MinhD

Hi; I'm looking for a couple of suggestions for supper for the Paramus/Rochelle Park/Maywood area (+ or - about 5 miles). Open to any kind of food (mexican, american, asian, sushi, new-age, etc.), not really high-end, but certainly not chain restaurants either. Tried to do a search in previous posts, but don't know the area very well and was too lazy to look up suggestions in a map to determine if it was close or not. Thanks!

I would suspect Wine-Searcher.com, using whatever state you say you bought it in and hopefully they don't charge you the most expensive result. http://www.wine-searcher.com/

With free trade and all that good stuff, if the wine is made in California (Or anywhere in the states for that matter), we don't pay duty on it regardless of value right? Just tax?

Out of curiosity, which border location are you going through? I typically come through the montreal border, I declare how many bottles I have and not once have they asked more than that. Mind you I never go over the 1.5L or 2 750ml bottles per person limit, but they never actually ask what exactly did I buy or what it's worth.

Did you mean IN the US or FROM the US? I agree on the ridiculous price difference for a lot of wines in the states and they have quite a few things there that's really hard (read impossible) to find here (eg. Sea Smoke). I just came back from a NYC trip, made quite a few wine stops and brought back 8 bottles (we were 4 ppl), but would love to find out if there's a way to buy online or something from the states. Especially for those harder to find, trophy wines. Among other things, was able to grab 2 Sea Smoke Botellas, an 03 Opus One, an 03 Dominus and some 04 first growth 2nd house bottles. Even if I could find all of those here, I'd be paying a kidney for them.

Even for the Village Reserve? I think they're selling that around $25, that's pretty good for Pinot N.

Hey, does anyone know where I can find Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir (2004) in the Mississauga area?? Unfortunately the LCBO doesn't carry it (they will have the 05 vintage in November). I'm from out of town and hoping there's some small niche place that may have some since it is a Niagara based winery. http://www.leclosjordanne.com/en/vision/default.asp

Yes I'm driving and yes I did have an issue with brining wine (alcohol to be precise) on a plane as well. It was packed away in my suitcase, that I was checking in (not bringing on board with me) and I was told I still couldn't have any. What I don't get is when filling out the paperwork, they still ask how much alcohol you're bringing back with you... I mean, if I can't bring it on board or with my luggage, how the hell do they expect me to bring it???? But I digress... No I haven't tried BC wines, I drink quite a bit of local wine, but mostly from the Niagara region. I'm ashamed to say, but I'm kinda looking for trophy wines during this trip, stuff that I either can't find here or are considerably cheaper in the states. Opus One or Sea Smoke being high up on the list...

Thank-you! Sherry Lehmann, I think I will make a detour while on the island to check that out too, even if it's just for some window shopping/drooling. However, if they have some Sea Smoke...

I checked and the Wine Library is about 50km from where I will be staying, but since I do watch the "show" quite often, I may just might make the trip for the hell of it. Has anyone actually been to his store?? Good selection? Prices?? For those who like wine and don't know what I'm talking about... http://tv.winelibrary.com/ http://www.slate.com/id/2171517/fr/flyout

Since I'm from Canada, I plan on drinking some of it while on vacation and for the stuff that needs to be cellared for a few years, those I will bring back. We're 4 people, so I'm allowed 8 (750ml) bottles...

Hi; Not sure where the best fit for this question is, here or the drinks forum, but will try here first, moderator please bump me if inapropriate. I'll be going to NYC next week for a 1 week vacation, but will be staying on the NJ side, specifically at the Hilton Fort Lee (right beside the GW bridge). With that said, had two quick questions... first is where would the nearest and biggest wine store be (on the NJ side, not in manhattan)? I realize biggest doesn't mean best, but still looking for a very large store, hopefully with a huge selection where I can spend a few hours indulging. By nearest, I mean anything within 10 - 15 miles of the Hotel, the closer the better, but willing to drive for a really exceptional store. Second, and less important, any really good restaurants nearby? Again looking on the NJ side, I already know where I want to eat in Manhattan. Thanks in advance!!! http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/FTLF...Jersey/index.do

QPR?

Hi; Another "where to eat" question... I have searched the forums already and haven't found exactly what I'm looking for, so here goes: I'll be staying in downtown TO (3 minute walk to Eaton Center) and I'm looking for a decent, mid-range restaurant that's within walking distance or at most a very quick cab ride. By mid-range, I'm thinking something price wise like the Keg or Milestones, along those lines, but something not part of a franchise/chain. Open to any type of cuisine. Susur, Scaramouche and those guys are too high end for what I'm hoping for. Thanks in advance!

I'm thinking of going to one of his two restaurants, either his more upscale Susur restaurant or to Lee... Differentiator will probably be price, we'll be three going. Anybody know what a typical meal (with and without wine) costs at either of these places? We'll probably be taking the tasting menu wherever it's available. Thx!

Hi; It's been a while. but wanted to wait until I had a few updates before posting. Since my last update, went to New Mee Fung and to Stella. For Mee Fung, being Vietnamese, I was already very, VERY familiar with it, but decided to go back to get the latest view on the food and to look at it with a more critical eye. Overall, I'd have to agree that it's probably the *best* Vietnamese restaurant in Ottawa, although that's not saying much since there's not too much competition in this area for the title. (Pho restaurants not withstanding). ** Legal Disclaimer ** My mom would argue (and she does) that what Mee Fung serves up isn't *traditional* Vietnamese fare, but more of a Chinese influenced cuisine that's not truly representative of the food. ** End Disclaimer ** That said, the food is generally very good. The decor is pretty standard, definitely not pretentious by any means. The menu may seem daunting at first, but if you look carefully, (the appetizers aside); it's actually just 4 types of dishes with countless combinations of beef/pork/chicken and/or seafood. The four types are soups, a rice dish with any of the aforementioned meats, a *dry* rice noodle dish (by dry I mean no broth), again with any of the aforementioned meats and finally a rice paper dish, again with the various combinations on the meats/seafood. I have tried all the types of dishes and they’re all pretty good, can’t really go wrong with any of them. I’d probably suggest the dry rice noodle dish with chicken and/or spring rolls to someone unfamiliar with Asian cuisine. Where they really shine is in the appetizers, they’re all awesome and I have had entire meals with nothing but appetizers a few times. Last recommendation would be to avoid chicken in any soup… they don’t always give you the expected, but more expensive to them, breast cut and you sometimes get more questionable cuts – not a problem if you don’t mind chewy dark meat, but… On to Stella in the market. I went for lunch, as per the recommendation from this great <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060825.rmresto0828/BNStory/specialROBmagazine/">article</a>'>http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060825.rmresto0828/BNStory/specialROBmagazine/">article</a> (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060825.rmresto0828/BNStory/specialROBmagazine/), lunch being a good way to discover a new restaurant, the costs are lower, you get to taste the same food from the same kitchen as the evening service and you don’t *have* to order alcohol/wine. The ambience and décor of the restaurant is really nice, very slick, modern look you would expect for an “it” downtown restaurant. You can tell it was designed for and geared towards the relatively young, attractive crowd with a few dollars to spend. For the food itself, I think this restaurant is labelling itself as an upscale Italian restaurant serving “modern Italian food” (whatever that means) and as such, I wasn’t impressed with the food at all. We ordered a group seafood appetizer ($19), that was basically a double portion of fried calamari with 3 shrimps and a few deep fried clams thrown in. I had Bolognese pasta; the other people had a calamari salad and a grilled lemon something chicken. If someone would have served me this food in a run of the mill restaurant, not even an Italian restaurant, I would have said it’s ok, fine really. However, I’m of the opinion that I will rate and judge food based on what type of restaurant it is, so if you’re going to charge me $16 for spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, I kinda expect the pasta to be fresh and the sauce to be good – which wasn’t the case for either. At $18, I don’t expect an overcooked, under seasoned, half chicken sitting on two or three pieces of Italian broccoli. So all in all, I’d have to say I was disappointed by the experience and I think for roughly the same price, you can get much better fare in a number of restaurants in little Italy down on Preston (La Roma for example). It’s like Roger Ebert said about movies, if someone asks you if Robocop was good, the expectation is that you judge if it’s good compared to say a Terminator or Rambo movie, not with Citizen Kane or Forrest Gump. I will, for the sake of some objectivity, give it another shot down the road, but I won’t be holding my breath until then.

From the list, tried Genji last week-end and Ahora yesterday. Genji was great, they had unfortunately ran out of Uni , but the rest of the nigiri sushi I ordered was very good, presentation was so-so, could do without the plastic mock palm leaf separators, but the fish was fresh and the rice was good. The decor of the place was nice too. Ahora on the other hand... really wasn't too impressed with it. I like the hole in the wall atmosphere, even the self serve gimmick for placing your order was fun, but I found the food itself was very mediocre to my tastes. We were 5 and everyone ordered something different, so I was able to sample different dishes and still nothing stood out at all. Everyone else seems to like it and claim it to be "authentic" Mexican cuisine, so maybe I just don't like authentic Mexican food and prefer the bastardized north American stuff (excluding taco bell). No distinct flavors, everything was kind of a mush of cumin, some form of tortillas, salsa and sour cream. Next up... we're on the waiting list for Beckta and want to try Cafe Domus this week-end.

Yes the staff still do the singing thing, but it was very low key when I went, they might 'raise it up a notch' during busy evenings or week-ends, I don't know. In response to the previous poster, about the misguided perception by some people that Lick's has a decent burger, I can't speak for anyone else, but I get it from comments like the following: http://www.restaurantthing.com/ShowRestaurant.aspx?id=244 And I'm with you on the fast food thing, strictly speaking chain/ff joints, Harvey's beats Lick's for me so far.

Ate at Lick's (On Bank St.) this week-end, had their Homeburger and have to say that I'm rather disappointed, it was pretty dry, too peppery and overall not anything close to the *best* burger in town. Not even on par with Harveys to be honest. The shake was too watery as well. Maybe I ate on an *off* day, so I will give them another shot in a few weeks, but I also intend on trying The Works, the other burger joint that has a reputation for one of the best burgers in town. Until then though, I'd say that Le Twist (on Montcalm St.) over on the Hull side has the crown for best burger in the area. PS: As for the best milkshake, Elgin Street Diner, hands down.

Have any of you actually eaten at Genji? Thoughts, comments? Typically, I'd trust a good chef on his/her recommendations for other good eateries, but I read a few reviews online about Genji and they weren't exactly raving, a number of them seemed to have an issue with the fact that the owners weren't Japanese (i.e. Chinese).

Tony (Bourdain) was on Larry King Live last night, speaking about his trip to Lebanon, specially about Beirut. Unfortunately I only caught the last minute or two of it , but I think he was filming there for his No Reservations show when all hell broke loose. Anybody watch it, was the interview any good?

Saddly, Henry Burger is closed... Has been for almost a year now I think. The casino restaurant, the fancy one anyway, is Le Baccara. They also have a buffet restaurant, but I don't think that's the one she was referring to.

<begin rant> You know, even if you didn't intend to come across that way (as you actually mentioned in your interview)... for me, it still sounded exactly like the complaints of another navel gazing, overly proud "Montrealer" showing off how great Montreal is by criticizing another city. Don't get me wrong, I like Montreal (and its restaurants), but I find it odd how many of my friends and family from there have this obsession to tell all visitors how *great* their city is compared to every other city in Canada, not a problem in itself, but unfortunately it's oftentimes done by criticizing/ridiculing the other city, as if that somehow elevates your own. Maybe its part of a city training program or something... I love Ottawa, but I have no issue complimenting other cities and if I need to make a case for Ottawa, it will be on its own merits and not by pointing out or comparing what it does "better" then its neighbors. <end rant> That said, Ottawa is a relatively sleepy, civil servant city and I think comparing its fine dining options with Montreal/Toronto is a futile exercise. Not to say that there aren't great restaurants here, but there's just going to be a lot fewer options then in some other major cities. PS: Comparing Papagus with Milos is just wrong, different stratospheres wrong. Papagus is like a greek version of Kelsey's or Milestones and is definitely NOT fine dining. Your hotel staff were misinformed.

Hi; I listen to CBC Radio (Ottawa) on the drive in to work and earlier this week they had a Montreal restaurant critic on who pretty much blasted Ottawa for its lack of quality restaurants and food compared to Montreal. All this stemming from her poor experience at what I guess was Papagus (where she didn't actually even EAT the food ) and in the Byward Market on Canada Day, (not exactly the right day to be looking for fine dining without reservations). But I digress... As a follow-up to that piece, they had the chef from Beckta and Stella on the next day to respond to the criticisms... and at the end of their comments, the chef from Beckta listed off a few of their favorite restaurants in Ottawa, tried to remember them, but was driving, anybody have the complete list? The few I remember are: - Ginzu (Sushi on Slater, surprised he didn't pick Kinki...) - Ahora (Mexican on Dalhousie) - New Mee Fung (Vietnamese on booth) - Stella Astoria (Italian in the market)