tommy

that'd likely be =Mark.

15% across the board. regardless of service, apparently. although, it's just a TV show and i have no idea how generous she is in real life. nor do most people.

does anyone know if the midland park location will be receiving the upgrade and these goodies? that's where i live and shop, and it seems to be a big enough store to merit the new stuff.

the fish counter at King's in Ridgewood literally makes me gag when i walk by it. still. it smells of bleach or rotting fish, or both, depending on the day. i had a chat with a checkout person the other day. she said they've seen an increase in business since their new promotion and lower prices. she didn't seem aware that they had a better selection of "gourmet" type foods, but apparently was getting feedback on the lower prices. methinks people like lower prices better than a wide variety of cheeses. King's is my go-to place most of the time for run-of-the-mill items, as it's convenient. i guess i'll spend some extra time in there to see what's what these days. they still have that "french ham" (from canada) which is about 10 steps above thumann's, so that'll keep me going back regardless of other factors.

i don't allow 19 year old kids to push anything on me. chains can be expensive for reasons no more complicated or diabolical than that they simply are not inexpensive, especially relative to mom-and-pop places.

I don't agree at all, I am neither of these and have not been to any of these chains in years. I think that the idea that they are "cheap" is a perception, not a reality. agreed. you could go broke eating at chain restaurants, and you wouldn't be eating very well in the process. i don't normally eat at chains, and i don't care if anyone else does.

zarole, i thought i heard, is moving. but yes, it's not there at this point. you might consider Dim Sum Dynasty in ridgewood. stick to the seafood and dim sum (and vegetables). some thoughts and pics here. or why don't you shoot down to China 46 in Ridgefield, which rivals any Shanghai restaurant in manhattan. there are extensive threads on both places for your reference.

since you didn't read it, this comment by one person might sum it up: apparently the author "exposed the intrusive tyranny of the restaurant business."

You just described most grocery stores, they only have the few things on their weekly fliers on sale. And you have to be careful of those 10 for $$ promotions, they can be more expensive. My local upscale market is thriving for a reason, personal customer service. I don't shop there to impress myself, I shop there because they have things Albertsons doesn't and will not have. Where a person choses to spend their food dollars is not an indicator of them having half a brain, it is them exercising their choice in a competitive free market society. ← I agree - and I don't think the store you shop in defines you as a person. ← nor does the type of car you drive, your choice of sport, or the restaurants you frequent. i'm amazed such a sentiment would be expressed here.

seems to me that using the term "philly cheesesteak" is a perfect way of communicating to the customer exactly what the product is. ← In theory, yes. In practice, it has usually been the case that those places that serve sandwiches that are called "Philly cheesesteaks" produce pale imitations of the genuine article. Judging from the photo in post 1, this place in Hoboken is an exception to the rule. ← no doubt most places suck. however, dismissing a place because it calls its philly-style cheesesteak a "philly cheesesteak" seems like a reaction to a generalization. from a restaurant owner's perspective, i'd say that "philly cheesesteak" is the smartest name for the product. ← yes you're right. ← yes i'm aware of that.

e coli and death are no laughing matters. however, cnn.com's current headline on the subject is: "Toss that salad: E. coli outbreak linked to spinach"

you see, *that's* the way to complain (and a real actual valid complaint by any barometer) and be funny and clever about it. Nora should pay attention to Mimi I'd say. Nora's piece read like the very unfunny chain emails that i get, usually sent by unfunny friends or associates.

because there's nothing there that i want. actually, i'm all about prepared foods with good, wholesome, honest ingredients. like pasta sauces and soups. maybe i'll do a comparison including TJ on items like that. now leave me alone...i've got some shopping to do.

i say "EVOO" *all* the time because it's an effective and efficient way of communicating. i've noticed that a lot of people in this world aren't all that concerned with communication, though, so I understand their angst. and i ignore them and their angst, for the most part.

interesting article, Deldino, and thanks for that link! i see they took my advice...months before i offered it. their 365 brand may be a bargain (i dont' usually buy that stuff, just because i don't and for no other reason), but shopping for your groceries, on a whole, at WF is more expensive for me than shopping at Stop and Shop. if only because i'm buying Prime dry-aged beef (for example) at WF, and Stop and Shop doesn't generally carry the same quality, and other items that may come with a premium at WF. but, this thread has given me a great idea for my blog, which is to shop for near-identical items, as they relate to how *I* eat, for a week or two at WF and S&S, and see how the prices (and quality) stack up. could be a good learning experience in economics for me.

i'm shocked to learn that items like muir glen and whatnot are actually less expensive at Whole Foods. if that's the case, WF might consider some new marketing pointing out that they're not the most expensive guy on the block. because i know lots of people assume they are. hell even i do and i shop there and elsewhere.

i gotta say, in my experience, WF, in general, is more expensive than the other (all others, in fact) supermarkets in the area. i don't think menton is off-base with that suggestion, and i certainly don't think he's off-base in questioning why some people tend to speak about WF and TJ in the same breath. i shop at WF as often as i can stand the crowds in the parking lot, and don't care about TJ. so for me, i question why people make the connection as well. i also have many friends who won't normally go to WF due to the prices. i suppose you can find some "deals" there (i can't think of any), but it's probably hardly worth the cost of the gas to go there for a deal, and then elsewhere for the rest of your shopping needs if, as menton states, price is a consideration. i would think that the price generalization is based on reality (though I've never done a strict price comparison of WF vs other supermarkets), and that reality keeps people from shopping at WF. that's my experience, and i suspect many many others share that experience. menton may be abrasive , but he's not always wrong.

i wouldnt eat raw *anything* if you have a compromised immune system or are very old or very young. however, raw shrimp is pretty standard at japanese restaurants. i've had raw lobster at upscale restaurants. i've gotten sick from cooked mussels. caveat emptor.

i can't imagine they care where the noisy drunks live. worse than a foie gras ban though, definitely.

although i'm sure you're more than capable of handling your own wine (at a BYO), i can't help but think that going to a non-BYO restaurant, where they have good wine service/handling and passable stemware (and plenty of it) would serve you better than a BYO. that said, i'd go with the River Palm, as cook456 suggested, or maybe even Morton's in Riverside square. i don't find eithers steaks up to the level of a luger's or some of my other favorites, but i can't help but think thye'd be places where you could focus on the wine and your friends. the ordering, after all, is generally pretty straight forward at steakhouses.

viejo, what's the story on Zarole? would you consider a non-BYO with a corkage fee?

http://balocco.com/ let's hope it's not done yet, and that's the reason they haven't submitted it to search engines. they make it sound like Lupa or Otto on that website. i'm guessing it's not, though.

i have to wonder about a restaurant that thinks it doesn't need a (google-able) web presence.

because that's nature's will. humans, however, use their superior intellect and science (hell, we practically make new types of animals that would have never existed otherwise) to create (bring to life) animals with the sole intention of making them live in an unnatural environment so we can kill them shortly after. i think there's a clear difference there, but i guess the point could be argued either way. now, if the lions in the wild were forcing gazelles to breed, and then locking them in boxes, and then letting them out to try to run so they could pounce on them and rip them limb from limb while alive, well then i think we need to get a camera crew together, because that'd be one helluva National Geographic special.

"we" should? honestly most people don't care. that's just the reality. i have to ask: do you eat chicken at restaurants? if so, do you make sure they come from a farm that raises them humanely, by your standards? your points are well taken, but probably not specific to a discussion on foie gras, but rather more general and germane to a discussion on factory farmed food. foie gras is just the tip of the iceberg, as you well know, if one is concerned about the treatment of the animals that so many of us eat every day, several times a day. for my part, i do try to buy hormone-free animals that have lived what i can only assume is a decent enough life (from my non-chicken perspective), from local farms like Goffle Poultry in Hawthorne. I buy my turkeys there for thanksgiving as well, as i think they're tasty and fresh. Just bought a pig from a farm down in central jersey last weekend as well. Got to pick it out and wait until they killed, shaved, and gutted it, i assume in that order (more humanely than factory farmed, i'm told). Tasty business, that. Most notable to me, was the treatment of that animal when we brought it to the party. A small child was very curious, and poked it with a "light saber" toy as we were chopping it up. The guy who basically orchestrated the whole gig reacted with a heartfelt "HEY, you have to *respect* the pig." After all, it died so we could eat. The kid's reaction was priceless, though: "But you're CUTTING IT UP!". I think most people think the way this 5 year old felt. Probably unfortunate. But reality.