raymmmondo

Well, first of all, I am surprised that there's been so much dissection of the words; the title of this thread is "*Bribes* [emphasis added] to the Maitre D', Have you made them? Have you taken them..." So it was supposed to be about *bribing* -- presumably for the likes of a good table & extra special service. What I'd like to know about is if anybody here gives "thank yous" to the MD for having had a lovely evening, with attention paid to them that wasn't expected, etc. Cheers!

I find that a consistently good BYO in Essex County, with weekly special entrees (by Chef Ricky Dee) is Nauna's Bella Casa at 148 Valley Road in Montclair. Cheers! Raymmmondo

Great folks serving up great food. I wish them all the best. Cheers, Raymmmondo

Sounds (like it's going to taste) great! Psyched. Can't wait. Hope to see you soon... Best wishes!

Well this new place seems to be thriving, right from the beginning; and well it should. Church Street Café (at #12 on that block of boutiques and antique stores) is owned and run by 2 long-time denizens of the food industry, and the kitchen is under the direction of the former sous-chef of (the well regarded in this venerable forum!) Fascino, in the same town. We've only been there for lunch (they've just added dinner, though, and soon will open for breakfast, too), but on several occasions mostly everything's really been very very good. The Church Street salad is quite tasty (with its fresh organic mesclun greens, roasted beets and crumbled bleu cheese) as is the Salade Niçoise (you know that classic combination!). Then comes favorites Moules Frites, with a heady broth; the flavorful Cajun Shrimp sandwich, on ciabatta; "The Classic" sandwich, of house roasted turkey breast & cranberry relish on 12 grain bread; and a yummy baked eggplant with roasted peppers and caramelized onions on focaccia. People seem to be loving the big Black Angus burgers and also filling-looking A- (for avocado) -BLTs, too, and the management has been adding larger and more substantial dishes (lots of nicely grilled and sauced fishes; the one we tried was a special -- moist grouper with guacamole on sliced potatoes. Sorry, I think I forgot another ingredient in there, but I would definitely order it again!), especially for the evening meals. Well I suppose that that's enough for now. I guess that I am raving, here, but I am not affiliated with this restaurant; I just got back from a wonderful lunch! Oh, I do know that the next time I go there, I am surely going to have the "Chop, Chop Chicken Salad" again. It tasted as good as it looked, but don't let this simple list fool you -- chicken, lettuce, pineapple, cucumber, red pepper, glazed cashews & soy vinaigrette -- it was such a pleasing combination of sensual stimuli. Bytheway, if you recognize the location, don't despair; it was totally renovated. Not fancy and not formal, but it's very handsome & clean, comfortable & friendly. Cheers!

There was a good story on this North Joisey-centric website, last month: http://www.baristanet.com/barista/2004/07/...ball_zucch.html

What about Due Amici, on Main Street (near where Harrison Avenue meets it) in West Orange? We've been there a few times, found it to be very good, and have even been able to walk in on a Saturday night.

There's a great new food-oriented website, by a Joisey girl -- with plenty of ideas inspired by what's available at the weekly Farmers' Market in Montclair -- here: http://catfood.typepad.com/

I went there once and loved everything about it. I am definitely going back again, soon.

The best pizza that I have found in NJ is at Star Tavern in Orange. In fact, I chose to go there, this week, for my birthday dinner with some family from out of town. (They all seemed to love it.) It's very thin crust, and I like the way it's "well-done," too. [some places call this "burnt" but that (strong adjective) always scares me!] Yes, it's a small pie, and yes, it's more expensive than average prices (and you're not paying for fancy ambience in this place!) but I just love it. Yum... Cheers, Raymmmondo