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Well, last year, they blocked off about half the field from being used as parking, and that's what made it a nightmare. I went a few times last year, right when they opened, and each time, by the time I got out at about 1:15 pm, the field was jammed with cars and people. It took me almost 15 minutes to get out each time, and this was early. Maybe it will be better this year. The Nyack market sounds interesting, and I like that it's early hours. Are they open for business yet?

The River Vale Farmer's Market is good too, and I hope to get there too. The produce vendors there seem to have a bit more variety than Ridgewood, but they're also more expensive. The Amish sometimes have some interesting things, including some great, cheap, delicious cheeses. The Jam Man's jams blow the Amish jams away though. The seafood guy is very interesting, and although I haven't bought anything from him yet, I may take the plunge this year. He's not cheap, but the stuff looks so good. For those planning on going to the River Vale market, be forewarned that parking is a NIGHTMARE, so get there and get out early, or you'll be waiting 45 minutes to find and/or back out of a parking spot in very tight quarters. Still, it's a nice market, although I always thought it was weird that it's held on Thursday afternoons. Still, I'm looking forward to going there.

That Lafayette Farmer's Market sounds real neat, but too far for me to go. I did go to the Ridgewood Farmer's Market today, the opening day for the season. Exactly the same as last year: Two produce vendors, one larger, cheaper, and generally busier than the other, although they're both pretty good. Great cheap herbs. I got a bunch of basil and a bunch of oregano for $1.00 each. The Honey Lady: I believe this woman is affiliated with the larger produce vendor. Great honey in a variety of flavors, although the choices were limited today. I got some great lemon zest honey, $5 for 1 lb. She should have strawberry, blueberry, and other fruit flavors in the next few weeks. The mozzarella/sausage guys: These guys make great mozzarella and have dried sausages, sundried tomatoes, and cannolis in addition to the mozzarella made on site. Good stuff. Picklelicious: Great kosher pickles and olives in several varieties. The hot & spicy are my favorite. Baked goods vendor: They seem to be very popular. Some good breads, but most of their sweet goods seem kind of so-so to me. The Jam Man: A new addition last year, the Jam Man is back and I'm glad he is. This guy makes some incredible stuff. Very nice guy too. He didn't seem to have a whole lot of flavors available today, but I got some blueberry/rhubarb jam and some outrageous tropical peach jam. He offers samples of everything too. He raised his prices a bit, $6 for one jar or $10 for two, but this is some of the best jam you will ever taste and it's well worth the money (and I'm cheap). Overall, nothing new and exciting, but the old and familiar is good, so why mess with success? I'm looking forward to going back next week.

Good to know. I love Rita's. I go to the Little Falls location every once in a while, but I definitely will check out the Mahwah location too. Now they need to open one around Fair Lawn!

As someone who's too frugal to shop at places like Whole Foods on a regular basis but a lover of fancy foods, Trader Joe's is one of my favorite stores. The Westwood location rocks, but it's a bit of a ride from Fair Lawn. My brother went to the Office Depot on Route 17 in Paramus the other day, and he said they're subdividing the building to make room for a Trader Joe's! This would be a GREAT location, and since the Office Depot lot has a rear entrance accessible from Midland Avenue, you don't have to pray that you won't get killed trying to get back onto Route 17 from the front entrance of the lot. Has anyone heard anything? There doesn't seem to be any mention on the Trader Joe's website. If it's true, I'll be there every week!

Having lived in Fair Lawn, Ridgewood, and Waldwick over the years, I've been to quite a few places around Bergen County. As a kid growing up in Fair Lawn, my father got bagels from Hot Bagels on Saddle River Road almost every Sunday. When my parents moved to Florida and I moved to Ridgewood and eventually to Waldwick, I tried a whole bunch of different places. There were some good places, but nothing like those Sunday morning bagels from my childhood. Now that I'm back in Fair Lawn, I can say, without a doubt, that Hot Bagels has all of the other places beat by a mile. The place has been there forever, and it's not much to look at. But they make the best bagels, period. There's a Hot Bagels in Waldwick too, and at one point in time they may have been affiliated with the Fair Lawn location. The store looks a lot nicer than the Fair Lawn one, and the bagels are good, but they're nothing like the Fair Lawn bagels. BTW, let's be grateful for all the good bagel places around here. Bagels in most other parts of the country are truly horrible. (Try to get a decent bagel anywhere in Florida!)

I had a debate with some other members a while back about this. there are some truly marvelous high-end bakeries out there. There are also some very good cheap bakeries out there, although they are difficult to find. Personally, I feel most bakeries charge way too much for most items. Some may feel that you have to pay a lot to get quailty, but I respectfully disagree. I don't know what part of NJ you're from, but here are some picks for some good quality, cheap bakeries in Northern NJ: Belmont Bakery, North Haledon: Small bakery, fairly small selection. But their stuff is very good, they're very rarely real busy, the staff is nice, they've been there forever from what I understand, and they have the cheapest prices anywhere. Breads are about $1.50, many fruit cookies/pastries are about $1.00, cream pies are $5-$6, and fancier cakes are about $8. I bought a strawberry mousee cheesecake from them last week for $9.95 and that's the most I ever spent on a cake there. It was good too! Got a large boston creme cake from them for $6.25 last weekend. They're my favorite. Gencarelli's, Bloomfield: Large bakery, large selection, great stuff. Noticeably more expensive than Belmont Bakery, but they have a much larger selection and prices on most items are still reasonable. Regular whipped cream cakes run about $10, fancier cakes go for about $15. Good selection of Italian pastries for around $2 each. Great foccacia breads too. Calandra's, Fairfield, Newark: The Fairfield location is quite large and has a wide variety of stuff. (I'm not familiar with the Newark location.) Although not officially a "cheap" bakery by my standards, you can turn them into one occasionally. Sign up on their website and every 3 to 4 months they will send you coupons for 50% off your entire purchase. They also have one item every week that they sell for 50% off the retail price (usually featured on their website). Cakes, pastries, and breads are very good. I was never impressed with their cookie selection, but the rest of the stuff is good. Breads go for about $2 a loaf, most cakes are about $12 - $14 before discounts. Shop-Rite, Ramsey: Even though this is a supermarket bakery, it's a damn good one. Wonderful chocolate chip cookies and other butter cookies, $5.99 a pound. Cakes sell for about $9-$12 each. Lots of pastries from $1 -$2 each. the bakeries in the Hillsdale and Fair Lawn Shop-Rites are also good, but Ramsey is definitely the best. If you really want to indulge, you can go to Patisserie St. Michel in Teaneck. His pastries are the best around, period. However, he is very expensive. Pastries are about $4 each and cakes are $25-$30 a pop. They are truly incredible, and you should try them at least once in a while. But for me, as delicious as Patisserie St. Michel's pastries are, they are not worth 4 times the price of a good cake from Belmont Bakery, except for once in a while, for special occasions. But Belmont is my #1 pick for a good quailty, cheap (or should I say inexpensive?) bakery.

it's not a matter of location, but rather you both have very good taste and are willing to take a 20 minute drive to sate it. you've both saved me a lot of typing. as far as turvino's goes though, i can't recommend a special trip. if you do, ask for thin crust. otherwise it's nellies, kinchleys, brooklyn's, aldo's, or maybe mangia trattoria next to Bottle King/Kosher Nosh/Turvino's in Glen Rock. i find that i can do the "brick oven" neapolitan style at home better than most can, but, for bar pie-style, it's kinchley's and nellies all the way. speaking of north jersey hot dogs, go to Johnnie and Hanges up 208 in Fair Lawn and get two "all the way." it's like nothing in NYC. except for maybe Crif Dogs, but they're just riffing on NJ dogs anywhos. speaking of pork, the Pork Store in fair lawn is tops. don't even think about not going there at least once. ← Wow, I have similar tastes to some of the big whig senior member chefs here. I'm honored! Agree about Johnny and Hanges too. Probably the best hot dog place in Bergen County, although some would argue Rutt's Hutt and Hot Grill in Clifton are better. And we all know that Amazing Hot Dog in Verona is going to be legendary! As far as the Swiss Pork Store, I went there for the first time ever a few months ago. (I couldn't go when I was younger because my parents kept kosher. ) Very good stuff, at reasonable prices. And then you have the kosher store, The Food Showcase, a few doors down. OK stuff (my mother went here once Harold's in Fair Lawn closed), and certainly not reasonable prices, but OK if you need kosher. (Harold's was much better though.) P.S. I got to go to Picnic a few weeks ago too. I got a chef's special lunch (roast beef, cheese melted on rustic bread) and macaroni and cheese. It was fantastic! I'll be back!!!

Mazel Tov on the wedding! Best wishes. Although I'm not real familiar with the Teaneck area, here are some other suggestions around Bergen County. Kosher Butcher - Harold's in Paramus/Ridgewood (it's right on the border, but I guess it's technically Paramus). My mother used to go to his smaller Fair Lawn store when I was a kid (closed about 12 or 13 years now), and he was very good. I used to play with the cash register and he would yell at me. I will admit I haven't been there in years though, and I don't even know if Harold is still around (the man, not the store, which is still around). There is also a small kosher butcher in Fair Lawn called the Food Showcase. Fish store - Not an expert on this one, so I have to abstain. Smoked Fish - Go west, young man. Try the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock or Petak's in Fair Lawn. (Petak's is closed Friday evenings and Saturdays.) Cheese - I love cheese, but again, I'm not an expert on shopping for cheese. Market Basket in Franklin Lakes seems to have a nice selection though. Produce - For quality, try King's supermarkets or Whole Foods. If you're a cheapo like me, try Food Basics in Glen Rock or Corrado's in Clifton (Passaic County, but close enough!) Wine Store- Not a big drinker, but Bottle King (various locations) has a big selection and low prices. Specialty items - Market Basket or Whole Foods Diners - Land & Sea in Fair Lawn. Great food, great prices, open 24 hours. Pizza - Brick's in Wyckoff or Aldo's in Glen Rock. I think Brick's may have a location in Tenafly as well. Great brick oven pizza. Brooklyn Pizza in Ridgewood and Hackensack is also very good, as others have mentioned. Turvino's in Glen Rock is very good too. Nellie's Place in Waldwick and Kinchley's Tavern in Ramsey make great bar pies. Don't really know of a lot of places around Teaneck though. Indian - I lived with an Indian roommate for seven years, but ironically I have gone to very few Indian restaurants! Bhoj in Elmwood Park does a great lunch buffet. Indian Chef, in the International Food Warehouse/National Wholesale Liquidators building in Lodi, makes great takeout Indian food. Asian - Again, not an expert on most of the subdivisions, but China 46 in Ridgefield is very good. Italian - Don't know of a lot of high end restaurants, but Andrea's in Waldwick is great. Piccola Italia in Fair Lawn is also very good. Macaroni Grill in Ramsey is very good, although some may frown because it's a chain. Mexican - My favorite place is El Norte, on Route 46 in Lodi. Monday nights all you can eat, $9.95, brought to your table. I go every two to three weeks. Other good places: Hacienda in Paterson, and El Bandito in Spring Valley, NY. (Again, not Bergen County, but close enough.)

For some great true brick oven pizza, try Brick's in Wyckoff or Montclair, or Aldo's in Glen Rock (this location used to be a Brick's, but the guy there now makes the exact same pizza as Brick's.) It's the best pizza in Bergen County. Brooklyn Pizza is also very good, but different. Plus, it's always such a pain dealing with the parking in Ridgewood. Nice place if you can find a spot though.

Congratulations, guys! Boy, you got that done quick. I'll definitely stop by sometime during the week to help celebrate the grand reopening!

Well, I will say when I went to Varka the food was prepared very well. But when I spend almost $30 for an entree at a restaurant, I expect to leave feeling at least reasonably full. My plate consisted of five moderately sized shrimp and five asparagus spears. I expected something more for that much money. A while ago on the boards, I made a comment about how people were willing to spend $50 for a tiny plate of food in a fancy restaurant but didn't want to support restaurants that offered larger portions at more reasonable prices. That's what I was thinking about when I went to Varka. Down in Jacksonville, FL, there is a very popular local seafood chain called Gene's. Now, don't get me wrong, overall, I'll take NJ's restaurants over Jacksonville's anyday. (They do have a lot of great chicken wing places down there though.) Most of their dishes are $10-$12, and you get enough for two meals. The food is just as good, if not better, than the food at the high fallutin seafood places here. I understand NJ is more expensive than Jacksonville, but entrees should not be triple the price for 1/3 of the portion up here. There are good fancy restaurants out there, but I prefer casual, frugal places that offer you value for your money. Many dates/girlfriends I've had have certainly preferred fancier places, and fancy restaurants do fit that niche when necessary. But personally, I find that in most cases, the food at quality, inexpensive restaurants is often as good as if not better than food at the fancy places. You get more of it too, for a lot less money.

All right! Now we're talking! You probably won't be able to get in there for the first year or so though.

Yeah they do. Edgewater. That might be Hudson though, although thats totally unimportant, proximity wise. ← Wow, I didn't know that, they don't have an Edgewater location listed on their web site. Edgewater is Bergen County, but it is still a distance from Fair Lawn, and it's still a pain in the butt driving over there. It may be a bit easier to get there than to West New York though. It may be worth a shot going now! Update: Just looked around a few web sites, and it looks like we're talking about the same location: some people refer to it as the Edgewater location, but it's actually in West New York. Bummer!

I got to go to a P.F. Chang's once in Jacksonville, FL about eight months ago. I didn't think I would be impressed, but I was. Very good food, large portions, and reasonable prices. It was insanely busy, and that was the only part I didn't like. (But what can you do?) They would make a killing if they opened a place in Bergen County, and I think it's only a matter of time. They have a location in West New York, and I thought about going there, but I hate driving in that area. I have been to Legal Sea Food twice. Although they are a bit expensive, the food and service are both excellent at the Garden State Plaza location. One place I was not impressed with was Varka. Although the food (grilled shrimp) was excellent, the portion was miniscule and insanely expensive. I could have eaten four of the plates they served. I want to try Oceano's in Fair Lawn, but I'm afraid it will be the same thing. This is one case where I think the chain (Legal) beats the local joints.

Wow, those dumplings look great. Too bad this place is way too far for me to go. Does anyone know of any good casual Szechuan/Sichuan restaurants in the Bergen County area (preferably Fair Lawn or Ridgewood area)? I know about China 46 (great, but a bit far to go for a casual quick dinner) and Chengdu (too highbrow for me). Any others around the area?

Definitely...LPS gets mobbed in the summer for their Italian ices. Another good one in my 'hood is Gencarelli's in Bloomfield. They also have those cookies that I think you're talking about (pignoli). There's a pic of them on their site. ←

So sorry to hear about the fire. I'm glad I got to make two visits for some of the best hot dogs and fries around. Best wishes for a quick and successful rebuild! I'll be back as soon as you're ready to go again!

When did Peter's Whale close? I thought they had a cult following around here. It was a nice place, although perhaps a bit expensive. Hopefully this new restaurant will be a nice replacement!

I went to Bhoj for the first time a few weeks ago for lunch. I thought it was great. The food was delicious and the owner and the rest of the staff (I guess most of the staff are family of the owner) were friendly, attentive and gracious. This was just after the review appeared in The Record, and it got pretty busy. I hope they do well, they deserve it. I will definitely be back!

Lots of Bergen County school systems have community schools that offer all sorts of cooking classes. I keep telling myself I'm going to take some classes one day. I've seen catalogs from Glen Rock, Ridgewood, Midland Park, Wyckoff, Ramsey, and Fair Lawn. All seem to be very good, and I'm sure many other districts in the area have good community school programs as well. I worked for the Glen Rock Community School for a few years and they have very good programs in a number of areas. I'm sure the other programs are good as well. The price should be reasonable too. (Maybe $75 plus supplies.)

This place sounds like it's going to be killer. A bit far for me to go to regularly from home in Fair Lawn, but I can defintely make some trips there from work in East Orange. I can't be there Monday, but if I can get in I'll definitely make a trip sometime during opening week! I can't wait!

I'm certainly not a Thai or Indian food expert, and the distance to these places may be a bit out of your range, but Indian Chef in Lodi (in International Food Warehouse next to National Wholesale Liquidators) is great for takeout. Great food, good prices. For Thai takeout, I like Siam Ruby Cafe in Rochelle Park. Not a huge selection of stuff, but good food and great prices. I also like Bangkok Grille in Hackensack, although I haven't been there in a while.

You, sir, (or madam, as the case may be) are my hero. I have been looking for YEARS for a decent chili recipe made without onions (I can take or leave beans in chili). This looks like it's it. Glad to see there's someone out there who doesn't put onions in their chili. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!