markk

We stopped by The Cup Joint late on a Tuesday, and as we sat outside, two couples leaving turned to each other on the way out and said, "How much do we LOVE this place already!!" I was informed that they were 'experimenting' with a few specials in the kitchen, and I volunteered to eat whatever they sent out. First came half a grilled Heirloom tomato with goat cheese and an aged balsamic drizzle... That was followed by gnocchi (cooked to perfection) with baby arugula and sauteed porcini mushrooms... And that was followed by an equally sensational grilled veal chop over olive-oil mashed potatoes with frizzled shallots, and roasted brussels sprouts, all just as good as it looks... And also, as we sat down outside, a young couple heading into the restaurant asked us "what's good here?" and we answered separately, "The Meat Loaf!" and "The Grilled Salmon!" and they said thanks as they went in; when they came out a while later, they stopped by to say that that's what they had, and loved it. For now, it's mostly the basic food (at this point I've photgraphed most of it above) and it's always cooked to perfection, but I see with some of the daily specials that they're getting a bit more adventurous with each passing week. What was ironic for me with this meal here, is that I had actually had a reservation at Babbo in New York and cancelled it in the morning because I wasn't up to going into the city to start a late dinner. But of course, I remembered as I was eating the perfect gnocchi with porcini mushrooms, that one of the Cup Joint partners used to cook there, and for a couple of bites during the pasta and the veal chop, I honestly wasn't quite sure where I was.

What I like in the Hoboken store is that the meat department carries a large portion of the D'Artagnan line. They have the fresh whole Pekin ducks, and the individual raw magrets (moulard duck breast), and the fabulous ready-to-crisp-and-eat Confit de Canard, and they usually have the raw foie gras slices (two slices cryovaced to a card), and the various terrines and sausages, and the little tube of foie-gras mousse. Now THAT's upscale !! They also have a very great wine store. It's run by the guy (in case anybody remembers) who used to own the free-standing Shop Rite Liquors on Bergenline Ave. by the park in North Bergen (maybe that was W. NY.) in the 80's. The selection of wines is quite fabulous.

I saw some beautiful salmon in the market, and that decided dinner. I gave it a light dusting of fine sea salt, and grilled it with lots and lots of moist applewood and cherrwood chips... With that, I made some French lentils sauteed with some carrots, pan-simmered garlic and cherry tomatoes from my terrace... and mesclun salad with a sherry-vinegar and walnut oil/Provencal black-olive oil dressing that got photographed before the pecans and mango slices were added... And then I yelled for everybody to dig in... PS: Some of the oils (vinegar and salt) used in the dinner. With the exception of the salt, everyting comes from Fairway Market in New York...

I gather that Shop Rites very greatly. The one in Hoboken is a beautiful, and rather high-end store, in that it's spotlessly clean and bright, there's a high-end meat dept. with foie gras (D'Artagnan) and really nice cuts of veal and organic beef, and there's a very high-end fish department with beautiful things like whole snappers and tilefish and things like that, and a sort of separate organic produce area, as well as an entire organic aisle. And I've been in some that are just slums.

At the Shop Rite of Hoboken (which is a beautiful store) they have a cooking class once a week. They bring in this portable demo kitchen that's got a full cooking area with mirrors above it so people in the "class" can see, and it's got stools (just like Emeril's set, actually) for some of the participants to sit at and eat what they've cooked - it's quite the set up (they clear the food court and set it up there). Has anybody been to one here (or at another Shop Rite)? It's featured on their site Shop Rite website, but it can't be linked to directly, so on the left in the Customer Center section, you have to click on "Culinary Workshop". I'm curious if anybody has taken one of the classes, what's it like?

Luckily I had the camera with me last night. We had lobster tortelloni with sweet pea sauce, a superb hangar steak crispy outside and rare inside, with mashed potatoes (topped with crispy shallots) and green beans with onions... And we snuck into the kitchen to grab a shot of a whole carrot cake after they took a slice from one...

As I posted a month ago, I haven't been cooking much, as a new restaurant opened near me in Hoboken that's so supremely good and so reasonable that it's pretty pointless for me to cook anymore. Still, they're closed two nights a week, (and I do enjoy it,) and the August bounty in the farmers markets has been great, so here's some catch-up of my summer cooking... A cold dinner of Insalata Caprese with fresh Hoboken mozzarella and red and green heirloom tomatoes, and prosciutto and melon... and a close-up of the tomatoes and mozzarella... A few nights later, the leftover tomatoes and mozzarella which were refrigerated in their juice were chopped up and tossed with hot pasta, with some cut up all-natural chicken sausage (grilled with lots of hickory chips) ..... And then another dinner that started with a plating of Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto San Daniele, with melon, apricots and plums... Followed by another batch of heriloom tomatoes from the farmers market in Hoboken plus fresh Hoboken mozzarella... And then some fresh swordfish, grilled with apple- and cherrywood chips, served with black rice topped with quick-sauteed red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and fresh bi-colored corn... And now my new friends at the restaurant can cook for the rest of the week!

Never, on principle. (And while this is besides the point, when telemarketers call and I tell them I'm not interested and they go right on selling, I usually put the phone on speaker, ask them a billion questions to take up as much of their time as I can, then when they ask me if I want to buy their product, say "no, I told you at the start I wasn't interested.") BUT here's an idea for you. Make up some great fliers with a coupon and your web address, and get some people (or kids) to hand them out to the people coming out of those office buildings at lunchtime (might be too late for same day orders, but you'll probably see a lot the next days). I did this last year for a client in Hoboken who opened a new pet store, and it worked great.

Well, yes. I almost always take the camera when I go to eat (doesn't everybody?) Foods I cook and eat out - my online extravaganza

Tonight's specials were Lobster Tortelloni with a Sweet Pea sauce, which was cooked to perfection and out of this world, and an Eggplant Parmesan with white eggplants from the Hoboken Farmer's Market that was fresh, light, and absolutely ethereal. I'm just loving it!

Hopefully. Yes, in my book. Why don't you just get great fliers made and have them put out in the buildings somehow. I'd never buy anything from a place that faxed me an unsolicited fax, ever.

They opened on May 30, 2005.

I've fallen under the spell of a new place called The Cup Joint, near the light rail station and the Shop Rite in Hoboken. It's a small corner place, and their sign says "Eat Food Here". So one night I did. It's a quiet, quiet corner, which I love, and it's the simplest menu imaginable. And culinarily, it's about as good as food gets. What's the saying, better a great sardine than a lousy lobster? But the food is not quite as simple as the menu claims, and the menu offers Grilled Chicken Breast, Meat Loaf, and Grilled Salmon, all with "seasonal veg" and "potato of the day", and in fact those are the only hot dinner items. The rest is salads and all-day Pretzel-sandwiches. Cut to the chase - these are fresh, fresh, and cooked absolutely to order (well, not the outrageous meatloaf, half-turkey, by the way), and they are out of this world. The secret is that the two partners who do the cooking have very serious talents, and very serious backgrounds in the industry. One partner has a vast experience as a cruise ship chef and has traveled the world doing private cheffing, and the other partner has cooked at such places as Grammercy Tavern and Babbo. But aside from technical ability, they're both creative and inventive, and even in such simple things as "seasonal veg" and "potato of the day", this shines through. So it's probably time for some photos... The "house salad" is arugula and watercress, and it is out of this world: Well, this is a good time to say that after finding that we loved the place, we returned at least a dozen times. And one of those times, a quiet Tuesday night, I said, "Oh, the watercress salad again?", and what came was frisee with candied apricots, champagne dressing, and avocado, two half-portions: The main courses have been delicious, and here they are. The potatoes have included outrageous mashed potatoes (for the meat loaf), and sauteed potatoes with herbs, and roasted fingerlings, and the seaonal veg have included broccoli rabe, sauteed bok-choy greens with roasted tomatoes, and an obscene casserole of zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil, and herbs: And the pastas, like the ravioli with tomato and vodka sauce, the lasagne with mushrooms, spinach, and bechamel (no photo, sorry) and the special one night of Orechiette with swiss chard, tomatoes, and sausage, are cooked, well, exactly like you get them at Babbo, but no surprise... They have gnocchi with pesto, which is sublime, and the night after we had it, I joked the next night, "Oh, the same pesto again?", so they sent out two half-orders of the gnocchi, this time with roast pork (which they make for one of their luncheon sandwiches) and green peas. Again, it was like eating at Babbo, but not a surprise since one of the chefs did much time there: And for dessert, one of their offerings is a homemade carrot cake, surely the most delicious I've ever eaten!... And, it's BYO. The dinner prices range from $12 for the meat loaf, to $13 for the grilled chicken. to $15 for the excellent salmon, and a whopping $18 for a substantial portion of marinated Hangar steak, which, not at all surprisingly, was absolutely first-rate. As I said in the "What Did You Cook for Dinner" thread when I posted my 'farewell' meal, I'm never cooking again!

Does anybody know where I can buy the various types of wood chips for grilling that you soak in water and add to the barbeque in New Jersey? I just got a brand new fancy electric outdoor grill (only electric is allowed on my terrace) and it suggests that using chips will give a better flavor, which I certainly believe. Thanks - I'm in Northern NJ and can't think of where to buy them.

I haven't posted (or cooked for that matter) in quite some time, having discovered a new restaurant in Hoboken that's so wonderful and reasonable, I may actually never cook again. However, I discovered some new summer dishes that I'd bought last year and never used, and since I do actually remember where the kitchen is, I made some Whole-Wheat Breadcrumb-Topped Baked Cod with Truffle-Scented Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Porcini Gnocchi And having proved to my "family" that I can still cook, I'm looking forward to trying it again next summer!

First of all, it's a very large dog, so the price is not so out of line, and if you make it clear that it's a "jumbo" (and not just $3+ for a standard, Sabrett size) I don't think you'll have a problem at all. Second, it's a great dog, so I think that it'll sell itself by word-of-mouth once the first people try it. Heck, even though they're sort of expensive for you to buy, I think you should go find a schoolyard somewhere and give them out. Anyway, compared to what Nathan's charges in the mall for a standard sized dog, it's not even out of line. I can't imagine anything but runaway sucess with them.

I meant to post two weeks ago but forgot, and all this activity reminded me. We went with two friends and were a group of four at Lupa looking to feast our brains out. We started with the Affetato Misto, the large plank of imported Prosciutto di Parma, and filled with home-made cold cuts. The marinated tongue and the head cheese were absolute standouts (and not overly salty at all). (We supplemented with some additional prosciutto as well.) Then we moved on to several orders of the "Eggplant and Ricotta Rossa", and "White Beans al Fiasco" crudo. Both were mind-numbingly delicious. The eggplant, which I've had before, may be one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten (unless the beans are). We followed that with the "Frutti di Mare", the assortment of house-cured fish, and everything was spectacular - the octopus, the sea bass, the Tuna Piccantino - just everything. And they snuck in a dish of the Arbequina olives in some sinful condiment that may actually have stolen the show. It made for quite a debate. Then for a little intermediate course we split two orders of the Oxtail croquettes, which were absolutely sublime. And then came the pastas, which we had them split and serve us all half orders - the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara which they took off the menu but agreed to make in keeping with our "feast" motif, the ever magnificent Bucatini All'Amatriciana, and the special of the day, a homemade fettucine with a slow-cooked pork and porcini mushroom ragu - and here the chef outdid himself on a night when each dish shone and outdid each other dish. Two of our four threw in the towel just before the fettucine (and two - wouldn't you know that I was one of them- went the distance). Nobody knew what was coming because I arrived early and ordered the whole meal. But when I mentioned that a fish and roast pig were coming, they didn't even fall for it. It was a truly spectacular meal, which we finished with some Apician Spiced Dates and Vanilla Ice Cream. And oh, yes - some wine was consumed. Endlessly flowing quantities of the very delicious, and ridiculously reasonable Soave (Monte Tondo) from the superb 2004 vintage. We stopped counting after a while. And the fabulous staff contributed as much to the festiveness of our dinner with their infectious enthusiasm as did the food pouring out of the kitchen - it was an orgy of pleasure, and made a wonderful introduction to Lupa for our friends who had never been there before. Sadly, there are no photos, a first for us!

Yes! The steel blade of the Cuisinart food processor makes superb chopmeat. In his excellent (and little known) book "Pierre Franey's Kitchen", he gives recipes that show off the various kitchen machines and gadgets to best advantage, and what he chose for the food processor recipe was meat loaf - an excellent one, too. You might really enjoy getting a cheap copy of this on half.com. It's a great book.

I really can't believe that you're cooking from a mix. We primarily cook from scratch here on eGullet, or at least only post photos of things we've cooked from scratch. Was it a packet with the rice and seasonings and everything in it already that you bought somewhere? Edited to say: "Couldn't resist! Just joking." I've enjoyed your posts about wanting to write restaurant reviews, and think that it's just great, and quite impressive, that you can cook, yourself - and obviously so impressively, as well.

Has anybody eaten here?

After reading this thread about a week ago, I tried Dynasty on Rt. 22, and Wonder Seafood in Edison, both for the first time. Dynasty seemed like faded glory to me. The place was dingy and seedy, and the offerings were sparse. The few dim sum I had were just okay, and I cut it short. Wonder Seafood, on the other hand, was great, and packed with people. The dim sum was just exquisite, and we pigged out on it. Everything was a standout. I can't wait to go back. And the people were as nice and as helpful as can be. A giant Thank You to whoever it was above that mentioned this place !!!

It was your Prince posting that made me ask this in the first place. I can't say that this is the most scientific round-up (summation, I mean) but it seems to me from reading the various threads that everybody is saying that Flushing has the best dim sum, but nobody suggests an actual place by name. So that prompted me, to see if people were going to suggest a dim sum parlor that's even better than Prince (which certainly sounds great). I've also heard good things about Ocean Port in Brooklyn, and would welcome comments about the Brooklyn dim sum scene. Some friends from out of town have asked me what's the best dim sum in NYC and I'm trying to research this for them.

It seems that people are saying that Flushing has the best dim sum in the city, yet as far as I can tell, nobody is saying exactly WHERE. Does anybody have names for where they think the best Dim Sum in Flushing is served? Does anybody have any suggestions for better Dim Sum in New York?

I had my first meal at The Jefferson last night. I had resisted because Hoboken is pretty much a culinary wasteland, and I didn't believe the posts. But the other day I posted elsewhere about a great meal I had at Lupa in New York, and Michael Coury replied that it's one of his favorites. So I had to try The Jefferson, and I'm glad I did. Everything was outstandingly good. There were two of us, and we decided to graze on appetizers. We had the "Antipasto for Two", the Soft Shell Crab, the Buffalo Mozzarella with Heirlom Tomato, the Fritto Misto, the Roasted Mussels, the Braciole, and the daily special Tuna Sascimi. There wasn't a mis-step in the bunch. Standouts were the caponata, and the peas with pancetta and mint on the Antipasto for Two; the soft shell crab was outstanding as well; and the Braciole was meltingly tender, the mushroom ragu hauntingly delicious. And in conversation with Chef Michael, I learned that he indeed worked at Lupa. However, as we discussed privately (my dining companion and I, that is), this kind of cooking isn't something that can be learned - rather, I'd say that Michael honed his formidable craft at Lupa. As has been mentioned on this thread, he's clearly a chef with a great talent, and indeed a passion, which comes through on the plate. And not surprisingly, this is echoed in the service. Everybody there, from the hostesses to the waiters to the bus people, was friendly, helpful, and caring. And not surprisingly, again, was the wine selection. We had (several bottles of) a delicious Pinot Bianco from the Alto Adige, at a refreshing price - one that in fact encouraged 'seconds'. That his thoughtfulness extends to the wine selection is one more mark of a great chef and restaurateur. Everything here was characterized by sheer professionalism, a very sure hand in the kitchen, and a generosity of spirit. This is a great restaurant. We'll be back!

Went to Lupa last night, and had just a fabulous meal (again). Started with some of the "verdure" - the 'hot and cold' spinach was the only disappointment - so cold as to be almost frozen. The roasted eggplant with whipped ricotta di buffala and a hint of tomato was obscenely delicious, as were the "white beans al fiasco" - white beans with herbs in a spectacular olive oil. Accompanied by some superb Prosciutto di Parma, this made a great first course. We had to try the "Oxtail Crocchetta" and the Scrambled Ceasar Salad, and had those as an intermediate course. Both were sublime. For a third course we had half-orders (whole portions, split for two) of the Bucatini All'Amatriciana", the Ricotta Gnocchi with sausage and fennel, and the daily special pasta, homemade fettuccine with porcini mushrooms and pork. All were their usual, outstanding selves. And the service, at every turn, was the warmest and most professional imaginable. They really don't miss a trick!