MJP

Jason has a whole blog post with photos and video. It'll make you hungry!

Just called Kazbah... they expect to have Indian mangoes (don't know if they're Alfonso, Kesar, etc.) in on Friday. I'll try to make it out to them in the morning if at all possible.

I just mailed in a gilded recommendation for Toros in Clifton. I sincerely hope you get to eat there, because they're the best Turkish, period. Also, the Munchmobile has a Youtube channel! http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=munchmobile2007

I studied in Australia for a semester in '02, and I miss the taste of Fourex and Victoria Bitter, which I was told were Queensland's beers of choice. Does anyone know a place where I can get them?

I'll bring some back, where are you located?

Jason: where in Maryland is it? I will be down there this weekend for a friend's wedding, and if it's not too far from I-95, I can score some. I've wanted to try Kalik since I read about it in one of Jimmy Buffett's books. I've found the best way to track liquor retailers is to call the importer and get their regional distributors, then call them and find out which stores in the area distribute it. Beeradvocate.com is a very good source for liquor; they've helped me track down some nice Belgian beers in the past. Sign up, ask around, and see what transpires. They're like Egullet but for beer.

I hope Sultan Gyro in Lyndhurst is open by then! They finally got their awning up with the name and website. They're catty-corner to my apartment and it'd be nice to get some press on the modest, but expanding, Lyndhurst food scene.

Middle Eastern tour... ;-; I wish I could have gotten on for that. Too bad they're probably not taking applications anymore. Did they tell you where you'd be going? Even just city-wise?

TAKOYAKI IS HAPPENING! I got the Mitsuwa flyer in the mail yesterday and this weekend, a group of Takoyaki chefs from Japan will be flying in and doing fresh takoyaki all this weekend, from the 25th to the 28th (I believe, gotta verify when I double-check the flyer at home). This last happened at least a year and a half or so ago and is not to be missed. Fresh takoyaki is so delicious and it's better to go in here than to schlep into the city for Otafuku's delicious variant.

I stand corrected, Apna Bazaar has become Kazbah! I went in, and there was a sign saying "Indian mangoes coming soon, ask cashier!" I did ask, and the cashier (some kid who's probably been plagued with us mango zeitgeist types by now :-D) said that what they had was Indian, but it was just standard Mexican mangoes. I eventually talked to another guy, who I think is the new owner. He gave me his card and said to call later this week. Ohoho! I'll keep you guys posted. Apna Bazaar has changed; the half of the store that had hardware and other non-Indian housewares/goods is all empty, but there were tables and chairs being put in. The makings of a new Indian joint, maybe? They DO have Kurkure now, which makes me so damn happy. A co-worker brought some back when he went to India for a wedding, and I've been hooked ever since. They just recently started coming into the US. Kurkure is basically Indian Cheetos, only instead of orange cheese powder, they're covered with different Indian spices. I'll report back on the ones I got - Hyderabad style and one other variety, I forget which. Kurkure is <3

I know the market you guys are mentioning in Fairfield. I think the name is Apna Bazaar. That's on my way back from work on Mondays and Thursdays, and I can stop at the market on my way to work one day this week in Parsippany. If I find Alphonsos or other Indian mangoes, I'll keep you all posted.

Diggin' the avatar! :-D I googled Patel Brothers NJ and found an address: 1361 Oak Tree Rd. Anyone know if this is the one?

So I heard last week on the radio about how Indian mango importation is set to begin into the US. A Pittsburgh newspaper article talked about the frenzy over the Alphonso and Kesar mangoes, so I was curious if anyone knew when these would be hitting local Indo-Pakistani groceries? I'm not opposed to taking a trip down to Oak Tree Road to make this happen.

Going to a bat mitzvah this weekend reminded me that I've never really had good food at any catered event in NJ, ever, period. I've probably just been to really overstated catering joints, but in a few years down the road, I might need to know about this. So has anyone ever had really fantastic food at a catering place in NJ? I mean that of something you'd order at a restaurant and enjoy, not just something flashy like an overdone Chateaubriand, "chicken Wellington," or horribly dry carving-station turkey.

We had a delicious Mother's Day dinner at Tomo last night. My folks live right up in North Caldwell and they were there last week, and we were pretty surprised the waitress remembered us down to dishes that we'd ordered previously, especially since I hadn't been there with my parents yet. We had a really nice spread. We started with vegetable tempura, which was good but not amazing, but that's still pretty darn good, and also the pork belly, both off the specials menu. The pork belly was AMAZING, it tasted like it'd been braising for hours and was melty delicious. We also had the steamed monkfish liver and practically died, it was that rich but light-bodied. We had negitoro hand rolls, which were a really nice textural interplay. I don't know what kind of nori Tomo uses, but it's very resilient and gave a nice crunch. The rice, chopped tuna, and scallions were a really nice blend of fluffy, dense, and crunchy. We had live scallop sashimi which I was a bit afraid of, but it was so sweet and perfect that I had to restrain from ordering another. We also had some "regular" sushi: yellowtail belly, sea clam, otoro, fluke edge, and my parents had uni, which I don't really like (I've tried it a billion times and can't get over the texture). Everything was wonderful, but I want to know where he got his otoro. I've never had better, and I've watched them cut the pieces of tuna off the fish at Mitsuwa. That otoro paled in comparison to what we had; it was marbled just like a good piece of Kobe beef and melted just the same way.

Amen to that, jwjojo. I hope Anthony gets everything back and opens up yet another awesome restaurant.

I can kinda understand the service issues he might have had. The waiter we had was a little bit overbearing, trying to push cocktails when we only wanted a glass of wine, and after that, wine by the bottle. The girl who cleared the table either didn't hear or ignored my request to wrap up my duck at least twice before she acknowledged me. Curlz, did you have any front-of-the-house issues when you were there on Friday?

I hope it's just temporary; I'd hate for them to lose out on Mother's Day business. I signed up for their E-mail list but I guess it's not totally active yet. Anyone who finds out more, make with posting! :-(

Friday night? Curlz, you must have been over by the window because my girlfriend and I were in a booth at the back. I wish I knew you were amongst them, we would have said hi! :-( Add me to the list of Anthony fans. That grapefruit Napoleon is one of the most original and delicious desserts I've ever had. It was all about textures coming together just perfectly. My girlfriend had the spring rolls and I had the herbed goat cheese between eggplant salad. He STILL has that wonderful skill with eggplant, Curlz, and it's the one thing everyone reading this needs to try when you go to Earth. (Are any Venutians reading this? :-P) The spring rolls were very good, a nicely-executed version of honest spring rolls. My girlfriend didn't like the slaw-esque salad along with it, but she's not a peanutish dressing fan. I, however, am. :-D We also got little pasta appetizers, complements of the chef, which were amazing; they had a very light tomato sauce which beats anything I've ever had before. I'd pay $10 a bottle for the sauce alone and I can't wait until they make the menu with that on it! It was a little farfalle dish, just a few bites, and a nice little pasta course since we didn't have pasta mains. For the mains, my girlfriend had the sea bass mentioned above and I had the duck. It was a very nice sea bass, perfectly done and flaky. It had the skin, which was as crisp as bacon and such a great complement to the fish. I had the duck and it's the best duck I've ever had. It was a breast filet, sliced nicely, with just a tiny layer of perfect duck fat on it. The meat was tender, rare like I'd requested, and the potatoes and onions (note: Texas sweet onions, not spring onions; people might expect scallions :-P) gave a good complement. Napoleon was wonderful, see above. The lady had the chocolate terrine which was very nice as well. It's where Lunello used to be, and right now, the Mother's Day sign obscures the name of the restaurant in the window. Anthony, if you can see this, we walked a block thining we were lost, so could you move the banner? :-P I turned my folks on to it; we're all Fortunato fans and I'm hoping this is our Mother's Day restaurant of choice.

How'd she apply? I want on like nothing else!

OK, I sincerely hope this doesn't ignite a flame war, but here goes. I want to introduce my girlfriend to really good Cuban food. I've been to Mi Bandera and Las Palmas in Union City in the past, but that's been more than 10ish years ago. What's a good place to take her to? She's not a big red-meat fan, but she adores seafood. I'm game for anything, so long as the restaurant does good chicharrones (a must-have, I miss these worse-for-you-than-bacon delights). Edit: having a good ropa vieja is an insta-win for me

How would this compare to a similar restaurant in Union City? I've been dying to bring my girlfriend for some proper Cuban food and I haven't found THE place yet.

#3: Fortunato in Lyndhurst. #2: Fortunato in Lyndhurst. #1: Fortunato in Lyndhurst. You're going to be hard-pressed to find a really wonderful seasonal ingredient-driven restaurant in North Jersey. Actually, much greatness has been said about Earth in Totowa. It's the new creation of Anthony Lo Pinto, formerly of Fortunato, and it should really be the only decision to make. Earth vs. Fortunato. I haven't been yet, but if it's Chef Lo Pinto, you're pretty much guaranteed one of the best meals of your life. Earth thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=100637

I can vouch that Slow Food is a wonderful organization. My father was the head of the North Jersey convivium for a few years and I got to tag along on some of the events. If you guys ever go up to the Bobolink Dairy again, I'm definitely going along.

Keo Ku used to be all you can eat, but that didn't last once they gave everyone a lobster at the table, right as you sat down. We AYCE loyalists will just have to settle for Minado and elsewhere. :-(