tommy

indeed. additionally, for me, i'm rarely home for dinner. if i am, i'm cooking, and not eating leftovers. i don't even eat my own leftovers. however, my mother-in-law eats leftovers of all sorts, so i take them home and have her pick them up. better than throwing it out.

is this really the norm? i guess it's better than one alternative: leaving hungry.

because you're british. having the greatest navy on the planet and ending up as a pawn for the US in only about 150 years should cause you even more, however.

no, not at all. very perceptive actually.

which restaurants "frown upon" doggy bags?

Why? because there are so many destitute people over there who don't care about food either way. they're just jealous. and smug.

I went to applebee's with my mom a few years ago. she got ribs, and asked for them nice and burnt. they came out not so burnt. the waitress was very apologetic, and offered to make more. we said it wasn't necessary. about 10 minutes later she came out with *2* orders of nicely charred ribs. we were like "that's completely unnecessary!" she said "what you don't eat you should take home for later." it was propably one of the only times in the last 10 years that i've actually taken food home and eaten it. +1 point for applebee's.

i don't often consider the price of dinner. i can't say that the place is outrageously priced, so i wasn't completely offended by the tab. however, i don't think they're firing on all cylinders. the food, i think, was pretty standard. as a comparison, one of my meal's at zarole in ridgewood was much better.

good question tommy - but i should add that i've probably never made a tomato sauce the same way twice! while it's always the same basic idea, there are always subtle differences to keep it interesting. off the top of my head, the only other sauce i frequently add red wine to would be a veal reduction (bordelaise). for this i would use a fairly assertive wine such as cabernet. you're going to need tannins to stand up to the strength of the reduced, concentrated veal base of the sauce. it's a totally different dynamic than tomato. good. so you agree with me. seriously, i don't like to recommend that people throw in whatever they have around. when i do recommend that, however, i always bring up the old cliche of "never cook with something you wouldn't drink." guidelines are always good. you'd be *shocked* at what some people have "lying around."

i wouldn't pour chardonnay on you if you were on fire. or maybe i would. oh hell, i don't even think there's a joke there, but i'm with you. oaked wines tend to turn dishes bitter in my experience.

matt, would you say this goes for all dishes? when braising meats, i've had better results with, say, a fruity zin than with a thin cotes du rhone. of this i'm sure. perhaps other factors came into play, but i won't use an inexpensive cotes du rhone for that application again. i subscribe to the theory of "whatever you start with, you'll end up with the same, but a bit magnified." or something like that. sugar, tannins, acidity, willl all come into play, and find their way into the dish. what i'm saying is i don't just throw any old wine into a dish, regardless of how long it might be on the heat.

whatever you're drinking with the dish? that's the old line. i use fruit foward and/or acidic wines when possible. but i'll defer to the experts...

Would you mind elaborating why you feel this way? walking away, i felt that i could have cooked everything that they did. and i pretty much have. service was pleasant, although there were numerous service faux pas. the staff, while obviously well trained in many areas, fell short in others (reaching over, serving from all angles, and i even got the ol' "who's having the..."). at this price point, it's simply unacceptable. also, our party of 3 was told on the phone that we had 2 hours. this, i think, is standard for the restaurant, and a bit too aggressive. our meal was paced rather quickly (although i ordered a soup as a first course, followed by 2 others. we did, however, have a very fast dessert, and were out in just over 2 hours). it's clubby/chummy there as well. i get the feeling they have lots of regulars. i have no problem with that, but there were too many air-kisses, and goddamnit they have no waiting area. methinks the well-healed in that area don't really know how to eat. 160 for 3 people before tip, one dessert, 2 coffees, BYO. the restroom, however, is very nice.

i use epicurious all the time as a recipe database and reference. it's basically the recipes that have appeared in the mags. some of which are good, and some of which are bad. it's interesting to search on something like "braised short ribs" and find out that they basically have 1 or 2 recipes a year, and they are often very different. i don't say this to imply that the content is bad, but rather to suggest that you'll get a lot of hits and you might end up having to come here to make heads or tails out of it all.

the buffet, at diwan, is quite good. hemant's tandoori chicken makes it out there. the other day, they had a chicken sate, with peanut sauce, and the chicken, of course, was absurdly moist and tender. absurd in a good way, of course. i think it's 12.95 or so. the place was mobbed. the service is fantastic. i just started going to bakura (sp?) grill (across the street), but after i rediscovered diwan, i don't think i'll return.

oh the brilliant La Carbonaia took over its spot. that part of bergen county, unfortunately, just as very little to offer. i went to cafe panache the other night, and realized that they are completely full of sh*t. that, i think, says something (to me) about the state of "french" or upscale dining in the area, as cafe panache is well-respected (and byo). i like the Chef's Table, which is in franklin lakes (i think?). the chef is claude, formerly of Claude's Ho-Ho-Kus in (which as you probably know is across the street from the old pour quoi pas? in claude's new family run restaurant, he has done away with the pretense, and got right down to basic french (if not bistro french) cooking. some hate the stripmall atmosphere, but i find it charming. and it's BYO.

oh dear, i never knew they had a forum! at any rate, that's why we're here.

jason is broke. steven is my backer.

and maggie, this is exactly the type of thing that makes egullet not only *the* best food discussion site on the net, but the best site period. i look forard to a report.

isn't that darned famous german place over in wayne? i forget the name. supposed to be fun though. i know, that was a useless post.

spiced rubbed poke chops roasted brussels sprouts/potatoes. salad with dressing of lemon juice, evoo, garlic, s/p. some cheap zin from california.

gee, i took everyone's opinion and put it all into one pot. blanched spouts (after removing outer leaves) with diced potatoes. EVOO/S/P, chopped red onion, garlic in skin, in 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes, tossing as needed. squeeze of lemon juice and served. right on. wow. it was nice to roast both the starch and the veggie in one pan. worked out great. thanks to all. this, of course, will now become a standard (i nevah cooked these little suckers before ) unintersting looking picture that doesn't do justice to the rubbed pork chop or the dish:

you people, all, are nuts. hi suvir! (suvir is viewing this thread). the oven is on. i have no idea what i'm going to do though.

i've heard some rumors that brussels sprouts are good when they're roasted. they, to me, are silly round things. do i just pour some EVOO and s/p on top, and let them ride at 400? do i split them in half? any secrets??? thanks.

NNOOOOOO!!!!! please don't travel from the UK to go to Ilo. Please!!!