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Thanks Suzanne, I was beginning to think I was hallucinating. There seemed to be a single ordering counter with the plastic signs as you describe. People lined up ala MacDonald's (or Nathan's) and waited to place their orders just like in the malls. I didn't notice much in the way of stations. Where the counters used to be was given over to a large cavernous dining hall. I didn't see (I'll concede notice) any food being sold other than what was at the cash register counters and that was what was pictured on the signs. Maybe they bring the good stuff out in the summer. Elyse, it may have changed over since your visit. It had been years since my last visit and I made a special trip with my wife and son to one of my old neighborhoods. It was very depressing and disappointing to see the change. Last visit Feb, 2003. Nick

Maybe it's a summer thing. I was pretty disappointed with what i found there. Maybe Wolf is right. Nick

Hey guys, were we in the same Nathan's? I was there two months ago. I was looking for the chow mein on a bun. The Pork tenderloin with onions and relish. The clams and oysters that Wilfrid described and a terrific fried SS crab sammy (well maybe not in february). Where were these things hidden. These are the memories that I have of Nathan's before there was more than the Coney location. All I found were the same fast food plastic signs with prices and photos which describe the same boring Nathan's food that you can get in every mall from Paramus to Podunk. Please Enlighten me. edit: elyse said The experience was horrible. A large gutted barn with tables. A single fast food counter with registers, absolutely no different from any mall location. No specialty drink counters, no specialty sammy counters. Just a cavernous seating area with a service counter. I wanted to cry at what it had become. Anyone who remembers it from the 50s, 60s, or even the 70s will know what I'm talking about. The buns aren't handled right and taste of dried out cardboard. Even the old 8th street and 6th Ave location in NYC was 1000% better than the current Coney location. Nick

The Four Seasons Grill Room I made it every day for six months. Reduce five quarts of cream in a steam jacketed kettle until thick, a little burnt tasting (for cream) and almost broken but not quite. We used frozen spinach leaves. Use good quality frozen, the lesser stuff has too much stem. Lizziee's right. After thoroughly defrosting them, break 'em up into balls and squeeze 'em 'till your eyballs burst from their sockets. Twice grind the squoze spinach through a hobart meat grinder (small holes). Heat some whole butter until it just begins to become noisette. Add the ground spinach. Be careful 'cause the spinach will suck the butter right up. You'll want to use quite a bit of butter. Add the cream. Some freshly grated nutmeg. Add nutmeg till you can taste it. S&P to taste, and the secret ingredient...Demi-Glace...Good rich demi-glace. Rich enough to be close to glace de viande. That's it. Steam table and serve. Add more cream if it tightens up on you. amounts? I dunno. Say 5# frozen spinach (which isn't gonna yield that much cause of all the water). Say a pound of butter, say 3 quarts of cream. Nutmeg, S&P to taste. Eight oz (?) demi. Might work, might not. I currently make this in 60 pound batches (spinach). The equivilent fresh product would be pretty cumbersome, which is why I use frozen. Even for home use (which I am not qualified to post on), it seems that to get enough blanched and squoze spinach for 4 hungry people is gonna translate into a heap of cello-pak triple washed. edit: When I ate at Luger's, it looked like cream or milk to me. The color was also very nice. I thought they used fresh spinach. Nick

Butterflake Bakery on Cedar Lane in Teaneck? Promenade Pastry on Piermont Road in Tenafly does some nice flourless stuff for me for this time of year. Nick

Nathan's currently doesn't even qualify as a pale shadow of the Nathan's that used to be. In fact 'pale shadow' is giving it far too much praise. Its only worth is for people to see how truly far the once mighty can actually fall. If you have memories of the Nathan's of yore then go only if you wish to become suicidally depressed. A waste of gas, time and money. Brighton Beach is a few blocks east. A thriving Russian community, you may be better served seeking out some of the places in that neighborhood. There are those here much more qualified than I to direct you. Nick edit: north = east

Great review. It read really well. I would have given out more stars though. Best to you Dave. I'm very happy for you. Your hard work is obvious. You earned this and more. And where the hell else are you gonna get Ham-n-Egss with cheese grits up here in Yankee country. Nick

Plain, cured, not smoked. Freidrich will do. If you get stuck with the tongue you can always make sandwiches. Tongue, Turkey, Swiss, with slaw and Russian dressing on Rye is one I've always liked. It was a giant triple decker and the slaw goes on the sandwich. Not exactly kosher. Used to get it at a deli called Sarge's on 3rd Ave, here in NYC. Nick

Well, I'll be gobsmacked. Nice one. awbrig gets it. Nick

Nickn, dice a little cooked tongue into the hash. Not too much. Just a little, preferably from the fatty end, not the tip. Potatoes onions and some whole butter with a couple twists of the peper mill. Nick

Shoot up East Saddle River Road (Paramus Road turns into this), to the Citrus Grille (Airmont NY). It's close and you won't be disappointed. Tell 'em I sent you. Maybe you'll enjoy a glass of wine on the house. Nick

In many rspects it is the cosmetic element that distinguishes 'haute' from 'regional' food. So if you're stuck on the superiority of 'haute' then you'll naturally believe that presentation makes a fundamental difference in taste -- otherwise, how do you justify the prices? LML, Superiority aside, I believe the difference has more to do with the amount of *processing*. The presentation being bound up in such a way that it is not easily separated from the end result of said process. The cosmetic element is merely the frontpiece or cover, not the meat of the matter (no pun intended). In "haute" cuisine, I feel, the approach should be a holistic blending of ingredient, process and presentation. Correctly done, the separation of these three elements is difficult. Perfectly done, impossible. Nick (edited for punctuation)

Tommy, I was wrong. DaMora in Norwood has reopened. New management, same name. Been open about a month Nick

Frozen product. Slack-n-sell. Not Par-baked. Pretty good for what it is, IMO. Nick

*what* is a special and is often available. my assumption is that they're *all* special. my point was that they're available many months out of the year that they shouldn't be. The season has been stretched. Probably due to demand. I served my first ones last week (fresh, but from Florida). Very expensive: $55.00/dozen at the wholesale. That's pricey. I guess the season gets a rolling start, beginning in the deep south and moving north. I've had em fresh into August but this years March offerings are by far the earliest I have seen them. Rachel is right. The Wondee's special is quite dreamy. Nick

edit:In light of the apparent surgery that has taken place on this thread, this post has become pointless within the current context. Nick

One of my favorite strips. Don't remember if it was the News or the Mirror, tho'. Back to mahi-mahi. I find they degrade quickly. Need a really good source. That nice red bloodline turns brown awfully fast. Nick

Wow! All this and Al Capp too!. I am seriously impressed Cathy! Nick

Cheese

sure they do!!! it occurs to me that if i were looking for women to meet, i certainly wouldn't be looking at the cheesecake factory or chi-chi's. Gee I guess I have to get out more. I didn't seem to have problems getting into TGIs (and similar type places like Houlihans, Steak and Ale, Chilis, etc) when I was working up in Mahwah (read as: chain restaurant hell) this last year, but then again, it was usually during lunchtime. BUSTED! Nick

and i don't think it's about the food either. it's about low expectations and lack of knowledge. not that either is a bad thing, but that's who they cater to. I disagree. It's a bad thing. (edit: but you're correct) from another thread: I had an exquisite lunch experience at "Latour" in Ridgewood today ($27.00 for two). Another at 28 Oak last Thursday ($35.00 and also Ridgewood) and still another at The Citrus Grille (Airmont NY) the Monday prior to that. All three restos are within reasonable striking distance of The Cheesecake Factory's Riverside Square location (and Fink's and Wondee's are even closer). No wait, great service, food and service that ranged from meeting expectations to far exceeding them. Yeah I can be a snob, but if being so means requiring more than a noisy barn and a trough of slops, than I'll accept the term and proudly sport it. Eat Cheesecake in a Cheesecake factory? Might as well eat pizza at OTTO. YMMV Nick

Yeah I stopped using the sledgehammer also. I have small hands, though. The eight inch wusthof, extra wide, was always a good knife for me. My workhorse is currently an about to be retired Henckel Santuko. One of the first (which is why it's about to be retired). Ive managed to sharpen down the blade to the point of scraping my knuckles on the board when I use it. I'll prolly replace it with a Granton edge, Wusthof Santuko. Useless knives? I never much liked those $37.50 parers. Wusthof, Henkels, Lamson, whatevah. Whatever bolster issues I have on the 8 inch cooks knives tend to be magnified on the 3 & 1/2 inch parers. For this I buy packs of cheap stamped paring knives (Usually Henkel). Better for tourneeing than the expensive parer. Easier to keep sharp also. Or just grab another one. Varmint- Never bought a set. I mean, if you get a good extra wide 8" cooks knife, why do you need that small mezzaluna that comes with those Trident sets? Do you need a Tomato knife if you keep that 6 inch utility very sharp (I'm assuming the tomato knife is serrated)? I find cutting a tomatoe neater and easier using a sharp straight edged blade. I do like a good 6 inch Utility knife ( I have a Sabatier). Strangely, I like this one best for working at home. My kitchen space and cutting boards are smaller and the knife seems to feel better to me in this particular environment. Scissors are handy, but unless specific to a job (curved poultry shears), you may do better and cheaper in a general hardware store. This brings up the point of what you want the shears for. Do you want to snip the ends of wings. I use a old junk knife or an old 7 inch sabatier cleaver (a *real* piece of old junk). For cutting the heads off Soft-Shell crabs, I steal a pair of Staples type scissors from the office. Works fine. The sharpening steels that are sold with sets are almost always too small. To the point where I think that they're dangerous (Oops!, There goes the tip of my thumb!). I bet you'd like to replace it, especially if you go with a 10 inch cook's knife. I stick to open stock. Preferably when there is a sale. My unsolicited suggestion is to go to some kitchen stores/departments and try holding a variety of knives. Find ones that seem comfortable to you. It's all so subjective. The above is what works for me. Others here are definitely in the 10" camp. It may or may not work for you. Good luck Varmint. I hope you find what you're looking for. Nick

Best I've ever had was at Au Trou Gascon in Paris (10th?, 11th?). Worst: Jeanty at Jacks in SF I'm a sucker for this dish. If it's on a menu I'll order it. More on the beans as Robert has previously asked. Isn't some special white bean required for that tres authentique thingy. Tarbai come to mind, but I'm not sure. Nick

It concentrates the flavor and adds a nice textural thingy. I do it all the time. edit: To your second question; Give them a good going over with a pastry brush. Works for me. Nick

90 Grand Avenue. Englewood NJ. Chef/owner Jamie Milkman, formerly of Jamies (later Robin's) and now Zanni. Kind of a mix and match concept. I've not ever been to Craft, but I always thought that this was a take on that, in a very loose way. A pretty luxe place. Some like it some don't. I ate there once. I liked it and am not afraid to recommend it. The usual disclaimer applies. Nick