Thank your friends for the compliment but there are many on these boards who know of which they speak including Ekscrunchy. You know the crude analogy, opinions are like a-----es, everyone has one.

One discussion that has been lost is that of steakhouses. There are few Peter Luger detractors for the place that invented that the porterhouse and the pistol. Once again you must travel to one of the other boroughs. Lugers is at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge and they only take cash.

We rarely have steak in restaurants but we also like the Strip House in Manhattan.

Thank you for that, too. However, they want to try Luger's in any case - this may be touristy thinking, but Luger's is kind of a "sight", too, so if their steaks don't have become really dreadful over the years... Of course you are right about how knowledgeable ek is - we know each other for many years from the Italian forum and had more than just a few great food discussions there. (Though I think I've never been able to convince her of any of my own restaurant recommendations. Even though she publicly accepted the punishment of having to go back to Rome to try some of them. Guess what? She never complied!) End of digression... my friends thought it would nonetheless be clever to value contesting opinions and several contributors, and I second that thought.

You guys are too kind. And Franco, I am hoping that the punishment still applies. There is no statute of limitations for such egregious behavior on my part, correct?!

I don't know Kyo Ya. But out of the 7 that have to be whittled down, I think we can eliminate one or two in Flushing just based on their location. Maybe we could keep the list fluid until they have had their first Flushing experience and see how they fare. What do you think? OR, let me know if they really love seafood because if not, there is no point going to Imperial Palace.

One more thing I neglected to mention and which you probably already know: The process to secure reservations at some of these places will require advance planning. Popular places book far ahead at prime dinner hours and I would recommend reserving those 30 days in advance, wherever possible, through the OpenTable.com site.

Of the ones on the list, probably the most difficult to reserve will be Le Bernadin and Peter Luger. Peter Luger and Degustation will require a phone call. Neither of these two are on OpenTable and neither can be booked online. I have not been to Luger in many years so am not sure how far in advance they take bookings, but someone else here is bound to know, or I will call them for you.

Franco: Regarding the Imperial Palace list I provided above: Please remove the recommendation for the snow pea leaves with triple egg sauce. I looked at my notes on another board and now recall that I was disappointed in that dish. Here is the link to that thread:


http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/671...s;results_list

They don't like seafood. They LOVE seafood. So Imperial Palace is definitely on the definite list. Waiting how they like the food and atmosphere in Flushing is certainly an excellent idea, and would be even easier were it not for the need to reserve, at all the other places, long in advance. How long in advance would you recommend for Degustation, ek? And thank you also for the snow pea note.

Ummm, and yes, the punishment applies as long as Osteria dell'Angelo will be in business. Hopefully for a very long time to come, that is.

I cannot wait to begin serving my sentence!

Franco: I think that the most popular dinner hours here in NYC are from 6:30-8:30 and it is usually more difficult to book then. Often one can find tables at even the popular places at 9-9:30pm, and also at 5:30-6pm. So if they are willing to eat outside high volume hours, they might secure seats at Degustation and the other places a few days ahead. (Le Bernadin and Luger are exempted from this last comment; I really cannot say much about Luger since I have not been there in so many years; I do not often go to steakhouses but it I were going, I would probably go to Sparks).

For Degustation, depending on the time they prefer, they could book from a few days (to eat after 9pm) or a few weeks (to eat around 7pm). Once they know the dates, I can make the booking for them by phone, or they can do it by e-mail. The best seats are those in the corner so that the diners can face each other. I am not sure if they book these in advance or if they assign them when you arrive.

Take a look at the photos and menu:

http://www.degustationnyc.com/

Ok, thanks to all your generous help, my friends have been able to put their final plan together.
They are going to dine at: Le Bernardin, Peter Luger's, Craft, Little Pepper, Kyo Ya, Imperial Palace, Sushi Yasuda or Ushiwakamaru (ANYBODY KNOWLEDGEABLE ON SUSHI?). After having been to Flushing for the first time (which will be their second evening, i.e. the first non-baseball evening), they will decide which out of Fu Run - Hunan House - Degustation to skip. If they like the authentic Chinese food, and if they don't feel the trek to Flushing is too much to do that often, they will skip Degustation, not because it doesn't seem worthwhile, but because it's offering the kind of food that's easiest to have in Europe, as well (and Barcelona is on their list of soon-to-visit destinations anyway). Chinese and Japanese food of excellent quality is impossible to come by where they usually are (whether at home or in their usual holidays destinations), so they want to take the opportunity. OTOH, if they are not THAT impressed by Flushing, or if they experience the trek as really tiring, they will go ahead and secure a reservation at Degustation immediately for a late dinner (Italian habits!) at Degustation for one of their last evenings, and skip, between Fu Run and Hunan House, the one that seems less enticing from outside.

For lunch/brunch/snack, they'll keep the complete list in mind, and only Nan Shian Dumpling House is set on it; otherwise, they'll choose on the spur of the moment whichever places are in easy reach during their sightseeing explorations.

Wow! We almost made it! Final questions:
- Sushi experts, where are you? impossible that in a city with so many sushi restaurants, nobody knows about sushi!
- How early should they book at Le Bernardin and Peter Luger's?

Some people leave room in their suitcases to bring things home, your friends will each need their owns wheels so they can be rolled onto the plane.

Sushi-Blue Ribbon in Soho, 15 East, Kanoyama, and Ushi Wakamaru

and Morimoto,

They should try to book Le Bernadin 30 days to the day before they plan to dine there. So, for example, if they would like to go on September 20, they should book their reservation on Open Table on or as close to August 20 as possible to be sure of their desired time. Again, it will be easier, I believe, to get a reservation if they do not mind eating late.

If no one responds to the Luger query, I will phone them and ask.

Thank you, ek, you're too nice indeed.
And thank you, K_brklyn, for your input on sushi. Anybody else?

Actually, Le Bernardin's reservation book opens at 9 a.m. on the first business day of the month prior to the dining date. Thus, in ekscrunchy's example above, September 20 diners should reserve on August 2, the first Monday in August. Waiting those extra 18 calendar days could make reservations extremely difficult.

Thank you so much - good to know!

I apologize if I am incorrect. I was discussing not the book at the restaurant, but their policy on Open Table, which seems to be to book 30 days ahead. I tried yesterday, on OpenTable, to make certain before I posted. Yesterday, June 8th, I was able to book a table on July 8th, but not on July 9th. When I tried to book on July 9, the message was that they do not book so far in advance. So this may be one instance when the online and actual booking procedures are different.

Apropos of our discussion, an article in today's New York Times about reservations policies; notice that the title mentions "waiting IN line." Many people here say "waiting ON line."


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/di...tml?ref=dining

ek, you're more than likely correct when it comes to OpenTable vs. telephone reservations. We use OT a lot, but, especially for high-end places in high demand, I always either check the restaurant's website or give them a call. By the way, OT sometimes works the other way around--Thomas Keller allows OT to hold one table per night at The French Laundry and at Per Se. Of course, they're snapped up by 12:01 a.m. the day they become available.

Incidentally, waiting "on line" rather than "in line" is a distinctly New York usage. I don't know of another geographic area that uses it.

Thanks, B! I am so used to booking with Open Table that I forgot that the actual policy at the restaurant might be different regarding advance bookings. I am so glad you chimed in here because who knows what would be left if they waited to book on OT. Also, you undoubtedly know this but just to give more info, even if a place is booked, do not give up. Often a table will open at the last minute, a day or two before, when people who have booked cancel their tables.

People always make fun of New Yorkers for saying "on line." A good way to identify one of us when far away. Although I suppose that that would be only one of the linguistic clues!

Good point about cancellations.

Re regional language quirks, every place has its "isms." As a native Philadelphian having lived in the New York Metro area for 43 years, I'm still amused at the Philly accent: shtreet, payment, curve and avenooo, for street, pavement, curve and avenue. There are many more, of course.

As an on-air announcer at the UofP's radio station many years ago, I cured myself of the long, nasal a in gaaaaazzzz for gas, while curing a radio staffmate from Brooklyn of foe-ward for forward.