tommy

it's 139 at a Home Despot in NJ. it's a sunbeam. i looked on the sunbeam website, and they don't have any info on it. a google search turned up next to nothing as well.

Great deal, wasn't it? We got one too... i think i'll be picking one up today.

you should have come over to Tiereny's afterwards to shoot some pool with us.

well, i headed out to montclair to enjoy omakase last night. but i went to Aozara instead of Nouveau. i totally got confused and thought that there was but one new sushi place in montclair. our waitress set us straight. since there was no proper omakase, we decided to order a bunch of dishes on our own and share. and there are three pages of appetizers, 2 pages of entrees, and a page or 2 of salads from which to choose. dishes included: "new style sashimi" - striped bass, with a light soy dressing sprinkled with sesame seeds. right on the money. beef "sashimi" - seared tenderloin, served on a block of ice with seaweed, with a sweet and zippy dipping sauce. it doesn't sound all that exciting, but it was a very good dish. eel in pastry - this dish was lost on me. the eel was encased in puff pastry, but it just wasn't sweet enough, and a little too strong to compliment the pastry. foie gras - served with grilled pineapple, some greens, drizzled with a slightly sweet sauce. not the best foie gras i've had, but i'm all for any restaurant in NJ offering foie gras, so overall i was pleased. oxtail and monkfish with salsa - this was basically two dishes in one, described by the server as sort of a "surf and turf". fair enough. the small portion of oxtail was pretty damned good. the monkfish was a delight, served over a julienne of vegetables with basil oil if i'm not mistaken. quite good. the two meats were separated by a bit of mashed potato. spicy tuna handroll - their version doesn't have the texture that i look for. it was too finely chopped. i prefer chunks of tuna lightly dressed in spicy sauce. however, that's a personal preference. bluefin toro - super fatty. i've had toro before, but don't remember it being so tough to chew. yellowtail sushi - i didn't have it, but my friend said it was right on the money. i figured this would come out to about 120 or 130, so, i was pleased when the bill came in at 94 dollars. the room is clean and sleek. service was attentive and friendly. only 4 or 5 tables were filled on this tuesday night. parking sucks in montclair.

i stand corrected. i got this place mixed up with Nouveau Sushi. my bad.

i can't make sunday.

i can't imagine it's anything more than another chinese restaurant. hopefully i'm wrong.

now sam, you don't have to lie to make your point.

right. it's just finished at the store.

it's finished baked on premises.

but they do finish the bread (for the new sandwiches) in-house, yes?

i gotta ask: how so?

she doesn't know. she thinks. it's her opinion, which may very well be based on a lot of different things that she didn't go into in that interview or quote.

brain salad surgery was awesome heather. for shame.

the theme to the Price is Right at a less-than-decent restaurant in Venice not too long ago.

that is absolutely gorgeous. if i'm not mistaken, i can see ground rice. mmmmm.

you might want to consider that the most unique characteristic of spaghetti squash is the way you can shred it with a fork into spaghetti-shaped strands.

totally cool.

i don't think that would be a very good present. get something that will age well past 1 week. david bruce makes some nice pinots, at about 20 bucks a bottle or so, if you're looking for a red. as far as beaujolais nouveau goes, you might want to check out this and this.

it's cheaper than crème de cassis.

and if you don't want to go overboard with the citrusy grapefruity NZ SBs, don't be afraid to drink a SB from Bordeaux. the acidity is usually a little less bracing, but it has enough to compliment magno. in addition to Cloudy Bay, which imo is terribly overpriced, there are a bunch of other producers whose wines are readily available for 8-15 bukcs, such as Babich, Kim Crawford (a personal fav.), and villa maria, who has started using screw caps (thank you).

does cucina, in italian, not mean "kitchen"? or is that the literal translation rather than the commonly used meaning.

May I come, too? after reading your bio, i was going to personally invite you. although personal invitations aren't necessary. yes. in fact, you *have* to go.

seth, thanks for asking. i've been kinda side-tracked with the holidays and the upgrade here. rest assured, my memory is fading and my notes are becoming more and more oblique. so yeah, i'll be making more stuff up shortly.

i guess you've got it then.