tommy

chicken and eggs are probably right out, then. mass produced chickens live in deplorable conditions.

should the government ban veal, then? i'm for a ban on foie gras about as much as i'm for a ban on veal, chickens, beef, pigs, and just about every other animal raised for slaughter. it amazes me that people eat food without really giving much thought to the the animal's well-being during its life, yet they'll get all up in arms over foie gras. people, these cows and chickens aren't exactly running through the fields tripping over daisies. personally i don't eat veal very often out of some sort of silly principle, but i'd be a little afraid if the government decided that i can't eat or buy it.

geese can feel lulled into a sense of security?

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.

did this happen? am i thinking about the correct show? CBS Sunday Morning at 9 am? or some other sunday morning show. i'm thinking some other show, which means i didn't tivo it.

seems to me that using the term "philly cheesesteak" is a perfect way of communicating to the customer exactly what the product is.

Yep, assuming this Zabb is related to the Queens location, it's food from Isaan, the northeastern part of Thailand, famous for som tum, laab, and especially spicy grub. Same region as Lotus of Siam. Zabb even has a salad that's sort of similar to the one at Lotus with the puffed rice and pork skin. Man, that's good. If the Manhattan location is anything like the Queens one, avoid curries (even coconut milk-less ones) and stick with salads. Zabb Queens reviews: NY Times Village Voice ← i think most thai menus fall into the northeastern/isaan thai style. the larb, for example, is generally made in a bright style with lime juice and fish sauce. northern stye thai, which Lotus of Siam specializes in with its dedicated northern thai menu, is a different animal, with unique dishes that you don't find at most Isaan-style places. so yeah, i'm hoping they have some northern style dishes in addition to the isaan/northeastern style stuff. if pork skin is on the menu, i'm most definitely in.

does the queens location have a menu similar to most other thai restaurants? not sure what "northern thai" means, as people have different expecations. if it's "northern thai" like Lotus of Siam in Vegas, then I'm in.

i thought that the shrimp/chive dumplings and mushroom/corn dumplings were "wow"-worthy, and that the soup dumplings had a too rich and dark flavor profile for my taste, compared to the gold standard which, to mind my, is China 46 in NJ. CB certainly evokes differences of opinion. one thing i can say without uncertainty is that the bartenders have always been excellent. standouts, actually. if anything the place should win accolades for not hiring tossers.

Had a nice lunch at Harry Caray's. Thanks for the rec. wasn't blown away by the grass-fed strip, but the experience was enjoyable nonetheless.

per their website, there's 35 dollar valet parking available. where's Rich when you need 'em.

can someone explain the details? i'm a little confused as to how a furniture store that closed 2 years ago could force a restaurant to close.

Toby's Cup, of course. Miller's Tavern for a quick bar pie.

depending on the clients and the tone of the meeting, Front Street Smokehouse in Elizabeth could be a really interesting choice. http://www.frontstreetsmokehouse.com/ if you brought me there for lunch, i'd buy what you're selling.

hmm. compelling... i buy bottled water when, say, i'm walking through the city for a stroll. what would you suggest? stop at a restaurant and shove my face under their bathroom sink? i buy bottled water to keep in the car. what would you suggest? pull over looking for potable water? fill up a bunch of jugs at home and throw them in the trunk? i buy bottled water for large backyard parties. what would you suggest? filling up a bunch of empty milk jugs for my guests? "hey, the beer and wine are over here, and the water, well you can just drink it from the hose. it's tasty in this country." i buy bottled water for my office water cooler. what would you suggest? have them drink from the sink? i drink "free" water whenever possible. such as when i'm at home. i keep a filteration thing in the fridge. that's sweet. but you're probably right about my money/brians ratio. that's pretty sweet, too.

for the most part i've found TC's horrible. it's minutes from my house and i never consider it.

my mouth waters when i think about certain foods. it waters when i think about acidic foods or wines, specifically. it also waters when i'm drinking an acidic wine or eating acidic foods. it's also waters right before i puke, but i don't think that's the point that's trying to be conveyed when writers use that phrase. and it is, after all, all about effective communication, rather than using some sort of baseline vanilla language.

both are highly regarded and have shown up in the past in NJ Monthly. discussion on this website is certainly not the end-all and hardly a barometer of the dining habits of NJ diners. ← if both are so highly regarded why have neither been mentioned on this site for years ← because discussion on this site isn't the end-all and hardly a barometer of the dining habits of NJ diners.

you're confusing correlation with causation.

both are highly regarded and have shown up in the past in NJ Monthly. discussion on this website is certainly not the end-all and hardly a barometer of the dining habits of NJ diners.

We've had this argument before about the ability of the "chain" restaurant to put out a quality product. I believe that they, chains, offer excellent food in certain cases and think it is foolish to write off the Outback because no chef/owner is on sight. However, I understand and respect your opinion on the subject. i agree with dbroc on this. blanket statements regarding the quality of chain food are rarely accurate. and, like droc, i think the Outback actually has a decent (non-aged) piece of USDA Prime beef, expertly cooked (in my singular experience). Other chains (Palm, Morton's, Ruth's Chris, etc), do very reasonable job, although I'm not convinced they're serving USDA certified Prime, and I'm pretty sure they're not dry-aging their beef. Which reminds me of why I don't go to them. But they certainly do a decent enough job when compared to local places, including The Park.

they are clearly not "average diners." "average" being the key word here. if you're going to argue that the "average diner" doesn't have "average taste", you'd probably do well not to use the crowd at Luger as an example. i do agree with you: the customers of the Park are certainly above-average average diners. and i agree with Menton1 below: many people who go to Luger go for reasons other than their desire for dry-aged prime beef, purportedly the best available in the country.

I don't agree with this. I can't speak to this poll in particular but I do think that the average diner deserves more credit than you do. ← relative to steakhouses, do you think people (the "average", if you will) can tell the difference btwn Prime and Choice? dry-aged and wet-aged (hell, and not-aged)? they can't. i've never been so sure of something. i don't think this is debatable by virtue of the way it's framed.

it's a popularity contest. has little to do with quality or value. the steaks are dry-aged, which could very well be an indication that they're serving a subjectively better steak than other places serving Prime non-dry-aged beef. Dry-aging is also a costly process, which might very well bump the costs right up there with Prime non-dry-aged. They're also serving angus beef, which comes at somewhat of a premium. they're clearly not serving non-aged Choice beef. most people wouldn't know Prime if it bit them in the ass. the difference between a piece of low-grade Prime and high-grade Choice would probably be lost on just about everyone. Very few NJ steakhouses serve Prime beef, other than the chains. it's not shocking at all that people who participate in a local magazine's readers' poll would vote for a well-regarded local steakhouse over a national chain. on top of that, The Park almost always gets good reviews and press.

i've always found the Star's pizza to be greasier (and soggier in the middle) than Kinchley's, Town Pub, and Nellie's. Three places that make essentially the same style of pie. regardless of how much char the crust has, grease will make it soggy. so yes, you can have char like that, and soggy/non-crunchy pizza.