Rail Paul

For theaters in the 50th street area, Nina suggested LaLocanda dei Vini (9th at 50th, west side of the street), which we enjoyed. Figure $30. Another favorite of ours, Thalia is a block east at 8th and 50th. That's $40ish Federico's (opposite Palm on 50th?) has good pizza and pasta for under $20. For theaters farther downtown, we've enjoyed LeMadeleine (9th at 43) and Revolution (9th at 45?), which has a superb burger at $11. I have enjoyed Marseille (9th at 44?), which is not universally liked on this thread.

Dessert is definitely a treat a Zatinya. Intense flavors and atypical ingredients (olive oil ice cream, anyone?) rising off the plate. Dee and I stopped in for dessert a few weeks ago and were absolutely delighted. Even on a rainy Saturday afternoon, the place was 3/4 filled. I'll dig out my notes and post.

Moldava licensed its rights to "MD" for a substantial sum, and a piece of the action.. It's nice to see places like Western Samoa and Moldava participating in the digital age.

Bruschetta in Fairfield is good, we get there every few months. It's a very finely tuned place with nice touches (bill is delivered in an old music box, etc). The menu changes frequently and usually has at least one fish on special. Two doors down, Bacchus Chop House is owned by the same team, it's been discussed here from time to time. I like it. Big steaks and chops, good, deep Italian wine list Another nice place is Aria on Fairfield Road. It's a BYO, generally available at night (lunch can be a problem on availability). Well chosen menu, watchful service. I usually let them order for me. Nearby, La Vigna and Bellissimo are in the Signac section of Little Falls, about 5 minutes away. Both are high end Italian / Continental, I prefer Bellissimo.

I've routinely paid cash for purchases like washing machines or auto tires, and had the merchant knock another $20 or $30 off the price. You ask about the discount for cash after the price is squared away. You get full paperwork for warranties, etc. With restaurants, I usually ask the owner or maitre before the bill is totalled to avoid the same paperwork problems. In NJ, discounts for cash are perfectly legal. Surcharges for the use of credit are not. (Except for the growing fees for late payments, exceeding a credit line, etc)

The Shed definitely qualifies in the lower priced category, as does a "frito pie" meal on the plaza for $1.50. Although the original vendor in front of the Woolworth's has passed on, others offer this regional treat. One bag of frito corn chips, sliced down the long side. One ladle of hot chili poured in to the cellophane bag. Topped with shredded cheese and onions. Eat it with a spoon before the bag dissolves, dumping the concoction on your shoes. If you're headed to Chimayo, stop by the Jumbo burger place at the 84/65 split in Espanola. Good, huge burgers, tortillas, onion rings, etc. There are often vendors across the street selling green and red chile by the pound, comino, etc. Once in Chimayo, there are a number of local weavers in the area, also brass and tin sculptors. Good products, well priced. On three visits, I've found the Rancho to be predictable, not especially innovative, but OK.

We're always looking for good places to eat, so post away. There is, however, a scepticism when a new poster comes on that strong about a place which is unknown to a crew of pretty experienced and highly critical diners. That's why one of us asked for specifics, another asked for your frame of reference, etc.

If I was considering dinner in the Clifton, Nutley, Rutherford, Montclair area, I might look at Matisse, Village Gourmet, Sonoma Grill, 77 Walnut, Dish, Park & Orchard, maybe Corso 98 in the future. Based on Genovese's article, it looks like Petite is in the lower end of the general price range. That's good. Why should I choose it over the places I mentioned?

Peter Genovese did an Eat with Pete review in the Ledger on April 12, 2002. The owners previously operated Ole in Elizabeth, which was favorably reviewed. He seemed to like the place for lunch and described several items. Based on the review, it's unclear whether he had dinner there. PG's reviews have been generally consistent with my experiences. PG makes it sound like a nice place for lunch, tkrongold found breakfast lacking, and Nutley Resident raves about it. Petite Cafe

Farther south on the OBX, I'd suggest the Colington House Inn in Kill Devil Hills. Pleasant house, probably seats about 80 people in three rooms. Modern, upscale French accented fish, veal and beef. Many local ingredients. I don't have my notes, but I recall a crab and peppers item, and a substantial piece of grilled tuna. Good wine list and delightful desserts. Assume $80-90 a head with wine and tip Locally popular, many Land Rovers, Jaguars, Benzes, Lexus, etc. West Ocean Bay Blvd becomes Colington Road. re: flooding. When we visited a few weeks ago, modest rainfall caused several road flooding situations on the road toward Duck. Development has been extensive, and there's no place for runoff to run off.

Gourmet magazine, June 2003 Reichel reviews 66 in NYC, likes the har gow (airy and delicate) likes the flying fish roe (rainbow of colors). Raves about the soup dumplings (luminous) but whacks the pork lumplings (leaden). "For every extraordinary dish, there is another which falls far short." Crispy chicken is easily worth 4x the cost of any chicken in Chinatown (which is about what is costs). Bates reviews Bastide on Melrose which she describes as lavender sachet in the air. Admires the no corkage policy, the deep and flawless French cellar, and the oysters. Oysters taste of the sea. She also likes the asparagus ice cream, loup de mer on a fava bean puree, and the slow cooked duck breast with parsnip puree. Roadfood hits upstate NY and its grilled chicken. The local specialty is a vinegar and peppers marinade / baste which imparts a golden hue and very moist taste to BBQ. A tomato free zone. Favorably mentioned are Phil's Chicken in Endicott, Jim's in Candor, and Campoli's at Metro in Owego. The BBQ artists maintain that only hardwood provides the "real" taste. Gas, coal, sludge don't make it. Gift of Southern Cooking is reviewed. Edna Lewis's recollections about cooking, with writer Scott Peacock. Miz Lewis discusses quail hash, chocolate fritters, and many things far removed from chicken and grits. Described as a wonderfully convivial book from Knopf. Beer in Portland, Maine covers the several brewers in this coastal city. Allagash's white beer (9%) is noted, as is Shipyard. Great Coast Beer (50 taps) and Three Dollar Dewey's (36 taps) are described favorably. The article doesn't mention this, but the Portland International Jetport has a bar with 15-20 beers on tap, too. These people like their beers. Chris Schlesinger on Grilling. 2 inch bone in porter house, feels pork chops should be 1.5 inches at minim and 3 min per side. Shoulder lamb chops for grilling with an herbal marinade. The wine sidebar mentions Natios (Greek) wine and Kirelea (Australian) as good cheap wines. Seasonals blackberry semifroddi, orange rum caramel, and toasted coconut dacquoise recipes. Vodka Reviews They liked Stoli Gold ($40), Ultimat ($56), Teton Glacier from Idaho ($26), didn't much care for Ketel One with its metallic taste. Idaho sounds like a place where they shouldmake good vodka (potatoes, cold, etc). Trillin on Fish Tacos Nice piece of writing. Bud goes to San Diego, Ensenada, east LA in search of the ultimate fish taco. Runs into a wide range of characters. Fish taco is fried fish on a corn tortilla with shredded cabbage, and a mayonnnaise relative. As the item goes upscale, the ingredients adapt. The article is reminescent of some of his classic New Yorker work on bbq, etc. It's a good read. Light Fantastic has a sugar snap pea tempura, asparagus parmesan pastry, tomato ginger gelee clam shooters, and steamed pork with jicama dumplings offerings Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. A short piece with magnificent photography of this windswept corner of Arizona. Massive stone formations, canyons, scupltured cliffs, Henry Moore goes cosmic on a 12 inches to the foot scale. Exceptionally rugged area near the Utah and New Mexico borders. Grilling Pretty Summer potato salad, grilled skirt steak, cheddar cayenne chips. The chips look easy to make. Shred cold cheddar, put a small pile on a hot skillet, remove as they melt, and roll with a pin to fashion a curve. Lisbon is other travel destination. Recipes for portuguese cream tarts and clams bulhao pato. Laments about the rise of supermercados with better quality and lower prices than the old farmers markets. Shoppers are deserting the markets, the article asserts. A nice comment on Bico de Sopato, of which John Malkovich owns a piece. A recipe for morroccan spiced tomato soup (cumin, cinnamon, and cilantro) is provided. Notebook likes pulled pork and pickled onions over arepas (try saying that after a few drinks). Editor Maggie Ruggiero compares the DeLonghi griller (likes it) with the Foreman Griller (falls short) and a cast iron skillet (works, but splatters and smokes). Wines Sparkling Rose - Domaine Chandon Etoile Saar Rieslings - Egon Muller Schwarzkopf 01 Rhone Reds - Chat de Montmiral deux Freres 00 Lodi Old Vines - Abundance Mencantini 01 California Muscat - Eberle Paso Robles 01 Based on prior experience, recipes and links should be online early in June

That's a GREAT post! Maybe even great literature... welcome aboard!!!!

A quick check in the market this morning showed an expanded choice among whole egg products. Organic Valley Farms, a network of growers, offered 100% organic, free range, no hormones or antibiotics, with recycled plastic cases. The same egg is available in brown for the price of $2.19 (1.84 Euro) for 12. The six pack was availale in a 100% post consumer cardboard container. The USDA 2002 standard is used to define organic content here. Egg Innovations advertises 100% organic (using the Oregon Tilth definition), cage free, no drugs, antibiotics, or animal by products. Recycled plastic, post consumer carton. Egg Innov offers several variations, including a vegetarian (all natural grains, no animal byproducts) and Omega enhanced (more Omega 3 and more vitamin E) versions. Their certified organic definition also includes a cruelty free designation from the American Humane Association. $2.39 gets you 12 Eggland's Best has the approval of a higher authority, all eggs are certified kosher and marked OU. They offer a cage free, vegetarian, no meat, no meat byproducts, no lard, no fats product. USDA organic definition. Price was 2.79 for 12. Organic Valley Egg Innovations Eggland's Best

Thank you for this excellent first post. We went over to the Fairfield Puzo's tonight for the pizza. It was excellent. Half eggplant parm, half fresh garlic, medium to thin crust, crispy and black in a few places. Small was about 14" for $13.65. (Large was $17, IIRC). The e-p side had a slightly sweet tomato sauce with onions, rosemary, tiny bits of black olives, and pepper. The e-p was thinly sliced with fresh ricotta and mozz. The garlic side was shaved garlic, black pepper, mozz, a little red pepper, and salt. Arrived too hot to eat, very fragrant. No artichokes, but they did have broccoli, red peppers, etc. They seemed quite agreeable to mix and match, etc. 397 US 46 westbound, Fairfield, in the Drug Fair shopping center

I believe there was a thread on eGullet in which several pastry chefs expressed displeasure about unauthorized photography of their work. Pastry is probably the most visible expression of a chef's artistry, so photography could be considered a form of theft...

Hunan Cottage on 46 in Fairfield was 3/4 full at 7 pm on Tuesday. That's about typical for the day and time. May 31 at China 46 doesn't work for me, but we'll gather up some friends and make a special pilgrimage. Whatever the reason for the decline, this is a good restaurant

I found the article's headline to be out of sync with the article's content. Somewhat like the menu writer who doesn't communicate with the kitchen. The first quarter (before the hubbub) was great, but... Since then, many Americans say they are less likely to buy French products. More than 40 percent of Americans said they were less likely to buy French products... according to an April survey ... And sales of top French labels have fallen almost 9 percent from a year ago, April figures ...indicate. They go on to quote merchants who speak of a 10% to 20% slowdown in French sales, maybe due to the Euro, displeasure with the French, etc. It's clear the merchants and wholesalers haven't experienced sufficient pain to cut prices. There's nothing like a sale to overcome conscience or moral qualms.

Hunan Cottage looked OK (full, with a small line, lots of take out) when we were there three weeks ago, but I'll take a ride by tomorrow and scope out the parking lot. (Their big problem was people stealing the xenon headlights off acura an other higher end cars in their lot. Ten minutes work and you've got a $2,500 part for a chop shop. Houlihan's and Jose Tejas also got whacked repeatedly)

Dee and I are in for Sunday June 8, though we will be late. For any NY interested parties - we'll be coming from the theater district, probably leaving there around 5 - 530, and would be able to drop folks back at the ferry, etc as needed

We had dinner at RN recently, and continue to be impressed with the place. Polished service, relatively nicely spaced tables, focused menu, good wine list. I took a few notes on what we had. Party of four, seated immediately, a table change was accepted with minimal staff grumbling. They pushed the bottled water ("Would you care for sparking water, or is the tap water OK?") immediately on seating. We took the tap, but I noticed another table had to ask them not to pour a second, unrequested, bottle later in the evening. Spotted prawn amuse was very small, with a concentrated briny taste. Field greens with shaved reggiano with pine nuts and almonds. I liked it. Asparagus with a thin, intense field mushroom sauce.Very dark sauce, set off nicely on the bright green asparagus. The sauce was dressed at the table. Softshell crab was very crispy, a little dry in the thin center, but OK. A rabbit ravioli, which was very tasty, three or four 1.5 inch squares. Entrees included tautog (blackfish) with a concentrated banyuls sauce. The sweetness of the sauce made a nice set off for the grilled fish. Dee had the rack of lamb, which was nicely pink. Carved at the table with flourish. I had a roast suckling pig with quince and creamed parnsips. Pig was a three inch diameter piece of meat with the crisped skin on top. it was good, and moist, but I had better in North Carolina last week for $35 less. We had a bottle of the Shea Vineyards Willamette Pinot Noir 2001 ($85, IIRC), which was fine (two of us were on the wagon). A few wines were priced below $40, many between 40 and 100, many more above $100. The list had a number of Oregon vinters (Chehalem, etc) not often seen in NJ. A rhubarb and lemon foam soup was served as a palate cleanser. Soup was good, very brisk and different. We opted not to take the cheese. Desserts included a banana tart, warm valhrona chocolate cake (molten center variety), a milk chocolate souffle, which was superb. Pastry is made on site, and the pastry chef was named. This place which could probably build a late evening dessert, drinks, and coffee trade, I think. All in, with tip was about $385. RN offers a three course menu at $55, a four course (cheese plus a few new items) and a vegetarian option. This was my second trip to RN. I was impressed with the place. The reservations policy is designed, it sems to pace the kitchen well. People entered about every 15 minutes. As tables cleared, it would be 10 -15 minutes before new folks were seated. They also notified a table a few minutes before the entrees arrived, which was thoughtful. Edited to add: RN has instituted a policy of requiring credit card deposits. They require cancellation by 3 pm the same day. When I asked about it, the hostess said it enables them to deliver tables when promised and accomodate folks who want to dine there. Most people, she said, are good about cancelling under the new policy. I didn't ask about the penalties

The China 46 gathering and the Mediterranean Manor shindig each had considerable NY eGullet representation as I recall. I have a mental image of Sandy Levine, her husband, Stefany, Aaron, Yvonne and others walking down a street in Newark toward Penn Station with the "leftover" bottles of portuguese wine

The Washington Times has an article this weekend on the subject. Short take: Sales of "top" French wines down in the US about 9% in April compared to last year. Euro and displeasure at the French bashing of the US. Wine sales in the first quarter were up 40% over the same Q in 2002. I was in the Calvert Woodley last Saturday and it's obvious they are doing a lot of promotion, but prices didn't seem notably aggresive to me. They're not giving away the good stuff. KRC Research in the Washington Times

Pennsylvania's LCB police used to be very vigilant in patrolling out of state liquor store lots. In one celebrated incident, two LCB guys were arrested for loitering by local MD police. They'd radio the plate numbers and car descriptions, PA state police would set up roadblocks and sort them out at the state line. MD merchants complained. In the early 1970s, the (MD/PA) difference was $5 a bottle for Jack Daniels. The DC dif was 7. We'd often go down to Hancock MD in somebody's OH or NJ car and bring back cases of booze for resale. Enough to keep us in clover and weed for a week or two Curiously, I was at the JR Cigarette place in Wilson NC last week and saw a guy with Ohio tags loading 40 cases (12 cartons to a case, IIRC) into his trailer. Based on NJ prices of $45 a carton and NC's $20, he had a spread of $12,000 less expenses in his favor.

if you travel south on Gregory Avenue in West Orange the name changes to Wyoming Avenue when it enters South Orange. If you continue on Wyoming to its end, make a left. Go down the hill, past the Gaslight Pub (good beer brewed onsite, also fine burgers), and under the train trestle. From that trestle, Valley is the third light to the right.

Craig - thanks for the link. curiously, the Wall Street Journal had an article last week which suggested the grape gluts in California and France would probably minimize the ability of many importers to raise prices to dollar based purchasers, as producers attempt to move volumes to maintain cash flow. with steep competition in the $15 - $50 US segment, their experts felt only the most respected brands could avoid discounting. The very strong Euro doesn't make exports to the US any easier for Italy, Spain, and France Paul