Daniel

Hey thank you thank you.. I am renting a car out in vegas for this drive. This means I will have very little regard for the cars care. I am assuming i will be in a convertable of some sort, in a newish model. No XM radio, but we have been working on our IPOD list for the last week. The thing is: Me and this girl i will be traveling with might have seperate agendas. This is a big "getting to know ya" type thing. However, due to her lack of a drivers license i am pretty much in charge of the trip. And I am down for anything and will certainly be willing to try my best to hit all the spots. I am a rather fast driver. Speeds might possibly reach into triple digits if i dont make a concerted effort to slow down. I really appreciate you doing this for me. Daniel

Mayhaw Man, I would pretty much trust any person who is the forum host for beer as well as Louisianna with my life. Haha. 1-10 It is if the map tells me I can do it in 5 days. Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions. Now that i know the route. I need to know the place worth going to. I figure 3-5 meals a day for 4 or 5 days. haha..Definately bringing a bbq incase i hit something good.. j/k I am so bad with direction I am buying a book tonight. Daniel

Thats a pretty big claim for MV. But i will certainly give it a shot the next time I go back. I just thought of another good idea, but i dont know if you feel like doing it. You can buy a clamming permit for next to nothing. And then go out to South Beach where the bay and the ocean are right next to each other. Then you can spend a nice day at the beach doing a little clamming and eat them right on the beach if you bring a grill. The blues were running when i was there too. People were grabbing them out of the water left and right, on south beach this saturday.

Can i please ask you what in the world is marshmallow phosphate. Sounds really good whatever it is

Yeh I do have to work out the route.. I would just prefer to go the shortest possible way. I heard of this one stretch of road called the loniliest road.. I am not too sure i want to drive that part. I know we are going to go camping one night in Utah I think. But after that I think we need to boogey back to NYC.

Krazy I certainly am. I go to Las Vegas about four times a year for work and the convention is ending on a Wednesday and I have never driven across country. It just so happens that there is this girl I will be driving back with that is scared of flying. So to give you the answer behind the majority of stupid things done by men, "its for a girl" Besides there is so much of the country I havent eaten, I mean seen yet. But yeh, after seeing my itinerary laid out like that, It does seem a little much. Oh well, I am sure this trip will certainly not be uneventful. Thank you and if anyone can add anything I would appreciate it. Daniel

I just went to Philadelphia Grill today and i must say it was really very good. I agree with John on this place . I think it was the best Philadelphia style cheesesteaks i have had in New Jersey. (i would say outside of philly but i am a big fan of woogies in manhattan) I also agreed with john in that the bread was different then the traditional bread and that the sandwich was too small. The meat however was delicious. I got a provo wit whiz and it was fantastic, I just wish however they used a different bread. While I was there, the majority of people were ordering hot dogs, so i think that needs to be explored a little more. The fries were okay. Very thick, the type that needs to be eaten while they are really hot or they suck. I picked up about six of them for co-workers and everyone really enjoyed them.. I am hoping I have made a fan out of at least one of them who would be willing to get them the next time.

Hello, Driving from Las Vegas to Manhattan in the middle of August. I am doing it in five days so I dont have much time to do much straying from the path. First, i would really appreciate it if anyone could suggest a route to take. Secondly, if anyone would be able to suggest cool places to stop and eat i would really appreciate that as well. I kind of am just deciding this trip right now.. My shotgun partner doesnt have a drivers liscence and I am shakey so we are hopefully going to be planning frrequent stops. Thanks, DANIEL

Sorry Lure is pretty expensive not ridiculous but pretty.

I have to tell you, i just got back from Marthas Vineyard last night and i have an amazing place. I have been going to Marthas for some time now and I make a point to go to this place at least once a trip. The place is called Larsen's seafood. It looks like (and it is) a little shack right on the water. Now its primarily a seafood store, but they happen to sell steamed lobsters, steamed clams, mussels, shrimp, chowder, and other cooked food. What i do is because Menemsha is a dry town, is buy a few beers or a bottle of wine and go down there right around sun set. You take your food right around back where they have little tables constructed out of lobster traps, and you sit right on the dock watching the ships come in. Yesterday I had a three pound lobster at 8.45 a pound served with drawn butter and lemon and a pound of large shrimp cooked in old bay for 11 bucks. It was unbelievable. Oysters were a little pricey at 1.50 a piece. But this is truly the best seafood experience i have had since last year while i was there. Another great food experience i had out there was going to this place called Lure right on South Beach. The setting was really relaxed with comfy chairs and setting. I had halibut in a clam bullouisabase (sp)? with choriso mashed potatoes. The halibut was prepared perfectly. My date had line caught swordfish served in a lobster broth with olives and fontina risotto. It was terrific. For an appetizer she had a large scallop with truffled mushrooms. Real good!! Place was pricey but definately one of the better places on the island. You have to be aware of the fact that Edgertown, Oak Bluffs, and I forget which are the only towns that serve alcohol. So I would bring differents wines in anticipation.

I will definately try it out once i get back to my new jersey office. I have been in New York since finding out about it and havent been able to go. On another note: Chicks Seafood has recently re-opened. Its right on trumbull street right outside the Industrial Park i work in. I had gone there for lunch a couple of times in the past few weeks and was presently surprised. I had ordered a rabbit stew that was terrific. Served with a plate of rice,french fries, vegetables, it was awesome. I also had the scallops in Chicks Sauce. Which is a tomato sauce with onions, chunks of chorizo, and other vegetables. I have also had there shrimp in garlic sauce which was terrific too. The scene is very portugese day bar/restaurant, but the waitresses are very pleasant and it seems very clean. Best chicken in Elizabeth. Nothing beats Chicken King on 1st ave. Real rough area so i like to pick up the five dollar half chicken. fries and rice when its raining. Park the car out front and quickly run in. However the area has gotten alot better since they leveled the projects over there.

I am a little disappointed. Why come i didnt hear anything about the Philadelphia Grille on here? I heard the place is amazing. Too bad my lunch today was spent on blimpies. Would love to get an opinion on this place.

I was just brought to little cupcakes from the Bent Spoon. They were awesome! Too bad the gelato doesnt travel as well. My mother still got ice cream at the halo, but she also had a small there too.

Baba Ghanouj has cumin and tahini. The greek eggplant salad has that i know of : olive oil, garlic, charred eggplant, lemon juice and sometimes mayo. I dont know what else is in there.

I am looking for a Melizanasalata recipe. I was hoping someone might have one. Preferably with dill in it. Thank you.,

Went to the Elvis Costello concert last night and had planned on meeting this girl at Rosa Mexicano right across the street from Avery F.. I have never been to Rosa and didnt realize that it was so important! So after managing to come to my senses after finding myself standing on the street holding a beeper, i decided to see see how things are at Compass after Ms Sparks bounced. The menu has pretty much stayed on the same course. They have kept a couple of the old appetizers, and changed some. I was upset to find the maya shrimp gone.. However, i quickly recovered after seeing the Rabbit and clams Arrabiata. This dish is still very good. Since we had an 8 oclock show and i was set back from the Rosa thing, we had to hurry. We had a salad that had diced asparagus, chickpeas, hearts of palm, celery,carrot,and blue cheese. It had a lemon vinegarette. It was refreshing. Definately something i will make for a cp concert picnic. Next we had soft shell crab in a plantain sauce. There were other things going on in the plantain sauce, but it primarily tasted like dipping crab into bannana fosters sauce. I ended up eating the crab with the arrabiatta. Then carpaccio with fleur de sal and charred scallions. Served on the side was lobster and feta cheese, and toasted bread. Not bad. Overall, this place was better then I thought it was going to be, but it was still not good. They have there sous chef working the kitchen and he is making dishes and trying hard. But it just has no umph. Curious to see what the stoopid managment will fill the kitchen with this time. I spoke to the waiter and he basically said that Katy didnt like having to turn so many tables. That she liked a smaller intimate setting. But what the hell does he know. I am sure she confided her thoughts with the world. After the concert went to Rosa Mexicano. Had the guacomole. It sucked. No lime? Place is pretty blah.

Jacques-Imos kind of was disappointing. I have been there five times. Mainly to drink and listen to the music they had or still have on Sundays. I had the alligator cheese cake twice. The first time it was great, the second time it wasnt done as well. but that done poorly is still pretty good. I also had the gumbo and found it to be good. But IMO the best thing they do there is make a super bloody mary. Complete with pickled okra, pickled string beans, shrimp, and celery. Its a meal in itself. One thing that disappointed me about Jacques-Imo's is i feel like they rushed to get it open. They have admitted to making a really limited menu, and that they were still getting the kinks out. The place really isnt that complicated. The restaurant is small, the menu is small, and yet there is a vibe that its still a work in progress. I mean they dont even have shrimp cocktail for crying out loud, but they have buckets of cooked shrimp behind the bar to place in drinks? I feel like the owners of this place really half assed it, and its rather apparent.

I am a big fan of truffle butter gruyere.

I heard good things about gumbo and this place called natchez which is run by a former sous chef of emerald.

I think rosemont in general is from another era. Shall we say the Capones chicago era. First of all, there are no schools, no libraries or movie theaters. The town has had only one mayor in 30 something years. His son is the chief of police and its right by ohare airport which i am sure handles alot of commerce and interesting materials. So it should be only natural for the old boys club to have matching cuisine. Best sleeper place in the area, Basillico's.

i went to Meskerem Ethiopian Cuisin at 124 Macdougal St.. I can honestly say with exception to the bartender it was a collection of the most miserable people i have ever met working together. I think it was fate that they all happened to find eachother.

Hey thanks casey.. That is a good idea. I just prefer to drive. But i did notice how close it was.

Hello, Daniel from NYC out in rosemont chicago for business.. Tomorrow is my birthday. I often come here for business so have hit many of the normal places out here in the immediate area. I dont have a car but wouldnt mind traveling for an awesome place. Tomorrow is my bday and a couple of people are looking to take me out somewhere. I have been to place like ventannas, nicks, carluccis, every steak place, le cave. Can anyone recommend a cool place for my bday. Thanks alot. Daniel

Ok..So i made a call to my old nieghbor. The guy who still gives me pheasant meat over christmas and warns me of the buckshots in them.. He told me that the flemmington market is alive and well. Here is a link. I have so much eating to do in NJ. Things could be worse. http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&ie=U...56123&oi=locald

Word to burger.. That is the exactly the place. Is the guy with the hooks selling the chips still. If you go back i would highly recommend getting chicken pies and make sure you use apple cider vingegar with them. Summer sausage and cream cheese rolled up, or on white bread with butter and potato chips. Also they do a monthly pig roast that cant be missed. They have anything going on for the fourth. I wouldnt be surprised if there is a pig roast this saturday.