tommy

well they're up and running for sure. lots of new pics on the walls of extreme close-ups of the dogs. a nice touch. kinda gets you all excited. the tip dog jar thingie survived the fire. it manages to suck a buck out of me every time i'm in front of it. a brilliant move, having a tip jar that makes you smile. one good thing about going to AHD on thursday night is that the Verona Inn across the street has dollar (as in, 1 dollar) domestic bottles from 8-10. it's criminal. even more criminal is the parade of extremely attractive college-aged women who waltz in right around 10 pm, as old guys like me are heading out for bed. a crime i tell you. congrats guys. i'm looking forward to the second (and third and fourth and fifth) locations. just make sure they're near colleges and dive bars. thanks.

while i'm on the subject, i'll just throw out the fact that Riingo (NYC) had a kaffir lime mojito a while back. i'm sure they didn't invent it, but, i'm all for kaffir lime. it worked well, other than the fact that kaffir lime is a bit tough and choke inducing if not minced enough. and since i have a kaffir lime plant, i might as well run with it...unless there are any objections.

excellent ideas guys. i'm off and running and i'll report back on the muddled results. katie, i checked my calendar and tomorrow's friday. what's your schedule looking like in about 16 hours from now?

it's not a matter of location, but rather you both have very good taste and are willing to take a 20 minute drive to sate it. you've both saved me a lot of typing. as far as turvino's goes though, i can't recommend a special trip. if you do, ask for thin crust. otherwise it's nellies, kinchleys, brooklyn's, aldo's, or maybe mangia trattoria next to Bottle King/Kosher Nosh/Turvino's in Glen Rock. i find that i can do the "brick oven" neapolitan style at home better than most can, but, for bar pie-style, it's kinchley's and nellies all the way. speaking of north jersey hot dogs, go to Johnnie and Hanges up 208 in Fair Lawn and get two "all the way." it's like nothing in NYC. except for maybe Crif Dogs, but they're just riffing on NJ dogs anywhos. speaking of pork, the Pork Store in fair lawn is tops. don't even think about not going there at least once.

katie, i know it's probably not the correct forum, but while i have your attention: any thoughts on making mojitos in bulk? or at least preparing them, for the most part, ahead of time for backyard party guests to finish for themselves? my concern is the sugar component, which i think will attract ants and/or flies. and i sure don't want to have guests muddling if at all possible.

it's open. i believe it changed hands a while back, but it is not closed. i don't think kailish is exceptional in any way, and i'd hesitate sending someone there, especially if they have to pass wondee's and tandoori chef on the way. ← I would check and make sure on the cheese shop. ← you should check and make sure on the Cheese Shop before you post that they are closed. i mention wondee's because you mention that kailish also serves thai food. i wouldn't go to kailish for either thai or indian over wondee's and Tandoori Chef. that's all i'm saying. my last meal at Kailish, in fact, was just horrible. perhaps they're not consistent. i have noticed a decline over the years. perhaps in a way of clarification: i see an opportunity here. i see the purpose of this thread to clue a former NY'er in on the best that bergen county has to offer. our world class stuff, which, i think, we have. not to act as the yellow pages. maybe there's a fundamental difference in the way i view a thread like this and the way others do. that's fair enough.

it's open. i believe it changed hands a while back, but it is not closed. i don't think kailish is exceptional in any way, and i'd hesitate sending someone there, especially if they have to pass wondee's and tandoori chef on the way.

Fairway in Fort Lee is not related to Fairway in NYC. for cheese, the best that Bergen County has to offer is at the Cheese Shop in Ridgewood. well worth the drive from Teaneck. for specialty items you might try the International Food Warehouse on rt 17 in or near Maywood.

confirmed: talked out of my ass. roxanne's may, however, be owned by the same people/person who owns Varka in Ramsey. Varka, is very good.

they show the bill, the tip, and the tax. the tip is always 15% of the bill. that's where i get my math from. give me an example (or better yet, all of the examples that you claim exist) where this is not the case. the sales tax is a red herring. they come up with 15% of the pre-tax bill. i can assure you that no one (other than the producers who make sure it's 15%) is doing the math. that includes her detractors and all of those "lemmings" you think are doing exactly what Rachel does on her TV show. show me a person that is computing the math of those checks/totals for the 4 seconds they're on the screen and i'll show you a person who knows how to calculate 15%. given that, the rest of your post loses meaning, from what i could gather from it. edited because my math is better than my spelling.

the don't have strip, which is my preference after porterhouse for 2, one old fella is a completely clueless and useless server, and the prices are right up there with luger's, wolfgang's, and ben and jack's, but without the quality to my mind. i've cooled off on the place. if i couldn't go to NYC for steak, i'd probably go here. but given the options, i can't see myself returning very often.

firstly, i would love to see evidence that she has ever "tipped" (errr, it's not really a tip, folks, it's a TV show) anything less than 15%. i'm pretty good at math, and i see 15% across the board. how often do her detractors watch her show to begin with to even do the analysis? there's a thought out there: RR's detractors are more obsessed with her and watch her more than her fans do. and she thanks you. secondly, do you really think the servers are servicing her table like any other table during their shift ("hi, may i take your order." "here's your food." "can i get you more coffee?")? of course not. they're likely not even working that day. they have the day off, or a few hours off, and get to be on TV. anyone who thinks otherwise clearly does not understand how a TV show is shot. and how dare you suggest that you know how she treats servers. you simply have no idea. unless, of course, you're following her around. which i wouldn't put past some of her detractors.

yeah, great, thanks curlz. i'll drive up and down Bergenline ave in north effing bergen looking for sugar cane. you're talking to a guy who just got his shaving cream shipment from Amazon.com. between the cross bronx expressway, north bergen, and mail order, you can probably guess which i'm going to opt for. (in fact, i thought the box was the sugar cane and i got all excited, but i just opened it and it's shaving cream. normally i'm very excited to get shaving cream in the mail, but today, with visions of mojitos dancing through my head, not so much)

nope. different wine list though, with the midtown location's being a bit more robust, iirc. edited to add, and i see that sneakeater agrees, i prefer the lex outpost for some reason.

agreed. Aldo's has artichokes as well, which is a big plus in my book.

thanks all. looks like mail order is the way to go. i'll also keep an eye out at local supermarkets. i had no idea they'd carry this stuff.

this summer is the summer of the mojito. it's official because i said it. so, i'll be looking for pieces of sugar cane which can be used as the swizzle stick, just like they do at Havana in midtown NY. any thoughts on where to find this stuff? if it grew like mint i'd be in business.

roxanne's has a brick-style oven, fired with gas. thin-ish crust. their pizzas are ok, but not as interesting as Brooklyn's Pizza, in ridgewood and hackesack (and edgewater). i think they're somehow related to the Mason Jar, but i could be talking out of my ass. i seem to recall that they're related to *some* local restaurant. might not be the Mason Jar, though. although it should be, because they are very similar. they get a good bar crowd, they're family-friendly, and the servers are generally pleasant. overall a decent local place, but not a destination in my opinion.

i'm not sure how i put this in the wine forum, but the question would no doubt be better served in the NJ forum. perhaps someone who does stuff like that could punch a few keys and make that happen. although i'll check out jollibee and if they have them then it won't matter where this post is.

this summer is the summer of the mojito. it's official because i said it. so, i'll be looking for pieces of sugar cane which can be used as the swizzle stick, just like they do at Havana in midtown NY. any thoughts on where to find this stuff? if it grew like mint i'd be in business.

that's not the point always, rooftop. the point is oftentimes to leverage the heat that your weber can produce, as it's at least 50 degrees higher than the average oven. a pizza stone gets that much hotter on the grill. you can have all burners blazing, and come close to 600/625 degrees. conversely, when you put dough right on the grates, you'd better have the heat lower, or else it will burn before the toppings "cook".

indeed a good sommelier loves a challenge, and loves to open peoples' minds. even wine novices who aren't sure what they like or don't most often want something interesting. if they didn't, well, they ain't asking for the sommelier to begin with. however, a key component to that process is communication. both ways. when it fails in either direction, you're almost guaranteed a less-than-stellar experience. perhaps i'm just really gifted, or really lucky, or maybe i just don't understand the process that i've experienced, but my experiences with good wine waiters have almost always been positive, and my approach is to explain my "taste" to the best of my ability. after all, how can a sommelier get me out of my "comfort zone" if he or she doesn't know what that zone is to begin with? as an illustration of being swayed: at a recent dinner i asked a sommelier about a particular wine that i was interested in, and had some experience with. not remembering the details of the wine, and not having had it for about 8 months, i asked if it would appropriately follow the previous 2 bottles we had had during dinner. i was pretty sure it would, but, he gently recommended something completely different from a completely different part of italy from a different grape, and i ran with it. i was thrilled. he was confident i'd like it. and i trusted him. his confidence and my trust didn't come from years of knowing each other, or some superficial dance involving wine terms like "terrior", but rather 2 or 3 brief exchanges. as far as guaranteeing you'll be "happier with a wine", well, that's imply a matter of personal preference and taste. there aren't any guarantees. for me, when i look back on a meal with wines chosen by a wine waiter, i look back and remember how happy i was with the overall experience, moreso than the wines in particular. then again, per se doesn't offer wine pairings by the glass/course.

fuck yeah. it's on!

that's interesting. when i'm in your position and someone says "i don't like oak", i come up with something and say "perhaps you'll give me the opportunity to change your mind? here, try this". "ah huh" and "????", i dunno. they just don't seem appropriate in the wine world. but maybe this is all for a different thread.

I couldn't agre more. I am puzzled by the lack of comments regarding the food people have had there... ← i've not done a strict analysis, but i do get the impression that the number of meals eaten there is relatively small compared to the number of posts on this thread. if memory serves, there're maybe 5 or 7 people altogether who have eaten there? but yes, people seem to tend to get excited over the spectacle of the place, rather than getting excited enough to actually go and discuss the experience. i don't think that says anything about the restaurant really, but rather, about people.