Curlz

LOVE this thread, and not just b/c I'm getting ready to go away for a few days with family, followed by a few with friends! A few thoughts... -Marlene, how the HELL did you discover the cork/ice thing (assuming it works)?!? -If you need zest, I don't care how great you are with a grater, spend $10-12 for a microplane zester. It will change your life--I promise! If they ever start a religion based on that alone, I'm in. -You were asking about drinks, and I'll share one that my younger brother turned me on to a few summers ago: Mount Gay Rum and ginger ale. Lots of ice, and a squeeze of lime, and I'm at the beach the second I taste it. Surprisingly refreshing--trust me! Now I have to go out and find some mini-cube trays...

Bumping this thread up as well, since I'm heading down there this weekend...are all of these places still open? Any new recs in the AC/Margate/OC corridor? Thanks in advance!!

Bumping this up as we're heading down at the end of this week...any recs in addition to those listed here--in or near A.C. (i.e., Margate) are greatly appreciated! Curlz

Ghost--Have you (or anyone else) eaten here lately? The last few comments about the place were on the fence..

Bless you, woman! I couldn't believe that nobody had mentioned Fresca as a great mixer! I love ANYTHING grapefruit. There is another grapefruit soda that I don't know the name of...they sell it at Trader Joe's; I'll try to get the name for you and post it. Edit: HANSEN'S. Came to me as I hit Post.

Why I miss Tommy: I read that about nine times because I was sure I had misread it.

Couldn't have said it better!! I went two years ago when a young (ish) friend was celebrating her 25th birthday. I think it cost about $65pp at the end of the night for bad alcohol, truly mediocre food and a lot of laughs. And to top it off, only one of the knights was truly hot... Unless you're taking the kids, come to my house and I'll roast some chicken and potatoes for you for a mere $50pp.

Good to know you're still out there checking out the new restaurants for us, Tommy! Is this Thai? Malaysian?

OMG, I love this thread! Can't believe I had never seen it before. I also can't believe how funny it is to read about the inability to buy boxes of Swiffer pads without the pole...! Anyway, I must contribute one of my favorite tricks, since I just shared it with a catering staff yesterday and they thought I was a supa-genius (not!). I hope I can explain this well in writing...if you have a problem with liquid dribbling off of a spout and down the side of the pouring vessel, (i.e. tea out of a teapot, gravy from a gravy pitcher, cream from a creamer, etc.), just put a dab of some sort of grease on the underside of the spout lip. When you pour, if the liquid that's coming out of the spout 'tries' to drip down, it hits the grease, and bounces forward! Butter is my personal favorite b/c I can just swipe my finger across a small piece, but any fat will work. And no, the stuff you're pouring won't taste like whatever you've used; it should be a VERY THIN smudge on the pitcher/pot/creamer. Gosh I hope that makes sense to those of you reading it! Another hint that I read once in a magazine is a real dope-slap; store your rolls of foil, plastic wrap, etc. with the cutter side down in the drawer...no more cut fingers as you grab the boxes!

Just heard on the news that a woman in Warren or Sussex was struck by lightning this afternoon...sure hope it wasn't you, Suzilightning!

I just remember always being happy to go to the grocery store (still am), and helping in the kitchen. Someone gave me a kids' cook book when I was about 6, and I remember I'd read it over and over again, but I can't remember if I ever cooked out of it. I also remember thinking that the 'things' that came out of friends' EZ Bake ovens were gross. And you have to realize that my dad is my direct link to the food/wine DNA; he's been in the wine/spirits biz for 50+ years, and has been a member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs for almost as many, so I'd hear about the elaborate dinners that my parents went to with his business associates or Chaine members. Both of my parents cooked, and they were happy to have help--even from little hands. I think my mom realized that I liked to cook early on and it helped her figure out how to go back to work full-time when I was 9; she'd do some prep work for dinner and leave everything for me in the fridge. At 3:30 when my bro and I got home from school, I'd call her at work and she'd give me all of the instructions, which I'd follow to the letter, and Voila! I made dinner most nights! One of her oldest friends worked at that job with her, and every time I see her she says "I'll just always remember those daily calls...'Put the chicken on at 4:30 at 350 degrees..." heehee The other thing I thought of as soon as I saw this topic was when I suggested to my Spanish teacher that the Spanish Club (yeesh, I was a geek) come to my house for a night of cooking Spanish food. I was 13 or 14 at the time; should have realized then that my party/event planning skills were being honed...!

Funny you should ask...I just saw friends who dine at a lot of high-end restaurants pretty consistently (i.e. Ryland Inn every 2-3 months); they told me that they had dinner at The Frog and the Peach on Friday and were smacking themselves wondering why it had been over a year since their last visit. Although I didn't get to ask what they had, they just raved about the food and of course, the service. This was all unsolicited, btw!

I agree that Shanghai Jazz is an unusual concept--but they serve some terrific food, and the owners really do care about jazz, so they bring in excellent musicians and singers. If I'm not mistaken, info about the history of the restaurant mentions that jazz is/was big in Shanghai and I do recall that the owners had a direct connection, having grown up around both the food and the music. I've been there about half a dozen times, and although it's expensive for Chinese food, I always enjoy myself and the meals. I'm surprised that Soho 33 didn't have tables out in front today--maybe it was TOO hot?

Had a very tasty dinner at db this past Friday night; my folks were in town, and were in the mood for bistro food. I can't believe it took me this long to try it, but I definitely enjoyed the ambiance, service, and most certainly the food. The three of us shared the roasted beet salad and the quail stuffed with foie gras for appetizers--and two dishes were plenty of food. The chunks of beets tasted like pure sugar; they were just stunning. The goat cheese in the salad was terrific as well. The quail was delicious, albeit a tad salty for my taste. But hey--it's quail and foie gras--how can you go wrong?!? Our entrees were the crispy duck confit, leg of lamb over spring beans and the halibut special, which was over a similar bed of beans, which included some seriously large and gorgeous favas. The beans alone were just fantastic, but my lamb was tender and perfectly cooked. My stepmother did everything but lick her plate after eating the halibut, and my dad cleared the duck, so we were all happy. We drank a bottle of pinot noir (name escapes me), but we agreed that it was a perfect pairing for all of our dishes. Dessert for dad was coffee ice cream (normally part of a trio, but he only wanted one flavor), mom drank some port, and I ordered the lemon panna cotta with lemon verbena ice cream. The panna cotta and the ice cream were fantastic--light, tons of true lemon and vanilla flavors and flecks of vanilla bean. The tuilles and assorted cookies that accompanied our desserts were a butter-lover's dream, but still a nice light way to finish the meal. Service was both friendly and flawless save for the fact that with every pour of the wine, the sommelier wiped drips off of the bottle. It's so easy to pour without dripping that it surprised me to see him doing this over and over again. Definitely worth a visit, but I do recommend going after 8pm like we did so you can avoid the pre-theater rush.

My dad was in town this weekend and he's a serious fan of Vietnamese food and we were in Montclair, so the stars aligned, and we went to Little Saigon. I'm happy to report that lunch on a weekend is a good time to go to LS...with only a few tables occupied, they actually seemed to be able to handle us! The four of us shared the summer rolls, and even my niece at half of one, enjoying the 'dip.' My dad added Sriracha (sp?) sauce to his so he could get some kick, and pronounced the rolls to be good. For lunch, he ordered one of the phos...sorry that I don't remember which one, but he enjoyed it immensely, and has eaten pho in Asia, so I trust him when he says it's good. I had the ginger and lemongrass beef with rice vermicelli, which is served with lettuce leaves for wrapping. I promptly declared that it's the asian version of (Indian) siek kabobs! The meat was just delicious--very moist and flavorful. My sil had tofu and string beans that she said were very good. Happy to see that the service is better when they're not packed, but I'm still going to stick to lunch whenever possible (+ takeout). Oh, and they painted! The entire inside is now a beautiful aqua.

Hitmanoo, you're probably out and about already, but if not, there is a place on the main street in Madison across from Shanghai Jazz--I think it's called Soho 33 or something like that; haven't been in 2 years, but they used to serve some terrific salads, and you can sit outside. A 100% casual and family friendly option is Firehouse Pizza on Central Avenue; they have a great patio. Don't know if Shanghai Jazz has outdoor seating or not, but they serve some excellent food too.

According to the web site: We will be serving Budweiser, Michelob Ultra ,Michelob Amber Bock, Bacardi Silver, O'Doul's. New this year Koala Creek Wine Chardonnay and Shiraz.

Anyone been here recently?

Talk about a labor of love!! Now I know why I stick to cooking instead of baking (anything) most of the time. Can't wait to follow the rest of the story...thanks for sharing!

Let's see if I can post this properly...from the thread about last year's picnic at Bobolink: And this: Sorry; had to add a little brevity to the discussion AND show the pic of the calves, who were indeed FREE RANGE! Have we set a date for this year, btw?

I take it that's a moving backwards in time sale, right? Heehee

I'd be thrilled to patronize a local place with amazing chicken, but alas, it doesn't exist around here. But last night I did think of all of you as I stood at my kitchen counter eating the drumstick off of my Costco bird!

Fwiw, I just ask for soup dumplings--never had a problem!

I guess there was a miscommunication in the posts on here--the dishes that are brought to your table during brunch at C46 are included, but you have to order them, Randi. Iirc, there is a menu that lists all of the different types of dumplings; you just need to ask for the ones you want. As for the ice cream, it wasn't my comment--not sure I remember reading it, either, but I can't commit to re-reading the 10+ pages to find it; hopefully someone else will see or remember it. Jason and Rachel really are the C46 experts here, so I'll let them elaborate on my comments.

I'll trade you all of my olives and fresh tomatoes for your duck (any form of it), lamb and goat cheese! Edit: Moira! Finally! I knew I couldn't be the only one on eG who doesn't like raw tomatoes...