Rail Paul

Thanks for reminding me... I didn't notice a sharing charge or comment on the menu. The couple adjacent to us had the cheese and crab stuffed portabella, which they shared as an appy. The mushroom was brought out on a salad sized plate (which it filled), with two similar, clean plates, one for each diner. the pates were cleared and each was served a dinner. (Holstein's Ice Cream Shoppe, in Bloomfield used to have a "booth charge" of $2 per half hour back in the 1960s. That prevented kids from hogging booths and not ordering anything, or sharing just one item. Doesn't sound like much, but shakes were 25 cents)

MSC has its own diner on campus, which has received pretty good marks recently. Here are a few, within two miles south of the skool In the Walnut/Grove street (E to W) are: 77 Walnut Corso 98 Osborne's Tap House (an old fashioned bar with good food) Trumpets (jazz brunch on some Sundays) Tierney's (old fashioned bar on Valley, top of Walnut) On Bloomfield Ave are (E to W) Indigo Smoke (KC style ribs, chopped beef, etc) Deja Vu (French Thai) Blue Sky (you will prob like this place, very creative, call ahead and speak with Dave or Sherry) Liberte (French Turkish) Tuptim Thai Chef Top Notch Chelsea Grille (Rosie likes it, I can't stand it)

Ive been on it for a month, and have taken off about 20 pounds. As John suggests, a little moderation goes a long way toward effectiveness. This isn't Cistercian asceticism. I added a modest amount of fresh spinach, kale, broccoli daily, and blend my own salad dressings. Typically grill extra chicken breasts, or sirloin, and reserve for a subsequent meal. Take a multi-vitamin. My target is to not exceed 40 grams of carb intake daily for the first two months. Also, as noted, occasional vigorous exercise is recommended. Saturday, I chopped wood for two hours, producing about a half cord of split wood. Last Wednesday, I spent two hours clearing an overgown area toward the back of our property. Good, sweaty, achy work. I expect to increase the carb total to about 70 in mid-October. That will allow for an occasional baguette, roll, pizza slice, etc.

Dee and I stopped in for dinner on Wed, September 4, about 630. I was pleased. We had intended to see a movie and stop at Indigo Smoke, but I screwed up the movie start time. Two rooms, about 70-75 seats. Done in green, with track lighting, 1920s vintage wall prints, etc. BYO Pleasant greeting, sit anywhere (only one table taken at 630 pm). Menu had an insert for specials, with prices. Leaned heavily on chicken and beef, but two lamb items, several fish. Most entrees in the 15-20 range. Nice bread basket, assortment of fresh breads (French, flatbread, semolina) Dee had the rack of lamb, rare. She commented it had the taste of lamb from the 1960s, slightly gamy and flavorful. Modern lamb seems to have a less pronounced taste. We both liked this rendition, with a rubbing of sage and rosemary along with an olive oil crust. I ordered the chicken madagascar (thick herb crusted fillet) with a red wine and tamarind? sauce over a roasted red pepper with a dollop of chevre on top. A thickened puddle of spicier sauce was adjacent to the chicken. Service was excellent and attentive (2 staff for three tables), with water filled, wine poured, plates removed. Chef Mark Barrows came out to discuss the meal with each table about 730. He's been here for several months, having previously cooked in River Edge for the same owner. Unfortunately, the 7 pm diners were the last for the night. Only six people, all in. Desserts (outsourced) were shown on a very attractive, large silver display platter. The platter was brought to the table, placed on the table, and described in detail. There were six items, none exciting, but described with care and attention. I noticed the server carrried the platter low, so the adjacent table could check it out. Bill for us was $44 (2 entrees, a few diet cokes), plus $10 tip. Good value for the money. It's nice to see a restaurant executing on so many fronts, all they need is customers! On our way out, both chef Barrows and the maitre thanked us for coming and wished us well. There's a decent wine and liquor store next to the Marlboro Inn Bake Shop, diagonally across the street.

OK, so we're all in sync Reviewed in the Ledger by Cody Kendall KimWB disagrees with Cody's review Paul withdraws his question about where Kim disagrees with David, with appreciation for her comments on the review itself and her unfortunate experience in the joint. Whew...

The restaurant may have its wine inventory on an electronic system already, so tieing in a remote ordering tablet sounds useful. No more of, out of this wine, out of that wine, since it won't show up in the listing if it's not in inventory. Depending on how their database is configured, you might even be able to sort on price, vintage, region, perceived category ("light red" etc), or tonight's food menu for useful pairings.

Thanks for your reply

Kim - I read the review before I read your comments. I've read your comments in the past and agree 99.9% on places where I've been. Where do you differ with David Corcoran? If he took the usual spouse + 2. he looked at 8 entrees. Did he comment on things you've had? Where is he off base? If you want to go live, you still have on qx on your allowance in his interrogatory under special events... Paul

I had a huge and overflowing crop of Carnello (French thin wall tomato) harvest last year in NJ. This year (drought) is very limited. Stuff bruises when you touch it. Basil up the kazoo in 2002. Fifty pounds of it. Freeze, pack it in oil, whatever....

isn't piels one of those fine lagers that suggests "serve *very* cold"? always good sign. yes... piels and schaefer were both recommended to be served extra cold. My uncle ed, an oldtime Bud distributor, maintained that the "spanish people" wanted beer ice cold. That was a problem for him since mr busch wanted HISBEER served 55 degrees or else. He kept his sales numbers up, and no flunkies ever stuck their dipstiks up his (beer?)

Sunday night dinner... left over shrimp, chicken, beef strips, fish, chiles, a little youghurt, cheese, etc folded inside a tortilla. Cook on the grill for 2 minutes per side. If I'm in a complex mood, use an 8 inch skillet, otherwise naked. Eat.

Back when I was an (illegal) employee of Piels beer, they recommendend 45 degrees farenheit. The delivery team was supposed to check. (Even met Bob and Ray, gotta be 1966 or so)

Is there a dining experience you consdier especially memorable? If so, would you describe? (Doesn't have to be a reviewed location) Thanks!

thebaker ... if you're comfortable discussing the process (and aren't legally encumbered), do the various restaurant customers receive the same bread as Pain Q gets? Are there variations specified by the various customers? I've noticed the bakers at Chelsea Market refer to work sheets quite often, so I assumed there are special preparations. Different thought, entirely. I've noticed the bread purchased at Bread Alone's bakery in Boiceville (NY 28, west of Kingston) has a slightly different taste than the bread sold at the greenmarkets. I have to believe some of that is due to the two hour ride to NYC, plus a sojourn in the hot marketplace...

I understand the Times reviewers are expected to make at least two visits to a restaurant. Do you generally bring the same companions back to a restaurant, or do you have an alternate team for the second visit? How much do you rely on the comments of the other guests versus your own considerations? Thank you

WSJ online makes some of the articles accessible, but most are not without a subscription to WSJ Online. The Journal seems to allow many of its life-style and Weekend Journal items to flow over to the free side. Subscribers may e-mail articles and abstracts to non-subscribers.

That's an exceptionally good approach to take with any negotiating process. One person who's ready to take out a wall, rearrange the store's merchandise, or otherwise vent. The other, who really wants to get this process finished, and calm the angry person. Theater 101. Perhaps Jason could wear his Viking helmet to convey the proper effect. Seriously, we went thru a 90 day project that was supposed to take two weeks, but in the end it all looked fine. We did require two lawyer letters to get the last pieces squared away, though. One letter was necessary to "jump the line" and get the jacuzzi we ordered delivered to us. For this, the workers are often very informative. They let us know that a tub was on its way in, and maybe it was supposed to be ours, but wasn't going to us. I'm sure your kitchen will look fantastic when it's done, and all these inconveniences will slip away

The otherwise estimable Simon has damned all of the bread in New York as inferior slop in a post on the UK board. Apparently, the bread in London is far superior in his judgement. For purposes of comparison, might we nominate five examples of New York bread to stand against the UK offerings? My comments - Rye - Orwaschers Baguette - Pain Quotidien White / Country ? Whole Wheat - Amy's multi-grain Ciabatta ? Comments or alternatives?

one location is 390 Belleville Pike in North Arlington, about a block west of Schuyler Avenue. Other locations include Scotch Plains (2581 Route 22) and Irvington (4 Emwood Avenue at Springfield Av) They also make a wicked plate of hash browns with red peppers and all the grease you want. Not on Dr Atkins recommended list... Jimmy Buff's

The lunch cart vendor (pickup truck with coffee urns, cold storage, icemaker, etc) behind my former place of employment measured his take in modest sized grocery bags of money. My office overlooked his corner (parking garage ahead, two 20 story buildings behind), and he was busy! His wife would stop by and relieve him of a bag about 8, and again as he was leaving at 915 or so. Out of curiousity, I shadowed his two man operation and sequenced his sales. His gross take was in the $1200 range for three+ hours work, the average sale was about $2 (lg coffee or canned juice plus pre-pak bagel, donut, danish). From there, the truck went to a sheet metal place in Harrison NJ, and on to a large truck dock. He refueled with sandwiches and returned to my corner for lunch (canned soda, pre-pack sandwiches) where his average tab was about $3.50, or another $1200. He, the cart, and the money left about 130, so I assume that was it for the day. Figure a half million gross, high estimate cost of goods sold was $150k, bribes were another $15,000, truck expenses $10k. Net was $300k, he reported half of it, so his family take home was $240,000 or so. Other cart locations were allocated to veterans who met certain city criteria (relative in city gov, willingness to share, veteran of a war, etc).

I noticed the Bertolli EVOO now has a small statement on the back label that it may be composed of oils from Italy, Tunisia, Greece, and Spain. That text is much smaller than the "Packed in Lucca" text which dominates the front label. I compared the bottle to an old bottle, and the foreign sources are not present. I'm guessing the EU disclosure rules may have played a role in the label change. Turkey is another supplier of olive oil.

I agree with Rachel, this is an exceptionally difficult situation to find oneself. Does your vegan charter allow for the use of eggs, or of milk and cheese? How about fish? I did a quick search on google (vegan recipe kids) and derived the following: VegWeb The skillet pizza and the guacomole both look interesting. There's also a recipe sequence by days if you want a two week cycle. Veg Family A bean and molasses hot pot, the use of ramen and tofu, and the liberal use of Ragu sauce was interesting There were several other sites that looked interesting,as well

Steve - I have had the Wegman's beef cooked as rare burgers on the grill, and I didn't notice any difference from other beef. It's usually priced comparably with the butcher ground beef, when the latter is not on sale. I don't know how the commercial purveyors would address the law, I'd be surprised if there was an exception for irradiation. And, the irradiated people haven't spread enough money around to get an exception, yet. Paul

Suzanne - thank YOU for highlighting several interesting neighborhood food locations which don't get nearly enough play on eGullet. Might I prevail on you to open a thread on the areas of Brighton Beach which are especially interesting to you? Are there food providers who are a "must visit"? With the more clement Fall season almost upon us, market going is much more enjoyable Thanks Paul

We could probably open a whole thread on the worst place in which to live, although anybody who's been in the Air Force, and been stationed in Turkey has a huge head start... They'd love to live in west central Illinois, in place of Turkey.