Jeff L

Kim, forget this thread, that was really difficult to read!

A little late in replying but I go to the Trenton Farmers market regularly. In season they can't be beat for tomatos, lima beans, brussel sprouts and squash. Beside that, the Polish specialty meat shop has the absolute best double smoked garlic kielbasa on the planet. Down the aisle a bit is a little specialty Italian that has Zabar's hearth baked breads and nice imported risotto, great stuff.

Thanks Deidre. I happened to be in Friday to pick up a case of the Kaiken Malbec and lo and behold, they had the shipments of Beringer. I am happy now! That Kaiken is kickin', great wine at an even greater price

How does this steak stand up to the one at Grey Lodge? Also, does that torpedo roll get some time on the grill with the steak and onions? It doesn't look it from the picture.

Having eaten at Sparks and Peter Luger's dozens of times, you really can't even compare it to Prime Rib at the Barclay, or frankly, any Philly steakhouses. That said, what you experienced clearly should not have happened there.

I don't think it's at all relavent how much your wine tab was. If I ordered several appetizers with no wine, I would still expect something to have been done to remedy the situation. The fact is, someone from the restaurant or hotel should have discretely spoken to the parents of the baby and explained that diners were being greatly disturbed by the baby crying, perhaps offering a complimentary babysitting service for the duration of their meal. I still hold to the fact that since your server did offer to move you and you did not move, this really limits the validity of your complaint. As I said upthread, it is really shocking and appalling that there are so many self absorbed clueless parents in this country with the attitude that they can behave any way they chose to..that the hotel is there for them and them alone.

Yeah, thanks I thought of that place. It would be dead last probably after Burger King though. Food is lousy service is worse

I'm having a very important business lunch next Wednesday in the Princeton area on Route 1. Can anyone recommend a good place with enough room and low decible noise? Don't much care about type of cuisine but nothing off the wall, more interested in securing a place where we can conduct business in a professional setting.

Agreed, but let's also remember that there are other ways one can be a private chef (i.e. in private corporate dining rooms, law firms, etc.). I'm just speculating. Join me! ← Curlz, I don't know about you, but I think Shola is such a perfectionist and so into what he does, I don't see him in a corporate dining room. I like to think that some lucky guy (or girl) has retained this amazingly talented chef to prepare their family meals. On the other hand...some of these big corporations have lots of $$$ for wining and dining their top executives. What a great perk

Can you just imagine being wealthy enough to come home from work every night and dine in this fashion? I can't, but it must be nice.

Thanks, I did check but alas Newtown doesn't have my case in yet.

Again its just more consumerism. Consumerism will be the death of culture and refinement in America. American hotels function on the "customer is always right" absurdity. So what if they are condo owners ? big deal. Restaurants cant have it both ways, you want to be a serious restaurant, then create the environment to be one, otherwise you come off looking like the "cafeteria" of rittenhouse condo owners. Back to the Opera... Thankfully, the Italians have even less tolerance for BS than the French and in fact I wont have to ask. I have been there and the offending party *will* in fact be ushered out..........not to mention 500 Italians in tuxedos and fancy gowns staring at you like death rays. ← I agree with you one thousand percent about the obvious differences between American fine dining and luxury hotel establishments compared to those same European establishments. It would be utterly unheard of for a Parisian Maitre'D to tolerate this situation in a Michelin 3 star restaurant, furthermore, Parisians have a much better understanding of what is appropriate. What I have learned during my travels to Paris and greater Europe is that they realize that the customer is not always right. I would like to think that Parisians know to leave the small children (infant?) at home or at least have the sense to hire a babysitter when enjoying a 3 star restaurant experience. This goes to my earlier beef with American parents who are totally oblivious to their childrens public behavior. These are the same parents who take no responsibility for and defend these very same behaviors as innocent. Since the parents are clueless, why should other patrons, who have paid for a total dining experience, not just food and decor, have to endure this inexcusable behavior? The management of the restaurant must weigh in and handle the situation immediately. The fact that this case is compounded by the Rittenhouse private guests dining in close proximity to restaurant guests makes no difference. I've read in this thread about restaurant managers enlisting the support of hotel managers before addressing the problem. This is utter nonsense and sounds more like competing government agencies. I've been a guest at The Four Seasons Hotels all around the world and have never endured a situation remotely close to the one described. I can't imaging that my favorite hotel chain has no policy in place for this, as they made their rep on exceeding customers expectations over and over again. Do you really think one screaming baby is more important to the restaurant/hotel than all the other guests combined? All of this aside, the fact remains that this entire situation could have easily been resolved had she simply asked, on a Tuesday night, to move to another table. Why didn't she do this?

I too would have mentioned this but I thoought they wanted Princeton proper. A good choice indeed if you can get there, also not sure about brunch but call ahead 609*895*9885

Now the Chairman's website doesn't show any of the Beringer Private Reserve Cab at all

I second Ferry House although Kim WB correctly indicates the high price there. This is the only decent resto in Princeton in my opinion if you don't count Conti's Pizza which doesn't do brunch.

Truth be told, I suspect we were all a little bit jealous of the frequency of your visits.

what do you think 'private ventures' are? i would venture to guess philadining has hired him as a personal chef. ← I thought he already was his personal chef. Seriously though, I was planning to have him do a dinner party here as his card indicates he does consulting, catering and instruction I can wait to see where he turns up.

Sad news indeed, but alas, I was fortunate to have dined there once. My thoughts and concerns now are with Philadining who is undoubtedly in some exclusive culinary treatment center.

I just did a product search and two stores in the state have inventory, Hanover and Lancaster.

Kevin, look at the upcoming chairmans selections and you will see they have pushed the arrival date from late March to early April for Beringer Private Reserve Cabs 95 through 99.

For a fleeting moment I shared your apprehension of dining with strangers at SK but it lasted only a moment. Truth is, I had met several folks in previous outings and the more I follow this board, the more comfortable I am in the knowledge that we are really kindred spirits here. This community goes the extra mile in the search of better ingredients for the home cooked meal, long drives for the best pizza, rodizio, etc, and shared understanding of what is necessary to acheive new heights in all things culinary. I know this is a bit off topic but just wanted to say how profoundly pleased I continue to be at the offerings not only on this board, but EG in general.

If Ben Franklin lived today, perhaps the famous quote would be - Studiokitchen is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. I'm sure I'll be happy again... ← Well said, bravo, Charlie. I couldn't have said it better!

Deep fried eggplant disks, sublime indeed, not to be missed.

Wow, you sure hit the hot spots. This is more food than most people eat in a week! Love those golden coins though

The prix fixe is now $100, up from a ridiculous $50 in the last year or so. At gross receipts between $800 or $1,000 twice weekly (I was told that's his schedule) I suppose he's making money. But if you consider his food costs (i.e. $3.00 per egg, etc) I'm sure the love of food factors highly in the mix. I know he does private parties and consulting and suppose that's where the majority of his livlihood is earned. I could be wrong and ask others with more knowledge to jump in and correct me here if so. I have spent $100 and more per plate at many restaurants around the world and not felt it was worth the expense, but having had the opportunity of being at one of these dinners, it was worth every cent and then some. To add to Doc's sentiment, we in Philly do know what we have here and fully appreciate it and look forward to whatever is next for Shola..it will always be amazing, shock and awe come to mind!