Jason Perlow

Yep, Franco's in the shopping center off Route 46. Also the Fort Lee Pizzeria up Lemoine Ave towards Englewood Cliffs is pretty decent.

Brooks, how did Plaquemines Parrish do, in terms of their crawfish industry being affected? I can remember the amazing crawfish we had at their Heritage Seafood Festival back in June, just before Katrina: I would imagine it was completely devastated because of the storm... Read the Parrish President's message on this page.. http://www.plaqueminesparish.com/

Yeah, I really wish we had easy access to salt pork up here in North Jersey, but I wouldn't know where to get it. Newark, maybe, in the Portuguese stores? So sadly, I had to use bacon. The soups came out amazing, irregardless. Had to use a little bit more salt though.

Nice. Guess we gotta try this one out.

I'm so there. No photos?

MIFFFED? I think I could make use of a whole truffle in an expedient manner!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Melissa: Technically speaking, we are calling this a "Seafood Chowder" but the first course is really a cioppino or a creole-style bouillabase, eating the shellfish in a broth. However... Since we only got to eat one plate of that stuff each (with 2 blue crabs apeice -- man are those suckers a pain in the ass to eat!) we took all the shells off the remaining shellfish, threw the meat back in the pot with all the remaining liquid (like 2 quarts worth) and good stuff, and I added a can of chopped clams in juice for good measure, and put it in the "outdoor fridge" for overnight "curing" so we can have lunch tomorrow and to allow the flavors to mix up real nice, which will be the actual Chowder part. Two meals in one! White Castles at Midnight.

Okay, we were just joking around with the Rockefeller Chowder. It was only lunch. The main event went thusly: Any questions?

Melissa, instead of salmon I would go for a heartier fish, like haddock. Salmon would just break up in the soup. And uh.. turkey bacon would still negate the kosherness if its a dairy chowder. Perhaps to add the smokiness I might put in a small amount of smoked fish to add that taste to the blander white fish.

I thought we would get this party started by casting some aspersions as to what is and isn't a chowder by creating a new chowder, borrowing from two distinctly American culinary cultures, New England and New Orleans. I present to you Oysters Rockefeller Chowder. Rachel will post a more exact recipe shortly. Start by sauteeing some chopped up salt pork or bacon. We used bacon. In your mini prep or food processor, finely chop up onion, celery, scallion, and a clove or two of garlic. Clam Juice is essential for that chowdery taste. Get some oysters. Wash and spin up your spinach. You could use frozen spinach instead. 1 and 1/2 cups of milk topped off with a large ladle of chicken stock. Hit the pot with some flour to create a light roux, and then saute the chopped vegetables with the bacon and flour. Chop up your spinach and get approx 2 tablespoons of anise-flavored liquor ready. Traditionally Oysters Rockefeller calls for Pernod or Herbsaint but I used Ouzo instead. You could also use Sambuca. Chuck the chopped spinach into the pot with and wilt it up. Hit it with the stock, milk, anise liquor and some clam juice to taste. Cook the soup until it thickens and sticks to the spoon, then take it off the heat and hit it with the oysters and stir 'dem up real good. Finished soup. Finish with a splash of heavy cream, season with salt, pepper, chervil (and/or some tarragon), and some grated fresh nutmeg to taste. Hit with some grated parmiggiano reggiano. Chowda in the Bowl. Extreme Chowda Closeup.

Another good cookbook is the New England Clam Shack Cookbook by Brooke Dojny, who had a eG Forums Q&A in 2003. <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=egulletcom-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1580174736&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000ff&bc1=000000&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe> "Chowder" search within the New England Clamshack Cookbook (Click on the search results on the first and second pages for full recipes -- note that you will need to be signed in to Amazon to see the content.) See result #9 on page 1 for the basic New England clam chowder recipe, result #11 for a clear chowder, Result #15 for "Portsmouth" seafood chowder, result #49 for a Red Chowder, and result #60 for Corn Chowder.

You can't go today, she's closed on weekends. I've been holding off on these photos for a few weeks: Dan's Fat Sanich of the day, I believe this one had roast beef and bacon Cheese Plate Soup of the day Ultimate Cheesesteak -- using butter poached filet mignon (Thomas Keller method) Picnic's Mac and Cheese, using five different cheeses every day, cooked stovetop in Le Creuset

Yeah, well I ain't taking your flamebait. Find another fish.

i was using the general "you", jason. why is it always such a battle with you? so many NJ threads are contentious. it's troubling. edited to add: url=http://www.americasbestbbq.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=455628952 sweet rig! ← I assumed you were referring to my "oooh" comment and you were casting an aspersion to my relationship to Silver Oak and insinuating that my judgement is clouded due to comped meals: If the threads are contentious you have a perfectly adequate reporting mechanism to Rosie and Rachel, or any other manager on this site. I don't moderate forums or threads anymore or have a hand in their resolution.

Exactly. Just buy an inexpensive semillon dessert wine like a montbazillac and go to town with the fruit pectin mix.

I'm specifically referring to his barbeque rig, tommy.

← Dear Menton, you are welcome to try us at your leasure. It is 100% Mesquite smoked. BBQ is not available at all times, please call ahead. Chef Gary cannot wait to meet you. Hope to see you soon. Mike ← Sorry - correction, after talking with Chef Gary, it's all Hickory smoked. He uses an indoor BBQ smoking cabinet by Cookchack: http://www.americasbestbbq.com/moreinfo.cf...ct_ID=455629618 The last smoker that he used was able to produce 2000lb of BBQ at one time. Being in Ridgewood, I'm not sure if people around us be very happy smelling the smoke - and we have a small place. Need to start small - but planning to begin offering BBQ takeout by the pound. Just another project. All the best. Mike ← Oooh. It looks like they make a residential version that is half the size and about half the price: http://www.americasbestbbq.com/moreinfo.cf...ct_ID=455628952

El Fuego de Verona: An amazing with Sambal sauce with shredded BBQ chicken and refried black beans with chopped fresh Jalapenos and chopped red onion and melted cheese.

i don't know if there's a polite way of saying that the fact that you have eaten there a lived really doesn't do much to instill me with confidence. ← I've always felt that me personally surviving a dining experience counts as a huge plus in the possibility of return visits department, but okay.

Silver Oak has a smoker, but its the indoor/stovetop kind.

Its actually quite nice inside and as I've eaten there several times and can live to tell the tale, that should avert your fears enough. Jingle Inn is managed by a Chinese guy who has run sushi restaurants in the past -- he was hired by the owner to transform Jingle Inn from a dive bar into a nice sushi restaurant. The owner, however, absolutely refuses to change the name of the place, for some bizarre reason. I keep meaning to go back there but there's a lot of good sushi places in the area and we almost always end up at China 46 if we are heading in that direction. The place, BTW, has a full liquor license.

Back when I was a reviewer for the Record I loved the place! I forgot all about it. Thanks for reminding me... ← is this the place that advertises half price sushi and oysters? it always looks more like a seedy bar/truck stop than a place that i'd eat raw fish. is it really that good??? ← It was a pleasant place to eat the last time we ate there (2 years ago?) and we liked the sushi. I remember liking their katsu as well. The oysters were actually pretty good.

No, but at least you can get in! I thought that Sakura Bana in Ridgewood was better than Wild Ginger, but so far I've only eaten at the sushi bar at Sakura Bana and only had table service at Wild Ginger.

I don't see how owning two food service businesses right next to each other is weird. It happens all the time in NYC. If they owned a dress shop next door, that -would- be weird, like the Korean family that owns the Motor Vehicle Commission franchise in Englewood that also owns the Coffee Shop (with the artisinal Kimchi guy) next door.