Rail Paul

Hi tommy... For information on Chef Charlie Trotter’s speaking engagements ..., please email Mark Signorio: mark@charlietrotters.com. He's been in NYC quite frequently as the new restaurant project continues. I saw him at Bouley last month.

Bob Lape, the veteran food reporter for WCBS Radio in NY, also has a nice comment on Melt in this week's review. Bob Lape - YUM!

The bbq pulled pork sandwich was good. Peppery, generous portion. Moist but not sloppy wet. $8.29 I don't think this particular sandwich was as good as the average pulled pork sandwich Fink used to provide, but it was definitely good, and definitely worth a ride. Fink set a standard which will be tough to match. Hot Rod's website

The Morristown Record reported last week that the new store was on track to have one of the highest week grosses on record for WC stores.

Moby's? or Off the Hook?

It's a nice place, thoughtfully decorated and trimmed. The liquor license is still awaited (maybe the week of the 16th), so they offered a complimentary glass of merlot or pinot grigio. Mid-week, the place was empty. Only one other table at 730pm, with six people. Two other two-tops arrived during our visit. Menu has ambitious touches lobster ravioli with pink Champagne sauce, the aforementioned giambotta, a horseradish demi-glazed salmon slab, etc. Prices were competitive to the area ($15 to $20). I liked it a lot, although I suspect the noise level could quickly reach unbearable when the place fills up. There's nothing to absorb any sound in the angular, high ceilinged room. The ravioli was very good. Generous chunks of lobster, al dente pasta, a vodka-like sauce. Dee enjoyed the salmon (crisp exterior, pink center), but found the sauteed spinach much too salty. In contrast, the mashed potatoes tasted like they were from the box. I'm sure they weren't, but the absolute smoothness and blandness surprised me. An amuse of chocolate chip liquer was a surprise. Dessert was shown on a tray, we split a very attractive apple cobbler with ice cream. Butterscotch hatching on the ice cream was a nice touch. Coupla negatives: ---The server was a little more casual than I expected. ---The plating could have used some pizzazz. Dumping the 6 ravioli on the plate, spooning the sauce and droppng a sprig of basil doesn't cut it. Maybe drizzling a little minced parsley on the edges, or black pepper dusting to set off the food? --Dee objected to the server bringing me the bill, and raised that as an objection --The service pantry (old ticket seller's booth) prob should be screened better. Looking into a large fridge isn't everybody's idea of gracous dining This is a nice place, run by people who obviously care a lot about what they do. I'm sure as they gain traction, these minor concerns will vanish. Dinner was $45, with tip $55. We brought a bottle of wine, and didn't have any of theirs. BYO will prob end next week, they seemed comfortable the license would be approved. Barista report the resto sold out on Friday and Saturday nights last week.

Dee and I drove over on Sunday afternoon to check out Melt. It's located in a rapidly gentrifying area of Jersey City, on the border of the Harsimus and Hamilton Park neighborhoods. Lots of residential foot traffic, about three blocks from new office buildings and five blocks from the Newport Center development. I was surprised to find several parking spaces on the block Pleasant, 18 seat resto, with wood tongue and groove to a wainscoating about four feet up, then dark brick to a 15 foot ceiling. Huge glass windows onto the sidewalk. Four tables were filled when we arrived, and there was a steady stream in and out. Dee ordered the special #3 (montchevre cheese, fontina cheese, field geens, citrus dijon 7.50) and I ordered the special #1 ( shropshire cheese, tallagio cheese, tomato with basil pesto 8.00). An unusual treat is "original" CocaCola made with cane sugar, rather than the corn syrup version used in most US markets. I understand Coke makes a version distributed principally to Orthodox Jewish markets in the US. I really enjoyed the Shropshire cheese special on Balthazar levain bread, thickly sliced. An unannounced ingredient was walnuts, which added to the crunch factor. The sandwich was lightly pressed, very gooey, and extremely fragrant. Dee's montchevre special was good, but a little to "sweet" to our tastes, so we experimented a little. Moved some pesto over, which improved it. Added a little salt, which was less of an improvement. Decided that maybe an olive tapenade would give the right mix of salty and slightly bitter to contrast the very sweet and very white cheeses. Or, change the citrus dijon to one with cracked seeds. The Balthazar multi-grain bread was good, and took a very nice press. Dee had a cafe au lait, which was fine. I had an IBC diet root beer, which had a very traditional root beer taste, almost like a Stewart's. The featured ice cream is Bassett's, the Philadelphia super premium brand. I noticed several people came in for the ice cream and brownie special. They have a cinnamon ice cream version which is very fragrant. It would be wonderful with a warm apple pie (all pies and cakes sold out). Glenn thoughtfully sent over a tasting of the cinnamon. All in, the bill was $20 plus tip. Very fair price. This is a quality operation, with a lot of pride in ingredients and visibility for the vendors like Bassett's. Glenn mentioned several eGulleteers had stopped in already, and that pleased him immensely.

Having heard so much about the gnocchi, Dee and I stopped by Wednesday night. The resto had about 6-7 tables filled at 8pm, by 915, there were perhaps 3 that I could see in the two rooms. Warmly greeted, seated, given time to order. Maria did an excellent job, with time estimates where necessary. I don't think anybody came in after we did. The beet walnut and greens salad was good, nicely drizzled in olive oil. The eggplant wasn't impressive. The skin of the eggplant was chewy / stringy, Dee cut it off. Sauce was OK, but seemed flat, and plain. Cheese was good. Gnocchi was very good. I'd rank it as better than any I've had in a year other than two trips to Hearth in NYC. Hearth's gnocchi is better, but this is certainly good. I think the pasta may have absorbed a little more of the sauce than it should have by the time it was served. The sausage with fennel was wonderful. Several of the service lapses noted by others happened here, too. Forks and knives not removed at the end of a course, plates left for five minutes after both had finished. Oil dish left on the table after bread plates were removed, minor stuff, but noted. Nice place, friendly service. Price was quite fair. With a pasta, a salad, one entree, one dessert, tax and nice tip, the bill came to about $65

Fascino has good availability during the next few weeks, during the week and on Friday nights. Saturday is usually a reserve well ahead, or take your chances game. I checked OpenTable.com for availability on 2 people and 4 people. Next Wed and Thurs 630-7-730 for 2 and 4 people, next Friday 630 and 8 pm, etc. All are available

Greenwood Farms also provides farm raised, organic turkeys for the holidays. Not especially cheap (about $3#, IIRC) but they're excellent It's a nice, artisanal operation, family run,

Trattoria Fresco has a seasonal promotional going on now. $22.95 for the three course prix fixe, good on Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday only. It should be on at least until the weather gets better in the Spring. It's a pretty good deal. The included items were the goat cheese dumpling, carpaccio, fresco insalata and antipasto from the appy side; the skirt steak, salmon and crab wrapped in puff pastry, and the vegetarian pappardelle. There were several desserts included as well. The resto is often completely filled on Friday and Saturday nights, and usually empty to nearly empty on Monday thru Thursday (I often walk my dog in the area). Since TF is on OpenTable, it's relatively easy to see whether space is available. On Wednesday night, there were no more than 25 people in the place between 7 pm and 830, that's prob about 1/3 capacity. I've walked by when it seems like there are fewer than 10 people there.

Prices can, and do, change frequently within a month, but they won't drop below a penny above the minimum. FWIW, the Total Wines store in WO always seems to have the Help Wanted sign on the door, and the folks there rarely seem to be enjoying their jobs. I'd agree that the staff at Wine Library is much more helpful

Under NJ's state minimum wholesale price policy, the minimum price is known to everybody. So, if you're getting goods from a wholesaler, for example, you know the minimum wholesale price applies to every other retailer. Even Costco or Total Wines or Wine Library. That said, a small bottle shop in Middletown can't afford to sell goods at a penny over cost, while Total Vines can do that for a few products. The floor price is counter-intuitive, of course, since it means that competition is limited, but the state collects its wholesale and retail taxes and wouldn't want a price that's too low. Other states have different policies, so this wouldn't necessarily apply to many of them.

From an April 2003 posting on eG I'll see if I can find a number or stop by next time i'm in the area.

Craigmeur Ski area in West Milford (Newfoundland) has a well organized program which handles off-ski-season company gatherings, family picnics, etc. They allow you to bring in your own alcohol if you wish. Ballfields, volleyball, etc. Depending on the size of your group, you can rent the entire place. The Morris County Parks Commission also makes many of its parks (Loantaka Brook, Lewis Morris, etc) available on a rservations basis. Again, beer is OK, but you have to supply volley ball, etc equipment.

Landmark was a finalist in the Munchmobile's best burgers and best bar food competition a few years ago. Food's fine, beer's cold, place is not expensive. Tends to be popular with teams after softball, basketball, etc

ShopRite deli, meat, and fish clerks are in the butcher's union. Checkers, produce, dairy, and stockers are in the clerks union. Under the agreement, only a member of the appropriate union can perform a specific job. Within the butcher's union, only a butcher can cut a piece of meat. A helper/ wrapper can take meat out of the butcher's display, weigh, and wrap it, but she or he can't cut it.

Even after paying the licensing fees, a supermarket can do very well selling the par-baked bread. The California-based LaBrea line, for example, has excellent name recognition in NJ, and sells for up to a buck more than local, family owned bakers in the same supermarket bakery. Cheaper to produce, and sells for more money.

The Woodbridge bakery manager told me that the licensing deal with Herme was limited to a small number of stores. Although Wegmans would like to carry Herme in more locations, it hasn't been allowed to add new salons, and has removed the Herme salon from several other stores where sales didn't justify maintaining the location.

----------------- Yes, it's a franchise. I believe the DM location in West Caldwell has ceased. Desert Moon franchises

Zagat has opened its annual restaurant survey to any diner who wishes to participate. No fee is required, and you'll receive, they say, a free copy of the NJ survey. The website is Zagat and you select the active survey for NJ. If you're not already registered with Zagat, you may do so, free of charge. The choices are divided among regions of the state, and by multiple town clusters within the region. I wanted to cast a vote for An American Grill, which isn't one of pre-determined Mendham-Randolph area choices, so I had to use the write in process. You may vote for multiple restaurants if you wish. If you select write in, that opens up a new box, where you enter the name, town, etc and add the scores for food, service, witty comments, etc. Other Zagat surveys are currently open in other markets.

Indigo Smoke functions very well as a take-out. In my experience, the stuff is ready about on time, and tastes fine. But, when you dine there, there's always some issue bothering the staff. If you're there late, they want you to finish up so they can leave. If you're there early, they'd like to turn the table. Or, they ignore you and the other tables entirely, and you've gotta guess they're out back. We've waited 10 minutes for somebody, anybody, to come by and clear the tables Even though the waitstaff has changed several times, the unremitting message is they don't really grasp the idea of service, and there's no supervision

Some restaurants now "suggest" wines in the menu itself, alongside the entree item. Either by name, or with a mention of a "light fruity red" or such. The wine list is then divided by types of wine using the same general categories. If you like oregon pinot noir, you may consider a rioja in the same general category.

----------------------- We've been there in the past. Good sized show, lots of dealers, heavy on furniture, rugs, lamps, etc. The food aspect is new. I don't recall anything beyond the usual dirty water dogs, chili, cheese sandwiches in prior years.

Based on the Barista survey of ice cream vendors, Wood's must have a select clientele. "Best Ice Cream" Hostein's in Blommfield - 40% Applegate Farms - 21% Magic Fountain next highest 9%, Wood's tied at 7% Survey