to obtain a friggin' slice of pizza. I left, got back on the train, hit Una Pizza Napoletana, which wasn't busy. I was treated well, and received my overpriced, but wonderful pizza within a few minutes. I'll never go back to Di Fara again!

Lombardi's is great, but I've never found it any better that Patsy's, which is usually more convenient. I finally got around to trying Una Pizza Napoletana- wow! That was one fine pizza. The restaurant wasn't busy when I visited, and I was treated very well by the staff.

Speaking of pies- Ed... thanks to you, I've been on a pie kick since November. I make regular trips from the UWS out to Park Slope for those magnificent little Trois Pomme beauties... how DO they create such a perfect pie crust?? Clinton St Baking Co has a truly sublime apple pie too.

I'd hate to spoil your diet, but the next time you head out to Trois Pomme, you MUST try their 'oreo' cookies. They are perfection! They remind me a little bit of those old Peppridge Farm Capri cookies, as they have a similar creme filling. $1.50 for three tiny cookies is a bargain!

I must agree on the Gui Zhou Chicken at GS- definitely a favorite of mine. I also love the soup dumplings there.

After reading Ed's review, I decided to give Szechuan Gourmet a try. I picked the Szechuan pork dumplings, the double-cooked pork (that Ed ordered), and the stir-fried baby bok choy. Overall I was NOT impressed. If "Even More New York Eats" ever comes out, this better not be included! The dumplings were, as described by hotkate, undercooked doughy bricks, in an unremarkable bland sauce. Not as bad as those from the Cottage, but not far off either. The pork dish was meaty and porky, as Ed described, but was dry, and of low quality. The baby bok choy was drowned in a soup of garlic sauce, and seemed overcooked.

I'll stick to Grand Sichuan for my Szechuan cravings in Manhattan.

This is off-topic, but on a happier note, I've been going pie-crazy this past week- thanks to Ed's obsession. I was never really into pie before, but now... I deliberately skimp on breakfast, and eat a small salad for lunch to make room for the 'fruits' of my pie quest. So far it's going well. I love those little apple pies from Trois Pomme, and the sour cream, apple, walnut pie from Little Pie Co. The apple pie from Bubby's was okay, but I didn't like their sour cherry. On Thanksgiving I served Two Little Red Hen's cranberry-pear, and winter medley pies. The former had a good filling- I didn't like the ginger in the latter, and overall the crust was not to my taste, although others liked it.