Rachel Perlow

There's also a Sol N Sol on Main St in Fort Lee.

Shawn the manager called me the other day to ask if I had received the fax he had sent me with the menu he had worked up. I told him about the slower response rate than we had expected, so we will probably be ordering off the menu (maybe I'll arrange for an assortment of appetizers to be served family style, and we'll order the main courses). Despite Hank's recent complaints about the restaurant, we still like it very much (although I've never had the tuna). And, considering we are planning on arriving at 5PM, I don't think the noise will be too bad until a couple hours later. So, it's May 1st, the dinner is on the 18th. Please let me know by the 10th if you are thinking of joining us. We hope to see you there!

We haven't been there since we moved away from that area more than a year ago, but we had been there a couple times and enjoyed it very much.

All this talk of fish liver and testicles and caviar is making me nervous. What is the goal of the dinner? A gourmand extravaganza of interesting or unique items or more casual fare as a basis to just get together and meet online friends? Either is fine, but the tone of the evening will probably affect who wants to participate.

China 46 doesn't really do a Dim Sum brunch though. You can order dim sum, and they'll bring it to you from the kitchen. But it isn't the same kind of almost instant gratification walking buffet experience of the steam carts and waiters offering you tasty morsels in small portions that is Dim Sum. I don't know about John's Shanghai. We had dinner there once, we'll have to check and see if they really do a Dim Sum lunch or it is just what they call their appetizer section.

When I use hot pepper flakes, I do it like adding garlic, a little bit at a time throughout the process. Some seasoning the meat, then the veg, then at the beginning of the sauce process. In fact, when I am planning on adding dry pepper flakes I just sprinkle them all over my mise en place so that guarantees it gets added throughout the process and also so I know how much I've added. If you need more heat at the end of the cooking, use a liquid sauce or paste as the dry flakes won't have time to rehydrate and develop flavor.

Too bad you didn't enjoy yourselves. Whenever we've been there the food has been excellent. Yes, it can get loud, but sometimes I like that lively atmosphere. The reason why most restaurants don't put small pepper mills on every table (although I agree with your desire for them) is that they tend to walk out the door quite frequently.

Dry Spanish sherry, any liquor store or supermarket that carries wine. $5-8 for a bottle. I use it for Chinese stirfries and Spanish food. Pork Chops Ajillo: Brown flour dusted pork chops in olive oil, adding lots of sliced garlic after the first turn. When chops are mostly done, remove and deglaze the pan with sherry about 1/2 cup. Add a pat of cold butter and stir. Return chops to pan and turn to coat in sauce and simmer to finish cooking for a few minutes. Mushrooms Ajillo: Quarter white button or cremini mushrooms. Saute in olive oil with lots of sliced garlic and a little salt until the mushrooms don't give up any more of their liquid. Deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup sherry. For a great Spanish meal, make the above with some rice with saffron and some broccoli sauteed with garlic & olive oil (or steamed if you must). Oh, for the stirfries, our latest ingredient is Chili Soy Sauce, and for regular soy sauce get real brewed soy sauce, if it says Superior on the label that's even better.

I posted a response in cooking. I don't know what you are messing up, all your ingredients sound good. Perhaps you just needed more. More garlic and ginger is always good. A spoonful of chili paste helps. Did you thicken your sauce with cornstarch (mix it into the cold stock first)? If it was a thin sauce all the flavor wasn't sticking to the meat & veggies. Also, like I said in Cooking, sherry and sesame oil are my secret ingredients.

Should we submit menu suggestions online or via eGullet messenger?

Rosie's thread about Thai restaurants inspired me to start this one. We like going to dim sum, a Chinese brunch of dumplings and other delights, about once or twice a month. I would like to have more options of places to go to, so please respond with any Chinese restaurants you know that serve dim sum. Please include location and whether they serve it only on Sunday, all weekend, or everyday, with a short blurb of how you like it. Here's a good tip for all dim sum places: I try to avoid taking anything from a mixed tray. If there is more than one type of dim sum on the tray then it has already made at least one trip around the room and is probably cold. I'll start: Silver Pond, 230 Main St, Fort Lee, Bergen County - everyday. On par or better than Chinatown, they have a liquor license. They have another location in Queens, they used to have one in East Hanover, but it closed. The steamed stuff comes around in carts, the fried on waiter carried trays. Some of our favorites include their salt & chili shrimp and mai fun noodles in superior sauce with leeks, in addition to all the dumplings. Try to arrive before noon or you'll have to wait on the weekends. Noodle Chu, 770 US Hwy 46 West, Parsippany, Morris County (across from the Holiday Inn with the Harolds) - weekends. This place is very good too and can get crowded if you arrive late. They also have an assortment of roast meats to choose from hanging in the back. Dim Sum Dynasty, 75 Franklin Ave, Ridgewood, 07450 - (201) 652-0615 (See eG Thread), aiming towards the high end and more expensive than the others, but excellent Dim Sum.

Very asian week/weekend. Saigon Republic on Wednesday, China 46 on Thursday, a sidetrip to Spain at Spanish Sangria in Newark on Friday, Wondee's on Saturday, Silver Pond for dim sum on Sunday and I made a chicken stir fry on Sunday night!

If you guys like only beer, then bring only beer. Whatever, they are very accomodating. Also note that the 12 courses were way too much food. Click here for a description of our dinner. We were all groaning trying to sample everything after around course 5. Follow Cecil's suggestion for the 8 or 10 course banquets, believe me no one will leave hungry!

I'm interested, but due to vacation plans, I wouldn't want to make anything too elaborate or something I'd have to buy the ingredients for days in advance. Other than that, I can probably make anything you give me a recipe for or we can bring something store bought. Give us an assignment please.

I was thinking the same thing (water content) but if it's higher in butterfat that shouldn't be the case. The microwave explosion thing always happens to me though and I'm not using Plugra. You need to cut the butter into several pieces and set the microwave on low or medium-low, stopping a few times to stir. You must watch it, as soon as some is melted stir and give it a few more seconds. The heat of the bowl will melt the rest. Also, always cover the pyrex dish with wax paper or a paper towl to contain the pops. I have no idea why it would pop in a pan on the stovetop other than water content and too high a flame.

I wonder if Wondee is from the north, cause I recognize a lot of what you mention from her menu.

Oh yeah, we've been to that place too.

Oops and I said Bellini. Bettini. Bettini. OK memorized. We also got some Don Alfonso from you. It is good, but more olivey tasting. I prefer the Bettini and we're out. I've got several bottles of the Don Alfonso to go through before I can bring myself to order more EVOO. But remember I like the Bettini if Jason contacts you about ordering more!

Thai Restaurants I have been to: Bergen County Hackensack: Wondees - Very casual atmosphere, the best, most personal food. Bangkok Garden - pretty restaurant. Was our favorite for a long time before we discovered Wondees. Good food, decent service. Morris County Sirin, Morristown - Family run, attractive restaurant with several small rooms. Pretty good food, so-so service. New Main Taste, Chatham - Elegant restaurant and service. Excellent food, relatively expensive. They only have one "curry of the day" not a list of curries on the menu. Nice date place. Pearl of Siam, Randolph - Casual atmsophere. Just OK, i.e. rice is not Jasmine rice. But very friendly, I once asked where I could get some thai basil (meaning where is a store where I could get some) and they brought me a paper bag full of it!) Union County Morris Thai, Union - Very large, casual restaurant. Inexpensive. Good food. Mix & match curry list (list of curry types that you can have with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp or vegetarian). Essex County Enhance Thai Cuisine, Millburn - Beautiful restaurant. Good food, expensive. Not NJ Thai House, Nyack, NY - cute restaurant, good service, just OK food.

OK. I really try to never act mean to other participants, but this is sad! Blech! Yuck! Pitooey! Oy Vey! First off, butter doesn't have to be salty. I always buy sweet, unsalted, butter. If I want to serve salted butter at the table, I'll add some and mix it in and serve at room temp. Don't equate margarine with butter. Margarine is really bad for you, full of trans-fats. Worse than saturated fat. Also, "low-fat" varieties get that way by mixing in water. You're paying for hydrogenated vegetable oil mixed with water.If you want to cut down on the fat - use less fat. If you want to cut down on the saturated fats, use olive oil. A particular brand we had recently, called Bellini, was so good. It really tasted almost like melted butter to me. I think we bought it mail order from Jim Dixon (an eGullet member). OK, rant over. Let me know if you get that olive oil. Oh, and the cheese & cucumber - is that a soft cheese mixed with shredded cucumber, like a raita but with cheese not yogurt, or a harder cheese with slices of cucumber?

Grill chorizo sausage in a dry cast iron skillet and deglaze with a little red wine. Serve with good bread. Cook small to medium peeled shrimp in A LOT of olive oil (at least to cover) with several cloves of sliced garlic and thinly sliced red chile. Add some good paprika and saffron for color & flavor, and a little salt. For the veggie: - grilled & roasted veggies, marinated in olive oil and maybe some sherry vinegar - Saute quartered white button or cremini mushrooms in olive oil, with a lot of sliced garlic and some salt, deglaze with dry sherry - Tortilla Española, here's a link to my description on another website. Serve slices on bread with a little mayonaise, at room temperature.

The description of the Plugra was very intriguing and then I see that it's just Kellers! I like Keller's, but I do tend to stock up on whatever (unsalted only) when there's a sale.

crap, i'm at home but i just had a sandwich. maybe i'll purge and see you there. that would make 3 nights in a row. i think they are growing sick of me. I hope you didn't show, Jason changed his mind half-way there and we went to Saigon Republic in Englewood. But the food was very good. We had the steamed dumplings for the first time. They are served with a bean sprout salad and are excellent. If you order them fried they are served just like the spring rolls (lettuce, herbs, pickled veg for garnish). Get them steamed. We had the chicken, but they also have shrimp and veggie dumplings. Also, I had the special, steamed tilapia. This was amazing, in a soy/ginger broth with highly seasoned noodles and asian greens. Really good. Has anyone on besides us and jhlurie tried this place yet?

I updated the RSVP list above. Also, for those who don't know where the restaurant is, it is in East Hanover, on Rt 10 West, in the Best Buy shopping center, all the way to the left (around the corner from the bank).

Jon described it pretty acurately and yes, I didn't care for it. What's the point of food that numbs your mouth?