Melba's Jammin' > wrote:

> Vivolo in the Upper East Side. I was there with Margaret Suran and
> Saint Marcel on my first visit there two years ago.

Hah! I was there in March. Any place where one can enjoy the company
of M & M is great, even Vivolo. If you are on your own, however - and
care for real Italian food a bit - I'd give Vivolo a miss, even though
the place is otherwise nice and the service good.

If you like mussels, don't fail to try Jubilee on 54th St., between 1st
and 2nd Ave. The mussels are wonderful and I especially liked the sauce
poulette preparation. They also serve very good, featherlight mousse au
foie de volaille truffée (truffled chicken-liver pté/mousse).

For the NYC deli experience go to the 2nd Ave Deli and ask to be seated
in Orville's section.

If you like spicy Szechuan food, few places are likely to fare better
than The Grand Sichuan on 2nd Ave. at 55 St. Among other things, we had
sliced fish and sour cabbage soup which was wonderful; Chengdu spicy
dumplings, which were really very spicy and very good; and ChongQing
spicy and aromatic frog legs, which were served chopped in small pieces
in a mound of little spicy red peppers and were very good indeed.

None of the above places are at all expensive by NYC standards.

Victor