hollydebra

Looking for a restaurant for an early New Year's Eve dinner (5'ish) that will be fun for kids (tweens) and adults. Good food is required! Can be ethnic or American. Thanks!!

I ate at Sakura in Wyckoff last night. It was decent but nothing to write home about.

Drove down to Liberty House in JCity last night. It 's impossible to find. It is in Liberty State Park but it is not in the park. It is like being in the Bermuda Triangle. I did not get very good vibes there. Then I read abysmal reviews on Zagat.com. Onward.

thanks for all the imput, my friends. I did not mention that the BarMitzvah date is June 4, 2011, so we have 3 years to get it together. And it is for my 2 sons who are 14 months apart. That being said, we still are gathring info for the big night. We are taking a drive down to Liberty House to check it out. I heard mediocre food ratings with stellar views. Has anyone been the the Manor lately? Holly

Thanks for the replies. Curlz, Rodizio sounds familiar. Is it a Brazilian place? Also, what are sight lines? Yes, we want to get creative and think outside the traditional catering box. Something new would be very welcome! Budget is ??? We are not going cheap! I will check out Valley Regency in Clifton. I am stuck on getting a view of NYC though, so I will go see Liberty House in Jersey City. Any other thoughts out there? dim sum sounds cute, but we want to go more upscale!

I am looking for a catering hall/restaurant to hold my son's Bar Mitzvah. Obviously, food is important to me! We are in North Jersey. Any suggestions? Has anyone gone to an event at The Liberty House or The Newark House? They both have great NYC views. That would seal the deal if the food and the venue were both wonderul. Thanks, Holly

Will use Picnic this coming weekend. And I will give you all the full report!]

Sounds good to me. The website is very friendly.

Curlz, Why are you recommending this particular caterer? Are they fabulous?

Go to BHOJ in Elmwood Park. It's the real deal and quite delicious

I want to get osso bucco for 12 -15 people for this sat night, /we will make the risotto at the house, Anyone know where a fabulous osso bucco is, so we can take it home, I am thinking of asking Cenzino's in Oakland if they would do it for us, bu I dont know how good his osso buco is! Need suggestions!! Holly Franklin Lakes

I would like to revive this post. I am going to Cabrete. DR in a couple of months. any reccomendations? Holly

We are going to Solitude next week. Any suggestion on the limited restaurant choices there? We are a 2 adults and 2 preteen boys. The Yurt is booked solid. Is is worth it to try to get in? Thanks. Holly

Thank you so much. I will check them out. How about in the town of Stowe? How far away is Simon Pearce and is it worth the drive? Regards, Holly

Our family of 4 is heading up to Stowe for the week . Can I get an update on Stowe restaurants? Is Michaels on the Hill still good? Any great sushi in Stowe? We love all food, however, being NJ/NY'ers, we are a bit, may I say, spoiled in the restaurant department??? Thank you so much, Holly

Barb, We went to The Tyler Place 3 summers in a row. The food is incredible! You will not be dissapointed. Breakfast is a huge spread of homemade breads, rolls, granola, all the fixings. Everyday is something different. The food quality and quantity is tremendous Lunch and dinner are the same deal. There are big tubs of Ben and Jerry's usually after every meal. Desserts are great. One night during the week is lobster night. You get a ticket for a steamed lobster. It is the only item all week that is restricted to one per person. Liquor is not included in your price, except when the Tylers host their lovely lawn cocktail parties a couple of times during the week. They are all on premises and sweet fun people. We love it there and highly recommend this vacation. Holly

I have also been to Samdam many, many, many times. My wife is- shall we say- not thin, and we have always been treated courteously. We find the food to be the best of many of the Turkish places we've tried in Bergen County +Cliffside Park. Haven't been to Sapphire yet, though. Service varies depending on the

Went to Varka last night. I give it a B- dining experience. Waiter Paolo ( Brazilian) was supposed to invite us to walk over to the fish display in the corner of the restaurant, to hopefully oooh and ahhhh over the gorgeous fish we can order. Did not happen until the chef walked by and a person in our party said " Hello Chef! What's good tonight?). Then the Chef questioned Paolo re: above, which I guess is waiter protocol. Whatever. I like to be cajoled if I am going to spend $22 per pound on a fish order. (This is the way they price the fish: preboned, by the pound.) Whatever. Apps. were variable. We sent back the grilled octopus because it was "chewy" and overly lemoned. The gigantes (fava beans) were awesome, the Greek Salad was not traditional but delicious. The entrees were all ok, but nothing to write home about. They do not compare to Molyvos or that other place with the long name in NY. Sorry, too lazy to get up and look in my Zagats. Not to be a bubble popper, because no one wants great dining in our part of NJ more than me....but I will go to It's Greek to Me, which is OK but tons cheaper, or Uncle Nick's on 9th Ave before I go back to Varka. Greek is better downscale than upscale. Yasoo!

Thanks for the tips!

Going to Mt. Snow for the weekend. Any suggestions on places to eat with high energy grade school kids (with great food!) Also, any grown up restaurants for the adults? Thanks a bunch. Holly (NJ)

[ In addition to the menu not making sense, the food is not good. ←

Sorry to dissagree..went to The Fat Kat on Saturday night. I thought the food was just mediocre, bland and an overall letdown. The salads were just passable. I had something on my plate that was supposed to be roquefort cheese but was more like a roquefort pate. The flavor was really bland. Dinners all around were so-so. Very saucy. It's an adventurous menu but it does not make the grade. The service was sluggish and sloppy. No attention to repouring wine or water. I hate that. The homemade ice creams were interesting. However, Tony was a really nice guy!

IT's def. the old Il Capo. My husband and i had lunch there about a month ago. The new owners are from a restaurant in Fair Lawn, on River Road. I forget the name of that one. I thought it was a weird menu. There was old fashioned Italian dishes like Chicken Marsala next to appetizers like Spring Rolls. It didn't quite make sense to me. Holly

The Chefs Table in Franklin Lakes is always delicious. Unfortunately, that's pretty much it in my 15 minute driving radius for fantastic dining. We havent gone to Rocca yet, but it's on my list. There is new ownership at Il Capo in North Haledon, but I havent heard anything... My husband and I love ethnic food, so we will hike up to Cliffside Park for Turkish once in awhile. Love Moghul in Morristown for Indian. There are some great restaurants in Ridgewood, but the ethnic ones are mediocre. Do I sound like a food snob? I am!! Holly