dodge621

[We did not make a scene, and tipped the wait staff reasonably, since it obviously was not their fault.] [but what should the restaurant have done, or, what should WE have done, if anything? ]

[but what should the restaurant have done, or, what should WE have done, if anything?] - if service is particualarly poor and you do not plan to go back, I would tip low. I do not see why you would expect to be comped when they had poor service. On the other hand, I have waited for close to an hour at restaurants I enjoy and I have become impatient but I did give the full tip for the reason that I planned to go back despite the bad service on that particular night. You as the consumer have the discretion of tipping.

forget EV - head over to Artie Buco's place tonight

[be up for a korean outing. where's this place in paramus, nick? ] - Koreana was in Paramus but moved out several years ago. if you were thinking about Koreana they are now in Fort Lee. I do not know of any other Korean restaurants in Paramus.

[the food doesn't seem up to snuff.] so is it worth saving with food not up to snuff?

be nice. - Tommy you would have been pissed too.

[i'd be mad too if my reservation wasn't honored. ] but I doubt you would elbow another customer as he/she tried to leave the restaurant.

[demanded an ambulance...] would not want to use an ambulance unless really needed it as someone may have had a real emergency and I would not want to use valuable resources, but it was a serious shove although she was a small lady. - But if the lady shoved my wife, instead of me, I really would have been irate.

[sounds like you might have an lodged an assault charge if you wanted to pursue it. Depending on the circumstances, you might have gone down in a heap and demanded an ambulance... ] Well, I guess I will not become rich over this but I was really dismayed at this lady's behavior.

[bTW. I don't think it's a critics job to check for the sanitation inpection sign, nor delve into the past in order to make the sanitation record part of the review.] I was not implying it is. I just wanted to note that despite its 3 star rating, it consistently has health violations. Nick, I realize that many restaurants will have 1 violation or even 2 within a year, but the number of violations that Baumgart's Cafe has is way above the norm. I do not worry about a place that has a violation and then takes care of the problem, but 5 violations whoa this is just too much for me to swallow.

Helena, you may like Whole Foods. http://www.wholefoods.com or Wegmans has a good natural section too if that is what you seek.

Have not been too impressed with Trader Joes. Lots of frozen stuff. I get a flier advertising frozen salmon for 7.99 a pound. I can buy fresh fish cheaper. Also they have many frozen veggies and frozen chicken, but prefer to buy fresh which they lack. They do have nice selection of natural cereals, snacks if one is into that.

Tonight my wife and I dined at Saigon Republic. Great food, great service. However, the night was not without incident. At 8:05 pm a blond haired 50ish lady asks one of the 2 hosts (not Joe), on if their table is ready. He looks and says they are not on the list for reservations. She gets angry and from what I overheard said she spoke to another person that same morning. Then she proceeds to hostily ask Joe on her supposed reservation and then she has a mad look and storms into the kitchen. When she left the kitchen they must have acknowlged that she spoke to someone regarding her 8:30 slot. Then she starts complaing where is my table. Well they say it is only 8:10 and then she demands the next table for 4 is hers. As my wife and I attempt to proceed out the door she is blocking the small area to the door with another lady and a man. As I do my best to reach the door without bumping into them, I need to lean back slightly to open the door. Well, what next but this lady elbows me in the back. I turn around and confront her but I refrain from profanity or making a scene, but when I ask what she is doing, I am told by her I am rude (for what trying to leave the restaurant) . When, I did yell at her, her husband was silent. Well, I am glad I did not make a scene and disrupt the whole restaurant. - Anyone else have some nice experiences to share about other friendly diners.

[it's a short 20 miles and worth it.] - perhaps it is but the original poster was looking for place in downtown Princeton.

[Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. ] Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn - pretty clever

[it's pretty much a bunch of nonsense. ] nonsense to you Tommy yes. But to myself, John whiting and the writer of the article it is apparently not nonsense.

[1:The potato was served. 2:Waiter approaches table with a spoon and a large bowl of sour cream on a tray. 3: He asks the diners if they would like sour cream 4: If affirmative he spoons it on the potato 5: if negative he leaves the table.] - why not just put the sour cream in a small dish for each person. If I am affirmative to #4 and then later want some more sour cream as it must be a big potato, then I have to get the waiter to french some more sour cream over. Seems like a hassle just for sour cream. - Also what if I dare want ketchup on my potato

[GRATUITOUS AND IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM] Nick, nothing irresponsible here. To not include some conditional violations and not inform the public just because they are over a year old on the other hand would be very arbitrary. But my question is since they did include several restaurants, why not expand the list even more.

[Why post "CONDITIONAL" ratings that over 1 year old. ] Nick, is it not important to see a trend? For example, if I see a place has 1 conditional violation and no other violaitons then to me this is not nearly as bad as a place such as Baumgart's Cafe that receives a conditonal rating every few months. For me, I would rather see something even if it is over a year old so I can see if the conditional violation is a 1 time thing or if there is a consistent trend here.

[Drive into Lambertville and try #9. ] - Lambertville is 20 miles from Princeton.

[The inspection results are made public -- that's nice -- but who is inspecting the inspectors?] yes, I agree the inspectors should be inspected by the 2nd round of inspectors. and the 2nd round of inspectors should be inspected by the 3rd round of inspectors. The 3rd round of inspectors should be inspected by the 4th round. Why don't we hand over the inspections to Mr. New Jersey himself - Tony Soprano. Christopher, Ralphie, Sylvio, Junior will be very honest and fair I am sure.

anyone tried the Garlic Shrimp here. looks good from the pics

[i know by Tommy's frequent posts he doesnt agree but I still believe The River Palm is the best for steak in NJ. ] While Tommy is certainly a conneiseur of fine foods, we all cannot have the same favorites unless we clone Tommy.

[nay-sayers opine "more rat poison!" while fans enthuse "you can hardly taste the droppings." ] Yes the dropping do just blend in and may even add to the flavor. Rat droppings are great for those on Atkins diets as well - great source of protein. I found out a few years ago once of my favorite Chinese restaurants in New York was found to have rat problems only after it was listed in the NY Post. I had enjoyed the restaurant or shall I say the rat hole until I found out the why it all tasted so fresh.

this is from the link I had provided in the Sanitary Conditions post. 5 Conditional violations within 1 year does not look good to me. Englewood Baumgart’s Café- Conditional 7/10/01, Conditional 7/16/01, Satisfactory 7/23/01, Conditional 9/17/01, Satisfactory 9/25/01, Conditional 12/12/01, Satisfactory 12/17/01, Conditional 3/28/02, Satisfactory 4/4/02