Curlz

The take and bake pizzas in MY Costco are round! The plot thickens... (cue sinister music) And I agree--that's definitely not butter they're injecting in to the chickens. I know it's on the label, but I really don't want to know what it is. It's just yummy!!

I have my calendar in front of me...when's this soiree? Count me IN!

Not at all! Just thought you were looking for places just for reference... And I think it's a given that you'd be more casual and less expensive than the Hilton Short Hills!

I just remembered--unless something has changed, the Hilton Short Hills offers afternoon tea...

Christine-- Although the search function is frustrating with 3-letter words, here are a few threads that discussed afternoon tea in NJ...not sure if all of these places are open, but they might be a starting point for you. One Two And...three.

Yes, they will. But I was leaving that exciting news 'til tomorrow. --A home subscriber to the NYT (HINT...HINT...)

That's exactly the place I had in mind! However, I think that place will still be packed when the ban is in effect. For me, more often than not it is the long wait for a table and some of the "inside crowd" antics that shy me away from the Belmont more than smoke. ← The Belmont is also the first place I thought of, but someone in the know told me "Don't count on them abiding by it...and don't count on anyone enforcing it." Just sharing...

If you want to go a more casual route, both Egan & Sons and Amazing Hot Dog are open on Mondays... At E&S, I'd stick to burgers and fish & chips. Edit: Also Raymond's on Church Street...it's BYO and someplace you can sit and chat for a while. Food is consistently good (some of it GREAT) and the coffee is excellent!

Iirc, my local Costco (Clifton) had Hebrew Natl dogs, then when HN had a shortage (can't remember why--fire at a plant, maybe?), they switched to Sinai, and noted it on the big sign. I'm pretty sure they're back to HN now, but I rarely get a dog there b/c they're so damn limp. Now that I know THE trick, I may have to give them a shot again! Edit due to cross-post with Jason's pics--Jason, the Clifton one has the identical menu. Now I'm curious to know if the bake-it-yourself pizzas that they sell in the back of the store (near the world's best rotisserie chickens) are the same pizzas they make for the snack bar...anyone know? I always look at those huge pies and think they're a great bargain ($7.99 for plain, iirc) and I could add my own toppings, but I've never purchased one. Jason's comment about the buns for the sausage sandwich reminded me that the buns for the hot dogs are steamed. A legit reason to hate them, imho. Bleah.

Check with Kings Super Markets and with Bergen Community College too.

According to today's Washington Post, "(Roberto) Donna, the owner of Galileo, will be returning to his home town as part of the coverage of the Winter Olympics. He will be appearing regularly on NBC's "Today" show starting Friday, when he is scheduled to take correspondent Al Roker on a culinary tour of the northwestern Piedmont region. Chef Donna certainly is the right guy for this job! Should be interesting...

I was surprised that there wasn't already a thread going on this, but the timing seems right, so here you go. There is an article in today's NYTimes Dining Section, including a recipe. Have any of you ever made one at home? Discuss here...

Since I mentioned it somewhere upthread, folks might be interested in an article about the Bicerin in today's New York Times Dining Section... Now if Berta's can make one correctly, I'd be thrilled!

Story and some photos are also here on Baristanet...

According to their web site, "Son Cubano means (the) "Sound of Cuba." Sadly, the "What's New" page is all about their New Year's Eve celebration (), but menus and live music schedules are also there (assuming they're up to date).

Wait...you mean I shouldn't have done that when I was at SK?!?

This is the second time I've had it...it's a tad sweet for me, but it goes down SO easily that I can't complain! Given the option, I think I'd rather drink it as a dessert, but it was still a lovely way to start the meal!

Saturday was a rather major (okay, milestone) birthday for me, so I made a reservation for dinner at Fortunato. For 17 of us. On a Saturday night. I knew from the outset that this was asking a lot of the restaurant, but they agreed to accommodate us, and I was thrilled to go with my closest crew. As always, service was warm and friendly, but on a Saturday night with an over-booked room, there were minor flaws that I can overlook, and my guests felt the same way. It’s not my fault that the big day landed on a Saturday, after all! Major kudos to Anthony and the staff for handling what I can imagine was a hellish night in the kitchen, but with nothing but fantastic results on the plate, as usual. We arrived for our 8pm reservation to find a packed house, with one big table waiting for us. Having finished off a bottle of Moet with a few friends before leaving home, I was surprised to see champagne flutes on the table, but then the lovely reason became apparent…my dad had called and ordered Banfi Rosa Regale for us to start with. He had to be out of town this weekend and was sad to miss the #1’s big day, but he made sure that it started off with bubbles in his absence. Then, after a lengthy wait, they started bringing out the appetizers. Anthony and I had discussed this last week—I didn’t know what was coming, just that we wouldn’t go hungry. All of apps were served family style, and suffice it to say that we could have moved right to dessert after this… Eggplant Towers (everyone, without exception, raved about them) Mussels and Clams with garlic, saffron and white wine Frisee with fried calamari, red pepper slices and pignoli nuts Beet salad with herbed goat cheese Oysters on the half shell (not my thing, but the oyster lovers were raving) Grilled Shrimp, roasted garlic, tomato, cannellini beans, fresh basil* *O.M.G.! I have almost ordered this dish on a couple of visits, and now I’m lamenting the times I’ve missed out on it. That will not happen again. For entrees, I had fun ‘advising’ everyone of my favorites…we ended up with numerous orders of the Sea Scallops, as well as the double-cut pork chop (stuuuunning), tilapia over rock shrimp, a special of rigatoni with veal sausage, broccoli rabe and garlic, osso bucco, the risotto with rock shrimp and crab (a special), the short ribs, lasagna, chicken, and, and…well, you get the idea. By the time we hit dessert, about half of the group had to head home to relieve babysitters, so we were reduced in numbers and in eating ability, but we still managed to squeeze in a couple of hazelnut tortes, a volcano, biscotti and cookies, and the only disappointment of the night, the ice box cake. Sadly, they were out of both the warm apple cobbler (a favorite of mine) and all of the sorbets, but we somehow managed to survive! I have to share a few comments, because these came from people who are normally not effusive about food: "Those shrimp in the appetizer were the best shrimp I've ever eaten. Anywhere." "You can just tell that the chef is great, because there were only a few flavors in the food, but they were all perfect together--it's like he knows he doesn't have to show off by being too complicated." "Now I see why you keep talking about this place. When are we coming back?!?" You all know by now that there’s a lovefest going on here, but I really do encourage those of you who haven’t made a trip over or closer to that vast Passaic River to do so. You won’t be disappointed!

Somewhere on a thread about Torino and the Olympics, someone (menton, maybe?) recommended I go here to get a Bicerin, which I read about and am anxious to try. Since I actually have a close friend in Wanaque and now hear that the food is good, I'm going to have to go soon!

It still is, but I don't know that you'd want to eat the food there...it's Lee's Hawaiian Islander, and it's in Lyndhurst. Karaoke and all. Went once late on a Sat pm as a goof, and was glad that I'd had a few cocktails before I arrived--that's all I'm going to say!

Couldn't agree more, Holly! In fact, I have a pretty great pic of him bent over the table plating food...but I promised him no shots of him would go on line. Thanks for the reminder that I need to send it to him, though!

You all might find this thread about specials and pricing interesting, esp those of you who are restaurant owners (not just Mike)!

Having read about it elsewhere, I'm just hoping that someone in northern NJ will start making Bicerin!

Glad you started this, Menton. I contributed to the other thread, but here are my thoughts: 1. I'm the customer. Don't put me in the position of having to ask what the price is. You don't know who I am dining with--maybe I don't want to let on that I'm watching my budget! And/or, maybe I'm too shy to ask. (Hey--those of you who know me--STOP LAUGHING! ) 2. There are no more excuses--you all have access to a computer these days--type up the specials with the prices. I don't care if they're created 15 minutes before service begins (but I find that tough to believe)--put the info in front of me. Other option: blackboard, but I prefer to have them at the table where I can look at the menu AND the specials as I decide. 3. Why should I have to remember a long list? I hate asking "Um, what was that _____ one again?" and am guessing that wait staff hates to have to repeat the info. Put it in front of me. And for that matter, why should your wait staff have to remember a long list? Maybe they'll mess it up and I won't order something b/c they forgot to mention the parsley foam, fennel puree, etc. 4. It's great to know that most specials are in line with regular prices, but unless I'm a regular customer, I have no way of knowing that. This just seems like a no-brainer to me.

I read that as V=veg and M=MEAT.