Randi

I didn't realize the rest room was upstairs. That's good to know, and we will keep that in mind. I have already been in touch with Richard regarding the room - but was hoping for opinions on the space, since I haven't seen the upstairs yet. Thanks for the info!

I have a question for Lori as well as anyone else who has dined upstairs at David Drake. We are considering DD for our awards meeting in February, and I understand the upstairs room can accommodate a maximum of 20. We will have our folks seated, but we will also have management speaking and giving awards. Since we will be very close to, if not exactly 20, would this room feel small for a meeting of this type? Just looking for opinions.

I think it was rainbow Jello week! I made these for an event on Friday and posted about this in General ("One eGullet dish that was so enticing..."), but here's another pic. I did mine as Jigglers. Rachel's creation was also my inspiration.

Calbee Snap Pea Crisps (I get them at TJs). Love 'em! Pumpkin seeds - salted - that should take care of any salt cravings, and then some! Beef jerky, slim jims, etc. Pork rinds

Not sure if this counts as traditional reward points, but the company I work for gives "Spirit Points" as rewards. In addition to hundreds of household items, electronics, etc., one of the items you can "purchase" with your points is: I doubt I have enough points saved for this....but it gives me something to strive for! Or maybe I'll just get a food processor/blender combo.

No, but I think its safe to say that Americans only represent a very small portion of their clientele. ← i've noticed a fairly even distribution. "very small portion"? The few times I have been there (always on Sunday for brunch) we've been the only, or one of the only, tables of Americans in the place. (Last time, New Year's Day, we definitely were the only ones - I made a point to notice.)

I didn't forget the orange, I just didn't have room for it. The mold was full! I was sad. And I love the idea of the demo thread and/or a fancy jello thread!

Actually, Anna, somewhere in the depths of the files of eGullet, Rachel Perlow explains that it is not particularly difficult ... to me it looks quite complex ... ← Time, and therefore, patience, yes. Skill, not so much. It really is a breeze. Altho there were some things I figured out as I went along, so if someone wants to make this, I have a few tips.

Thanks again, everyone, for the suggestions and input. Now it looks like we're moving further north, closer to our Cranford office. But we haven't pinned down a place, still.

How cool is that!!!!

Rachel Perlow's Rainbow Jello I've been wanting to make this for over 2 years! And this week, I made a variation for a "Diversity Pot Luck" at work. I made it into "Jigglers" since I didn't have a nice mold, and I thought it would be fun to have finger food. Came out great and people really ooh and ahh over this simple dessert (even if it IS only Jello...!) Here are 2 pics - one is the before pic, when I had just unmolded it from an 8" x 8" cake pan. The other is the finished product, ready to serve.

jsfein, menton1 and cdh - thanks for the suggestions. I've passed them on to the event planner. Kim - I'm thinking the paneling - but we didn't actually take a vote menton - the event is in late February, so yes, before the smoking ban goes into effect. And all 25 won't be smoking, but the ones who count will be, apparently. Thanks all. Anyone else have suggestions? We aren't married to Princeton if the feel is right. (we are considering Rats, for example). We need it to be accessible to our Cranford, Mt. Laurel and Ft. Washington PA offices.

My company is looking to hold an awards dinner in the Princeton area at a venue which has the following: - Private room for 25 - a "gentleman's club" atmosphere - upscale food/atmosphere - cigar smoking permitted Anyone have any suggestions?

I was there once (the one in Clark). I wasn't impressed. The Chicken Satay appetizer was boring. The other dishes (I don't remember what they were) were just ok. I wouldn't go back.

oooh! Yay! Isn't it funny the things that push us over the edge??

My curiousity got the best of me and I found this article. I wanted to see pics, dammit! And there are several. BTW, this article says he uses 80% beef and doesn't mention the grilling step.

My new mantra is..."I want to go to Amazing Hot Dog!" I have been dreaming of the fries (I am assuming I can get some cheese sauce on the side - I see it on the pic of the hotburger hamdog) and I can't wait to try the schmiero! Ejebud, I am really impressed with your creativity! Randi

Brian, is it best to go on weekends, even though they serve dim sum every day? And do you have any recommendations? Anything that's not to be missed?

I like that one too!! ← Yeah, that one got my attention too!

We went to C46 on New Years Day. I met relatives there. I had raved about the place and was a little bit disappointed with some dishes. We started with wonton soup - which I have had before and it was amazing. This time it tasted quite ordinary. The first item we ordered off the menu was shrimp toast and it was so greasy you had to squeeze it out before trying to eat it. Seriously! The rest of the items off the menu were good. We got a number of different dumplings. At the buffet there was salt and pepper shrimp (one of my faves) and crab which was kind of a mess to eat, so I didn't try much. I think my favorite thing was the fried rice cakes. Crispy and delicious! They ran out of those and when I asked if they'd be putting more out, they brought us a plate of them - but that batch wasn't as crispy and good. Oh, I ate 5 of them anyhow. So it was a mixed bag. I think my cousins had a nice time, but none of us were blown away. I would go back just to get the little juicy buns, and the items I already mentioned that I enjoy. The price is right. No more shrimp toast though!

purplewiz, Just curious, did you chill the sodas or drink them at room temperature? The Jones site says you can do either, but I am wondering if one or the other would make these sodas less horrifying. I bought the holiday pack and was planning to have fun with them on New Year's Eve. But after reading the reviews...maybe it's a bad idea!

That's funny, I decided the same thing when I made these Chocolate Mint Mallow Cups. They were delicious but making the individual chocolate cups was a pain. I think next time I will just mix the semi-sweet chocolate bits in with the filling somehow. Oh, but then I guess I need to serve it in something. Maybe a bowl with a spoon??

I spent most of my life chuckling at the idea of green bean casserole, and never tasted it. Then, on Christmas Day at a friend's house - there it was. And I actually LIKED it. I was floored. (It was also the one dish that they ran out of!) The next day I was watching a show on the Food Network that I'd recorded. It was "Pot Luck Challenge" on Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. They had updated some retro dishes and one was...green bean casserole! It had brandy, wine, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, and freshly made fried onions on top. The recipe is here. Tonight, I noticed this thread for the first time. (I am sure I passed right over it before Christmas). Someone, somewhere, perhaps some higher power, believes it is time I stop ignoring green bean casserole.

I decided to live dangerously this holiday season and tried 4 new recipes for desserts I was bringing to a friend's family's holiday dinner. It had been years since I did any baking so I didn't really have any tried and true recipes. I went out and bought a Kitchen Aid mixer, and perused lots of recipes online. I wanted to keep it simple, as my friend is not adventurous, and I decided to assume her family would follow suit. I made "gingersnap mini cupcakes" (which turned out to just be gingerbread muffins), "eggnog cheesecake bars", "mint mallow cups" and "rudolph treats" (chocolate rice crispy marshmallow treats shaped like rudolph). They were all from the Land O'Lakes website. The gingersnap muffins were tasty, nice and spicy. But not exciting. The eggnog cheesecake bars were boring. And I couldn't figure out why the filling wouldn't smooth out when I was mixing it - it looked like watery cottage cheese. Any ideas what I did wrong? The Mint Mallow Cups were delicious, but making the chocolate cups was too much work. Same with the Rudolph Treats. That stuff is hard to work with! And making antlers from broken pretzels - well, let's just say that pretzels do not like being told how to break. Overall I was disappointed with how this stuff came out. I guess my expectations were too high. My roommate said she thought everything was very good and that it was because I did the baking, that I couldn't appreciate the results. I want to keep making new recipes (I saved lots of them from that IMBB/SHF cookie swap) until I come up with a few that are to die for! Did anyone else try new things (or even old standbys) and had them turn out disappointing this year? Or maybe even some total disasters?

I only have a mortar and pestle, so I guess that's what I'll do. Thanks for the advice!