tommy

i'm more curious about awbrig's perspective, since he/she seems to know so much, aside from punctuation and grammar. edit: ah, he speaks. thanks awbrig. i didn't realize champagne should be served ice cold. very enlightening.

that's pretty funny.

do you find this to be the case in practice?

you don't think Peter Luger's has "atmosphere?" how does the atmosphere of the RPT in mahwah compare? is it fancier or something?

you're clearly joking, right? what were the circumstances? the chef actually walked into the dining room and made a scene in front of others because he was sooo offended that you sent a dish back? you then skipped a meal, took a 3 hr train ride before eating? i would have been *starving*. what restaurant was that? maybe he was just a cook.

why. what happens? how long does it take before it happens? how about white wine? is there a problem with leaving white wine in the fridge?

i hear the blue moon is crawling with kids. also, i've seen the menu and it seems so pedestrian. comments? also, what places do you actually enjoy aside from the above 2. it seems you are very critical, so you probably know what you're talking about.

we ended up here again last night, as the thai in clifton went out of business. i insisted that the larb be made as spicy as they could do it, explaning that i eat thai every day and i can handle whatever they have to offer. it came out, well, pretty spicy, but not crazy. had a curry here for the first time. very good green curry. the mixed seafood dish wasn't so hot (crab sticks and salmon aren't my favorites to begin with). it also had questionable looking scallops, and shrimp and squid. the preparation was good, but i wasn't a big fan of the seafood. i'd order this again with just shrimp. the outside seating is nice. it's off to the side, with no cars flying by, and it's quite pleasant, 'cept for when the train comes by at about 60 mph 10 feet from the table. however, the trains are short, if that helps any.

who's on first?

that you take what you're given.

i'll take that as confirmation of my suspicions.

i've never been to lugers. although i'm expecting i'll be let down. what with all the hype. but nothing sucks harder than the overpriced, lamely-staffed, and horrible overall river palm chain. fairlawn was a disgrace (valet parking? in the parking lot that is right in front of the restaurant!?!), and riveredge (or whatever town the original is located in) left me with a sour taste overall. i've haven't been to the mahwah version, but i can't imagine that it's much better. lots of dough for a very mediocre NJ experience. then again, those comments have nothing to do with NYC steakhouses.

yes, the "spicy" was not really at all. but they probably tone it down for the ridgewood set. i've found that even the better places in NYC refuse to make it spicy unless they know you, and then if you *insist*. saigon republic, i think, is vietnamese, and can not be compared, at least in my eyes. the only other thai in ridgewood is kailish, as far as i know, and that's an indian place with an abbreviated thai menu. do you know of any others lima bean?

rosie, do you mean the "bottle tipped up" shadow? or rather the "big head" shadow. either way, yo.

i thought blue fin, in NYC was supposed to have this as well. but i saw no evidence of it when i was there last week. although i just couldn't take my eyes off of the two beautiful woman with whom i was dining.

macrosan (and others), this might be a great opportunity for everyone to try a few different wines with the dishes. it might be a good idea to ensure that at least enough of each type of wine is available for everyone (who's interested) to give them a shot. after that, we'll have 21 educated opinions on which go the best!

i wrote some javascript to do this for everyone:

ooo, i just noticed i made the photo. i was the "sober" one. i can't often claim that.

this should be interesting.

looking back at my comments about the time it takes to make a sauce, i should probably qualify that i was referring the time it should take to make a sauce in the style of most jarred sauces, if that makes any sense. i see suggestions are being thrown around about how to make a quick one with raw ingredients, which is one of my favorite things to do.

isn't piels one of those fine lagers that suggests "serve *very* cold"? always good sign.

i think our poster wants some recipes, rather than suggestions on store-bought. unfortunately, i have none, as my wife does the sauce cooking. what i can tell you is that it will probably be more like 2 to 3 hours for a good sauce. 30-45 minutes is about the time it would take to prepare a meal of sauteed chicken breast.

errrr, it don't *look* corrected. oh, and btw, i fell into an "office space moment" there with all of that sunday stuff. it follows logically any time someone "that would be great."

surely it all depends on the style of beer. but there is nothing that makes me happier than a bottle of beer coming out of a cooler filled with ice in the middle of summer. anyone who can't enjoy that is simply a freak of nature.

ok, the correct spellnig is "malee". so if any of the admins want to change the title, that would be great. yea. and if you could go ahead and come in on sunday, ya see, we need to sort of play "catch-up". yea. i gave this place a shot tonite. tom yung koong (goong) - pretty damned good. could have used some more mushrooms and cilantro. the flavor of the broth was right on. i generally use this dish as a baseline for any thai restaurant. and if you find yourself choking after the 2nd or 3rd sip, it's spot on. yes, i choked. ground chicken and mung bean noodle soup - i don't see this often, but since i love mung bean noodle, i have to order it. this version was very good, and at 2.95 one of the least expensive things on the menu. chicken larb - a very good rendition of this dish, although it lacked enough ground rice, so that crunchy texture was missing. but, the dish did have *some*. chicken with basil/peppers - a standard dish at most restaurants. pretty good here. not too gloppy and sweet. nice fried basil. 35 bucks before tip. my only complaint is that we ordered everything "extra spicy," or whatever the hottest is on the menu. for the most part, the dishes weren't spicy enough. although i'm sure they are dumbing down the spice for the uptight ridgewood set. i would say that if you live closer to wondee's certainly go to wondee's (hackensack). however, ridgewood welcomes this place. now ridgewood actually has a vietnamese restaurant *and* a thai restaurant. no one thought this would ever happen just a few months ago. their only competition in town is kailish, an indian and thai restaurant, which a very limited thai menu (but one helluva roasted duck dish that is just brilliant) byob. open everyday except mondays for lunch and dinner.