• eat drink one woman says “being critical of Sripraphai is no longer an option for me. When I eat there, not only do I get to eat delicious, authentic Thai dishes that I can’t get anywhere else in town, but I also get to feel like a part of the New York Thai community.” … Sripraphai, 64-13 39th Avenue, between 64th and 65th Streets, Queens, 718-899-9599 [Citysearch]
• Twenty Bucks a Day says Rai Rai Ken is “significantly more homey and homely than most of the other NYC noodleries that I’ve been to recently” … liked the Miso ramen with its “tender pulled-off-the-bone chicken” … 214 East 10th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, 212-477-7030 [MenuPages | IgoUgo] … and did not like Isle … “I’m here to tell you that I was wrong about Isle being possibly good. It isn’t. I’ve had more personable Thai food at Kai Kai, the excremental steam table chain, and at least that was cheaper.” … 282 Bleecker Street, at 7th Avenue South, 212-929-5699 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … did like Himalayan Yak … Samayabajee is “An excellent way to try several different Nepali appetizers” … “My strategy for this restaurant will next time be thus: get a couple of the individual dishes from the Samayabajee platter, get the paytsel, and, if I’m dining with more than one other person, try some kind of dinner entrée from the Nepali menu. If there’s a sauce to be sopped, I’ll get a tingmo or two. I think you could keep the check near $10 a person this way, and at that price point, Himalayan Yak would be a delicious deal.” … 72-20 Roosevelt Avenue, Queens, 718-779-1119 [NYT | The Taste Land | A Year In Food]
• NYC Nosh ate at the new location of Vynl … the butternut squash soup sounds fantastic: “the reason why I order this almost every time I come to Vynl … is the very subtle spice, the heat that cuts through the sweetness of the squash, and the perfect saltiness of the broth.” … but it’s still working through some post-move kinks … 754 9th Avenue, at 51st Street, 212-956-9277 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Salli Vates had “Breakfast Envy at Thomas Beisl” … Thomas Beisl, 25 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-222-5800 [NYT | Citysearch]
• Rachel Wharton has a list of the top 10 Bronx restaurants in “Best bites in the Bronx: A food lover’s guide to the borough’s top restaurants” …
• MUG says Jefferson Grill is too salty … “We’re no saltphobes, but almost every single dish here skews salty. The “too many ingredients stir-fried prawns,” as the menu has it, is the worst offender: a salt lick with a seaside tang.” … 121 West 10th Street, at 6th Avenue, 212-255-3333 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• a friend of A Guy In New York had good things to say about .. Mishima … Noodle Town´s steamed flounder was out of this world … and I simply loved the Dan Dan Mien of Grand Szechuan …
• Rob Patronite “asked several big-time chefs and restaurateurs to weigh in on the imminent arrival of” Michelin New York City … coming next week …
• Mona’s Apple likes Land Thai Kitchen … “the chicken curry puff … was like firecrackers in my mouth, the flavors were bouncing around and I had never tasted something this yummy in my life.” … also good: massaman curry with lamb, wok basil with beef … 450 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 81st and 82nd Streets, 212-501-8121 [MenuPages | NYT]
• The Food Section has a review published in The Washington Post of several food books …
• eater likes Balthazar … “The raw bar and bistro staples are first-rate; ditto for brunch offerings like eggs benedict and chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson’s crepe du jour.” … 80 Spring Street, 212-965-1785 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• CITYRAG has “East Village and Lower East Side delivery tips – if you’re looking for some good food delivery in the Lower East Side or East Village, here are a couple of our favorites!” …
• Nancy Franklin writes that “almost everything on the menu sounds like a welcome surprise, and yet, upon arrival, disappoints” at Chubo … 6 Clinton Street, 212-674-6300 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld went to Fatty Crab … and liked almost everything … but we’ll pass and eat good Malaysian food for less than one-half the price at Nyonya and Sanur … 543 Hudson Street, 212-352-3590 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Forbes gives green GOs to … Mr. K’s … “traditional Chinese fare at its best, served in the most refined and pampering manner” … 570 Lexington Avenue, at 51st Street, 212-583-1668 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … Ono … “tuna tartare, crab salad with soba noodles, crispy shrimp crackers, skewers of Kobe beef or chicken breast, tuna with peppers, sushi or rib-eye steak–all of which are delicious” … in the Hotel Gansevoort, 18 Ninth Avenue, at 13th Street, 212-660-6766 [MenuPages | Citysearch] … La Mangeoire … “old-fashioned French bistro serving delectable Provençal classics” … 1008 Second Avenue, at 53rd Street, 212-759-7086 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• eating for brooklyn says the burgers at Soda Bar are great and “is the perfect place for the day after a bender or perhaps for one as well” … 629 Vanderbilt Avenue, 718-230-8393 [Citysearch]
• gothamist picked out some highlights from TONY’s Essential New York …
• David Rosen liked the “perfectly cooked whole red snapper slowly steamed in a tomato sauce enriched by fresh herbs” at Krik Krak … and said the appetizers are “all fried, all greaseless, all delicious” … 844 Amsterdam Avenue, between 101st and 102nd Streets, 212-222-3100 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• Frank Bruni rates Ninja “Poor” … “Ninja acts like a Disney ride – Space Mountain under a hailstorm of run-of-the-mill or unappealing sushi – but charges like Le Bernardin.” … and it goes downhill from there … you’ve been warned … 25 Hudson Street, at Duane, 212-274-8500 [MenuPages]
  … but liked the chicken at Cafe at Country … “had crackling skin and wonderful meat” … but the grilled lamb was “slightly overcooked and tough” … 90 Madison Avenue, at 29th Street, 212-889-7100 [MenuPages | Citysearch]

• The Bruni Digest notes that Frank Bruni is back from vacation (see above) … and she promised “a 1996 Glamourshot of Yours Truly Insane, looking like a Brighton Beach madame who fell face down in a hot-pink blush quarry.” … we want pics! … she also looked at Frank Bruni’s review of Ninja, in “Ninja: Crouching Failure, Hidden Assholes” …
• Andrea Strong also ate at Café at Country and is now in love with breakfast … “the reason I am in love with breakfast is the Café at Country” …
• OK, this review is not of a NYC location .. but it is a chain that has a location in Westbury, which is close enough … and being a chain the food is probably consistent from location to location, so … James Lileks went to The Cheesecake Factory … “Sweet smoking Judas” … “We sat. Menus were handed out; they had advertisements. Tells you all you need to know. My meal was awful – bread whose crust resembled a PVC pipe, chicken cooked by pressing it under a red-hot cement block for half an hour, some sort of BBQ sauce made of sugar and hubris, and 23,192 french fries. I looked around and saw dozens of tables, all filled, everyone bent before ENORMOUS platters of crap.” …
• Big Apple Dining Guide ordered in from Bamiyan … “Barg – tender pieces of filet mignon, marinated with saffron with white basmati rice … was quite good” … “Overall, I loved this place and look forward to staying there to eat. I like to pick up my food instead of relying on delivery. It makes me feel like I get it home quicker, I cut out a middle man thereby getting it to the table warmer than by delivery guy and it also allows me to get inside the restaurant to see what the ‘terroir’ of the food might be.” … 358 Third Avenue, at 26th Street, 212-481-3232 [MenuPages | Citysearch] .. and also went to Babbo … “is just like the prep school kid of a conservative family that grows his hair long and starts smoking pot and listening to 60s psychelic rock and the Beatles but proudly adheres to Emily Post’s guide on etiquette at the dining table during his trips back home to visit the family.” … 110 Waverly Place, 212-777-0303 [MenuPages | Citysearch]
• we missed this last week: words to eat by says Kitchen 22 is the “Best Bargain in Town” … “Three courses for $25, people!” … “Kitchen 22’s menu changes frequently—each night there are five appetizers and five entrees to choose from, with a featured dessert.” … “these people know how to roast a chicken. It was so good, in fact, that I even ate some of the dark meat, and I don’t like dark meat.” … 36 East 22nd Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue South, 212-228-4399 [MenuPages | Citysearch]

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