Curlz

Bummer. Sounds like it hasn't changed much since my first visit there. I've been back one other time, about a month ago. This time we sat in the front area, and ordered burgers--I think that's the way to go. The service issues were the same as the ones we both experienced in the back (main) dining room. And yes, it's ALWAYS mobbed; any time I've driven past on a Th-F-S evening, there's a line out on the sidewalk. But if you're in the mood to hang for a while and have a drink (or 2 or 3) and a burger, great spot. I think I'll just stick to the pub food from now on!

I think that sounds wonderful! All the more so if the frosting is the sweet part of the cake... Just two cents more from a non-chocoholic/hate-anything-too-sugary gal! Wrong forum...I know...

I am not a baker or pastry chef, but when I saw this post, I just had to reply...that note from the bride-to-be could have been written by me! Please--I'm begging you--go with a berry filling and some sort of lemon cake or frosting! Non-chocolate lovers ( ) know that berries are great with a tart touch. And/or I'd vote for the raspberry/mango combo, which is another favorite of mine.

Iirc, the owners of The Madison also own or are in partnership with the owner(s) of The Jefferson. Friends who live in Hoboken enjoy the Madison for brunch and dinner, saying that it's good 'grill' fare.

If you're seeing Light in the Piazza, wouldn't you want to have Italian food??

I have a terrific recipe from Cooking Light for a Margarita Angel Food cake that's VERY lime-y, and you could certainly leave out the tequila from the glaze! And/or you could frost it... I'm happy to PM it to you if you'd like. Edit: I've loved everything tart since I was that age...and somewhere here on eG there's a thread about the surprising stuff that (some) little kids will eat! I definitely remember a number of posts about kids who eat lemons and limes (and how bad it is for their teeth...)!

How does that compare to last year?

I work on this end of Newark, and would only suggest you stay away from Rt 21 during regular rush hours. If you're coming to the Ironbound for dinner, just make it after 6-6:30, and you'll be fine! And fwiw, I prefer dinner to lunch only b/c lunch in any of these places tends to be full of 'suits'. Plus, you can linger over dinner...

Yeah, this is a tough one...I have one friend who's almost as bad. Turns out that when he was a kid, his mom went on a macrobiotic kick and forced it on the whole family, which is why, at 40, he eats about 12 things. But since he's a single guy who only eats/cooks a handful of things (i.e. if it's Thursday, it's salmon on his George Forman grill, or he'll take out the ONE dish he likes from the Thai place--and no, I'm not making that up), I love to bring him containers of stuff I've made! He doesn't like too much spice. He doesn't like many veggies. He won't eat my minestrone...because it has beans in it. But my turkey/wild rice soup, which has mushrooms (THE HORROR) in it gets the seal of approval, b/c he can pick out the 'shrooms. About a month ago, I made a fantastic (and ridiculously easy) recipe for (pork) carnitas in the crock pot. I brought him a serving for dinner--over white rice, with some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top, and a few tortillas wrapped in foil. I commanded him to heat the tortillas over an open flame on his stove (GASP), using tongs (he actually had them). I got a message on my machine that night saying "Okay, I did the tortillas exactly as you told me to, and you were right...they're not rubbery like they usually are out of the microwave. And btw, I've liked a lot of things you've made me, but this gets an A++, and you can make it for me ANY time!" That, friends, was a rave. After all, there is cumin in the recipe!! Of course, MY carnitas also had black beans, corn, cilantro and salsa on them... Once I heard the story about his mom and the macrobiotic stuff, I decided to forgive him for this one (major) flaw.

WOW. Great story, but I'm with you--not sure I'd go that public with it! Then again, the book sounds like a fun read...

Someone out there will probably be able to explain the why behind it, but I've never found a need to marinate shrimp either! Unlike most other proteins, it seems to take on flavor pretty quickly, which just adds to the ease of cooking it. I also have a go-to shrimp app recipe that doesn't require a marinade, and I always have someone ask for the recipe whenever I take it to a party. I read a recipe for chicken with latin citrus sauce (mojo criollo), and decided it sounded better with shrimp. Oh, and it's ridiculously easy. There's a dry rub that sits on the shrimp while I'm putting together the ingredients for the sauce, which takes all of about 5 minutes. It's not my recipe to publish, but I'm happy to share it if anyone wants it--just PM me. Now, where are all of the food scientists to explain why shrimp doesn't need to marinate?!?

Wasn't this a Seinfeld episode? Edit: Gotta love Google...The Seinfeld episode in question!

EXACTLY what I was going to post! Don't forget to add a squeeze of lime...VERY refreshing.

Bumping this thread back up, as I had lunch at IC today with my bro, niece and mom in tow. I wanted to take them for the WOW factor when they saw the dosa, and I wasn't disappointed! We (over)ordered a potato-filled dosa, a lamb seekh kabob, the chicken biryani special, and Mom had a veggie plate of lentils and another dish that I never got to try. The three of them thoroughly enjoyed watching the naan and kabob being made in the tandoor, and of course, the dosa as the batter was spread and spread and spread out on the grill. The owner (I'm assuming) brought us each a sample glass of mango lassi, which is always a refreshing way to end a meal of moderately and well-balanced spices. Everything was fantastic, and both my brother and mom commented that of course only I would know about a place this good in such an unusual location. My answer was that it was only thanks to the crew on eGullet! We arrived at 1:30 and the restaurant was EMPTY, but the store was also pretty empty; I guess most of northern NJ is down the shore this time of year, but hey--less traffic for us! Great food at Indian Chef. Go. But not on Mondays--they're closed.

T- PLEASE call Mark Gagnon at OME Caterers, and tell him I sent you. 973-560-4540. He's your guy...trust me. His staff is FABULOUS, displays elegant, food terrific, and he's very creative with all kinds of cuisines. I use him all the time for work events, which include in-home parties as well as full sit-down dinners at our favorite facilities. They're very good at listening to their clients and coming up with what YOU want, and they work all over NJ/NY, including the Hamptons...Bergen County will be no problem for them!

I finally made it to Melt today, and I'm still thinking about my lunch... I had the Great Dane (horseradish havarti, smoked turkey and peach chutney on the multigrain bread) but swapped out the chutney for the orange fig jam. Like I said, I'm still thinking about it! DEEEELISH. I drank a 1/2 and 1/2 (lemonade and iced tea, aka an Arnold Palmer), and it was, imo, exactly what it should be--refreshing, but not too sweet. At Glenn's insistence, I finished my lunch with a scoop of the Bassett's cinnamon ice cream--also terrific! It was great to finally meet Glenn, who takes great pride in his place (with good reason), which is funky and comfortable. I really wish he was in my neighborhood--it would be a great place to pop in on a regular basis, but the ride to Jersey City isn't that bad, so I plan to do so anyway! In addition to my free copy of Marlena Spieler's cookbook (get on the Melt mailing list, folks!), another bonus/pleasant surprise was finding a fellow eGulleteer (ejebud) sitting out on the back patio. Eric, great to meet you and your business partner! We'll all look forward to hearing more about your new venture in Verona. Glenn is sincerely appreciative of the input and support he has received from folks here on eG; if you haven't been to Melt yet, I hope you'll make a point to do so, as it's well worth the trip.

Here's the thread on Ginger and Spice, which is in Ramsey. Caveat: as you'll see from the last post on that thread, the place has just changed hands. Worth a shot, though, as one would expect the new owner/chef to want to maintain the clientele they had...

Back from a few days in A.C., which isn't necessarily my idea of a destination point, but since my folks were offered a time share for a song, we made it in to a mini-vacation for the family. Keeping in mind that we were down there with three kids (9, 6, 3+) from Fri-Sun, and weren't hitting the casinos, here's what we found: Friday night we had an early dinner at Atlantic City Bar and Grill, which is on the corner of South Carolina and Pacific Avenues. They have their own parking lot, which was a partial requirement, as we couldn't go anywhere without 2 cars. Dinner was completely acceptable, but nothing drastically different from what we find in northern NJ...lots of Italian dishes as well as seafood. The mussels got rave reviews, and I'm told the Alaskan king crab was good too. My chicken francaise was tasty. Good spot for a beer and a bite, definitely a good place to go if you want a casual meal outside of the casinos. Saturday's dinner was literally a case of "Well, the kids love Chinese...", and we found this one in the phone book: (New) Melaka Restaurant, a Malaysian place that also offers a Chinese menu. I can't lie...pulling up to it, I would have kept on going. NO decor (if anything, it was amusing), but the food was terrific, and judging by the clientele and the menu, they're doing some authentic Malaysian/South Asian cooking here! We ordered a large bowl of wonton soup for the kids...the wonton may have been the most uninspired and doughy that I've ever had, but our complaints ended there. We had golden ribs (as it turns out, these were red, not golden), a dish of watercress in HOT sauce with shrimp paste, okra in a (not hot) sauce with shrimp and shrimp paste, a FABULOUS dish of chicken with mango and onions, and a sesame shrimp that had a terrific sauce. A find, indeed. New Melaka Restaurant 28 South Tennessee Avenue Atlantic City, NJ 08401 On Sunday night, we headed across the bridge to Brigantine, which is a typical NJ family shore town. Had a bite at Andre's Italian Restaurant/Pizza Palace (their name, not mine!), including a pizza with chopped tomatoes, rosemary and sesame seeds, which I found very interesting. The crust on the pizza was terrific, and the garlic bread addictive. Andre's also has a separate room with couches and comfy chairs for dessert and cappuccino, but we opted to hit the Rita's for gelati and a seat outside on the benches. All in all, not a fantastic eating trip, but I thought I'd share our finds, since A.C.-area spots are few and far between.

Running like a nut between work and life! But not to worry, Chef--I'm due for a visit SOON. Glad to hear that the website is being updated!!

I think it's a shame that they don't post the menu(s) on their web site. In fact, it still says Opening November 2004.

YES! Anything with the word MEISTER in it must be owned!!

...and where else but Zaytinya can you find those cute, yummy, grilled baby octopi lined up on a plate? And don't forget the major bonus of Steve Klc's wonderful desserts!!

Ditto on Zaytinya! Or David Greggory, 'tho I haven't been in the last few months. And what about the oh-so-beloved Palena?

Well, it's not a Pastry/Baking answer, but my first thought was "Mojitos for everyone!"

Yeah, sorry--I didn't remember WHO put it on the list, just that it was on there. I usually use a paring knife to make 'twists' too. But for zest, well...you know.