adegiulio

Woodburner, excellent advice!

Thanks jogoode for reminding me about Calico. A terrific pastry shop and a decent little restaurant in its own right. They made our wedding cake, and for once, people actually ate it!! Ant

Hey Stone, we are also moving to the area soon. We are building a house in Red Hook and should be in by Thanksgiving at the lastest. We love the area and food!! Here is a nice list of places to try.. In Rhinebeck, our favorite for lunch is Gigi Trattoria, great little place with panini, pizzas, and some nice dishes. For Dinner I would check out la Petit bistro (our favorite in town, terrific service and roasted duck). Also, check out Cripple Creek and Terrapin. I have heard that Bing should not be missed. All of these restaurants are right in the center of town, or a blocks walk from the center. We got married at the Belvedere Mansion, which has its own restaurant. It is about 4 miles south of the center of town and is very good. Diner food can be found at Blondies (though I think they closed or changed owners) and Schemmy's Ice cream parlor...There is a decent sushi place next to Cripple Creek, if you have a hankering... In Red Hook, the best restaurant, without a doubt, is Mina, just west of the center of town. John and Natalie DiBenedetto really put out a terrific product here, offering modern American cuisine using seasonal and local produce and meat. They really seem to care about the food they send out to the dining room. This should be one of the first places you try. For ribs, everyone loves Max's Memphis BBQ. Terrific, smoky and meltingly fatty. I prefer my ribs a little saucier than they serve them here, but they are terrific nonetheless. As someone else mentioned, you should get to the CIA in Hyde Park sometime. Also in Hyde Park is a brewery, I think it is called Hyde Park Brewery, if you like that sort of thing. Decent food, fantastic beer. Since we only get up there a few times a month, we haven't ventured into Kingston, though I read there are some nice places there too. Best of all, if you don't want to eat out, there are wonderful sources for products to cook your own meals! In the summer the best farmers market around is in Rhinebeck on Sundays. All the farms around have a stand there, as do some dairies, bakeries, and Honey producers. For farm fresh produce the rest of the week, go to Migliorelli's stand on 199 and River Road, just before the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge. If you are over in Ulster county, go to Adams on 9W (take the Saugerties exit). For the best heirloom tomatoes, check out the farm stand on 9G where 199 breaks west. If you like Venison, there is Highland Farms in Germantown. For pick your own, go to Greig Farms, which is right around the corner from where we are building, on Pitcher lane in Red Hook. We are pretty much moving there to eat ourselves into oblivion. If you have any questions or want specifics, email me at anthony at amyanthony.com. I'd be happy to fill in any blanks... Good luck with building. I can offer you my builders info, if you would like, though I think he may be busy for a while..

Thank you everyone for your posts!!

Oh, I just have to comment on that one, since I grew up in Millburn. They are neighboring towns, and only with horrible traffic would it be a half hour away from anything on Springfield Avenue in Summit. Plus, it's not like they're going to go to Monster Sushi and drive from there to Sono (by the way, I like Sono very much). And then you go on to recommend a place in Little Falls -- like that isn't far away from Summit? Oh, my bad...I thought you guys were going to the one in Pompton Plains...

Rock, Millburn is half an hour away from Monster Sushi. I don't consider that too close...If you guys are looking for a better place, go to Sukeroku in Litttle Falls. MUCH better. I feel good about going there since the place is packed with Japanese folks. Sushi for them is not the attraction, even though it is the best in the area. You guys should definately go there instead Sukeroku Japanese Restaurant 68 Route 23 South, Little Falls, NJ 07424 (973) 785-0479

I will be visiting friends in the Savannah area in March. Where should I eat?? Looking for upscale suggestions for dinner, more interesting suggestions for lunch. I am from the north, so I would like to try some southern cuisine for lunch time... Thanks! Anthony

Man, my mouth is watering...I can't wait till March 7th...

Msmelkor, you are right about the Beekman, it isn't the same without Mr. Forgione's influence. We were avid fans of Dupuy Canal House, but I think it too has gone downhill, of late. In my opinion John Novi and his crew are some of the most creative and loyal chefs in the area, but the service there has been lacking big time. Service was never their strong point, but the past year (more like two) has seen the average service deteriorate to poor. I don't even think about going there anymore, unless it is for their Epicurian Road Rally, which is the best way in the world to spend a spring or autumn Sunday. I hope DCH gets its act together, because I have had some very memorable dinners there, most notably New Years Eve 1999-2000. I want to go back, but the lousy service and (occasionally) uncomfortable environment (its always too hot and my legs don't fit under those ancient tables) make it a tough choice...

Red Hook and Rhinebeck are terrific for e-gullet types. Aside from the great produce grown here, there are venison farms, dairies, fresh chickens and rabbits. Not to mention the restaurants in town...Mina in Red Hook, Terrapin, Cripple Creek, Beekman, le Petit Bistro, Gigi Trattoria and Belvedere Mansion in Rhinebeck are all fantastic. People think I am moving to the boonies (I live in overpopulated northern NJ now), but they don't realize there is plenty to do and eat!! ant

Thanks Doc, where are you from?

I like upstate produce SO much, I took a more drastic approach. I'm moving there... Red Hook NY, here we come!!

I bought that metro-like rack system from Ikea. They have a bunch of attatchments and add-ons like baskets, half racks, clips and what-not. Inexpensive but durable. I bought mine 7 years ago and it is still going strong at my moms house...

I finally read this months NJ Monthly. Thought the reviews were all fine and can really relate with some of the observations of Mr. Giglio. One thing I thought was funny is in the Fascino piece, the picture of the dining room has Mother Depersio sitting with her son Anthony, and Father Depersio is sitting in another booth. I guess the photographer came by during non-business hours and wanted the place to look like there were people there... Funny... Ant

7:30 on March 7...OH BOY OH BOY!! Only took me about 10 minutes to get through and 5 minutes on hold. As everyone else said, they were extremely polite and helpful on the phone. Well, I hope those of you going early post your impressions... Ant

Good point Fat Guy...We commented during dinner that it would have been a better experience if we had another couple to eat with and share...

Tommy, I take offense at that. You didn't capitalize the "A" and "G"..

We just got back from the new Monster Sushi in Pompton Lakes. First strike against it was no liquor license. Now, usually I love BYOB's since I prefer bringing my own wine, but I don't drink wine with sushi, and not having a bar was a bit of a bummer for me. But, moving on, the food was pretty good. We ordered beef negima and fried gyoza as apps, both of which were good, if not searing hot. For dinner I got Chirashi and Amy got a few rolls. The rolls she got weren't the ones she ordered, but she enjoyed them anyway. My chirashi was ok. I like my rice a little vinegary, and this rice didn't seem to have any vinegar. The fish was fresh, but the pieces were too big and unwieldy. Not the end of the world though... All in all, it was ok. Nothing super, and without a bar it falls short of other sushi joints in the area. Our local fave continues to be Sakeruko on rt23 in Little Falls. Ant

That wasn't me Rachel, it was Mags...

um, ok....but does that make Craft BETTER than the other restaurant because of it??

Pointing out that "the ingredients is the point" further illustrates what I am saying. The ingredients were terrific, but they werent any better than any other fine restaurant...

We are well acclimated to NYC prices, we just don't eat there as much as Fat Guy (whom I really envy, by the way). I love the idea of fully a la carte dining offered at Craft, its just that I didnt think there was anything there that wasnt being offered at other finer establishments in the city. To put it a different way, other than the a la carte ordering, in my opinion Craft doesn't differentiate itself from most other places. We started with Kumomoto oysters and a plate of sardines. Both were fine. For mains we had Roasted Halibut and Roasted Barramundi, with carrots and polenta on the side. All were prepared well, but no better than fish I've had at rm, Judson Grill, and certainly not le Bernadin. The carrots were so-so and the polenta, for my taste, needed some work, but they were by no means bad... Wine list was excellent, I must say. We ordered a viognier, which they were out of, so we went with a Semillon from Australia. We were happy with that. Service was good. The waiter ticked me off in the very beginning, but he settled down and turned out to be terrific, as were all the others... Don't get me wrong, this is a nice restaurant serving quality food. I didn't leave feeling like they had pulled one over on me. I just don't think it lived up to my expectations of the hype. I also think that the check gets expensive in a hurry, compared to other NYC restaurants... Oooh, I forgot dessert, which was very good. We had the Brioche pain perdu, with roasted apple and caramel ice cream. Stupendous... Ant

We finally went to Craft last night. Living in NJ, the drive into NYC makes me pretty nuts, so we don't get to as many restaurants as we should. Anyway, we had an early table and were both hungry, so we were excited about the prospects. The food was quite good, but I can't see why this restaurant is so hyped up. Service was nice, decor was pleasant, and the food seemed very well made and presented. I can't complain about anything, but nothing really took my breath away. Nothing really compels me to go back. I think the prices are too high. Its a good concept, but we left hungry-ish after 260 dollars for the two of us, and everything on our plates was finished. I don't know,maybe I am being overly critical because it seemed like Craft was so hyped. It is a nice restaurant for sure, just not worthy of the cult status, in my opinion... Anthony

You want great produce at rock bottom prices??? Go to Corrados in Clifton. Just be careful about the time you go, it can get very busy on saturday mornings or any day the week of a holiday. While you are there check out the fish department, with a huge selection of whole fish, and the meat department, which carries everything from rabbit to giant veal chops to pork belly. Oh, and the italian specialty counter is pretty good. Pretty darn good. And the pastries are ok...and across the street is the winemaking and homebrew store, which is enormous. The produce is fantastic. Its a struggle sometimes to get to what you want, since it is always busy, but worth the trip. Anthony

They are so-so...I wouldnt compare them to the finer chocolates you can find in NYC...but in the end, they are chocolates, so I wouldn't refuse them as a gift.