markk

[uNFORTUNATELY, THE SOFTWARE WOULD NOT LET ME QUOTE MR. LEVY'S MESSAGE IN ITS ENTIRETY AND REPLY TO IT AT LENGTH; I APOLOGIZE FOR ABRIDGING HIS MESSAGE, WHICH WAS NOT MY INTENTION] What an eloquent post indeed. And how self-serving. Unfortunately, as a customer of yours who was served two dishes that were cold in two different courses, and one dish that went back uneaten because it was astoundingly too salty to be eaten, and served this food by servers who were resentful of our presence and stood over us to rush us through the meal, I find your comments offensive. Nothing you have said has actually addressed the problems I had at your restaurant. Rather, they are attempting to make you look good, and me at fault. I feel this is wrong of you. As to your comment “it is your duty as a disgruntled customer to ask for a manager…”, may I point out to you that as the paying customer, I have no duties and no obligations to you, the restaurant owner. I think it was your duty to have trained the staff to be gracious to all your customers, at all times. The actions and behavior of your staff, and the message you posted here, are at odds. I will judge your restaurant by its actions, not by your words after the fact. You told me that I was welcome to arrive at that late hour, and your staff was rude and resentful to me - that is your problem, not mine. When your waiter asked for our order, stood over us and tapped his pen to his pad, and refused to help us choose, what was it my “duty” to do? Was I to call you over and complain at that point? Gee, what a pleasant experience it would have been from that point forward. I think you’re very wrong to put the burden here on me. You wrote that “I take enormous pride in what I do, whether it's cooking or managing the front of the house. I do everything I can to ensure that my customers leave satisfied and happy with their experience.” Then you should have trained your staff to be gracious and helpful to the customers at all times, and you certainly should have let them know that you invited three people to come late and made sure they knew that we not to be made to feel unwelcome. As to the meal itself… I did send back my cold soup, and it was brought back hot. There was no need to ask for a manager. My companion could not eat his mushroom appetizer, and based on the fact that everybody on the staff who dealt with us when we arrived made it perfectly clear that they did not want us there at that hour, followed by the fact that your kitchen served me cold soup to demonstrate that point, he wanted nothing from you. He didn’t want another dish, and he didn’t want it taken off the bill. But the fact that nobody on your staff cared that an entire dish went back untouched, is to me, appalling. If you are as concerned as you say you are, you should have noticed this, and you should have trained your staff to do the same. I’ve been in numerous fine restaurants where people, not wanting to complain (because, as you should know, it puts the diner in an uncomfortable position), have simply left their food untouched, and in every case the waiter noticed this and offered to change the dish. As I say, my companion didn’t want another dish, but the server should have noticed this as he cleared it and made the offer himself, and when you saw an uneaten plate come back to the kitchen, you should have noticed it as well and come over to the table to express your concern and offered to remedy it. The responsibility in this circumstance is yours. Then came two courses of perfectly disappointing food. Again, I can’t see any point in calling a manager. What would I have said? “We were disappointed in your food?” What would you have done? Offered to make it again and make it better? Your staff made it clear that they resented our presence and wanted us out of there; I assure you, and everybody reading this, that there was no possibility that they were going to serve us any re-made food. As far as your comment “I'd also like to note that everything at my restaurant is made to order--I do not serve pre-cooked food”, let me say that I’m of the opinion that heat is required to cook both White Bean soup, and risotto. I cannot imagine how you could cook these dishes to order and have them come out with parts of them cold, cool, and lukewarm. And, I point out that the suggestion that the food was prepared by “an un-trained chef” was posted by Rosie, not me. Lastly, I take great offense at the second part of your comment, “However, it is your duty as a disgruntled customer to ask for a manager (me that evening) and discuss with him/her your complaints, not rant them unabashedly on the internet.” As I said above, I think it’s ridiculous to hold the opinion as a restaurant owner that a paying customer has any “obligation” or “duty” to you. And how dare you accuse me of ranting unabashedly on the internet! I am a member of eGullet who posted to a forum containing positive reviews of your establishment that I had an experience there that was anything BUT positive. I have a perfect right to post negative comments on this forum, and to share an unpleasant experience with the other members. I understand that many of the members of eGullet have had pleasant experiences at your restaurant. I decidedly did not have one. And as it was based on their posts that I decided to go, I wanted to share my experience with them. To deal with criticism by calling it “ranting and raving” is wholly unprofessional of you. I am a paying customer who was served cold, undercooked food by a rude staff, and I have the right to tell my experience to whomever I wish. Caring is something that restaurant owners and chefs demonstrate with their actions, and something that they pass on to their staffs. You shouldn’t be telling me now what a caring restaurateur you are – I should have been able to tell that from visiting your restaurant, and I could not. But what happened there was not my fault, I assure you. The fact that you were there and the staff was rude and uncaring and that the kitchen served me cold food (twice) in your presence, tells me that you don’t care as much as you claim you do. If you were working the front of the house that night you should have noticed a waiter tapping his pen to his pad while waiting for our order, and you should have noticed waiters with folded arms and scowls; if you were working the kitchen, you should have noticed food coming back uneaten, and food going out cold. And if you were there, having spoken to me on the phone earlier that evening, knowing I was a first time guest, you certainly should have come over to introuduce yourself and ask if everything was alright; for you not to have felt the unpleasant vibes and sensed the attitude of your staff members that night is odd. I believe it's usually the case in restaurants that when food is served, someone comes by to ask how everything is; that takes the unpleasant responsibility off the customer, you know. And certainly, you shouldn’t have told me to come at that hour when you spoke to me. About two weeks ago, I called your restaurant on a Saturday to make reservations for the following night close to closing, and the girl who answered the phone told me “well, we’re open until then, but you really shouldn’t come then because it’s late, and everybody will be tired and wanting to go home.” And I posted this on eGullet to ask for reactions, only I specifically omitted the name of your restaurant. Then, having read more positive posts on the Rocca thread, but able to come only late on a Sunday, I called not once but twice more, only to be told this time, once by you, the owner, that I was absolutely welcome to arrive at that late hour. As I said in one of my earlier posts, I have developed the feeling over the years that the attitude of a restaurant staff is reflective of that of its owner. And the fact that you’ve come on this forum and told me that what happened was my fault, that it was my “duty” to have said something, and that I am wrong to post criticism of you on an internet forum – well, now I see where they get it from. I believe the many eGullet members who have described good meals at your restaurant. I didn’t get one the night I went. And I shared my experience. You shouldn’t make snide comments about “constructive” criticism – you’re not a child - you’re a business owner – you should accept serious criticisms and deal with them privately, not publicly belittle the person who made them.

We ate here the other night, and had just a wonderful meal, again! What a relaxed and freindly place, with the perfect balance of casual elegance. And what warm, wonderful people they are. Of course, lots has been said here about how nice the whole family is. But their attitude is obviously contagious (unless the waiters are actually related, too and I don't know it). We had a young server who couldn't have more perfectly achieved the balance of "professional" and "friendly". He even astounded me at the end of the meal by remembering, from our visit a month ago, that I had food allergies related to dessert (chocolate and strawberries); This was most impressive, but then again, so is everything about this place. We had a tasting menu, highlights of which included some new items to the menu. Most notable were the starter of "Braised Beef and Gorgonzola Cannelloni with a Baby Arugula, Sweet Almond, and Watermelon Radish Salad". The cannelloni were superb and we were eating them in tiny bites trying to make them last the night. The salad was a sheer delight, both from the excellence of the arugula, and the perfect, actually exciting balance of flavors in the dressing and condiments. Also outstanding were a Puree of Butternut Squash Soup, and of course, the "Strozzapreti" pasta with Black Tiger Shrimp, Italian Eggplant, English Peas, and Shellfish Reduction. (I'm just crazy for this dish.) Last but surely not least was a new dish, "Slow Baked 'White Tuna', Manzanilla Risotto Cake, Tuscan Bean Puree, and English Peas Mariated in a Sweet Marjoram Oil". White Tuna is actually "Escolar" (which I have loved in the past but haven't seen for years) - it's a wonderful fish, and Ryan's treatment of it is sheer perfection. A great meal, and a great dining experience!

I had an excellent meal (the tasting menu) at Anthony David's in July of 2003. Our only objection was that the portions were tiny (in fact, we ordered extra dishes on top of the tasting menu). I asked about portion size, and learned that the "tasting" portions were actually half-portions from the regular menu. With that description, two of us didn't think that those would be big enough portions to make a meal ordering an appetizer and main course from the regular menu, which is why we haven't returned. But the food was thoroughly delicious, and everything about the place was great. Photos of that meal can be found here: Anthony David's Dinner Photos And, it's BYO, and I think that when places with food like this are BYO, it opens up a great world of wine pairing possibilities.

Have you seen the new Fall menu here? It looks fabulous !!! I ate (yet another outstanding meal) there just before they closed for vacation, and they had the menu available. Things that are new on the standard menu include: Duck Confit on Pumpkin and Blue Cheese Risotto, Fried Sage, Walnuts and Smoked Pork Chop with Polenta, Braised Cabbage, Bacon and Dried Cherries Mark says that the pork chop is "really good", and I believe him! New daily specials are: Monday - Cassoulet Tuesday - Choucroute Friday - Pot au Feu Saturday - Short Ribs The night we were there they brought us a preview tase of the Pot au Feu, and it was absolutely sensational !! (Gee, what a surprise.) There's also a whole new batch of soups that include: Mussel Bisque Tomato in Puff Pastry Lentilles du Puy with Foie Gras Crouton Vegetable and White Bean with Herb Oil Good Lord, it all sounds obscene, and I'm sure it is. I cannot wait for them to reopen !!

While of course our waiter (the one who took our order) was at fault, two other servers were equally to blame. It was one of them who cleared the uneaten appetizer and grunted at the problem, and all three of them who glared at us while waiting for us to finish the various courses. As for going back, we're just not interested. I understand that most of you have had more positive experiences, and I'm happy for you. (Well, I meant that to come out nice.) I don't begrudge them the food. If it had only been that the food was not as good as all the postings, I might have decided to give it another try. It's that when the entire staff is rude like that, it's a permanent turn-off for me. And, as for the idea that the chef went home and left an untrained person to prepare the meals, knowing that they had people coming (new people as well) - well, Rosie, I know you meant well with that, but I wouldn't have any respect for a chef/owner who did that. And I must say one more time... I called twice to be sure I could come just before closing. If the chef was going home, or if they were not in the mood to serve at that hour, they should have said so - something like "we close at 9, but we suggest that on a Sunday you not come after 8." Or they should have said "On Sundays we close at 8". Thanks to all the posters for your encouraging comments. I'm glad your experiences there are more positive. For me, it was just too many strikes against them, and it was a turn-off.

I'm glad you like this place, and very happy to be making more room for you. Enjoy! Well, there's absolutely no cause for ugliness. Not on eG anyway! I was going to say that with a subject like restaurants we can all agree to disagree, but that's not even the relevant thing here. Agreeing to disagree would be if we all went on the same night and had the same dishes, and some of us loved them and some of us hated them - and that would not be an unusual thing to happen, of course. I went to Rocca in a party of three, and we all had the same low opinion. When the server who asks you to place your order right away stands there glaring at you and tapping his pen to his order pad and won't discuss the menu with you, when servers stand not too far from your table with folded arms and glaring faces waiting for your plates, when servers see completely untouched food and don't inquire, and then grunt and say or do nothing when you tell them why the food couldn't be eaten... this is hard to misintrepret. I call it "rude". And, it's a lack of caring for the diners. Maybe they care for some of you on other nights, but they didn't care for us when we were there. And our food, much of it cold and undercooked, was just not very good. To us, it was a lousy meal, and a lousy experience. And I think that they knew exactly what they were doing, both the serving staff and the kitchen. If they were true professionals, and wanted us to enjoy our meals and leave thinking that it was a great restaurant, with a desire to return, they'd have bitten the bullet and cooked our food well and served it graciously. I don't know that it would have taken that much extra time to serve things hot and cooked through, and seasoned properly. I don't think they need to know about my report because they were there, and they were the ones doing it. Neither the servers nor the people preparing the food could possibly have thought that we were enjoying anything - not the food they hastily threw together, and not the attitude with which they served us. And as for my grilled veal, I just thought it was lousy. And I tasted the over-salted mushrooms and the searing, burning sensation of overwhelming saltiness made it impossible to eat. And none of the other dishes was great in any way. I do know from many (many) years of dining that restaurants have off-nights. (And usually, when you take a friend to a favorite restaurant, that's when they'll have one.) So food wise, I'll go with the off night theory. As far as the hateful service, I can only pronounce that an unprofessional attitude, and to me, that's a black mark against the restaurant's owners. The staff made it clear that our presence was unwelcome. To me, that's something a restaurant staff should never do, and for reasons that are hard to explain, I have come to the conclusion over the years that the way in which a front-of-house staff treats its customers is completely indicative of the way the restaurant owners treat them. And actually, the same is true of cooks. I don't know if the chef is the owner of this place, nor do I know if he was there that night. If he was, he had to have known that we couldn't possibly enjoy what he was sending out. And if he wasn't, his kitchen staff certainly did him a disservice. In my experience, when the chef or owner is a great guy with a winning attitude towards his customers (and invariably the staff), the entire staff will lovingly try to carry on in this tradition for the customers when he's not there. But we experienced bad service from both the kitchen and the servers, and it didn't leave us with a good feeling about the attitude of the place from the top down. In my original post, I was only reporting on the mediocre meal and unpleasant experience that we had. As far as the experience having killed our desire to return, well, that's just how we feel. Tommy's description (right above) of the place makes the most sense. But based on some of the raves earlier in this thread, we tried the place thinking it was supposed to be great. And for us, on the particular night we went, it was anything but! Oh well. There are other restaurants for us to go to and enjoy. No cause for ugliness here.

Their handling of this was thoroughly unacceptable. I called them at 8 pm to ask how late they accepted walk-ins, and was told that I was welcome to arrive up until 8:59. But I wasn't born yesterday, so I called a few minutes later and asked for directions, at which point the put somebody else on, and I asked again what time they accepted walk-ins, and the second person said that I was welcome to walk in as late as 8:59. There's no excuse for cold, mediocre food. If they don't feel like serving this late on a Sunday, they should have said so, especially since I gave them two opportunities. They certainly could have told me that the kitchen closes at 9 and that I shouldn't arrive later than, let's say, 8, on a Sunday. In my early visits to places like Epernay and Fascino (to give two examples in New Jersey) I asked similarly if I could arrive late-ish, and was told that I could. And in both places I was served warmly and graciously, and I was served absolutely delicious food, at that hour. The hateful, miserable service, and cold, mediocre food are, in my book anyway, serious marks against a chef and a restaurant that's positioned itself as this one has. It tells me that they don't care (and Anthony, I applaud your comment about knowing that late diners pay the same as early ones). I won't be going back.

If you're referring to me, that's not quite true, because interspersed in this streak were one truly outstanding meal at Epernay, and one truly outstanding meal at Fascino.

He was there, and very visible indeed.

Good Lord, don't go to Rocca on a Sunday night !!! I did last week, and just posted the details of a miserable meal in the regular Rocca thread. I should add that we had an utterly superb meal at Cafe Matisse in Rutherford just a few weeks ago, and indeed they are open on Sundays. Depending on what time you go, they offer a fixed price dinner (appetizer, main course, and dessert) - lots of food, all of it extremely delicious, for either $52 or $62, and it is a great deal. You can check it out here Cafe Matisse Website

After reading all the hoopla about Rocca, we gave it a try last weekend and had a thoroughly mediocre meal, with hateful service to boot. Admittedly we came late in the evening, but I had called ahead to ask about this and was told by two different people there that we were absolutely welcome to arrive right up until the last seating time. We are late diners, and in fact when we arrive for the last seatings at places like Epernay and Fascino we receive magnificent food and friendly, gracious service. This was not to be the case here. The waiter gave us the menus and then stood over us and asked us to place our order. Our questions about the menu items were certainly not answered in a friendly fashion, and he made it quite clear that he couldn’t care less. (Normally we’d have been out of there at that point, but it was late, and there was no way to get to any other restaurant in time, so we stayed and hoped for the best.) I was in the mood for some hot soup to start, and had the daily special White Bean Soup. It arrived lukewarm at best, parts of it cool, and I had to send it back to be reheated. When it arrived hot, it was really just okay at best. Another of my party had the Truffled Mushrooms, which were way, way (way) too salty to eat, and he just left them. When the server came back with my hot soup and noticed the mushrooms sitting untouched, he didn’t ask if anything was wrong. When he came later to clear the plates and took away one totally untouched mushroom appetizer, again he didn’t say a word, nor did he ask if anything was wrong. At that point my friend commented that the mushrooms were much too salty to eat, and the served sort of grunted as he took the plate. Next, the three of us had the Bucatini all’Amatriciana. It was not offensive, but it was mediocre at best. If anybody is comparing this to the show-stopping, standard-setting version served at Lupa, they need to rush right into New York! The similarity for sure is in name, only. Main courses were equally disappointing. One of our party had the Halibut, which was an okay preparation, but again absolutely nothing special. Another of my party continued with the Three Cheese Ravioli as her main course. These were a little stiffer even than “al dente”, and their sauce was thoroughly unremarkable. I had the grilled veal, and what a strange choice of a cut of veal to grill !! It wasn’t a a chop (of course it wasn’t billed as one), but some pieces of what seemed to be scallopine meat that shouldn’t have been cooked that way at all. They were slightly pink inside, sort of tough, and tasted slightly livery, like undercooked veal tastes. The roasted tomato risotto that they were over was both undercooked (crunchy) and lukewarm at the same time. This was a meal prepared with absolutely no regard as to how it was going to taste, or whether it would be enjoyed, and the pace at which we were rushed through out dinner was just disgraceful. And at no point in the meal were the servers ever what could be called friendly, helpful, cordial, or caring. I’m just mystified by the postings here, actually. Admittedly this is not Montclair, but still, such places as Epernay and Fascino have raised the bar for New Jersey dining with their consistently superb food, cooking with obvious love and care and attention to detail, and in both these places the staff members treat the customers like visiting royalty. I’ve been to all three places (Epernay, Fascino, and Rocca) within the last two weeks. The first two deliver culinary excellence, judged even by the strictest standards. What we got at Rocca was rushed, hateful service, and mediocre food, much of which had obviously been pre-cooked and not even fully reheated, by a chef who very clearly didn't care. I don’t get it.

The other night we went to La Reggia Bistro in Rutherford, having been there once before. On our first visit the food was just okay, with the fried dishes (stuffed zucchini blossoms) having an off taste of old frying oil; but the Rigatoni all’Amatriciana were pretty good, and we had a definite craving for this dish. So, it being fairly close and convenient, we decided to give the place another chance. We started with a special appetizer, which was thoroughly mediocre – mostly very unripe figs and a not very good prosciutto, with a cheese billed as “Taleggio” which was hard and tasted like a supermarket variety. Still, considering the kind of neighborhood place this is and the gentle prices, we were okay with this. The Amatriciana however, was nothing like it had been the previous time. It had no flavor of pancetta at all, and tasted like pasta tossed with canned plum tomatoes, not very interesting at all, and certainly nothing that would satisfy the craving for Amatriciana. So we called over our waiter and mentioned this. He insisted that the dish is not made with pancetta. We just stared at him, so he angrily went for a menu to prove us wrong, and to his amazement, pancetta was listed in the description of the dish, at which point he threw up his hands and said “Hey guys, I just work here. We need the manager for this.” Then he stood over us with his arms folded for several minutes until he could catch the eye of the manager, who was walking around the restaurant singing Italian songs along with the band. When the manager did come and we explained the problem, he said “so, you wanted extra pancetta?” And we explained that as far as we both could taste, the dish had none – that it tasted of only tomato, with no pancetta flavor, no visible pancetta. We explained nicely that we had come to the restaurant because we had liked the balance of flavors in the dish last time and hoped to enjoy it again. He refused to hear this, and replied once more, “so, you wanted extra pancetta?” Again we could only stare at him, at which point he took the dish away nastily and said that they would remake it. At that point I moved onto the main course, Chicken and Shrimp Francese, a dish that in the right hands can actually have some charm, although this is usually more the case when it is made with veal instead of chicken. Reggia’s rendition is a standard small piece of chicken breast in a plate of thick, lemony gravy. Atop the chicken were three shrimp that were breaded and which tasted like they had been deep fried again in the oldest, most rancid frying oil. Eventually the remade pasta came out, and the plate was hotter than could possibly be imagined. Simultaneously, when we could cool a little of it, we both spit out our first mouthfuls. It was rancid. Of course I wasn’t in the kitchen to see what they had done with it, but it tasted like they took some pancetta, deep fried it in the vile oil, and then added it to the original pasta and reheated the whole thing until the tomatoes turned bitter as well. Well, perhaps they did even worse for spite. It was horribly inedible. We paid the bill and as we were leaving, I mentioned to the manager that the completely uneaten dish was horrible. His reply was “There’s something wrong with your mouth! You don’t know what you’re eating! That pasta comes from Italy !!! We made that twice for you, and I tasted it, and it was delicious. You don’t know what you’re eating.” (I had to chuckle, because ironically, when it comes to food, I do very much know what I'm eating.) And I thought to myself, “my, how gracious a restaurant manager can you be!” That we had a lousy meal would have been okay with us considering that this is a neighborhood place with gentle prices and little pretension – it was our own fault for giving it a second try, and the lesson learned would have been not to return again. But this was an astounding turn. I don’t know which left the more vile and disgusting taste in our mouths – the mediocre food, or the restaurant’s attitude.

Whenever, and I mean absolutely whenever - I put a bottle of wine in the freezer to chill, or a pot of liquid on the stove to boil, and leave the kitchen... I set the oven timer! I have a digital timer thankfully with a beep that would wake the dead, and it saves my wine (and my kitchen) on an almost daily basis! Straining the stock down the sink... wonderful !!! I'm jealous.

I was on the island of Capri, in Italy, eating at a small restaurant whose chef had previously been the head chef at the island's largest and most elegant hotel before he branched out on his own in a very small, very simple place. I knew him to be a wonderful, classically trained chef, and also an instructor at the island's culinary and hotel school. Still, it seemed like tourists would wander in not knowing who he was, and would just be amazed to find any touches of civilization. One night when dinner ended the kitchen crew was scrubbing down the open kitchen as some of the diners were leaving. One woman stared with wonder at the kitchen activity, and said to her husband in a very nasal, astounded voice, "Look, Morton, he's actually cleaning his grill!" After she left, the chef, who understood more than enough English to comprehend what had happened, asked me, "What do they think, that we're barbarians?" To which I replied, "Obviously, yet they're willing to take their lives in their hands and eat your food."

No, no long lunches at all. Lucky if I can pick a sanwich or something - we eat some very large dinners! A sample of the dinners we eat, now that I think of it, at restaurants which hold the Michelin Bib Gourmand but not yet any stars in the Alsace region, can be found here - these are rather stustantial places with superb food, and at least in Alsace there are a good number of them that offer seaparate no-smoking dining rooms. [Four of them are Bib-Gourmand restaurants, and actually one of them is a two-star.] Of course, this takes a lot of time to learn by faxing and calling and this is the time to start. Supberb restaurants in Alsace with no-smoking rooms But in any event, I have no hope of more than a nibble for lunch. So if anybody has any restaurants to suggest for the food - be it "starred", "bibbed" or otherwise restaurants where you've had a great meal in Lyon and the surronding areas, I'd love to know about it. Thanks again.

Can anybody recommend any restaurants in or near Lyon? I'm interested in opinions on all grades of restaurants, from the starred establishments to the local places. (I'll be there for 10 days - 2 weeks, and will want to hit an assortment of places; most interesting to me are firsthand reports on those places to whom the Michelin Guide gives its Bib Gourmand - that type of place.) I'm especially in need of finding restaurants that offer genuinely separate non-smoking dining rooms, but I'm willing to call or fax over to any place that's recommended for the food and ask about this, but if anybody knows of any with this arrangement, please do post! I'll be there for Christmas 2004. Thanks.

I did indeed write to a French friend who also speaks fluent English and who is heavily into food - I posed the question of an expression that would cover the description of spare ribs (or any meat with a bone) cooked to such a degree of tendernesss that when you tapped it against the plate, the meat fell right off. I reminded him that we'd use the expression "falling off the bone" and asked if the French had any idiom for describing meat that tender, with or without reference to falling off a bone or eating with a spoon... and he answered me.... "très tendre" Sorry if this isn't the answer you were looking for.

As I don't see any specific replies (I don't have any either), I can share with you some good starting points and methods of finding such places - at least, these are methods I use for other regions of France that I don't know. First, do not discout the Michelin guide ever since the new "Bib Gourmand" symbol. These are restaurants below the star quality which serve "great value" meals, but having eaten in dozens of them, I can tell you that the food is almost star-quality (it seems to me that these may be restaurants being watched or considered for their first star) and the prices are not. The're always family run places with great food. Still, they may be just at the top edge of what you're looking for, but it's a good start. I would compare these place with what you find in the Gault-Millau guide. Generally, the places that get a Bib Gourmand tend to get a 13 or 12 in the G-M. My years of experience dining around France have taught me that a 12 rating is exactly the kind of place that you're looking for - and 12 will represent great, hearty, local eating, if not a fancy setting at all. The third book that helps put these places in perspective is the Pudlo guide, and I assume that you speak French. As you compare the restaurants in this range from the three books (you'll see that Pudlo has his own system) I think you'll be able to get a feel of the recommended restaraunts in the style you are looking for. Both the Pudo and the Gault Millau are available from a wonderful source in France called Alapage.com - I order from them all the time, and books arrive to the US in a matter of 5 days, usually without the express shipping. And as I say, with these three guides, I can usually triangulate exactly the kind of non-star place that I want. Bear in mind that the places with the Michelin Bib Gourmand will probably be the top-end of the local places. You'll want to search for "Pudlo France" and then "Gault-Millau". You'll find the 2004 editions of both at http://www.alapage.fr

I've eaten here three or four times in the past month, and have had only overwhelmingly positive experiences. The mussels and the famous Thursday Cote de Boeuf are every bit as fabulous as the many postings here describe, and in fact such other offerings as the Friday Poussin and the Saturday duck confit are equally sublime. It's pretty clear that the chef cooks with a very sure hand and pulls off perfect executions every time - and he has just a wonderful sense of French eating - dishes are rich, and bold, and thoroughly satifsfying each time. I've found no mis-steps, and no badly conceived dishes whatsoever. And he and his wife Courtnay have a most winning attitude towards their customers and their line of work - it shows not only in what he sends forth from the kitchen, but in the warm, welcoming, and caring attitude of everybody who works there. It's just a very winning combination all around.

Well, I really wouldn't go that far! I went here right after reading this post, and found the Amatriciana (which I've eaten countless times while summering in Italy) quite good. Mine was sauce-like, and bright red with no visible chunk of tomato whatsoever, and its very unlikely that it was made with fresh tomato - nor do I think it's supposed to be. Great quality canned tomato would be perfectly acceptable in this dish, as the tomato gets cooked anyway. Still, it was extrememly good, for sure. It was a little sweet, and I suspected the addition of sugar, but the rigatoni were cooked to a state of al-dente rarely found in the US, and it was most enjoyable. Of course, the ultimate pasta all'Amatriciana (as well as the ultimate just-about-anything Italian) is found at Lupa, in New York City! If the author of the first post has not sampled it here during his ten-year quest, I urge him to. As for the rest of La Reggia's food, the oil in which things had been fried was really on the old side and gave those dishes an unpleasant, burned flavor, and most of the dishes that were in a sauce or gravy paid a too-close nod to diner food. Still, the prices are reasonable, the people are nice, and the Amatriciana was as described, quite good.

I don't know... yet. Having been burned too many times (way too many) by using expressions in such books as "101 French Idioms" - using French expressions in conversation in French that I learned from such books and having French people stare blankly at me and basically ask "what the devil are you talking about?" - I've learned that they're useless because theyre basically making them up. What I have learned is that the books you buy in France for French people to translate their own expressions and idioms into English equivalents are good because they're actually starting with actual French expressions. But, they're never indexed in such a way that you can find the English outcome. I looked for a while in the likely places and found nothing. However, I've e-mailed some culinary friends in France, and if and when I get an answer, I'll post it!

Madelleine Kamman's wonderful book "When French Women Cook" has a recipe for Leek Toast (Roties au Blanc de Poireaux) that's just out of this world, on p. 45 I don't know the legalities of posting published recipies on eGullet (I hope someone will tell me) but if you can't find it elsewhere, you basically sautee the leeks, sliced, in butter for a while, and in another pan you crisp some bacon chunks. When the leeks are cooked you add the bacon, then some cream to reduce for a while, then some goat cheese, then you spread the whole mix on top of toast slices; I use big slices from a coarse country loaf. It's a wonderful dish!

Are people going today? What time(s) will the various eGulleteers be there?

No, of course you're not supposed to memorize them. But you have to get in the spirit of the place and realize the need for the board, and why it should take precedence for you over the large, printed menu, in the same way that you're always wiser to order from any restaurant's list of daily specials. Of course, this board is so large and daunting that it could be asked why they don't bring it table side. Still, this is not the kind of place where you stand on ceremony - this is the kind of place where you go to pig-out on sumptuous foods. So what happens is that most people stand around the board with Cecil or Paul and go through the items one by one, and have a discussion, which usually ends in an order being composed and written down. Another thing you can do is take home a copy of the menu (the take-out one is identical to the printed one) and study which are the Shanghai dishes. Then with that knowledge, you'll realize the next time that a number of those are appearing on the board [as if to say they're especially good that night], and Cecil will help you plan a feast. Don't let this sound like a lot of work. Think of it as an adventure, the kind most diners wish they could have. Lots of diners pay a fortune to go off to far away lands to try to have this kind of adventure, and this one you can have right here in New Jersey. So be grateful for the confusion and use it to your advantage - discuss with Cecil as if you're in a foreign country and are not shy, and want the best meal you can get in this "strange new and wonderful place". Look at what other people are eating, don't be afraid to point and ask, and don't feel rushed to order a few things from the printed menu when you get there. Well, I think it's the case more or less that each of the regulars whose posts go on and on about how wonderful this place is and who post photos of all the treasures have taken an attitude similar to this, and you're welcome to join in the fun. It's not your mother's chinese restaurant, that's for sure. (And these are NOT all my photos either, for sure. Many thanks to Jason for allowing me to inverweave his photos into this story!)

Yes - try all of the things shown at this link The big board of specials by the door should also be your guide. When in doubt, consult with the wonderful owner, Cecil.