glenn

Katie, I know where you're coming from but I think you're being somewhat idealistic and perhaps unrealistic. Many, probably most, restaurants would wanna hear about any kinds of problems. I know I would. On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of customers who are insane and will complain about anything. It's no wonder one of the owners I worked for thought anyone who complained was just looking for a freebie. Well, the owner was borderline insane. :-) I'll relate an experience I had as a diner, which I've experienced since in varying degrees. We dined at a place where the service and food was terrible. Certainly not worth the extravagant prices. What am I supposed to say when the waiter asks, "How is everything?" Frankly, all I wanted to do was get out of there and never come back. And incredibly, the owner was sitting by the bar, her nose in the newspaper. That was the same position she was in when we arrived and never said hello. She didn't even look up as we left, much less ask how everything was. And this was the 2nd week they were open. Like I said, this same type of experience has happened more than a few times. So I guess what I'm saying in my long convoluted way, many owners are totally clueless when it comes to customer service. If I have no intention of returning, why the heck should I open my mouth? And what would be so wrong about writing a note about the experience? I'm not so sure it would be any less helpful to the restaurant if the complaint were made after the fact. At least everyone had some time to possibly cool off. And besides, addressing a complaint in the midst of dinner service is perhaps not the appropriate time.

I disagree on a number of points, well, all of 'em :-) It's already been said and I won't belabor the point, but it is not the diner's job to "educate" those that run the place. Enough said. Nothing was ever mentioned about complaining after the fact by letter, fax, etc (especially for the purpose of trying to get a freebie,) though Chris' post brought up valid reasons for doing so. Last, I think it's inappropriate to ask the diner who left half his plate full what the problem was. "Uh, I've got a case of the runs and I didn't wanna damage your carpet." :-)

There's lots of variables (i.e., degree of dissatsifaction, are you a regular, etc.) and I don't think there is one answer. With that in mind, I'll pose a different question but in the same vein. When the waiter/manager or whomever asks how is everything and it sucks (food and/or service or bathroom or whatever), what do you say? For me, it depends. OftenI just don't feel like getting into a long and possibly contentious discussion. So I'll say everything was okay. Other times I feel more motivated and will say something, but only if I think it might do any good. Telling it to a waiter or hostess or someone with no vested interest in the place is normally a waste of breath. I can understand people not wanting to say anything. You go out to eat to have a good time. Who wants to make a bad experience worse by getting into what could be an argument or an uncomfortable situation? Some people are non confrontational and don't want to risk getting into a brouhaha. As far as duty, I go along with the ratioale that once the bill is paid, the diner's duty has ended. You have no obligation to help the owner run his business. And he might not want to hear it anyway. Generally the only time I'll say something is to help the restaurant. What other reason would there be to say something? If I think they're helpless/hopeless, I keep my mouth shut and never go back.

The restaurant should reimburse to repair it or replace it. No question, no doubt about it. Every place I worked at would do that, including several lowlifes I worked for. A splinter is negligence, though there's probably little that can be done to prevent it. It's their fault, plain and simple. From the sound of it, they were unaware of the extent of the damage it caused and offering free dessert probably seemed fair at the time. But the restaurant admitted responsibility when they comp'd dessert. Regardless, a mountain out of a mole hill has been made. It seems to me, if you wrote or called the place and explained what happened like you did in your post, you could probably end up with a satsifactory agreement. Same situation - if you walked into any other business establishment and the same thing happened, wouldn't you rightfully expect compensation?

thereuare, you rule! This place is a total find and I'm bewildered how you were able to sniff it out. I live a 1/4 mile away and I never ever drive/walk down this part of 2nd St, mainly cuz it leads nowhere and there's basically nothing on it. Except Second Street Bakery. I plan to become more acquainted with this place. Had a couple of stuffed breads which completely filled me up for $3.

I keep telling you jersey city ain't your turf cuz it ain't really Jersey just like the statue of liberty isn't in NJ. Which reminds me - it's time for my annual request to make JC a separate forum. Torico's is an extremely well-hidden ice cream store on the corner of 1st and Erie. There's no sign and I probably passed it a zillion times before I even knew about it, and then, only cuz someone told me about it. One would think the owner's motivation is something other than sales. I honestly can't figure the place out. Every ice cream I've had is top notch. The milkshakes are among the best I've ever had. Although there's every offering imaginable, I always end up getting a milkshake. And I learned the secret to a great shake - a lot of ice cream. And everything is so cheap, you really gotta wonder. I think the extra large thick milk shake is $4.50. The small regular shake is something like $2.25. They keep odd hours, so pay no attention to the posted hours. And they close for the winter, so you better hurry up.

I thought I was doing everyone a service by leaving out certain info. You should really be asking for the lowdown on Torico"s :-0 Comfort Restaurant Bar & Lounge 499 Washington St. Jersey City --- Newport area Don't know phone number though I think they'd be flabbergasted if you made reservations. It's not byo - as a matter of fact, a press release states they have 70 different kinds of wine. However, there was no wine list.

Comfort Diner (45th St.) owner Ira Freehof has taken his concept across the river to Jersey City and gone “upscale.” At least that’s sort of what the press release said. I was very much looking forward to its opening. When I was told it was going to open around Labor Day, I marked the date in my brain. But the restaurant clearly looked closed every time I drove by in the days following Labor Day. Then someone told me they ate there. Plus they suggested that I stay away for an eternity or two. “It was among the worst culinary experiences ever.” This is from someone I respect. Even so, I defended them without ever stepping foot in the joint, “Jeez, give ‘em a break, they just opened.” Last night I parked right in front and I swear, if I hadn’t had the previous conversation with my acquaintance, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car. It was dim and there were no diners. And mind you, this is 8 PM on a Saturday. It was only after staring in for a few moments that I spotted a cook in one of those ridiculous looking tall chef hats. And so our experience began. Other than some minor cosmetic changes, the place was virtually unchanged from its previous haunts, The Liberty Grille. The good part was we had a choice of any table. The good part ends there. Aside from the extremely boring appetizers and hamburgers (2), the menu was divided into 2 areas – comfort food and lighter fare. The entrees were no more exciting than the appetizers. Being in a “comfort” restaurant, I figured it was a requirement to order “comfort food.” And by the way, I’d love for someone to precisely define comfort food. [retro, fattening, big portions?] The choices were slim and I was having trouble deciding whether to get a burger and be able to walk away with some money in my wallet. The prices completely blew my mind. While the food may be retro, the prices were 22nd century. I’m going by memory and I know I’m missing one or two “comfort” choices – there was macaroni and cheese at $14, meatloaf at $17 [!!] and 3 kinds of steaks in the 20’s. You’d have to be one adventurous soul (and a moron) to order the steak. More out of curiosity than anything else, I ordered the macaroni and cheese. I was curious to see what made it worth so much money. The answer came shortly and I couldn’t help but think of the song lyrics, “war, what is it good for, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.” It was totally tasteless despite the ton of pepper I had the waiter put on. [i called him back for an extra 20 turns of the peppermill.] I’m not lying when I say I’ve had better macaroni and cheese from a box. Anabelle ordered from the “light” side - chicken and mashed potatoes. I think it was $16. [!!] The potatoes were saturated with butter and the chicken was as tasteless as the macaroni & cheese. And ya know, I could forgive the lousy food based on their recent opening. But when a place charges those kinds of prices for less than ordinary food, they deserve no mercy. The Liberty Grille wasn’t any cheaper, but at least the food was decent. How I long for the good ol’ days. Anyway, having the comfort food bug, we ventured to Jersey City’s undiscovered Torico’s Ice Cream store. This place is a jewel. All the ice cream is home made and they have a zillion flavors. I had a large coffee royale extra thick milk shake and Anabelle had 2 scoops of white chocolate. Hurry up and check this place out before word gets around. But then again, they’ve been there since Jersey City was invented, not to mention they’re on a side street and hard to find and don’t have a sign. And forget it, I’m not telling where it is. It’s mine.

You've got my curiousity piqued. For what purpose? - a rest from traveling? A coffee shop that serves sandwiches is more or less a diner, no? How far from the highways are you willing to stray?

2 PM is no good? There's a lot of construction now and things might change. For now, it's pretty simple. Take Columbus Ave. down almost as far as you can go and make a left on Greene. Park in the Harborside Parking lot which is immediately on your right. There's a guard there who will give you the first degree (or maybe I just looked suspicious) and will direct you how to get to the restaurant from the lot. It's all very simple. For now that is. PL will validate your parking ticket. If you don't know how to get to Columbus Ave - here's the long but easy way. Take Newark Ave. towards downtown (east), make a right on Jersey Ave. and Columbus is a few blocks. Make a left on Columbus.

But there's a solar eclipse that day! I'll brave it though, I'm in.

Success! Balthazar's has exactly what I'm looking for [thank you Rachel.] I walked out with more samples than I could carry. According to the salesperson, the reason I had so much trouble finding what I wanted is that adjustable slicing machines are not made any more. Balthazar has an old model. Anyway, thanks again everyone.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am so depressed with the results. It seems nobody can accomodate slicing a bread to a custom thickness. Well, Eli's can -- but it's doubtful they will. They can slice 1", no more no less - other than the standard, but they have no customers so they're not doing it for now. I tried Texeira, Calandras, Tom Cat and Sullivan Street Bakery. Balthazar seems to have a problem answering the phone. From what I understand, an adjustable slicer is upwards of $5000 so that makes little sense. I know a place to buy wholesale in Bklyn, Bakery of NY, but I need a source for now while I'm working on the menu. If anyone can think of something, I'd be eternally grateful.

My question earlier was actually where on 2nd is THIS place, not Maria's. How did you find it? You really need to check out Lombardi's on Newark near Monmouth. Great Italian deli, brick oven pizza and a to die for chicken francaise sandwich.

If they sell to supermarkets, then I might as well go to the dang supermarket! I couldn't get phone listings for either Calandra's or Texara. But I may as well go to the city already. I didn't realize it at first, but I think what I'm looking for is something pretty specialized.

Hey tommy, get your prioritites in order! great lunch, great company, what could possibly be more important? Or maybe I'll drop by Tues night. Rosie, if you wanna call Elliot or Michael and ask 'em about byo, cool. I ain't gonna do it. Isn't that a bit tacky? As far as a date, like I said I'm pretty open for a while. 9/28 isn't the greatest though, but I can reschedule THAT appointment. Whatever the overwhelming majority sez. [do we have enough for a quorum?]

I give up on NJ. Better yet, let's get rid of NJ [tm, gs] I checked Marie's and Altamaura and they can only up to slice 1/2".

I forgot about Marie's. And where on 2nd St. is that place?

Sine this is gonna be an eglutton thing, let's do this. Since Rosie's paying or bringing the soft towels for the bathroom (I forget which), let's do it in Oct. It's a fairly small restaurant, so I think we should limit it to like 10, though I doubt that'll be a problem. So everyone shout out their availability for the first 2 weeks in Oct. I'm not available 10/13-14 and 10/11 is a holiday.

I ended up getting the Villaware Pro. I have to say I'm disappointed, but I have a feeling I was looking for something that's only available commercially. My sandwiches are too big for the grill. I'm using 1" thick bread and about 5 or 6 ounces of cheese. I end up having to flip the sandwich over and turn it around since the grill won't close nearly all the way. I guess I'll have to experiment using smaller sandwiches. The commercial presses I've seen raise up in the rear, so I don't think this won't pose a problem once I'm ready to go.

Thank you and thanks for the tip on that combo sandwich. I already had mazzo secco included in my initiial menu. Great stuff.

If they do, it's not under portoleggero.com, so my guess is no. [btw, i left you a voicemail.]

Meltshake will be open 24/7 in its temporary HQ, my apt. This is so much fun. I really need to find a local place for bread while I'm experimenting. Dom's and a couple of others I tried don't have slicers that slice thicker than 1/2" and I need about 1". And I don't feel like cutting my own bread. Anyone know of a decent place that slices to your liking?

Thanks, I forgot about this new fangled invention, the yellow pages. Dom's on Grand seems to have everything I need.

I've been getting my bread for my chemistry experiments in the city but I'm out and need some today. If anyone's awake, where can I get thick white bread and 7 grain and baguettes or ciabatto rolls? It doesn't have to be great, but lend itself well to cooking in a panini press.