emmaline

YOU COULD CONSIDER JOSE'S MEXICAN CANTINA IN NEW PROVIDENCE WHICH CONSIDERS ITSELF A YUCATAN RESTAURANT. THE ADDRESS IS 124 SOUTH STREET. THE PLACE HAS AN EXTENSIVE MEXICAN DECOR AND SERVES AMONG OTHER DISHES CACTUS ENCHALADAS. IT HAS BEEN THERE FOR MANY YEARS. WE THINK THEIR SALSA AND BLACK BEEN SOUP ESPECIALLY GOOD. THEY HAVE ANOTHER OUTPOST IN WARREN AT 125 WASHINGTON VALLEY ROAD IN THE QUAIL RUN CENTER. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN HERE.

My husband and I had dinner here last night (Tuesday) and, I'm glad to say had a very, very good meal. We ordered the venison, a favorite of ours. The menu called it something like venison 2 ways. What arrived was a very generous venison sausage and 4 venison cutlets in gravy along with red cabbage and pureed chestnuts. I don't particularly like chestnuts but done this way they were truly awesome. The portions were so generous we took lots home. They have a liquor license. Knowing this we skipped an appetizer and went for dessert. I ordered apple struddle with ice cream served warm and he go carrot cake. I have yet to read a review of this place.

My husband and I ate here last night for our anniversary. We were certainly greatly pleased with the food, decor, ambiance and service. I thought several dishes were top level, those being the amuse bouche of vichysoisse with smoke salmon and dill, and the mixed fruit dessert with the papaya sorbet. The one thing that really upset us was the wine prices. There was not a bottle of red wine for under $42 and no bottle of white wine under $35! We finally settled on 2 glasses of red wine each at $8 each for a total of $32. When we settled our bill, I mentioned their high wine prices to the hostess. Her response was that others had said the same thing, but that the wine was expensive for the restarant to purchase also. In closing she told us the restaurant allowed people to BYO but that they charged a corking fee of $25. For those like us who support reasonable wine prices, that is the way to go.

Thanks for the memories. You neglected to mention that if you want to drink more than water or soda before dinner and you arrive without an alcohol stash, a trip to the Sommers Point traffic circle with its spacious liquor store is in order. My parents always made the trip, with me in tow, before we joined the line waiting outside Watsons. I considered that the quintessional OC dinner. Also, since hurricanes are on everyone's minds, my mother told me how she was caught in a rooming house in OC in the l930's with me only a baby and that the ocean met the bay and the whole place was under water. My father was safe at home.

We ate here two days ago. While a nice addition to Millburn, we expected somewhat more from the place. It is not a close second to Rendevous but was certain less noisy than Show, which we only ate at once. We did glean one piece of information. They are in the process of getting permission to serve NJ wines only under some state provision. When that is to begin they did not say Maybe they pour you a taste of the wine you brought yourself (which we found bizarre) as a practice exercise!

SOB! Both of us could cry because Hans Keller did not reopen the Auberge Suisse. We were steady customers of his for years. I considered his food German Suisse and it was excellent, especially accompanied by Bitburger beer on draft. My husband favored the air dried beef and raclette for appetizers. For a main course, his choice was veal Zuricher. Mine was sauerbrauten with awesome red cabbage and spatzles. Dessert was apple strudle or ice cream with cherries. However, the special reason to go was their winter game menu. In addition to wild boar, they served venison as many as 4 different ways. We knew no other place to offer such options

Tuesday night Charlie and I made our annual pilgramige to one of our favorite We were glad to find that the fire they suffered in the spring had not changed the place that we could tell. Dominique's is a small restaurant and we were impressed to find it 3/4 full. The food was up to the ususal high standard. I began with a hot carrot, ginger soup and Charlie had vichysoisse. It is rare to find vichysoisse either hot or cold on anyones menu anymore. A complementary salad followed. Then I had a large lamb shank with couscous in a marvelous brown sauce. My partner went the appetizer meal route and had the house smoked salmon and the goat cheese tart. To finish off I had coffee and he had a lemon tart. We also noticed that a Cuban restaurant was opening next door in the place of the bar/pool hall of yore. Gentrification here is not a bad thing!

Again thinking outside the Bloomfield Avenue box in Montclair I would like to recommend Orbis at 128 Watchung Avenue in Upper Montclair. The chef is a woman and an excellent cook. The storefront restaurant is in a high ceiling building and has a cool and summery feel. The menu is" imaginative new American" and includes some meat and even more fish. We have never had a bad meal here . It is also BYO.

If you want to try something far out I suggest the Beyti Kabob, 4105 Park Avenue 201-865-6281. It is a Turkish restaurant with an excellent menu and delicious food. It also serves wine and beer.

Glad to hear some else has tumbled to the joys of Mohave. Charlie and I think it has one of the most innovative menus. The corn bread is to die for and the fried plantains also. Charlie had the same pork and loved it last month when we ate there. I had dinner on appetizers, namely the tomato soup and the artichoke quesadilla. There are very few decent options for eating out on Monday night , and MG is one of them. Another bonus is that Trader Joes is only l/2 a mile away, and that means a bottle of 3-buck-Chuck syrah to round out an excellent meal.

You don't say how large your group is, but here's a couple more suggestions. l. Tassert's for contemporary american cuisine in Florham Park. It's roomy, soothing and BYO. 4 of us had a marvelous meal just eating appetizers. 2. Pamir for Afghan food in Morristown. Again roomy and soothing and certainly something different. 3. Mariques in Mendham. We think the food is excellent, it's BYO and it has a room for private parties.

Oh the memories your topic has stirred. Here is our list and some of these places are gone 25 years or more. Maison Billia, Scotch Plains - our first culinary love until it burned. Auntie Mame's, Stirling - for dinner and great sing-a-long evenings East Winds, Scotch Plains - so cool, dark and exotic on hot summer nights Zocolo, North Caldwell - awesome Mexican grilled corn on the cob Sisters, Randolph Juniper, Lyndhurst - Zod did his best cooking here Sinclaires, first in Montclair, then South Orange and then Millburn Turkish Kitchen, Weehawken - no one cooked Turkish like they could The Little Thai, Somerville - our love of Thai food began here Auberge Suisse, Berkley Heights - Please reopen! Nanina's in the Park, Newark, their price fixe dinner for 16 in the cellar was awesome Emmaline

Here's two more names to throw into the hopper. 1. Chez Matisse in Rutherford. Eating outside in their garden with all the fountains personafies romance in my book. Dinner there isn't cheap but the total experience is lst rate 2. Rendezvous in Kenilworth. Here eating inside with the excellent French food and the French country atmosphere is a perfect match.

Papillon is a joint venture between the liquor store nextdoor and Yannick, who previously ran a small (5-7 table) BYO restaurant and catering place down the street. Her food there was French/Cajun/ California cuisine and seemingly known by very few. We could always get a table and her cooking was very good. The new restaurant is much larger and very nicely appointed. The staff is professional and the expanded menu retains Yankck's unique style. Prices have risen and BYO is but a memory. The wine list is extensive and interestingly has more reds listed for $25 than usually seen. Dining there makes a pleasant night out.

We are lucky that we are retired, so we can get to restaurants relatively early and on weekdays. Arriving at 6 or 6:30 on a Tuesday night seems to do the trick. We have eaten alone or with one other table taken in Rendezvous, Chez Dominique, Jocelynes, Epernay, La Grotto Amica , Mariques, 89 Main, Tasserts and Metuchen Inn, all very good restaurants.

For this mother, Mother's Day and all other holidays that advocate eating out are the days I stay home. When do I like to go? On slow restaurant nights when I feel the chef is cooking for my husband and me. In fact the greatest experience is when we are the only people in a fine restaurant.

I gather that Chez Dominique was closed because of a fire in late winter. Has it reopened, moved or closed. It was one of our favorite summer restaurants.