That's too bad b/c I have such fond memories of their chocolate "bar" and of Cesar, the hot chocolate somelier! I was planning to take friends there in a few weeks, but I may pass on that now. I heard that the Four Seasons has started a hot chocolate bar of some sort. Has anyone tried it? If so, please give details!

Yes, Indonesa Restaurant is good and definitely worth trying. Some dishes are *extremeley spicy and all the dishes I've tried there have been really tasty. Excellent prices too

I'd go to Chinatown--Vietnam has beautiful decor and wonderful food. Pretty quick service too which key during the workday. Penang is great too--can get really crowded though.

what 'other' site? also, does snack bar have a web site yet?

Thanks so much for these suggestions--very helpful! I will stear clear of Barton G!

Any other recs? Is Barton G. Good? Is it on S. Beach?

I don't think anyone has mentioned Ernesto's yet. I love going there before shows. Excellent service and consistent, delicious food. I love the back room.

International Foods and Spices on 42nd and Walnut carries ghee

Always love Shiroi Hana!

I actually went to Budakkan last night for dinner. I ate the black cod and it was perfect, not too sweet. I also had the duck and it was wonderful as well. I've always enjoyed my food at budakkan. What i didn't enjoy last night was the noise level and sitting on the communal table--i dont recommend going on fri or sat night. to truly enjoy your experience, try to find a relatively quiet corner on a wed or thur night. i find that servers are more attentive as well.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Thanks for the suggestions. acutally my mom-in-law isn't too fussy about traditional american food. we're all indian so we do the best we can, and often mix indian/american food together. for those of us born and raised in U.S. though, we appreciate traditional american comfort food like mashed potatoes!

How about Penang in Chinatown (Tasty food, quick service, lively atmosphere, and inexpensive) or Rangoon (One of my fav restaurants in Chinatwon)? I like Miran Korean in C.City too. Mexican restaurants on Wash. Ave are a good option too.

Actually it's next Tuesday so I have a bit of time to decide where to go! More suggestions are welcome!

There will be 5-6 of us. My only concern about Bar Ferdinand is that it may be out of the way for folks coming from work. It's a Tues night so i wanted a place easy for folks to come and go to. I've been to Mid-town too many times. Any BYOs in CCity that arent't too quiet?

I love Amada, but I think it's too expensive for this group. How's parking by Bar Ferdinand?

Really helpful information--thank you to you both!

Le Figaro is great fine dining in downtown Moline. Also am a fan of Happy Joe's pizza and Le Mekong. Am a big fan of Village Inn for breakfast.

I love the ambiance of naked chocolate, and have enjoyed their teas, liquid chocolate, and truffles. I really, really want to love their cupcakes but I don't! I've tried their cupcakes on 3 different occasions---each time they have been so dry and flavorless. I liked the chocolate cupcake w/peanut butter frosting the best b/c the frosting was so good--nice sweet/salty taste. But the cake is always a disappointment.

I went to Tony Luke's today because I saw the "throwdown" challenge between Bobby Flay and Tony Luke on the Food Network last night. All I could think about when I woke up was a cheesesteak! Anyway, I'm not a cheesesteak expert at all but I thought Tony Luke's cheesteak (w/whiz, fried onions) was really good. What made it for me was the bread. My husband had a cheesteak w/ sharp provolone and rabe and it was really tasty. actually it didnt taste like a cheesesteak at all.