"Eating Their Catch" by the Fishing Gourmands

OK - guess I'll start
Went to a new restaurant Saturday called
Cookshop - 20th St & 10th Ave - NYC
chef owners of Five Points opened this recently - the cuisine could basically can be termed "American" and they specialize in coal oven dishes. Really liked the menu - nothing too fancy but everything seemed to be prepared w/ fresh seasonal ingredients.
My date & I shared duck confit tacquitos & a small pizza (I know it sounds weird but it was out of this world) w/ fresh buffalo mozz & hen of the woods mushrooms (no sauce). I'm a sucker for anything w/ duck & especially confit & the tacquitos didnt dissapoint served w/ a nice smokey chipotle sauce.
I had the roast suckling pig - w/ pineapple/mango/jalepeno salsa - the meat was a little dry but well seasoned & the skin was rotti crispy. Salsa added nice sweet/hot combo and went well w/ the pig.
My date had the sauteed diver scallops w/ oranges & gremalata. Scallops were superb - so sweet & the tanginess/1/2 sour oranges played well w/ the scallops. Gremalata had great creamy consistency.
Service was very good - attentive and casual & I liked the look of the place - stylish without being trendy - open kitchen in the back w/ the oven. Overall I would highly recommend Cookshop - would like to go back in 6 months to see how the kitchen progresses(usually like to wait until restaurants have been open at least 6 months for them to get the kinks out) out of 4

i checked out a restaurant called Rat's Restaurant this weekend for some sunday brunch action... friends of ours are looking at the space to have their wedding there...

It's in Hamilton NJ right on the Grounds For Sculpture...

nice place, kind of on the high end side though. They brought us out all a glass of champagne or a mimosato start things off. Then they asked us if we'd like a plate of complimentary caviar. having never really tried it i said "sure!". the waiter told us "ok, no problem.. that's served with thinned finlandia vodka"... needless to say, it seems caviar is an "aquired" taste 'cause i certainley did not dig it. washing it down with a little vodka was certainley not very... umm, refreshing?

beautiful place with a the food in one room and the desserts (which were INSANE) were located upstairs in the piano lounge. buffet table consisted of ham, prime rib, crepe station, omelet station and all kinds of breakfast items, a MASSIVE tub of jumbo shrimp cocktail, deviled eggs, sushi, prosciutto sopersatta and a huge cheese table... i made a few trips then made my way upstairs to the dessert area... im not much of a dessert guy but i must admit.. this was impressive!!

ended the meal with an 'after brunch' adult beverage and walked around the grounds for the next few hours. the sculpture grounds are most impressive. huge sculpted pieces from rock, metal etc...

all in all a very cool place... the buffet brunch runs $49.00 a person. a bit steep but considering the food and atmosphere it's not too "out of the park"

ps - here's the links for the restaurant and the grounds

Rats, real catchy name for a restaurant

Arturo's (106 West Houston Street, NYC) is a place I hadn't been to in 25+ years, so when I took my wife and daughter to the City to shop for a prom dress, we were nearby & decided to try it again. This place is a local landmark a block or so off Bleecker on the south side of the Village.

They specialize in New York thin-crusted coal oven pizzas/calzones, which is what we used to go there for frequently years ago. So we ordered a large calzone with sausage and broccoli rabe. Like going back in time, the calzone was excellent! Half went home with us. My daughter had the tortellini with Boulanaise sauce (tomato meat sauce effectively). Her dish was also excellent.

Remember also, I can attest that this restaurant hasn't changed inside in these 25+ yrs. It has a small bar in front with booths and a small grand piano all in the front room. Two back rooms for dining. Oil paintings of Italy by the owner everywhere - & they're the same ones from way back when.

You can tell by the clientel, this is a neighborhood joint. On a sunday at 4:30-5 it was doing a brisk business - most everyone seemed like they were Italians right outta Brooklyn - lottsa families. The place smells just the way a New York pizzeria should. Couple next to me were eating a dynamite looking dish of calamari and a hot antiposto - looked great. Next time. Attentive service & reasonable prices.

HJ -
ate there a few weeks ago. Very good pizza - a little cramped but the piano player was a plus

in Louisville KY on business right now and went to a very good BBQ joint for lunch

Firehouse BBQ, southeast of downtown Louisville, just east of the airport. Firehouse theme all over the place, lots of memorabilia on the walls. I believe it was started by a few local FFs that took thier skills into the private sector and opended this place.

As for the chow, it was great. Didnt spring for the ribs but I did have a pulled pork sammich and a bowl of their award winning 4 alarm chili and both were fantastic. half a doz varieties of thier own sauces were at each table for samplin. a big glass o sweet tea helped wash it all down.

I'll start to post "new picks" as they come but wanted to open up with three favorites:



1. El Paso Taqueria: 96th/Park & 104th/Lex. Unreal mexican food. I've lived in AZ and NM and consider myself a bona fide mexicano experto. The guacamole is as good as guac gets...avocado, cilantro, onions, tomato, lime juice, & peppers. They've got great mole, awesome slow-cooked pork, and the margaritas are made by hand. And, it's friggin' CHEAP.



2. Agnanti Meze: One in Astoria on Ditmars/19th(the original, old tavern), one in Bay ridge 77th/4th(recently opened), both are equally good. This place is so good and the menu is SO big, and I could literally order anything and everything off the menu....I print a menu and stare at if for an hour before I go! Even the bread is phenomenal...it's that kind of place. Check out the menu.... It's also very reasonably priced for what you get..and the Greek wine list is pretty good, even coming from a wine snob.



3. Sushi Yasuda 43rd between 2/3rd: This place is very expensive, but it's so ridiculously absolutely good that I'm willing to gamble my reputation on it! Super traditional...no spicy rolls or california rolls, all sushi and sashimi. On a given day they'll have 4 or 5 different kinds of yellowtail, 4 or 5 different kinds of salmon (the white salmon is awesome), and 3 or 4 kinds of eel (I'm not a big eel fan but here it's my favorite, even the urchin is good!). Most people get 'omakase', ya just tell the chef you give you what's good that day. Again, what is REALLY good are the details. The rice is warm and the simplest of sushi melts in your mouth...the wasabi is ground wasabi, not the mix stuff like most places have in the states. Anyway, the place is friggin' outrageously good. Did someone say fluke liver? Yup, seahoze did!



I'll update with some more as I eat 'em!



HOZE

Brazilian barbecue at it's finest! Anyone that likes grilled meat and I mean meat of all kinds, will really enjoy this favorite of mine. The place is an absolutely fine dining with a different live Sambaa vocal performance every night. Ambiance very ultra casual dining. The place is huge attracting tourists and theatre go'ers. Business dinners and large groups are invited because of the bar area in the front. Service of this place is top notch A-1, with waiters everywhere. Start out hanging in the front bar area while waiting for your table. When your table is ready, the hostess brings you into the dining area with a humongous salad bar in the middle. Everything from fresh octopus salad to grilled artichoke. Eat as much as you want, however - save room for the meat.



By flipping the red disk to green, you are ready to signal the meat carvers, either walking around with skewers or with a cart of barbeques. You can find whole barbecued suckling pig, bacon wrapped chicken kabobs, grilled skirt steaks, rib-eyed, (my favorite) beef short ribs, racks of lamb, pork chops, loins, etc, etc, etc...



Then when you are finally through, done, kaputz...the dessert cart comes out. Fantastic!!



The range for a couple is around $100.



The name of the place is Churrascaria Plataforma and I give it

that's definitely going in my favorites folder for a future visit

man, that's what I call uptown which unfortunately for me is where i seldom venture ... but I'm gonna give it a try based on your rec!

Another Great Idea!

555
555 Congress Street, Portland, ME

Was in town for New Years and went for dinner with the bride. Absolutely THE BEST dining experience I had of 2005! Service was out of this world. Atmosphere was great with seats in the balcony overlooking an open kitchen. We were nervous at first as there were limited main course selections, but here we are three months later and I can still recall the Maple Brined Pork Chops I had. My wife had a salmon dish that was out of this wolrd. Wasabi is coming to my mind on that. Wrapped things up with a tawny port, a sauternes, and four different cheeses off their cheese menu! We gave our waitress (Jami) free reign on the cheese and wine pairing and she was spot on.

I work for a wine importer and distributor in Boston and it takes a fair amount to impress me at a restaurant. This place did it, and did it right!

...not much beats an open White Castle or for that matter a Sabrett (when and if ya can find one).

In NE the best burgers are either the 99 Pub or the old Pease AFB NCO Club.

hHowever, sometimes there's nothing better than a Rooty tooty Fruity from IHOP or Denny's. Though I really do miss a great NJ Diner!

for the tubesteak ... (damn, can't figure out how to get my attached files to display )