Hillel at Baruch College hosted an Ethiopian / Israeli chef named Beejhy Barhany, author of the cookbook Gursha and owner of Tsion Cafe. She gave a very interesting talk about her history, culinary and otherwise. And served some samosa-type things, injera, a flat coconut-covered dessert thing and a slightly spicy green chutney thing. Although the event was on the 14th floor, it had a distinct shul basement vibe. 
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Accidentally posted this on the 2025 thread.
Szechuan Gourmet. We hadn’t been in many years. Apparently there was a fire in 2018 and they didn’t reopen until 2021, so it fell off our radar. In any case trying it again was a good decision. The food was on a higher level than any Szechuan we’ve had recently. The tongue and tripe appetizer was the best version of that dish we’ve ever had. Tea-smoked duck was cooked perfectly and succulent. “crispy” prawns with black peppercorn sauce were not actually crispy, but were delicious nonetheless. We got a nice bottle of riesling, which we think is the best wine to go with spicy food. Overall an impressive meal.
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Couldn’t agree more. A Sichuan restaurant in Berlin has a massive Riesling collection / wine list to go with the food.
Also, thx for spelling it Riesling vs. Reisling — a silly pet peeve of mine.
No, probably just choice of dishes that they are electing to serve — or that you are selecting 
. Every region has dry and wet and the whole range in between.
Sambusa
Usually stuffed with whole brown lentils or ground beef at Ethiopian restaurants.
Thank you! Lentils. The meal was vegan and kosher.
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Great to hear the food is still good! Our office was five minutes away, they had a spectacular lunch deal, we were there a couple of times a month. It’s also a wonderful pre-theater choice.
Best,
Delivery from Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria. Their charcuterie continues to excel, this time Mortadella and Salame Rosa, for a nice piggy comparison. Also their breads, this time another of their terrific cherry-anise loaves. Their cheese offerings are poor in contrast.
And their roast beef is superb. Along with Alidoro, the best I’ve had over the last few years in NYC.
SEOUL SALON
Young place with a focus on drinking food (it’s a “sool jib”), but the food is better than that implies, just that they have an extensive range of Korean drink options
They start you out with crunchy ramen chunks with ssam sauce and scallions.
Cuttlefish “sukhwe” was a platter of cold, boiled cuttlefish cut into neat strips, with ssam sauce and gim for wrapping — really tasty.
MaLa pork sliders were a version of pork bao in milk bread slider buns, very tasty, served with a balancing side of pickled daikon, and a critical wet nap.
Fried chicken came unsauced and sauced, perfectly crisp batter on the outside and moist and flavorful dark meat chicken on the inside. More radish, more ssam sauce.
And the final dish was way bigger than we had expected despite consulting with the server, and also delicious and spicy as promised — no holds barred: spicy beef ramyun soup. In addition to plentiful thin slices of brisket, there were slices of potato, fernbrake, seaweed, and more. Really tasty.
Lots more I want to go back to sample.
.
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This glorious spicy seafood soup from Pronto Cafe on Ave H. Lurking beneath the surface are big shrimp, small shrimp, big mussels in the shell, small mussels out of the shell, one big clam and (visible!) one medium sized crab. Served with corn tortillas (you can also get bread), hot sauce and lime.
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TIA POL
Still good to great.
Excellent artichoke salad (though it would have been better without canned / bottled white asparagus when asparagus is actually in season), excellent octopus and chorizo skewers, surprisingly good fried fish, crisp and fresh with a sprinkle of spices, excellent chicken liver mousse, slightly overcooked but still tasty lamb pinchos.
Every time I go, I wonder why I haven’t been in so long.
Lighting is terrible, so after taking a pic of the octopus I stopped.
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A friend told me that the artichokes at Il Buco Alimentari might be close-ish to my memory of the ones I had in Rome in (OMG) 1984. I’ve been searching for these for decades now, and whoo! pretty legit rendition!
The avocado toast was not at all what I expected, and I only ordered it because the server told me I couldn’t get the baked eggs without guanciale. Why? Why?
Nice rhubarb tart.
And a gratis ice cream shot because it was my special day.
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Happy bday, @small_h 
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Thank you!
Happy special day.
Yes, those fried artichokes at Il Buco are terrific. I will have them in Rome in a week and am looking forward to the comparison.
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Thank you! The ones I had in Rome lo these many moons ago were full-size, not baby 'chokes. I look forward to your report.
Happy happy!
Re fried artichokes, if you are looking for more options, Palma in the village used to do an excellent version, and is still open (an Italian friend chose it for her shower based largely on this one dish… I’m only slightly kidding). Celeste on the UWS does a good rendition too, but is further away for you.
Thanks! Yes, the artichokes at Palma and Celeste look correct. I’d just had them at Osteria 106, but those were battered, which I don’t like as much - too heavy.
The un-battered dish used to be called Cardiofi alla Giudia (for the Jewish ghetto in Rome where it originated), but when it’s called just crispy artichokes or fried artichokes nowadays, it’s harder to tell. The other difference is some places serve just artichoke hearts vs the whole thing with the frizzled leaves.
Re baby vs large — Roman artichokes are a type that are entirely edible vs American globe artichokes where the leaves aren’t, and plus there’s the prickly choke.
