jsfein

I'm looking to check out some Freehold restaurants that I haven't yet tried ... Citrus, Eric's Steakhouse, and the new Japanese place that opened up on Main St. in the Borough. Anyone been to these places?

El Meson is on Main Street in the Borough across from the bus station. IMO, the best Mexican in Monmouth County.

Absolutely terrible. Do yourself a favor and go to El Meson if you want Mexican. I'm not a big fan of Moore's Tavern next to Escondido's, but the kids meals at Moore's are a pretty good deal (I think they include dessert). Even Chili's on Rte. 9 is a better option than Escondidos.

Had a recent first time dinner at Daniel. All around very good meal, but certainly not great. Service, presentation, room, etc. were all very impressive. No complaints there. The food, on the other hand, was one step below. Amuse nicely presented on a three tier dispaly, included a chick pea spread, a tiny fleck of fluke, and something else. For appetizers, we had smoked lobster and foie gras ($15-18 supplement for each). Both good, not great. Wife's duo of beef was tasty and fork tender. Nothing on the plate besides the meat. My veal chop special was also fork tender, but relatively tasteless. Big disappointment. Desserts were solid - chocolate souffle and caramel rice krispy (sp?). At $175 pp, had hoped for a more overall memorable meal. Will most certainly go elsewhere for next special occasion.

I unfortunately must cancel a reservation I have at Per Se on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. for 2. With all of the amazing reviews (and especially those just posted), needless to say I'm extremely disappointed. If anyone is interested in trying to grab my reservation, send me a message and perhaps we can coordinate phone calls to the restaurant.

I have never dined at your restaurant and don't live nearby, so I can't comment on what more you can do. What I can share is one family's dining habits that frequently leans towards the chain restaurants. I have 3 children under the age of 6. Wife & I work full time. We dine out as a family about once per week, and dine out alone about once per month. That's approximately 5-6 dinners at a restaurant per month, not including the dinners we take in. When we eat out as a family we tend to go to a chain or something of its equivalent for various reasons. Price is a factor. Typically, I'm paying $5-8 less per adult entree and $2-5 less per kids entree (if a non-chain restaurant even offers a kids menu). In total, my average bill at a chain will be about $25 less at a chain than a non-chain. I know that I'm sacrificing quality for this savings, but there are other benefits. If one of my kids is having an "off" night, it usually will not impact other diners as much at a chain than at a non-chain. I can usually get in and out faster at a chain than non-chain which is critical with my aged kids. And, although I don't eat out to keep my kids entertained, the chains tend to do a good job of this with crayons and other distractions. In recent months, the chains have also finally started to offer more healthy eating options for children. The dinner we "treat" ourselves to without the kids once per month when the babysitter comes I would imagine is of a restaurant along the lines of your own. We tend to spend between $100-$150 on these meals and like to try places we haven't been to. Of the dozen or so of these meals we eat per year, there is usually no more than 1 or 2 repeat restaurants. I don't know whether my family's dining habits are typical of others, but based upon the volume of families I see at the chains I tend to think that they are. I am not sure how the non-chains can compete for the dining dollars of families like mine without certain sacrifices.

Another vote for Dock's. It doesn't meet your "cheap" request, but as indicated well worth it. I've had several very good meals here and if you like a raw bar you'll be very happy. Be sure to call for a reservation.

Daniel -- How was your dinner on July 4th? Anything to add to the reviews that have been posted?

Has anyone dined at Per Se with a "non-foodie" person. I have an August reservation and one in my group will be interested in some of the courses from the Chef's Tasting Menu, but may not be interested in as many as 3 or 4 of the courses. Is it likely that accommodation will be made for such a large number of substituted courses (say, for instance, substituting off of the vegetarian menu)? Might such an accommodation be considered to fall under the "1x1" or "2x2" posts I have read (and therefore add to the bottom line of the meal)? I know that these questions are best answered by the folks at Per Se, but just wondering if anyone can add their 2 cents.

Its really no different than Wegmans calling its Mercer County Store the "Princeton Wegmans" when in reality the store is in West Windsor. Its just a label using the name of a recognizable town.