tommy

rachel, an opinion can't be a "mistake."

you may have an unhealthy preoccupation with the towns in NJ. Legal Seafoods is quite good for oysters and wine. for other recs and discussion, use the "search" function.

exit 165 is cloudy, but no rain yet.

i hope the weather holds out. it was nice earlier.

huh? why go to Saigon Republic or Saigon Grill when you can go to Nutley. what kind of question is that?

sausage sandwiches at Midway in seaside. CiCi's pizza in Point Pleasant, but the mob burned it down 20 years ago. ediot: i said the "mod" burned it down. freudian i suppose.

spam doesn't really taste all that much like pork roll. different texture. different flavor. different ingredients.

the thing is, in north america, if it spins clock-wise, the toilets don't flush. that's a problem. the one in Vegas (on the needle - i fergit the name) has a wonderful view of the city and desert, as opposed to dessert. didn't eat there, but by the time i left, the room was spinning.

looks more like a porno-pig to me. larb is good. larb is healthy. i suspect that one could lose lots of weight by eating only larb and sashimi.

some non-experts enjoy wine before and after dinner as well as during. again, i guess not at your home.

yeah bux, we less serious guys should reconsider and retool our approach. i don't understand why you can't see that this approach works fine for some and not for others. his audience, clearly, is those for whom it works. let's make a deal: when you invite me to your home, i won't bring any wine. when i invite you to my home, bring enough for everyone. thanks.

try this, this, and this.

right on brutha.

the NYT today has a bit on Grand Sichuan East. click. i go here quite often. however, i'm not convinced that i like it very much. or perhaps i don't like sichuan very much. the dishes i've ordered are typically loaded with sichuan peppercorns, and oftentimes the dishes are swimming in oil. i found it curious that asimov didn't think that the green tea squid worked. i've had this dish, and thought it was very interesting (the jelly in the middle is quite curious, but i think it works). the tea smoked duck, a big winner. the small but diverse wine list has an oregon pinot gris for about 24 bucks. sadly, i've never been to the "good" one, over on 9th.

i don't ever find a situation where "cheap wine" is a reasonable alternative to something good or at the very least decent. as they say, life's too short to drink cheap wine.

well i do pretty much what the author suggests, i have friends who find it wonderful, and no one has ever been hurt or felt steamrolled by my suggestion. i suppose it depends on the circles in which one socializes. aside from the "chipping-in" bit, the approach seems innocuous enough. edit: upon further review, i see that the "chipping-in" bit is referencing a higher-end pre-dinner tasting. clearly this is a step beyond "dinner with wine." the article is offering yet another way to make everyone's night more interesting. for shame.

Saigon Republic in Englewood also, although I hear that tommy is scared to go in there. i was making a point to say something nice about Nutley, not to garner recs for every other decent vietnamese restaurant in jersey and NY.

i think you might be making some assumptions and reading way too much into what i see as an innocent enough article, and an article that deals with a subject that even experts such as myself sometimes question.

JAZ, i didn't read it like that. i often "insist" to friends that i'll be doing something nice for them. people always say "oh, don't bring anything" when clearly the party will be better if i bring some well-thought-out selections. however, this obviously depends on what type of relationship one has with their friends. mine have no problems with me "insisting" and making sure that the argeement is made up front that they should not buy any jug wine for their parties.

ah. you're absolutely right. it would have been best to talk to the manager and demand that it be taken off the bill. otherwise, it's between the restaurant and the server, and you know who's going to win that argument.

well, you know, the host can just say "no thanks, i've got some ideas for the wine already." do you think it's wrong for the host to put the bottle (gift) away? i've found that if i want to make sure i'm drinking something i like, i bring it. 10 times out of 10 the bottles get opened and everyone's happy...and the host still has their gift. seems like a win-win.

how? the server was tipped the same regardless of if the dish was taken off of the bill.

you can't expect someone to open a gift that you're brought them. the author, i think, handles this very well.

Tommy, this tipped me off to its being an open discussion. Or did I misread? knock yourself out.

little saigon is the best vietnamese within 20 miles. that's a fact. the franklin steakhouse is a great fun place with great burgers. those 2 alone could set nutley apart. and with the other options, it's certainly a hidden little gem. although that defines nutley as a whole anyway. it truly is a hidden little gem. shhh. don't tell anyone. go nutley!!!!