Jason Perlow

I really liked the BBQ pork, although Rachel thought it was a tad dry. Pork Loin is not typically what Chinese restaurants use for Char Siu, they use a much fattier cut. Still, I liked it very much. Next time I want to try the St. Louis cut BBQ ribs.

Expensive in comparison to other choices in Chinatown, John. The Beef and Broccoli was 16, The seafood pan fried noodles were either 19 or 21, I don't recall. The dim sum stuff was like 5-6-7 dollars per plate depending on the dish. Keep in mind though, they are using very good ingredients and some of the prices I am sure are in line with the ambiance of the place.

Some new DiFara shots, and a four minute video (85MB, Flash, Off The Broiler) Storefront Mozzarella di Bufala, used in combination with low moisture mozzarela and parmigianno reggiano. A cheese pie just out of the oven A square pie being prepped. Basil plants on the windowsill Dom sauces a pie Baby Artichoke slice closeup Sausage and Porcini Porcini Closeup

Chinatown Brasserie pics: The restaurant on Lafayette Street Main Entrance A view of the dining room from the parlor area. Chicken Chow Mein with giant noodle shell and caramelized onions. Beef Triangle Dim Sum Dou Miu and Shrimp Dumplings BBQ Pork Loin Hong-Kong style Seafood Pan Fried noodles, in a reduced chicken stock, with shrimp, mussels, diver scallops, fresh tomato and Thai basil. Beef and Broccoli. Another American classic, updated with high quality Flatiron steak, fresh shitakke mushrooms, fresh sweet water chestnuts, and some sliced hot chillies to add some zing. A Thai-style soy sauce is used to give this dish a slightly different and distinctive flavor from the classic. Takeout container Peanut and Banana Parfait Almond Cake with Raspberry Fortune Cookies Executive Chef Tyson Ophaso

a Uncle Louie G's took over that location and then subsequently closed 6 months later. Its been sitting closed for at least a year.

Never mind the yakisoba. They used to have really good Okonomiyaki as well, but now they don't have it at all.

Stacey: A "Conditional" can mean anything. You can get a Conditional for things as stupid holding ice cream or dairy products at temperatures a few degrees too high. And even four star restaurants in NYC get the occasional rodent running in and out of the kitchen. If you knew what the reality of running a restaurant kitchen was you probably wouldn't eat anywhere. "Conditionals" should not cause you to run screaming away from restaurants. "Unsatisfactory" should.

A big, $3000-$5000 or more "Professional" grill is pretty pointless for your average two adult, two kids family unless you do a LOT of entertaining. The BTU overkill syndrome is really much like the ludicrous horsepower syndrome on trucks and cars, where the grill or car is a replacement for lack of prowess in other areas. I use a $600 Weber Genesis Sliver C, natural gas model which I have been very happy with for the past five years, and should pretty much satisfy the needs of ANY moderate sized party. Its very low maintainance, built like a peice of military field equipment, and produces excellent results for a gas grill. During weeks with nice weather I use it probably 3 or 4 times a week. The $3000+ Weber Summit has more cooking space, but it sure will not produce better results. I'm considering going to a gas ignition, charcoal fuel ceramic Kamado #9 ($1400) but only because of its versatility for both low tempature cooking, smoking and high temperature cooking and charcoal flavor. Dedicated BBQ smoker setups which you can get pro/competition results from are another league and animal entirely and totally separate from Grill discussion. And if you want to eschew using LP or Natural Gas entirely on a grill and go 100 percent charcoal, you can't do much better than the original Weber 22-inch Kettle at $150. There isn't a single $5000 grill on the market that will make hamburgers, steaks, pork, chicken, or fish taste better than one of those.

Cream-based or thick hot soups. I've been known to have a nice bowl of Pho or some Gumbo during balmy sticky weather, though.

I will say this for various black sesame desserts, that while they taste very good, they look very unappetizing. I've seen pictures of black sesame ice cream from Japan and it looks like industrial concrete.

That would be a very good place to get them, as well as China 46 and also Sakura Bana in Ridgewood. Also, if you want a Westernized preparation, I would call Seafood Gourmet (click) in Maywood and ask them if they've gotten them in.

Alan really needs to order Omakase there, you're not getting the best stuff he has unless you really talk to Ken-San and ask him what's really good. This is not to say the regular sushi isn't good, it is, but you need to ask about special things he gets in. Wild Ginger is a very good sushi restaurant, and I would put it on par with Sakura Bana with some of the things it does and on basic fish quality. But it is not Japanese owned and operated (its related to the Lebanese family that owns Bennies in Englewood). Just on that detail alone I'd give Sakura Bana an edge, in addition to the fact it never gets as crowded (its a larger restaurant and doesn't get uncomfortably hot in there) and the prices are better for what you are getting. Being Japanese-owned and operated isn't always an edge, though. Hiura in Fort Lee is (was) Japanese-owned and the place is a dump. Same deal with East in Teaneck, the Kaiten-Zushi place, although it might be Korean or Chinese owned now. I believe the sushi restaurant right by Mitsuwa in Edgewater may also be Japanese operated but I haven't been there in a very long time. There is also a sushi place within Mitsuwa itself but I haven't tried it yet. Chef Ken at Sakura Bana however happens to be particularly talented and perfectionist with his fish.

It has? Rt 1-9 in what town? EDIT: Never mind, its in Edison... Thats -barely- North Jersey, as its in 732 land, its about an hour from where I live according to Google Maps. It does look very good, though. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=87676

Excellent, now Tony Bourdain has some other countries to visit. He's already been to Iceland and has the putrefied Shark.

More Sakura Bana sushi porn, and a horror flick. Caribbean Roll, with mango and tuna. Oshitashi A live lobster. Lobster Sashimi. If you want to see how this was done, Check out this instructional video. The carapace on this plate was still moving quite vigorously, before he was removed and turned into soup. Lobster Sashimi Closeup. Special Chirashi Sushi, chef's choice. Miso Soup made with lobster body. There were two bowls worth, one for me and one for Rachel. Kanpachi (Amberjack) with Scallion Mirugai (Giant Clam) Dragon Roll Deep Fried Giant Prawn head (from Rachel's Chirashi platter) Sashimi Tuna Salad with Avocado

Bourdain, is as always, a very complex indivdual who remains restless, tortured, yet a the same time, relaxed and content with his new life as world traveller, author, and TV show host (click). I found The Nasty Bits to be an entertaining read, although I didn't get the same sense of satisfaction out of this one that I got from Kitchen Confidential or A Cook's Tour. I almost feel like he commissioned this book with himself in mind as the target customer, something to read in airport lounges or in between cat naps on long plane rides. And that's ok, because if that's the purpose it's meant to serve, its just fine. Not every book can be Kitchen Confidential. I think that when the No Reservations companion volume is finally written, after a bunch more exotic locations are visited and he has time to really reflect on them, we'll see some really special stuff. His fiction novel that is coming up sounds like it will be fun as well.

Does this mean that one pass allows 2 people to stand online together? Are you allowed to bring some of the food to a 3rd person? I was hoping to get just 1 fast pass that would allow a group of 3 (possibly 4) of us to eat together. I'm not 100% sure about the rules. Is it just one fast pass for 2 people in line, or do they limit it in some other way? ← If you buy a pass, its money, period. Two people can jump the line with the pass. If after jumping the line and then going back onto the street, you then give the pass to two more people, and if there is money left on the pass, you can use it. You can also recharge the passes with more money.

Also, the Bubba Pass allows TWO people at a time to jump the lines, not just one. If you try each pit, each person getting a plate, that covers the $125. The $125 worth of scrip allows you to buy ANYTHING at the event, not just food. T Shirts, BBQ Sauces (many of which you cannot buy anywhere near the NY area and certainly not over the web).

Despite the festival going on last night, we made it to Front Street. I like the whole Iced Tea in Mason Jar thing, despite its kitschyness. Its actually a great vessel for drinking cold liquids in my opinion. The 9:30PM Bar Scene, just after the Feast. I have a feeling that on most Saturdays its usually a lot more crowded than that. Rachel's Smoked Chicken, with Mac and Cheese and Red Cabbage Coleslaw. Chicken overall did not have a heavy smoky profile until you got to the breast meat, but it was very moist and tasty and good quality chicken nevertheless. Its only smoked for about 3 to 4 hours. Front Street also offers a Chicken Breast over salad or sandwich that is much more smokier due to the fact is a thinner peice of meat and is able to absorb more smoke during the cooking time. My "Pig Out" Platter, with Memphis-Style Babyback Ribs, Pork Shoulder, Sausage and Brisket. I thought the Ribs were excellent, had some really nice chew in them, really good smoke to them. I'm not as much of a fan of babybacks as I am KC or St. Louis Cut ribs, but Memphis-style is the overall stylistic choice of the restaurant so I appreciate it. Good quality pork, nice six-hour smoke to them. Brisket is good brisket although machine-sliced, which I think is a shame. Hand Sliced brisket in nice thick slices is a thing of beauty, although I imagine that in a restaurant situation machine slicing is a lot easier to deal with, particularly if the brisket is a popular item on sandwiches. I liked the pulled pork, and its very smoky due to its 16-hour smoking process, which is definitely on the high end of what most BBQ places do. The sausage is a mixed bag. Its excellent quality sausage, procured from a well-known local butcher, but its Italian sweet sausage with fennel that has then undergone smoking, not a Texas Hot Link. Something about eating this kind of sausage with the Italian spicing threw me off, especially with the sweet and vinegary warm Memphis-style BBQ sauce (which overall, I am not a fan of -- I dont think their 'Cue really needs a sauce). Don't get me wrong, its really good sausage, but I think that I'll have it in a Italian Sauasage and Peppers sub the next time I come back (although, it doesn't appear on the menu). We also ordered one of the Fred Flintstone Beef Ribs because I wanted to try all the meats on the menu. Very beefy taste, lots of fat. Sides we thought were all uniformly very good. Good Mac and Cheese, The Red Cabbage Cole slaw was a nice change from the typical slaw, and the BBQ Black Beans was again, a nice change up as well from the typical white beans immersed in BBQ sauce style. Red Potato Salad was excellent. The only thing I found scratching my head about was there was no greens on the menu. NO GREENS? At a BBQ joint? Phil, one of the owners, gave me tour of the kitchen and smokers as well: Front Street is using a combination of Cherry, Wood Charcoal and Gas for the cooking process, as opposed to using all wood fire. Its very expensive to get fruit wood down in Elizabeth and this makes the most economical sense. Plus, I think its working for them: I also saw them grilling some nice 1/2lb burgers up in the kitchen. They looked and smelled great. If you're not in the mood for Q, I think it would be safe to say Front Street would be great for a burger and a beer. Overall I would say Front Street is doing really good 'cue. You can talk stylistic choices until you are blue in the face (type of sauce, type of ribs used, duration of smoking process on Chicken vs. the Pork, etc) but at the end of the day, these guys really care about what they are doing and the end product is good. I hope Front Street's success will finally encourage the startup of more BBQ restaurants in Jersey again. Cost of the meal was about $60, all inclusive.

Nice Crash, very nice. Actually as I understand it "Tacos al Pastor" are a derivative of Gyro and Shwarma, due to Lebanese immigrants to Mexico.

Other than Silver Pond in Fort Lee, Dim Sum Dynasty in Ridgewood, China 46 in Ridgefield (which isn't really dim sum, its Shanghainese) and Noodle Chu in Parsippany, what other Hong-Kong style Dim Sum parlors are there in North Jersey?

That's pretty wild. Do they sell their bread before it gets smashed to peices? Or are they baking bread specificially for panko?

Awesome.

Founded by a former product manager for Windows at Microsoft.

Mise En Place Leftover steak. Heat the steak thru with the onions, remove from pan, then toast up the tortillas in the pan. Stack them two by two on the serving plate. Put steak/onion mixture on tortilla stacks, hit with chopped cilantro, chopped chile (jalepeno, serrano or habenero) and thinly sliced pink radish (rabano). Squeeze lime juice and some of your favorite hot sauce on the tacos. Serve with cold lager-style beers and Mexican soda pop.