fatcatbrew

I always see the Elm Street Grill in Oakland advertised in the local papers. I see that they have a Martini night on Thursdays and live entertainment on the weekends. Has anyone been there recently and/or tried their burgers?

I just saw an advertisement for a new restaurant: "Coming Soon" Oceano's Oyster Bar and Sea Grill 2-27 Saddle River Road Fair Lawn NJ Does anyone have any information on this restaurant?

Another great BYO restaurant in Ridgewood is The Village Green on Prospect Street.

What area of Bergen County do you want to dine in?

I thought all of the food was very good. Haricot verts with frisee, cucumbers and lime vinaigrette with fresh herbs and a drizzle 1st cold press olive oil from Sicily Sweet pumpkin ravioli with butternut squash and crushed amaretti cookies ***Herb-crusted eggplant tower with tomato fondue and eggplant caviar The above items were my three favorites. And, I don't really like eggplant - I guess I can't say that anymore. In response to Richl2214: In my opinion, the menu items were priced fairly and that the wine list was reasonably priced and diverse. An observation I had was that the restaurant could use a litttle bit more ambiance - possibly some dimmer lighting, music, perhaps better window treatments to hide being on a busy road. All in all a nice dining experience.

There has been a very recent change in management including the departure of the head chef. Has anyone been there with the new team in place?

My husband and I dined at Ginger and Spice last evening. The food and service were quite good. The place was packed on a Monday night. You could tell they were recovering from a CRAZY weekend. Apparently, They were notified on Thursday evening that their review would be in the following day's newspaper; however, they were not advised at that time of the review rating they had received. Based on my conversation with the owner, Vincent, the review was based on dining experiences after the Executive Chef, Doron Wong, left Ginger & Spice. I get the impression that they were totally overwhelmed by the reaction to the great review they received - they had lines out the door - no reaction time to order food or prepare staff for the enormous amount of diners that arrived based on the review. Going forward, I am confident that they will be able to continue to be creative and handle their popularity.

The Stonehedge Inn for dining was quite good. They have quite an impressive wine list. We requested a tour of the wine cave but they were unable to accommodate us. Why, I have no idea as the place was practically empty and we were staying there a few days.... I would recommend dining here, but not the overnight accommodations. The rooms are old and in need of some serious tlc. However, old and dated I can handle.... What I had trouble with is the uncleanliness of the rooms. Even the spa could use a little help in that department. Another nice dining experience was Michael Timothy's in Nashua. Wonderful martinis - fun and innovative menu - friendly service staff. Thanks for all the recommendations.

I can do outlet shopping or mall shopping any time - don't need to do it on vacation. However, I like to browse small boutiques that have unique merchandise. My husband and I enjoy hiking, mansion tours, horseback riding, wineries, scenic drives, - We'll be going in to Boston on another trip - Thanks for all your suggestions.

How dissapointing Can you be more specific about the changes? Did the hotel change as well?

You all have been very helpful - Thank you. I will be staying at Stonehedge Inn and dining at Silks on at least one evening. I hope to try those other restaurant recommendations as well. What would you recommend in the area to do during the day (unfortunately I can't spa all day long..... )

Thank you so much! I will definately be going to Silks at The Stonehedge Inn. Has anyone stayed at The Stonehedge Inn. I am contemplating staying there as well. Also is the You You Bistro high end dining or casual?

I will be travelling to the Tyngsboro, Mass area in a few weeks and am looking for dining suggestions. Any ideas for higher-end dining?

Here is my suggestion for high-end dining: http://www.spicedpear.com/ = Amazing views above cliff walk and first beach and the ocean. The restaurant has wonderful food, tasting menus, and wine pairings Another suggestion, though not as fancy as above is a little place called "Yesterday's The Place." Yesterday's itself is a good bar and grill type place, but a seperate side room is called "The Place". They have very eclectic menu choices and have a wonderful wine and beer selection - and I believe they offer flights of each. One place my husband and I enjoy visiting is a winery in the area called Sakonnet. It is about a 20-minute lovely drive from Newport http://www.sakonnetwine.com/ Newport will be quite busy so this may be a nice diversion. Have a great trip - Newport is a great town!

Wow, are personal insults necessary. I will rise above it though, and allow that in itself to state my "style".

Everyone has their own preferences and tastes, and that is what makes us individual. I am glad you had a perfection experience at Varka, but my experience was well below that. My reference to food being redundant referred to fish, potatoes, and vegetables all seasoned exactly the same way.... They may just have well been mixed all together. A friend's shellfish was inedible. The octopus was the consistency of an eraser. Are you sure you aren't the owner of Varka? You seem to be taking this all too personally...

I would be willing to give Varka another try after they have worked out all of their kinks. I do not have anything against "uncomplicated" food. However, I do have a problem when food is undercooked, overcooked, incomplete, and/or redundant.

I frequently shop at the Market Basket and have never been dissapointed. However, I must admit that I don't purchase from the deli counter so I cannot comment on quality, price, or uniqueness of those products. The fish, meat, cheese, bakery, and produce departments have high-quality, fresh products. Staff is always courteous and eager to help.

I would suggest tuna and yellowtail as a good introduction to raw fish. I frequent Flirt Sushi Lounge in Allendale, and they have a great selection of interesting, unusual rolls (their menu lists the ingredients of the rolls) http://www.flirtsushi.com/index2.html

How can I change the name of this topic to Varka? Went to Varka last night in Ramsey. Unfortunately, the food wasn't very good. It was their second night open and they had already run out of some of their varieties of fish, which they are supposed to specialize in. The decor is nice and quite an improvement over the previous tenant. Seafood was not cooked correctly and overly seasoned with sea salt and butter. No one in our party really enjoyed their food. The owners also own Roxanne's in Mahwah located in the old Nobody's Inn location.

Thanks Rosie - sorry about the incorrect name. A friend just told me that the name, Varka, means small fishing boat and that the restaurant has a Greek menu, mostly fish with a South City Grill atmosphere and pricing. I may check it out this week.

Drove through Ramsey yesterday and noticed that the Spruce Street Grill is no longer. Also noticed a new restaurant preparing to open... Odd name... Varnatu or something like that. Does anyone know anything about this opening?

In addition to the menu not making sense, the food is not good.

I thought the lobster was delicious. Sweet and buttery, with a hint of tarragon. The kimchee icecream was brought out for us to try after the waiter described a method that the kitchen used to make icecream out of anything. Apparantly they used this method to make the walnut topping for the roasted carrot soup which we thought was out of this world and I don't even care for cooked carrots. So to show us how playful the chef could be, out came the kimchee ice cream for us to try - just a small dollop for each of us. My husband and I giggled and groaned amongst ourselves as neither of us cared for it. I agree - the inn is very serious about their food. And their wine. I can understand you feeling fortunate. Living 30 minutes from Manhatten, I take for granted that I have many amazing restaurants to dine at only a short distance away from home. When traveling to the Adirondacks, the good restaurants are certainly fewer and farther between then where I live... Due to your great recommmendations over the last year, i.e. Springwater Bistro, Chez Sophie, and The Inn at Erlowest, I have had great dining experiences while traveling to go hiking and cross country skiing. Thank you very much. The Inn at Erlowest will definately be one of the highlights of my 2005 dining experiences.

Sorry for the delay - just got back to a computer today. My husband and I dined at The Inn at Erlowest on Sunday evening. We arrived early and were able to tour the inn's accommodations. The Inn itself is absolutely beautiful and has wonderful architectural details. Unfortunately the dining room windows overlook the parking area and not the view of Lake George. We did not indulge in the aphrodisiac menu as we wined and dined way too much with a group at Friends Lake Inn. My husband and I were given different amuses - mine was black pepper ice cream with minced strawberries drizzled with 50-year old aged balsamic. It was delicious and certainly awakened my taste buds. I had seared diver scallops for an app and my husband had roasted carrot soup which was amazing. Seared turbot and lobster for our main courses. Perfectly timed and our waiter was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in pairing the perfect wine with each course. We also tried the goose barnacles. And kimchee ice cream (which was an experience that I could have skipped) However it added humor to the evening. We were warned that the Inn was pretentious, and I must disagree. We were treated very nicely by everyone. Even the chef came out to meet with us and introduce himself at the end of the evening.