Curlz

In my case, I definitely know who amongst my crew can appreciate good food/wine when I give it to them/cook it/thrust it upon them. Trust me. There are a few who just LOVE to go to their favorite restaurants at least once a week--that is, T.G.I. Fridays. Or Applebee's. Some of them definitely cross over, but this is why I also have food friends. ETA: Please share your Nutter Butters.

BUMP. Can't believe that nobody has posted on this thread since last year! I'm looking forward to some latkes tonight...Happy Happy to all who are celebrating! Curlz

I do now. Is there an entrance to Nemo's from the parking lot or do I need to enter from the street? ← Not sure; I know that some of the other stores have entrances from the lot--worth a call to ask.

FYI, the recipe is called Caramel Popcorn, and it is in RecipeGullet, right here! Thanks for alerting us to this one, Linda--sounds great!

Do you know that there's a big parking lot behind that strip of stores? Go in off of Eagle Rock Avenue.

Yeah, I thought I'd seen you at the meetings, Lapin!

Interesting, but I guess I'm not surprised. I've been there 3-4 times now, and I have seen that happen once, but it was between the two young women working the counter. They were so busy joking around that my mom turned to me (we were sitting down at a table waiting to order food) and said "Um, this is a COFFEE house, right? You'd think the first thing she would do is bring me that cup of coffee I ordered." Then again, the owner was there when I was there on Fri night and the place was packed. That night, they seemed to be really efficient behind the counter and on the floor; I was facing the espresso/cappucino machine--the guy working it was a machine himself! I guess it's the difference between the corporate environment and a local, independently-owned store. Still, you should be able to walk in and get a coffee to go without it taking more than a few minutes. Tkrongold, I hope that you'll try it again, esp since they're in your town! Worth a second try, imo.

Hadn't heard that, but I'm not surprised, since the NYT picked up on the billboard as well. I really get the feeling that they have a pretty big group of regulars already but if this is bringing more people in, good for them!

OMG, this is SO timely! Just last night I was out to dinner with a group of friends (7 of us total); the place is BYO, and one of the friends and I have a case of wine that we've purchased together, but she stores b/c she has a wine fridge. She brought 2 of 'our' bottles, and 3 others were also plunked down. Two of those 3 are well known to me, and I happen to like them--but they're not of the same calibre as 'our' wine. We had one bottle of ours, and one of the others was already opened, so when it came time to open bottle #3, I suggested that we stick with the varietal of bottle #2, which we did. Bottle #4 ended up being the moscato that I brought for dessert, and my pal took home the other bottle of 'our' wine. Today she and I spoke, and I admitted that once I realized that the rest of the crew didn't care/had no clue about what they were drinking, all I could think was, "Let's not waste that on them!" Unkind? Perhaps. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do-and it's not like we didn't have other decent wine to drink!

Wait...you're supposed to organize them?!?

The Fine Grind is very quickly becoming my favorite area coffee house...last night I stopped in with a friend after another terrific meal at Chengdu 1. Why? Because after all of that spice/heat, I actually crave dessert (a rarity)! The place was packed. Really packed. Full to capacity and then some; we were the first pair waiting for a table, but others came in shortly after we did, and were told that they should either come back in 20+ minutes, or perhaps take something to go (I should note that I loved the way the staff handled the customers who couldn't stay--they were friendly, professional, and just basically kind). I had (very good) decaf, my friend had a vanilla coffee w/whipped cream, and we each ordered stuffed cupcakes from the lengthy list of flavors (I'd say there are at least 2 dozen options). Sadly, the only flavors available were the 2-3 listed on the specials board; they get a rotation of flavors from their supplier, which turns out to be...drumroll, please...The Petite Cafe in Nutley! From what I can see, all of the food that they sell at TFG is brought in from outside purveyors, and they've found some excellent suppliers, imo! There is a full description in the printed menu about how the owner stumbled upon The Petite Cafe and their cupcakes, and that's how they came to sell them. I ordered A Clockwork Orange, which was an orange cake filled w/orange and cream mousse and vanilla icing; he had a Butterscotch Kiss, a vanilla cupcake with butterscotch mousse and vanilla icing. We each allowed the other to take a bite, and agreed that the flavors were strong (in a VERY good way), and neither the cake nor the icing was too sweet (a peeve of mine-not a sugar freak, sorry!). My only complaint is that the cupcakes are kept in the fridge there, so they're served way too cold! I actually put my plate on top of the (ginormous) coffee mug so I could warm it up a bit. BUT. These were some seriously delicious cupcakes. And I rarely rave about desserts. My pal took home a Boston Cream cupcake "for his son," so the bill for 3 cupcakes, 1 reg coffee and 1 'specialty' coffee came to just under $11. Most of the cupcakes are $2 each; larger ones are $2.75, iirc. VERY reasonable, imo! If you don't like crowded small(ish) spaces, I'd suggest you try The Fine Grind on a weeknight first, or at lunchtime. But DO try it.

Despite wondering if the person who posted above about cupcakes from The Petite Cafe has a connection to the place, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I had one of those cupcakes and a taste of another at my new favorite coffee house, The Fine Grind, and it was wonderful. REALLY wonderful. Click on that link for details.

The Bergen Record has this article about Smitty's...

The Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is looking for a Managing Director for Operations and Finance...

Just read this on Tom Sietsema's weekly live chat on the Wash Post site: Funny story: A couple years ago, I was lunching alone at Seasons here in town. A manager asked if I wanted a newspaper or magazine, but I declined. He pressed on in an attempt to please me: "Would you like a laptop?" How's that for timely?!?

Are you talking about Tomo's?

Imo, it's worth it to catch the rerun just for the last 20 minutes or so--then you can see Symon's take on 'turducken'--a deconstructed stuffing topped with a poached duck egg, a puree of chicken livers, and turkey cracklings! He had me at the duck egg.

No clue--it's very new, but everything I've read so far says it's worth the trip! I definitely want to go the next time I'm in that neighborhood.

From Andrea Strong's weekly email: ilili ...Ilili comes to us from chef-owner Phillipe Massoud, who’s family owned the Coral Beach Hotel in Beirut when he was growing up, and who honed his skills at Chez Josephine as GM and his chef skills at Burj al Hamam in Lebanon, Noura and Diwan in Paris, the Don Carolos Hotel in Marbella, Spain, and most recently at Neyla in Washington, DC. (Random trivia—he is cousins with Kareem, Ursula and Charlie Massoud, the owners of Paumanok Vineyards, one of my favorites out in the North Fork.) Anyway, for ilili, which means “tell me” in colloquial Lebanese, Phillipe’s vision was to bring a bit of Old Lebanon to New York City with a menu of both traditional and modern plates. You’ll find the familiar—hummus ($8), tabbouleh ($10), baba gannouj ($9), lahmajeen—Lebanese “pizza” served on pita and topped with chopped lamb, tomato and onion ($8), falafel flecked with green fava beans ($10), and Chicken shish ($18), alongside grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato and pickled mackerel ($12), duck schwarma with pomegranate molasses, figs and green onion ($15), lamb ($26) and Waygu beef kebab ($82, yes), charcoal roasted lamb chops with cardamom, piquillo peppers and garlic ($26), and whole branzino with leeks coucous and desert truffles ($36). To match up with the menu, the wine list calls on favorites from Lebanon and the Mediterranean. ilili is located at 236 5th Avenue, between 27th and 28th Streets, 212-683-2929, ililinyc.com. And thanks to Emily G, I knew what I was reading about!

Is Victoria's Cafe on Queen Anne Rd in Teaneck still open? Is it within reach for you? I (obviously?) haven't been there in a few years, but used to go with an ex-bf and loved the atmosphere there. Tons of teas/coffees/desserts to choose from...

Sweet Avenue is profiled in today's NJ section of the Times. I believe you on all of the above, but have to say that the cupcakes I've had from there were very moist. I do agree on the size factor, though I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing! Again, this is coming from a non-sweet freak. I'm curious to hear the report from Rooftop's daughter later this week, esp knowing that they have had the catering/mail order business in place for a while.

Nope...you're thinking of Venue, which closed over a year ago. Different chef.

Not yet, but I just pulled their menu/coupons from a local mailing. Iirc, this place opened and something like a week later, had a fire. Glad to hear they're up and running; it would be nice to have good Q nearby!

A recent post on Baristanet pushed me to finally get over to The Fine Grind, a place I've had on my list for at least a year b/c they often have live music. While Little Falls may not be a culinary mecca (or maybe it is? Tell us!), I thought this place was charming, the coffee delicious, and prices more than reasonable enough to deserve a post. Their baked goods range from biscotti to shortbread to muffins, and their substantial menu also included a long list of cupcakes (stuffed and otherwise). We shared a huge and delicious eggplant/mozz/arugula/red pepper panini; they also offer wraps and soups. From what I can tell all of their food is brought in from outside purveyors, but the panini is pressed on site in a panini grill, and the pumpkin muffin I had was also terrific. Imo, places like this are worth the side trip, most esp if they're running a billboard campaign across the street from StarBUCKS. Easy to get to off of Rts 23 or 46, and hey--you can hit Maria's Ravioli after you get your caffeine fix! Nice spot to grab coffee/dessert, too. The Fine Grind 480 Main Street Little Falls web site Hours Monday - Thursday • 7am - 10pm Friday • 7am - midnight Saturday • 8am - midnight Sunday • 8am - 8pm

Not surprised to hear it was expensive! As for the attitude, I've heard about it from a lot of people (on and off of eG); everything from the owners (hus and wife?) arguing at full volume to general rudeness to customers. I can honestly say that I've not encountered that, but too many others have mentioned it for me to doubt that it happens a lot. For me, Gina's is all about great bread, brioche, and those jalopeno/corn muffins.