Maggie's Farm

A friend was thoughtful enough to give us a year's subscription to Zagat's online for Christmas. Zagat's has gone global now.

A (free) alternative to Zagat's is Yelp. Pick your city. I have been warned, however, that a 3-star rating on Yelp in NYC is equivalent to a 5-star rating elsewhere. New Yorkers are highly critical and demanding about dining - and about everything else. "If I can make it there..."

For example, we were in the city this weekend at the Irish Repertory Theater and were looking for Venetian restaurants in the neighborhood. We tried Le Zie in Chelsea on 7th Ave. Not pricey. Zie had some rough reviews on Yelp (people love to bitch in reviews) but the place was better than any neighborhood trattoria in Italy. The ten "small plate" seafood appetizers were wonderful, and the Venetian calf's liver with onions and vinegar sauce was a fine treat.

It was fun checking out Zagat for Venetian restaurants in NYC. Here are a few of them, for your amusement.

The menus give a good idea of what Venetian cooking consists of:

Cipriani

Osteria al Doge

Antica Venezia

Osteria Laguna

REMI

All good fun. Here's inside Le Zie: