Rachel Perlow

Although not a vegetarian, I frequently like to order fish when we go out (Jason doesn't eat cooked fin fish, so I never get to prepare it at home). Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants will only have one selection of fish. Like you said, it is usually salmon, which I don't like as much as I used to, but often it is swordfish, which I don't eat at all anymore. One day (after having yet another overcooked swordfish steak) it hit me that maybe I just don't like swordfish and haven't ordered it since. Subsequently hearing about the overfishing of swordfish and also the parasites that frequently infect them haven't hindered my decision either. What I really love is when getting a whole fish is possible. Trout, red snapper, bass, founder, etc. Fish prepared on the bone is just so much more delicious to me. It is usually so much moister and you get all the little pieces that may get discarded in a filleted fish, like the part just behind the skull above the gills, crunchy bits of grilled skin, or the cheeks, yum. Also, literally looking your dinner in the eye gives you more of a sense of appreciation for the animal that is nourishing you than an anonymous fillet, be it fish or beef.

I have no clue/you don't really need them. Everytime we have been there for dinner its been relatively empty, even when there were fewer tables, although the counter seating was often busy. Apparently, they are much busier at lunchtime. A lot of people only think of them as a kind of a deli, take-out place. That is one of the reasons they wanted to reorganize their space, moving the salad display case to the rear and removing the counter seating. However, one time we were in a rush, but wanted a decent meal. We called our order in ahead from the car and it was ready just after we were seated. BTW - I forgot to mention that during nice weather they set up tables outside for a sidewalk cafe feel.

I finally found the Han Ah Reum in Englewood. It's OK, with noticible similarities to the Ridgefield store. But, it just wasn't as exciting and had a slightly fishy smell.

They're closed Sunday because all the other places that serve similar food (see quote above from Jason) are closed on Saturday and Friday night. Since those places are open on Sunday, Fadia felt that was a good day for them to take off. We've arrived there on a Sunday night only to be disappointed that they were closed so I felt it was important to let everyone know.

From what I recall, you should stir the stock in one direction (let's say clockwise) to get the liquid moving continuously, then pour in the beaten egg in a thin stream, holding the pouring vehicle still. The momentum of the stock will pull the egg into ribbons. Give it a try with some plain water and one egg to see if this works for you before you waste anymore homemade stock.

Some of them seem to be semi-regular visitors to the US. If any of them are planning on being in NYC in April they are welcome to come. We'll even personally pick'm up at the ferry or bus stop!

Jason and I have posted about Bennies previously, here for example, but I thought it now deserves a thread all its own. As Jason wrote, "Bennies (Englewood). Just a little hole in the wall, but dont let that fool you. Bennies is a serious lebanese restaurant with mezze and salads to die for (amazing smoky babaghanoush), in addition to perhaps the best felafel in the entire area and a real Turkish coffee service with the old style coffeepots and everything-- and you can even eat there on Fridays and weekends, unlike the other israeli establishments in nearby teaneck." We returned there last night and the renovation they've been working on for the past few months is nearing completion. There used to be a counter in the front where single's could eat and watch Benny work his magic. That bar is gone (soon to be converted into a banquet table) and all the cooking is now done in the kitchen to the rear. This has made room for several additional tables, which I hope will be constantly filled soon (as long as they save one for us ). Fortunately, the menu has remained unchanged, both in price and variety. Fadia is still doing most of the cooking, and Adi and his sister still offer the friendliest service. Since the family has been doing the majority of the work themselves (with one contractor's help), it's been a slow process, but they've managed to keep the restaurant open most of the time and the food prices reasonable. As an aside, Benny mentioned that a new regular who "heard about us on the internet" has been asking about Jason there. If H.S. is out there and would like to meet us there sometime, just send me an eGullet message! Bennies Restaurant, 54 E Palisade Ave, Englewood (201) 894-5700 Hours: - 11AM - 9PM: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 11AM - 10PM: Thursday, Friday, Saturday - Closed Sunday Edit: fixed broken link

OK, I finally filled in the poll. What I found the most challenging was that there are no nominations. You can write in whatever you'd like. I think that will really lead to the fairest results possible. However, Rosie's right, if you don't vote, then you can't complain if your favorite place is forgotten.

This reminds me of when I had pizza with my parents a few years ago. It was ordered from the same place we used to always order from when I lived there. I commented that it wasn't as good as I remembered, did the place change hands? My mom said she didn't think the pizza had changed so much as I had. My taste has improved. Getting pizza as a teenager was more about hanging out with friends than actually eating pizza. On a Saturday night we might even have ordered from Dominos and thought it really good. It was during college that I started insisting on getting pizza from the local joint rather than Pizza Hut or another chain (although Sbarro's was pretty good back then, the food at that chain has definitely declined as it expanded its empire).Now to contradict myself, I'm also sure that there's been a decline in the quality of the pizza as well. I remember reading an article somewhere about how the "Pizza Industry" (probably one of the aforementioned chains) had conducted studies and discovered that the public at large couldn't even tell the difference between real mozzarella cheese and whatevery it is that they now use. I suppose this mostly speaks to the chain restaurant dictum that caters to the lowest common demoninator; however, I've heard that a lot of independently owned pizza restaurants also now use that fake cheeze. Therefore, if we had to graph your pizza-tude, I would say it is a combination of many factors that led to your realization of pizza decline; to reiterate: 1) Your taste has improved; 2) The pizza has actually gotten worse; and finally (not outlined above) 3) Chains have pushed many of the smaller independantly owned pizza parlours (who may or may not have been better in the first place) out of the business.

Of course you are welcome to bring a date, but several people came to the previous dinner solo (3 are single, 2 are married but sans spouse that night). I'm sure you wouldn't be the only single there that evening if you end up without a date.

Here's a link to an article about Ryland Inn chef, Craig Shelton, going to Salt Lake City to cook at the Olympic culinary event called "The Art of the Table."

I couldn't find a mention of Han Ah Reum in the online version of the article, but here's a link to the part describing various Asian ingredients.

After reading this thread and the "If I were a rich..." one on the General Board, I was in the mood for sushi, so we decided to go back to Tawaraya last night. We had a pretty wide variety of dishes and sushi as they have quite an extensive menu. The sushi was very good. We asked the guys at the bar what was fresh and we ordered a couple pieces of white tuna, striped bass, fluke, eel. Everything was quite fresh. We also had a few small dishes/appetizers of Sesame Spinach, Beef Tataki, Daikon Salad, Wasabi Meatballs. All were very good, although I didn't care for the raw onions with the grilled beef. The Chanpon noodle soup was delicious. The only bad note was the heavy shrimp tempura. There appeared to be only one waitress on duty in a restaurant with various areas that hid her from view on occasion. We were in the main dining area, which was pretty deserted, and so had to flag her down on her trips between the tatami rooms, kitchen and back booths. Like I said, they have a very extensive menu, but the fact that the tempura was poorly executed would have me sticking to the sushi, salads and soups and grilled dishes. It is a rather simply decorated space, but pleasant and quiet. There are actually three locations, although we've only been to the one in Paramus: Tawara, 53 W. Main St, Ramsey, 201-825-8712 Tawara Restaurant, Bar & Karaoke, 2075 Hamburg Tpke, Wayne, 973-616-7121 Tawaraya, Bergen Mall East Arcade, Paramus, 201-843-0133

Since you specifically wanted a place thatQuote: from Fat Guy on 12:09 pm on Feb. 3, 2002 --Doesn't start to suck in the middle of the afternoon --Has enough vegetarian stuff to satisfy the one member of the party who won't eat meat I didn't know that what I'd suggest would qualify. Sorry.

We were there a couple years ago. Nothing negative to say. Actually, it must have been pretty good because I tried something new there (I usually reserve trying new kinds of sushi (to me) until I've tried the basics). Pickled plums, I learned I don't like pickled plums. But obviously, it didn't blow us away because we haven't been there since we moved back to the area.

Oh come on! To be fair, you asked for a dim sum recommendation after noon on a Sunday. You know that eGullet traffic is pretty low on the weekends. I saw your post around one in the afternoon on Sunday, thought it was wierd that you were asking so late. I checked, there was a total of three people logged into the boards. Also, the only place I'd recommend to you I had no idea how it is later in the afternoon and don't know about vegetarian options. Also, I know you've been there, so you could have gone to Pings instead of Vinegar Factory. Your post indicates you didn't enjoy VF, or did you?

Just a nitpicky point here:Being a carnivore indicates subsisting or feeding on animal tissues, ostensibly to the exclusion of plant based food. It sounds as if you are considering becoming omnivorous by feeding on both animal and vegetable substances (according to http://www.merriamwebster.com/).

Rosie (and/or others), I'm curious of your opinion if you've been to either Sebastian's in Morristown (which we've been to and enjoyed very much) or Assembly in Englewood (which we haven't been to and are curious about).

Yes, that is the place. I guess I agree with the poster before you: Mikado is a very good buffet place. Probably one of the best seafood buffets around... but still a buffet with the general problems of all buffets. (First a disclaimer: We wanted to go to Wondee's last Monday night, arrived and realized we forgot she's closed on Mondays :( The Horror! We were really hungry, had passed this place a milllion times, it was nearby, etc., so we went.) The sushi was actually satisfactory, the pretty large crowd and vigilant sushi preparers (chefs?) keeping it all pretty fresh. Other features were a raw oyster bar, peeled shrimp cocktail, various cold salads. My favorite dish was actually in the hot area, a cod dish (teriyaki?). Plenty of cold snow crab legs were available, but the lobster, of which they ask you to limit yourself to "one per guest, per tray" was elusive. Each time up at the display there was no lobster to be seen. Eventually, we'd check whenever we saw anyone pass by with what looked like lobster on their plate. By the time we got up there, you guessed it, the lobster would be gone. By the end of the night we had managed to snag one (halves of small stuffed lobsters), wasn't worth the wait - better to just eat more crab. The cost was around ฤ per person, free refills on softdrinks, beer & wine available. EDIT: The name is actually Minado, not Mikado. (Edited by RPerlow at 9:30 am on Feb. 5, 2002)

To take the fried salami one step further... you add eggs to the pan for a salami omelet. Delish!

As promised, Jason and I had dinner at China 46 tonight with some eGullet-y friends. Here is the menu we've planned with Cecil for our dinner on April 7th: 1) An assortment of Five Cold Appetizers, including Spicy Capsicum Cellophane Noodles. 2) Two kinds of hot dumplings: Soup Dumplings (or as they call them, Steamed Little Juicy Pork Buns) and Pan Fried Shanghai Buns (which have the texture of steamed buns, but are fried on the bottom, I haven't had these anywere else). 3) Soup: Shanghai Casserole 4) Steam Dungeness Crab over Chow-Fun Noodle w. Minced Garlic (this is not on their regular menu, we had some tonight, boy was it good!) 5) Superior Ruby Pork - A giant pork shoulder with mixed herb simmered for hours. Served very tender as melt in your mouth. 6) Fish Maw & Mixed Seafood Simmered in White Sauce 7) Steamed Whole Fish (last time we had black bass with ginger and scallions. Cecil will make sure our fish is the very freshest... it'll be live before being cooked!) 8) Pepper & Salt Shrimp in Shell (once again the best version of this dish I've ever had!) 9) House Special Sauté, Accompanied w. Baked Sesame Bun - Sauté chopped firmed to-fu, ground pork and chives, then stuff it into baked sesame bun by yourself. (The sesame buns are like crispy pita pockets, at our dinner tonight they came with the Ruby Pork, happy happy joy joy!) 10) Shanghai Treasure - A unique vegetarian dish - Edamame, tofu sheets cut as noodles, seaweed (Unique isn't the only word to describe this, I'd include delicious and refreshing, too.) 11) Stir-fried Rice Cake - Rice cake is more like pasta, a little bit thick. They are very tender & smooth. (These were like noodle coins, chewy like thick chow fun. We had them with chicken tonight, very good.) 12) Dessert: Sweet Rice Balls, coated with Black Sesame and Peanut, stuffed with Red Bean Paste. And, of course, sliced oranges. Happy Happy, Joy Joy Joy! Soft drinks will be included too. All for the ridiculously low price of $32.00 per person (tax and tip are included in that amount). As discussed previously, liquor is BYOB. We are suggesting that each participant bring a bottle of wine or some beer to enjoy with dinner and share (if you're willing! ;)). RSVP by March 31, 2002, by sending me an email at I prefer that to eGullet messenger because it is easier for me to save the messages from my email account. Please include your eGullet username, your real name (for your nametag) and your phone number for confirmation of your reservation. Thank you and I hope to see you on April 7th!!!

At dinner tonight Cecil gave us a flyer with China 46's Chinese New Year menu. I thought I'd reproduce it here for those who can't wait until the eGullet Dinner here on April 7th! Year of the Horse Celebration (served February 8 - 17, 2002) ห.95 Per Person (Min of 2 people) Appetizers served as: Cold - Spice & Tangy Cabbage, Jellyfish, and Spicy Capsicum Shrimp Hot - Baked Mini Pork Bun, Har Kaw (Shrimp Dumpling), and Vegetable Pocket Choice of Soup: - Sharks Fin w. Crab Meat Soup - Hot & Sour Soup with Seafood - Minced Beef Soup Main Course: (Choose one of the 12 items. Served w. House Fried Rice) 1. Crispy Rainbow Sea Bass 2. Mango Jumbo Shrimp 3. Braised Duck w. Vegetables 4. Seaweed Dipped Flounder 5. Pepper and Salt Shrimp 6. Hunan Lobster 7. Sizzling Salmon Steak 8. Saute Clam w. Fresh Basil 9. Mango Chicken 10. Scallop & Shrimp Hunan Style 11. Saute Shrimps in Two Flavors 12. Saute Chunked Filet Mignon Bedded w. Green Vegetables (Edited by RPerlow at 10:44 pm on Feb. 1, 2002)

Any chance it's a good old-fashioned New York flying rat? (aka pigeon) That would certainly be cheaper than pheasant! ;)

Please refer back to my Aug 14 post on page 1 of this thread, where I said essentially the same thing. In your state of full, but wanting to try the place, I would have suggested one double cheeseburger, rather than two singles.

Everyone should assume they are invited. I already made a reservation for 20-30 people, which could probably be expanded if necessary. I just didn't want to do the exact same subject line as the first dinner. I figured I'd post RSVP information after we finalized the details on the dinner. I've gotten a basic banquet menu and price quote faxed to me, but there are some changes we want to make. A few of us are going there on Friday night and we'll go over everything then and post the details over the weekend. Stay tuned...