fitz

Hmmn... What my husband neglected to mention was my specific objection to Asia Market's pan-fried dumplings: they both smelled and tasted like acrid tobacco. In a word, horrible. At the same time, there was none of the usual good stuff I'd expect in a dumpling; the only positive comment I can make is that the skins were nice and light and the filling was heavy-handed and dense. Unfortunately, they were so godawful that I literally wound up spitting the last one out. If that means I've got an uneducated palate, so be it (though I don't think so)--but this place is definitely not among my favorites.

Hey, I'm a New Jerseyan in exile in Texas, but can I cast my vote for Galloping Hill?! Love that place... went there all the time as a kid back in the 60s. This year Thanksgiving's here in Austin; it'll just be me, my husband and our new little twin sons... (they'll be doing turkey too, though). P.S. Hi, Rosie--good to see everyone in NJ's still eating...

Dunno. Haven't heard the same buzz you have I guess. I might check it out some time. Or anyone that does, they should report back. ← There was a thread on this topic this summer: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...9881&hl=Andiamo Definitely an oversight to miss out on trying Andiamo, even if it's an unassuming place in a strip mall.

I'm assuming that you want to steer clear of chain restaurants--in this particular part of town there are many, but there are others, too. Right off the top of my tired head, a few come to mind: Andiamo, for wonderful Italian (see their web site at www.andiamoristorante.com) as well as the other thread in this forum on Italian restaurants. There's also North by Northwest at Capital of Texas and Stonelake, a stone's throw from where you're staying--a very comfortable place for family with a surprisingly varied menu, moderately priced. And somewhat less moderately priced, Cool River on Parmer Lane, though lunch is quite reasonable and a nice break in the middle of the day. Hmmn... what else? Kerbey Lane right on Research Boulevard for a very reasonable, casual place for tasty, healty food... Of course, if you DO want the chain food, a quick drive up and down Research Blvd. will reveal all... Have fun...

We love them... The Wagyu's terrific, and we've found that you can actually get great buys sometimes, particularly if you ask them if they've got anything interesting that's already cut...

It's funny, but that actually worked well for us. We had a seven-piece swing band and there was a devoted group of folks who pretty much danced all night. At the same time, we had a few tables of older guests who requested ahead of time to be seated "away from the music," and by putting them at the tables toward the ends of the "T" everyone was happy. I confess that I was a bit worried about it ahead of time, but my fears were groundless. I suspect it would've been more of a problem if we were having one of those receptions with non-stop announcments by a DJ, or were trying for lots of group participation. As it happened, everything was fine, at when at one point I was coerced into getting up and sitting in with the band, all of the older folks who'd been parked at their tables the whole evening finally got up and gathered around the dance floor. And actually, that setup made for a damned fun hora... it's hilarious to watch the video of it and see these throngs of people sorting themselves into more and more circles... By the way, Rachel, I don't recall whether I ever told you what a great suggestion Harold's was for our rehearsal dinner, either! They were unbelievably gracious, did a beautiful job the evening of the dinner, and pretty much comped everyone they knew was a guest of ours during our entire stay whenever we grabbed breakfast or lunch there. Really lovely people! P.S. Thanks for the good wishes, Rail Paul!

Thanks, Rosie!

Yeah, we actually investigated the cruising option when we were planning our wedding almost two years ago, and not only did it seem that the quality of the food would be questionable at best, but even back then, to get a halfway decent boat alone was going to cost $18,000 + at least another $8,500 for the food and liquor. Considering that we were only talking about 100-125 people, we thought it was a pretty nasty price tag, especially before music, flowers and all of the usual extras. We did Highlawn Pavilion instead--got an absolutely gorgeous spring day with phenomenal views that everyone loved, and our base price was $85 a head. Gotta love it... (The whole day went off without a hitch, they couldn't have been more gracious, the food was terrific and people are still raving--plus we're still married with twins on the way, so we consider the whole business a success... ) Fitz

Either time works for us... Fitz

Do we have a set time, and is someone making reservations? Just wondering, lest we all turn up and scare the other patrons... Fitz

Hey, I think we're in for the 17th, too... Fitz

We have no clue whether we'll be in town on the 10th, but if that date works for everyone else, go for it and don't worry about us... FitzLuggage

I was just wondering when we'd all be invited over... Have never tried to make one of these suckers for msyelf!

Everything Tommy says is true... I was introduced to the Notch back in '95 when I was booking music and events for the local Borders and someone said I needed to get over there to hear John Monnecka, who was sort of the "house band" at the time. (One night he'd be there with his band, one night it was just John doing singer/songwriter duty with his guitar, and the rest of the time it was visiting blues bands, mostly.) Heck, I even hit the stage myself a few times playing bass with my singer/guitarist friend Dave--the one night I remember particularly well, the place was jam-packed with the usual odd mix of locals and things progressed into a nice little ska-fest--fun for me since it wasn't the sort of music I usually played. Anyway, the owners are lovely people, the atmosphere is much more laid back vs. scary biker; it's a pretty laissez-faire kind of place. And sitting inside during a heavy winter snowstorm is just as pleasant as being out on the porch with a cold one in summer... I miss the place and am sorry I didn't have time to take my husband there when we last visited NJ. Next time... Fitz

I want that... right now!!!