jhlurie

If I lived near Ramsey I'd be at Kinchley's all the time. It's some of the best Pizza in NJ. It is--unfortunately--fairly crowded, but I'm pretty sure they still do take-out. Xaviar's, in Piermont, is certainly as good as dodge621 mentions, but not discussed was the one month waiting list for reservations. Instead, try for the ajoining wine bar next door (I forget the exact name--anyone know?), which shares a kitchen with Xaviar's and is walk-in. The only catch is the wait, since its first come first serve I've heard that occasionally people show up at 5pm to eat at 7pm. There's also a decent informal pasta restaurant across the street from Xaviar's called Pasta Amore (845-365-1911 -- 200 Ash St, Piermont, NY). I haven't been there for years, but a Chinese restaurant in Ramsey called "Look-See Restaurant" (201-327-1515 -- 295 N Franklin Tpke, Ramsey, NJ) used to be okay--at least for the occasional low-end Chinese-American buffet engorgement we all occasionally want. Maybe someone who has been there more recently can comment.

Mark, I think this discussion is about Roy Yamaguchi's restaurant, although that thread name is a bit vague. And "is it still good" implies that the NYC location ever was good... and Fat Guy and a few others who were there don't seem to think it ever was (me, I hadn't even been aware that there WAS a NYC location, so don't ask me--heck, I'm still not sure what "Fusion Hawaiian" cuisine is...). Besides, Does Roy Rogers even exist anymore? I mean outside of a few holdouts who are running the stores independantly?

OKay... the last two times I've been to China 46 were times when I THOUGHT the place should have been packed, and three or four tables, tops, were occupied (one of the two times was a FRIDAY night, the other a Tuesday). Cecil WAS there both times, although on one occasion he didn't show up until near the end of the meal. The person I'd REALLY be concerned about "not being there", even more than Cecil, is the Chef--Peter. Then again he's in the back out of sight... so its tough to know his exact where and when-abouts. The food seemed fine both times though, so other than a casual comment to Cecil I really didn't make much of it.

I have to agree with Jason. I've been to at least two of those three places on Piermont Road, and was never that impressed. Korean food, to me, is so simple in its goodness that most attempts to doll it up and fancify it usually don't impress me--especially when the same or better food is available down the road a bit for 2/3rds the cost. Not that I'm saying that upscale Korean won't work, just that it has to be more than the same food with more expensive surroundings.

Lighthouse's excellence at the simple stuff (Galbi, Dumplings, Tofu soups) is close to unequaled... assuming that's what you stuck to, I mean. More sophisticated? You could try Koreana, in Fort Lee. It's fairly new, but its the same owners of two previous restaurants of that name (in Paramus and later in Franklin Lakes, I think) which both were 3-Star places in the Jersey papers. Tappan, NY? I wouldn't normally think of that as a likely location for excellent Korean, but sometimes excellence flourishes outside of the obvious places. Do they get a reasonable Korean clientele up there?

Yes I've never had a reservation screwed up in the city, nor have I ever been pushed.

Yes, but it sounds like they were demanding it 20 minutes early.

Picking up some food at a neighborhood joint--El Idolo--I had the usual commiseration session with the owner about how bad business is, and how he's had a tough time drawing attention to his little hole in the wall, and how he'd turned the drink fridge towards the door in hopes of drawing walk-in business from thirsty passers by. I said all the right things, shook my head up and down and sideways at the right time, paid for my food and left. It got me thinking... there are some places where you WISH you could help more, but you know that you can't really do all that much. We can post reviews here on eGullet, and tell our friends, but sometimes it's just not enough. The purpose of this thread is NOT specifically for El Idolo, they are a solid enough place to get Ecuadoran food, if you happen to be looking for a hole in the wall place with that (and you don't live that far away), but instead to create a specific place where NJ eGulleteers can let out a shout to patronize places which are deserving (and by that I mean either "good" for a neighborhood place or "very good" for a place worth travelling for), and yet STILL seem to be on the edge of failure. This posting should be seperate from any review of the place you might give in another thread (which can be linked back to your post here, or vice-versa). Perhaps this may allow a more direct approach, since the "review" threads get spread out quite a bit. In my mind, this thread would be for restaurants in any range--from hole-in-the-wall to fine dining, in any area of NJ, of any cuisine type, with the sole commonality that they are doing SOMETHING interesting enough to deserve a look, but that their number may almost be up, business-wise. So what are your favorite places which need our help? Be specific with the location, the relative excellence (you might be recommending it for one specific dish... fine, just SAY so), and whether its worth travelling for or should just be investigated by locals. If you know the reason, explain why the place seems to be minus customers.

Favorite Herbs as well as Spices now too? The only guy named Herb I know is Herb Alpert, and I'd hate for him to be my "favorite".

Sporty Spice? Baby Spice? Sexy Spice? I can't decide.

Diddles! That looks good.

Re: China 46 Eartly Bird... Basil Chicken is VERY good.

I'm not positive tommy, but I think the C46 "Early Bird Menu" is filled with "Rich Tradition in America" items, which is C46 code talk for "the boring stuff". Then again, its still probably pretty good.

Yeah, my mom ate there a few weeks back. Gave it good marks, but she wasn't very specific. It's right off Rte. 684, off the Hardscrabble Road exit, and I've at least passed it a few times. It's in a space converted from a pub, which was in that location for, I don't know, twenty years or so. I'll see if I can get details, but she's horrible about stuff like this. It's probably genetic, since I'm only marginally better. edit - wait... it looks like you need an address or a name. I'm sure I can get that, just not tonight. edit again - okay, I found the info without calling her. It's "Finch Tavern" and it's Croton Falls, not Katonah. The GM is Daniele Mastrangelo, per this article, dated a mere two days ago. Yahoo Yellow pages has no listing, but you should try the real phone company instead, I guess. Confusingly enough, the NY Times ALSO has a reference and says that its in "North Salem, N.Y", which previously unknown to me is a few towns away from Croton Falls, and which ALSO has no listing for "Finch Tavern" in the Yahoo Yellow Pages.

Sorry tommy, these folks say 110 per glass, as you say, being very vague about what constitutes a glass. ETA - this is a little more precise, but still confusing. Oh... here's another.

There IS a Grand Sichuan East, and I've eaten there, and it wasn't BAD, but I'm not sure who owns it. It's along the West side of 2nd Avenue, 'rounds about 55th or 56th Street, but I don't recall any sign of Fresh chicken. Edit to say - I can't find it listed in the local Yellow Pages directory at Yahoo!, so maybe its gone. I last ate there about eight months ago. Edit again - nor in Citysearch.

tommy, apparently this is a case of former partners splitting up, or something like that, and both proceeding with the same name. Just go to 50th street, okay? And don't listen to Wilfrid, just this once. Get the Kung Pao as hot as they will make it and just push aside the peppercorns.

It's actually not that new. I bought it about a year and a half ago. I agree its pretty good. I remember it being a bit expensive.

Only one legit reason, ever. Old pipes.

It's in Palisades Park. Frankly... at least in my opinion... it was never great. "Okay" is the best I could grace it with, at least compared with most Newark places.

You should NEVER put up with bad bread in a Newark restaurant. Never. The steak was the "smallest" dish, and as Rachel said it probably could have been re-sized by request since it was by the pound. But it was a big boneless fillet cut, so it was virtually all edible, short of a little fat as a connector in the middle of the fillet (the fat on the outside had obviously been trimmed). Rachel and Jason's dishes both seemed massive. The chorizo portion was HUGE. Two FULL sized sausages--each seemingly big enough to be a complete lunch for one person. The dessert portion (the berry flambe) would have clobbered one person. I'd guess it to be normally sized for two (still slightly hungry) people. The fritas Jason (unneccesarily!) ordered on the side were a surprisingly small portion. I think neither Rachel nor I spoke about them because--at best--they were average.

Hah, I thought Jason--as the only person to try every single thing we ate--was going to comment. He's just being lazy, I tell you! Anyway, I hadn't eaten with the Perlows for quite some time (meaning I've been eating conservatively and diet-like for a while ) so I readily agreed to something massive. The chorizo was above average. I saw the piece that Rachel took, and she really got hit with some bad luck. Jason and I both seemed to agree that the meat/fat was much more in the proper ratio in what we ate than in hers. I tend to favor crumbly, spicy chorizo, but this was an excellent specimen of a sweeter more mellow and chewy kind of sausage. On Portuguese rolls, it did give your jaws a bit of a workout, but it was worth it. The Black Angus Steak was fantastic--very highly recommended. It was well and properly seasoned, and while I couldn't swear to this, I'm pretty sure it that it was well and properly aged on a meat hook in a warehouse somewhere as well. It just had that taste to it. It didn't shy away from salt, but neither was it overwhelmed by it in the way some Portuguese or Brazilian restaurants might serve it. It was served with some fairly boring roasted New Potatoes, but also with a passable Balsamic salad. I traded Jason some Steak for a Pork Chop, and while not quite as stellar as the Steak, it was above average as well. Jason asked for a garlicy preparation (I have no idea if that was the default) and they obliged quite nicely. They were only about medium thickness, but reasonably large in size (and he had about two more of them on top of the one he traded with me). The sangria--of which I drank the third not consumed by Rachel--was made with a far better than usual red wine, but hadn't had the fruit in it long enough. The mariachi band should have been shot. It was like a Mexican shakedown. Rachel didn't say much about the space this was all going on in. It was actually quite attractive. The entrance opens into an airy high ceilinged area which to the left expanded into a racous, very full, and fairly fun looking "bar" /"informal eating" area, and the right side, past the meat and seafood counters (which seem like they might do neighborhood meat sales) led to the much quieter split-level "restaurant" area--and that was the part which was only about 10% full at 8 o'clock on a Friday night. The customers, at least initially, seemed to be a fairly balanced group--a few couples, at least one family, and some random twenty-somethings down at the other end of the dining room from us. And we had no direct view of the second-floor, so there may have been more people up there. The wait staff was VERY attentive, in fact there were almost as many waiters as customers, at least until a large party of burly looking Italian gentlemen came in towards the end of our meal. Hey, it's Newark, okay? One guy--who I refused to look directly at--was about as broad as he was tall, walked in a hunchback fashion, had a funny little mustache and a high and squeaky (and yet somehow also grumbly) voice which seemed to carry--although it also seemed like his vocal cords were somehow optional to the process. All I know is that everyone at that table laughed... with him I mean. Gotta love Newark.

Maid-Rites shipped to you, huh? I wonder how much they sell this way?

Fat Guy's description is pretty much how I remember it. The egg noodles are far from universal, from what I understand. Oddly enough... here's a link to a Yankee Pot Roast Recipe which seems to use salt pork or bacon as part of the mix: http://www.yankeeharvest.com/recipes/recipe40.html That's just bizarre, although apparently its just the pork fat they want. Bay leaves and thyme. I always remember Bay leaves and thyme in it though.

I'm just saying I like it, you know. Now that we're all done with "Sloppy Joes". The egg noodles are very important.