Expensive Restaurants Doesn’t Mean They Have the Best Food

OneEyedDiva said:
My husband, son and I had the sometimes annoying task of questioning every waitress at every restaurant about how and where the food is cooked and if there are any pork products in it or cooked on the same grill as what we wanted. It's surprising how many people didn't realize that bacon is pork! Anyway, sometimes I'd call ahead to get the scoop on what's safe to eat. They're so exclusive that their website doesn't show menu options. I assume that by the time you read this, you will have attended the party. Let us know how things worked out.

@Sciguy...ever noticed that the fancier and pricier the restaurant, the less food you get?
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you know , saying that some people don't realise that bacon is pork, reminds me of just how many people don't think Pork is red meat.... they're convinced that it's white meat like chicken..so they'll say they no longer eat red meat, and only eat white meat, Chicken , Pork and fish..:D
 

oldman said:
Do you like Sardi’s? That’s probably my favorite restaurant in the theater district. For Italian food, I prefer Da Nico’s, but not my wife. She prefers French food.
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Been to many theatre district restaurants but never Sardi's, always seemed like a tourist place. If you want to impress your wife w a new french place and you like seafood, try Le Bernadin. And we also prefer a late lunch to the pre theatre dinner race to be the 8pm tee time.
 
hollydolly said:
you know , saying that some people don't realise that bacon is pork, reminds me of just how many people don't think Pork is red meat.... they're convinced that it's white meat like chicken..so they'll say they no longer eat red meat, and only eat white meat, Chicken , Pork and fish..:D
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pork is the "other white meat". lol
 

againstthegrain said:
If you went to 11MP years ago you seem adventurous enough to try some of the newer places instead of your old stand bys.
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Of course, suggestions? We are considering going back up in the fall. We haven’t been to NYC since 2020
hollydolly said:
you know , saying that some people don't realise that bacon is pork, reminds me of just how many people don't think Pork is red meat.... they're convinced that it's white meat like chicken..so they'll say they no longer eat red meat, and only eat white meat, Chicken , Pork and fish..:D
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Have you ever seen the commercial on TV that is sponsored by the pork producers? It goes like this, “Pork, the other white meat.”
And a lot of people don’t know that bacon comes from the lining of the hog’s stomach. This is why there isn’t a lot of meat on bacon. If you buy Turkey bacon, it’s better for you, but I have never found any that has that real bacon flavor.

My dad and I helped my dad’s friend butcher his hogs in the fall. We got paid with meat, which was fine by us.
 
oldman said:
Of course, suggestions? We are considering going back up in the fall. We haven’t been to NYC since 2020

Have you ever seen the commercial on TV that is sponsored by the pork producers? It goes like this, “Pork, the other white meat.”
And a lot of people don’t know that bacon comes from the lining of the hog’s stomach. This is why there isn’t a lot of meat on bacon. If you buy Turkey bacon, it’s better for you, but I have never found any that has that real bacon flavor.

My dad and I helped my dad’s friend butcher his hogs in the fall. We got paid with meat, which was fine by us.
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American bacon is from the belly, even though it's near the stomach it's not the lining of the stomach.
types-of-bacon-cuts-of-pork1.png




pork-belly.jpg
 
oldman said:
Of course, suggestions? We are considering going back up in the fall. We haven’t been to NYC since 2020

Have you ever seen the commercial on TV that is sponsored by the pork producers? It goes like this, “Pork, the other white meat.”
And a lot of people don’t know that bacon comes from the lining of the hog’s stomach. This is why there isn’t a lot of meat on bacon. If you buy Turkey bacon, it’s better for you, but I have never found any that has that real bacon flavor.

My dad and I helped my dad’s friend butcher his hogs in the fall. We got paid with meat, which was fine by us.
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No we don't have that advert here... or if we do I've never seen it..

When I met my first husband he was a butcher... before joining the Navy... and so I learned about all sorts of meat and how to cook it

I could easily be a vegetarian if it wasn't for bacon...:D
 
hollydolly said:
No we don't have that advert here... or if we do I've never seen it..

When I met my first husband he was a butcher... before joining the Navy... and so I learned about all sorts of meat and how to cook it

I could easily be a vegetarian if it wasn't for bacon...:D
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The pork ad campaign started when chicken became a bigger part of the American diet because of health concerns over eating too much beef and to over come the image of pork being fatty meat. And the hook was "pork, the other white meat."
 
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My husband and I don’t eat out often. We both enjoy cooking so most of our food we make ourselves. Years ago we decided to go to a fancy restaurant one night. We even got somewhat dressed up.

When we got there the restaurant wasn’t busy at all. We both had stopped eating early in the day so were very hungry. We both ordered our meals and waited patiently for it to be cooked.

When the meals finally came out every different item had a separate plate and each item was so small it was humorous. We discreetly laughed through the whole meal.
The restaurant was called The Red Rooster and we still laugh about it to this day.

After we left the restaurant we went to McDonald’s and each ordered fries and a shake. We were beyond hungry. Lol

I agree that you make your requests known as soon as you get there. Any good restaurants will honour your requests.

Years ago I lost a very good friend. He was fatally allergic to peanuts. The salad he ordered was normally made with another oil. That day they ran out of that oil and replaced it with peanut oil. He died within 10 minutes.
Some food allergies can be fatal. It’s sad that some feel that allergies are merely people being needlessly fussy.

Note: We can purchase extra lean bacon in Canada. It just costs more.
 
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The best Food I ever had at a restaurant was near Charleston S.C. Waters Edge, at Shem Creek. 10 years ago.
If I ever Move, its to Mt. Pleasant, S.C. for sure. Maybe Summerville cause its only 30 minutes to Shem Creek. Haha
 
oldman said:
Of course, suggestions? We are considering going back up in the fall. We haven’t been to NYC since 2020

Have you ever seen the commercial on TV that is sponsored by the pork producers? It goes like this, “Pork, the other white meat.”
And a lot of people don’t know that bacon comes from the lining of the hog’s stomach. This is why there isn’t a lot of meat on bacon. If you buy Turkey bacon, it’s better for you, but I have never found any that has that real bacon flavor.

My dad and I helped my dad’s friend butcher his hogs in the fall. We got paid with meat, which was fine by us.
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I stopped eating pork twice. Once after reading about the trichinosis worm in pork, when I was in my early 20s. That really turned me off and abstained until I got bored with my menus. The second time was in my 30s, almost 50 years ago and haven't eaten it since. It makes me sick to my stomach to smell it cooking. I watched a special about the pork industry and finding out the process before it reaches the stores was shocking and disgusting, as was what the people who lived near the farms had to endure in the way of the terrible stench.

I tried turkey bacon, and you're right...it's not the same. I've seen several articles that mention the connection between processed meats (that includes turkey bacon) and cancer. I stopped eating processed meats a couple of decades ago too. I had two rules...if I can't read all the ingredients in 3 - 5 seconds, there's too much stuff in it. And if I can't pronounce some of the ingredients, I probably shouldn't eat the product.

Then I've always had this burning question. for people who are so religious but still eat pork...WHY? Do they not think that God knows what He was talking about and had good reason to instruct his people..the Christians, the Jews and the Muslims not to eat pork? Exception for we Muslims, at least...If we're stranded on a desert island with nothing else to eat and a pig runs by...better catch that sucker, cook him and eat him. :LOL:

@hollydolly I've always heard that pork was considered white meat like @againstthegrain and Oldman mentioned.
 
Bacon is a food group at my house. We will buy whole pork bellies to cure & make our own bacon. I'll also take fresh pork belly & roast it seasoned with thyme, pepper & kosher salt roasting it slow & low.

As far as farms go, we have a farmer a few miles from us who has a large hog farm for years. There is little to no smell from the farm when you drive past. The county to the west of us is a large pork producing area & their farms are the same. My grandparents had a few hogs on their farm & didn't allow them to have a wallow. The hog's area was kept cleaned & dry.

There is a difference between corporate farms & the real farmers. Corporate farms aren't so well managed. Another reason to buy locally raised meats.
 
I have been very occasionally to very high-end restaurants. It was only because my older brother would treat my hubby and myself. Well, so very nice of my older brother, but I'll take something like IHOP over any fancy restaurant any day. The fancy restaurants give a tiny portion of whatever you're having artfully placed on your plate. Hubby and I are still hungry after eating at a fancy restaurant. Also we actually don't always like the food. However, my older brother would not be caught dead dining at a regular chain restaurant.
 
I was in sales for many years and part of my job was to entertain or be entertained by various clients. There were many gourmet meals. Some great, some not. Now that I'm retired we go to mostly inexpensive but mostly healthy restaurants.

One of our favorite restaurants is Velvet Taco. You order at the counter and they call your name when the food is ready. Their tacos are made up of some of the best ingredients, it is like a gourmet dining experience.

https://www.velvettaco.com/core-menu-spring/

That's good enough for me at this point in my life. A good casual Thai restaurant with good Red Curry Seafood and Pad Thai Noodles also fits the bill.

The one thing I will say about some of the more casual restaurants is that I find the more "hip" ones like Velvet Taco play really loud music, so much so that we have to yell to communicate. The finer restaurants typically don't.
 
We had a couple of celebrity chefs associated with our company. One was Charlie Palmer, so I had the good fortune of dining at Charlie Palmer Steak in Vegas. The food was outstanding. I've also eaten at Thomas Keller's restaurants in Napa and Vegas. The roasted chicken is like heaven. The rest, I wasn't that impressed with.

If you want a great laugh with a few shocks thrown in, watch The Menu. Ralph Fiennes is fantastic as a tyrannical, egomaniacal celebrity chef that invites food critics to his restaurant on a deserted island. The best laughs are how pretentious the food critics are, how regimented he is and how he serves them virtually nothing on the plate during each course. It is a VERY dark comedy.


 
papa tiger said:
The best Food I ever had at a restaurant was near Charleston S.C. Waters Edge, at Shem Creek. 10 years ago.
If I ever Move, its to Mt. Pleasant, S.C. for sure. Maybe Summerville cause its only 30 minutes to Shem Creek. Haha
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If you every get back you need to hit the Tattooed Moose Cafa.... Duck Fat Fries are awesome
 
I love trying different cuisines and I’ve had (what I would consider) delicious gourmet meals. These stand out usually as having fresh ingredients, an elegance in their presentation and a subtlety of flavor. There’s a restaurant in Savannah, Elizabeth’s on 37th, which epitomizes this.
 
Me, and my first wife flew to thailand from Vietnam in 1968 to see her sister, we ate at this restaurant, I had not had an Americam meal in a long time, I ordered an American steak, my mouth was just watering thinking about it, the steak they brought the biggest steak I have ever seen, just could not wait to cut into it, I took my knife, and cut a small peice, put it in my mouth, I started to try to crew it, it was the hardest steak I ever had, my wife was just laughing, said to me, Bob you know they don't have American steak ,over here, its water buffalo.
 
seadoug said:
I was in sales for many years and part of my job was to entertain or be entertained by various clients. There were many gourmet meals. Some great, some not. Now that I'm retired we go to mostly inexpensive but mostly healthy restaurants.

One of our favorite restaurants is Velvet Taco. You order at the counter and they call your name when the food is ready. Their tacos are made up of some of the best ingredients, it is like a gourmet dining experience.

https://www.velvettaco.com/core-menu-spring/

That's good enough for me at this point in my life. A good casual Thai restaurant with good Red Curry Seafood and Pad Thai Noodles also fits the bill.

The one thing I will say about some of the more casual restaurants is that I find the more "hip" ones like Velvet Taco play really loud music, so much so that we have to yell to communicate. The finer restaurants typically don't.
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These tacos sound amazingly good. They even serve Mediterranean style and Indian combinations!
 
All restaurants are expensive, some more than others. Fine dining is a luxury item, a Rolex watch vs a Timex for instance. NYC is likely one of only a few cities that 11MP could survive in with a large amount of very wealthy people willing to pay what most would consider an exorbitant amount of money for a plant based meal or any meal.

If you're going to a restaurant and the expense dominates your thought processes chances are you'll not enjoy it. Entertaining for business at 'white tablecloth' or 'fine dining' restaurants has desensitized me to the expense part so eating at them for recreation became much easier.

Many don't see any value at all in it and that's fine there are many options including staying home. For me I didn't take a vacation during my last 12 years of work so a day or evening out in NYC was a treat for both me and my wife. We were blessed, in other words we worked our asses off, to be able to afford the extravagance w/out wondering if we'd spent the mortgage money on a silly dinner. YMMV.
 


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