Rachel Perlow

re: collecting money. It is better to do this at the beginning of the evening. The way I've done it in the past is to collect the money and give back a nametag. Since someone (Yvonne?) is planning on pre-printing nametags this seems like an ideal way to proceed that evening as well. I think Suzanne volunteered to collect the money above? All in favor, ignore this post.

I must have missed the part about Nina organizing the liquor. In previous events I've organized, we just ask that everyone bring something they'd like to drink and share, it always seem to work out without having to declare yourself ahead of time. Anyway... we'll probably bring some white wine & beer. Suvir - I think 7 PM is plenty early for the meet & greet. The main idea is to just get everyone there and ready to sit down by 7:30. If we just say 7:30 there are sure to be several latecomers.

Why don't we plan on sitting down and starting the meal by 7:30. That way, those that can/want to arrive a little early to mingle and we can start opening our BYO wines & beer and maybe there will be some nibbles or not, depending on Suvir's menu. Since it is a weeknight and these things do have a tendancy to go on till late, we can at least know when to start, regardless of anyone's late arrival. In other words, if you're late you may miss a course or two, cause we're commencing the meal at 7:30 on the dot.

Yeah, why are we doing this so late? Most of the participants work close enough that we could have begun closer to 6:30. No? My eGullet dinner experience reminds me that things tend to run very long.

Suvir, any possibility of doing some of the appetizers as hors d'oevre, so we can have a mingling/cocktail hour kind of thing for the first 1/2 hour or so? I thought it best to mention this idea now, as I know you are planning on working on the menu this weekend.

Some of the previous threads mentioning Jocelyne's (you need to search without the 's): Your Top 10 NJ Restaurants for 2001 Valentine's Day in NJ Going French in NJ Be sure to let us know how your evening goes. EDIT by Jason Perlow, Merged all Jocylenes threads

Keeping in mind I don't live in the area, so I can't verify this, but I did a search on MSN's yellow pages and yp.yahoo and between both of them it is the only Thai restaurant listed. This may have something to do with it being the "only Thai restaurant in Bloomfield serving authentic Thai food."

How could I forget about Summit? And Gary's has a decent selection in Madison and Livingston, I don't know anything about Bernardsville. I say decent selection, because they just don't devote the space & resources as a dedicated cheese shop.

Chez Cheeze 10 Washington Ave, Tenafly, NJ 07670 Phone: (201) 568-2050 Excellent store. Always something out to sample, and of course they give you tastes of what you are interested in.

The coconut sweet potatoes sound very good and an excellent alternative to the pineapple & marshmallow traditional version. More exact recipe please?

Wouldn't that be "eGulletier"?

All this talk about childhood food memories brought something else to my mind. What did you eat as a child that you still like to eat now? Not as a rare novelty, but something you eat that other adults wouldn't think of eating. Mine is actually a technique rather than a food. When we have chinese food, I usually take my egg roll, cut it in half and remove the filling. I mix a little duck sauce and mustard, mix some into the filling. First I eat the cabbage filling, then the fried shell (dipping it in the sweet & spicy sauce). Everytime I do this, Jason asks me why I'm doing it? Mostly it's because that is the way my mom showed me how to eat egg rolls as a kid. I just prefer them that way. He thinks it's weird, but you'd think after more than 8 years together he'd stop asking my why I do this. The answer hasn't changed. My mom can't believe I still do this.

Not to go into too many details, but I haven't been to that Don Pepe in Montville ever since my entire family got sick after eating there about 5 years ago. Not a risk I'd want to take right before a wedding.

It was really fun, drop me a line next time you're going to be in the area and maybe we'll be able to get together and show you some pictures from our rehearsal dinner. BTW - here's the address info: Harold's New York Deli Restaurant (adjoining the Holiday Inn) 707 US Highway 46, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Phone: (973) 335-3339 A friend of mine (actually my maid of honor) got married at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston and although there were closer places, she had her out of town guests stay at this Holiday Inn. The price was right, and as she was getting married during the summer, the outdoor pool was a plus.

When you put out your fancy offerings at the office, preslice it into reasonable portions. If you leave it whole, no one wants to be the first to touch it. Those on diets will take itsy bitsy pieces. If it's preportioned, they'll more than likely take a full portion.

I have. Both are fair representations of what they intend to be. And, no, you can't hear or see the bowling alley from the restaurant. They are completely different establishments within the same building.

Are you talking about the one at the Palisades Mall? That would be a great rehearsal dinner event, but it is about an hour from Parsippany. A significant consideration on a wedding eve. The only thing at all similar would be Sports 'n' Games Funplex in East Hanover (Rt 10) but really, that's more appropriate for a kid's party than a rehearsal dinner.

Fitz mentioned considering AG in her inital post.

Yes, there's lots of bagel shops, but very few bagel restaurants. A place where you can sit and eat your bagel(s) immediately after purchase. Most places around here are strictly take-out bagel shops. At most, they offer a small counter with or without a few stools to sit on. Where I grew up the bagel store also had the tables. That is what I find lacking in Bergen County. I am speaking specifically of Bagel Chateau, originally in Millburn, but I see from a yp.yahoo search, that they now also have places in Summit, Springfield and Maplewood. Usually, places with "Nosh" in the name also have tables, but those weren't and aren't near where I live. Of course, bagel stores frequently may have the best bagels, but you have to bring them home to eat them.

Ugh, I hate it when they use too much cream cheese. I always ask them to go easy on it because they put so much on it gets too messy. I am not speaking specifically about the store TMTM mentions, but bagel shops in general put on too much filling. Actually, that is a trend for all types of sandwiches at most delis too.

Right near Pazzo Pazzo in Morristown is Tim Shaefer's Cuisine. BYO and an excellent cook. They don't have a private room, but maybe they'll do something for you during the afternoon (2-5PM?) before dinner (like I described above about my brother's rehearsal dinner). I personally liked the idea of doing something "different" than the catered event. I assume you will have traditional continental cuisine for the wedding, which is why I think going with Chinese, Indian, Casual Deli, etc. is a fun idea. Oh, speaking of Indian, I'd recommend Chand Palace or Maharani in Parsippany. One of them is vegetarian, but I can't remember which.

I like pretty much what you described, but with some recent tooth problems, I appreciate the softer ones more than I used too. Still, I'd rather eat a good bagel while being careful than one that is too roll-like. However, this thread isn't supposed to be about specific recommendations to me, but more of a general discussion about Bagels in NJ.

Our rehearsal dinner was at Harold’s New York Deli on Rt 46 in Parsippany. We wanted something fun and casual and as it was pretty much a spontaneous event* they were very accommodating. We all had fun with their monster sized sandwiches and desserts. They seated us in a generic hotel party room along with a few other large parties, but it was adjacent to the restaurant was perfectly acceptable to us. * We hadn't planned a rehearsal dinner in advance, but there were so many bridesmaids, groomsmen and relatives around the day before we had to go somewhere for dinner. Blue Sky in Montclair would be an excellent suggestion. They have a semi-private room upstairs, but I'm not sure if it will accommodate 20-25 people. Rosie? Have you considered Chinese? Mr. Chu's on Rt 10 West has a semi-private room towards the rear, and we love all of Harry Chu's restaurants. Mr. Chu's is the most Americanized, but may be the most appropriate for the occasion. I would also recommend Hunan Cottage in Fairview (Rt 46 East), although they don't have a private room, the food is amazing - let them know you want the Chinese menu, not the regular one. For my brother's rehearsal dinner we had an entire small, but gourmet, restaurant (it no longer exists), but it was on a Saturday afternoon, rather than evening, so as not to interfere with their regular dinner service. As this restaurant was BYOB, it kept costs down, as we brought in our own wine (one of my bridesmaid's duties was bringing it to the restaurant the day before the rehearsal dinner). Something to keep in mind when choosing a location. Think some more about exactly what you want this occasion to be and we'll all be more than happy to give you some more guidance. PS - I've been to occasions at Highlawn Pavillion, it is lovely. Congratulations. Edit: added the * above.

We tried Celebrity Bagels in Tenafly today. I don't know how I've missed it over the last year and a half. Anyway, they have booth style tables and cafeteria style service. Their menu says their bagels are "kettle cooked" - I assume this means they are boiled. The veggie cream cheese was good, as was the egg & sausage, but stay away from the Pizza Bagel. Not only did they microwave it but the cheeze was the Pizza Hut variety, blech. They do have an interesting assortment of hot and cold sandwiches available, including a reuben on a rye bagel, named for various celebrities. By default of convenience, I'm sure we'll be going here often. Celebrity Bagels & Restaurant 30 W Railroad Ave, Tenafly, NJ 07670 Phone: (201) 894-5555 (they deliver locally) As for Teaneck, I called Sammy's New York Bagels at 1439 Queen Anne Road and they have seating, but it is a kosher restaurant, which for us is not a plus as Jason usually likes to have some sort of pork product with his egg.

My favorite bagel restaurant is Bagel Chateau in Millburn (Essex County). They have plenty of tables and all the traditional flavors of bagels (and a few modern ones by now, I'm sure). Cafeteria style service. They also supply bagels to most of the surrounding food service places, like the high school cafeteria, etc. I'm pretty sure they boil their bagels. We are now living in Bergen County and have noticed that there is a serious lack of bagel restaurants around here. Where can we go to get bagels and sit down to eat them?