Jeff L

sacrebleu, how can they explain this obvious oversight?

I think you'll get the best mileage, relative to the complete menu at Nan, out of a dry Riesling from Germany or Austria in the white department and a medium-bodied Rhone or a young, fruit-centered Burgundy for a red. ← Agree with the Riesling suggestion. Last time we were there I had a rack of lamb special that a big cab or zin could have stood up to.

As someone outside of the restaurant business, I can say that I do in fact want to be heard when I have an issue with a meal. It usually takes a major fauxpas for me to complain however, when I do, I expect the problem to be remedied in short order without attitude. I have had similar experiences with piss poor attitudes like the one you mention V and my responses were swift and direct in a "take no prisoners" sort of way. As you say, there are many things that can and do go wrong in even the finest kitchens, but there should be no tolerance for rudeness especially coming from someone who is charged with training employees, i.e the manager or God forbid, owners.

Will second Nan, one of our all time favorite for Frech/Thai. It's also byo. Agree about White Dog, but I do like the place anyway. It has a funky sort of intelligent slant to it-must be all the college profs I guess

Kicking this thread up, there is an article in the local Bucks County Courier today which proclaims Morrisville as the place for hot dog lovers. Apparently, the owner of Tony Goes claims that the New Jersey legislature proclaimed their "Jersey Italian Dog" the state's official sandwich. It goes on to say Tony Goes attorney's contacted Coney Joe's and warned them about using "Jersey Italian Dog" in their place. They changed it to "Pennsy Italian Dog" shortly afterward.

I've been using room temp pies from Cesare's Ristorante in Bristol for my Blues Cruises on the Riverboat. Very good, we had 70 plus people on the boat and the 5 pies (25 pieces per) went quickly along with 10 2 foot long Italian hoagies from Mazzanti's.

I think he may even have taken our honored guest home with him. Diann, thanks again for arranging this lovely feast. Come on y'all, that wasn't that much food was it? What are we all having for dinner tonight? edited to add: I think we should make a book of all the Pedro photos. ← Looks like you guys had way too much fun, I'm jealous. It doesn't seem possible, but I think you ordered more food than the first time we went! Now may be a good time to report that Amada was just voted best new dining spot in Philly by the folks at Zagat.

Agreed. Having grown up in Trenton (well, West Trenton anyway) the king of pork roll in my childhood was Case but a close second of course was Taylor. They were located literally around the block from each other in the day, the day that Trenton had 5 first run movie theatres that is. As for Tony Goes, or more commonly known as Casino, it still is in both Trenton and Morrisville, PA. There is another thread on this board discussing their Italian hot dogs which I always enjoyed so much I never had the chance to get their pork roll sandwich.

Let's hope it spreads to other places in town. Really, $30 for food of this caliber is an amzaing deal. Thursday nights are good for me, maybe another group dinner is in the works.

There is most definitely a $30 Monday-Thursday special running at Mandoline. Chef Todd was kind enough to e-mail and tell me about it personally. The regular a la carte menu is also offered, but he and Chef Jeff are taking the prix fixe menu as an opportunity to create some new dishes and test drive some new ideas. It's a win-win for everyone, but especially for the diners! It's like Restaurant Week all the time! I'll definitely be stopping in there again soon on an "early-movie-at-the-Ritz-then-dinner-at-Mandoline" night. I can hardly wait! ← Hmm, maybe our DDC dinners last May had something to do with this. In any event, it's funny because I've been meaning to get back there. I truly enjoyed the place and the entire staff. Susan, your dishes sounded really great. I'd like to meet Chef Todd this time out and congratulate him on their baby.

Not sure if Mr. Butz has read this but Michael Klein of the INKY has. Today's food section reports favorable buzz. "The budget- conscious crowd on E-Gullet has seized on the prices" No mention, however of the way negative service reported on this thread. Oh and Bootsie's partner is a writer for General Hospital, seems like there isn't a whole lot of restaurant experience in this venture.

As much as I love Delorenzo's tomato pies, I must agree with aaron that it is just too far to drive from Vineland and then to endure the inevitable wait on weekend nights would put you right over the top. Oh and if anyone in your party needs to use the restroom after the long drive, well there isn't one!

This is really too funny. Right on the mark Carman, now that is a fine example of the city of brotherly love.

I was unaware of Greg's departure. I assume he is still involved with RX? I do the same with very good bottles. I have had experiences similar to what Susan describes at some other byo's and see no reason to risk it.

Take the Walt Whitman bridge to Philadelphia! I've never been lucky with any really good places in Vineland as it is my mid point to driving to Cape May..But Cape May, now that's a serious restaurant town. I'm sure that someone else on this board will have some good suggestions for you

I'm just wondering why you left a better than 20% tip for this kind of service. There's a discussion somewhere about tipping and why most people feel it's their obligation to tip well even if they encounter poor service. Fortunately, I'm not one of those people. I'd also let Greg Salisbury know about this if for no other reason than to help your server find a job in another industry she might be better suited for as it seems that she really shouldn't be in this one. I mean the champagne alone would have set me right off and I probably would have snatched the bottle from her after the 1st glass was poured and done the rest myself. As to the food, any restaurant can have an off night...it's the obvious lack of attention to your table that would piss me off. Just sayin is all Jeff

As I find myself in Bristol a lot this summer co-ordinating group tours and special events on the Riverboat Queen of Bristol, I lucked out big time last Saturday night. I put together a blues cruise and catered it with 2 foot long Italian hoagies from Mazzanti's market in town. Folks, if you are within 20 minutes from Bristol in Bucks County and it's close to meal time, get to this joint. It's located in a residential block on 320 Lincoln Avenue in Bristol (215 788-2218) They make a special 2 foot long Italian hoagie with cappicola, imported proscuitto, extra sharp provolone, fresh local tomato, a dash of pepper and a little oil and vinegar, all on top of a freshly baked 2 foot long seeded roll from Italian People's bakery out of Trenton, NJ. Just the right amount of everything on this sandwich. What I like best is no lettuce and absolutely no mayonaise, they won't do it..they say go to Wawa for that. They also don't put onions on the hoagie which I kinda miss but in deference to Mario's mother who doesn't like the smell-no onion! I bought 10 of these hoagies and had them cut up for the blues cruise-they went in minutes! PS: They were voted "Best Find" a few months ago in the Inquirer.

Do you really like all that seasoning on the potatoes Rich? I think it totally destroys the hot dog. I've never had this happen with any other Italian dog I've eaten. I really liked my first one at Coney Joe and may go back to see if it was just an off day. As to the guy behind the counter, I didn't say he wasn't nice just that he had the personality of a slug!

Well, my brother in law and I had Italian hot dogs at Coney Joe's Saturday for lunch and I have a new take on this dog and place. First, the guy behind the counter (partner) has as much personality as a slug. Trying to ask questions about the construction of the hot dog and specifically why they season the potatoes and he doesn't know anything except to say they put italian seasoning on them, duh! On to the hot dog itself. It was a totally different dog than my previous visit. Also, there's just too much stuff piled on to this poor hot dog that it makes eating it very difficult to manage. I think Holly gets it right here. Use Coney Joe's large Sabrett dog and everything else from Casino to make the perfect (as perfect as Morrisville will allow anyway) Italian hot dog. Coney joe's peppers and potatoes don't hold a torch to Casino on this outing. I do, however like Coney's roll and the fact it gets some time heated on the grill too. So Holly, they have a copy of Holly Eats taped to the counter with your four grease stains. I think it's time for another visit and perhaps one less grease stain imho.

If the only bad thing you can say about the Tap is that the rooftop was hot, I'd say they are sure doin them burgers right! My all-time favorite bar none, especially when the juices run down my face. Anyone know what beef is used here? It is extraordinarily tasty

Doc, I assume the 2nd thread is the SK one ← In my opinion ← Mine too and I think this thread provides more insight and knowledge than the SK thread as V is sharing his techniques with us. SK thread has some pretty fine pictures and descriptions of amazing meals but stops short of actually imparting the knowledge of Shola's techniques for the most part. Keep it coming I say

Doc, I assume the 2nd thread is the SK one

you got that right, if it wasnt for the japanese, a lot of old school BS would be extinct. Why else would there be a Taillevent-Robuchon in Japan ????? and.....basically, if it wasnt for female japanese tourists, Hermes and burberry would be out of business............ ← You might be able to add Louis Vuitton to that list. Last year my wife and I stood on line at the LV flagship store in Paris waiting for a salesgirl to buy a bag for one of our daughters. I could not believe how many Japanese women were in the line waiting to pay, some with 3 and 4 bags worth at least $500 a clip. I'm off topic here but do please continue on with your ideas, techniques and methods of execution. I'm finding this is picking up where Tony Bourdain leaves off in his Kitchen Confidential book. Speaking of books, I for one, think this topic would make a very interesting book for the same reason I enjoyed reading Tony's books - I'm not in the business and it provides a very interesting look into high end restaurant kitchens. Got an agent yet V?

Thanks for the very comprehensive review. It sounds like you folks would have needed a forklift to get out of there, a lot of food and wines consumed. Vetri is at the top of my list for a special occasion dinner.

I agree with you that Delorenzo's on Hudson is indeed the best pizza. The times we had Star pies, they were great but not in the league of Delorenzo's tomato pie. I never got mushy pies there ..maybe we hit it on the right nights but they were good. As Delorenzo's is 12 miles from my house, it's doubtful I'll hurry back to Star unless we're already up there. fyi: Better take that outing soon down to Trenton because in all liklihood they will be closing sometime in April 07. The grandson of one of the original brothers ( the other still operates Delorenzo's on Hamilton Avenue) is opening a Delorenzo's in the new Town Center in Robbinsville and Gary from the Hudson Street location will most probably get out of the biz as he constantly complains about both his bad back and the deteriorating neighborhood. In the PA forum we have a Pizza Club which meets a few times a year to visit the best pizza places. There was a run last year that hit both Delorenzo's places and another great Trenton place called Top Road. I'd be up for another go round if anyone on this board wants to go, pm me.