Curlz

I haven't, but when I spoke with Michael a week or so ago, I said that I was hoping the place would remain as good as it was while he was there, b/c I really love everything about it. His response was that if the owners leave the guy in charge that HE left in charge, they'll do just fine. I trust Mike on that, but am also curious to hear if others have been there in the last month or so.

Update: Thanks to all of your comments, the owner of the restaurant has put up a web site with a few photos, and basic info + menu. He is VERY appreciative of y/our input, so I thought I'd pass that along.

Great news! Fortunato now has a web site, www.fortunatoristorante.com. I say this is great news because it's something that a few of us have discussed with the owner at great length, and he genuinely considered our comments and those of others. Looks like a few pages are still awaiting info, but check it out!

Absolutely the right suggestion, Lou! The bar is perfect, and they're set up to feed people properly at the bar. It's esp nice if you're solo or a pair and don't feel like sitting at a table. It's on Wash almost to 14th, and BONUS--you can park in the big lot in front of the Hudson Tea Bldg (the huge condos at the top of Wash St) and The Jeff will validate your parking ticket. Can't beat that!

Fascino is always lovely for a celebration too! Lots of discussion here on the Fascino thread. Note to self: been too long since I've been there.

I was SO looking forward to a return to Mojave Grill this weekend, since I’ve enjoyed other meals there in the past, and I wanted to see their new space (see upthread). While it wasn’t all bad, I have to say that it was disappointing. I won’t go in to all of the details here, but I will send the management a note (and no, I'm not looking for anything). To wit: directions on their web site are to the old location. Kids (and I mean KIDS) who don’t seem to understand customers or service appeared to be running the place—or at least, that’s what we saw on Saturday night. Let’s just say that they weren’t exactly welcoming. The menus contained a computer printed list of specials—none of which had prices listed (GRRR). Same goes for their hard copies of the coffee/cappuccino menus—not a price to be seen. Ditto on the recited dessert specials. Oh, and there’s a $1 charge for chip refills. Way to make customers feel they're at Baja Fresh. Yeesh. The salsa was FABULOUS. Seriously. The guacamole was also great, but served ICE cold. As in, most of us took our first bites, and were looking at one another like “Is it me?” Why, why WHY?!? Once it came to room temp, we were really able to taste the flavors. This is semi-fresh (if it’s that cold, they didn’t JUST make it) and really good guacamole. Salads, as usual, were terrific and they’re huge, which compensates for the $8.95-10.95 (iirc) you’ll pay for them. Definitely worth sharing one, though. We had a few of them—the roasted pears/blue cheese/spiced pecans, the chipotle ranch, and one more that I’m forgetting. The veg black bean soup is also a huge portion, and always gets raves, and Saturday was no exception. Then 11 people ordered 5 dishes. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, 7 of them ordered the red snapper special; pecan-crusted filets with a red pepper coulis, tomato salsa, and cilantro mashed potatoes. Remember—no price listed. Turns out they were $24.95 each. I decided to forego my usual favorite at MG (the lime braised pork) and ordered the chipotle-dusted pork chops, which came with a pineapple chutney and aforementioned cilantro mashed. Nice balance of flavors on the plate, but the chops didn’t knock me out, and I was wishing I had stuck to the other dish. The friend who did have it declared that it wasn’t as good as it usually is. The last few ordered the salmon and catfish respectively, each of which I’m told were good. Once the bill came and the price of the snapper was known, most of them complained about the skimpy scoop of potatoes and the modest size of the fish. An assortment of desserts was ordered: pecan-crusted pumpkin cheesecake, a peanut butter pie, a few mango parfaits, and the warm peach cobbler. The biscotti that came with the mango parfaits were terrific, the cheesecake full of pumpkin flavor, and the others okay, but nothing out of the ordinary. The bill came to a little less than $500, including the 20% tip that they add for parties of 6 or more. We had no problem with the tip, as our waitress was good, but overall, none of us felt that the food was over the top wonderful this time. Four of our group live in Westfield and/or Cranford, so they have been eating here more often than I have over the years. We agreed that the new space is lovely, but it’s smaller than the other location and still just as loud when the dining room is full. We were against the back wall making our own noise, but the din behind us was truly deafening at some points in the evening. The bottom line is, I’m just not sure that Mojave Grill is worth the prices they’re charging for the food and the lack of professionalism from the FOH is a real turnoff. For $45pp, I can think of many places where I’d rather spend my money. And let me say it publicly--I'm not shy about asking the price of a special, nor am I shy about spending it--but why put customers in that position? You'd think that restaurant owners would learn this by now. Curious to know if anyone else has been recently, and if you had similar experiences…

Ah...my favorite annual thread has returned! YIPPEE! And how timely--I was just on line looking at The Teastick, which I read about in Bon Appetit. Has anyone tried this thing? My s-i-l is a big tea drinker, and I may get one for her. Let the gadgeting continue...

Just a reminder that you CAN BYO--beer or wine.

And that was just lunch TODAY!

I asked about reservations; they took them for a while, but then had so many people who just showed up that they decided to only accept them for large parties. So I guess you'll need to party a bit larger, Tommy! Seriously, though, it sounds like Friday and Saturday nights are the biggest problem, so if you go during the week, you should be fine.

I've posted photos in my album, but can't figure out how to get them uploaded to this thread. If anyone knows how, feel free! And if you know how to look at the album, you can do that too...

Well, if you count fritters, empanadas, the chicken lollipops, and the snapper, it could seem like a lot of fried food--esp for someone like me who doesn't normally eat much fried stuff! I just want to reiterate how fresh and light everything was--that's all.

I give up! Someone else will have to post the photos...

Folks, forget about Mexicali Rose, willya? Carl, the chef at Cuban Pete's, REALLY knows what he's doing. I went there with a big group (12 of us), and we ate very well. We sampled a bunch of tapas (dates in bacon, goat cheese fritters, chicken empanadas with raisins and corn salsa, spinach and manchego empanadas, chorizo and plantain-stuffed pequillo peppers, to-die-for pork belly, chicken 'lollipops,' and probably a few more that I'm forgetting. If I had to pick my top top TOP choices, they'd be the dates (unreal), the pork belly and the chicken lollipops, which are quickly fried and then topped with chimichurri. For entrees, we had the oxtail, ropa viejo, whole red snapper (fresh, light and moist), and roast pork. There were moros y christianos (rice with black beans), maduros (sweet fried plantains), black bean soup, and...and... Someone help me out with some reminders and pictures, willya?!? Sangrias flowed, but for my taste, most of them were too sweet. The only one that I really drank was the Berry version, which had a ton of berries in each glass. Service was attentive throughout our visit. Then there was dessert—terrific flan as well as a tres leches cake that I really enjoyed. Both were light and a nice way to end a meal that may sound heavy but wasn’t. Wonderful Cuban coffee (and in my case, café con leche) capped off a really fun time. The goal of CP's is to have an authentic Cuban meal/experience. The food was terrific, and, as we told the owner (Domenick), probably a few dollars less per dish than it should be—at least for the entrees. The staff was attentive, knowledgeable about the dishes, and the decor is fabulous (esp the men's room--don't miss it). Domenick, George and Carl are genuinely interested in their customers having a good time as well as a great meal, and with Carl at the helm, there's no issue there. One thing I must emphasize is that even though many of the dishes are fried, everything was really light and flavorful--and as Domenick promised, no heartburn afterwards! GO. Preferably with a group, so you can try a lot of dishes!

I've seen the thread on StudioKitchen a zillion times, but never opened it until today. WOOOOOOOOOOOOW. Anyone who ever needs a seat filled should feel free to PM me! It's not that far from northern NJ... MUST. GO. MUST. GO. MUST. GO.

It was over a year ago that I went, but I still think about the meal we had at The Food Studio, which is in the King Plow Arts Center. Hopefully some of the locals can tell you if it's still high on the 'good' list! Great food, comfortable atmosphere, legit wine list...

EXCELLENT suggestion! And of course, when you're there, be sure to grab a bite at Indian Chef...

That's correct--they're not/he wasn't.

I made a terrific strata for T-Day breakfast this year...my own variation on a Cooking Light recipe. Trust me, it didn't taste light! I used italian bread, a mix of portabello and button mushrooms w/a little thyme butter + olive oil, chicken apple sausage, and shredded gruyere. The family is still talking about it... If you'd like the exact recipe, PM me--not sure it's 'legal' for RecipeGullet since it's based on a CL recipe.

EXACTLY. And fwiw, I did give it the official taste--WITH pastrami. I still stick to BLEAH.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Then again, that's probably not as bad as being forced to drink (gulp) CEL-RAY.

Smart woman, that Katie Loeb. You're not missing anything. Trust me! BLEAH!! 'scuse me while I duck now... hehe Edit: There is a similar discussion about grapefruit soda somewhere on here, but I can't seem to find it. So here's my comment: FRESCA, FRESCA, FRESCA! And Hansen's makes a decent one too.

Can they be supportive but also not get it at the same time? I'd say yes, they're supportive, b/c I do get cooking/food-related stuff sometimes (i.e. books--cookbooks as well as food-related tomes), but I also get questions and comments like "Why don't you take some of the ___ classes at ___?" When my answer is "Because I can't afford it," do you think they take the hint and buy me gift certificates? Nah. SIGH... It's most likely that if I provide a list of (ahem) ideas that I'll get what I want. But isn't that always the way?!?

Call Chef Central in Paramus! 201-576-0100 If they don't have it, I bet they can tell you who does.

That WAS true, Zeman (read upthread), but last I heard, they had reopened. Does anyone know otherwise?