201

I think this would work particularly well with a screening of Soylent Green in which none of the viewers had ever seen the film before.

Firstly, many thanks to Kikujiro for my new favorite thread!! Now then, on topic... I once saw a terrible film called Vertical Limit in a Florida theater which had been converted into a dining room. Basically, the seats had been ripped out and tables/counters had replaced them. It was a very interesting experience, but not one which I would desire while viewing a film in which I have actual interest. Waitresses showing up with refills throughout a superbly beautiful film such as Maboroshi no hikari would fill me with sadness even as they filled my glass with Sprite. Of course, Yumiko, the main character in Maboroshi no hikari, is no stranger to sadness herself. In fact, the film is an exploration of her struggles with grief and healing. Surprisingly, director Hirokazu Kore-eda conveys the mood of this film more with beautiful cinematography than with, say, actors eating rice. I found it odd, because I've often heard that rice is a key way to avoid depression following the loss of a loved one. I guess that's because eating rice makes one feel like one is on vacation? RE: The screening room. I haven't been there myself, but I don't believe they serve the meal during the actual screening. Can anyone comment on that? I really would like to hear whether this theater is worth visiting as they occassionally show films which I would like to view, but I've been put off by the dinner aspect.

That's a pretty ambitious amount of food to eat! I remember walking past this place on a couple of occasions (it's in a strip mall, correct?) and being interested in trying the noodle soups. I haven't quite found the opportune time to do so yet, but I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts.

Update for this year: Chipwich is not very good. It's entirely too thin and has serious flavor issues as well. I just picked up some Southern Comfort Vanilla Spice egg nog which mostly seems like a less viscous vanilla pudding. Not exactly bad, but not exactly traditional either. Turkey Hill egg nog is suprisingly good (to me at least).

That was the Fiesta Hut.

Hey, Missus Fink... welcome ™! I know that Mamacita's in Ramsey has some connection with the old Fiesta Hut. Having never been to either restaurant, I can't tell you if the food is comparable though. edit: this was originally a double post, but I wanted to make a second post anyway!

There is a Lee's Hawaiian Islander still open in Clifton... are there multiple locations? I was there about a year ago and wasn't very impressed with the food, but I could definitely see the decor being fun for the kids.

I hope to be doing the same in West Palm Beach a few weeks later! I wish I could go out, but this Christmas I'm actually having a Christmas celebration with the family. A far cry from the care-free days when my Christmas days were spent gambling with a group of Jews, athiests, and Vietnamese!

Wow... I went to Boston for the weekend and I missed all the excitement at Fink's! How are the specials looking for this week?

I think the only item I've had at Garbo's is the chicken parm hero. That sandwich is a monster... about 18 inches or so, but apart from the size it's your run-of-the-mill chicken parm. Good to have if you're REALLY hungry, but otherwise just ok. The last time I was in there was probably 8 months ago. The salad pie that you mentioned can probably be found at more pizzerias in the area than you'd think! The concept doesn't really appeal to me though... I'd rather have a salad AND a pizza rather than a salad ON a pizza. edit: Did you get a sub at Garbo's?

I don't think there are any restrictions at all (other than that $6 toll). You can check out the Port Authority's website, but unfortunately it's not going to give you any advice about parking or dining. Come to think of it, I can't really give you any advice on those issues either.

I'm with Suvir on this one. Receiving the tower of boxes from Harry & David doesn't so much fill me with joy as much as it sends me looking for a landfill. Of course, I've never gotten the chocolate-covered cherries... only the cherry-covered chocolates. edit: left out a little word

Wow... my bookmark takes me right to the NJ Forum and I completely missed the new front page until I clicked that link... and just LAST NIGHT it was the same old "wait while we redirect you" message.... I need some time to process this...

I keep trying to get Fink to put specials up on his website or an email distribution list, but he's just too damn busy making good food! It seems like almost everytime I'm there and have something interesting off of the specials menu, I'm the only person who's ordered it. As recently as Tuesday, there was (is?) a special of southern fried quail with a sausage, apple, and nut stuffing. It was the first time I had eaten quail and I loved it! At $2.50 for one quail, I can't understand why more people didn't try it. Then again, I couldn't understand why more people didn't try the deep-fried turkey wings, or the stuffed squash, or the smoked bbq turkey, or the killer chili made with hunks of beef rather than ground beef, or the... you get the idea. I think eGullet folks would appreciate these things, but you gotta get the word out!

Since I'm digging through the archives ANYway, I may as well just quote my original post on Veggie Heaven from the Vegetarian Restaurants thread:

So I'm digging through the archives and I pull up this little tidbit... Tommy used to hate Chinese food?!? I guess China 46 really did turn things around. However, I've been meaning to try this Marco Polo place, so I wanted to ask if anyone's been there lately. Also I figured that Tommy might have different thoughts about this place after falling in love with China 46. Well?

Thanks for bringing this thread up again, Rachel. I just realized that I've never praised the grilled skirt steak!! It's succulent, delicious (ask for some chimichurri to give it more of a Latin kick), and QUITE a good bargain for the amount of meat that you get. I've never gotten the steak salad or wrap, but I'm pretty sure that this is where the steak for those comes from. Forget the vegetables... GET THE STEAK!!!

Hey, at least they're open on Monday! That's a plus in my book.

(Note to admins... I hit quote and it spit out ALL of the HTML for this page into the quote window! It also cut the page off just after that quote window so I didn't have the "Preview Post" or "Add Reply" buttons available!!) Nick - I love Wondee's too (don't get there as often as I'd like 'cause most of my friends don't like Thai), but I think I've got a solution... go on a Monday. That way, Wondee's is closed and you won't feel guilty. (Hmmm.... should I head to Wondee's for lunch or atone for my sins at Fink's? Decisions, decisions...)

I've gotten home from midtown in 23 minutes flat (door to door). Granted, it was 3 in the morning and there was no traffic, but it still had to be some sort of record. But yeah, in typical traffic, Montclair's a hell of lot easier to reach.

Nick, ever been to Cubby's in Hackensack? (I'm sorry, Fink!!) They've got baby backs too.(I'm so, so sorry, Fink!!) They're boiled and grilled, I think, so the meat is the "fall off the bone" variety. The sauce is too sweet for many people, but I think it's good if you're in the mood for that. (I'm really sorry, Fink!!) Pretty good steaks and burgers too... (Did I mention that I'm sorry, Fink?) Of course, Fink's does BBQ correctly and it's obviously one of my favorite places, but I can understand that sometimes you just get in the mood for baby backs. (I'm only human, Fink!!)

I figured it might make more sense to put my comments here on the Caruso's thread (since they originally were on the La Vecchia Napoli thread): edit: I guess I should note that no one at my table ordered a pasta dish... at least not one that I can remember!

Hellooooooo? I think that MAYBE everyone's forgetting that The Olive Garden is in Secaucus! Seriously though, I agree that it's probably easier to go into the city than to go to the places Rosie listed (since the closest one is in Essex County)... but is there truly NO Italian restaurant in Bergen County worth the trip? Nothing in Hackensack, Bergenfield, Lodi, Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Montvale, Englewood? Granted, I don't really go looking for Italian places and I'm sure that most of them are going to be pretty homogenously watered-down Americanized Italian... but not ONE that's worthy of mention? edit: der schpelling war kaputt!

Oh yeah... slices are a whole different category, but one that's certainly worth exploring! I don't get slices very often, but I'm sure someone out there must have sampled enough to know some good spots. The horrible little pizzeria where I used to work would only have fresh slices if they sold out of the slice pies that were made in the morning (or sometimes the previous day!). Of course, my boss had absolutely no love for his profession, so I like to think that SOMEwhere there's a pizzeria where they make fresh slice pies as a matter of honor rather than necessity. Double 0 - Should I assume that the places you mentioned earlier in the thread have good slices? If so, then I can go sample them and have a benchmark by which to judge (since I can't get the memory those horrible slices out of my head)!

Maybe Double 0 should've been 973 instead! Bring it on 973... BRING IT ON! (I'm just kidding of course. I've got nothing against Passaic County... some of my best friends are from Passaic County! ) Seriously though... what's up with the pizza situation? I know you suggested some Passaic Co. places over in the pizza thread, but you didn't comment on any of the Bergen Co. places. Maybe you could bring that thread back into discussion?