We were chatting last night about a single restaurant thread for NYC that we could keep going throughout the year, like some other cities already have.
So, let’s give it a go!
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We had a HO group meal at Indian Table in Brooklyn last night.
Write up and pics:
Okay! First trip to Oxomoco, on Greenpoint Ave in Brooklyn. The menu is very heavy on tacos, with some real winners (celeriac!) and some less successful ideas (beet “chorizo”). One of the dishes I was most anticipating, the crab flan, would have been much stronger without its overly spicy components - it was a Srichacha mayo tuna roll when a chawanmushi would’ve been a better idea. Kudos to our server, who, rather than upselling, gave us very sage advice about how much to order.
Guac, very solid.
Celeriac taco, steller.
Crab flan, very beautiful! Also overburdened with heat!
Three, count 'em, three desserts. Chocolate cake, carrot cake (with mole, my favorite), and a very weird curd with grapefruit granita and almonds. Not sure what’s going on there, but it needed a re-think.
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i love celeraic; would love to try this.
It was such a sleeper hit. Our server rattled off a list of “favorites,” the celeriac not among them. I was the only one at the table somehow compelled to suggest ordering it. And we all just loved it. I should note that it was topped with crispy maitakes, and nothing not to like about that.
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Anything with maitake is an automatic win
Ate last week to celebrate a friend’s birthday at Shmoné. She is a pescatarian who will eat chicken. I had the green drink, and pretty much forgot to take pictures after one really terrible shot of some half-eaten dishes–the drink they called the “electric pickle”:
We ate ourselves silly (and they comped us the last two), and we loved everything we ate (took home quite a bit): Green salad, Artichoke Carpaccio (a mix of cooked and raw artichoke), Sashimi Hamachi, 3 Scallops, Crab Pasta, Roasted Grouper, Burik (this was a deep-fried crispy shell with potato and other things like egg and sauces inside) and Calamari (I was too full to try this).
It was a festive atmosphere (we ate at the bar around the kitchen), and when we said we were too full for dessert, they said since it was my friend’s birthday, we had to have a “bite” of something! We agreed to their suggestion of “just a bite” of chocolate, and they brought this wonderful concoction to us on two oversized spoons with the entire restaurant singing happy birthday to my friend. She, who has spent lots of time in Israel, really enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere. And the chocolate bite was yummy, a little cake, a little mousse, a little salt. Delish!
Full disclosure: my son manages one of their other places, and so they knew from him that we were there to celebrate my friend’s birthday, and the main chef there was out on paternity leave, but I don’t think anyone would have known any of this. Service is knowledgeable and friendly to all. Oh, yeah, I forgot, after the cocktails, we each had a glass of wine, and shots were served to us and everybody around us when we ate our chocolate bites. L’Chaim!
It’s not a place for a quiet dinner, but I thought it heaps of fun, and the food and drinks very good. I would go back, for sure. Lots of other things people were eating looked good, but I wouldn’t go hoping for something in particular, as the menu changes daily.
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So… she just doesn’t eat red meat? lol
Sounds like a great meal and a festive birthday celebration!
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Well, no quail either, e.g. They had it on the menu, and I would have been game. 
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I have a “vegetarian” friend who makes “exceptions” for bacon, fish, ribs, and chicken biryani.
(So no, she’s not vegetarian, she’s “I eat mostly vegetarian unless I like the meat thing, i.e. I’m a picky eater but I don’t want to call myself that” 
)
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Just go with “flexitarian.” Covers a lot of ground.
But that sounds so much less virtuous, no?
It sounds downright promiscuous.
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(apparently that was too short a message body)
This thread is a most excellent idea. I’ll go…
uluh last night - Disgusting!
Trendy, uber popular Chinese (Sichuan-ish) in East Village. So trendy they dont capitalize the first letter. Packed house last night with a roughly 30 minute wait. Oddity right off the bat. I ordered, went to the bathroom, and by the time I came back 5 minutes later, wife was already taking pictures of three dishes.
Shrimp, rice cakes with truffles was like they mixed them with one of those Urbani truffle pastes sold in Eataly. Eggplant with garlic was standard. Pork soup dumplings with truffles were average. The slightest hint of truffles. Chili Chicken was the worst offender. Ever microwaved something fried for too long where the only thing left is a soft batter? That was the chicken here. Bland fried rice. Fish in green peppercorn in broth was more like it but a bit too much Mala numbness for our tastes to fully enjoy. Weird considering how mild and bland the rest of the dishes were.
Just strange considering how popular it is (over 95% Chinese) and the rave reviews. But the biblical menu should have been a red flag.
Oh wait, you said Good Eats! My bad
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So what was the restaurant? It would be useful to know what to avoid. Or to hear from others who may have had a different experience.
Its called uluh. I mentioned it above, but the capitalizing or lack of may have thrown you off
Good Eats also = Avoid Bad Eats
So thank you for the cautionary tale!
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Whoops! My bad. Sorry!
Good lord, that’s an enormous menu. And it actually looks pretty good, so thanks for the heads up. I might have been game to try it.
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Ewww…and thanks for the heads-up. Agree, something off about this restaurant and it’s reviews. The few on Trip Advisor are not good at all (not that I usually spend a lot of time looking at those, but you got me curious).
And I like “flexitarian;” gonna coopt that one!
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