adegiulio

No way man, I'm a follower, not a leader...

Anybody been to Dish recently? Are they still open?

Just bought a Frieling 7-8 cup SS insulated French Press. It looks great and makes terrific coffee. The coffee stays hot for a good hour (the coffee doesnt last that long very often ). Anyway, just thought I would mention a coffee product I am actually happy with...

Thats a tough question to answer because they really do have a very large list. There are plenty of choices in the 30-40 dollar range. The wine we drank was around 100 dollars, but is 70-80 in the stores, if you can find it. That, to me, is quite reasonable. There are some wines that are over 100 dollars a bottle. Honestly, it varies too much to give an effective answer...

Although we live in New Jersey now, we are anxiously awaiting the completion of our house, being built in Red Hook, NY. This cute little town is home to more farms and orchards than I care to count. Being a food nut, I am in heaven whenever I head up there. Two towns north of Hyde Park, home of the Culinary Institute of America, Red Hook holds within one of the finest restaurants in the Hudson Valley. The place is called Mina, and it is a few hundred feet west of the center of town, on Market Street. Owners John and Natalie DiBennedeto offer an innovative American menu, often drawing on the rich array of foodstuffs grown and produced right in the Valley. Their place is small, call it cozy, with an friendly and intimate feel. To me, everything in this place works, from the dining room, to the service, to the food. The evening begins with bread and a small bowl of olives in oil. A tasty treat to get the juices flowing while looking over the menu. The menu has a well focused selection of seasonal dishes, with choices for meat eaters, vegetarians, and fish lovers. Their menu changes often, so don't expect a huge array of specials. This night there was exactly one, a main course of Seared Hamachi with fava beans, cucumber, and shiitakes, with a ponzu sauce. For appetizers I ordered sweetbreads served over haricot vert, Amy ordered squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and crab. While waiting for our apps, John brought us a taste of another appetizer, seared scallop with local corn, chanterelles, and fava cream. It was out of this world. A hot, well seared but silky scallop atop a warm saute of corn and chanterelles in a small pool of fava deliciousness. Superb. Moving on to our order, the sweetbreads were stupendous, what more can I say. Natalie really has a way with sweetbreads, and I often find myself comparing other chefs' offerings to hers. The squash blossoms were lightly fried, crisp and flavorful. So far another excellent meal. We move onto our main courses. I ordered a dish of lamb loin medallions with lamb chops, accompanied by cipollini onions and caponata. Amy order the hamachi special. My lamb was cooked just right, tender and juicy. The caponata was out of this world good, with raisins, capers, pignolis, and of course eggplant. Awesome. The hamachi was light but very flavorful. Another great idea.... John saw I was still hungry (I was stuffed) and brought us a wonderful cheese plate. Three cheeses (caerphilly, chevre, and toussainte) were plated with champagne grapes, figs, truffled honey walnuts, and a small pool of a sweet merlot reduction. As if that weren't enough, we then had a scoop of their cardamom ice cream, just to taste To go with all of this terrific food is an equally well thought out wine list. It is filled with many hard to find gems and well respected producers. It offers, in my eyes, a tremendous value for some higher quality wines. This night we drank a Rochioli Single Vineyard (I forget which one) Pinot Noir. On other occasions we have had Kistler Chardonnay. All at very fair, almost bargain prices. With top notch Reidel stemware and decanters, it's easy to tell that John knows and cares a lot about wine. Service was friendly and attentive. Music was jazzy and just loud enough to be heard easily without being obtrusive. Fellow diners were dressed in khakis and short sleeves up to suits and ties. Everyone seemed to be smiling, which I guess is a good sign. My only complaint....it is usually a little too warm for my taste, though this time someone mentioned it and we were comfortable in minutes... If you live within 45 minutes of Red Hook, you should make a point of visiting Mina. Mina

Slightly off topic, but have you tried the bakery next to the Pough. Adams? Do you like it?

One word....PARSIPPANY

Freak!

We will be eating at Rocca tomorrow (thurs) night at 6 if anyone wants to join us or just bring us more wine...

I love nearly everything. There are two things I find objectionable: 1) Tripe. As an Italian (/American), some people may find this hard to believe, but I just can't stomach (rim shot please) the stuff. Its like chewing on the most gristly piece of fat ever produced. Its not that I am organ meat averse, I love liver, sweetbreads, hearts, even tried brains. Its just something about tripe that I find offal (man am I funny tonight! ) 2) While I love vegetables, I dislike the use of the word "veggies", especially by adults. And children. Oh, and while its not a food, I HATE the word yummy.

Oh, this is what we need, an Italian Chop house serving overpriced wines. Someone should just put this one under "Closed Restaurants" now and save us all the trouble...

Yeah, I mentioned Calandra's in my first post. They are good, not great. I'm looking for something sublime, like I remember at Guy's Pastry Shop...

Julia Child on Channel 21 right now (in NYC area)

these are all great responses....thank you! Keep them coming, especially any first hand experience you may have using your ovens...

Oakapple, I agree with you on this point, it would be nice if they offered some details of the pricing beforehand. However, it is per se, and if you are spending $1000 on rent, you probably aren't going to eat there anyway. That's not an excuse though...

Thanks McDuff, I'll do that... Any other thoughts?

We are building a new home, and I would like to build an outdoor wood burning oven for pizzas, bread, roasts, and the like. The research I have done has led me to two names, Earthstone and Mugnaini. Both seem to have pros and cons. Sometimes I am sure I want the Earthstone, and other times I am sure I want the Mignaini. So, are there any people out there that have a wood burning oven? Any tips on what to look for? Best way to build it? Brands you like? Anything else? Thanks in advance. A free pizza to the person or persons who lead me to a new oven... Anthony

Now that is an excellent attitude. I wish more restauranteurs took good reviews as a reason for improvement. Looks like we are going to have to take that long trip to Randolph after all...

In the NJ section of this weeks Weekend NY Times is a review of An American Grill. Look for it!!

Now that made me cry... With all respect to SmokyT, I liked yours better Katie. That is to say, yours is the one that makes me want to weep each time I read it..

OK, am I the only one with "He ain't heavy, he's my brother" stuck in his head??

Holy cow, this is so true. I must admit that I sometimes do the same thing, though most of the time I will say something. This brings up another point, if I receive a salad that I think is overdressed, what is my remedy? I complain, and if the server is on top of things, they rush my salad back to the kitchen to get another one. Problem is that all of this takes time. I need to first flag down the server, they have to take it back and explain the problem to the kitchen, then they have to remake it and get the server back into the kitchen to bring it out to me. That takes time, and while I am waiting for my salad, my dining partners (Amy ) are stuck either waiting or eating, either way it kills the meal. The kitchen NEEDS TO DO ITS JOB RIGHT. Dressing a salad lighter than usual requires no additional culinary skill, no more time, and no extra brain power.

I don't rest all the blame on the server. Yeah, they could inspect the salad closely to be sure it was properly dressed, but the guy in the kitchen needs to be on the ball in preparing it correctly. Its a lot easier for them to get it right in the kitchen than it is for the server to try and figure out whether it's right or not. Not to mention, if the server does actually realize that it is wrong, the kitchen would need to make it again, resulting in waste. Some things, like steaks, can't be judged by servers at all. The kitchen staff needs to do their job right. Lets not pass the buck completely to the server. With respect to the Outback issue, I am not trying to get Outback to change their ways by posting here. I'm just trying to use an experience to make a point. We go to Outback not because it's less expensive, but because it's more convenient. If the Brickhouse wants to open a place in Wayne that serves me a quick steak, where I don't have to put pants on to feel comfortable, I would go there. In going to Outback, I save myself time and hassle. It ain't about the money...

Just heard it on the news. Very very sad...

An excellent and well deserved review. I don't know which bug NJ Monthly had up their butt when they reviewed VGR, but I think they underscored this restaurant. I have to think the NYTimes will have a review soon in their NJ section...