Meredith380

I know you want a BYOB, but if (and it's a big IF), you'd be interested in a Tuesday night, the Manor has a Wine Night where they waive their corkage fee. Other than that, I'm of little help in that area.

You can always go with The Palm, which is a pretty good steakhouse chain, they have a location in the Trop's new Quarter. But I would go with more local places, while they might not be "fine dining", per se in the NYC aspect, they will offer quality food. I would probably hit up the Knife and Fork Inn-- www.knifeandforkinn.com But for late night snacking, the Hilton's room service has some pretty decent buffalo wings!

Do they have a website? I did a quick search and couldn't find anything.

Most places where I've experienced tableside service, (chauteaubriand, caesar salad), it's always been done by the maitre d', not the servers.

As a student I wouldn't label this as academic dishonesty. That aside, your assignment is pretty hard-- a lot of restaurants do commonly mix different ethnic dishes to come up with a new one. Good luck, I'm pretty much drawing a blank when it comes to helping you!

The Manor in West Orange, NJ still prepares caesar salad tableside.

My parents have had Pergo for about 10 years. It's been starting to warp the past two. It was fine for about the first 8 years. My father's a business owner in a distributing corporation, namely building materials. He wasn't dissapointed in the initial investment of Pergo-- easy to clean (we had a dog), nice look, but for the long term, it doesn't hold up well. He got what he anticipated from it, and him and my mother are debating over tile versus hardwoods.

I can recommend a lot of great restaurants in your area, although I doubt that any of them take the Entertainment book coupons, as most of the places in those books are chains, as far as I'm familar with them. I'd start off with Amazing Hotdog in Verona. Don Jose's in East Hanover for Mexican. Fortissimo's in West Orange has great salads and subs.

Hasn't Julio's only been been open for a few months?

Believe me, a server, particularly one in a high end restaurant, can afford $800 shoes.

I have to agree with the posters who mentioned that NYC has become increasingly lenient with their dress code policies. I was recently at Mets games and able to dine at Ruth Chris and Del Friscos. While neither are close to four star restaurants, I wouldn't have dreamed of going to a steak house in a casual skirt and tank top, carrying a bag stuffed with a jersey. But we were assured it was not an issue, and other dinners were not much more dressed up than we were (this was on Saturday and Sunday nights). I work in restaurants that enforce a strict "jacket required" policy. In the past few days (110 plus heat indices in NJ), it's been met with disbelief. I see no issue in relaxing that requirement, but it isn't up to me. Believe me, the majority of the time a hostess has to turn away a guest because they aren't within the dress code requirements of the facility, that uncomfortable look in their eyes is not because they're viewing you with distain-- it's more being uncomfortable with turning away a guest. Although, 98% of restaurants with policies state them before you enter the establishment-- which can lead to distain when a lack of regard for the policy is blatantly obvious.

Route 80 is not a cut off line for North Jersey; Morris and Hudson and parts of Union are south of 80 and are all considered North Jersey. Next time I'm in a diner I'll ask about Disco Fries. I've noticed most diners that use the term Disco Fries also refer to an open faced grilled cheese with tomato and bacon as a "Happy Waitress".

I second Tommy's recommendation for Miller's Tavern. It's kind of a hole in the wall, but their bar pies are awesome!

In all my experiences with disco fries-- they were usually listed as "disco fries" and ALWAYS made with mozzarella.

"Mouth feel" skeeves me out. I can see how it is useful, its just one of those words, like "moist" or "mealy" that I just shudder at. "Cukes" is annoying. Can we not be bothered to type out the whole word? Count me in on those who find EVOO to be ridiculous. While one may only use extra virgin olive oil, others will use non- virgin

Thanks for the info. The Harvest Group does well; where will Roots be located-- I'm guessing in the old Roots building? I look forward to visiting.

I live in Northern NJ and have been enjoying Disco Fries for years. They're listed as "Disco Fries" on most diner menus.

While you're at the game, be sure to go down to the field level and hit up Mamma Corona's for a sub. They're awesome! Also, if you're coming from Manhattan and don't like the length of the 7, take the LIRR out of Penn-- it's about 30 minutes faster than the 7. I'll be there Saturday (I'm a season ticket holder).

Do you work there too?

I've heard awful things about McCool's-- not just their product but their ownership. It may have changed hands since then though. I'd also like to know where to get a good lemon ice in Morris, I'm not able to think of any place off hand. Sorry to hear about your bad experience!

Momma Corona's Italian Sub at Shea Stadium in Queens. Unbelievably good.

I ate at Del Frisco's Sunday night, around 6:30 after going to the Mets game. I was worried my somewhat casual attire would be a problem, but it was fine. I was impressed by the Green Goddess Avocado dressing on the house salad-- it was excellet. The filet was cooked properly and lightly seasoned which I enjoyed. The service was solid as well. I'd probably recommend the steak at Sparks over Del Frisco's, but it was a great, relaxing Sunday night meal-- and a perfect escape from the killer heat.

I went there again for lunch (to go) today. I work in West Orange (in a restaurant) and am introducing coworkers to the sheer pleasure that is Amazing Hotdog on a beautiful day. I can't express how impressed I am by the fries. And the Amazing is almost too much for me to eat with the fries-- the small is ridiculously generous!

I'm in the Northeastern US and have been tipping 20% since I've been old enough to dine out without my parents (probably about...11 years). I always evenly split the bill with my dining compainions, but I work in the industry and so do the majority of my friends so I've been fortunate to never have any issues when the bill comes. I also tend to tip more toward 25%, and more if I've been comped, obviously.

Just went to Amazing Hot Dog for the first time for lunch today. Had the Amazin Dog and loved it-- and the french fries were incredible! I will definitely be going back-- it was the perfect lunch for a sunny Friday!