glenn

Just out of curiosity, why? Just because they show independent films? They're owned by one of the big chains (Loews or Sony) and were one of the first to raise their admission to $10. The place I worked at was solicited by them to advertise and was told that in the near future there would be on screen advertising. Don't get me wrong, the Angelika is one of my favorite theaters, but they're far from independent any longer. Tip --- the prices for drinks are cheaper downstairs than in the cafe upstairs. Personal fave = chocolate chip cookies. [in general, I always make sure to get an extra soda, one to spill on the seat in front of me so no one sits there.]

but they are. and that's the whole point. Apparently so at Babbo, but I was speaking about the place I work at.

Robert, I stand corrected. However I still find it hard to believe that confronting a customer on a comment card is condoned. We have comment cards also --- a manager might approach a customer in a non-confrontational manner if there was a question or concern, i.e., "the rats crawling under my table made me lose my appetite", but that's the extent of it. I know I wouldn't want to be put on the spot for making a written comment. [since I'm not speaking officially for the place I work at, I'd rather not make that public.

Water, can't live w/o it. Always a contentious topic, including among restaurant management. As for it being a legitimate profit center, I wholeheartedly agree. Charge what the market will bear... it's a luxury item, no one is twisting arms. No different than wine in that sense. Our restaurant is not in the same class as others mentioned here, but we do have specific policies as far as how the wait staff sells/offers water. Our place has a reputation for being unpretentious which we're proud of. Waiters are supposed to ask "mineral, sparkling OR tap". However, they are clearly instructed to try to upsell and their cover averages are looked at carefully. We even have contests and award bonuses for most wine or water sold, highest cover average, etc. I suspect this is no different than many other places. However, it's not an easy task to be unpretentious and try to push stuff on people, but a good waiter can do it. It's all about attitude. We sell a 750ml liter bottle of Voss (mineral) and liter bottle of Pelligrino for Ů & 500ml of Pelligrino for Ŭ. [stephen, we pay no where near ũ.40 for Pelligrino -- more like ũ.05] No one ever complained and we sell plenty, mostly Pelligrino. [Personally, I can't tell the difference between tap and any bottled mineral water, though I love Pelligrino -- but I would never pay Ů for it -- as someone else indicated, on general principle.] As for refills, I think we're all in agreement that what Babbo did was disgustingly wrong, but I have a feeling that this might have been an overzealous waiter. The stuff about him confronting the patron about the comment card was low class, and again, I'd find it hard to believe that Babbo condones such a thing.

Hi Carlotta, I can understand your concerns, but in Rosie's defense, she went way out of her way - in my case - and acted as an intermediary between Blue Sky and me. It's unfortunate that her efforts weren't fruitful. As Jason said, her primary function here is not as a reviewer but, at least the way I see it, to promote discussion.

Rail, didn't mean to put you on the spot, sorry. Actually, I'm sorry I brought it up again. End of discussion about my brunch and it was rude of me to interrupt the thread, sorry - back to the Corso discourse -- I really didn't think the Times review was all that bad. sorry glenn

I agree with Hank about people being defensive about places they've come to think highly of here [and I'm sorry to use this thread to further discuss my experience at another forum favorite.] I ate at Corso in the early evening last New Year's eve. We were the first customers I think. I don't remember all the details, but I do recall being disappointed, especially by the service (considering the place was practically empty at the time). As for another beloved Montclair joint on this forum, Blue Sky, my post 2 weeks ago was all but ignored [except by you Rail, who came to their defense] about my unpleasant brunch. I'm still reeling, not so much from my meal, but from the extremely unpleasant email exchange I had with Sherri, the GM. The fact is they included an 18% gratuity for all patrons for any size party and didn't post a notice. Sherri was completely defensive and unapologetic about this policy (though she said it just changed). Her argument -- which made no sense to me -- was that she needed to guarantee the waiters the tips in order to get them to work Sunday, and they did plenty of work to justify the tip. However, such work at least partly consists of non-service related work that would normally be the restaurant's responsibility to provide compensation. So now they've just raised the price for the meal saying it inlcudes tip and gratuity and saved themselves some money by making the customer pay the waiters' wages. The only service we saw being offered was coffee and OJ refills, which they failed miserably at with us. She also claims they have a jazz band on Sunday, but there was none when we were there. My other comments to Sherri about the service were completely made light of. She was unapologetic (saying I'm sorry once or twice and going on to be defensive doesn't count!). Before my email exchange with Sherri, I still intended to check out this place for dinner -- judging by all the good reviews, I'm sure I'd have a better experience than brunch. But that email exchange is enough to keep me away from there 24/7. [the latest and greatest place in Jersey City is the Grand Banks Cafe on Montgomery Street near the water. Billed as a Japanese/French fusion joint, they specialize in sushi & fish, but have huge offerings of dishes from both cultures. Not usually a biggie on fishes and the like, last night I absolutely loved the Japanese sea bass and shrimp tempura. A gorgeous looking place with exemplary service.]

I guess by overwhelming majority, it's Gotham. Did they ask for pre payment for Thanksgiving Im curious Yes and no -- they asked for a credit card, but they only plan to authorize it, not charge it unless I fail to show and cancel the reservation. Home also asked for a credit card number (though they stated they had no intention of charging it if I didn't show). I have no problem with restaurants authorizing a credit card. With the amount of no shows at 50% or higher at some places, I don't blame them. Hotels do it and people don't complain.

I ended up making reservations at 2 places at either end of the spectrum... Home and Gotham. Surprisingly, the prices aren't all that different, though the ๖ at Home includes a different wine with each course (it's โ w/o the wine). I've never been to either, but am leaning towards Home at this point thinking it will have more of a festive spirit. Has anyone been to Home recently? [don't flame me PLEASE, I plan to cancel one in plenty of time.]

Oh, didn't realize it was byo. But no one made a mistake about including the gratuity.... it's stated on their website that the cost is ศ.95 which includes tax and tip (which I looked at after the fact), plus I asked the hostess about it. I didn't voice my displeasure at the time because I was with my wife and I also thought I might have missed a sign stating such a policy, though I looked high and low on my way out and couldn't find any such notice. Even if the policy was clearly stated, I'd like to know how they justify charging 18% for a very limited service. And I won't get into how terrible the service was.

http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage4.asp

I guess I picked the wrong meal to check out Blue Sky, though it seemed like the perfect place to go before the cinema. It was buffet and seemed no differerent than brunch at a hotel, albeit upscale. No alcoholic drinks - , or is there a law in NJ about that Sunday morning - for that matter, no table service of anything other than coffee and orange juice. Even so, service sucked -- had to ask for every single coffee refill. This was actually my first buffet breakfast outside of a hotel so I don't know I was also put off by the 18% tip included with the ฤ prix fixe (there were only 2 of us), or is this typical for a breakfast buffet? I sure hope the hostess gets a cut because she did more work than the servers. :)

I should add, my last message deleted my symbol for BIG GRIN after the last sentence -- just so you don't think I took any offense.

I guess stuffy was the wrong word.. you hit the nail on the head when you said "off-putting". I find formal places very uncomfortable and I feel totally out of place. I didn't mean to knock Daniel, and my remark wasn't really meant as a put down, (jeez, I only ate there once). There's also this psychological thing I have that I don't feel like I belong at these places, but that's my hang up. One big exception is the Gramercy Tavern. While not as formal as some other places, it still fits the formal category in my mind. However, I feel completely relaxed there and love going. [Fat Guy recommended it a couple of years ago when I was looking to take a couple of tourist friends out to eat and I now take all out of town visitors there.] So, I hope baring the inner secrets of my soul, i.e., no self esteem, satisfies your curiosity. <grin>

It was a well-deserved night of decadence. I was nearly delirious with anticipation for the past week - tickets to the hottest show in town to be preceded by dinner at the hot new Daniel Boulud venture, DB Bistro. Then again, the pessimist in me thought for sure that I was setting myself up for dismal disappointment. First off, let me make it perfectly clear I ran an extra mile this morning. All because I had to see what a ห hamburger tastes like. Was it worth it? #### no, but I’m glad I finally satisfied my curiosity. But it was #### good. Call it a French burger (well, they call it a DB Burger) - ground sirloin stuffed with short ribs, foie gras and truffles. Plus 8 or so French Fries – oops, Pommes Soufflées – were an excellent, though meager, accompaniment. We arrived on time – 6 PM. At the time of the reservation, the reservationist asked if we were going to the theater, and we reminded the host of this when we arrived. Still, it took 10 minutes to get a menu. And it was only because I gave the managers (it seemed like there were more managers than service staff) the evil eye, and believe me, you don’t know evil until you get the susser stare. This place is definitely not up for pre-theater, though they push it and also have a pre-theater prix fixe. My tomato tarte with goat cheese appetizer was very good, as was Anabelle’s pumpkin soup, but nothing to go crazy about, or spend ม and ฝ respectively. Anabelle had the roasted salmon which she said was “ok” – translate = she wasn’t impressed. The waiter had no idea that we had tickets to a show – he asked us after the appetizer if we had such plans. So much for communication. I should also point out that a second wine menu offering expensive wines – 蹢/bottle – seemed a bit much. Next time I’ll look for a better way to indulge my decadent fantasies, but, all in all, we had a jolly good time. The stuffiness you find at Daniel was nowhere to be found, and the food, was simple and good, though not great. The Producers was no disappointment, and I was totally prepared for the worst. It deserved every one its record breaking number of Tonys as well as the accolades given by the press. The 1968 movie was easily Mel Brooks’ best ever. Comparisons between Gene Wilder v. Matthew Broderick and Zero Mostel v. Nathan Lane were only natural. Broderick started off slow and tried to imitate Wilder a bit too much, an impossible task. But he became more original as the mousy accountant as the show progressed. Lane was incredible all the way through. Don’t be stupid, be a smartie, come and join the Nazi party

I ate at Miss Saigon twice when if first opened about 2 years ago. My first experience was horrible (written about in FoodBytes -- hey Rosie, go dig up the archives!). I couldn't believe that it was so horrendous so I checked my insanity and went back the next month. I certified myself sane. Maybe it's changed though. I can't believe I never heard of the other JC place on Newark Ave. I must pass it 5 times a week. How long has it been around?