rozrapp

Since your first choice was Daniel, why not go to Cafe Boulud? The cuisine is superb, and one of the four menus, "Le Potager," is dedicated to vegetarian dishes. There is an excellent cheese course, desserts are lovely, and the basket of warm madeleines offered along with dessert (in lieu of the ubiquitous mignardises) are to die for!! Service always manages to be both polished and pleasant. It's in the space previously occupied by Daniel so, of course, it's smaller than Daniel's current location and, therefore, more intime. The contemporary decor, though not lush, is quite attractive.

So you think the one block from Esca to Bistro du Vent made such a difference? (It might have: 43rd St. is a lot different from 42nd St.) But then how do you explain the longstanding success of Chez Josephine, basically right across the street? ← Or the West Bank Cafe right next door to the Bistro du Vent location. ← Which, as I say above in my review of Bistro du Vent, isn't even very good. ← Sneakeater, Have you been to the West Bank Cafe recently? I had always passed it up because I had never heard anything about the food that would entice me to try it. That is, until I read (late last year, I think) that a new chef had been installed, and a new menu had been created with Bill Telepan acting as a consultant. Mmmm... So, when a convenient occasion arose a few months ago -- tickets to a Roundabout production at their American Airlines Theatre, which is on 42nd St., between B'way & 8th Ave. -- we had a post-performance dinner at West Bank. Despite what I had read, I reigned in my expectations. Happily, the food had just enough creativity to make it interesting, the plating was very attractive and, most important of all, everything we had was delicious.

So you think the one block from Esca to Bistro du Vent made such a difference? (It might have: 43rd St. is a lot different from 42nd St.) But then how do you explain the longstanding success of Chez Josephine, basically right across the street? ← Or the West Bank Cafe right next door to the Bistro du Vent location.

Rick Moonen's current restaurant, RM Seafood, is in the Mandalay Bay Resort, in Las Vegas.

I think there is some confusion here because when people hear "farmer's market," they tend to think of an outdoor market. I live in Marlboro, so I'm pretty sure the two markets you are referring to are indoors in strip malls. I have shopped in the Old Bridge place. It's called something like "Garden Farm" and is next door to Hollywood Video. Don't know the name of the one in Freehold and have never been to it, but it's in the mall where Burlington Coat Factory is located.

You might want to look down as well. Yesterday, when I went to Foodtown, I was in the aisle getting some baking necessities and noticed that they had Softasilk on the bottom shelf.

The scuttlebut I've heard is that there are new owners, and when they re-open, it will be a Brazilian churrascaria. I think the name will be Rio, or Rio something. Someone also mentioned that they will be serving sushi. That seemed rather odd, but it occurs to me that it could be one of the items on the traditionally huge salad bar rodizios always offer.

Close... It's Swans Down, a brand that's been around for a long, long time. It's the one I have in my pantry right now.

Please let me know where in Bergen County (See Topic) Restaurant Nicholas is... or website or ph#. Thanks! I have never heard of it but I figure if it's closeby I'll give it a try. ← Are you joking? Or have you really never heard of Nicholas? In case you're for real, it's in Middletown, in Monmouth County, several counties south of Bergen.

What size portion to chef's normally plate for an individual serving? At $23 a pound at WF, the average customer would probably purchase about a pound for a 2 serving. I would think that restaurants get a better price from their fish mongers. I will admit I'm not a huge fan of Doris & Ed's, and the $37 price tag seems a bit high to me. I'd rather go for the three course tasting menu at Nicholas for $55 even though the Copper River Salmon isn't on the menu. Nicholas menu ← I'm also not a fan of Doris & Ed's. Their prices have always been outrageously exhorbitant. We stopped going there years ago because, for what I do consider way out of line prices, we never had anything but an o.k. meal. Wegmans, in Manalapan, had Copper River salmon for the first time last week at $17/lb.

The Cafe at Country, in the Carlton Hotel, on the corner of Madison & 29th, is fairly close to where you are staying. You can have a look at the breakfast menu here.

Lorena's, in Maplewood, currently has them as an appetizer. I don't eat soft shell crabs, but I have no hesitation in recommending them there because Chef/owner Humberto Campos' cuisine is sublime!

That would be Nicholas. Bear in mind that bar dining is now an excellent option. The small plates menu is taken directly from the dining room menu. Needless to say, the food is superb! Spacious bar with very comfortable chairs. Casual dress. No reservations required.

Finding a burger on a dinner menu at a nice restaurant can be really difficult. They'll often serve one at lunch (e.g., Cafe Luxenbourg), but not at dinner. However, according to their on-line menu, SQC, on Columbus Ave. and 72nd St., serves a sirloin burger with frites at dinner. I've never eaten there, but I recall posts on this board indicating that the food's quite good. So, you can please your daughter and still have what I would hope will be an enjoyable meal yourself.

Yes, I should have mentioned that as well, glad you brought it up. By the way - the Pines Manor isn't actually a diner - it's a catering hall. ← I'm pretty diner-phobic because the several nearest my house are awful. The food at the Skylark sounds delicious -- and not very diner-ish. It's a bit far for me as diners go, but I'm on Route 18 (East Brunswick) fairly often and have passed the Colonial a gazillion times without ever thinking about eating there. I'm wondering if the menu there is much like the Skylark's, or just the same old, same old diner fare prepared very well.