creeper

It will stretch to the rear of the store pretty quickly, but it moves fast.

A lot of places take reservations online now. Others will respond to email. But a call is always a good idea, and I bet your broken French will be sufficient.

Lots of good, non-Michelin stuff relatively nearby, depending on what you're looking for. Amarante is my favorite but not for everyone. Very well done classic French food: sole, sweetbreads, foie, tete de veau, etc. with a great natural wine list in a spare setting. One FOH, chef cooks everything, no substitutions, etc. Usually bookable with a couple days notice. L'Ebauchoir is more of a neo-bistro, so lighter bistro fare very well done, friendly service. Also a good wine list. Usually bookable a couple days out. Le Baratin also somewhat nearby... bistro but with more classic options. Food can be very good. If you're dining solo or with a small group, you might be able to walk in to Le Servan at opening for lunch. For a bigger group with more classic food, Benoit is probably a good option. These are all within 15 to 35 minutes walking from where it appears you'll be.

The food is good but likely won't blow you away, but the dining room at Kronenhalle features some amazing art (Picasso, Miro, Braque, etc.), and the selection of Swiss wines is solid.

Love both of these. Have you had any of Boudignon's higher end stuff? Just grabbed some '20 Savennieres Fremine but plan to let 'em rest. The '19 Anjou Blanc is delicious right now...

Best canned tomatoes out there.

Let's get this!

HOLY SHIT

Shit call

UES is not a great pizza destination, unfortunately, and the best of the bunch--PQR--closed earlier this month. San Matteo near 80th and 2nd is probably the best, but be aware that it's Neapolitan and not NY-style. If you want NY, the OG Patsy's is further north... 1st Ave and 118th or so. Haven't been in years but used to be reliable. Edit to add, my favorite spot in the area is JG Melon for cocktails, beer, burgers, and the old school bar staff.

If money is no object and she wants Grenache, get her a bottle of Rayas.

If you received the full array, you should still be protected.

Quick to respond, you'll be in a car within a few minutes, and definitely the way to go from LGA to midtown.

Hate to bring the bad news, but I cruised over to the Steck and Mopac location for lunch yesterday only to find it permanently closed.

This morning's breakfast at Juan in a Million, subbed refrieds for charro beans.

The proper way to melt the cheese while reheating in a skillet is to heat your slice both crust-side and cheese-side down. If you start cheese-side down, then flip your slice, the crust will crisp up in the cheese/pepperoni oil.

Texas' Burlotto importer got their drop last week, so for those who want to check out his Pelaverga, now's the time...

It's good, though I wouldn't necessarily put it above China Fam, Seven Spice, etc. Check out Bamboo House as well... just opened.

Robert Parker bears a lot of responsibility for the oaked-up, jammy, high-alcohol nonsense that point-chasers salivated after and that frequently displaced more traditional wines. Thankfully there's been a move back to more restrained wines in the last decade plus, and many producers who went overboard on the RP train are coming back to earth, in part, I'm sure, because there's a growing market for more restrained wines. As someone who drinks a lot of Burgundy, N. Rhone, and Piedmont, this is a welcome development. I don't think his influence was all bad, but I do think there's a lot of bad wine out there today that's the equivalent of the pre-RP thin and shrilly stuff, only now it's amped up with oak staves (or worse), mega purple, RS, high alcohol, etc. All that said, there's probably never been a better time to drink wine than now. And I actually subscribed to the Wine Advocate again recently, for the first time in 20+ years, because of William Kelley's coverage of Burgundy and, to a lesser extent, Bordeaux.

The Kusama exhibit at the Hirshorn is awesome.

I assume you're using 00 pizza flour, like Caputo. I'd dial down the hydration, maybe start with a recipe like the AVPN one, which comes in closer to 58% - 62%. That sounds low, but with a proper fermentation 00 flour will absorb a ton of moisture, so the dough will likely feel much wetter than you'd expect. If you use the AVPN approach, I'd recommend less yeast and a 24 hour (room temp) ferment. https://www.pizzanapoletana.org/en/ricetta_pizza_napoletana

What flour are you using and what's your current hydration?

King is excellent and only a few blocks away. They usually have fish on the menu... reservations recommended.

There are a couple of good bakeries in Montmartre... Goutte d'Or (pastries, no viennoiseries) and Atelier P1 (great chaussons).

Vera's BBQ