tommy

stuff it with a sausage or a steak.

and more veggies and less chicken usually does the trick in this application.

a thai curry with coconut milk is easy and quite satisfying. and, of course, you could make chicken larb.

that's a pretty extreme generalization. and in my experience, not all that accurate.

in case anyone is wondering, marlene is staying in the Hilton on 42nd. room 1714. she's probably walking to amma, and will be carrying a wad of cash in the left inside pocket of her coat. you'll recognize her immediately as being the only woman on 42nd street with a paint splattered fur.

where's your hotel? (in the interest of giving advice on travel, rather that stalking)

i wonder if it's like the original in NYC. the original location is good and fun.

there's a Bella Italia in: ridgefield park Hawthorne orange and various "bella italia restaurant" locations.

Based on that philosophy, hereafter known as THE tommy PHILOSOPHY, he'll get around to eating at Fascino sometime in 2006 or so. LOL! i was going to say that myself. i'm all for trying most places when they first open in NJ, assuming it's not fine dining. so i don't know about my philosophy. but a place like fascino, for some reason, i'll give some time. i think places like that can only get better. and no, i won't be waiting til 2006. as far as waiting for reviews, i rarely do that. i mostly don't care what reviewers, especially in NJ, have to say. in fact, i'd rather not have their thoughts influence my experience. a good example is NY's Mix. i recently visited, had what i thought was an excellent meal, and came home to read a piece in Gourmet that ripped it apart. mrs. tommy commented that it was a good thing we didn't read that review before going, because we might not have gone, or at the very least, it would have tainted our experience. the only NJ reviewers i trust are me...and Rosie. and sometimes the perlows.

not sure about "baloney". the reality is that kinks often need to be ironed out.

Wait a year and they'll be out of business. Someone's gotta be the guinea pig early on. let nature take its course to weed out the crap. although, i'd dare say that a good amount of good places go out of business long before the crappy places do. i usually wait a few months. never right after a review, as restaurants tend to get hit hard (if it's a good review).

why rush into it? give it a year.

you might try the Brass Rail, on Washington st (the main drag) and 2nd. about 3 blocks from the PATH. they have a decent selection of wines by the glass. big bar, people watching as there are windows all around. website for a less refined and more meat-marketish atmosphere, do walk across the street from the PATH to Texas-Arizona. website it'll probably be pretty dead during the mid afternoon on sunday. actually, most places will probably be pretty dead during that time. if it was 80 degrees out and summer, however, everything would be jumping and the outside tables would be filled with people sipping margaritas and people-watching. next to texas-arizona is Oddfellow's, which has a coupla pool tables to pass the time. out of those three, if food is in the mix, i'd only eat at the Brass Rail. you could also get a bite at La Isla, which is a tiny, and well-regarded cuban place about 2 blocks from the path. it's on washington street just north of 1st i think (the numbered streets get higher as you get farther from the PATH). no drinks there, though. but then i'd be tempted to go the Brass Rail for a cocktail. la isla website

cancel the C46 dinner. and i'm never again going to that dump Zarole in Ridgewood either.

yup. and the reviewer seemed like he/she definitely had a stick up his/her ass. i'm assuming the meals for this review were probably way back in October or November. it's almost seems unfair to review a brand new restaurant when there's that much lag-time in publishing the review.

this month's Gourmet had a field day with Mix. the reviewer didn't think much of it overall.

yeah. you did, a few posts up.

in under 12 hours, this thread has gotten over 100 responses and over 1100 views. could be a record. steak.

right. surely there are many people who never realized that you could order a burger without the bun. smart and effective marketing indeed. we should also consider if they've offered different packaging that they may not have had for all of those years.

shhhhh. they'll turn on me if they find out what i *really* think about them.

honestly, i can't continue reading this thread if you're going to let facts, or a lack thereof, get in the way of discussion.

i have a tribe. everyone seems pretty cool and normal and like-minded. it's one of my most favorite places on the internet.

is it not gone?

the staff chuckled when you pointed out that the CD was skipping? sounds like a communication issue to me.

good question. has it opened yet? and are they booked solid? i'd like to know as well.