Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Jazz Tuesdays

For the reader asking about "Jazz Thursdays" - I don't know anything about that, but I do know about Jazz Tuesdays...


By the way, speaking of The Flying Pig, I was able to confirm over the weekend that its head chef, Martin Forde, used to be the chef at my favorite local restaurant, Mood in Kew Gardens, which, unfortunately—and rather inexplicably— suddenly closed down a year or so ago much to my bitter disappointment. So I was absolutely thrilled to find out that he's now right here in Forest Hills! And guess what? Serving up the same amazing roasted chicken dish he did at Mood (pictured below) — I tried it on Saturday  — along with many other culinary delights at our new Pig.

A little more digging turned up, thanks to a story about The Flying Pig in DNAinfo.com, that Forde has also worked at The Russian Tea Room and other Manhattan restaurants.

10 comments:

  1. It's a shame about the negative reviews on Yelp, and many sooooo lengthy and passionate ones as well. However, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. If I opened a restaurant, I'd expect a few necessary tweaks to get it right. If these reviews continue after a year, I'll have to do more than keep my fingers crossed to ensure the establishment makes it for the long haul.

    -D

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    1. I've been there a couple of times now and I'd say the Yelp reviewers who say it is on the expensive side are correct. It's a little too pricey for some of the entrees. But my bigger suggestion for the Pig is to expand their menu to offer more casual fare - like a whole slew of sandwiches, for example. Jeez! Our neighborhood, especially that part of Austin, could really use a casual place to grab a sandwich for like $10 to $12! Station House seems to be doing just that around the corner, by the way. And their food is awesome. They are quickly carving out a niche for themselves as an awesome all-around place for drinks and casual food! The Flying Pig seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a bar? A casual restaurant? And Upscale restaurant? It should try to embrace more of the casual along with its excellent upscale offerings to fill a much-needed niche in Forest Hills.

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    2. They definitely want it to be more of an upscale joint, but he knows how much money the bar brings in from his other places so I guess he couldn't resist putting in a 40 foot bar.

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    3. If you must eat there, do it at the bar. The bartenders seem to be the only properly trained staffed. I looked at Yelp as Drake mentioned, ouch, that hurts! I would not call it expensive, I would describe it as not a good value for what you are paying. I had the Charcuterie one afternoon with some beers and the bread that was served with it was a notch above Wonder Bread. Tried the burger another time, it was a hockey puck. Another time had the hanger steak, it was good, but could have eaten 3 orders of it! I would never order oysters in a place like that, go to London Lennie's if you want oysters. Overall, the menu seems out of place for the establishment and skills of its staff. Agree with you 100% on sandwiches/wraps/panini's; maybe a better selection of salads.

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  2. Thanks for the response! The Chamber of Commerce used to run outdoor jazz concerts on Thursday evenings in the summer in front of Restaurant Row. Last year they only did it twice, and I haven't seen anything about it this year. Sad...

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  3. Jazz Thursdays will be returning on Aug. 15 and Aug 22, as per the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce website calendar, which can be found here: http://www.foresthillschamber.org/en/events/?month=2013-08

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  4. Anyone know about what type of jazz it will be? I'm definitely looking forward to it - as great as jazz standard is , 25-30 dollar entrance fees get expensive after a while!

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  5. Thanks MHS! The Chamber of Commerce Jazz Thursdays website hasn't been updated since last year. http://www.jazzthursdays.com/

    Looks like they need a new webmaster. Or blogger ;)

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  6. Anybody know about which jazz it will be? Now i'm undoubtedly getting excited about that : while great while brighten standard can be , 25-30 buck entry fees get costly before long!

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