tommy

sounds like you thought the food was too fancy, or "upper class". that hasn't been my experience, but, it's all subjective.

thanks josh. if anything i'm a guy who can appreciate good value proposition. i think it's the winner. looking forward to it, and chicago in general. who wouldn't?

k43, what's your baseline for good BBQ? i can understand and appreciate that you didn't think it was all that, but it would be helpful if you mentioned places that you actually like, or styles that you like, etc. as far as 2 guitars and deafening sound, when's the next show!

thanks Josh. i should have specified that a great wine list isn't really important. one guy doesn't drink wine really, and the other drinks what i tell him. also, don't want to break the bank. and if iirc, avec doesn't accept reservations, which drives me bonkers. i guess what i'm asking is if Quartino is at least pretty good and fun, then i think it's a fit, unless there's something about it that i'm not getting, which is entirely possible. i know, i know, i myself hate when people request this type of thing, so i know how annoying it can be.

when i was in town in january, i took a walk to freeze my ass off. during that walk, i walked by Quartino and it caught my eye. i liked the name, i admit, and the menu and concept seemed interesting to me. question: if i'm in town this summer with a few friends (just the "boys", as they say), and we're only planning one meal, would this be a good enough/fun enough place for 3 guys to drink some wine and nosh on some decent food? or am i clearly missing the point of the place and dismissing other options that might be much more interesting/better. for those who don't know, i'm from new york, if that's a consideration regarding my daily options at home. any help, as always, greatly appreciated!

the resignations are usually posted in the annoucements section and noted at the top of the main forums page. at least the last 3 or 4 resignations over the past few weeks have been. link

i think it's fair to say that without rosie, the NJ board would never have gotten as strong as it was, back when, for a time, it was without a doubt one of the most dynamic and interesting boards on egullet, and certainly the most interesting and information-filled NJ restaurant discussion forum on the internet. thanks, rosie.

OK. so, WTC prefers paint, menton likes painted stencil.

where did menton say that? where did he do that? "couldn't care a fiddlers **** " i like that. i'm not defending a person. i'm pointing out the importance of logic and reason when approaching discussions. please don't be pissed.

actually, if one assumes the food is very good and knows the pricepoint one can certainly conclude "the place doesn't look as nice as it should for the level of food and pricepoint." that, i believe, is what menton is saying. ← Since all our tastes are different we should not "assume the food to be very good." hank, i believe you are missing the point. menton said: menton here suggests that the food deserves better than the surroundings. (yes, i believe menton thought the food was pretty good. a point that has apparently been lost) menton went on to say: menton here suggests that the price-point isn't exactly low. i agree. he also qualifies his previous statement of why he expected a spiffier looking place. or at least one without huge black marks on the kitchen door. Mike said: and went on to say: i said: here i pointed out that menton doesn't have to have dinner here to have a valid opinion that the looks of the place don't match the level of food and price-point. you said: i think that's completely and utterly invalid in the context of this discussion, which happens to be focused on menton's thoughts on the level of food/price-point as they relate to the decor. menton *has* tried the food, *does* know the price-point, and has a valid opinion that the food/price-point doesn't match the surroundings.

actually, if one assumes the food is very good and knows the pricepoint one can certainly conclude "the place doesn't look as nice as it should for the level of food and pricepoint." that, i believe, is what menton is saying.

hi mike. the bread might very well be a preference issue: i just don't like that style. however, i will say that i'm of the opinion that bread should *not* be heated. bread should be served warm only if it's fresh coming out of the oven. any reheating generally does nothing but to force out moisture and make the bread stale. while most people think "oooohh, warm bread, good!". i think, "damn, warm bread, it was stale, or it's about to be stale." give me some (room temp) bread from balthazar or better yet, Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC, and i'm about as happy as i can be. a great bread product need to be served warm. again, maybe this is a just an individual preference. edited to add the i'm not the owner or chef, and if chef gary wants to serve warm bread then he by all means should!

coupla obvious points: menton doesn't need to eat the food or go for dinner to know what the pricepoint is. it's on the SOB website. it's been discussed here and elsewhere. while decor may not matter to some, it's naive to think that it's not a factor that is more often than not considered by customers. the door was dirty/scuffed/whatever. i noticed it. i'm sure others have. certainly not a "nit-pick". menton was not alone. . it's as simple as that. i'm sure mike will agree. the restaurant stikes me as being quite clean overall. the bread is simply not very good. it should be better. menton is an enormous pain in the butt. please continue.

ugh. no thanks. ← It depends on what kind of evening you're looking for. If you want to go around 6-6:30 you can relax downstairs and have a few cocktails before dinner. ← i hear ya. generally i don't enjoy cocktails before dinner. mabye a glass of white wine or sparkling wine, but much more and i start to lose interest in sitting down for dinner. what worries me about Sammy's is the uncertainty factor. generally speaking, i like to know when i'm going to be eating. i guess this relates to how i don't "stand in line for food." so yeah, for me, it's probably not something i'd try on a weekend night. maybe with the boys on a weekday night. maybe.

perhaps i've turned into an ignorant snob, but to my mind, dry-aging is an important part of a great steak. mr. cutlets, i've admired and respected you for some years now. and now i see that you're not a fan of dry-aging. i've never had the privilege of having steak from one of these small artisinal sources, but i'd have to ask: what makes it special? the texture? the beefiness? more kobe-like than Luger-like? surely not the minerally qualities, which is what i tend to look for in a steak. or maybe? althoughhhhh...the finest steak of my life was in Florence. i'm not sure if they tend to dry-age or not, but i do know that it might be a different cow than i'm used to. if someone could confirm that my steak in Florence wasn't aged, i'd be more than willing to accept that non-dry-aged steak can, in fact, blow me away, because of the animal and they way they raise them. that particular steak made my eyes roll into the back of my head. i don't recall *any* food doing that, ever.

the existence of a "kick plate" doesn't necessarily mean that people will be "kicking" the door. i have a kick plate on the front door of my house. to date, no one has kicked my door. though many have probably considered it. mike, pick up some stencils and stuff too.

to wallpaper is a purely personal choice. personally i don't like wallpaper. i think it's tacky. i never noticed anything wrong with the paint or spackle job at SOB. it seemed reasonable to me. the dirty door, however, jumped out at me when i was in there last week. without a doubt. it's probably one of those things that you don't notice if you're there all the time (you know how when you go to someone's house, you notice all of the pictures are crooked, but you don't notice that your own are crooked?). i'm sure there are a bunch of options that restaurant people know of, but i'm wondering if a plexi-glass on the bottom half of the door solution is the way to go.

we are of, and for, the people.

ugh. no thanks.

i'm a funny guy. i was wondering if they take reservations. i was considering this saturday night as well.

here pete.

from sammy's website: well i'd certainly hope they were just plucked from the water!

"pittsburgh", "black and blue". charred on the outside, cold in the middle. i question if most places can even do this correctly. especially a chain like Ruth's Chris, which most likely has a staff that follows strict guidelines as to how to cook beef so that there's little to no variation from restaurant to restaurant (and most certainly from cook to cook). if you put the steak in the broiler at 1400 degrees when you're making a run-of-the-mill rare steak, where do you put it when you want to cook it rare, but with extra char on the oustide? perhaps they use a steak right out of the fridge, so they're starting off with a steak that's colder in the middle than usual. that would be my approach at home at least. my guess is that most of the time people are getting a regular old "rare" steak when they order black and blue (or "medium" in maui420's case). if someone has worked at one of these places, i'd be curious as to how they actually approach a special order like this.

Randi, definitely go with this one: or, the second one you posted.

There certainly was iceberg.. I believe Romane as well.. ← agreed: there's iceberg in the salad. however, it's not an "iceberg salad", where "iceberg" is used as a perjorative. just pointing out facts for those who try to ignore them. and by extension, sucking all the fun out of the negativity. it's my job.