ghostrider

The "never changes" is my big gripe there. I am so sick of the brown rice & pureed squash. You can get a decent hunk of fish there, & some of their quasi-Oriental stuff can be tasty, if far from authentic. The size of the portions almost guarantee you a second meal so in that sense they're a decent value. I always enjoy the place when we're there, I just don't feel moved to return very often. Corrado's homemade ravioli, OTOH, I could eat every other night.

Hey ghost, can you give us the low down (or do you know where there is a thread) on the Rutherford scene? Have you been back to mignon? Best choices in the area: Sonoma Cafe Matisse Park & Orchard Everything else is super-ordinary... ← What's Sonoma? Argument to be made that P&O is quite ordinary in some ways. I still like them, & it's kind of apples vs. oranges, but I think Corrado has several dishes as good as anything P&O has. Granted P&O is a more ambitious place & offers a much wider array of menu choices. Eros/After Athens has decent Greek food & generally good fish dishes. (I still have to try Greek Delights in Montclair, I suspect that they're better from all of the raves here.) They pissed me off last time I was there, though; after I had a long discussion with the server about my low-salt diet, the "scallops sauteed in white wine & garlic & herbs" arrived smothered in egg batter, almost looking like a scallop omelet. I wouldn't expect a server to connect low salt with a cardiac-friendly diet if I don't specify that up front, but I thought that this rather peculiar preparation would have rated a better description. More to the point, the accompanying pilaf was loaded with salt. When I pointed this out to the server, he just tried to laugh it off. Not an impressive performance, & I'm not hurrying back.

Hi Frank, not much to report. Went to Corrado the other night, browse down the index page. Haven't been back to mignon, or much of anywhere else in town since, apart from Corrado. Budget constraints, I usually cook or we're eating cheap Chinese.

The Van Saun zoo is pretty cool & has an unexpectedly rich feline collection. Parking is sheer hell there on Sundays tho. I believe that one of those riverside parks has a small pavilion, I remember seeing some sort of huge extended family gathering there last summer. I'm pretty sure I saw beer.....

3 Oyler Units, totalling 2400 pounds of smoking capacity. ← ....I suspect they are possibly cooking briskets and butts in one unit, ribs in one other unit, and chicken in the third. My suspicions are based on my cooking temperatures.... ← The reports of varying degrees of smokiness in the meats reported by eG folk above would seem to bear this out.

It raises a host of issues, yes. It raises so many, in fact, that she can't address them in her short $25 & Under review. All she was doing is providing some context: New Yorkers have been promised great barbecue many times before and no one has delivered. It might be time, she was saying, to accept that no one may ever deliver. I think that's valid. Tell me who among you would dare say Dinosaur or Blue Smoke or even Pearson makes brisket that compares to the better Texas places? ← Context, yes. But the repeated references to her Syracuse colleagues' reactions implied that they felt that Dino Syracuse produced better food. Severson couldn't come right out & say that because she hasn't eaten at Dino Syracuse. Still, she raised the issue and it's fair game. It also contradicts her assertions about regional food; Syracuse isn't NC or KC etc. Looks to me like a piece written under deadline, and a writer who wasn't able to think through the implications of her context-setting. I can certainly accept that she didn't like the food, she backs that up with details. I wish she'd done more of that & dropped the pointless profundities.

What bugs me about Kim Severson's piece is that the real subtext seems to be that New York will never be a great BBQ town, but Syracuse already is (at least to some extent), thanks to the same people about whom she's writing. That raises a host of issues that she doesn't address. I wish she'd stick to the food-specific & establishment-specific criticism, where I have something tangible to consider. Is sweetness in fact the dominant flavor profile at Dino NYC? (Is that also true in Syracuse?) To me that's crucial. I don't get that sense from the eG folks who've been there. Anyway, as usual, I feel I've learned more about Dino & BBQ from the eG diners than from the established media. eG is the future. Thanks y'all.

On my bay window sill is a large flat maroon bowl that's been my fruit bowl for 30 years, give or take a few. It came from the Greenwich House Potters sale, as did 2 other bowls that are still in our cupboard. This is a good cause, & I would urge folks who have the budget for it (that unfortunately leaves me out) to participate.

Haven't been there & I live in town. A local friend says they have great crabcakes. We tried to go there one evening to sample them, but they were closed at what I consider a ridiculously early hour. I don't think it was yet 9:00. Could never muster the wherewithal to try to get there again. There is a new place around the corner from Matisse, facing on Lincoln Park on Highland Cross, called Highland Grill & offering a standard trattoria-style menu. It's a nice looking room. I haven't tried them yet. Their menu notes that several dishes feature, and I quote verbatim, their "ho-made marinara sauce." I really want to go in there and make puttanesca jokes but I don't know if I have the nerve.

Lookit what I found in my Faves file. Forgot I had this: Bergen County Dept of Parks Poke around, inspiration may strike.

Precisely. And if he's not going to bother to explain why, I'm hardly going to bother to care about his opinions.

Exactly! They started bringing the stalks into my local farmers' market in the 1980s. I still can't believe I was nearly 40 years old before I knew how those things grew! In spite of the fact that they were a fave vegetable from early childhood. I'd always pictured them growing like tiny cabbages.

I was going to mention Harriman as well, I go hiking up there all the time - as Curlz says, it's a gorgeous area - but I believe that they too are no-alcohol. I know it's not 100% enforced, the rangers can't be everywhere every minute. But they've got some new young rangers on the staff who are very much by the book. Me, I wouldn't chance it.

It always cracks me up when I buy a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts & the fine print on the bag actually says: Product of Belgium.

A local coffee shop has a sign in the window, "This restaurant does not offer a non-smoking section, as allowed by law." Arthur's is perfectly legal, not being fishy at all. They should, however, have a sign similar to the above somewhere, the law says they have to post their smoking choice.

I love this dish. I make angelhair pasta just for this and I have to have a certain type of garlic. The purple hard neck variety which is difficult to find sold commercially, unless you have a market gardener who grows it, so I began growing my own. I agree with the pecorino, to me it has more "bite" than romano - however I have an aged Asiago which is nearly as good. What brand of olive oil do you use? ← Carapelli regular. I suppose I should try others. I save my Extra Virgin for salads. I should try the Asiago for a change of pace. Parmesan never really clicked with me for this dish. Mmmm, purple hard neck garlic. Haven't had that in a while. I'm just starting on my last head (white) from the last local Farmers' Market of the season back in Oct. It's getting a bit old but still works. Do you add hot pepper, either fresh or dried? I switch back & forth depending on what I've got.

Thanks SethG. Great thread. It does sound like Lombardi's has slipped since I was last there. The guy from the Slice site says pretty much the same thing. Pity.

Spaghettini con aglio e olio, topped with freshly grated pecorino - and I do mean FRESHLY. Somewhere early on in my experiments with this dish, I came to prefer spaghettini to spaghetti; the smaller pasta strands seemed to yield a better balance of flavor. I use linguini fini when I can't get my hands on spaghettini of decent quality. I make this dish 2-3 times a week so there's really no contest here. I believe in garlic.

I have this dim notion of getting some sort of job so we can afford to eat out more often. I'm not sure that it's yet at the level of a full-fledged resolution though Congrats to all those who are either getting married, or leaving their corporate gigs to pursue something more fulfilling, or both.

Perhaps slightly OT, but not worthy of a separate topic either -- I've noticed here & in other threads that folks don't seem to think much of Lombardi's anymore. I haven't been there in 3-4 years, but I thought it was pretty darned good then; the crust was nicely charred & smoky, as I'd expected, & the sauce seemed particularly tangy & flavorful. Has Lombardi's definitely slipped? Or have they simply been eclipsed by places that have different approaches, are using different ingredients, etc.?

Went back to Corrado last night on the spur of the moment - too burned-out to cook & couldn't tolerate another Chinese takeout, so we did a small splurge. The room has been completely redone since we were last there, it's much brighter now. I'm not completely sure that I approve, it seems to kind of shrink the room, but it's easier to read your menus now. The menus have been revamped - a few dishes have been subtracted, actually, & there's now a slot on the back of the menu for the daily specials. The prices haven't changed though, that's good. $7.95 - $8.95 for pastas, $9.95 - $12.95 for regular entrees as I recall; some of the specials go up to $16.95 - $18.95. Our host was warm & friendly as always. We started with a simple house salad - romaine & some mesclun greens - which he dressed with oil & balsamic vinegar after I mentioned my low-salt thing, since the viniagrette was already salted. I appreciated that. The dipping oil was still green & wonderful, & the bread fresh & crusty. We both ordered the same $16.95 special - fettucine with shrimp, artichokes, olives & fresh tomato - sorry I don't have more dishes to report on! It proved to have a balsamic-based sauce that added a touch of smokiness to the flavor. Every ingredient was perfectly cooked, and they had timed the fettucine so that it remained genuinely al dente. Very satisfying. We skipped dessert; I was sorely tempted by the pecan torte (looked much like pecan pie but with a crumb-type crust), but having recently been through a major blood-sugar spike & diabetes scare, I summoned my will power and said "no." Corrado to my mind remains exactly what a trattoria should be: it's comfortable, the folks in the kitchen really pay attention to what they're cooking, and they deliver a solid value every time. I still feel lucky to have a place like this right in my town.

"Wimpitude." I like it. Gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing. I must get up to Hackensack more often.

We really liked the Eastland Park, we'd stayed there over the summer & went right back. Their rooms are considerably smaller than a suite at the Comfort Inn, but nicely appointed. They don't have rooms with any sort of kitchen facilities, alas. They tend to be one of the best deals in town, check their website for rates & specials. Eastland Park The Continental breakfast they have in the lobby is somewhat lackluster, but the comfy chairs are really nice, and at least the whole thing is quick. I like the location, though it's a bit of a hike down to the Old Port area, but I enjoy walking around the town.

Yes we were staying at the Eastland Park, which I think put 555 even closer. Unfortunately they too were among The Closed on 12/26; I phoned. We'd also established that Local 188 was closed after the cab dropped us at Uffa. Long Christmas weekends for everyone in the area, it seems. No, still haven't made it up to Top Of The East. I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes.

Now that I think about it, the Breyers change happened sometime last year, at least in Jersey. I have a 1.75 quart package in my freezer from early October - I know it's that old becuase that's when my doc scared me into swearing off the stuff. I seem to recall noticing the changeover some months before that. Oddly, the corporate website doesn't mention anything about this. Not that the details much matter, it's the principle of the thing.