Curlz

Just saw this on Table Hopping with Rosie... Blu, 554 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, will be closed for vacation July 31 to August 13. Reopening August 14. For reservations call 973-509-2202; BYO.

AHD was named the critic's pick for best hot dogs in NJ in the new issue of New Jersey Monthly. Congrats, guys!

307 Ridge Road Lyndhurst 201-728-9542 www.sultangyro.com Not that I have the menu, or anything...

Take Bloomfield Avenue through Montclair, and after you cross over Prospect Ave/Rt. 23, you'll see an Acura dealer on your right. AHD is the immediate right after the Acura parking lot--in a small strip of about 6 stores.

Adega Grill has a parking lot 1/2 a block away (on Madison, iirc)--you come down Ferry St about 4 blocks from Penn Station, pass Adega on the left, and take the next right to come around, as Madison is one way, so you can't turn right off of Ferry. That's the same lot shared by Seabra's Marisqueira, which is a wonderful (and perhaps more 'authentic' Ironbound) spot as well! Casa Vasca is another personal favorite, and their lot is less than 1/2 a block away from the restaurant. There are threads on each here on the NJ board...and/or there are a few others that are general. Search Ironbound and I'm sure they'll come up!

Any relation to Tomo's in Little Falls? That one is very good...

A post on another thread here on the NJ board reminded me that I haven't posted about my recent dinner at TF. For those who have already heard this story, my apologies...for those who haven't, well, I'd be curious to hear your opinions. I went to TF for dinner a few Sunday evenings ago; arrived just before 6, and was a bit surprised to find only one table occupied inside, and a completely empty patio, which is where we chose to sit (it was a gorgeous day). I do realize that on a Sunday night in July, lots of folks prefer to end their weekends on their own decks or are still at the beach, but it was a bit disheartening to see so few customers. The two of us ordered the salad special to share, and we each ordered a pizza; for me, it was the Milanese, which has eggplant and fresh ricotta on it. My friend got the Margherita (for those who don't know, a Margherita has very little on it--tomatoes, fresh mozz, and basil). The salad was very tasty--wild arugula and endive w/a corn and pancetta dressing (a full side dish, actually). Then the pizzas arrived, and my friend sat staring at hers...there was NO basil on it. None. We were both a bit surprised, since there are only about 4 ingredients in the whole thing (and she's a basil freak to boot)! When we asked our waiter about it, he went back to "ask the chef" and came back to report that they were out of basil. We both found this truly surprising...a contemporary Italian restaurant is OUT of basil in July? Her comment was that the next time she'd bring her own, as she has a ton of it in her garden. We ate, it was good, but that was one very odd experience as far as we were concerned! I hear rumor that one of the chefs has left...anyone know anything more? I can't say that the food was bad because of it, but we also just had a salad and a couple of pizzas...I'm just curious. Oh, and by the time we were heading out, at least half of the patio tables were occupied.

Montclair's parking situation isn't much better than Ridgewood's, and yet somehow, we always manage to find spots. It certainly hasn't deterred me or my (not-so-into-food) friends from travelling 20-25 mins to hit A Mano every month or so, and that's usually on a weekend. Then again, (downtown) Morristown has parking garages, municipal lots, meters and free street parking a block off of the main streets, but has manage to remain far less popular as a 'destination' as the aforementioned towns. Now that I think about it, there are more similarities between Morristown and Montclair (i.e. the majority of places roll up the sidewalks by 10pm in both towns, and both have diverse residential populations) than there are with a downtown like Ridgewood or Summit or Madison. It makes me wonder (to ELA's point) what (if anything) the towns do differently in terms of trying to attract chefs/restaurateurs.

MJP, I'm assuming that this is the place mentioned in today's NYT Dining Section? It was the Quick Bite column...Alloush Fresh Juice at 127 Crooks Ave in Paterson.

I'd love to see the folks from David Drake chime in here...they have successfully opened an upscale restaurant in Rahway, after all! Talk about a town with NO reputation for food prior to their arrival! I'm sure that they must have had some incentive to build/open there. Speaking as someone who lives in a heavily food-challenged town (pizza, Italian, pizza, mediocre takeout Chinese, Italian, pizza, mediocre takeout Chinese, pizza, and, oh, wait...is that another pizza place opening?), there are a combo of reasons that I travel to towns like Ridgewood and Montclair on a regular basis: 1) centralized meeting point for friends who live in different areas (even if it is a 20-30 min ride) 2) plenty of options in those towns so we can change our minds if we get there and realize we're in the mood for something else and/or want to get drinks or dessert somewhere separate from where we eat 3) parking (even if we have to circle a few times, we do find it--free) 4) places to walk around before/after dinner where we feel safe 5) overall 'charm' of the town--where I live, you can walk around before/after a meal, and look at nail salons, old (and in need of closing) mom 'n pop stores, pharmacies, etc. Not so appealing. The one thing I can think of that a town can do to at least start to make a retail area look more appealing is to fix sidewalks, curbs, and building facades where possible. There is an overall look that every town has, esp to someone driving through for the first time. I can honestly say that there has been some of this going on where I live, and although the facades still cover all of those damn pizza places, the general impression is much better than it was 3-5 years ago. My $.02. Curlz

That depends, Tommy...are YOU my new boss or co-worker?!?

MJP probably should have started this topic, but having just read Larryc's blog post about the Munchmobile's Middle Eastern trip, and knowing it's going to be in tomorrow's paper, here's where you can report in if you go to Sultan. Meanwhile, I may need to get lunch or dinner there today. Thanks for the tip, guys!

We did end up going by Pane ed Acqua late in the day yesterday; no surprise, the place had been slammed because of the tv piece, as well as an article that recently appeared (not sure which paper it was in). For those who go, it's on Van Houten between Grove and Broad Streets, but very close to Broad, and there is a navy blue awning that says Village Baker on it; the PeA logo is on the front window. I picked up a sweet basil cupcake, and my friend had the triple chocolate, which had ganache instead of frosting (a VERY good thing in her book). We each agreed that the cupcakes were delicious, and I, the non-chocolate freak, loved the chocolate one even more than my own b/c it wasn't overly sweet. I didn't think that the sweet basil one was too sweet either--it was just different. Light, with basil throughout the cake as well as on top of the not-too-sweet frosting. I'm not a baker by any stretch, but I think she must put the basil in simple syrup and let it dry before sprinkling it on top, as it had a bit of a sheen and a light 'crunch' to it. Good stuff, esp for someone who tends to prefer savory anything over sweets! I will definitely get back to try some of the other flavors, as they were out of many of them. Here are a few flavors that I remember seeing: Orange (cake) w/choc ganache, Honey Lemon, Skittles (gotta have something for the kids, right?), blueberry, Mexican chocolate, the aforementioned triple chocolate and sweet basil, and...maybe oatmeal raisin? And...I think that's where my brain shuts down. Prices are crazy reasonable, imo-$1.25 each. They also had an equally large selection of different flavors of biscotti, and numerous breads available. Definitely worth a try if dessert is on your mind (or not)!

Just saw a piece about this place on the Ch. 7 news; the owner does catering but also has a retail space in Clifton, where she sells 20 kinds of cupcakes, some with interesting (to me, at least!) flavors. Like Olive Oil and Rosemary. That's ONE flavor, not two. I'm swooning just thinking about it! I'll likely get there this weekend, as cupcake-obsessed friend is freaking out at the idea of something so good being so close. Anyone ever been? Pane ed Acqua site

Congratulations! Hopefully you won't keep the address a secret from us for too long...I already have a friend chomping to know exactly where and when she can try your cupcakes.

Your web site doesn't list a location; is it that b/c you're still searching for one, or are you waiting for the paperwork to be finalized before you make it public?

For the full list of cast and most of the credits (only one person listed under Thanks), click here for the IMDB page. IMDB is great for just this sort of info!

You can bet on it, as it's in Rutherford (a dry town)!

I took my niece (5.75--and don't call her 5.5 any more!) to see this yesterday, and concur with much of what has already been said. I was just glad to have a kid to take along--next time, maybe I'll take a chef! As for Remy not tasting, he did in fact try all the dishes in the final cooking scene--right from the ladles. And since all of the rats who were cooking had gone through the dishwasher, I was just fine with that! heehee Definitely worth seeing, esp for folks on these and other food blogs.

Since I had no clue as to what either of these were, I looked them up--is this what you're talking about? This from Practically Edible Genoa Bread (aka "pain de Gênes" in French) is a cake with almonds. Almost half its weight is butter and almonds. The yellow batter is made with butter, eggs and almond paste. The egg whites are whipped for leavening (some versions don't bother beating the egg white.) Often a small amount of flavouring from an alcohol such as kirsch is added. The top may have sliced almonds pressed into it, and can sometimes be found dusted with icing sugar. It is traditionally made in a "pain de Gênes" pan, which has tall sides. I couldn't find anything on Riviera bread...can you elaborate?

Otto is terrific, imo, if you want a casual and not-too-pricey-for-NYC location! And although it's not in the Village, I'd highly recommend a meal at either Tabla or Bread Bar, which is on 24th and Madison, midway up the length of Madison Square Park (home of Shake Shack, so you can see it but not wait in that ridiculous line). BB is also a relative bargain for NYC! I'm not sure if it's fully evident on the web page, but BB is the downstairs portion of Tabla, and also offers outside seating.Tabla/Bread Bar website

Funny you mention that, Tommy...the sign on the building says Bourbon BBQ, but the shirts they were wearing said Bourbon County BBQ! Let's have Mike or Gary weigh in with the correct name, please?!?

Count me as another one who's late to the party in terms of posting... Thanks again to Gary and Mike for issuing their invitation to all of us; I probably wouldn't have gotten up there for a few weeks if not for the prodding of some of the folks on this board! The band was great (hopefully one of the guys will tell us who they were...), staff VERY friendly, and they knew to ask important questions like "Do you want some of the crispy meat?" when serving the food. I have to say that while I enjoyed everything I tried, the pulled pork was my clear favorite. JUST. DELICIOUS! I am definitely not a 'Q expert, but I know when I like something, and I'll certainly make the trip back to BCBBQ for more of that! And as I told Gary, I thought the inclusion of rosemary was a VERY good thing. For the record, I wished we had a chance to sample some of the sides, but I'm definitely not complaining; this was a generous invitation, and much appreciated. Best of luck to you! And just for the record, I refused to try that (ahem) pickle. BLEAH!!! ETA: If there are any board managers left, can one of you please change the name of this thread to BOURBON County BBQ? It will be tough for folks to find if it remains listed as Bergen Cty. The subtopic could be New in Wyckoff or New in Bergen County. Thanks.

Click here for the article

PLEASE. Don't go to Cold Stone if you can help it. I don't even care if the ice cream is good or not...all CS seems to do is push out the local ice cream stores wherever they go! I know the kids like it, but they can enjoy Holsten's, Applegate Farms, or any of the other individually owned places just as much--without the sanitized store experience. Rant over. Your class sounds great, Amy! I'm going to pass that info along to friends who own an ice cream maker but have never used it.