phaelon56

Tommy - I haven't been active in reading or posting in this forum for awhile. Really love your new tag line -about time those damn Zagat's finally added the Tommy section to that overpriced book of theirs.

It's also worth noting that as good as their hand-packed ice cream is (to go by the quart or in a cone to eat on the spot), the prepackaged stuff they sell in the freezer is much airier and IMHO not of the same quality. The fact that it was so much cheaper should have been my clue but it just didn't taste like the same stuff - it was closer to being like a good supermarket ice cream (denser than Breyer's but not as dense, rich or creamy as Edie's).

I've only been to Park and Orchard for lunch (once) after hearing a Manhattan based friend rave about it. I think glop just about sums it up nicely, at least for the lunch menu. It's only a five minute walk from my house but I never think to try it again (after finally trying the Village Gourmet in Rutherford again, a two minute walk from my house..... I put in the same class as P&O but at least it's moderately priced and not pretending to be anything haute. Will havve to try Sonoma when the GF is back in town and I can justify a nice meal out.

I'm a non-smoker who detests the smell of cigarette smoke but I still think the law is a bit ridiculous. I tended bar part time for several years and had to endure massive volumes of second hand smoke - it was MY CHOICE to work there. Anyone with brains rather than rocks in their head knows that people smoke in bars and can choose whether to work in one or not. IMHO the same should apply to restaurants. If a restaurant owner (or bar owner, for that matter) wants my business.... they need to be non-smoking or have an adequate division between smoking and non-smoking areas. No one forces me to go anywhere (except my beloved GF but let's not get started on THAT one!). I find it troubling that business owners are not being given the choice - what happened to a free market economy? I can't stand the smell of mackerel when it's cooking and plenty of folks agree with me. Perhaps we should legislate on the issue as well?

Lreda - this confirms what I've been hearing. Sounds as though it's Louie's for cocktails and elsewhere for dinner on my next visit. Although it seems to be widely disparaged by foodies, I've had decent.... not stellar but decent meals at Latitudes on Sunset Key. If it's a warm night and you get one of the "beachside" tables (not really on the beach but set on sand and outside away from the open dining room) it's incredibly romantic with the tiki torches burngin and the breeze coming in off the Gulf. Yes, it's really just an upscale Hilton hotel dining room but I really liked the atmosphere and my date was blown away by the romantic factor. I've been there twice and although it's not up to the level of some other places in KW, it's certainly worth a visit if you're there for more than a few days and romance is on the agenda.

What's the current status of Louie's? I frequent a travel forum regularly and posters there consistently say that Louie's food and service has gone waaaaay downhill in recent years. It's consistently recommended as a decent place for lunch and a great place for drinks due to the view but widely disparaged for serving overpriced and not-so-great dinners. Very curious to get the opinion of an Egulleteer.

Not necessarily making fun.... perhaps the medication that keeps them that way is a clear liquid served in a glass akin to your avatar. Perhaps they are pickled and well preserved?

Everyone's taste is different but I've discovered that any number of folks I now (mostly coworkers and no... they're not from the NYC area) like predictability and large portions. In some cases they recognize that it won't be as good as what they can get in a "fine" restaurant but they can go in and order a dish they've had before and be reasonably well assured of what they'll get, most likely due to the formulaic methods of preparation. My experience in quizzing people about their Cheesecake Factory experience/opinions has been similar to the responses I get when asking about why they like Outback Steakhouse. Me: So.... how's the food there? Them: The portions are huge! Me: No.... I said hows the food? Them: The menu is huge! There's so much to choose from! Me: No.... I mean what is the QUALITY of the food? Them: Oh.... it's "okay". Most peculiar to me is the fact that their cheesecake is mediocre. I was in Baltimore several months ago on business and had dinner in their Little Italy. Spotted a Cheesecake Factory across from the hotel and decided to get a slice to take up to the room and enjoy with a movie. It was about $7 as I recall and although not terrible it was nothing special - very average. Speaking of chains.... there's a small regional chain in the Southwest and Midwest called Stir Crazy. They fit in the Cheescake factory / Rainforest Cafe mold in the sense that they are typically large and located in or adjacent to large shopping areas. I was in the Chicago suburbs last week on business and it was the only interesting looking choice available at lunchtime. Their mainstay attraction is a "build-your-own" stir fry akin to what one does at a Mongolian BBQ. I don't care for the Mongolian BBQ places (like the concept but have never had a really good meal there). They do have a regular menu of a la carte items and draw from Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai recipes. I had a more than passable Pad Thai with chicken, we shared a dish of sweet and spicy chicken wings (way better than average) and also shared an Imperial Roll appetizer (fried spring roll sort of dish that was very good - not at all oily and tasted fresh). Even better was my Thai iced coffee - very large and easily the best one I've ever had. The decor was pleasing in an Eastern/Zen/Modern sort of way and the staff was young and unsophisticated but friendly and efficient (admittedly it was not busy when we were there). Based on my one experience, I can easily pronounce this as the best chain restaurant I've eaten in (not counting Ruth;s Chris but I'm not crazy about them and it would an apples vs. oranges comparison anyway). Stir Crazy is opening a location in April in the Palisades Center mall in Nyack - if you're stuck up that way shopping it may be worth checking out. I can do better by visiting independent Asian restaurants but for atmosphere, convenience and a menu that will have something for nearly everyone in a large group - not a bad choice if you're already at the mall.

Would this be due to the affluence of the area and their ability to buy the medications that keep them this way?

For others in North Jersey who prefer not to head into Ironbound.... there's a very good and reasonably priced Portuguese place in Lyndhurst called Teros Snack Bar. It is a restaurant, not a snack bar and I think the food's better than what I've typically had in Newark. Prices are quite reasonable. I recently had a tuna steak with mustard sauce - two huge hunks of perfectly cooked tuna and it was only $13 including vegggie (perfectly steamed broccoli) and sides (yellow rice and a few delicious hunks of potato). Their paella could be better in that the shrimp could be larger ans tastier but it's comparable to the paella in Ironbound but a few $$ cheaper. Drawback is a small dining room that shares space with the bar - it can get noisy and smoetimes fols at the bar are smoking and the smoke drifts around. I was tod that they recently acquired the space next door and will soon open a separate dining room (non-smoking I presume). It's on Ridge Road (Route 17 south) just south of the New York Avenue Intersection and not far from the train station. That's about 3/4 mile south of the Rte 3 intersection and across from the cemetery. On street parkign is generally plentiful.

I'm guessing that Suzanne has not been to the Loew's Astor Plaza Theatre in midtown Manhattan. The sign at concession stand proudly states "We serve the finest freshly popped popcorn!". Walking by the open door of the supply room on my way into the theatre I notice a few dozen giant bags of pre-popped corn. Yes... my serving tasted several weeks old and remarkably stale, even by bad movie theatre popcorn standards. On a brighter note.... I see someone mentioned nutritional yeast as a topping. Not sure if this is the same as powdered brewer's yeast but I was amazed when I tried the brewer's yeast on pocorn - incredibly tasty.

I have never made it myself but chuckled when reading this as I recall a story from a restarauteur friend. A lady who had just finished having dinner in his casual BBQ / steak restaurant came to him to complain about the entree. "I ordered chicken fried steak" she declared.... "not only was there no chicken in it... the meat was breaded and had gravy all over it!".

Byarvin - you're not alone. I'm roastign in NJ and very successfully with a total investment of $0 upfronty. My folks had an old West Bend Poppery int he closet and I already had colanders and an oven mitt. The need to roast wiht an open window and a fan (not to mention chaff blowing back into the kitchen when the wind gusts) have me looking at the Zach and Dani's roaster but I'vbe done well with the popper. Sweet Maria's is my mainstay for beans - I'm unaware of anyplace in NJ that sells a good selection of green beans in small quantities via retail. Heck.... I don't even know of any good micro rtoaster in or near southern Bergen County - one of the thigns that led me to roast my own.

I ain't no Fat Guy (although that's debatable according to some) but I do live in the NYC area and have begun visiting Charlotte NC on a regular basis lately (might even move there if the romance keeps progressing). If you're near the Queen City, Varmint..... let me know and I'll bring ya a good bag of home roasted custome blend next time Im down there.

I also received Jamaican Blue Mountain as a gift a few years ago and was also surprised that it was so smooth and mellow but this is its notable characteristic - it's extremely smooth and well balanced. For many folks this tranlsates to a lack of distinctive character. I like it but not at the going price and like Kona, it's also a coffee that is frequently mislabeled - you don't always get what you're paying for. If I'm going for Kona or JMB, I buy green beans forma reputable supplier who buys directly from the estates or from trusted importers who do. Yemeni Moka Kadir and Moka Mattari have a very winey, earthy taste to them and are great for blends where you're trying to achieve a very distinct flavor (they're a bit much for straight consumption on a regular basis - IMHO better in blends). The Toddy cold brew system is said to be great for frozen coffee drinks - I've had iced coffee made weiht the extract and it was amazingly good (and strong without being acidic or bitter).

Well folks.... the verdict is in. I made the pies and used Brian Fishman's recipe but in retrospect think I should have tried Jaymes' recipe instead. Being in a friend's kitchen that was seriously underequipped, I had to resort to using a one pint beer glass and a small juice glass for liquid measurements. I just winged it on what 1 1/2 oz of flour should be. Here are my observations and the variations I imposed: Used light brown sugar rather than refined sugar. I used dark brown sugar in previous years and will return to it as the flavor/sweetness is more robust. Used 1/2 light karo syrup and 1/2 dark. This was okay. The molasses was too strong. I used the designated amount (perhaps a tad less) and the flavor was very pronounced. I added some vanilla but the molasses overpowered it. The flour should be added to the melted butter and thoroughly dissolved in it before adding the butter to the other ingredients. I screwed up royally on this and was able to work my way out of it but with difficulty. The recipe turned out to be a bit more than four pies. I was using the 10" disposable tie tins that are a bit deeper than than the 9" disposables, in addition to being wider. I used a generous amount pecans (perhaps a bit too much) and ended up with enough mix left over for one extra 9" pie (after the four 10" tins were filled). Not wanting to visit the store for more crust making materials, I whipped up a brown sugar, butter and quick cook oats crust. Result? Not bad but regular flaky pie crust is far better. Used ceramic pie balls this year when prebaking the crusts and also put on crust protectors when baking the pies. This REALLY helps the consistency and quality of the crust. Overall: The filling set well.... perhaps was a bit too firm, the crust was great and the flavor was good but it was lighter sweetness than I like it to be (likely due to not using dark brown sugar) and the molasses flavor was distracting. I'd cut down the molasses to 1/4 of the suggested amount or leave it out entirely.

Ivan's History of the Western World sounds suspiciously similar to Joe Gould's Oral History of the World (see the short story entitled Joe Gould's Secret - it's in a compendium by writer Joseph Mitchell, entitled The Old Hotel). Let's hope Ivan doesn't meet the same sad fate as Joe Gould (or Joseph Mitchell, for that matter).

Part 1) So many great points made in this series of posts and excellent info raised in the discussions. As a coffeegeek forum regular I can attest to the value of that forum as a resource. Think of it as an egullet for the coffee obsessed and you get the idea. Not wishing to reiterate but I'll clarify some basic points that were raised and add a few opinions of my own. As usual, this is highly subjective but my statements are based on much personal trial and error and bolstered by the fact that these seem to be commonly held precepts among the crowd at coffeegeek. We differ on many issues but there are some fundamentals that hold true for most. Burr grinders are better than blade grinders and are essential for producing quality espresso or press pot coffee. The cheapest burr grinder you can buy that is regarded as being consistent enough for espresso is the Solis Maestro at $125. Better results (albeit noisier) can be obtained from an Innova conical burr or a Rancilio Rocky, each respectively slightly higher in price than the Maestro. If you are ONLY making drip coffee (manual or auto drip - not french press), you can still get decent results from a $20-30 blade grinder. I've tried 4 or 5 different types including Melitta, Waring, Capresso and Krups. The Krups is the fastest and produces the most consistent particle size of the all the cheap blade grinders I've tried. If you can find a quality microroaster in your area and pick up fresh coffee once every 5 - 7 days by all means do so and support your small local roaster - they need your support! I don't think there's a supermarket or specialty store in many (if any) locations that turns over all their beans fast enough and manages their stock carefully enough to ensure that you really get the freshest beans. Freshly roasted beans need to degas (release excess nitrogen). Typically, for drip coffee, fresh roasted beans are at their peak beginning 24-36 hours after initial roasting and remain in their prime state for another 5 to 6 days. They should be stored at room to cool temps out of the light. Some roasts (e.g. french Roast) are dark enough that they have oils visible shortly after roasting but oils that begin appearing on the surface of beans a week or so after roasting are in indication that the beans are well past their optimum point. Some espresso blends require 2 - 3 days of degassing before they're at their optimum. Don't freeze coffee if you can avoid doing it. If you're in a situation where high quality fresh roasted beans are not readily avilable on as as needed basis, get some when it's really fresh (no more than two days past roasting) and use the method others have described of freezing in individual ziploc portions, removing one at a time as needed and allowing to thaw at room temp. There is some degradation relative to non-frozen beans (technically speaking it can be proven but I can't taste the difference and I'm a die hard coffee drinker). Is commercially roasted microroaster coffee better than what you and I can roast at home with more primitive methods? In theory it often is because they have the years of experience and the commercial roasters that allow them greater control over the roast. I use a West Bend Poppery and get consistently good results but have to work carefully to get all the chaff out. Because it's a hot air popper and I haven't yet added a variac (device that allows variable roast temperature), I have fairly fast roasts and this lends a bright, acidic quality to the beans. The aromatics can be better developed with a slower roast. This is especially important for espresso blends but I digress. The info that Fat Guy is sharing here is wonderful. I tend to be unscientific about my roasting experiments, apart from jotting down notes about the roast level and percentages of varietals for my blends. One of the critical things that he's doing which is SOOOOO important for home roasting and also for learning to make excellent espresso (not an easy task): eliminate as many variables as possible. Choose one bean and learn to roast it well. Choose one coffee prep method and learn to do it well. If expermenting with blending, start with some known basics that are recommended and vary one bean type or the proprotions of two specific beans in the blend before making more changes. It's easy to become frustrated with roasting if you don't proceed with some basic procedures in mind. Also - if you smaple your roasted beans right away or the next day and they don't seem quite right.... wait another day - they'll improve. if you have a blend that just doesn't hit the mark, consider mixing it in with another blend - I"ve done this and come up with some pleasantly surprising results.

I still break down on occasion and order a cup to have with dessert when dining out but I end up being disappointed on a regular basis. Surprisingly enough, I had an excellent cup last night after dinner at Joey's in Syracuse NY. I've been up here (away from my north Jersey home base) for the holidays and the GF treated me to New Year's dinner out. The meal was very disappointing but she had an amazingly good Bananas Foster and the coffee I had was certainly not up to the standard of what I roast and brew at home but it was the best restaurant coffee I've ever had. I don't dine out in the haute cuisine, trendy or pricey places very often by choice and due to budgetary restraints but my coffee experiences have been uniformly disappointing. I've had the coffee at L'Ecole several times (The French Culinary Institute's restaurant at Broadway and Grand) and it was decent. The coffee I had at Danube after my birthday dinner last year was marginal. The individual press pots of coffee that we we served at Fleur de Sel this fall after my GF's birthday lunch were atrocious. The first ones arrived already plunged and looking like strong tea. They were sent back and replaced by a pair that were barely any better. Surprisingly enough, the best coffee I've had in NYC is at the Times Square Cafe. It's a cafe with light Italian menu, desserts and coffee and is in the atrium/lobby are of the AMC 25 movie theatre on 42nd St. They have a nice selection of varietals available and serve in individual thermal insulated press pots that hold about three cups of coffee. I suspect freshness of beans is a problem depending on the variety you select but the pot I had was very good. The pot is brought to the table unplunged - you wait and choose the plunge time yourself. I no longer bother ordering espresso or cappucino in restaurants. It's difficult to find even a coffee bar where they do a really good job with these drinks but in the typical restaurant it's a waitperson or bartender who makes the drink - someone whose primary focus obviously needs to be on other things. They typically aren't given the training, resources or raw materials they need to make a high quality espresso drink.

My new GF is relocating to the Charlotte area from NY state in a few months. She has already purchased a house in the University Park area and been for several week long visits to get settled in. I've now been there twice and soon to return. The duties of getting settled and limited time has kept us from getting out to eat but that will soon change. I've done some research on Citysearch but will appreciate any input from locals. For example.... Vietnamese - I find six places listed online - any recommendations? Thai - What's the best one in that end of town? The Melting Pot - I've never been to a fondue restaurant. Is this place actually good and is one of the two locations better than the other? Any good Jamaican places in town? I've seen a take-out place on Tryon a few miles out of downtown but find only a "caribbean influenced" place listed on Citysearch. How about soul food and BBQ? I' assuming there are a few good small soul food places but don't know where to look. Sonny's and Bubba's are listed as the most popular BBQ places but that doesn't equate to quality in my book - I'm looking for a place that has the best pulled pork and also good slow cooked dry rub ribs. Any suggestions on the above will be appreciated - feel free to throw in other ideas (e.g. cuisines not mentioned in my short list)

I've only been to NO once (last winter) and hope to return but wish I'd chosen more wisely for dining. We had advance reservations at Antoine's and a good table in the back (my GF had been there for business dinners several times on previous trips and had a specific waiter to request when dining there). Nice room and a classic traditional experience with good service but I found the food to be lacking. I had Pompano en Papillote - nice presentation but really bland. Can't recall what she had but she was equally unimpressed. The crawfish bisque was excellent but they could not honor our request for Baked Alaska - we were dining early (6:30 PM) but it was Valentine's day and we had failed to call ahead the dessert order - they had already stopped taking orders for it. Price for two entrees, two non-alcoholic beverages, one side dish, two bowls of bisque and dessert/coffee was about $130 with tax and tip - grossly overpriced. We had oysters and gumbo the first day at Acme Oyster House - great oysters and truly mediocre gumbo. I get better gumbo up in the northeast. The following day we had lunch at Olivier's - excellent gumbo and their house hot sauce (Hercules brand) is outstanding. I can confortably recommend Olivier's as a great choice at a reasonable price range. Our second dinner of the weekend was in the Lemongrass restaurant at the International House hotel. Very cool atmosphere and okay service. Nice presentation and an interesting menu but as Vietnamese inspired fusion cuisine it really fell short of what good Vietnamese food can be. Not a bad meal but not really memorable. If I was staying in the hotel and it was convenient I'd eat there again but wouldn't go out of my way to go there. Cafe du Monde was just way too touristy for me and I'm simply not a fan of chicory coffee, thus my opinion on the place doesn't count. I am a coffe fanatic, however, and did get an excellent latte at Community Coffee (I think that's the name - they have several locations in town). We missed brunch at Mr. B's but I'd like to try that next time. Word to the wise - if you plan to go out late (e.g. after a show as we did) for dessert, there's very little open after 10 PM for dessert. We tried four or five places, all of which had stopped seating. We finally ended up at NOLA, which is open late. The cappucino was only fair but the dessert was quite good and I'd return there for a meal to try it out. Appeared to be a young and relatively inexperienced staff in the front of house but a lively upbeat and casual atmosphere.

My use of grated cheese is typically reserved for the rare occasions when I make pasta with marinara or homemade pizza. I had been using a conventional flat sided grater but found it a pain to clean and somewhat wasteful as the holes were just a bit too small on one side and too large on the other. lechter's was in the process of closing and I picked an Oxo brand grater. It's the type with an internal stainless steel grating cylinder, an external hinged plastic capsule, and a large handle that one turns to move the grating surface against the cheese. It performed beautifully, giving me nice thin strands of cheese that melted perfectly and the unit was easy to clean. After limited use over a two month period, the handle assembly started developing a crack. It soon cracked to the point of being unusable. Was this a fluke or is it typical of the Oxo brand or the type of device. Can any of you suggest a superior product that works like this?

On the basis of these mostly positive reviews, I will make it a point to try dinner there (once I finally get home to NJ for long enough to venture out of the house for a meal!). I will agree with the poster sho felt that their brunch was not a good value. The food and the pastries were okay but as indicated, nothing different from what you'd find at the average hotel brunch. If I recall correctly, my service charge was also included and the tab for two came to well over $50. We're not talking top shelf smoked salmon, champagne or caviar here - just fruit, pastries, granola, yoghurt and an omelet bar. Don't know about you folks but I'm not capable of getting remotely close to my money's worth for that price from a breakfast menu. My expereince with the service was similar - it was almost non-existent. I'll keep heading over to Montclair to the Candlewyck Diner for a great breakfast value - now if they could only learn to make (or choose to make) real honest-to-goodness home fries, cooked crispy with onions. Does anyone offer the real thing in north Jersey?

Since we are talking about restaurants in that general neck of the woods (or thereabouts).... has anythign gone in where La Finestra used to be? It appears to be up above the western end of Rte 3 - sort of of up in the trees beyond where the statue of the Virgin Marty is on the eastbound side of Rte 3. There's a small sign pointing to it up a street off Grove, just after you exit Rte 3 and head towardsa Montclair. I never got around to finding it and now discover that (supposedly) it has closed. I did try the Backstreet Gourmet in Nutley about two years ago at the insistence of a friend who knew one of the owners. It was okay but I was neutral on the food, underwhelmed by the service and found it to be a bit pricey for the type of restaurant that it is.

If you have truly run out of places to travel to and odd festivals to visit.... consider a voyage to Penn Yann NY for their Buckwheat festival. Among the many exciting events is the cooking and consumption of the world's largest buckwheat pancake.