hitmanoo

Just booked a res for V-day, ladies choice. I'll do my best to give a review. Tough night.

just checked reservations online. only 5:30 and 9:30 available. better make a res soon!

What do you have planned at your place, Lou?

I appreciate all of the non-restaurant related advice, I really do. But the restaurant thing is going to happen--I accept what is out of my control. That being said, any restaurant advice? Believe me, I'm capable of cooking a fantastic and romantic dinner for two and going all out at home, but...

Tough crowd! thanks for the link, rosie. not really my choice to celebrate valentine's day on the day itself. very much a hallmark holiday, if you ask me. however, my wife is sentimental about such things so... ...I'll most likely be going out on Mon night--for reasons... I digress. Any thoughts or suggestioins?

I was considering making a reservation to Wish in West Orange, but before I did that, I thought I'd find out what some other people thought. Any ideas?

I was considering checking out this place, but hadn't gotten to do so yet. After reading your review, I'm in no particular hurry.

Their featured dish is far and away their Peking Duck.

I've been to this place several times, both as Trattoria Fresco, and back when it was Oggi's. I've only had one good experience at this place, when both the food and service were excellent. Am I going to have to go back and give it another shot??? I'm batting about 10-15%. I'll have to go back with an open mind.

Don't know if this helps or not, but I dined here a few months ago, and the food was fairly non-distinct. So much so that I've never gone back. Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad, but there really wan't anything special. In fact, I can't really remember what I ordered, or what the table ordered in general. I went with my wife and my parents, and I sampled most of the dishes, and there wasn't anything that excelled more than any other dish. I live close enough to this restaurant--my parents even closer--that this would be in the regular mix if it were anything better than average, unfortunately, it's really not special. As a sidenote, this place is owned by Mr. Panico. He's the gentleman who owned Mezzanote (now Luce) on Bloomfield Ave in Caldwell. Mezzanote was, and Luce is, a better restaurant than Colors.

comparing those two suggests that you might prefer the white manna style over a standard hamburger. they are two different animals, imo. but i agree that the gaffer's burger is overrated. the best burgers to be found are at my house. i'm convinced that no one in NJ tops my burger. and i can't for the life of me figure out why restaurants can't make a completely kick-ass burger. ← Two entirely different bugers, agreed. I'm just saying that if you're going out strictly for a buger, Gaffers is no big wow. As far as you making the best burger, I'm in! Actually, sounds like you and schmooty could have a burger contest, as his burger is by far the best I've ever eaten. As I have never had yours, tommy, I'm not passing any judgement. Merely saying that schmooty makes one heck of a burger!

IMO, the Gaffers burger is overrated. It was decent, but I've had far better burgers at White Mana in Hackensack.

Does it not stand to reason that there is a niche for non-smoking restaurants. If you can serve good food with good service, in the right atmosphere, and CHOOSE not to allow smoking, perhaps you'd find a crowd receptive to your services. The boost/decline of actual business dependent on smoking is a little silly. People have to eat. I'm sure that smokers and/or non-smokers aren't going to do all of their own cooking due to the various restaurant policies. For example, I just haven't mastered my skills at Thai cooking. Until I do, and probably even after that, I'm going to go to some Thai restaurants regardless of their individual smoking policies.

I did NOT have anything to drink other than water. I've been trying to drink more water lately. On a Mon night, I didn't have much cause to deviate from that goal. The wine list is extensive. I think they have a link off their website. In addition, they feature nightly wine specials. The wait staff did an excellent job of explaining the various wines, going into great detail of the expected taste, boldness, dryness and overall flavor of the wine specials. I'm sure they'd be able to answer any general wine questions regarding the regular list that you may have. Not being a connoisseur of wine myself, I'm not really able to answer many specific questions. The wine list, while not as extensive as Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, FL, was impressive.

Ate at La Griglia for the first time last night. La Griglia A cozy little place right on the main boulevard in Kenilworth. The service was prompt, courteous and friendly-- the food excellent, the wine list extensive. I started off with the Cajun Calamari. I've never had calamari quite like it. Not overly spicey, full-flavored with a perfect texture. The mixture of diced tomatoes and scallions added a delightful contrast to the flavor of the calamari. Interesting dish in that each bite offered a different flavor, depending on if there was any combination of the calamari, tomato, and/or scallion. Great Ap. For a main course, I opted for the Chicken Giambotta. Basically boneless sauted breasts of chicken w/ pepper, mushroom, sausage, artichoke hearts, onions and potatoes. Just a great combination of flavors. Cooked perfectly, I truly enjoyed it. I got to try my wife's dish. She ordered Zuppa di Pesce. A nice mix of seafood with a tomato based seafood sauce with garlic. Very tasty broth, and the seafood was fresh and delicious. The very generous portions led to us taking about half of our main dishes home to try again tonight. The dessert list was very tempting, but I was far too full to give it a shot, and given that it was a Monday night, I chose not to stuff myself. Moderately priced--not too expensive, I have to give this restaurant a full recommendation. I'm excited to go back and give it another try. There were multiple items on the menu that I'd love to sample, and the nightly specials sounded excellent.

If they did do wings, I didn't realize. I certainly didn't mean to make an untrue statement. If Fink's does indeed do wings, my sincerest apologies

We're thinking of making a Fink's run for our Superbowl party this year. Is there going to be a special ordering process? Too bad you don't do buffalo wings, or we could come to you for one-stop-shopping.

I've eaten at the Parsippany location recently, and I must say that I hope the Edison location is superior. Much as you described, the portions are gigantic. The matzah balls are the size of softballs. A slice of cake is designed to feed a birthday party of 12. A sandwich is made to be split between 2-4 people, etc. Unfortunately, the quality at Harold's--at least the Parsippany location--has deteriorated over the years. The motto seems to be: Dazzle 'em with quantity! I guess that the majority of the clientelle is so overwhelmed by the portion size, that they don't even notice that the quality is subpar. I'm glad that you had a good meal at the Edison location. I just have fond memories of how things used to taste at the Parsippany location, and I'm disappointed with how things have become.

Down home, old-school NJ Italian cooking. It's not upscale, but it's a great place to grab a delicious, affordable dinner.

I'd have no problem giving Lenny and John's a shot. What is the location? Bloomfield is a big town.

I didn't think a liquor license had anything to do with cooking with alcohol. A liquor license governs the sale of alcohol for consumption. If cooking with alcohol were regulated, any local deli/food shop serving penne ala vodka would come under the scrutiny of law enforcement. As far as any allergies to alcohol, I'd assume that the allergic individual would have to be careful about eating food in any restaurant, or in general when that individual wasn't doing the cooking. This is no different than it would be for someone with a peanut allergy or other food related allergy.

Ok, I just tried out Tutta Fresca in Livingston. I must admit, I had a little trouble finding the place, even though I knew it was across the street from the post office on Route 10. It really is a little house, very tiny indeed. I decided to go with something basic, just to get a baseline. I had a sub with turkey breast and genoa salami, with lettuce, tomato, roasted red pepper and mustard. Not bad, not bad at all. I can't honestly say that it's on the level of Cosmo's but it was a pretty tasty sandwhich. The bread was not too dense. It made for a nice foundation. The lettuce was of the shreaded variety. Too finely shreaded in my opinion. No complaints about the tomato slices, and the roasted red peppers hit the spot. The turkey was fresh and flavorful, but I wasn't a huge fan of their choice in brand of Salami. Maybe I'm too finicky when it comes to salami, but I know what I like. Didn't think to look for their particular brand at the time. In all, the sandwhich was a B+. Not good enough to become my pre-Giants game sub of choice, but solid enough to be in the rotation. I'll have to go back and try other things. For cheese fans, their mozzarella is supposedly top notch.

My first effort at uploading an image. Hope it works! If so, thank you Rosie!

I'm not sure what bachelor parties YOU'VE been to, but I guess it's all a matter of where you wind up. For example, one time I wound up in a place where I saw the juciest, most succulant piece of _____ I'd ever seen! ______ = Apple Pie. What did YOU choose to fill in the blank???