sjmoss

The food seems just as good as when Doug was there and many of his creations remain. To be honest, my wife and I who also love Wasabi went there recently and decided that overall we like Sakana better. The only leg up that Wasabi has is the decor, however, Sakana is undergoing a big expansion so maybe that will help.

Eric - You must live in the Mahwah area since you like Sono and Nagoya. While not in NJ, the best sushi hands down in the area is just over the border is in Nanuet, NY (about 15 min. from Mahwah) and is called Sakana. Trust me and take the drive there and you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for the review, based on it I decided to get some takeout tonight. I got the garbage plate, some barbecue drumsticks, fried chicken and some sides. I have to say that the barbecue is very good. I agree with you that the meat is now seasoned, but for the ribs, it seemed a bit too much because they were a little too salty and peppery. Other than that they were pretty good. The pulled pork on the garbage plate was good, but it was a little too fatty. I picked out the meat pieces from the fat and they were very tasty. The sauasge on the garabge plate was great and the fried chicken was also excellent; the coating was perfectly seasoned and tasty and it was so moist. Now for the best part. I 100% agree with your assessment of the brisket; hands down the best I have ever had. It was moist and perfectly seasoned. As for sides, we tried the potato salad and baked beans which were both excellent, the mac and cheese was fair (not much flavor), but was made much better when I melted some cheddar cheese on it for the kids, they enjoyed it. The barbecue drumsticks were surprisingly great and my kids (as did I) absoluletely loved them as they were baked with the sauce right on them. By the way the sauce overall was also excellent and I got extra so I can enjoy more tomorrow. Overall, the best by far is the brisket, while the pulled pork would be great if it had less fat. The sausage and fried chicken were also top notch. The ribs were a little disappointing as I expected better. The sides were very good and with all this said, I will be back.

Sorry the link to the Bergen Record review did not work. Here is an excerpt of the review:

Somebody certainly disagrees with this thread: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...nFlZUVFeXkxNQ==

I agree about Continental. I just flew first class from San Francisco and I got a great lobster cocktail, tasty salad with fresh mozzarella, and an excellent combination of lobster and tilapia in a shellfish sauce with jasmine rice and asparagus. To top it off, I got an ice cream sundae with choice of toppings and an assortment of fresh hot bread. The meal itself was restaurant quality and I was quite pleased.

Maybe that is "how the kitchen works." But I never had that problem before (and I have eaten there 5 times). To me it is unacceptable to wait 45 minutes between courses on a tasting menu. When you pay big $ for a nice dinner, I expect good service, is that too much to ask for? If this is how his kitchen is supposed to work he will be losing a lot of customers.

That is correct, it is in Rutherford, I am sorry but I should have clarified which one.

I went there on Saturday night with my wife for our anniversary and I usually love the place. This time I was a bit disappointed. The food overall was very good except for my wife who had filet mignon for one of her courses and asked for it medium well (I know that is a sin, but it is how she likes it) and it was very rare. The problem was the service. We had 7:30 reservations and it was a 4 course tasting plus a dessert course. There was much too much time between courses and we did not get done until 10:45 and that was with rushing to get the check and running out of there. My wife asked the waiter for some tea and he said "sorry, I will take your drink order with the dessert order." He ran off not to be seen again for about 10 minutes. Why could he not just get her the tea before taking our desser order? The place is also VERY noisy, so it was hard to have a conversation. I am not sure that I would return. On the plus side, it is BYOB and they have a boutique wine shop in the front of the restaurant where you can buy some great wines. The individual in the store was great and helped pick out an amazing wine to complement our meal. Next time, I think I will venture into NYC for a special meal.

I have been to the one in Norwalk, CT and was not terribly impressed. It is a higher end store for sure, but with Market Basket not too far away, I would never choose Zeytinia over it. The one thing they will probably have more of is groceries. But for quality meat, fish and prepared foods, it will be the Market basket for me. Now if only we could get a Wegman in Bergen county I would be a happy camper.

Tommyeats provided a review from his visit - seems like a mixed bag: http://www.tommyeats.com/tommyeats/2007/04...s_steakhou.html

Sorry, I'm probably too late, but without a doubt Michael Jordan's Steakhouse.

Did you not send any of it back?? What day and hour did you eat there? Were they busy (you said service was good)? ← We ate there at 7:30 on Saturday night. We did not send anything back only because of my personal experience having worked in a kitchen. While I never did this, when I worked as a chef in several high class restaurants, I personally witnessed the head chef (or others) doing unsavory things to the food that customers sent back. I am not saying that all restaurants are like this, but I do not want to take a chance.

I went to Mohegan Sun with my wife for our 10th anniversary this past weekend. We had previously eaten at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse (I know a chain, but it is quite good) and have been very pleased. We decided try Tuscany by Todd English. We figured he is a famous chef so it must be good. Wow were we wrong. The service at the restaurant was fine, however, the food was downright awful. My wife ordered a trio of foie gras appetizer and I ordered the trio of tuna tartare. Her appetizer consisted of a tiny amount of foie gras (if it was a trio we were missing the other two pieces) and most of the plate filled with a mound of prosciutto and blue cheese (a very strange combination to go with foie gras if you ask me). It was not good. My tuna (which had a spicy tuna, tamarind, and "regular") was dry and tasteless. For entrees, my wife had halibut which was well overcooked. I ordered the lamb porterhouse, which sounded interesting. It was three small "porterhouses" of lamb that were so tough I could hardly cut into it. The sauce (a pancetta vinegarette) was good, but who cares if the meat is bad. We finished with banana and chocolate filled ravioli, which were too sweet and doughy (my wife loves bananas and chocolate and was sorely disappointed). Our total bill with 3 drinks was $150. I would have rather gambled that money away. Overall this place seemed liked a Macaroni Grill that tried to get fancy. My advice is to avoid it at all costs. Todd English should be ashamed of himself.