Rail Paul

Lreda - sorry to hear about your experience at SCG. I've been there a few times, and have been impressed with the hustle of the staff. Food has been OK, and I've never been dissed the way you were. Maybe there's something about a nearly empty place that lets the staff relax in front of paying customers? They have a good selection of draft brews ($4-5 pints, IIRC), and a great bar (watching) scene on Thursday nights. Front room (open kitchen on one side, bar scene on the other) is always more pleasant than the main dining room. Consider the bright side. One fewer place to be considered as real competition to your shop... Paul

Perhaps you could claim Lou's bartender as your dependent if you spend enough money there? Might be worth a try...

Only in NJ...

Martini's used to be Cafe Main, I believe. It's been a while since anybody discussed the food at Martini's, but their bar trade is substantial, as you noted. For a few dollars more, per head, Lilac (around the corner) is a better bet for food

I'll often ask the check in people or the bell captain (in a bigger place) for a local food suggestion. More often than not, they'll say Applebee's or Lone Star. If I've been driving for two hours, and it's after dark in an unfamiliar place, I don't want to be an explorer. If I have time to plan a trip, I may go to the trouble of researching. if I have to arrive at 9 pm (long after the diner's shut), meet the client for breakfast, and be on a plane to somewhere else by 11 am, it's whatever's open, moderately clean, and has a liquor license at 10pm. In much of America, that's not a wide selection.

I stopped over to the Willowbrook / Wayne NJ location this afternoon. The U-15 Black Tiger prawns were $9.99. Bought a pound. Wine selection has broadened a bit, more California, and several new French names. All sizes are 750 unless noted, and all are subject to 6% sales tax. Baron Herzog Chard 01 $7.99 Manischevitz Concord 1.5l 7.99 Ravenswood Zin Vintners 00 7.99 Santa Margh Pinot Grig 02 16.99 (Shop Rite =14.99) Marc-Michelet Gerevy-Chambertin '99 32.99 Errauiz Don Maximo Cabernet Sauv 99 45.99 Louis Bernard Chateauneuf du Pape '00 21.99 Mont Redon Chat du Pape '99 27.99 Silverado Reserve cabernet '99 86.99 Merryvale Profile cab sauv '98 74.99 Penfolds Grange '97 (bottled '98) 149.99 Il Poggiore san Leopoldo '99 34.99 Quintessa Red Meritage '99 74.99 Penfolds bin 389 '00 18.99 Marc-Michelet Nuits Saint Georges '00 39.99 William Hill Napa Merlot '99 17.99 Penfolds bin 707 Cab Sauv '98 65.99 Clos du Bois Marlstone '98 32.99 Far Niente Cab Sauv Napa reserve '99 94.99 Casa Lapostolla Alexandre Cab Sauv '99 13.99 Silverado Cab Sauv '00 26.99 Chimney Rock Stags Leap '00 35.99 Chateau Pavie Bordeaux St Emilion '99 104.99 Groth Napa Chard '01 19.99 Robert Young Estate Alex Vly Chard '98 32.99 Penfolds Yattarna Chard '99 51.99 Dom Perignon '93 99.00 Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino '98 33.99 Fontevecchio Brunello di M '97 30.99 Travaglini Gattanara '98 18.99 Napanook Estate Bottled '99 33.99 Rosemount Shiraz-Cab '02 11.99 Laurent Miquel Syrah Rsv St Chinian '00 11.99 Chimney Rock Elevage '99 46.99 Scots Whisky Glenlivet 26.99 Lamont & Graham Wofford Distillers 25.99 Oban 14 year old 37.99 Glenmorangie 10 33.99 Chivas 18 46.99 Royal Salute 21 years 154.99 Remy Martin Accord Royal 46.99

Well the first week worked well..lots of sales of 1/2 size desserts, and i don't think its people saving money! Basildog - This is interesting. Dee and I occasionally split a dessert, bt rarely order two full sized items. Is your total dessert revenue up significantly over the control period against which you're measuring? Paul

Has this restaurant, planned for the Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach, opened? it was scheduled for December of 2002, then January of aught three, then "late winter," I believe.

That real estate alone is worth a very pretty penny , I can't imagine the store produced that much profit

I boxed several baking pans and flats, they moved down to the basement. Since I don't ofen bake cakes, no need to keep them in the kitchen. Bought a hanging grid for pots and covers, that took 12 items out of the cupboards and onto the wall. Disciplined myself to stop buying bags of flour on sale (99 cents vs 1.59) which added about 1 cubic foot of freezer space. I'll pay the 60 cents. Bought two storage holders for wine glasses. Store nicely in the basement, bring them up when we entertain, don't need to keep them around.

Paparazzi does a land office business at the bar on Thursdays and Fridays after work. Mostly 20 something fmale investment bankers and their boyfriends, from what I can tell. Quality of food is probably not a consideration (The large office building across JFK is filled with investment firms, as is the property immediately to the north)

I bet this guy was Tim Zagat in disguise. The Olive Garden's new commercial features an older, Italian gentleman who has just achieved US citizenship. His family takes him to The Olive Garden for a celebration. He sees the food. Tears fill his eyes, flags wave...

Traditionally, Arthur's Landing validates your parking stub at the coat check. With the huge expansion and construction, that may have changed, so I'd call ahead to verify. Way back when, like 1985, Arthur's used to give you parking, pre-theater dinner, ferry, show tickets, jitney ride for under $50. Might have been under $40 when they started the program.

I thought this article was much better than the Wine Spectator article on the same subject. Some of the NYT is obvious (scarce wine is often expensive), but marketing plays a huge role. A business host will NOT select an expensive wine she's never heard of unless there's a very credible sommelier pushing it. Name recognition is huge, and that costs money, lots of it. WS seemed to lump the middleman's cut as profit, while NYT correctly notes the distributor provides much of the marketing muscle for other than celebrity wines. I was also impressed with the frankness that some wine makers select a price almost arbitrarily. Although not intended as such, the NYT makes a good case for direct shipping as a life saver for smaller wineries.

Did the defendant consider that there could be a mis-alignment of the attorney's interests with the client's interests under that circumstance? If your appeal succeeeds, he doesn't get a last meal...

Might this outfit be related to the Flying Pig Cafe at the (old) train station in Mount Kisco? The FPC specializes in heritage breed pork, and is rooted in locally sourced food products. They specialize in Hudson Valley and NY state products. Edit I didn't see anything on either website which suggested a link. The selection at FPF looks interesting, and they don't use animal byproducts in feed or growth hormones. Nice selection of cuts and chops.

The wholesalers / exporters aren't well liked in the Ivory Coast and elsewhere, either. The cartel's power to set purchasing prices means the farmer is almost always disadvantaged, if they lack the clout of a big buyer (Nestle, Hershey, Valrhona, etc). Some of the cocoa now on market was plundered from warehouses in the recent disturbances. That won't help quality control. I believe the threat of violence and anarchy was one reason for the French invasion ("we don't need no steenking UN resolution...") a few months ago. That has brought some order back to the country.

I would hate to see that happen, especially to a favorite winery. Agreed. Somebody will blink, and my guess is it will be the wineries as they go up against the wall for interest due on loans. Some wineries incurred substantial debt for land at the peak of the market. The NASAQ collapse has taken a lot of investors / wine buyers out of the market. There is a lot of $35-40 wine offered at $75 right now, with fewer takers. Bankruptcy court is a dangerous place. The telecomms found their assets liquidated for a dime on the dollar, or less. That prospect could force a few wineries to consider asset clearance sales.

Access to death row and execution sites is usually very tightly regulated. It would be highly unlikely a faux-padre (madre?) could slip through. That said, I wonder if ortolan would be acceptable for a last meal? I'd be surprised if the prison allowed take-out from a distance (fiddleheads or ramps out of season, for example)

The wine manager at our local NJ Costco suggested I stop by "toward the middle of the April" as they are expecting several new labels. She's been a good guide in the past. Everybody knows some good wines are over priced, but nobody wants to move inventory with price cuts. Once somebody breaks ranks, and wholesales 20,000 cases to Costco at a rock bottom price, the flood will let loose. The other possibility is a winery bankruptcy which would throw a lot of wine on the market very quickly.

The death penalty was restored in NJ in 1976. Seventeen people have been sent to death row since then, none have been executed due to appeals. Four have been killed by other inmates, including Jesse Timedequas. He tortured and killed 8 year old Megan Kanka (Megan's law). One of his death row inmates killed him during his 10 year appeals process. saved the state a few bucks. Another death row inmate strangled a state trooper. one of his buddies on the row killed him. With a broken glass, I believe. The killer has already been convicted of two murders, both death penalties, so it's not like he's got anything to lose. Nobody gets on death row for good behavior. Bitchin' about not getting a cheeseburger won't get my sympathy

That is truly horrible. Pack of assholes. Pack of assholes indeed, elyse! Oy, don't get me started on our broken-beyond-repair prison system . . . Sounds to me like the guy lucked out, twice. He coulda been fried twice, and he's complaining about not getting his third cheeseburger. Things could be worse for him, lots worse...

Not off topic at all. At this very moment, several food producers are probably scouting firehouses for hunky guys who love to cook. We'll probably see that show in the fall on FoodNetwork with Jill Cordes hosting. I wonder if anybody's doing a Baywatch cooking program for FoodNetwork? Incredibly sculpted women who long to cook (in their bathing suits, of course) for surfer dudes. Might be more suitable for MTV, tough...

Good points, Dave. But, Scripps is in business to make a profit and maximize the value of its magazines, newspapers, etc. That means they have to find demographically attractive viewers and flood them with advertising. There's ample evidence FN is struggling to find those attractive viewers In contrast, Corporation for Public Broadcasting / PBS is a welfare junky, with 2/3 its revenue ($216mn in 2002) coming from the government in spectrum allocation, and much of the rest coming from states / foundations, and member stations etc. Individuals contribute a relatively small percent of public TV's revenue, perhaps 20% in many markets? It's easier to deliver higher quality programming if the quantity of viewers reached is unimportant.

Scripps-Howard has put a lot of money into FoodNetwork and their other cable products over the years. Haven't made much money, from what I've read. I'd bet hard core foodies aren't enough to sustain a 24/7 product. My cable system only carries FN for 16 hours a day. Sells the rest of the time to Ron Popeil, tummy stretchers, and no money down real estate. My sense is they're cutting back on original investments in new programming and buying cheaper syndication / foreign origin materials. The 1992-1995 Martha Stewart block is an example Does anybody have a rate card / guarantee with the viewership by program? The supplementary sheet will give you the demographics