small h

Time to close this thread! https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/business/media/nyt-restaurant-critics-announced.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE8.U345.Se6BoTclmWhE&smid=re-nytimes

Conversely, I have yet to set up my irrigation system in the Catskills, since it's rained at least once every four days since I planted.

The best.

The glory of a busy borscht.

Indoor grilling yesterday, and a good thing, because it’s too hot for that today!

That may be, but you're wrong about the brine thing. Note multiple images of wrapped mozz. And zero images of mozz in brine.

Needs more pistachios. 🤣

That has always been the case. I've been going to DiPalo's for 20+ years, and they've never served mozzarella in a brine-filled pint container. I can't think of many places that do - not Russo's, nor Raffetto's (I was just there). Formaggio Essex might, or I'm thinking of the burrata.

Above average happy hour, also.

Maybe if you bury them for a while.

Snap peas with balcony mint, lemon, walnuts and parm. Monkfish with balcony mushrooms and parsley. Those mushroom compost blocks are the gift that keeps on giving!

I'm so sorry for your loss. What an awful thing to learn while you're in a celebratory place. I'm glad the music helped you heal a little.

I attended a group dinner at Huda a few days ago. My expectations were not especially high, so I was very pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. We had… A bowl of cherries! Which life is not. Fluke carpaccio, refreshing and light. Smoky, oily pita. One of the stars of the evening: rakakat (cheese-stuffed phyllo with muhammara). Dandelion, which was just okay, too much going on here. Grilled squid, a little overcooked and too salty. Plus, the hummus was very loose. Another standout - charred eggplant. Steelhead trout, also too salty (stop over-salting fish!), but the shimeji mushrooms were great. And these two desserts. I have no idea what they were. Good, though! The menu changes frequently, based on what’s available, which is unusual for this kind of food. Strong recommend.

It's very attractive!

A Gramercy Tavern recipe for clam chowder with bok choy. Because I went to the greenmarket and bought (among other things) clams and bok choy.

Our yard upstate was full of violets last weekend, so I made violet syrup. Then I used it in a Southside, to make a Violet Southside. It doesn't taste appreciably different, but it sure is pretty!

Nice!

You need to burn some sage, maybe.

Wow!

I checked the vibes and arrived at the same conclusion

From the pantry and the balcony. Post-weekend away eating is catch as catch can.

And it's a completely believable arc. Deborah and Ava's relationship evolves, but Kayla might be the only character who does.

No heat in da house! Need soup.

People keep saying this, but I not find it tear-inducing. Loving Kayla more and more, though.

Blackfish with mushrooms and sage grown on the balcony. Asparagus and potato soup.