[Tasting Menus]

In my opinion, a tasting menu is the perfect solution to the feeling of "I'd like one of everything on the menu, please!"

Fwiw, it's not in NJ, but if you're ever in D.C. (WOW, what a great food town!), Cafe Atlantico has a fantastic one.

[Wegmans Tandoori Oven]

Here's the link to today's Star Ledger story:

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/n...?starledger?nmx

And wow, I'm glad that I convinced myself not to go to Woodbridge today! Kudos to those of you who braved the crowds; I'll hit it later this week mid-afternoon and I'll still be crossing my fingers that it's not too nutty. Having just joined the forums, I was re-reading this entire thread and logged off to call my dad (that's who I get my foodie genes from), who lives in Gaithersburg MD (all of 2 miles north of Rockville) to say that he might be getting a Wegman's and if so, I might have to move down there. I took him to the Princeton store shortly after it opened, and I'll always have the vision of him walking towards the cheese department, arms spread open, saying "Now THAT'S a cheese display!" It was like Mohammed found Mecca. Good stuff!

As a Bergen County resident, a few items that might be of interest: Target just opened right behind Clifton Commons (another example of If you build it, they WILL come). I also just read an article in today's NY Times or the Star Ledger that said the developer of Garden State Plaza Mall (junction of Rts 4 and 17) wants to build a 16-screen movie theater on to the end of the mall. My vote is that they tear down the whole mall and put up a Wegman's instead!!! Anyone want to join my campaign?

[Restaurant Crispo]

Interesting...it is the lower level of a brownstone, but I thought it was pretty warm...LOTS of candles all over the place now (including in the bathrooms). We enjoyed the prosciutto app and our entrees (a veal and wild mushroom tortelloni for me, a pork bragiole for my friend; but the service and constant pushing by the crowd near the bar and people banging in to the corner of our table distracted from the food. What a shame...makes me wonder if the management is paying ANY attention.

[Restaurant Crispo]

Having just joined the forums, I was curious to see if there were any postings about Crispo, as I was there last night for dinner. What a shame that a year after the last post (re: overbooking, mismanagement by the front of the house, etc.), those problems still exist! The food was really terrific, but we would have been smarter to remain at the bar once we saw the dramatic downward spiral in service.

The bartender was great; I would have preferred to give him the full evening's business (food and drink). We waited 25 minutes after we were done eating to get the check (including the last 10 mins with a cleared table!), and that was after asking for it three times.

If there's a better time to go there, I'd say it's worth a visit--but not on a Saturday night!