glenn

I don't know about the rest of jersey, but business seems to be dead in these parts. I guess that's the reason for the extension. Which is a good thing for the consumer. We ate at Porto Leggero (too bad they didn't extend) and had an incredible lunch for $15 each. It was normal portions of salad, pasta or chicken entree and dessert. A BIG thanks to Tamara for organizing this.

If it was medium, I'd be a happy camper. I either order it that way or medium-rare. But this was extra well done, like burnt. Really. As far as any laws go, I'm not familiar with a requirement to cook meat to a certain temperature. I suppose I should be since we serve burgers at Melt ). Then again, I am -- at least according to the certificate hanging on the wall -- a food service manager. Not to go off on a tangent, but I can't help thinking about the lack of oversight and training in Jersey City for restaurant operators. I wonder if it's the same throughout Jersey. It sure is a world of difference in NYC. All I had to do was attend a 3 hour course to get my food handling certificate. And I honest to goodness fell asleep. Sorry, I was tired and it was boring. The test at the end was not graded; it was a self-test and anyone who attended and stayed throughout the entire session received their certificate, whether they snoozed or not. There are only 2 inspectors for the entire city here - our inspection was a complete joke. For example, the inspector asked if our bathroom was clean. He never even looked at it much less anything else. But I digress...

The 2 times that I went to fatsoburger in jersey city you did not have a choice of the temperature. Have things changed? Anyways, I wrote about my experience here somewhere (which I can't find) and on jclist.... Yeah okay, I'll concede and give a couple of thumbs up to the shakes and fries and onion rings. But puleeze, the best? The burgers are another story. That is unless you like tasteless burgers burnt beyond recognition. Really, why do you think they offer all those toppings? Yep, to give it some taste. I really really and truly don't get this place, though I've tried my darndest. Everyone else seems get IT, including the almighty New York Times. If I wanna tasteless burger I could just as easily wander into MacBurgerWendy's. And I wouldn't have to miss half the Yankee game cuz of the endless wait. Not to mention all the money I'd save on earplugs. Jeez, you'd think they'd they'd give the cooks hearing aids instead of having to hire order takers/screamers with voices approaching sonic boom level.

Finally, thank you thank you. John, cool beans! Question: what size bun do you prefer on a foot long dog... regular or, uh, foot long? I've been using a regular bun at my place but it's really messy. But the foot long bun costs 4 times as much and I'd have to raise the doggie price.

I guess it's just me, but I can't find that article. The direct link that Curlz provided just takes me to the home page. A search under "hot dog" or "hotdog" brings no results. Help!

I've never seen it in these parts but they are prevalent in the midwest, mostly at fairs. I briefly thought about serving this at Melt.

Hey, I started a discussion over here on that great shake, now known as "O'Neill's JAMM [Jersey Avenue's Mocha Madness], aka, The Best Milkshake Ever." Btw, the dog [great dane] is with peach chutney not salsa - the cool jerk is with the salsa. And thanks for coming!

We use a Colombo yogurt "mix" base. With ripe fruit, we get a perfectly delicious smoothie, but is not exactly healthy compared to other bases. On another note, anyone have any ideas for a mango smoothie? Yeah, I know, mangoes, but you gotta use a lot and they're expensive, even now. I'd have to sell them for a zillion dollars to make it worthwhile.

I agree. Jersey City has at least 3 farmers' markets. The two I visited in the last 2 weeks specifically for tomatoes were not home grown. I was told they weren't in season yet, at least in these parts. Granted, they had nice stuff, but $5/lb. for tomatoes that aren't even home grown is ridiculous. I'm of the opinion they shouldn't sell it if they aren't home grown.

Tell that to the people I charge $2 admission to watch the view from my roofdeck! :)) Liberty State Park is a fantastic place to watch it from and I would guess that the Liberty House has accomodations for sightseers. There's also an off the beaten path type place at the park that serves decent burgers and such - the Lightship Barge, which is on the water in the pier. The down side is the park gets very very crowded.

Thanks, Josh, and looking forward to seeing you. I must say, this whole burger thing has me scratching my head. They were popular from the day we introduced them 2 weeks ago and they now rival the sales of grilled cheese. It's not exactly what I had in mind when I opened! Then again, compromises and giving people what they want is what it's about too. [glenn sells out.] The hotdogs haven't quite caught on like the burgers, but I suppose that's to be expected. Kids love 'em, though, and I also think we have a product to rival the best of them. [a BIG thanks to Eric for that tip of not putting slits in the dog.] Next up, a grilled veggie sandwich with olive oil. Gotta get those dang health-conscious people off my back! [i have to figure a way to post a picture of my autographed copy of Marlena's book - she drew a picture of Melt!]

Just a quck note to say nothing gives me greater joy than having eG'ers here and enjoying. It's a total trip getting to meet you all. My only complaint is I generally can't sit down and join you for more than a few moments. Curlz, that orange fig jam substitution was a first. Very interesting and I'm sure it worked quite well. Ironically, I was thinking of taking the GD off the menu and putting on a special that's worked quite well. But the GD seemed to pick up again in popularity. Shameless self-promo - Melt will be on the "Roker on the Road" show on 7/5. It airs on Food Network at 9pm and again at 1am. We'll also get some sort of mention in the August issue of "Restaurants and Institutions" - once again, our Adriatic will be pictured.

Thanks for all the suggestions. John, coincidentally, we are using Rockland's. Not by design though.... it happens to be the bun that our purveyor (Dairyland) carries. I actually called Rockland today to see if they have a bigger bun. I'm waiting for a call back. But the small bun is working out. I find if we put cheese on the entire dog, the relish sticks to the cheese and it's not so messy. It's also pretty cool looking. Also, grilling the bun for 30 seconds or so keeps it firm. So, for the moment anyway, I'm happy with what we have. And it's cheap... wholesale price is about 10 cents and it enables me to keep the price at $3 (which I still think is outrageous! - but then again, I remember having to use 2 credit cards at a basketball game for a crummy dog.)

Buns seem to be a matter of controversy (not just here on eG). People seem to be evenly divided about whether to use a "normal" bun or longer bun on a big hot dog. I stated my preference, but I also want to keep prices down. Our basic dog is $3. That comes with any of the basic toppings... homemade relish, kraut, mustard and ketchup. [we have a squeeze bottle of Gulden's mustard and Heinz ketchup on every table - a scenario I wanted to avoid but is simply unavoidable.] The deluxe comes with the above plus our own three cheese sauce and cajun fries and is 5.25. [One of the reasons I put dogs on the menu (as I think I stated) is to give an alternative to kids. 1.50 or 1.75 was what I first had in mind. I keep getting sidetracked by trying to be gourmet everything and the result is kids get excluded cuz they can't afford it. I know I can also put a less expensive dog on the menu in addition, but I don't have room to store everything I have now. My mistake is probably reading these dang internet forums. Without them, I'd probably be in blissful ignorance and serving a mediocre dog for 1.50 and making the kiddies very happy. :))]

I'm not quite sure why Syd's led me to believe that they had an exclusive on the Syd dog. I think it was Eric, the owner, who I talked to and I let him know why I was asking, but like I said elsewhere, who cares :)). The meltdog was on the menu today for the first time. We only sold 4 or 5 but that's probably because we were frightfully slow. The reaction was excellent. Which leads me to think maybe I'm not charging enough :). We serve it with homemade relish (which is sweet and has a kick to it). For an additional charge, we add our own 3 cheese sauce and cajun fries. The whole package is 5.25. While it's still way too early to make any judgments, there were no complaints, only compliments. And I must say the dog comes out great on our panini press cooked at maximum temperature. It's got a barbecue taste to it. However, my problem is the roll. It's a standard size roll and the dog hangs over it by about 3" on either side. I'd love to find an inexpensive long roll, but that's probably asking too much. Rebecca, any idea where I can get those rolls that you mentioned? Regarding Don's dog, I like the size and shape better. I opted for the Syd dog instead for 2 reasons, perhaps silly ones. One is the foot long dog is a novelty and one that fits in with our concept (snob appeal?) of being different. The other reason is Don's dog, as John pointed out, is heavier and therefore more expensive. I wanted to keep the price point as low as possible. [Tamara, somehow I have to figure out a way to put some expensive items on my menu so I can participate in Restaurant Week! Maybe a Moses grilled cheese sandwich :)]

In the interests of research (only!), I visited Syd's and Rutt's yesterday. I'm adding a hot dog at Melt. I absolutely loved the foot long dog at Syd's. It was grilled and perfectly cooked. I did not care at all for Rutt's, but that's probably more of a personal thing with deep-fried dogs. I ended up going to Best in Newark and picking up a case of the same dogs that Syd's uses. [the owner at Syd's say they have a dog exclusively prepared for them but that was contrary to the info I rec'd at Best.] My primary concern is price... like, do hot dogs really cost this much?! I was a little taken aback by Syd's price of $3.10 for a dog. Period. Nothing else except the usual toppings. And their toppings weren't homemade. After visiting Best and plunking down a wad of dough, I realized why the price was so high. I will have to charge a similar price (though we will be using a great homemade relish.) I don't know if this is the best place to pose this, but I'm wondering if the general public will be willing to pay that kind of money for a dog, albeit a great dog. Will I be limiting my clientele to dog connoisseurs? For those of you who don't fit into that category, like me, would you pay $3+ for a dog?

Melt died at 3pm. It was like a wake. Saturdays, like most other places, has been our busiest day. Until yesterday.

Brett, congrats on the nice review! Hope to get over there soon.

There's lots of outdoor dining in jersey city including backyards. Some of the more unique spots include the Lightship Barge (on a boat) and the Liberty House, both in Liberty State Park. Marco & Pepe is great for people-watching as it's on a busy corner in the now very gentrified downtown area. One of the nicest backyards is at the Comfort Bistro where the seating is spacious and they hold events. The newly opened Rachel - serving wonderful organic mid-eastern (Israeli) food - will open their beautiful backyard soon. edit to add: the newly opened Beechwood Cafe, opposite Marco & Pepe, just opened their sidewalk cafe and has plenty of tables. They give Marco & Pepe a run for their money and get my vote for "the best people watching outdoor cafe" in JC.

Well, yeah, that's what they say, but I'm sure there's more to it... what else is in there? Admittedly, I haven't been there but I plan to go tomorrow. I'm researching a homemade relish for a dog for Melt.

Ha, I just got through skimming this thread and that's the one thing that kept popping up in my mind. Paul, I wish I was as thorough as you when I opened my place! The only suggestion I have at the moment is to add a line item in your budget along the lines, "mindless expenses I never ever would have thought of in a gazillion years." And that amount should be equal to your total budget. :))

New York Magazine article Okay, what's the real deal? Starbucks has often been cited as one of the best companies to work for. This article will have you believe otherwise.

Cool! thanks to Rosie.

The show will air on 7/5 on Food Network at 9pm, 7/6 at 1am and noon. Also, our Adriatic sandwich will get a mention (and picture) in the June issue of National Culinary Review in an article about upscale sandwiches. Now all I need is customers. ;) edited to add that the picture that appears in NCR is courtesy of ace food photographer Jason Perlow.

The 2005/06 issue of the Zagat Survey, New Jersey Restaurants, has just been released. As usual, the "Survey" is more notable for its inclusions and omissions and unbiased [ahem ahem] reviews. Regardless, I’d like to join Lou in expressing my warmest congratulations to Nicholas for being chosen as NJ’s best restaurant. Just a few ramblings on my hometown and surrounding area... Jersey City had a sparse listing. The complete JC listing… Baja, Beechwood Café, Casa Dante, Hard Grove, Komegashi, Liberty House, Light Horse, Madame Claude, Marco & Pepe, Nha Tranh, Oddfellows, Porto Leggero, Pronto Cena, Puccini’s, Ria’s Café and South City Grill. Most of the restaurants in JC weren’t rated – there was simply a paragraph giving a brief description. Of those rated, top honors went to Casa Dante (25 out of 30 for food.) [did they simply copy 1928's review?] Nha Tranh (a surprising inclusion considering all the omissions) fared extremely well with a 21 and a wonderful review --- “…at this “gem” in Jersey City that’s the closest you may come to finding amazingly authentic Vietnamese.” [umpteenth note to self… check this place out!] While I’m honestly and truly happy for the owners of Beechwood and wish them congratulations for getting listed, how in the heck did a one month old place get included while other notables such as Amiya , Amelia’s, 95 Greene, Café Spice, Edward’s, Traders, etc. were omitted? Ah, the wonders of Zagat. Hoboken’s top-rated restaurants were Augustino’s & La Isla (27 each) and Anthony David’s (congrats Anthony!), Grimaldi Pizza [jeez, a pizza place?] and Amanda’s (26 each.) Notably absent from the ratings or simply a mere listing was The Jefferson, among the best Hoboken has to offer.