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Wow. Thats too bad. Was the place packed that night. Could it just have been an off evening for them?

I am not a professional cook, but I do some private catering in the Saddle River area. I would like to own and run my own place some day, but for now, all I have is E Gullet. How pathetic am I?

You are kidding, right? ←

yeah. but for some reason they had one of the two doors open. I guess they wanted people to know that they were doing good business.

Based on the NY Times review I will check this place out but based on the photos, the food looks a little sloppy. But as long as the flavor is there its worth a try I guess.

Is this new ban for just food service places or does it stand for bars as well? Because if it means that people cant smoke in bars, it could have a big impact on business.

Walked by Venue last night on my way to Bennies. Place was mobbed. Thats a good sign.

Why is it that every restaurant Liebrandt has been associated with lands flat on its face? For such an amazing talent it worries me that gilt may face the same consequence. I have not yet gone to Gilt and I plan on going soon but it just seems to me the this place may suffer the same fate as Papillon did. I hope not.

Serving sizes are not as small as you would think. A four course is more than suitable for people with a big appetite. Also the 20% discount during the week is a great bargain especially for food of this quality.

That pineapple dessert tastes sooooooooo good!

I went back to venue on Saturday night. It had been almost a month since my last visit. They have a new menu and to my astonishment, it almost completely changed. It is now set into 2 categories: Cold and Hot. My dining partner and I both had a 4 course menu. Amuse Bouche: Fluke sashimi with citrus, beet sorbet and lotus chip. Very good and refreshing way to start the meal First Course: Maine Lobster, eucalyptus aspic, black curant cylinder. Great presentation! Lobster was very tender and delicious and the combination of the eucalyptus and black currant compliments the lobster perfectly. cepe soup, parmasan marshallow and white truffle air. This dish was amazing in concept, presentation, texture and flavor. A bowl of white truffle air is brought to the table. The server then pours in the soup and then drops in a marshmallow that is made only of parmasan cheese. THE BEST SOUP I HAVE EVER HAD ANYWHERE! Second Course: Atlantic Salmon, turkish coffee cocoa nibs and tobacco ice cream. Superb! I have never had tobacco ice cream but is was delicious and the subtle turkish coffee flavor combined with the rodust salmon really worked well in this dish. I loved this one. Hudson Valley Foie Gras bon bons with assorted accompaniments. Beautiful presentation. 3 bon bon shaped molded foie gras with three different flavors for each bon bon. We were advised to start with the one from the left and work our way to the right. The first had preserved clementine zest with a pipette filled with the preserved juices. The second was topped with wild sesame ( wich looks nothing like a normal sesame seed) and freeze dryed pinapple. The third was topped with a goji berry confiture. Ive never seen or heard of a goji berry but I was told it is himalayan. Anyhow it is a red berry that is extremely delicious. Almost tasted like a grain. This was a very interesting way to serve foie gras because it is as if you are having three different preparations in one dish. Next we were given a large beeker type glass that contained carbonated celery juice with a lme foam. Very cool, nice wat to cleanse the palate. Third Course Skate with hot apple gel, fennel and cumin. This dish may have been the favorite of the evening. A piece of poached skate wing sits atop a mass of hot gelatinized green apple gel molded into a large square bowl. A nice piece of braised fennel bulb and a foamed cumin substance complimented the dish. The different textures of the dish with the familiar flavors of apple, fennel and cumin were really enjoyable. Yeloow fin Tuna "Maki". Its very hard for me to describe this one. This dish probably was the most amazing presentation I have ever seen anywhere. Honesty this dish is a work of art. A piece of yellowfin tuna skeward and mounted on a wood block standing straight up! The tuna is wrapped is a nori flavored cotton candy. I dont know how to explain it! the cotton candy first of all was black, and it wasnt even really sweet. It tasted just like nori. It was amazing. It come with a cloud of sushi rice, edamame, soy aspic and sesame powder. Incredible, creativity. A lot of time, effort and hard work had to go into creating this dish. Fourth Course Kobe skirt steak, morels, parsley port and freeze dry corn. Very tender piece of meat served rare with fresh korean parsley and and emulsion of parsley as well. A port syrup and cround freeze dried corn were a good compliment to the dish. Quail served with its eggs, caramelized apple, chicken livers, and clove powder. The best quail dish we ever had. beautiful presentation. Four sections of quail with one egg place atop each sitting on a bed of clove powder. Great dish. Dessert Amuse Frozen deconstructed blueberry pie. Cool creative and great. Desserts Frozen chocolate parfait. pistachio, curry ice cream, shaved yogurt and saffron. Very rich great flavors. A little more ice cream would have been good because believe it or not, curry ice cream is delicious. Caramalized pineapple, sesame crumble, watercress and carbonated miso. Iteresting flavor combinations with this one. And carbonated miso was both sweet and strangely good. Mignardises. Lemon flavored "floss" This was amazing inthe fact that it was candy that looks like string or floss and dissolves the moment it hits the tongue. Over all I think Venue is not just the best and most creative restaurant in Jersey, It continues to get better. This menu is the most creative I have seen in the tri state area. In my opinion this restaurant will be known as one of the top creastive eateries in the country. It is an amazing place. Besides Mini Bar in Washington DC. or Alinea in Chicago, This is the best restaurant I have ever been to!

Does Sam Mason also contribute to the cuisine or is he just involved in the pastry aspect?

Was there last night and the place was real busy. Lets hope business can pick up during the week. FYI: Chef James is also featured in the winter issue of art culinaire. The pics look great!

I think that is fantastic! At least they are making an attempt to bring in more weekday business. I dont find anything wrong with that. I would very much like to see this place succeed. I think in Hoboken, this will help tremendously.

Brian, You must work or do PR for WD. Just kidding. But WD also has many misses on their menu. When you are pushing or trying to push the envelope, chefs sometimes lose vision of what a customer expects. To compare either of these places to a ryland inn or daniel type restaurant is unfair because they are on two completely different sides of a spectrum. It is unfortunate that most people lean toward the Ryland inn tradional side. Thats why a place like Venue Can be dead during the week. It also doesnt help that they are in a shit town with all sushi restaurants and crap italian joints. I urge everyone how reads this to go to venue and Wd. Try something new for once in your lives! You just might like it. I give these chefs alot of credit for having some balls and going against the grain. It shows me that to them, it is more about the art of what they do than the money. And to me, that goes along way. I may not be a fan of Wd-50. In fact I think its pretty bad but I have a huge amount of respect for wylie and I wish him and his restaurant the best of luck.

Im sorry guys but It was my 2nd time @ WD tonight and I really dont get why this place gets all the hype that it does. Besides the desserts, the flavor of the dishes just dont move me. I give the place an A for creativity but flavor wise It isnt on the same level with other top restaurants in the city. Maybe they should change the name from WD-50 to WD-40 since that is what most of the dishes on the menu taste like. WAY OVER RATED. If you want to try real progressive american cuisine, go to alinea in chicago. Ive been there and they are in completely different leagues. Also the place was dead.

What kind of injectors are they doing? Do you mean transfer pipettes? I havent seen these or heard of them being served at Alinea but I know its big at elbulli and cafe atlantico. What were the flavors? Although the fish dishes are very good, I also am a huge fan of the meat dishes as well.

Actually, the five course menu was NOT $55, but $75. per person. ←

Camper why are you so quick to change your tune about this place? When Scott Anderson was there you were there biggerst supporter. Once he is gone you change your tune. Very fishy? Let me guess Ill bet the Ryland is the greatest place in Jersey Now. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that Scott Anderson is back there again. Please be honest on these e gullet forums.

I was just on the Lawrencville Inn forum and I am extremely saddend. Its obvious! I just dont understand why others especially fellow chefs would go out of their way on these forums to make truley great chefs and restaurants look bad. What is their benefit? I am wondering if Scott Anderson was even in for dinner last night? These forums should be an outlet for honest opinions about places not for self promotion or sabotage. I wonder if Criag Shelton is aware of his chefs behavior. Its just down right low!

Nicely said. Peace and love to all!

I dont get the fact that you would say the menu is redundant. Read the menu! What is redundant? The fact that someone would expect a restaurant to have a different style plate for every item is rediculous! I have never been to a place that has such things and I've been to most notable places in NYC and NJ. So you came to the restaurant on a busy night and your meal took longer than you would have liked. It happens. Remember this place just got a great review from the NY Times. Im sure they are overwhelmed with business right now, I wouldnt hold this against the place! I wouldnt even be suprised if some of the employees there are new. A NY Times review can turn a place upside down especially an excellent one. To expect a place when filled to capacity to create a customised tasting menu for two when they already have a large menu ( one of the largest selections Ive seen at a high calibur place) is a tad unreasonable wouldnt you think?

Wow! Ive been there twice already and had two amazing experiences. I dont know what went wrong with Venue that night. When I was there last time the place was also full and everything went smoothly. Im wondering if the chef was even there that night? Seems like the NYTs review may be overwelming the place. They seem to be full every night and I hope that the quality isnt going to go down. Time will tell.

Get the Soup, Scallops, and Short Ribs. If you want to try funky dishes, get the pine scented salmon or paella, or Venison