Rail Paul

I've been there for lunch, twice. (It's adjacent to Kyoto, which has been mentioned here in the past) The food was just OK in an absolute sense, but not when compared to the prices charged. The lunch entrees ran $12 - $18, IIRC, which I consider to be substantial. For that price, one used to be able to dine next door at Fantastico (now gone) and have a much more interesting and complex lunch. On a pure food basis, I'd rate the food at Capo Vaticano, behind the Kings Market, to be better, but the atmosphere turns me off.

It's VERY small. One table, seating four, and one bench. The kitchen is huge, however, easily 400sf - 500sf from what I could see. I think the Tarabour article mentioned they do a lot of catering, which makes sense. Rosie - I confess I didn't walk past Oppenheimer's and Osbourne's on this past Saturday, I drove. So, I didn't actually peek into the brewhouse. I did park in front of Corso and walk up to the Bread Company, though.

Dinner last night was based in part on a restaurant review by Rene Mack in the Bergen (NJ) Record. Beets, sliced in 1/2 inch circles, wrapped in aluminum foil, with a bit of butter and a splash of amber ale. Roasted on the grill's 400F section for 30 minutes. Carrots, also wrapped in aluminum foil, with a splash of orange juice, on the grill. Two Bosc pears, unwrapped, but halved, longitudinally. Salmon, skin on, topped with bread crumbs and spice blend, on the grill for a few minutes. I unwrapped the beets and carrots for the last few minutes of cooking. Remove beets, slice into julienne. Same for carrots and pears. Serve over a bed of baby aragula. Place salmon on warmed cous-cous (same plate) drizzle with EVOO and jalapeno powder. Very colorful with the green arugula on an earthenware plate, topped with the maroon of the beets, the orange of the carrots and the crisp of the salmon fillet. Very crunchy edited to add "pears"

Anybody have details on menu, specialties, etc? gracias..

Thanks for the additional info. And thanks, Lizziee for the recipe excerpt. I was not aware that oranges were unstable. Dave - I might even try that with dinner Paul

There was actually a study on this a few years ago. The conclusion was exactly as you suggest. An attendant's presence guarantees close to 100% washing compliance. They used a videocam, properly positioned to view only the sinks and the door to run their testing. Without the attendant, but using the same time samples, the rate was about 70% Depending on the state, such a test might run afoul of the "reasonable expectation of privacy" rules that govern private situations. Like the video/audio nannycams and their litigation potential.

I find that an awful alternative, but you're welcome to endorse it. It's similar to that held by many people who opposed the so called "Green Revolution" which brought high yield rice to Asia in the late 1950s and 1960s. Same arguments about risky and untried science, tinkering with nature, God's will, export market concerns, etc. We'll know in another few years whether history repeats, I'm sure. (Thanks for giving me the benefit of being well intentioned, by the way.)

Still alive, feeling fine...

I had EXACTLY the same thought. That's dangerous...

macrosan - It's clear you and I hold diametrically opposed views on this. I respect your interest in not accepting yet unproven science. That's reasonable. However, I'm surprised that you have taken the position that allowing one's own population to starve on a principle is an acceptable governmental stance. I find that position unacceptable, but you certainly have a right to it. But, rather than argue over positions which neither of us will likely change, I've chosen to make an extra contribution to Americares effort to feed and medicate starving people in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. If you feel strongly about the issue of hunger, you may consider a gift to a UK charity which respects your views in the conquest of hunger. I'm sure starving people will apreciate that gift more than our spewing electrons... Americares Paul

cool. let us know either way. Grilled them tonight. Rare, and very delicious. At E plus 90 minutes, I'm still vertical. Dee turned off the lights and I didn't not appear to be glowing any more than usual. Next report at 10 am ET...

Yes, it's about a five minute walk to Corso from SP&P. Actually, here's a walking tour. Crossing of the railroad and Walnut street. Walk west one block on Walnut, and trumpets is on the corner. Continue walking on walnut and you pass Corso, opposite the end of N. Willow St. Poor Richard's furniture and collectible refinishing is across the street. The frame gallery and at least one art gallery are in this segment. Continue walking on Walnut and the Montclair bread company is across the street. Bought a solid five grain organic which was more dense than I expected. You're now passing Gina's Paneficio. They had several ficelles in the window, and several large Tuscan loaves on the cooling racks. Pass the Osbourne tap room, or drop in for a brew. Pass the Oppenheimer meat wholesalers and the Harley place. Turn right on Forest and walk about 100 yards to SP&P on the next corner. If you walk down the side street, that comes out at the former Luna Stage, opposite the train station.

Topic Merge I noticed the Ledger's review of Marakecch (?) in Parsippany made reference to the BYO policy. Corkage is $10, IIRC. Is this legal in NJ? I had thought a BYO couldn't advertise that it is a BYO or charge a corkage fee.

I just did take-out from SP&P (103 Forest St in Montclair, opposite the DMV). Brooke Tarabour mentioned it in her food column a few weeks ago. The restaurant is a short block north of the Walnut Street restaurant / bakery area, and a block up from the Walnut street train station. Very small, one table, and small bench. Very airy, large glass windows. Busy place, phone rang constantly with t/o orders. You can look into the kitchen with four guys chopping, basting, frying, spicing. Very clean, they washed continuously. The menu had African-American and Jamaican classic items. I ordered fried chicken (warm, moist, slightly less crispy skin than I like, but good, with lots of pepper spicing). Jerk pork sandwich had chunks of browned pork, with a strong allspice, peppers, oranges flavor to them. I'm guessing they pressure cook the pork with the spices, then roast it to a just moist finish. Served on an OK roll. The chicken was $7 for 4 pieces (large breast, leg, wing, thigh), the pork was $4. Other items on the menu included specials of --chopped tennessee bbq sandwich $4.50 --Jamaican chicken soup --Smothered chicken $6.50 --Curried goat 8.50 --Oxtails (with chicken goat, oxtails you get two sides, these include yams, mashed potatoes, squash, mac n cheese, string beans, etc) Also had whiting on the menu, I noticed them frying the pieces, turning them, and spicing the filets with a powder. Very aromatic. BBQ ribs for 14.50 Will try the goat next time I get back there. I think the sandwich would have been spectacular on a ciabatta roll, with a little more sauce I don't want to offer a comparison to Indigo Smoke (4 blcoks away) on just one visit but I liked the pork here very much.

Although you raise several important points, I'd like to focus on just one. It's very clear the issue of genetically modified grain is so important to some governments that they would prefer to let their own people starve rather than accept it as donations. Having scientific conclusions that everyone will accept is well into the future. People live (and die) in the present. Waiting twenty years isn't going to work when people are starving today. That speaks volumes about morality, as far as I can tell. It's the same issue with irradiated beef. I'd suspect my tiny risk of contracting e-coli exceeds the even smaller risk of biological damage from the radura. I have the choice to eat or not eat the beef, people in Zimbabwe do not. They get to die of starvation as their government refuses donations of GEM grain.

I stopped by the West Caldwell S-R to check out the irradiated meat on Friday evening. I was surprised that the 80/20 and 93/7 burger was just loaded into the meat section, no special labeling, only blue and silver packaging. Other than a small Surebeam yellow divider, nothing distinguished the products. In contrast, at Wegmans, the irradiated meat has its own safety message ("this is better") and a message that the safe beam kills bacteria to supplement the already high standards a[[lied to all Wegmans food. I'll grill the burgers over the weekend (rare) and report back if I survive.

E-2 and H-1 visa arrangements are little more than legalized indentured servitude. They work well for employers, and avoid the need to invest in training for their local employees. It's impossible to organize them into a union. In Silicon Valley, they're called slave papers. If the restaurant took the money they invested in airfare and accomodations for these folks and used it for a co-op education for high school students (you work here 15 hours a week, we'll pay you and train you), they'd have a domestic work force and provide jobs for local people who want to work.

Craig - the lack of sponsorship for small wineries has already become a problem in NJ. the state's concentration of wine distributors means it is difficult for a small producer to get access to the distributor (who wants to handle a 200 cases per year account?) and, thus to the stores. added to that is the state's requirement that a producer / vintner must "qualify" for admission to the state. in practice this is an expensive bonding process, which may be prohibitive for the 200 cases to NJ producer. (Dis id joisey. no gangstas allowt) when i'm looking for good wines (such as Mr Plotnicki will mention), it's straight to Zachy's, or Chambers Street or Astor in the city. lots of tax revenue flowing across the bridges... Paul

Have a good time. The sponsor is there to expose you to the wines they carry, and your job is to sample them. Some you'll like, some you won't like. You'll taste fresh fruit, smoky sensations, maybe some sweet, and prob a little of paint thinner. If it's a basic tasting, you will likely have a few red wines and a few white wines. Your guide will prob describe a little about the wine, may tell you what tastes to look for (I don't like that approach), and ask you to compare it to a previously tasted wine. If you're an analytical person, you might want to read ahead a few pages. One place is Tasting Wine

The French aren't on this list, which I find curious. I thought the French consumption of beer was about equal to their wine intake, which has raised national identity questions, what with the French convinced of their excellence in all things gastronomic, and all.

yes, please post! I'm surprised about the wines. Berns is reputed to have an exceptionally deep wine selection

I don't believe the E Hanvover Route 10 store has liquor. If there's a location in Bridgewater, that may be closer for you, Kim. I shop Costco for the wines, they generally hit the NJ minimum price on just about all their wine products. I post the details occasionally on the wine board. I've found their product prices to be anywhere from $5 cheaper on a $20 bottle to $40 less on a $120 bottle. The Wall Street Journal did an article on the Willowbrook location and compared its prices with several local wine merchants. On Dom Perignon, WSJ reported their price was $50 less than a well known (and named) Montclair wine merchant for the same offering. My local wine dealer is always complaining about losing the case sales to Costco. Even with his 20% discount, Costco's usually cheaper. The local Costco store has no say over what they get, selection is not deep, but pricing is rock bottom. Their selection of specialty scotches is good, also They do suck you in, though. I went over for some wine last week. Got that, plus a pair of Dockers khakis ($17.99), five pounds of their jumbo shrimp, a giant windex for the price of the 32 oz, and considered getting snow tires for the car.

Welcome, Evabug - We've had the same experience here in Northern NJ, where Wal-Mart, BJ's Target, and Costco are slugging it out. Based on my personal impressions, where Costco and Wal-Mart collide head on, WM usually has a better price. But Costco's merchandise tends to be better in many cases. BJs doesn't seem to have a price edge over WM, and definitely lacks the quality of Costco or Target. Target's quality is probably a little better than Costco, but its prices are higher. My sense is BJs will not survice the conflict

I was surprised to hear your comment about the fish, since BluePointe has received generally good comments among my Atlanta associates. It's possible that ordering fish in Atlanta on a Monday isn't a good idea, or maybe you just received a bad piece of fish. The owner, Buckhead Life restaurant group operates Atlanta Fish Market, and has been a major buyer of wholesale fish for years. They also operate several steak houses and staff a few corporate kitchens, I believe.

I've seen it on Bloomberg TV (Comcast channel 24 in my area) in the 6am to 7am segment. Runs every morning at about 620 and 650, maybe other times, too. He is the lead off person, and reappears for 5 seconds later in the piece. I think I saw it on CNBC (great whore of Wall Street Babylon) recently, too. It might be on network TV, but I only watch an hour or so of that each month, more if they're doing swimsuit specials on the news.