finker99

We went there for my wife's birthday with about a dozen people. Overall my experience seems to match the other posters The service was ok, it did seem like they were trying and the minor problems were things that I think will improve with age. A little disorganized would be the best way to describe it. My wife and I split the Jumbo seafood tower and it was all very tasty, the sea urchin roe was very fresh and was served with just a little micro green sprinkled on top (a prevalent garnish) My wife and her friend wolfed down the slamon tartare. The oysters(Pacific) and clams were tasty and I just had them with a little of the nice and tart mignonette sauce. Shrimp that were plump and tasty and a nice hard shelled lobster. I also had a gorganzola salad that was pretty good with a mellow marinated gorganzola and peppery greens. My entree was the roasted garlic stuffed prime rib chop at $42. My feelings on it are ambivelent. It was a little unevenly cooked, possibly from stuffing, and the parts that were not in contact with the garlic I felt were not as tasty as many other steaks I had. The fatty outer ring of meat, and the parts that were touching the very deeply roasted garlic slices were, however, delicious, and some of the tastiest pieces of meat that I have had in a while. Kathleen had grilled scallops which were delicious and fresh, although she prefers here scallops with a little more butter fat. Speaking of butter.... On the table they had french butter tubes, still in the wrapper to go with the delicious bread that they put out and what looked like little bowls of sea salt. A very nice touch I thought Dessert was a molten chocolate cake, one of the better versions of this dessert that I have had. One of the other guys got a pineapple dessert that was passed around because it was huge. I looked good and my co diners seemed to enjoy it but I was too into my chocolate cake. Overall I enjoyed my meal and the bill came out to $70 per person tip and drinks included which was less than I expected. The place is a little pricey for Jersey, but the decor and ambieance were worth it. Copper lined menus, comfortable large chairs, nice, dark wood tables, proper glassware, a color changing wall, a ceiling full of stars (fiber optics, not stickers like Fink's). It is definately worth the premium. The couple of problems that the place does have do seem to be growing pains and the service should get tighter as the staff works together. I am looking forward to going back on my next day off (maybe in June) Fink

when I go should I wear the fake glasses with the bushy eye brows?

Greenfield Churascaria is located in hackensack in the open mall that has home depot and pathmark located in it on hackensack ave. It is located just south of route 4 and the riverside square park mall. There is (or was, it's been a while since I've been up there)one in the palisades park mall too on the top floor fink

Hackensack has several good latin markets and a Thai market, an indian market, all within a couple of blocks of the main street library the Arek market in river edge has some good greek/mediteranian ingredients (south of the diner) the king fung in river edge isn't bad for asian, but I hear others in the area are better fink

Last night I had a good and different soup at my neighbors restaurant Shanghai in river edge on Kinderkamack Rd. It was a Setchwan (spelling is not my forte) small dumpling soup. It was better and different then regular wonton soup (which they have) in that A. the dumplings were smaller (duh really in small dumpling soup) B. the dough for the dumplings was much more tender than the usuall won ton and C. The chicken consumme had a light film of chile oil on it that gave the soup a nice spicy edge. Mrs. Finks Hot and Sour soup was both. As far as Chinese soups go, this place has both a pretty good selection (more than egg drop, won ton and hot and sour) and what they have is very good SHAMELESS PLUG oh yeah, we have red bean and sausage soup for a special now and are preparing a beef stock for French Onion Soup for later in the week FINK'S FUNKY CHICKEN AND RIBS finksfunky.net SHAMELESS PLUG Fink

Fink's Funky Chicken and Ribs does off site catering. From pig roasts to some more traditional items (chicken marsala, prime rib, etc) we do it all, check our web site finks site

I tried an experiment yesterday........ Bacon chocolate chip cookies Yes, I said bacon chocolate chip cookies. I just added a tablespoon of bacon fat and about 3/4 cup chopped bacon to a standard cookie recipe and tahdah!! Bacon chocolate chip cookies Crunchy, smokey, chocolatey, porky, yummy. I think they may be a regular item. Inspiration: A "Garfield" comic strip about 3 weeks ago where Garfield comes up with it some how. One of the drivers has been hounding me since then to make them. Bacon chocolate chip cookies yum Fink

Pigs in at 4 am and are as of now a nice deep brown. MMMMMMM Pork

Beautiful Butts I just smoke an untrimmed gooseneck round that I had rubbed with a mexican style rub and the smoked it for 15 hours with cherry and oak. When it came out I shredded it. The meat was rich, smokey and juicy due to the insane amounts of fat on it. I took the meat and heated it with an ancho-chipotle bbq sauce for some enchiladas, REAL tasty with a whack o' sour cream. I am lucky enough to have a commercial smoker, but have used the bullets in the past and actually developed most of my recipes for my store on a Cammeron stovetop smoker in my garden apartment that forbids outdoor cooking. At the last place I worked we had an electric bullet that we smoked Jumbo chicken breasts, cooled them, then fried them in a blue cornmeal-sage beer bater, pretty tasty, but a little dry cuz the chef smoked them boneless skinless. I didn't like the electric bullet so much because we would go through them pretty quickly, about 2 a year and we were only smoking a couple of times a week. Plus the temp control was very iffy, this was a few years ago so maybe they are better now. The stovetop smoker was actually a smaller version of the kind we used to throw together in the kitchen at work. It was comprised of a Deep pan with a pan that fit inside of it and rack that sat in the interior pan. Wood chips went between the two pans and you tun the burner on to regulate heat and smoke; you can also balance the heat by putting the meat on one side and the heat and chips on the other. A lid covers the whole thing. The one I used at home was a little smaller and was hard pressed to fit a full rack or a pork butt without using a foil tent instead of the slide on lid. My stove is by a window and I had an exhaust fan, but not that much smoke actually just wisps out and I did smoke a couple times after the fan broke with an open window and that was enough, although we had to take down the smoke detector. My smoker at my store Finks funky web site is an old Southern Pride UXR 100 that I bought on Ebay for $1300. It has 5 racks with 3 shelves each on a giant rotisserie. My only shame is that it is a gas fired smoker, the burner really only is used to get logs going, then they go on their own. It turns out very consistant meat, but I do feel like I am cheating a little bit, but the realityies of business sometimes overtake the wishes of art. I do brisket that we trim well, rub and then restack the fat on top of. They take about 9-12 hours depending on size. We do butts that we butterfly to maximize smoke exposure and speed cooking time (6-9 hours). Chickens we butterfly and smoke for about 2-3 hours. All of these items are smoke at about 220-250 degrees. We also do a quick smoke on trimmed beef ribeye for about 40 minutes at about 120 degrees. We then slice it fine and use it in cheese steaks or cut steaks and throw them on the grill. Any real horror stories? Two weeks ago I forget to turn the smoker one night with a case of beef brisket in it, about 125# (disadvantage of the gas fire, it is much tougher to forget to get your coals going, etc than it is to just set the thermostat.) I really want to start playing with sausages, but the other parts of my job keep me running or too tired at the end of the day to deal with it, but I just noticed that the butcher across the street from me has some excellent fresh ground pork in two grades of fattiness ( a lot and a little.) I have been experimenting a little with breakfast sausage patties, soon I think I have to dig out my sausage horn for my Kitchen-Aid because smoked patties just don't cut it, and links are just that good. Anyway, sorry for my verbosity, I look forward to hearing a horror story or two (no "my house burned to the ground" please, that would be a little too horrible ) Fink fink

Where oh where can I find some really good peking duck in northern NJ??? Fink

I can bring sweet tea as my chip in and Mrs Fink (if she can make it) will be bringing a big ole apple cobbler Fink

I had my wedding done at the Sea Shell on LBI. The ceremony on the beach and a walk over the dunes to a reception at the hotel\ Fink oh yeah, food and service were great, the whole shebang was $100 a head, site, food booze, everything

I smoke beef ribs occasionally fo a special at my store (fink's funky chicken and ribs...see NJ board) My regulars go nuts for them, although they are tough to sell because of the price/size/fat ratio. They are delicious tho fink

Hi all, long time no post!! Jason, I made that gazpacho you asked for 201, WHERE ARE YOU, we have had sweet tea for 3 weeks, enough online gaming already, our weekly numbers are down And for anyone else interested we have a cuban sandwich with pulled pork instead of the roast pork and Smithfield Ham. MMMMMMMM HAM I have been eating Ham on a Biscuit, MMMMMMM BISCUIT See ya soon Fink

Just so long as it is not the weekend of the 13th (sept) I am ok with just about any date. fink

Howdy!! To explain the $1000 to set up and roast a pig on site: Two people have spend a couple of hours prepping the pig the day before, the spit has to be rented and charcoal, has to be bought. EARLY EARLY the next morning or even late the night before two people have to go out, get the fire going and put the pig or pigs up. One of them has to stay to maintain the fire and watch the pig. Come serving time, two people again, removing the pig from the spit and carving and serving it, cleaning and packing everything back into our truck(s) and coming home, unpacking the trucks, cleaning the last of the stuff up and putting every thing away. On your end you get a 60 pound pig roasted in your yard with no fuss, no muss, a gallon of sauce, slaw, beans, greens and corn bread. At the $5 a pound rate to do a pig($300) at my store plus the cost of the other food ($225) the price isn't that crazy considering the labor involved in the actual offsite roasting of the pigs. Anywho, that said, like I noted above we can do a pig and sides at the store deliver them hot, with some smoked chicken for as few as 20 people for $16 a head or if it becomes a pot luck I can bring just the pig at $4 per person (discounted as my part of the pot luck) As far as a park in River Edge and booze, let me check with the rec dept in town. All of this is ok by me and I can travel up to two hours (not much further than Trenton) I believe this covers all questions, concerns and comments. Fink

If you missed it you missed IT. There was nothing bad, but a few standouts (in my mind) were: Chart houses tuna was excellent, perfectly seared with just the right amount of spice, Maize's lamb carpaccio with a walnut, artichoke quenelle. Citrus Grill's scallop ceviche (mmmmm) Nick's foie gras, and all of the hors d vors, Alpine lace's Peti fors, and the garnish on napa valley's duck, a chipotle asparagus flan, may well have been my favorite thing, the moo shu grouper was also very tasty, but i am easy when it comes to things like that, oh yeah and Fink's BBQ was the best

what a crazy weekend, and I was away until 9:20 saturday night (note time from landing to cooking is 2 hours 10 minutes, would have been less but I squeezed a fire call in too) I heard stories like ".....the people where lined up from the soda cooler to the hall...." "...stopped taking phone orders at 6:45...." We had 5 counter people, my gm, all of the cooks, and my partner working on saturday and it was still a hurculean task to push all that food out and apparently they did well cuz we have had people coming back already. Sunday was a little less staff and a bit slower bit in less the time. Luckily, unlike The Times, we knew exactly when this was coming so we were better prepared, although the specific items mentioned in the review flew out the door. We have been selling about 8 times the bread pudding and sweet potato tortes. Odd, it is a chicken and rib place and no mention of chicken or ribs? I spent all day and night sunday cooking on the line, and at about 5:30 when the phone wouldn't stop ringing and the customers kept coming in the door and the pile of tickets was starting to get larger and larger I thought back to my days at Commanders and Mexicali and finally had a night busy enough to bring back the rush that you get when things are just going. Steam, smoke, smells, shouts, food flying; get it going right and it is a total endorphine rush to rival crawling into a burning building, screw it up and it will generate a pit in your stomach that can't be described; Sunday was a fine line between the two. But, as the Times review showed, we adjust and learn improving service and quality every week. So far it seems that about one hour before closing we slow down, although tonight it died around 7:30-8:00 but that may have been the snow. It is also a good time to come in around 2:00-5:30. but again that may have been the snow. I will report back as the week goes on for the best times to come in. Thanks again, Fink

In a weak salt brine soak a bunch o' kirbies, carrot slices, and habeneros overnight Boil brown sugar or panela with cider vinegar and pour over strained veggies. let soak 1 week

Recent Fink's news Some time this week I will be going to Picklelicous to try and make arrangements to sell some of their pickles at my place cuz I really like them and want and endless supply of them at hand. If you think you may be in the mood for finks, stop by before this weekend cuz we are being reviewed in the Record and the forcast is for busy with a chance of chaos, so avoid us this weekend, or at least call ahead. I did ask them to push it off a week if possible cuz i am going to be away this weekend so you may still be able to get in. For those of you who know the cooks, Santiago is going home to Ecuador in a few weeks so wish him well and say hello to his cousin Julio who has been training part time for a month or two to take his place. We will be doing food at a few events in the area including the Table to Table event that Nick Gatti has mentione; the fireworks in River Edge on July 5th, and possible at the Union County R&B festival in plainfield on June 7th. For those of you observing lent we DO in fact have fish and veggie stuff on the menu, and will be running a shellfish bisque every weekend until Easter as well as other fish specials. Look for Crabby Patties this weekend. (GO SPONGEBOB!) And finally, I would like to thank all of the people on e-gullet posters and non posters alike who have helped make it possible for us to get where we are today, your support on line and your patronage at the store have helped us through some rough times and now that it looks like clear sailing ahead I will not forget my e-gullet friends. Sometime in the next month we will be having a going away party for Santiago and I would like to invite you guys to stop in. I will be posting a date and time in the next couple of weeks and I hope to see you there. Fink

I remember when I walked in the door a big sign saying we are now open 7 days a week, so i think that means that they are open monday through friday. Oh yeah, and they deliver locally for a $20 minimum!!!! oops they are closed mondays and I know that cuz i tried to go today was sorely disapointed.

I got to this pickle place yesterday. Wow. I mean come on now, this many pickles, olives, sweets, chips, munchies, and stuff in one place???? AND THEY DELIVER LOCALLY FOR A $20 minimum!!!! So, the garlic stuffed olives were really good, the pickles were amazing, the horsradish pickles had a really good zing to them. I bought 6 different bags of potato chips and barely scratched the surface on the selection. They had about 6 or 7 varieties of chocolate covered pretzels, i bought the crisp rice chocolate dipped ones. And they had nuts, and neat honeys, and popcorns and snacks and am I rambling but the place was really neat and tiny and Wow and and and and .... well you get the idea fink

Drat i am destined to never eat there i believe, one of my cooks called in sick so I couldn't make it. The high ratio of tatoo's etc is due to the fact that wednesday night is bike night, even in winter, at Rutts, my GM go's there almost every week. (he saw you, did you see him?)

not shoe string, about two sizes up, and it isn't the cholesterol, i actually have a good amount of 'no red meat' customers so we went with meatless fat to accomodate them. Fink

Ted's North in Paramus on the corner of continental and spring valley roads has a long history of seasoned fries; way back in the day it used to be a fresh chicken farm(Komsa's Farm) with amazing seasoned fries, it went through a few incarnations in the 80's and 90's and has become a very good local deli that uses the same recipe, although it seems you need to order them well done to get them cooked right, and personally I go for extra seasoning. *****BLATENT SELF PLUG BLATENT SELF PLUG******* Fink's Funky Chicken and Ribs has homemade fries double dipped in peanut oil and seasoned, served in a cardboard chinese food pt or qt container and tossed with salt or or funky bbq seasoning. Fries are cut fresh daily from idaho baking potatoes. Yes, the memory of the seasoned fries from Komsa's inspired me, and I even serve them the same way (in the cardboard container in a paper bag) When I first started cooking at the Iron Horse (a good fry if you like big fat ones and a great burger) in Westwood I used to experiment at least two nights a week trying to figure out the Komsa's spice mix because in that incarnation it's owners were not making the fries. In the end I know that they were heavy on the celery salt and it may have been that simple or even just a sprinkling of old bay or some other crab boil. Any who, they are worth the try these days, and the sandwiches are good, actually, I am going there for a snack now. Fink