johannabanana

We spent some time in the North Fork this summer. Didn't eat at the inn but went to their mostly excellent food truck many times to eat in the garden. Claudia Fleming was always around, often manning the truck. Her oatmeal cookies were divine. Sad that she's selling up.

Too bad, Daniel, about Casa Mono going to the dogs. Recently, I've been most sad about City Bakery closing - had lots of memories related to that place - but I'll also miss sitting at the Casa Mono bar when it was good. Thanks, Behemoth and Sneak. Don't check in much here so missed your messages. (Moving to London early next year hopefully!)

Seemed like, from a comment on Mangieri's Instagram, he's planning to open in NJ soon.

Haven't been to Casa Mono - or eaten dinner out - since my son was born but it is possible your version of the goat dish was different from mine 18 months ago. They used to change the preparation for their non-classic dishes fairly frequently.

Not in NYC, but not so far away in Mattituck, Pizza Rita makes Neapolitan pizza good enough to rival UPN. This is based upon multiple recent visits!

Glad it was reviewed again as it looked certain to close otherwise. Had yet another great pizza there recently. (Not sure I agree with Wells about the appetizers.)

Went here last night. Excellent, precise cooking, friendly service, charming space. Tried all of the short menu and everything was good. Highlight was the beef noodle soup. I preferred the chewy to the flat noodles, at least once the soup had cooled. The beef shank and tendon are delicious.

The cooking at the Williamsburg location isn't anything like the cooking at the Woodside location - and even the presentation of some of the dishes is different.

Out of curiosity, what day of the week was this? It was Friday.

Got round to reading the Wells review and was surprised he thought the desserts jarred with the aesthetics of the pizza. Read like he had to twist his review to agree with his argument. Tiramisu and ice cream seem classic enough to me. And, frankly, many of the appetizers may be modernist but a couple of them aren't so different from what you'd have found at Franny's. Also surprised he didn't like the servers asking what you're eating when helping you choose the wine. At least he realized how good the pizza is.

I don't share the love for Frenchette. The rabbit was particularly disappointing: bland, with indelicate, slightly gummy noodles. Thought the other dishes were ok but not more than that. The worst part was actually our tiny table in the bar area, which became a punishingly hot sun trap around 6 pm and had no leg room for one of us. If they'd installed a blind and weren't trying to cram so many people in, we could have had a comfortable dinner at least. Wine prices by the (small) glass seemed high.

Now I mostly only come here for the exceptional gelato.

Went back here after going once before, nearer to when it opened. The level of cooking seems to have fallen precipitously. And I'd say that Atla is executing some of the basics - tortillas, salsas - far better.

The Saturday Carbonara pizza is now my second favorite, here, after the Pops.

The place on Delancey close to the bridge. I like the "chewy noodle" ramen options, particularly the Tontoro Pork. I don't like truffle oil either but Nakamura hasn't been too hit-or-miss for me.

Not sure if Nakamura has already been mentioned on the board. Anyhow, I very much like their ramen and the Ma Po Tofu, a perennial special. I think it's the best vegetarian version of Ma Po I've had. (Good rice here, too).

Lunch here was disappointing. The pitas have a soft pillowy texture, so unfortunately the ratatouille pita makes for a mushy sandwich. The famous cauliflower was bland. One minute steak pita was excellent, the steak perfectly crisped up, nicely balanced with the other ingredients. Another minute steak pita was a sad version of the good one. Slow and disorganized compared to Los Tacos No. 1. I was also put off by the chefs constantly touching computer touchscreens with their food prep gloves on - seemed like a breach of hygiene.

The mescolanza (mixed antipasti) here is very good. They now have a Fridays only pizza on the menu, in the same way you can only order the Apollonia on Saturdays.

Tried the tacos here again. The cooking on both had been adjusted, or there's just some inconsistency. The brussels sprouts now seem more fried, too fried for me, making that taco somewhat indigestible. The pork was much better cooked than before, more going on in the taco generally, very good. I prefer the pre-1 pm menu here, though.

I'm talking about the inside!

Jesikka, did you go to the San Francisco UPN? The spare decor, spaced-out marble tables and wooden chairs felt very Italian. The Orchard Street decor is so different. The chairs, in particular, are strange and uncomfortable. Jorge Riera would have been a perfect wine director for UPN and would have served the red wines a lot cooler, I think.

UPN now has a license. I find the UPN pizza to be clearly different from the ones at Ops. The UPN center is wetter, the crust more chewy. For me, the Margherita suits the UPN style best. (My favorite pizza at Ops is the Pops.) I much preferred the dining room at the San Francisco UPN, which felt like you were in Italy, to the one on Orchard Street.

Like Aaron, I thought the Franny's pizza improved in the new location but for me the starters declined.

Replying to Sneakeater, for me, the starters during the latter stages of Franny's weren't so much better. (I thought the food there was maybe best a long time before, under Danny Amend.) The starters at Franny's became almost comically stingy, like a half-handful of peashoots for $16 or whatever. They made a big mistake changing their location. The old space had charm, like Ops, and was cool, I felt. The new space was bland. And too big/expensive, meaning the prices shot up and people ordered less in a self-defeating way for the restaurant. The service also changed when they moved. I p

Vino Vero in Cannareggio. (You could try to walk in to Anice Stellato afterward for fritto misto.) If you want more cicchetti in the morning, breakfast at All'Arco.