CiriloE

I agree. We ate there last night. Great time as usual. Cirilo

Looking for recs for restaurants with nice ambiance and great food for dinner and another one for Sunday brunch. Hope you can help. Thank you, Cirilo

http://www.chezcatherine.com/# Chez Catherine in Westfield offers a Thanksgiving dinner. This is from their website. Mise en Bouche Crémant de Bourgogne NV *********** Foie Gras Maison “au torchon”, toasted brioche, persimmon and pecan salad *Cuvée OH, Muscat Sec, Côte de Catalanes 2005 **Carmes de Rieussec, Sauternes 2004 ********** Potage de Saison seasonal soup ********** Feuilleté de Fruits de Mer scallops, shrimp, mussels, chanterelles, crisp pastry, and lobster cream sauce *Riesling, Pierre Sparr, Alsace 2006 **Riesling “Grand Cru”, François Baur, Alsace 2000 ********** Entracte ********** Carré d’Agneau rack of lamb, flageolets, fingerling potatoes, onion confit, and roasted garlic rosemary jus or Filet de Bœuf au Poivre pan-seared filet mignon, sautéed spinach, black peppercorn cream sauce *Petite Sirah, Huntington, California 2005 **Petite Sirah, Rosenblum Heritage Clones, San Francisco Bay 2004 ********** Assortment of Four Cheeses and Fruit supplement: cheese only - $10.00 or cheese and wine - $20.00 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château La Nerthe 2003 *** Farandole de Desserts *Muscat, Vin de Glaciére, Bonny Doon 2004 **Gewurztraminer, Hugel, Alsace 2004 *** Café et Mignardises *** Prix-Fixe: $75.00 With Wine Pairing, 3oz each: $38.00 With Premium Wine Pairing, 3oz each: $55.00 Please let us know if you have any food allergies C.J. Reycraft, Jr., Chef de Cuisine Stéphane Bocket, Maître d’Hôtel

Thank you Chris. We were were in town for parent's weekend and gave the daughter who was in a college production a treat. Chez Pascal at 5:30 out by 6:35PM and Gracie's at 9:45 after the show. We've eaten at Pascal several times and Gracie's for the first time. Both are very good restaurants and I cannot say which one I prefer after our meal. At Pascal, we informed our server of our need to leave by 6:30 and we were done with enough time for tea. Ordering from the appetizers we all had the salad special; my wife had the braised rib in peppers, daughter and I had the crispy duck leg confit. Service and food, excellent. After the show we went to Gracie's. I was hungry enough to feast but the two ladies were not. The ambiance was totally different. We were greeted by our server with champagne for my daughter's birthday. This was followed by an amuse of oysters. My daughter had the Sweet Potato Soup with cornbread crumbles, speck, celery & apple salad and she said this was the best sweet potato soup ever. This was followed by the veal sweetbreads which she consumed with the same enthusiasm. The wife was not that hungry and she had the George's Bank Scallops. I had the slow poached lobsters and scallops both of which were very yummy and perfectly presented. We stayed at the Renaissance and our package came with free breakfast at the Temple. I don't know if the problem lies with the incompetent service or the kitchen staff. There was no reason why one had to wait 35 minutes for eggs but it did the first day. Sunday I ordered pancakes but got eggs and sausages. Again, after waiting 35 minutes. We need to leave so I just accepted it. The Temple was the only down side of our stay at the Renaissance, actually of the whole weekend . I wonder what kind of a horror show it is at dinner time? We can''t wait to be back in early December for another college play and Gracie's or Chez Pascal. Really depends on where we stay, I guess. Cirilo

Caitlin, Thank you. It did not disappoint. I could have eaten a lot more but ... Cirilo

Syrah Girl, Sorry I missed your post. I passed that yesterday and we ended up eating in Pacific Seafood in Bay City. It was so-so but it was just about our budget so it was not too bad. I don't recommend this place. In Astoria we ate at T Paul's Urban Cafe which turned out quite well. We shared a Roasted Garlic Quesadillas as an appetizer, my son had the Roasted Chipotle Pesto Penne Pasta and Fresh Basil Pesto Prawn for me. With a shared dessert and the bill came to $50.00 with the tip, no sales tax. There are tons of restos in Astoria and we walked the downtown district and looked for the busiest and we did well. We plan on stopping at Lincoln City tonight and either Florence or Reedsport tomorrow depending on how well he rides. Hope I get the recs on time. Cirilo

Hello, I am driving as support for my son during his bike ride along the Pacific Coast from Centralia to San Diego. I would be with him until Klamath, CA. Then, he is on his own as his riding buddy backed out on the last minute. I am hoping you can give us some recs on affordable, good eats in/near Centralia Wa, Cathlamet, Manzanita, Pacific City, Waldport OR, Winchester Bay, Port Orford, Brookings and Klamath, CA. http://www.justgiving.com/enricoslasheric Thank you very much. Cirilo

On our return to HHI after 4 years, we planned on eating at the Old Fort Pub, Antonio's, Le Bistro Mediterranean, Red Fish, Alligator Grille, Cafe at Wexford , Charlie's L'Etoile Verte, Hudson's on the Dock or Crazy Crab based on current egullet recs and our previous experience. We visited Faisal at the Le Bistro on our first night. The place is bigger, with a completely new staff having Charles completely take over the cooking from Faisal. Somehow, we found the old reliables to be not as good as before. We promised to go back but somehow didn't in the two weeks we were there. As I write, I wish we did. The Cafe at Wexford is now Hugo's formerly of Fitzgerald's. Charlie's L'Etoile Verte still serves very good South Carolina cooking. The new location (4 years) is where Il Cappucino used to be and is much bigger and comfortable. Charlie's now has the ambiance to go with the food. Two of Faisal's wait staff who joined Charlie's four years ago remembered us and really took good care of us. Frankie Bones serves great Northern (Jersey) cooking and we enjoyed the Sunday brunch. Hudson's on the Dock. Our group of 17 on wheelchair and high chair had a great time. We came on the rainy day and were the first ones on the line coming from our day long outlet shopping. I actually enjoyed the food. Maybe my expectation was just lower not having to wait an hour to be seated or just plain famished or the food was just fresh and well prepared all along. Whatever, it was my best experience of the family style sea food restaurants in the Island. After a disappointing experience at Antonio's, poor service, so-so food, we vowed not to go to another Lowrey Group restaurant again and gave up on the Old Fort Pub which gave us more time to enjoy Red Fish and Alligator Grille. We spent our last two days having lunch and dinner in these two fine restaurants. BTW, the wines at the retail store of Red Fish are of very good quality, variety and are competitively priced. One should buy the Island wine here instead of Bi-Lo, Publix, PW or Harris Teeter. Top Recs: Red Fish Charlie's L'Etoile Verte Alligator Grille Frankie Bones

I can highly recommend two places for dinner on Hilton Head Island: Charlie's L'Etoile Verte http://www.charliesofhiltonhead.com/ New Orleans Rd., off 278 Handwritten menu changes daily. Greg ← Returning to Hilton Head after 4 years. We always liked Charlie's and Old Fort but we found Faisal's Le Bistro Mediterranean in Pineland Station to have the best food. But that was 4 years ago. Any new recommendations? Cirilo

Thank you all. I decided to have more people at the dinner table (12) over quality of food and ambiance. Spent 3.5 hours at Fox and Hound. We stayed in one of the back rooms and after 9PM we had the room for ourselves. The food was as expected. Next time we'll have a smaller party and go to Tea and Sympathy. The Village is actually only 30 min from Clark if the traffic gods are smiling at you. A recap of the recommendations: Tea & Sympathy http://www.teaandsympathynewyork.com/restaurant.php The Upper Crust (Boonton) - http://www.uppercrustnj.com/ Ship Inn (Milford) - http://britishbrewpub.com/ Triumph Brewing Co (Princeton) - www.triumphbrew.com Cirilo

Thank you for you replies. I know of the Triumph and Ship Inn but both are about 1 hour away. Also, one of the guests is coming from Succasunna and he prefers the Ship Inn, another guest from Ewing understandably prefers the Triumph. Although both are very good, I kinda made a compromise and was hoping to find some hidden gems in Central Jersey other than the chains I mentioned above. If nothing else comes up, we may head out to Milford tonight to get the British vibe. Thank you. Cirilo

Am entertaining for dinner tonight an Englishman who currently lives in the Philippines. Appreciate your help finding a resto with decent British fare. Five years in the orient made him long for well prepared fish and chips and other fare. Hoping you can give a recommendation in the Central NJ area within 30 min of Cranford. Thank you very much. Cirilo

Well, we had lunch at Cathay 22 today for a party of 13. The food and staff were wonderful. We were in there uninterrupted from 12:30-4 PM. The temperature in the room was very cool so one can have Sichuan food in the summer. For starters, we had Minced Chicken in Spicy sauce Wrapped in Lettuce followed with an off menu Spicy Beef tripe and Tendon. Main courses - Chinese Lauriat style followed: Peking Duck Black Pepper Fish/Tangerine Prawns/Crazy Beef, another off menu item Stir Fried String Beans/Sizzling Beef and Scallops/Fried Rice Chicken Lo Mein Washed down with Chandon Riche sparkling wines - corkage waived Dessert: Fried Sesame Bananas/Green Tea ice cream Food, taxes - $454.05 The guests enjoyed the food and the fellowship so it was worth it. Thank you, Cirilo

Thank you. Still open to suggestions. Cirilo ← I never had a problem with noise at the Tavern for Sat lunch since it was never busy then. I do agree it does get pretty crazy in the evening. ← I never considered lunch may not be busy at all. Classic "what have you done for me lately?" Last time we had dinner at The Tavern, we wished we were talking through noise canceling headphones. I have nothing bad to say about the food so we’ll just go to the main dining room next time we go there Cirilo

Tommy, Thank you. Will check it out this week. Though I doubt this if this group of clients will be right for this place. I have another group in mind for the Front Street Smokehouse and you are more than welcome to join when we go. Cirilo