tommy

i'm guessing the answer is "yes", if he says: 1)Rib eye is just a disgraceful, scrappy, chewy, over-rated meat. and 2) all the top restaurants should serve fillet steak because it is the king of meat and no other cut can get close to toppling its crown. i somehow doubt that Boulud says either.

i wonder what percentage of TVFN is unwatchable? i then wonder what percentage of NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, HGTV, COMEDY, etc, is unwatchable. i wonder if they're about the same.

but stereotypes aren't funny.

you guys are too smart for me. i didn't realize "white coat" was turley. but still, rosie, you're wacky.

either that, or everyone re-types what they said over there for your benefit. conversely, you can change the default for "posts per page" on your control panel and probably get it down to 3 pages. if that makes you feel any better.

given cynthia's deft hand with desserts, this may be the one time i actually consider some sort of appropriate pairing with dessert (i usually don't even bother *eating* dessert). i might be able to dig up a white port, just for fun.

if it's not the same "rib eye" that i know, then i take back my one pithy comment. although, the guy has got to know that claiming that tenderloin is the end-all will certainly get people talking. oh, wait, i think i got it now. (personally, i think filet mignon - is that what he means by "fillet"? - has a rightful place in my diet, right next to all of the other parts of the cow)

on the way out, they hand the ladies a few white flowers (not sure of what kind) in one of those self-contained water-filled test tube looking things. i got to give the coat check girl a dollar, and the valet guy 2. i would have preferred the flowers.

white turley? you worry me sometimes rosie.

ah. i thought the prices were on the website, but they're not. my dinner of 2 apps 2 entrees 2 glasses of prosecco and a reasonbly priced bottle of wine was about 150 before tip. i think the steaks were the most expensive things on the menu. the pastas are less than 20 iirc. bottom line: it's not cheap. it's pretty clear this place is burning through money. i wonder how long the "flowers for the ladies" routine upon exit will last.

i don't think so. he brought a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc ice wine. you brought a new zealand sauvignon blanc, which tastes exactly like cloudy bay's (new zealand) sauvignon blanc. and it's nice and 'spensive, so let's get him to bring it. ant, surprise us.

the shrimp cocktail has always been good. it's friday night, so i'd make a reservation. otherwise you'll most likely have to wait for quite a while. although the bar is a nice place to wait. don't forget the valet parking. it's almost worth going there just for the satisfaction of not having to find a spot in hoboken.

i usually get one sip from a bottle. so plan accordingly. rosie, why no cloudy bay? you no like?

you could always add that to the Mignon thread.

and rlibkind puts it back into perspective. thank you.

they're opening another one as well. i forget where, but i think it's somewhere in NYC. i can't compare the two, although i've heard they're essentially the same food-wise.

that is simply not possible. i didn't realize Hunan Cottage had those suckers. i'll get back there just to try them.

We decided to stop in to check out this place on the way to La Cambusa in Fairlawn, which we figured would all turn into a trip to China 46 anyway. Well, we were wrong. The second I walked into Chakra I knew I was going to like the place. We were greeted by two friendly hostesses, and walked to the bar, as we stated that we were just going to have a drink. The place is enormous. It’s like an airplane hangar. There are candles all over the place, and the theme is definitely “asian”. It reminded us of Tao in NYC, but without the 50 foot Buddha. They have a bunch of those fancy-type drinks at the bar, all for about 11 bucks. By “fancy-type”, I mean a bunch of martinis, and things of that nature. There seemed to be about 3 beers on tap, and I’m sure more in bottles. The wines by the glass were decent enough. probably about 10 in total. I overheard the bartender say that they have dom perignon by the glass. Something tells me he was wrong. After looking over the menu, I knew I wanted to eat there. It read well, and it’s the type of thing that I like. Overview of dishes: An amuse was brought out soon after we were seated (or perhaps after we ordered). It was a small bit of goat cheese, fried, and served with a drizzle of a “shallot reduction”. I would have fully expected a sweet port type of reduction, but this reduction wasn’t sweet. In fact, it was more beefy than anything. Quite a nice change of pace from the expected. Chakra green salad with soy/miso dressing This salad was a bit sweet, or so thought mrs. Tommy. I thought it was just right. I will say that I like my dressing a bit more acidic. Nothing exceptional, but it’s only a salad. Grilled baby octopus Served with oven dried tomatoes, smoked onion, over greens. The octopus cut like butter. It was the most tender octopus I’ve ever had. I was really blown away by it. the oven roasted tomatoes were great. They had some char, and the sprigs of rosemary on top were all but a part of the tomato half. Loved it. the smoked onion blew me away. I’m by no means versed in the art of smoking. In fact, I don’t even like smoked foods very much. That said, my impression of this dish is probably naïve and ignorant. However, this onion was freaking incredible. I’ve never eaten something that had so much “smoke” to it. it was as if I was eating a forest fire (in a good way). Again, perhaps I’ll be told that this was clearly an inappropriate use of smoke, and that it should never be so overwhelming. Well I don’t care. This was a good onion. I’m not sure how it all fit together for this particular dish, but I ended up treating it as three different dishes. Filet Mignon with cumin, chanterelles, cippolinis, red wine reduction, and chimichurri. From a conceptual standpoint, this dish, as it reads on the menu, has no reason to exist. It makes little sense in my mind to pair cumin with a red wine reduction with chimichurri. I think the saving grace was the fact that the chimichurri was not like any chimichurri I’ve ever had. It was more of a chopped tomato and garlic condiment, served on the side. Bizarre. I didn’t “get it”. the filet, however, was cooked perfectly to m/r, and the cumin spicing was subtle. The meat seemed top-notch, and cut like butter. Dry aged New York Strip We were on a steak bender for some reason. This was odd, as the rest of the menu seemed really interesting. But, I left the house, after posting about bourdain’s old place Les Halles, and knew I wanted steak frites. This was the closest I could come to realizing that craving. The steak was cooked perfectly to m/r, and served with a tall cone of “haystack potatoes”, which are like potato sticks, and an herb salad. I love herb salads, so this was a nice addition. Generally speaking, I don’t order steak anywhere but a steakhouse. This exception worked out pretty well, though. The service was really friendly and relatively efficient considering this was the first week or so the place had been open. Even the runner was pleasant and eager to please. However, wine went unpoured during dinner. At that price-point, I hope they sort that out. Not that I mind pouring my own wine (in fact I prefer it, as I know how much I want in my glass), but I think the staff should be more proactive. A few random notes: The place is super dark. If you can’t see well, you won’t be reading the menu. I’m assuming they’re going for a younger, “hipper” crowd than the other upscale places in the area. I don’t expect to see much crossover btwn Chakra and the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn. now that i think about it, it was *too* dark. i like to see my food, as i find the visual aspect of dishes very exciting. it's almost a shame that you can't see the dishes, as the kitchen clearly puts some time into presentation. Valet parking annoys the shit out of me. However, I think that it’s a plus here, as the parking lot will surely fill up. We both got the feeling that this place was more about style than about substance. Time will tell. However, I’m guessing that it’ll soon be a shell of what it once was, or could have been, a victim of wanting to be hip rather than good. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

i refer to it as "super bud." if you like bud, you'll probably like this beer. if you hate bud, as i suspect most people here do, you'll probably hate this beer as well.

it's a cab ride from pretty much anywhere. but it's only 10 or 15 minutes tops i'd think.

i've always liked this place overall. i do, however, stay away from the pad thai, which tastes of sweet ketchup. the BYO aspect is key here, as most other thai restaurants, especially in midtown, seem to offer two types of wine: horrible and shitty.

this is my new favorite restaurant. had an excellent meal here tonite. the place shows a lot of promise. i just hope they head in the right direction. more to follow...

i ordered this dish the last time i was there. i'm not sure why i ordered it, but it's a fun dish. the sea legs were horrible, and i couldn't eat those scallop balls. if they took those two things out, it would be a super dish.

where do you see people comparing Thai Chef to chinese restaurants? also, if you take some time to read the NJ board, and even this thread, you'll see that China 46 is mentioned. China 46 is perhaps the best chinese restaurant in the state. there are a few other notable chinese restaurants that are mentioned here and there on the NJ board. there's a lot to dig into, but there are some good finds if you do.

i poked around there not too long ago looking for a thai restaurant. i don't know why, i just thought that the old rumors might be true. i do know that the Thai Chef people opened a japanese place in Riverside Square about a year ago, but that doesn't really help us. at the end of the day, while i have enjoyed Thai Chef for years now, if i go to Hackensack, i'll just go to wondees. unless they're closed, or if i'm craving that crab soup or grilled pork that Thai Chef does so damned well.