Book I finished reading: 'Turning the Tables: Restaurants from the Inside Out' by Steven A. Shaw
http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Tables-Restaurants-Inside-Out/dp/0060737808/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-2868605-3104760?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188603005&sr=8-2

The premise of the book was that the 'restaurant critic' and food lover was going to provide insight on how to get the best experience when you eat out and provide all sorts of inside secrets. I didn't get any of that from the book. I did enjoy some of the profiling he did on chefs from around the country and things that they accomplished and were currently doing. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the processes and daily routines successful restaurateurs go through to maintain their operations.

Just so you all understand - even though it seems like I'm reviewing things here, that isn't my primary intention. I have a bad memory so this blog's primary purpose is for me to document things in my life like restaurants eaten at, books read, trips taken, etc. So if I don't end an entry with a clear recommendation or conclusion, it's because I didn't feel like it and I don't owe you one. This is really for me and my wife - even though she is usually the one criticizing my entries - and a nice by-product is that some of my friends enjoy reading it. Take it for what it is with its bad grammar, spelling mistakes and ambiguous endings.

Also, I'm a demi-God and you should be grateful I'm gracing you with this new Gospel. Bow down and meet your master.

Do I even work? – Vong, London Bar, Molyvos and davidburke & donatella

Despite telling myself that I shouldn’t spend any money going out to eat in the weeks leading up to my vacation – where I am going to potentially waste a lot of money going out to eat – I ended up going out to a few places. Fortunately, I only ended up having to foot the bill 50% of the time. How? I usually run out on the bill or I begin yelling and screaming at the table....that I have a bomb strapped to my chest. No, no, no...just kidding....read and ye shall learn.

VONG

200 E. 54th St., New York, NY 10022
at Third Ave.
212-486-9592

http://www.jean-georges.com/

My series of culinary adventures began on Wednesday, August 28^th a little bit before lunch. My wife had mentioned earlier in the week that we should have lunch sometime soon so I figured today was as good a day as any. Better get it over with in case I die soon or something. She had mentioned Vong several times before and since I wasn’t dying to go, I figured lunch would be the best option. Lunch usually isn’t as expensive and you can get a pretty good idea of what the food is like. I met her at 57^th and Lex and we walked over to Vong at 54^th and 3^rd. Entering the restaurant I was struck with a feeling of not actually being in a full fledged restaurant, let alone an establishment associated with Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It felt like one of the many, random places in the city that YOU (not me, because I usually bring my own self-made delicious creations for lunch) might go for a mediocre bite to eat. The décor was red and pinkish banquettes with multicolored wallpaper. We decided to go with the $20 prix fixe lunch menu. I figured that no matter what was brought out, I wasn’t going to cry over $20. I started with a honeydew and mango soup with a mound of crab meat in the center. It was cool and clean but nothing special. The soup and crab didn’t have much flavor; I only occasionally got a burst from a piece of mango. My wife started with shrimp and pork spring rolls. Again, they were crisp but the flavors were only decent and I felt like any halfway decent place could have served this up. For my entrée, I had a grilled beef salad with greens, red onion and pickled vegetables. It was kind of messy, and the flavors were all jumbled. The vegetables were naturally spicy and the meat with kind of torn / sloppily cut but tender. Again, no distinctive, pleasing tastes. Just a jumble of ingredients on the plate and nothing exciting. My wife had a hanger steak slathered in a dark, spiced sauce. The steak was precut – kind of strange. The sauce was slightly sweet with some spices. The meat was tender and sort of enjoyable. For dessert, you had a choice of sorbets or an alcoholic, coconut based concoction. As much as I’d like to go back to work drunk to make the day go by faster, my sense of discipline and the desire to keep my job led me to choose the sorbets. This was probably the best part of the meal. The raspberry was slightly spicy and creamy. The leeche wasn’t very good but that is because I don’t like the fruits. My Indian wife enjoys them immensely and enjoyed this sorbet. The lat was a tart passion fruit sorbet that I also enjoyed. The sorbets came with two cookie crisps on top. They were sugar coated and slightly spicy. Also enjoyable. We also, got 2 sodas – I a Ginger Soda and her a Chili Fruit Blast or something. She didn’t enjoy hers and as usual stole my tasty Ginger Soda (I'm going to start spitting in my food and see if that deters her) which had a fresh ginger taste – nothing artificial like Ginger Ale. They were good, but they weren’t $5 good! No wonder Vong charges $20 for lunch – they figure you’re going to get a drink and they mark the stuff up 300%! What a rip-off. Overall, if lunch is any indication of dinner I can’t believe this is a 1 Michelin star restaurant. I would not be interested in coming back for dinner. The décor is uninspiring, the food is bland and uninspiring and there is no really reason for me to want to try again with dinner when there are so many other wonderful places in the city – I’d rather go to Nougatine for lunch and Jean-Georges for dinner. With tax and tip the bill came to about $64. Expensive for lunch.

THE LONDON BAR

151 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019
212 468 8889

http://gordonramsay.com/thelondonbar/

So later that evening I had dinner plans with two friends at 6:30pm for Molyvos, a Greek place on 55^th and 7^th. We’ve had a quiet late August at work and have been getting out right at 5pm. With time to kill, my co-worker was nice enough to offer to keep me company at the London Bar which is part of the London Hotel on 54^th and 7^th. As long as I’m buying the drinks, she is keeping the seat warm. The London Bar is part of the Gordon Ramsay setup at the London Hotel and includes Maze (tasting size portions), Gordon Ramsay (fine dining) and the London Bar (drinks and nice bar food). All serve food but each is distinctive in their approach and offerings. We arrived and I ordered my old standby, Campari and Soda. For those of you not familiar with Campari, it is bright red and easily mistaken for a sweet, girly cocktail. However, it is a mixture of herbs and alcohol and is bittersweet – more bitter than sweet actually....just like me! Mixed with soda to cut some of the syrupiness it becomes the perfect concoction to ease my perpetually bothersome stomach, allowing me to relax and settle down. My colleague ordered a glass of Riesling. Time passed by due to good conversation and eventually her friend, a manager at the restaurant appeared. A very polite and affable gentleman, we began talking about our shared love of food and dining out. I glanced at my watch while they speaking and realized I better start going to my dinner. The bartender informed me my bill had been covered by my new friend. How gracious. I thanked him and was preparing to mention that I needed to leave when he offered to show me the kitchen. There was no way I was passing up this offer and I knew my dinner companions would understand. He led us through the main dining room – Gordon Ramsay has some quirky habits such as letting ruffians like me walk through during dinner service and leaving the doors to the main dining area open so the noise of the bar drifts in – and we first reviewed the wine storage area. 700 bottles in temperature controlled units, sorted by type. The kitchen is a sight to behold – large, clean and very professional. The head chef Josh Emett shook my hand and was very friendly. The chef's table is beautiful – black granite I believe. It is positioned on a platform so you have a perfect view of the kitchen while you dine. I would like to be in a position one day where I can enjoy my meal at the restaurant at that table – but since it is about $1700, I may have to wait. We finished our tour of the various sections and exited on the other side by Maze. I said my goodnights and headed off to Molyvos.

MOLYVOS

871 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019

(212) 582-7500 phone

http://www.molyvos.com/About.aspx

Molyvos look ordinary from the outside and when you enter it seems like a standard restaurant. It isn’t until you go to the back that you realize it is actually quite big and attractive in its own way. I enjoyed the rustic nature of our wooden table. I decided to order the grilled octopus as I have been prone to do lately when I see it on the menu somewhere. I was pleased with my decision – it was some of the most tender I have ever had. It was also grilled just enough so that it had some char on the tips and the flavor of this char with the tender flesh was perfect. It was simply dressed with oil olive and served with garlic and tomatoes. Simple and wonderful. My entrée wasn’t as heavenly - Lahano Dolmades - tender cabbage leaves filled with ground lamb, beef, pork and arborio rice, spiced yogurt garlic sauce. It sounds like it has all of the components of a great dish, but the cabbage overpowers the overcooked meat on the inside and the sauce doesn’t do anything to enhance the flavors. You are left with the slightly soggy cabbage and the bland tasting meat. Kind of reminds me of my Mom's stuffed cabbage from my childhood. Her's was covered with tomato sauce though. Dessert was better – a small olive oil type cake with cream on top. Overall, I thought the food was pretty good and I would probably come back again to try a different entrée. Overall, with three people each having an app and entree, one shared dessert and a bottle of wine, my portion of the bill came to $76 with tax and tip.

Davidburke & donatella - Thursday, August 29th

133 East 61st Street
(Park and Lexington Avenues)
New York, NY 10021

http://www.dbdrestaurant.com/info.html

Having been here a few times before, I pretty much knew what to expect from DBD. Solid new American food, done in slightly whimsical ways with good, fresh flavors. Sometimes I feel that while this place is good, it isn’t necessarily memorable. I’ve come more than once because my wife really likes it. The main dining room is quite striking. Done up in red, with balloons floating in the area. It reminds me of a fancy living room. It probably used to be a room in a fancy upper east side townhouse. Just like the one I DON'T live in. Although my bedroom is painted in a slightly sickening red color. So, I went with lobster and sea urchin gnocchi to start and was blown away. The strong, delicious pungency of the sea urchin with the lobster and small bites of gnocchi was wonderful. Bits of roasted tomato and mushrooms mixed in also lent their vegetal flavors, further enhancing the dish. This appetizer was very memorable. For entrée, I decided to go with the Bronx Style Filet Mignon of Veal with Vanilla kabocha squash purée, roasted cipollini onions & tarragon natural. I read somewhere that Chef Burke 'invented' this cut of veal. He was studying the veal or something and realized some part was being used fully and instructed the butcher to carve it in a new way. Low and behold this cut was born. The chop is large, tender and full of that young, fresh veal flavor. The mash below was also wonderful and rich tasting. Overall, a very good dish. My dining companions got things I have tried before – lobster steak and the braised short ribs on cavatelli. Both very good, although the lobster steak comes with way too many shoestring fries. For dessert I stuck with a classic and got vanilla crème brule. Not much to explain here – it is what I just wrote, just done very well. I only ate 20% and brought the rest home where my wife proclaimed it was too eggy. Funny thing is, I really don’t like eggs – but I love carbonara, I like poached eggs on the hash at Mesa grill and I enjoyed this crème brule. One of my companions got the cheesecake lollipop tree – you just have to do it if you haven’t before. The lollipops are actually quite good – very soft and creamy. The women got a kick out of the bubblegum whipped crème it came with. Women love whipped cream...they love to eat it I mean....the whipped cream that is. I didn’t pay the bill here but the prix fixe for all this food was $49 – that is an INSANELY good price for a restaurant of this caliber. I don't know if that price is for a limited time only but I'd jump on it ASAP. There were some other things off menu that sounded amazing but would have cost more. However, I don’t think you can go wrong for the price they are charging here. The table are kind of close, but its no big deal. I would definitely recommend dining here at least once – I’ve done it 3 times already.

Recent book I finished reading: "The Price of Liberty - Paying for America's Wars" by Robert D. Hormats

I found this to be a mostly interesting and informative read about the history of how America has financed most of its major wars. I found the beginning chapters about the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War to be a bit slow, but as I got deeper into the book the pace seemed to pick-up. However, once I got to the very end it seemed to break down into an anti-Bush administration rant losing some of its perspective. I would think this is because the author was able to objectively examine the facts of the past and comment now that he has more future context around which to base his commentary. This made the chapters on WW1, WW2, Vietnam and the Cold War more interesting; whereas with the Iraq War and the War on Terror still very much going on he allows more subjective and biased commentary to creep in without the benefit of knowing what the ultimate outcome will be in future years. Furthermore, he reveals his liberal leanings with comments on global warming, the ill effects of the Bush tax cuts and other initiatives the current administration has enacted which he feels are leading us down a fiscally irresponsible path that will make us unable to effectively deal with terrorism and any other future problems this country is going to face.

Light and fun summer reading:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/dcpi/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf

A book I read recently: Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich by Robert Frank

A fun book to read on the subway home when you just want to decompress from a long day at work. The chapters were more interesting when they were shorter WSJ articles. Reading page after page of how some of the wealthy live their lives was nauseating and boring. Makes you realize that there is no point to trying to compete because there will always be someone richer who has something newer and flashier. Reminded me that I have a good life and I'm going to just keep striving to do as well as I can without killing myself like many of the miserable rich people highlighted in the people.

A Voce - We're Getting Warmer


We last went to A Voce in October 2006 which was a few months after it opened, and while we had a good meal it wasn't particularly memorable (in a good way) for us. Maybe it was the service or perhaps we had some other preconceived notions of what the food should have been. Whatever the case, flash forward to August 2007. The wife and I caught an episode of Colameco's (http://www.colameco.com/) where he highlighted the restaurant and that combined with her having a craving for pasta (I perpetually have that craving) last night - Friday, August 10, 2007 - led us back there.

We had a reservation for 6pm, took a local bus down 5th and probably got there around 5:45pm. It had been a crazy week for weather and tonight was no different. After a week of horrendous rain, extreme humidity and heat, this evening was windy and cool like fall. They had a hostess outside who playfully asked if we would prefer outdoor or indoor seating. We walked inside to the maitre d who took our things and seated us against the far wall. My wife sat on the banquette with a view of the restaurant and I sat on the restaurant's signature swivel chair, as I did last time. I had a view of a unique, blue painting which reminded me of a flower and if I turned my head I could see outside. My wife said she was envious of my chair and wished she had sat there. I don't go to restaurants to see or be seen so I was happy with my choice.

This time there was no pushy server, instead there was a friendly gentleman from Italy. We were presented with menus and given ample time to make decisions. Lately my wife has been taking the lead on the wine selection and once she mentioned that since we weren't driving and we could enjoy ourselves, I figured she should make the selection. I would have been fine with a glass or two, but she opted for a half bottle of red - a Valpolicella (I'm happy they wrote it on the receipt because I think it's a shame that I dont keep better track of the wines we drink).

Neither of us was overly hungry so we though we'd each do an appetizer, a pasta and then share and entree. She knew she wanted the duck meatballs and I wasn't positive what I wanted but I thought I might try the fried squash blossoms. I was hoping they had this dish I'd seen on the show - a large ravioli with soft egg inside and covered with shaved truffle - but they didn't. In a twist, my wife made a suggestion for my appetizer - she said to get the asparagus with fried egg, pancetta and truffle dressing. It turned out to be amazing. The asparagus was seasoned very well and cooked to a tender perfection. The fried egg oozed all over when I cut it with the fork. I took some forkfuls with one piece asparagus, egg and pancetta. The pancetta was a nice cube of sweet,meaty goodness. I used some bread to mop up the sauce after I finished eating. A truly wonderful dish. Her duck meatballs with dried cherry mostarda were good, but sort of reminded me of swedish meatballs. Small, kind of on the firmer side, the meat had good flavor but I think it was a little too sweet for my taste.

Next came the pastas. I decided to go with the sweet corn ravioli. My wife inquired about the homemade potato gnocchi but decided to go with grandma's meat agnolotti - a variation on ravioli. In a few minutes out came my sweet corn ravioli with a small mound of sweet tomato in the center and out came her....gnocchi. She called over the server and said there had been a mix up and he apologized that he misheard what she actually ordered. He told her to keep the agnolotti and he'd bring the gnocchi and we'd only pay for one. What hospitality! She began to nibble on the agnolotti and quickjly realized that it was excellent. The salty mix of veal, pork and beef inside was amazing. She told the server she'd keep this dish but he insisted it was ok and the gnocchi order was already in. The gnocchi was quickly brought out - much faster than the 8 minutes the server said it would take - and after a quick bite of that she confirmed that the agnolotti was the superior dish. The gnocchi was no slouch though - covered in a lamb ragu and a sheep's milk ricotta. However, she polished off the agnolotti and asked for the gnocchi to be wrapped up. She said it would make a nice dinner for her mom but already in my head I was crushing that idea as I figured it would make even a better lunch for me the next day. My pasta was covered in a sweet foam and had a perfect balance of sweet and savory. I truly enjoyed cutting a piece of my ravioli and getting some of the sweet tomato on the fork so that when I took my bite I was combining all of these wonderful summer flavors. Needless to say, these plates went back to kitchen spotless - as did the appetizer plates by the way.

We spoke with t server for a bit. He was from the southern part of Italy. He enthusiastically spoke about the restaurant and how they imported a lot of Italian ingredients and got the produce and meats locally. He emphasized that without good, real ingredients it doesnt matter how good the cook is. He spoke of Italy and I told him my family was from Bari and he spoke on this for a bit. An extremely nice guy - his name was Mario A.

Fortunately, it was a few minutes until our Steamed Local Striped Bass came out. When it did I was very impressed. I was expecting a Bass with some sauce. Instead they brought out the serving dish with these beautiful white pieces of Bass , surrounded by shrimp, mussels, calamari, fennel pieces and covered in a delicious red broth. The seafood was incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked. I thought we were full but my wife managed to finish off the rest of the Bass. It was too good and too fresh right now to waste or take home for tomorrow.

We were both very tired and wanted to get home, but we never pass up dessert. I know a lot of people do but dessert is just as much a part of the overall experience as anything else so I never do, even if it means one bite. I went with the Olive Oil cake at the server recommendation and she went with the Peach Torta. Once again, the gracious server accommodated her request to switch the sour cream gelato that it was designated to come with her dessert with the salted caramel gelato she saw elsewhere on the menu. I order a macchiato and he nodded approvingly and she ordered a glasss of Baccadoro dessert wine. My cake came and was exactly what I wanted. A firm pound cake, with pepper and olive oil infused. Topped with a ricotta gelato and sitting in a pool of cherry sauce with four cherry halves around. Delicious and perfect. My wife's peach torta was also excellent. The salted caramel gelato was as good as it sounds. I like sprinkling salt on my ice cream and this came with all of those flavors built in. The peach torta was filld with fresh, juicy peach surrounded by a buttery crust. I was full so I saved a piece to take home because I knew it was be just as good tomorrow and bring back wonderful memories. My wife did the same with her dessert. Unfortunately, the world's greatest mother-in-law ended up eating my leftover dessert as she scavenged our leftovers that night - oh well. I got revenge by eating all of my wife's dessert with lunch the next day. I also ate most of the gnocchi but only because I asked my voracious bear of a mother-in-law not to consume everything in her path. Why am I being so mean about my mother-in-law? Because my wife in her tired, drunken state decided proclaim that I had a mighty, beak-like nose in the restaurant within 1 foot of two couples on either side of us. She is obnoxious. But she insisted that I not insult her posthumorously. So I haven't - see what a good husband I am. Vengeful in my own loving way.

So I really enjoyed the food at A Voce and would probably go back in a few months or maybe a year . The service from our particular server was very good and he was very accommodating. There is something about the place though - the totality of the entire experience - that keeps me from insisting that it is the kind of place I'd go back to in heartbeat. I know that this sounds contradictory to everything I wrote, but it's true. I guess it's just something personally that I feel as opposed to something that A Voce doesn't do right. Because they do everything really well and I would hate for people to think that they didn't. I would recommend that other people go because the food is wonderful and I think most people would enjoy the vibe. Total bill for everything was $194 with tax.

What I've read recently

Roasting in Hell's Kitchen: Temper Tantrums, F Words, and the Pursuit of Perfection by Gordon Ramsay

I enjoyed this book. I didn't read like it was ghost written - I felt like Ramsay really wrote it or really had a lot of input. Provided a lot of background on his upbringing and training making his demeanor on his TV shows more understandable. Coming from an abusive family life and even an abusive work life, it has made him into a passionate and perfection seeking person.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer
I enjoyed this book because like the Ramsay book, it seemed to come right from Meyer. It really conveyed the experiences that made him who he is and why his restaurants are the way they are.

Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table by Cameron Stracher
Besides being another food related book (a reoccurring theme with regard to what I enjoy reading about) it also can serve as a manual for fathers. When I first read about it in the journal, I thought it would simply be about this man's experiences as he tried to have dinner every night with his family; but it was actually a lot deeper. Discusses family dynamics, dealing with kids, dealing with his spouse, recipes, getting the kids to eat and other events in his life during this time.

Ada - the mind plays funny tricks
208 E 58th St- Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022

212 371-6060
http://adanyc.com/media/websiteada.html

Sometimes we remember things a certain way and even if that memory isn't exactly true or accurate, it becomes the truth in our minds. In the case of a restaurant meal, this can lead to the spread of lots of positive press and a strong desire to return for another memorable meal. I think something like this happened for my wife and I with Ada. We went there the other night (Thurs, 8/2/07) after having gone there with my mother-in-law back in October 2005. Many things can change in nearly 2 years. Chefs change and the menu changes and with that comes the chance that what you loved back then doesn't exist anymore. My wife remembers a creamy and very distinctive Chicken Tikka Masala unlike any other, I recall a shrimp dish with tropical and Indian flavors so unlike most places and we both remember Ada being one of the few Indian restaurants deemed worthy of going out for by my mother-in-law, a strong cook in her own right who normally deems most outings as a waste of money.

After eating there the other day, I still think Ada is doing enough things different to keep it above the pack of Indian restaurants that are also on 58th between 2nd and 3rd, but it seems to have lost of the edge that really made it special. Gone were the dishes we claim to remember - maybe they never existed. We had reservations for 6pm and got there around 5:45 - the place was empty - literally. We took seats at the front of the place. They have these nice, floor to ceiling windows so that you can watch the world pass by on 58th. Plenty of staff and they seemed friendly enough, but everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion. We received the wine menu and the dinner menus. We half-heartedly looked at the wine menu and eventually decided against it. I looked over the menu and made some a la carte choices but planted the seed in my wife's mind that the tasting menu might be the way to go. In her usually fashion, she hemmed and hawed and eventually agreed that the prix-fixe was the best way to go.

The meal began with an amuse - a small pastry cup with a flavored slaw in it - if my memory serves me correct. As for appetizers, I started with Goan Barbeque Ribs Spicy baby back ribs with mango slaw, jaggery apple glaze and onion pakora - very tender and flavorful. Spicy with some of the fruit tastes that I remember from my first visit. I got four or five bites off of each of the two ribs and with my fingers stained yellow from the glaze, I though we were off to a good start. My wife ordered Chicken Tikkey Tandoor, a fired organic chicken with mesclun greens and tamarind vinaigrette. The chicken was incredibly tender and the tamarind gave it great flavor.

Next came a raspberry sorbet as a palette cleanser. After this came the entrees - Kashmir Cauliflower Ginger and fennel with almond milk paste, fresh masala peas for me and Apricot Stuffed Cheese Dumplings Yogurt and cashew curry, vegetable pillau for my wife. I wasn't in the mind for a big meal and was already feeling full, so the cauliflower was just right considering my mood. Tender but still with some firmness and covered in a flavorful sauce. The peas were large, crisp and tasted fresh. There was a small layer of some congealed cheese or something on the top of it all. Not so sure what that was. My wife said she enjoyed her dumplings. I had a piece and just remember and mish-mash of flavors. I'm not a big fan of dishes where cheese is the main event - at least not in Indian cuisine. Along with all of this came a bowl of white, long grained rice with small vegetables. It was cooked really well and was accompanied by some daal. There was also a bread basket with a nice assortment of different breads. More than enough for the both of us.

Service was very stand-offish. I don't know if they thought we wanted to be left alone, but there were several instances where I needed some water or something taken away and the ample staff was just milling about. I think at one point the hostess heard me mumble something and sent the waiter over to us. Another time, the food server wasn't with our so-called waiter and when I asked what had just been placed in front of me, the guy looked like I just informed him I was with the INS and I was sending him to the Great White Shark pit.

Dessert was part of the prix-fixe but all of the staff still came up to us with stupid grins and asked if we wanted dessert. I decided to go with Caramelized Banana Praline Vanilla kulfi, crisp plantains, caramel sauce and she had the Spice Rice Pudding Apricot, raisin nut chutney, mango and caramel sauces. I didn't enjoy all of the fruit and such in her rice pudding. She insisted that was the way it was done. I'm not a big fan of Indian desserts to begin with. The fruits tasted fake, even though I know they probably weren't and it all just overpowered the rice pudding for me. My praline banana dish was just okay. Some lame Mango kulfi was plopped on top.

Overall, Ada wasn't what we remembered but for the money I think it was pretty good. $55 per person for the prix-fixed and they provide ample amounts of decent food. Ada seems to still be doing things a little different than the rest of the Indian restaurants, enough to make it stand out in a positive way. The sauces are creamier and more flavorful. The decor is more upscale and it doesn't look like every other Indian restaurant in the city. The staff is friendly if at times a bit inattentive. If you are walking down 58th, I would recommend them out of the others, especially considering that I have been to most of the others on 58th. Total bill was $120 with tax for 2 prix-fixe dinners and no alcohol.