Shmily

Most overrated...not just in New Jersey but everywhere: 1. all chains...you know before you go what the food and decor are...sometimes that may be exactly what you want...but I would rather stay home..certainly including Legal Seafood, Joe's American, McCormick, and on and on..I can make my own frozen food at home 2.Scalini Fedeli...I have eaten there 3 or 4 times and been sadly disappointed each time....and I certainly hold more expensive restaurants to a higher standard... 3.Doris and Ed's...the food was just ok...very simple...had the prices been half of what they were., I might feel differently..and sadly, the person in charge had a terribly snobby attitude....(I am not certain why) 4.The Manor...I admit that I have had both superb and dreadful meals here...but it should be great ALL the time at those prices... 5a.There are several "old time" southern Italian places in the Valley...in lower West Orange and Orange...the food arrives swimming in oil...bread is stale... 5b.At the risk of offending everyone...I feel for me one of the MOST overrated is Star Tavern for pizza...pizza is swimming in oil...many of the topping come right from cans (like the mushrooms) and I just dont understand why it is always rated as the best pizza...years ago there was an amazing pizza place on Bloomfield Avenue at the Bloomfield end towards Newark..I know it is closed, but does anyone remember it...and have they opened up any place else...crust was so crispy and thin and the toppings were wonderful...not at all oily...it was always rated tops in the local surveys...

BOY, if I were eating there and expected to taste the owner's food, I would be pretty unhappy...bet the prices are the same...I would hope he tells everyone when they make their reservations that he is doing that...or that would be my last visit there...Some owners just take advantage of their customers....

thanks for your suggestions...are any of the seafood suggestions broiled or grilled rather than fried?? Thanks ← You can get the fish however you want it. Bayside specializes in grilled or blackened. ← Sounds perfect...thank you very much...

thanks for your suggestions...are any of the seafood suggestions broiled or grilled rather than fried?? Thanks

Everyone seems to have some valid points...I have not eaten at Cafe Matisse in a number of years because I felt that the prices were not merited by the quality of the food and the service we received on several occasions. That said, I believe that as a patron, I have decided that if a restaurant is very inexpensive, I will "allow them" far more leeway in their food and service, BUT as prices rise, so do my expectations...I feel the same about clothing and other services I purchase. Sometimes, I do say something, sometimes not. It all depends if I think anyone would care to hear me.

I have always been SO disappointed with the quality of the reviews in N.J Monthly over the years...and their yearly picks also so disappoint me. I happen to live in Essex County (so I am not so familiar with Bergen County places to eat, since if we drive that distance, we go to NYC )...and when I looked over the list, I must say I shook my head in disbelief...maybe these "critics" just do not know food...but they certainly have "gotten away with low quality reviews for so long. Sadly, the only reviews I trust at all are the Wed N.Y. Times since they are not afraid to review...tell us the good and the bad....By the way, I have been waiting a LONG time to express this....

So Mark...how did it go?? details, please....

I think Eric made a great suggestion...first of all, it HAS to be a BYO for that price..and even pizza can run more ...if the host is paying, then he may be able to prearrange with the restaurant owner to do some thing in his budget, but I dont see how a birthday cake can be included...Good luck and Happy Birthday...

I "calls 'em how I sees 'em." Sadly, I find so many of my N.J. posts are not positive but my standards have something to do with price...I have far more tolerance for inexpensive meals than expensive ones..."good of its kind" is what I look for...and if you charge me a lot, then my standards are simply higher. I think eGullet is just wonderful because it lets all of us express an opinion. Thank you Cartman for your comments...

Hi..We have eaten there twice and both times whoever had the beef dish found the quality of the beef dreadful...all other dishes were excellent...we had the price fixed meal both times...think it is a great buy...so go, enjoy, but avoid the beef (both times it was full of gristle and fat)...Have fun...

Web site and menu look very promising...any other suggestions of simpler but great food places??...even salads and sandwiches or seafood?? Much appreciated...thank you...

thanks a lot....looks interesting

sorry...you are absolutely corrrect...that is what happens when you try to read messages at 7 A.M.

I believe that Primavera has been in the new location for quite awhile now...great place for a festive lunch...always excellent fish...I think it is one of the best in New Jersey...

Gee!!! I thought smoking was illegal in New Jersey restaurants now....and the owners did nothing....that would keep me away from eating there, no matter how good the food...

We spent Saturday with our son, the CIA student, and his chef/mentor, Chef Eric Erway, a CIA grad who is still teaching at the Job Corps in Oneonta. The only Albany restaurant Eric mentioned as worth visiting was Shalimar, which we'd visited before and loved, so we just went back. The owner grinds all his own spices and insists on fresh ingredients. We asked him where we should eat, and he said that the only other restaurant he goes to in Albany is Bellini's, in Slingerlands or in Clifton Park, because the ingredients are all fresh. We tried out the one in Slingerlands. The food was very good, service was impeccable and atmosphere just right (read: correct lighting!). They were even serving a nice Ruffino Classico by the glass. However, nothing actually got me very excited. Tasty, done right, but not creative. Perhaps we happened to miss the creative dishes. The bread was exceptionally good - a slightly chewy, slightly crumbly texture that absorbed the most delicious warmed olive oil mixture - some cheese and a hint of herbs. But if I'm waxing eloquent about the bread, you know how impressed I was with the chicken and shrimp dish (Napolitan). The shrimp was, to be sure, done correctly - so very difficult to find upstate. But the sauce was something I could have made myself. While eating breakfast at the Miss Albany Diner (the most creative breakfasts in upstate, IMHO - omelet with tapenade and pesto, for example), we sat next to an Albany foodie who said the best place was Cafe Capriccio on Grand St. We probably should have taken his recommendation! It was "chosen by Metroland as the Capital area's best Restaurant again in 2005." We'll be back. Coffee at Professor Java's was pretty good and since you can get a variety of eggy sandwiches there served with fresh fruit, it's pretty close to my usually unattainable ideal: a great breakfast with great coffee. The barista confessed that he's as appalled by the two paintings on the wall as we were, saying they are favorites of the owner and have been up there for over eleven years and would we please tell him how awful they are? (I went one better and wrote an email with great detail.) So... where do you get great coffee and/or a great breakfast in Albany? We did do coffee and an excellent fresh apple pie at Daily Grind on Lark. The espresso was really delightful, bright and somewhat fruity, as opposed to the mud one usually finds. Ah yes... apparently there's a CMC at Jack's Oyster House. The menu looks enticing and not as expensive as I expected. Is this as good as it looks? Lonnie ← Dear Lonnie...In August a friend and I are driving up to ALbany from New Jersey to pick up a new puppy and we were trying to figure out where to get a bite to eat before we head back...both Professor Jave and Miss Albany Diner sound in teresting..so I thank you for the recommendation....any others would be welcome...

Sadly, I have only eaten here once...for lunch..and I just felt that though it was NYC prices, the meal really disappointed us...gummy gnocchi, stale rolls, and on and on...so I would not go back there...would much rather eat at a place that doesn't seem to be so full of itself...

Hi..We were just invited to meet some friends at Cafe Azzurro in Peapack...Tonight!! I am not familiar with it...any suggestions or comments would be much appreciated...Thanks...

You mustve gotten Raglan on a good night! Every time we've been, the food has been aweful.. soggy fish & chips, lamb shepherds pie with no trace of lamb flavor... meh =( Maybe it all depends on who's cooking? If you get a chance to head to I-Drive... and like Japanese, I'd go to Rangetsu, it is a Japanese chain, and the location in Orlando is the only one outside of Japan. They are very proud to boast that they were voted #4 by Zagat of best Japanese in the US (Nobu is #3) - http://www.rangetsu.com/reputation.htm Shabu shabu is a ton of fun for a group of adults. =) Very healthy as well. ← thank you..any more suggestions?

I do believe that it is the Full Belli Deli...thank you so much for finding the name...I think it is new in the last year or so...Anyone been there?? and thanks again...hope you get back up there soon...

the deli place that we saw is in Northeast Harbor because we took an island boat tour from there which was quite interesting actually....we try to do something different every time we go...

Sadly, no one can make any suggestions?.....

Hi... We have eaten at Per Se 3 times since they have opened and we have always gotten amazing service, and never been rushed AT ALL...We have always made the reservations with a person...and for a number of reasons we are among the minority who PREFER eating at 5:45 PM...we always take the first reservations when restaurants open because we have found we get better service, a choice of every special, the chef is not rushed and will make menu changes we request which he may not do later, and we eat an early lunch and are hungry then..and we live outside the city and often take street parking in Greenwich Village which becomes legal in many areas at 6 PM...so it all works for us... To return to Per Se, we are not celebrities but have always felt their treatment of us was really special...the same way they seem to treat their other customers...and we love that. Some of the dishes are etherial to us...certainly not all..but we find it a very, very special place for us. We have eaten in most of the other "top" NYC restaurants, and feel that Per Se is miles ahead in food, service, attitude and general treatment....just 2 peoples' opinion....

What concerns me the most, is not that they seem to be out of specials or out of desserts or have broken equipment...but a really poor attitude on the part of the management when told about the problems is what would prevent me from going there...clearly this patron was someone no one cared about...and that is NOT OK!!! ...Sorry

Thank you for sharing...your experience is just not excusable...Sadly, we usually go into NYC for dinner....and certainly for special dinners...we just have been disappointed too many times by poor food, poor service and inexcusably high prices in New Jersey establishments...We live in Essex County and other than a few nice lunch places, no longer have any special places to go here...and I thank you for sharing because that is the ONLY way we can all learn ...Sadly....