tommy

sure it is. i would say that most restaurants serve wine by the glass from bottles that were open a day ago. as well they should. should the patron be responsible for corked wine? of course not. most reputable distributors and wine stores will reimburse a customer for a corked bottle. my wine store does. as far as restaurants paying their bills, well, that's hardly news, as we all have bills to pay, and i don't see why i should be expected to throw them some extra cash just because the electric bill is due. a big concern that i've seen is offering wines that are readily available, but at 400% markups. offer something unique that i may not know about, or that i can't easily get, and i won't have too much of a problem paying that markup. charge me 10 dollars for a glass of Santa Margherita, and i'll be a little miffed.

did you not like the roll? i thought it was pretty decent for that burger.

and a lot of ducks too. i ordered these and there's a huge plate of tongues. that must have been a lot of ducks. very tasty, but the cartilage in the middle is surprising if you're not expecting it. the meat has to be stripped off with your teeth.

i've had to register with the state, but for different reasons.

It's 2,000 degrees outside, finals week, and I'm broke. I'd drink the shit out of some Sutter Home right now. drink the shit out of a rose from rhone instead.

don't worry. i still respect you. even though you like that horrible place. eh, truth be told, their "chicken carol" is a dish that i tried to emulate many many times when i first got into cooking. and, by god, it's a decent enough dish. stock, garlic, sundried tomato, basil. can't get hurt there, as it's a crowd-pleaser. and their pizza is pretty damned good as well.

can i be your client?

and if you don't break one like 99.9% of customers, well then it's a one time cost which is most likely made up for with 2 pours. this analysis is only helpful if we introduce breakage percentage into the discussion. are there numbers on that?

Helmer's is an institution. one of the few remaining old-school hoboken restaurants or bars. if the weather is mild enough, they open up the door and the outdoor seating (or indoor if you have a view of the sidewalk through the door) is quite fun. i'm not a big fan of this type of food, but i'd definitely characterize Helmer's as a good fun place.

just last week, i ran out of beer. *shutter* i had 2 bottles of home brew in the back for the last 5 years or so. i'd been saving them for some sort of special occasion, although one never came. since my friend was over, and he likes beer, i figured i'd crack them open. both were belgian style white beers, from 2 different batches. the first one was spot on. it held up all those years. the second one was a bit nasty however. it was fun finally opening them. now there's a little more room in the fridge.

lissome, i can't make friday or thursday in NJ.

rosie, do they have you standing on a milk crate? or do the camera men just keep panning up and down. lou is almost freakishly tall, and you, well, you're not, that's for sure.

Where? There are several branches of Pongsri Thai. bayard/baxter? johnjohn's initial question was whether or not this place was decent.

i think sonny is right. i recall asking cecil what they were made of and him saying "pork."

no can do. early drinks in NY on thursday was doable though.

when?

i find it curious that they base what to give you on how many times you've been there. is that to ensure no overlap? in other words, the 3rd visit is x, y, and z, and the 4th visit is always a, b, and c? this sounds exceedingly stupid. if they're making all of the dishes on any given night, why not just let people choose. and beyond that, why not just offer a regular menu. that arun boy he sure is wacky.

do they stilll (or did they ever) offer only a fixed menu? i was there a few years back, and thought it was very good (the animals made from carrots were particularly impressive). but mrs. tommy returned some time later and said that the place had taken a turn and the menu had changed to some sort of fixed deal (although it was a large group, so we never got clarification as to whether this was a new policy or special for that particular meal).

welcome to egullet alanz! and don't mind jason. he may take pictures of your food, but he'll never eat it.

i bet andrea never thought she'd have a website full of insane people challenging her to explain herself.

i can meet a bit earlier, if anyone is interested. are we definitely kicking off from lissome's?

mrs. tommy doesn't like "fruit with [her] food" either. baffling.

ah. that's refreshing indeed. i hope they spend a little time on the wine list. if it reads "merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chianti", i'll likely cry.

do we think the diner/italian restaurant is going to go over well?

yeah, i know. i was hoping those weren't briquets! clarify: the briquets you buy at the food store.