ghostrider

My mom was a Depression-era kid & my dad a Depression twenty-something. I grew up with those lectures. Though I rebelled against a lot of their ideas, the waste thing stuck with me, because it made sense. And so I scrape.

Scrape scrape scrape, yes. Meld old soap bar to new, yes. (Akin to homeopathic principles, I am wondering if there are atoms of a 30-year-old bar of soap somewhere in my current bar.) But what is this talk of jars IN THE TRASH???? You are scraping & saving and then not recycling? How can you live with yourselves?

Woops! I had no idea that there were 2 of them.

That's Cubby's. I used to go there a lot a while ago- mostly for the cool truck stop vibe, chili dogs, beer, grilled chicken and stuff like that. They do have tasty ribs, but they are not something that a BBQ afficianato would like- if I remember correctly they aren't even smoked. Good place, though- really used to pack 'em in. ← Cubby's went out of business last year. Or maybe it was the year before, hard to keep track. In any event it's been just another hot dog place for some time now.

Wondering what kind of business Lou is going to do tonight, or whether Sam Champion succeeded in scaring everyone into staying home again. Actually the roads here are a real mixed bag & even though the storm is over, once they freeze up the going could get quite nasty. Don't know what conditions are out American Grill way, but I think this could be a legitimately scarier night than that of the "blizzard."

Stay focused. Don't get discouraged. Those are the important things. As folks above have said, everyone has his/her own path to follow in this. I have three other friends who also quit. One of them, like me, always had acute senses of taste & smell, & noticed no improvement. The other two found some degree of heightened sensitivities. So don't bank on the "food tastes better now," thing, but if you find that it happens, it's decidedly a plus.

That I'll certainly agree with. As for Montclair - I work at an area business that is patronized by a # of Whole Foods employees, which is where I picked up the info above, that, long-term, WF has its eye on the Pathmark at Lackawanna Pz. The problem with the current space is, of course, space. WF also leases the current Montclair space, they don't own it, & thus are not in a position to control who might take over the space once they're gone.

TJ's isn't exactly a WF competitor, as they sell mostly packaged / prepared crap. High-end & some interesting stuff, to be sure, but you aren't gonna find produce or fresh Maine shrimp there. Not that WF has had the shrimp for several weeks now.....

Just want to add my thanks for a most entertaining tour of my city. Although we've been across the Hudson since '91, after the previous 20 years of living in the West Village, New York will always be "my city." Of course I've lost touch with so many of the daily rhythms & rituals of city life since moving out to Jersey, & even more so since ceasing to work there 4 years ago. It was lovely to get a sense of those things again through all of the details that you've brought to life so well. I wish eG had existed 30 years ago, I'd have done a killer blog back then when I was teaching myself Indian and Chinese cooking, running up to Little India & down to Chinatown in search of spices, sauces, peculiar dried things & odd items of produce. Alas, that was a different life. And you've also reminded me again how vast New York is and how it keeps evolving. We gradually slow down but the city never does. Anyway, thanks again for all the marvelous tastes from places I may never see, even though they're still so close. You almost make me want to chuck this huge kitchen & funky old house & trade them in for one of those apartments where you can't turn around. Almost.

I used to use bacon fat for hashed brown potatoes. MMmmmmmmmm...... Seems a lifetime ago now.

I quit smoking, after 30 years of 2 packs a day, while lying flat on my back in the ER, having suffered a smoking-induced heart attack, knowing that I was maybe 20 minutes from death, & in such intense pain that I didn't really care which way it went. Fortunately a skilled invasive cardiologist, an angioplasty and a couple of stents saved the day. This was almost 3 years ago now. Smoking thickens the blood much like cholesterol & can lead to a clot-induced heart attack like mine. That can get you much more quickly than cancer. This all just in case anyone needs a little extra motivation.

They do go quickly, at least after they get to Jersey, even if you store them properly. I have little experience with other fresh shrimp so don't have a standard of comparison (I usually go for fish). Still, when they're good, I love the flavor.

Just by a hair. Actually I like Cresskill because I can see the Dutch root of the name. Teaneck, OTOH....

My local Whole Foods hasn't had the Maine shrimp for at least 3 weeks right now. Which was depressing in a general sort of way, but I didn't have a night clear for the prep & cooking over that stretch so no biggie personally. Happily, my local Stop & Shop still has them, $5.99, or $4.99 with store card. However I got a pound for free last night because they had no one to man the seafood counter (!) & the store manager, who eventually wound up bagging them, took pity on me for all I had to go through to find him. Good customer relations, guess where I'm gonna make an effort to shop from now on. They had some terrific looking flounder too for about half the price of Whole Foods'. Anyway, got the shrimp on ice &, finally, gonna cook tonight.

The problem with Tenafly is simply that it's got a silly name. It needs similarly whmisical restaurants to attract people from other parts of Jersey. Look at the list of names that closed. Tedious, pretentious, mundane. Who would drive to someplace that nobody knows to dine at such places? Five Gnats Pizzeria. Toad & Durian. Places like that would get me onto MapPoint right quick to see where Tenafly is.

Rotten news. I hope that insurance covers this. Good luck with the rebuilding.

how about LELEZAR or Taj PALACE. Did these restaurants suffer any damage? tom ← No, thanks to the quick work of the Montclair firefighters, the fire was confined to the Carousel building, the rest of the block was not involved at all.

As a sometime visitor from away who always enjoyed coming thru the PPM 5-6 times a year, this news seriously bums me out. It was always a great lunch spot. Of course we're late eaters so we never encountered those service issues. Still, the place always seemed busy on summer afternoons. I guess seasonality is part of the problem. johnnyd, you ought to be working for the City Of Portland, or somewhere where your ideas would become realities.

Wow! I hadn't quite grasped the scale of the event. And I somehow figured that my friend's name would be prominent in whatever program or guide they publish & that everybody would be bound to run into her. I really don't have a clue sometimes. If I can scrounge up her husband's name &/or the estate where he works before the event, I'll pass them along, those might be more useful. Hmm, just decided to google her, she's been busy, here are some links: Her "Wines Of Italy" book A brief bio She is an old friend from NYC in the 1980s, we visited her & her husband in Verona about 10 years ago. Needless to say, they know all of the great obscure restaurants in the area.

I am sorry to have missed this again. Unfortunately it coincides with the annual Blue Oyster Cult in NYC weekend (another subject for another board) & I knew in advance I wouldn't have the strength for both. I know you all are having a swell time RIGHT NOW! Frustrating for me, but I'll look forward to the reports.

Thanks for the info & suggestions. Bloomfield is closer to me than West East Hanover or Chatham, I will have to check out Pandan. Still, I miss those appetizers that they whimsically call "top hats" at Taste of Asia.

We loved their place in Montclair (which, sadly, is still vacant, but that's another story). One of these days gonna have to bite the bullet & haul selves over to Chatham. Where is Penang?

Ooh I am envious. If you should run into one Patricia Guy there - she & her husband live in downtown Verona, she is a wine writer & holds tastings, he is in charge of the wine cellar at an estate outside of Verona (unfortunately I don't recall his name or that of the estate right now), please say hi for me. I can't imagine that they won't both be heavily involved in this event. D'oh! They won't recognize ghostrider. The name is Anton Tibbe.

THey do that with every Glassberg "Neighborhood Eats" story, every week. Sorry I missed the telecast - I usually catch it - and ABC won't let me access their website due to my antiquated browser. (I know, that's my problem. Anyway, congrats on the great press! I drive by AHD almost every day, but since I'm on the job at those times, haven't been able to stop in. One day I will make time for it.

WHole Foods seems to like to go head-to-head with Wild Oats. There is a similar juxtaposition in St. Louis County, tho the stores are a couple of minutes apart, not next door! Here in Jersey, WF's clientele is much more yuppie than hippie. I suppose it's a regional variation. Interestingly, the one I go to often has deals on various staples (rice, yogurt). And they always price their Maine shrimp lower than the local Stop & Shop. Of course you don't go there for deals on produce/fruits/veg. Though it is the best place I've found for off-season lettuce.