tommy

your bottom line is, well, the bottom line. it might not be fair to assume there was "trickery" involved here. it could have easily been an oversight on a busy server's part on a very busy and hectic night. the management seems to have handled it appropriately. this works the other way as well: i used a gift certificate the other night. actually, my wife did, but i paid the bill. luckily i noticed the bill seemed rather small when i went to sign (and tip). i then noticed that the total was the dinner amount less the gift certificate (had i been the one to present the gift certificate, i probably would have realized immediately). however, i almost didn't notice all of the math there in the line items, and almost tipped on 150 less than i should have. nothing was circled. nothing was mentioned to me when the bill was presented, even though it is clearly to the server's advantage if she/he quickly reminds the customer. it was simply my responsibility to review the bill and tip appropriately. dodge621: i would be on the "lookout" in *any* restaurant, as mistakes tend to happen.

yes, i'm joking. but to think that some people don't get preferential treatment, with or without reservations, might be a bit naive. thereuare suggests that we egulletters get preferential treatment, so we all acknowldedge this fact. that party of 6 that walked in and was seated in the better room might very well have been regulars. again, that's just the way it works. more importantly, i don't think the management's resistance to accommodate the seating request of thereuare's party was a personal affront, but rather a (probably warranted) business decision. i'm not making excuses for any behaviour on the restaurant's part, but rather offering a very valid explanation. also, i'd only go to a restaurant that i wouldn't mind subsequently hating on a big holiday like mother's day. sh*t *always* goes wrong on those days. rarely enjoyable. thereuare, next year you can bring your family over to my place for some ribs!

yowzers. that looks GOOOOOD!!

i would also like to suggest that it is very common for restaurants to "hold" tables for whatever reason. maybe sly stallone might stroll in, maybe the manager's daughter might stop by, maybe that room is shorthanded and all of the tables can't be covered. whatever the reason, it happens. it is usually best to accept it and move on, hopefully enjoying your dinner. with that said, i have so much clout at china 46 that i once had a party of 10 displaced so that me and my 2 friends could have more room

relatively unacceptable. the "special green stuff" is seaweed salad. round-eye doesn't usually enjoy this, and is usually given the fried noodle things with the duck sauce and hot mustard instead. if they didn't bring the fried noodles out, then they probably just forgot. however, all egulletters, regardless of eyes, enjoy the seaweed, and you probably would have as well. it's not really "special treatment" per se. sorry that tainted your experience. you could also have asked for it (mrs. tommy always has to ask for the fried noodles...yes, she loves the fried noodles ) what did you order?

WOW is all i can say. i took the advice of some of these egulletters and made 4 different kinds of ribs. saturday night was a test run, with a marinade of garlic, and a bunch of other stuff. i forget where i got the recipe, but if i find it, i'll post it. i'm pretty sure i got it from egullet somewhere. they didn't have much time to brine, but i cooked 'em slow and lo for a few hours. turned out super. the garlic sweetened up so much that it's hard to put into words. on mother's day, i made 3 different types of ribs. first was col klink's dry rub, which can be found on the pacific northwest board. i'll copy it here as well: 1/2 cup dried garlic 2 tbsps cayenne pepper 1/4 cup paprika 1/4 cup sumac 3 tbsps turmeric 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp dried basil 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup coarse ground pepper i had and have no idea what sumac is, but my research tells me it is distinctive and sweet. i didn't have any so i left it out. this was the first dry rub i've ever worked with. it was quite good, and my mother-in-law's favorite of the 3 (although, she thought it was a little too spicy, but hey, it's supposed to be!). the second rack when on naked. i used bottle BBQ sauce to appease the people who wanted the standard. the 3rd rack was =mark's south carolina mustard bbq sauce (recipe above in this thread). HELLO!?!?!?!! this was incredible. it would be foolish to doubt anything =mark has to say about cooking pork i would say. it was a great sauce, and i'll be using it next weekend for about 30 people. they will no doubt be pleased. i marinated the ribs in it for a while, and kept brushing it on during the cooking process. again, cooked 'em slo and lo. probably took 2.5 hours or so on the grill. i also brined these overnight, with salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, black peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a few sichuan peppercorns, just cause i wanted to use them. the meat was certainly tender and tasty, although i didn't do a comparison to non-brined meat to determine if the brine actually did anything. thanks again to all. nice job. you made mom's day a bbq success!

i hear they have great chicken fingers at oddfellows. which night is "dart night"? and are they still doing "recession tuesdays", all you can drink (bud or bud light draft) for 4 dollars? it's really quite a place. hehe

i think rosie was referring the town and not the restaurant. the owners really couldn't have made it any more confusing by naming the restaurant after half of the town.

once cast iron is seasoned, the acidity of foods should not affect it. however, keeping these grates clean is a bear, and you might just as soon avoid making it harder. they are pretty far apart as well, at least on the weber, so i would say that you'd want something else to put them on anyway.

that's not on a boat, is it? the place i'm thinking of is new. cafe newport has been there for a long time. this place, apparently, is on the same side (south side) of that "canal" as the liberty science center. ringing any more bells?

so you followed the directions to clean out the stuff? weber has this procedure on-line as well, if i'm not mistaken.

where is the liberty grill again? my friend tells me of this pretty cool bar, that is on a boat, near or in liberty state park. apparently, they even have a (relatively) decent selection of wines by the glass (read: more than merlot and cab).

oh my god you're such a complainer! jeesh. screw you. sit in the culinary hell-hole that is JC for the rest of your life for all i care. oh, and, you can always go to little saigon in nutley. reseverations a must on the weekend, but you can usually call in the afternoon to secure them. and if you're really nice, i'll let you borrow my private helicopter some time.

glenn, la carbonaia in ho-ho-kus is not much more than 1/2 hour from hoboken, so it's probably just a tad more from JC. so there.

although i'm happy with my weber, i will say that the "cross-fire ignition", whatever the eff that means, doesn't always work very well (it's the automatic lighter). *but*, i have a feeling this may be due to the fact that i haven't cleaned the thing in a while, and weber suggests that some monthly maintenance is probably beneficial. other than that, again, those cast iron grates make me very happy.

you and your big words. you had us common folk confused. i would have went with a more straight-forward post, along the lines of "conde-naste traveller sucks." but that's just me.

pekin duck is a type of duck, not much unlike those from long island. probably the most widely eaten in the US. so, assuming you thought it was a misprint or a bastardization of "peking duck", it probably wasn't.

i'd say in general, yes.

la carbonaia in ho-ho-kus. a favorite of mine. italian. byo.

restaurants might save a nice penny if they just came to this site and asked about their places, cutting out the middleman.

ummm, is that a *good* thing?

another reason to try the tin foil method.

a dream of mine.

i had some success of few weeks ago with a method that i had never tried before. thiny sliced lemon. garlic capers olive oil s/p fresh herb (chervil and other mild and delicate herbs might work) anything else you want. wrap all together with the fish in tin foil, sealing tightly. put on grill or in oven for 10 minutes. the product will be moist and delicious, and basically makes its own sauce.

start in a pan and finish in the oven.