Rail Paul

That was a great write-up coquille. Extremely thorough. Now, the real question, who's who in the pictures? And, not everyone got in the pictures.

It ain't gonna happen. Rail said he was going to try to contact her last week and judging from his not posting on the subject it's not likely. Late last week I left her a voicemail inviting her to visit the site, review the topic and post her comments if she wished. I also gave her my name, phone number, and other info if she wanted to call me back. In fairness, since it involves Zagat, she may have to clear it with the NY suits and they may not move especially quickly. I'm a little surprised she hasn't responded since several people she cites as contributors (Pat Mack, etc) know of eGullet. eGullet beat up the Bergen Record reviews, so it's not unexpected that Zagat's passing over good restaurants like An American Grill would go un-noticed. My guess is the Zagat NJ editorship isn't a seven figure, limo included arrangement. so it's not like she has hundreds of Zagat gophers to research each and every restaurant.

According to the American Cheese Society: Star Hill Dairy Greene Road South Woodstock VT 05071 802-542-5075 starhilldairy@aol.com recipent of a million dolla ag grant from the Vermont Economic Development Authority, which was a first stage investor in Ben & Jerry's

Nice report, Mike. Where's Il Vicolo?

I've done loaves of bread on the grill and find it works OK. I use a Weber gas, with the two outside burners on, and the center burner off. Oven temp should be 425. Standard recipe, let the second rise occur on a bread peel. Oil the center grids where you'll put the bread. Let bread slide gently onto the oiled grids, this should set the bottom crust. Redce heat to 400 Check on the bread after 25 minutes, then every few minutes afterward, it's done when the internal temperature is 190 degrees

They've been talking about a parking deck on the Church street lot since 1997, at least. The residents and merchants don't want to lose their parking for 3-4 years while it's built. I can understand that. Even the things they have done, like that extended lot from Fullerton to Seymour and down to Willow is largely resident permitted only.

Call him, and remind him how much you really want to work there and how you can help. Mention nay other skills you might also have or want to acquire. It's so unusual to find enthusiastic people, that alone will stand out.

is this the Doug who used to be at Due Amici in (West?) Orange?

Do you have kids? I would love to shop every day, and used to before we had kids. Now I try to keep it to once a week because dragging toddlers to the store every day is torture. Hence the use of more convenience foods than I would care to admit to. Edit: emphasis mine. No kids. But my sister, who has two elementary age kids and works full time outside the home, shops several times weekly and prepares her food mostly from fresh sources. Does that count? We were raised by parents who required each of us to be responsible for keeping one common room clean (vacuum, clean the glass items, etc) from a very early age, like 5. We also learned to help with cooking very early. It made a big difference in household organization and parental sanity.

Maybe a short dated $25 gift certificate the seller hoped to get $12.50 for?

The old Hahne's has stood there as a rotting eyesore after it closed over 15 years ago. It could have been razed, you could probably have had a parking lot for 500 cars there. Or, in Blue Sky's case, a government building sits directly across the street, with its 60 car lot chained off except M-F 800 am to 430pm. It doesn't sound like a big deal to leave the lot open, make it available until 11 pm, then a tow away zone until 8am Having the spaces available to diners and theatergoers (Indigo Smoke is across the street, as are Deja Vu, Natraj and other Indian places) would make a world of difference. I suspect Montclair makes a substantial amount of its revenue from parking tickets, so it really isn't in their interest to solve the problem

I tend to use frozen beef and chicken stocks a lot. I'll have 4-5 bags in the freezer, zap them to make a base for rice, sauces, etc. When I run low, I make more stock. My one weakness is canned beans, which I'll often use if I lack time to prepare dried beans. Other than that, I tend to make most things from fresh shopping ( I generally food shop 4-5 times weekly), even pizza.

My local Costco in Wayne NJ tends to be VERY different based on the day of the week and time of day. It's not unusual on a Tuesday night to be nearly alone, and have 1-2 people ahead at checkout. The wine department is rarely crowded. On Fridays and Saturdays the place is a madhouse

I have to believe that Zagat has some checking routine to prevent dishonorable chefs from ballot box stuffing, but Lou's report of many customers sending in ignored Zagat nominations suggests there's editorial discretion in who actually gets listed. I wonder if Andrea Clurfield would be willing to come online to eGullet and answer questions on the NJ Zagat methodology? If there aren't any objections, I'll give her a call, point her toward this thread, and hear what she says

In a Star-Ledger article today, Chef David Joseph blames the lack of parking as a major factor in the restaurant's closing. Customers don't want to drive around and around and around looking for a space. I feel for him on this point. Parking in Montclair is terrible, and it's been terrible for 20 years. The town makes all kinds of promises, but still approves housing which will contribute more parking headaches. Then, it ropes off more space for resident only spaces

This is very sad. For folks outside the area, several major pharmaceutical company HQs are located near the Ryland Inn. One, Pharmacia, has been purchased by Pfizer, and folks are already getting their packages. Another, owned by Johnson & Johnson, has implemented limits on entertainment in some departments, and restricted travel. A third company, Merck, is almost within walking distance of the Ryland, and has been reported to be monitoring spending very closely. In Northern NJ, for many restaurants the lunch trade is often driven by business guests and sales meetings. Cut that back and the dinner trade may not be enough to pick up.

If this is true, it should be interesting to watch. How much is a superb restaurant worth if much of it is tied up in a single individual? Would the French Laundry be worth as much if Thomas Keller wasn't included in the deal? Nice piece of property, but that's a very expensive price, even in a neighborhood where $2mn won't buy you an average home with a little land

Lou - it's possible they are in a state of transcendant awe and unable to communicate. Superb food and wines will do that, you know... Thanks again for the wonderful Jarvis Cab on Thursday at Sonoma Grill Paul

Dee and I stopped over at the Bridgewater Wegmans for a walk-about. I get there regularly, and she rarely visits, so it was time for a George HW Bush moment. highlights: Produce self-marking has expanded. You pick produce, put it in a bag, put the bag on the scale, select the product on the touchpad, and print your own PKU label for the bag. Bakery was going full blast, lots of foccacia, boules, rye bread coming out of the oven. People were waiting for bread to cool. The Pierre Herme chocolate shop is still going strong, about 20 feet of counter space. Wide rage of chocolate, candied fruits, etc. Most chocolates were $32.95 per pound. Free samples of candied apricot on shortbread. Kosher service meat counter 20 feet of counter with display area, then a non-kosher service area. The display cases were separate. Among the non-kosher offerings were rib steaks ($5.99), lamb chops (8 ribs for $14.99), rib roast ($7.99). The meat self-serve had individually shrink wrapped london broil, single prime ribs, etc along with pre-pack garlic mashed potatoes, poblano mashed potatoes, haricot vert, etc. Construct your own heat and eat gourmet meal. Irradiated beef was prominent. They offered tubes of 1 pound and 4 pound ground beef in 80/20 and 92/8 meat/fat choices. The butcher told me they are selling "a lot" and recently expanded the space available. As with the gourmet pre-packs, the grilling area had rolls, salads, etc for take-away. Price for irradiated beef was $1.99, about 20 cents more than the locally processed stuff. I don't have my notes on the fresh cheese area, which has also been expanded. When I find them, I'll post.

The NY Times has one of the larger online searchable databases for published articles. Last year, the Times required all freelance writers who had EVER been published in the Times sign over all rights for future use in any media of their prior articles to the Times, or have their work purged. I don't think there's any question the suits are concerned that agreements signed in 1985 don't hold much weight in multi-media environments. If they paid you for an article on kumquats published (once) in 1986, you may have rights to payments for use in books, online, etc now. It isn't a far reach that unpaid stringers whose work appeared uncredited and unpaid by the Times (think about Rick Bragg's evocative stringer) will litigate for payment and retroactive credits. It's all about power. Times, Rick Bragg, assignment editors etc have it, the writers don't have it.

I thought that original thread was pretty Jersey-specific, too. Referred specifically to An American Grill and Lou's difficulty in having his customers' opinions recorded. There's a question of how many responses for a specific restaurant are needed to provide "credibility" for a rating. Zagat doen't tell you whether it's 5 or 500, or if the number varies. And, does the editor get to zap or add a "deserving" place? For purposes of statistical sampling, knowing that the 27 for food is based on 15 or 1500 comments would be helpful. (Consumers Reports does the same thing. They won't tell you how many ratings reports they received for their annual car survey for a specific model, but will acknowledge that the total number of cars sold for a brand enters into the formula.)

I hadn't noticed this thread before, but since it was called to my attention, I'm here. The biscotti provided with the coffee was a bit dry. It's entirely possible that the Rock's throat may have been slightly abraded before the sambuca went down. Me? I was just watching the couple making out at Sonoma Grill. It's been a while since I've seen that much energetic activity. Certainly more than most WWE ventures.

updated. looks like we're past 15, so two tables of 10? Which means there is room for a few more. Also, we won't be at 25 people, so we won't be preordering, should we expect the pp range to still fall between $30-40? Just to keep people informed... Dee and Paul are out. It sounds like a great event, I'm sorry we won't be able to make it. We'll definitely get there soon Has anybody scouted the place lately? The original reason was the scarcity of customers. Have they returned as media attention seems to be much more "foreign" than local

I opened a new thread with the review. I know I left lots of stuff out, jump in and add! Edit: Threads merged.

Delightful evening with several friends which started at Park & Orchard in East Rutherford and moved on to the big time at Sonoma Grill. Since they've already identified themeselves in another thread, I'll continue with that. Pleasant greeting, shown immediately to our table. The large, airy room was about 1/2 filled (5-6 out of 12 tables) by 730. We were surprised and amazed by a very thoughtful gift of Mount Veeder Cab Sauv '99 from Nick Gatti of the Alpine Country Club (absolutely classy guy) which was presented on our arrival. The artisanal cheese platters are offered as a 3 cheese ($7), 5 ($11) or 7 ($15). Cheeses were orered from a list mounted on a cheese board. Choices included a camembert, Gruyere, Asiago, manchevre, another chevre, and a grava podano. Served artfully on a platter with red grapes, nuts, and dry parsley dusting. Specials are printed with prices on a small page inserted into a picture frame. These included copper river salmon, Kansas City lamb chops, a daily risotto (grava podano, marscapone, asiago, gorgonzola). There was a spaetzle saute (spaetzle, asparagus, fava beans, shitake mushrooms) which we all agreed looked interesting. Lreda ordered the appetizers for the group. They included two cheese platters, crab louis, the nori roll tempura, the semolina calamari, and the calamari puffs in a tortilla bowl. By this time we were into a second bottle of the Mount Veeder. There much was discussion about how the wine brought out highlights in the cheeses at room temperature, comparison of one with the other. I was impressed with the granta podano, and liked the others. The nori roll was outstanding. Multiple textures rolled about a tiny asparagus stem. The crab louis was tasty, although I have just returned from a trip into North Carolina, so my crab interest is low right now. The calamari was attractively plated, filling a tortilla basket, a tangy chipotle dipping sauce was on the side. Three people ordered the KC Lamb chops ($27) which were described as gamier than NZ products. They were rubbed with a chipotle and herbal (rosemary?) coating, grilled to desired doneness. Large pieces, probably four inches thick. I tasted some of Dee's and enjoyed it immensely, rare as requested. Pete and Rock both agreed theirs were delightful. During dinner we converted to Lreda's flight of Jarvis Cab Sauv. He opened with a 94, which I found to be very fragrant following a brief decant. I had saved a piece of the asiago, which took on a different dimension with the Jarvis than it had with the Mount Veeder I had the scallops (U-10) about an inch thick, cooked perfectly (for me) with a luminescent center and slightly crisp sear. Dusted with a jalapeno type spice, served over torn artichoke hearts, cut fingerlings, and a spicy fish broth. It was a very generous serving, perhaps 7. Tommy had the veal chop, which I understand was excellent. He chased of interlopers with a wicked knife action, although he did share some of his spaetzle saute, which was served with the veal. I don't recall what Lreda had, I hope he will describe it. By the time we began the dinner course, about 9 pm, the restaurant was almost empty. The second Jarvis ('92) emerged during dinner. It was a very powerful wine, and had much more assertiveness, I thought, than the '94. I was impressed with how different it tasted with my scallops and with Dee's lamb. It went exceptionally well with lamb. We retired to the bar area for coffee, drinks and the Devils game, which let the staff complete the clearing of the main room. By this time (10pm) the restaurant was empty except for us, the staff, and a couple vigorously making out in the small side room. It was heart warming to see an older couple getting it on like kids. We did not have desserts, but were impressed to see pastry chef Carlos Rivera named on his page of desserts. Damage for the whole event was about $600, I believe, helped by the generous gift from Nick Gatti and the very thoughtful offering of wines from Lreda. If I owe anybody any money, please let me know. I know I left off much of the evening, please fill in, correct, change, etc. On a future visit, I'd be delighted to try to the copper river salmon, which typically has a short duration of 3-4weeks. Service was superb, we had several people regularly watching the table. Much "may I" and monitoring. They even brought in the Devils score on a regular basis. Wine Service was very attentive. The house was unstinting is its use of huge wine glasses, which I found very thoughtful in light of their gracious allowance for BYO in our case. These were good glasses, hand washed, and they put 18 glasses on the table during the night. Call and confirm. The restaurant called to confirm our reservations for Thursday evening. Although there were indications that our meal was not an entirely typical meal, I noticed the service and plating provided to other patrons was similar to ours. Their wines were decanted, large glasses were used, etc.