Jason Perlow

I've read Maricel's vanilla peice -- have you been to her restaurant?

EDIT: This list has been updated for 2006 1) Little Saigon: Original location in Nutley burned down in Late 2003, was re-opened in Montclair in Late 2004: 19 Elm St., Montclair, (973) 783-3914 Little Saigon has Re-Opened (click) 2) Saigon Cafe: In Jersey City: Very hip restaurant, frequented by the Village People (as in the 70's gay music ensemble) no less. Greenwich-village type cafe surroundings with great food. Primarily american crowd. 188 Newark Ave Jersey City, NJ (201) 332-8711 3) Miss Saigon Vietnamese, just down the street from Saigon Cafe. Probably more authentic as it attacts a strong Vietnamese crowd but the food is less interesting than Cafe's , but does a very good job with the traditional stuff such as Pho and the appetizers. 249 Newark Ave Jersey City, NJ (201) 792-4768 4) Saigon R. Vietnamese Cuisine (web site) 58 West Palisades Avenue (across from McDonalds) Englewood, NJ 07632 201-871-4777 phone 201-871-7477 fax Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11:15-9:15 Sunday, Brunch/Early Dinner 11:30-6:30 BYOB EDIT: Saigon R. opened a second branch, Mo Pho Noodles and More, on Main Street in Fort Lee in 2004. 5) Binh Duong, East West Shopping Plaza 61 1/2 Belleville Ave Bloomfield NJ 07003 Phone 973-680-8440/8441 eG Forums thread on Binh Duong (click) 6) Mo Pho Noodles 212 Main Street, Fort Lee 201-363-8886 eG Forums thread on Mo Pho Noodles 7) Saigon House Saigon House, 320 Rt 10 East Hanover (973-887-8815). eG Forums thread on Saigon House (click)

I agree that tea is certainly the more complex drink, but in my mind there is nothing better than a good cup of coffee. Its two different moods I think. I can drink tea anytime, but if I want to kick myself in the ass, I want coffee. Certainly pressure is very important for making an excellent espresso, and perhaps the method itself is more important than the quality of the beans, since you are roasting the beans so dark in the first place. But I digress -- a regular french roast of a superior bean like 100 percent kona or Jamaica Blue Mountain thats gone thru a simple Bodum device is as satisfying and complex an experience as most good teas in my book. Overall, the way I most enjoy coffee is in a Turkish coffee service, served sweet, with a good Baklava.

Its a toss up between Chocula and Krispies I think. but then you have to figure in the Cocoa Pebbles factor as well.

Recently while visiting my local TARGET store I noticed in their food section they had several cereals that were missing from the public eye for a good 10 years or so, namely the Monster Cereals (BooBerry, Frankenberry) and Quisp. I embarrassingly admit that I love these sugary kiddie cereals -- I dont even put them in milk, I eat em right out of the box. Got a favorite kiddie cereal? Lets hear!

Nikko is a good restaurant, but I think that Wild Ginger in Englewood is very close to Nobu quality in terms of ingredients used and skillfullness of preparation.

I'll second America. Top notch. For asian-sushi try Wild Ginger in Englewood (pricey but excellent) and also try Bennies in Englewood for middle eastern. Great little family owned place. Stancato for Italian in Tenafly but I think they have a bar.

I've been told Cachaca Pitu, which appears to be a rum from Brazil but is billed as a "sugar cane liquor", is great for making a mixed drink called the Caipirinha, which appears to be a mojito variant but is made with a lot more lime and no mint. Anyone try either of these? There are also 3 other notable Cachaça producers, that being Toucano, Ypioca and Barreiro.

Even more impossible to get than Centenario is the new Centenario XO... god only knows how old that rum is... Lets hope that new importer gets some into the US soon!

Be sure to check this one out, has a monthly newsletter going back several months and offers some interesting products such as high quality mojito syrup and books. http://www.rumshop.net of note is his latest newsletter where he lists the 2001 Rum Fest winners gold category (previous month was premium category) and also does a review of the new cuban-style rum from Cohiba (of Cohiba cigars)

"Charitably, I can say I don't get cheesesteaks" Bux. somehow the idea of you eating a humble cheesesteak is a bit surreal.

East has recently re-opened as a "kaiten" style sushi place, aka conveyor-belt or sushi boat style that is very popular in Tokyo or in California. Inexpensive and very good, since the place is very busy and nothing sits on that conveyor for too long.

I'll concur with Jim Dixon on the Bertolli. Also, if you have a Whole Foods supermarket near you, their 365 brand olive oil is also a very good generic virgin for cooking, as is their balsamic vinegar di modena, which won some awards recently. Jim's specialty oil from Don Alfonso is also really awesome stuff, and well worth it at the price he's selling it at. I'm almost done with my second bottle and I'll have to order some more from him soon. However I wouldnt cook with it, its so emerald green and such a good first pressing that I would only use this with salads, for dipping or for streaming over already cooked pasta.

Nice site. But in regards to their premier teas, whats the difference between a first and a second flush? They are both priced the same.

Oh my. So this is purely an American bastardization by Starbucks? When it comes to english teas I am afraid to say I've only been exposed to Twinings and 1 or 2 other Irish brands. I'm a bit partial to loose asian teas purchased in chinese specialty tea shops -- for me its ooloong and high mountain green, and pearl jasmine (pricey!). My favorite bag tea of all is a company called Kusmischoff or KUSMI for short, its a Russian tea company that used to make teas for the czars and now operates out of France. They have a tea called Prince Wladimir which is a black tea that has oil of bergamot in it as well as vanilla and a few other things, sort of like an earl grey but not as flowery. Every tea bag is made of muslin fabric. This is the stuff that is served in the Firebird restaurant in NYC.

Theres also a Cuban restaurant close to the corner of S. Washington and E. Clinton in Bergenfield. Havent tried it yet but its a small cafe and the place is usually packed on weekends.

Sushi: I'll second ELA on Wild Ginger. Really top quality stuff. On the lower end of the scale, the newly reopened East Kaiten Sushi in Teaneck on Teaneck Rd is very good, if you are looking for something different. in the morris county area, Sono in Millburn, Nikko on Route 10 in East Hanover, and Nagano in Morristown. Hibachi: While I dont think any hibachi restaurant in northern Nj even approaches the level of quality of a typical korean barbeque joint, these are the ones that I like: Gasho, off route 46 / Challenger Rd in Ridgefield Park Mikado, on route 10 in East Hanover in the Marriot Hotel. for all things noodle and nabe, by far the best place to go is the food court in the Mitsuwa shopping center in Edgewater. Place closes at 7PM though and 8PM on weekends I think.

A snort of cognac/bas-armagnac or rum cream on the rocks. In winter months I like a good hot cocoa with a shot of schnapps or hot apple cider with a shot of rum or bourbon.

Moved to the Attack on America Forum... <a href="http://www.egullet.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=33&topic=18" target="_self">Moved here</a>

next to shepherds pie for me its gotta be scones... with little chewy currants in them served with stawberry preserves and a nice pat of butter. With a good Irish Breakfast tea. Almost enough to make forget current events, even for a little while.

Man I bet you got some cool bumper stickers and sweatshirts out of it though.

What exactly do you learn at Hamburger University?

My understanding is that the Rum and Coke, or Cuba Libre, was introduced in the 1960's from a Bacardi advertisment co-sponsored with Coca-Cola. Any truth to this? I would have imagined that this natural combination would have been tried a lot earlier than the 60's.

Opened my first bottles of 2 star and 3 star this week. I must say I prefer the 3 star but both are #### good rums, and excellent value too.

Yeah, but clearly, dessert is not Seabra's forte. Sure they had a few cheesecakes and some flan, but come on man, you don't go to rodizio with dessert even on the most recessed back corners of your psyche. Youre there for MEAT.