glenn

Suzz, if you're talking about the last chef, Anthony, he opened or is in the process of opening his own place in N. Bergen. I sort of lost track of the chef before him, Asbel.

Rick, the medieval towers and churches in Naxos were the big turn on for us. It was much less touristy than other places, at least seemingly so. We rented a car and drove to remote spots on the island, went hiking, and never saw a soul, except for donkeys. It sent chills down my spine to just come upon medieval towers and be able to roam around with no one else in sight for miles. I honestly don't even remember the food there... for the most part throughout our stay, we ate at outdoor tavernas near the sea, nothing fancy. [in addition to Naxos, we visited in Athens, Paros and Santorini over a 3 week period.]

I was in Naxos and Paros a few years ago. [Naxos was the highlight of the trip.] I have no recollection where we ate, but we got recommendations from the locals, who were generally very friendly and helpful, and stayed off the beaten path. We were never disappointed.

The Today Show last week did a series in honor of the Best of NY Magazine issue, which included bagels, donuts, burgers, fries and something else. I think Pommes Frites was rated #1 and the cook stated the fries were fried a second time just before serving. Didn't they open another store in the west village? In my opinion, they're good, not great, but the zillion different toppings makes it worth it.

True, they're closed for renovations on the rooftop (and kitchen I think), "long time" from what I was told. Pretty dumb timing. There's always pastrami rolls next door at 95 Greene.

I used to get great bacon mail order from Thielen's in Minnesota, but they don't ship out of state any more. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Not to go into the gory details again, but what was a legitimate complaint from me about including a "service charge" at brunch (no matter what the size of the party) without notification, (there was no sign posted and there were no menus), turned into a major fiasco. It is illegal to do this, not to mention I never felt so ripped off as the only "service" we received was coffee refills in which the busser had to be called over. Brunch is/was a buffet. I dealt with the Mrs. who was completely defensive and unapolgetic. Yet they changed their policy shortly afterward. Ok, so I will go into details.

good riddance.

I doubt computerized systems differentiate what is ordered (unless they're cutstomized) and the service charge is applied on the entire order.

You are the system. hahaha. I think the system is more like Daniel and company; at least they probably have the ability to change it. We'd get laughed out of business, though that's happening anyway :)).

The answer is yes to both. If the customer had a good reason for not wanting to leave the 18%, i.e., bad service, legitimate or not., if it were my place (and it ain't), I'd agree to 10%. And I go back to my other post to justify a "service charge" - foreigners who do not know the local customs, ignorance in basing the tip on dollars and not percentage and not being able to turn over the tables. Tipping sucks and in a perfect world the 18% or whatever would be built into the prices as Basil said. But that's not reality. The system is set up so that restaurants need to do what they can to ensure the service staff makes a "fair" wage. Blame it on the system.

Grouch! To open a can of worms (again?), unfortunately the service charge is a necessary evil, at least in NY and in my opinion. I've seen servers get screwed all too often -- sometimes people simply look at the dollar amount of what 18% of a large bill comes out to and decide that's too much money to leave. You also need to consider that large parties linger longer and the table might not get turned. Last, blame the Europeans, every offense intended :)), for not conforming to local customs and often leaving a 10% tip or less. And yes ma'm Jin, will be done Monday. Spencer, sounds like a great idea, but there's no phone number for the guy. It just so happens we have a waiter trailing now and we intend to replace "the lout".

Sometimes people wanna leave more than 18%. However, the more I think about it, the more inclined I am to refund the tip; no one leaves a 45% tip. And yes, I agree it should be clearer on the menu.

First time confronted with this dilemma --- customer included a 25% tip on top of the 18% service charge. The waiters are supposed to make every effort to let the customer know when a service charge is included. It's printed on the menu, but it's easy to miss. Sometimes it's not practical to let the customer(s) know verbally about this. The waiter claimed he didn't know who was paying and the party left before he picked up the check. The service charge was circled, but this could have been done after the fact. The waiter is not the most trustworthy person. No phone number for customer as it was a walkin. I'm inclined to refund the tip. Do any of you restaurateurs have a policy about such things?

Getting in a car and travelling which ever way the wind blows :)). Seriously, though I haven't tried it yet, but Madame Claude's seems to be the place to go these days. It's a tiny cafe that serves inexpensive French food. What kind of food are you interested in?

I smell a rat. But I ain't gonna bite.

Never saw them. Could be a health hazard?

You don't say where or what kind of bread, but here goes. The following are in Hoboken, all great bread places but differing in their specialties... Antique Bakery Dom's Grand Bakery Marie's Bakery Uni-bake - Jersey City

I should also add that I responded erroneously to Rosie's question if Presto's is byo... they are. I always get Presto's and Pronto Cena's mixed up, which is not byo, but very similar in many other respects, most importantly, they're both snooty and have horrible service.

Awful, here's what I said a couple of weeks ago.... After previously having a not so great experience at the 1-month-old 95 Greene, I figured they deserved another chance. And it was only a few blocks from Presto’s. Talk about different realities!! 8:15 PM, Saturday night, and there were 2 people at the bar and ZERO dining customers! And it was nice and cool, a refreshing change. The two of us sat down at a 4-top by the window. The menu was completely boring even though the prices seemed to demand more imagination. The one and only interesting item was an appetizer, which frankly, sounded gross. Pastrami dumpling!! But I tell ya, with the sauce, it worked, we loved it. The entrees were piss-poor. The sauce for our dishes, pork and halibut, tasted like it came from a can. The pork was a crummy cut, or was spoiled. Service was good (whattaya expect, staff outnumbered customers by 4 to 1!), up until dessert. 5 minutes after sharing a flourless chocolate cake that was left in the microwave too long, I was told they had a problem with the espresso machine and it would be a few minutes longer. No thanks. I was offered a free coffee, but passed.

We went to the Iron Monkey thinking Marco & Pepe's would be crowded. Walked right out after looking at the menu. Jeez, if only I had a lamb shank for every JC restaurant I've walked out on. I was astounded by the menu prices. Same ol'f friggin' menu except the prices went up substantially. There were 2 entrees for $29 ($28.95 to be exact, fucking morons), and nothing less than $22. Appetizers were up to $15. No familiar faces. Out the door and never to return. I mean it this time! They are now the most expensive restaurant in JC after overrated and over the hill Casa Dante. We took our chances on Marco & Pepe and lucked out. A table was waiting for us. I was tempted to try the burger based on Corcoran's review (which is only on the bar menu that you have to ask for), but I overcame my baser instincts and got the bass, while Anabelle had the shell steak. My dish was $20 and the shell steak was $25, VERY REASONABLE. We shared a wonderful bouchard goat cheese salad for the appetizer. Everything was amazing, including the service.... a big change, very professional and good timing. Fantastic wine and beer list. JC now has a destination restaurant.

It's all about Hudson County this week, those fools :). I'm happy to see Marco & Pepe get a review, and a "very good" at that. I wonder if that means the service will be worse than ever, hmmm. And Dom's in Hoboken, another favorite. Good stuff.

Oooh, what a scholarly bunch we have. In lieu of the beet, I can offer a handful of JC's finest. Well then, duh to me. But like, spring menus should begin on April 1st, glenn susser rule #46.

Look who's calling the kettle black! Wasn't it you last week who was looking to bbq in the snow? :)) [whoever can guess the origin of the kettle black saying gets a free dinner at the beet]

Too far in advance to decide. Hopefully far away from JC. We went to Anthony David's (David Anthony's?) -- ok, the Dining Room - last weekend -- it's becoming a habit. I was disappointed their spring menu wasn't ready, but everything was great as usual.