tommy

everyone should feel free to add their experiences.

Ok. I yield. I'll reserve comment until I try it. (Hole in the ground is a great system = luau) ← my work here is done.

Hope you're right. I'm skeptical. Same owners as Peter's Whale, which was very diner-like. But I guess the word "oysters" on their sign gave you pause. ← peter's whale was, at least at one time, related to peter's fish market in midland park, which was related to frank's fish market in glen rock (frank and peter were partners at one time, if my history's correct). since i respect both of these markets, i'm hoping that the new place will have some good fish. peter's whale, in that incarnation, just didn't serve the type of food i like, even though the fish may have been fresh-from-the-local-fish-market-fresh. i'm skeptical, but i'm going to do my best to make this place good. and i have to admit, the new sign is very sexy.

i agree. i got lost the after reading your first post hours ago.

the saddle river inn is a non-entity. who goes there? i'm guessing the same (older) customers, time after time. it's unique, i suppose, in that it contiues to exist. however, it could be in hackensack or fairlawn or anywhere other than saddle river (which i assume we're thinking is a "wealthy" town) and it would still do the same business. and i can't imagine it's doing well because the cuisine is interesting in the big scheme of things. it's an old-school old-money bergen country landmark restaurant. it's best to take it out of any analysis, as that particular data-point will just through off the results, just as you'd take the Olive Garden (or any other high-traffic restaurant) out if it.

"hot dog"

it's probably important to realize that the denizens of a town don't necessarily make up the biggest or even a large percentage of a restaurant's business (hoboken is a clear exception). to wonder why wealthy towns don't have fine-dining restaurants seems to miss the point, and ignore the demographics of the actual customers. firstly, wealthy people aren't going out for fine dining in their towns: they're probably going out to eat in NYC. when they get home they're with their kids and family, and eat accordingly. secondly, if the town isn't known as a "restaurant destination", it will probably not see a lot of restaurant traffic. let's face it, people say "hey, lets go to montclair to get dinner", and only then do they think of which of the 60 restaurants to visit. thirdly, wealthy people, or those with high household incomes and big houses, if that's the barometer by which we're measuring "wealth" as related to towns like Franklin Lakes or Upper Saddle River, don't necessarily care about fine dining. i know plenty of wealthy people who couldn't give a toss about tasting menus and seasonal mushrooms. and i know a bunch of broke-ass musicians who love a good night at Venue. i just can't draw a correlation to wealth, income, and restaurant location. as far as "restaurant towns" like ridgewood, montclair, and to some extent hoboken, i would say it's more accurate to say that these destination/restaurant towns support mid-level mediocre restaurants. not fine dining restaurants. if you want to be successful serving mediocre food, i'd say one of those three towns is your best bet.

that'll learn ya.

That's Cubby's. I used to go there a lot a while ago- mostly for the cool truck stop vibe, chili dogs, beer, grilled chicken and stuff like that. They do have tasty ribs, but they are not something that a BBQ afficianato would like- if I remember correctly they aren't even smoked. Good place, though- really used to pack 'em in. ← Cubby's went out of business last year. Or maybe it was the year before, hard to keep track. In any event it's been just another hot dog place for some time now. ← cubby's on river street in hackensack is indeed still in business. they closed the cubby's on route 17 a while back. i forget if it was the same owners or not. regardless, cubby's serves the saucy sweet type ribs, without smoke from what i recall, and they're probably not a player in serious bbq. it's a nice family friendly place, though.

← i'm not sure what you stuffed in your tonight, but i had some excellent BBQ from Silver Oak. stove-top smoker or a hole in the ground, i couldn't care less. i'm no BBQ expert, but i have excellent taste (it's just a fact. you have to accept it). chef gary is producing very, very, very good BBQ.

i've been driving out of my way at least once a week to see if it's open, as i know it's going to be my new favorite restaurant. it's the same phone number as Peter's Whale, and that suggests that it might be the same owners. not sure about that. i didn't like Peter's Whale very much. looks like someone dumped a lot of cash into this place. let's hope they live up to my expectations.

sounds like people are drawing a hard correlation btwn the VIPs at the other table, and the lousy server at Curlz's. *sigh* "outing" the restaurant won't matter a bit. if the have consistently horrible service (and i don't for a second think they do), they won't stay in business. just my guess.

i don't know if there's a polite way of saying that the fact that you have eaten there a lived really doesn't do much to instill me with confidence. i'm truly fascinated by the lack of name change. i can't help but think there's something else at work here. time to dig deeper.

so, assuming chefs are generally in kitchens, you would normally go to the kitchen to complain to the chef when the service/experience isn't good? stick to managers. if you ask and there are none, do exactly what you did: vent on the internet, and, more importantly, write a letter.

well jeez, jwjojo, you've built it up in my mind so much at this point!!!

Agreed again---but with the chef out there VIPing people, we had nobody to complain to. There was no manager evident, and the hostess was hardly a go-to person. That's why I mentioned the head chef. ← if the chef was in the back expediting would you have had someone to complain to?

your server would have sucked even if the VIPs weren't there. and a chef hanging out with a VIP will have little to zero affect on your service, or your food for that matter.

sounds like you had really bad service. the issue of restaurants giving VIPs VIP treament is likely unrelated, and totally expected and acceptable in my book.

that makes sense. it's pretty clear that the man is no stranger to BBQ. aside from the ribs being really good, the pulled pork looked excellent. looking forward to more. and more.

jwjojo, i'm not dissing the place. i'm questioning their apparent lack of website, their decision to keep the name of the dive that preceded it, and the policy of 1/2 price raw seafood. by doing this i'm stimulating discussion, which will ultimately help me in my decision to try the place or not. i'm leaning towards trying it, given your comments, and those of others. thanks! if they had a website i would think my fears would be abated.

shhhh. it's our secret.

hmmm. well, if the jingle inn is anything more than a seedy dive offering discounts on raw seafood ("1/2 price sushi and oysters is not usually a selling point for me) then they should get themselves a website. and they should probably change their name if it is in fact a hold over from the days when the building was a seedy dive. separately, when your parking lot can only fit about 4 cars, i have to question the turnover on the raw food. perhaps that explains the 1/2 price?

Back when I was a reviewer for the Record I loved the place! I forgot all about it. Thanks for reminding me... ← is this the place that advertises half price sushi and oysters? it always looks more like a seedy bar/truck stop than a place that i'd eat raw fish. is it really that good???

i've had their ribs. i think the BBQ is likely the best thing on their menu. to my taste at least. i'm looking forward to more BBQ offerings from chef gary. i have a feeling it's all going to be pretty damned good.

there's nothing subpar about this. of this you are assured. i get great results on a standard weber grill in 40 degree temps in NJ. pete. i've been a fan of frankie and johnnies for years. mostly since i lived in hoboken for so long. but, i'm of the opinion that if you can't detect the by-products of dry-aging (the minerally, intense flavor), then you're not getting what i would consider great dry-aged beef. point being, if you can't tell if they're dry-aging at F&J, then it's not a contender.