bgut1

I should have known having read some of your prior posts. After going through this exercise, I took an informal poll of my office staff to find out that they want to go back to Carmine's for a 4th year in a row. I should have known. When you think about, Carmine's really is the only one of its kind in the theater district as it offers a lot of fun and great atmosphere in a central location. Add the mamoth portions of quite decent garlicky food served family style and you really can't beat it for the touristy crowd. I guess that's why its always packed. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope I didn't waste too much of your time. ← In that case, I'd just go to John's Pizzeria in Times Square for better food...Top 10 NY pizza, plenty of other choices, great wine list, huge room on 44th (converted church, very close) and not the 4th freakin' year in a row! ← Trust me ... I agree ... but what do I say to the ladies ... they want to go. I normally don't get the oportunity to go into the City and for the past five years I have endured mediocrity. I'd rather pocket the money and go to Masa. Anybody want to join me?

I should have known having read some of your prior posts. After going through this exercise, I took an informal poll of my office staff to find out that they want to go back to Carmine's for a 4th year in a row. I should have known. When you think about, Carmine's really is the only one of its kind in the theater district as it offers a lot of fun and great atmosphere in a central location. Add the mamoth portions of quite decent garlicky food served family style and you really can't beat it for the touristy crowd. I guess that's why its always packed. Thanks everyone for your help and I hope I didn't waste too much of your time. BTW, I will add Esca to MY short list.

I actually had Virgils in my orginal post but edited it out thinking BBQ may not be an "approporiate" dining option. Notwithstanding their limited taste in food, I'm not sure my staff can get excited about going to a BBQ restaurant. A good idea none the less. After everytthing is said and done, I'm thinking Bond 45 ......... ← I had over 12 at Il Bastardo recently, and that was a lot of fun, it's a little further away at 20th and 7th, but fits your bill... And FWIW I didn't see people getting back into a limo with sticky fingers either... otherwise might have been a good suggestion...! ← Il Bastardo sounds nice however I doubt we will have the time to leave the theater district. With regard to the limousine, its just a huge van with driver. Usually, its parked near the theater after dropping us off for dinner and we walk from the restaurant to the show/play. Again thanks for all the advice.

I actually had Virgils in my orginal post but edited it out thinking BBQ may not be an "approporiate" dining option. Notwithstanding their limited taste in food, I'm not sure my staff can get excited about going to a BBQ restaurant. A good idea none the less. After everything is said and done, I'm thinking Bond 45 .........

Having read the reviews of Tintol I think I agree. Pulling out my trusty Zagat (I hope Zagat is not a bad word on this forum), I've come up with a list of prospective restaurants: 1. Bond 45 errr 2. Esca YES 3. The District errr 4. Orso ummm 5. Osteria al Doge hmmmm 6. Ruby Foo's nonono Any comments or suggestions with regard to any of the above restaurants? Thanks in advance. ← Is Asiate or the Modern too expensive to you? Those are showstoppers... Churrascaria Plataforma would also be a blast, if you want to absolutely gorge them Bann could be fun for Korean I think Sneakeater is right - BTW you have the limo, so the city is your oyster, do you want to open up to the rest of Manhattan or still only Theatre District? Sounds like any of the big restaurants down Park Avenue could fit the bill for your party... ← I would love to go to Asiate or the Modern however both are too pricey and would more than likely not be appreciated by my staff. Instead I'm looking for a fun atmosphere with decent food located not too far from the theater district as we usually push the dinner to right before the curtain rises.

Having read the reviews of Tintol I think I agree. Pulling out my trusty Zagat (I hope Zagat is not a bad word on this forum), I've come up with a list of prospective restaurants: 1. Bond 45 2. Esca 3. The District 4. Orso 5. Osteria al Doge 6. Ruby Foo's Any comments or suggestions with regard to any of the above restaurants? Thanks in advance.

Raji - Thanks for the quick reply. Both of these places sound fantastic however, while Marseilles is a nice sized place, the food may be a little over the top for most of my office staff (i.e. pates, cous cous, leg of lamb, and bouillabaise - although I'm sure they would love the grilled items). On the other hand, Hell's Kitchen's menu sounds perfect however the space looks too small to accomodate our party. Any other ideas? BTW, the Penthouse Lounge looks fantastic. We had tried the View at the Marriott Marquis one year and they should enjoy 230 5th even more. Again thank you for your suggestion. ← Hell's Kitchen has a few large tables in the back, so they can definitely fit you... Marseille's menu isn't THAT fancy, is it? I mean you _are_ getting a limo, aren't you? Let me know if you need a limo company btw Oh yeah, Tintol, the Portugese Tapas place off times Square, that's another winner. Search for the thread here about it. ← Don't get me wrong, to you and me, the food at Marseille is perfectly pedestrian however to many of my staff from south jersey it would be too much. That's why Carmine's was perfect ... for them. I will take a look at Tintol. Again thanks.

Raji - Thanks for the quick reply. Both of these places sound fantastic however, while Marseilles is a nice sized place, the food may be a little over the top for most of my office staff (i.e. pates, cous cous, leg of lamb, and bouillabaise - although I'm sure they would love the grilled items). On the other hand, Hell's Kitchen's menu sounds perfect however the space looks too small to accomodate our party. Any other ideas? BTW, the Penthouse Lounge looks fantastic. We had tried the View at the Marriott Marquis one year and they should enjoy 230 5th even more. Again thank you for your suggestion.

For the past 5 years, as a Christmas gift to our staff, my partners and I host a "night on the town" in the City, including a limo, dinner, tickets to a Broadway show and drinks afterwards. Over the last few years we have dined at Carmines as it was close to the theaters, had a fun atmosphere, half way decent food served family style, and could accommodate a large crowd (in our case between 10 and 12 people). Since I am the foodie of the group, they always look to me for suggestions and I have to say I am a bit stumped to find another place that offers all the benefits of Carmines. In the past when we had a smaller group, we had also tried Becco, which was quite good. Any suggestions for dinner (pre-theater)and drinks after an 8 p.m. show? We usually go on a Thursday night. BTW, the group has voted on seeing the Wedding Singer (provided it will still be running in January). Thanks for your help.

Has anyone been to the new Pier Shops at Caesars in AC? I didn't realize that it had opened until a friend commented to me today that he had an excellent meal at Buddakan last night. The website lists the following restaurants as being open: Buddakan, Sonsie, The Continental, The Trinity Pub and Game On. I understand that three additional restaurants are expected to open shortly: Phillips Seafood, Rumjungle and Souzai Sushi. I am only familiar with Buddakan from Philly however I understand that Sonsie is a very popular (and trendy) restaurant in Boston. Any other info would be appreciated.

Just got back from Market in the Middle in Asbury and I left completely satisfied. This place rocks. While the space and service was in a word "unconventional" the food was fantastic. We arrived a few minutes late for our 8:30 reservation to find the place packed. The evening didn't start out to well having to wait about 25min at the bar for our table to open up. However, once seated, the night got better in a hurry. The menu is very interesting in its composition. A mixture of Asian and American items. We started with an order of edamame and steamed vegetable gyoza, the "amazing" Mediterranean platter (with homemade hummus, tabouleh, pita chips, and olives), the tuna entree and the baby back ribs. Everything was spot on and I mean perfect. Trust me, it wasn't the wine talking even though we had a great Fess Parker Riesling. Look - even the edamame - a most common dish was exemplary. The soybeans were fresh, warm, and coated with a fantastic sea salt and lime juice. The ribs were perfectly charred with a great barbecue sauce (tasted very similar to the old southern house in pt. pleasant). We decided to trust our waitress who recommended the kamikaze desert which was a chocolate torte in a strawberry sauce with vanilla ice cream delivered flambéed. A perfect meal all around and best yet, the meal with wine, 3 apps, entrees and a shared dessert was under a $100 for the two of us. I can't recommend this place enough. Go people.

Thanks for the response jsfein. I don't think Bella's is that new. I remember reading about it onMcFoodie's website. Here is the webpage. Link Showed the various menus to my wife and she seems to like Market and Bella's. I know people are raving about Bobo's but the menu doesn't do it for me. I will report back on our choice.

I'm looking to try a new place on Saturday. The choices on my short list are as follows: 1. Market in the Middle - Asbury 2. Brickwall Tavern - Asbury 3. Bobo's 33 - Highlands 4. Bella's - Highlands 5. Drew's Bayshore Bistro - Keyport Kind of all over the place - but I've been wanting to try one of these places for a while. Any suggestions?

No - Cafe Matisse in Rutherford is owned by Chef Peter Loria while Matisse in Belmar is owned by Chef Anthony Wall.

Thanks for inquiring. I'm just getting my bearings from this whirlwind weekend. I received last minute tickets to the Giants game so everything was pretty crazy today. In a word my weekend was fantastic. The meals at both Nicholas and Blu were excellent. Nicholas was probably the best meal of my life (and also the most expensive btw - my fault due to wine ordered). By way of background, my wife and I have been dining at Nicholas since it opened (maybe twice to three times a year). For my 40th Birthday, I had thought to go to Per Se and actually had a reservation for this past weekend. Due to a cancellation of another couple and the hesitation to spend big $ for a NY hotel for the night we decided to stay in NJ. I had read a few months back at NJO restaurant forums that Nicholas was constructing a chef's table and inquired during a recent visit. I was happy to find out that in fact the table would probably be available for this weekend and we would be the first to dine in the kitchen (later found out we were the 2nd couple to do so). I was also advised that the table is available every evening except Saturday (as Nicholas is on the floor that night) at 7 PM at a cost of $150 p.p. which includes a 6 course Grand Tasting Menu with a glass of Nicholas Cuvee Champagne. I emailed Nicholas my wife's likes and dislikes (I enjoy everything). We showed up promptly at 7 pm and were escorted to the bar to have a glass of champagne. Several minutes later we were escorted downstairs into the kitchen. We were quite embarrassed to find out that the entire wait and kitchen staff were lining the stairs welcoming us into the kitchen for our dinner (think receiving line). The kitchen was dark and once we were seated the lights turned on and the orders started flying. Very theatrical and quite impressive. The table sits in an alcove literally feet away from the action. The table seats a maximum of four. The circular booth seating is an orange fabric while the alcove wall is lined by black tile and the lighting is a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture. The kitchen is spotless and they operated like a well oiled machine. Very little talking except for Nicholas expediting. Nicholas presented us with two amuses: the watermelon sashimi and the fried cod cake. Next we were presented with custom menus autographed by Nicholas, Melissa and the entire kitchen staff. The entire meal took 3 and half hours and was exceptional. When I have more time I will go into more detail on the menu as some items were brand new. As for Blu, I was quite impressed with the meal. My wife and I were joined by another couple and we each had two appetizers, an entree and dessert. The double app order seemed to confuse our server but we got it worked out. Excellent dishes included the mushroom risotto, the seafood dumplings, a tuna/salmon sashimi special appetizer, the sesame encrusted mahi, and a skate in truffle broth special entree. Was not impressed however with the duck appetizer (as the duck was cold - I'm sure on purpose but dry and tasted like duck jerky), and the endive salad (good but not special). The desserts were also excellent. Both chocolate desserts (terrine and cake) would satisfy any chocoholic’s cravings while the mango tapioca was more than fine. All in all and excellent meal at Blu and quite the bargain. Again when I get more time I would be happy to elaborate. I hope this wasn’t too much of a run on rambling but I wanted to respond to your post.

I tell people about the lack of decor before going and sell it as a "hole in the whole - secret kind of place". Once they taste the food, any concerns about the decor quickly fade away. As you noted, if the decor is truly ruining the experience, just order take out. I'm happy you enjoyed your meal. Next time try the basil shrimp or any special item on the board when you come in. All are excellent.

*sigh*. why were you embarrassed? the real problems occur in the less-than-fine-dining restaurants. at most upscale restaurants, the staff understands the process. not so much at the local mom-and-pop joint. ← The bottle was expensive, I was young, I doubted myself as I was not as experienced with wine, and I was on a date. Trust me it wouldn't happen now. Not for my hard earned bucks!

no more than you. but yes, i'm all for accurate explanations of "cork taint", if only because so many restaurants and servers have no idea what it is. that's really what it's about for me: getting more restaurants to understand what's going on so i'm not put in the position of having to explain when i'm served a corked bottle. which reminds me that i have to get back to Blu soon. like, yesterday soon. ← Good point. In all my years of "fine" dining, I am fortunate to have only had to return one bottle of wine due to it being corked and I remember as of if it was yesterday as I was so embarrassed. It was at Berns Steakhouse in Tampa some 16 years ago. Two things I specifically recall - one was the size of their wine list - the largest I have ever seen (the size of a phone book) and two that they were very professional about replacing the bottle. I however must apologize to the thread readers from digressing from the OP's topic.

Tommy - I'm sorry I didn't elaborate. While I agree that the cork being soaked through doesn't automatically make the wine corked, it still is not a good sign as more likely than not, air has gotten through to the wine. Same thing with mold as the mold was more than likely "feeding" on the wine. In both cases the corks were rotted and had disintegrated when I attempted to remove them. I also didn't immediately pour the wines down the drain. I wanted to taste them to be sure and sure enough they tasted dank and musty (I was also able to discern that the wine was more likely past its prime). I have read online about a product called Dream Taste which supposedly "restores" corked wine through a chemical process. I may have to look into it in case I have anymore issues with the other bottles. BTW, I don't take your response as being "nitpicky", you obviously have a background in wine and are trying to clarify and impart knowledge. Thank you for the response.

Tell me about it. Last weekend for a special occassion I decided to open a bottle from a case of Mouton Rothschild (not a great vintage - 1987 - but Mouton none the less). I had bought the case as a future while in law school. Well as I'm sure you can imagine, as I opened the bottle in front of my guests (as I was extoling the virtues of Mouton), I noticed the cork was completely saturated. Obviously the bottle was corked. Embarrased, I tried a second one. Upon removing the cap I noticed bacteria on the cork and found that that bottle was also corked. As tears welled up in my eyes and as I was pouring hundreds of dollars of wine down the drain, I thought of those little bottle "hangies" on Bonny Doon screw cap wines convincing people that screw caps would never allow such a tragedy to happen. I couldn't stomach opening any more bottles and will try doing so another time when I have a better sense of humor. I decided instead to pull out a bottle of Overture I had brought back from Opus years back and it was a huge hit. BTW, the condition of the Mouton was obviously my fault dragging it from closet to closet to basement in the various apartments and homes I had lived in over the years. This loss of approx $1K in wine has cemented my resolve to complete a wine cellar in my basement. Moral of this story, drink the wine you buy, don't buy expensive wine to cellar if you don't have a cellar, and don't snicker at screwcaps.

Hey bgut1 - would love to hear whether you think this place is worth the nearly 1 hour drive.... ← No problem. Not that bad a drive as we are staying up north in a hotel for the night. A sort of weekend birthday present. One night we are going to Nicholas (trying out the new chef's table) and the next night is the hotel and Blu. I'm kind of psyched. It was that or Per Se and I decided to stay in Jersey. How's that for staying home?

I will be dining at Blu for the first time this weekend. I will be bringing a nice 2003 Joh. Jos. Plum Spatlese along with a Bonny Doon Muscat Vin Glacie. The problem with all these excellent reviews is that my expectation level is pretty high. I'm sure I will not be disappointed. First time bringing a screw cap wine (the bonny doon) to a BYO. Kind of feel weird about it however, a lot of rieslings I'm buying have switched over. I guess I need to get over it.

Any that we haven't already named above? ← Other than Stage Left and maybe Brandl (I'm not sure I would call it a "destination" restaurant), at least from personal experience, there are none that I can add to the above list. I have read that others have swooned over the food at Fascino and Blu in Montclair but I have never dined at either establishment (I am trying Blu this weekend however). Some more to chew on - Green Gables in LBI, Serenade in Chatham and maybe Whispers in Spring Lake. Good luck on your quest.

While I can understand wanting to go into the city as opposed to North Jersey restaurants, I have generally found that the "hassle" of dealing with tunnel traffic, paying for parking and putting your automobile at risk for parking garage damage outweighs the convenience of the in state eateries. Now throw that out the door if you want a 3/4 star NYC restaurant experience ... however I believe a number of NJ restaurants come very close (e.g. Nicholas).

Rebecca - The restaurant is right off of Exit 81 off the GSP on Water Street. I hope your daughter enjoys the place and brings you something home. Please let me know if I can give you anymore information on the place.