tommy

a great chinese philosopher once said: "Man who fart in church sit in own pew." how's dat?

i'm one of those who prefers not to "dress up" for dinner. "dressing up" is for the office, funerals, weddings, and other occasions that you'd just as soon avoid. dinner should be relaxing. i avoid those places where most are dressed up, so those that might be offended by my khakis and polo shirt don't have to see me!

the places with people sitting on benches waiting generally are. well, generally anyway.

what's up with dat big red tomato? the other location is always packed. seems like a simple sauce and pasta place to me.

it never dawned on me that washing the sidewalk was necessary for sidewalk dining. in fact, when i first heard of the ban on washing sidewalks, i could only picture the idiot across the street from me who would spend hours squirting the sidewalk in front of his apartment building. all the time, splash mud and stuff up onto any car that happened to be parked there...including mine.

oddly enough, after i asked, i check a few of my wine books. it seems that i have been reading about them, and presumably skipping over them, for years now. something new to try! tanks.

when am i obnoxious on egullet? you, ma'am, must have the wrong "tommy"!

yes, my evil plan is working perfectly.

talk to me. what be this wine. a varietal? acidic?

i was quite impressed with the food, service, and restaurant overall. a much more civilized affair than our last, which turned into a pub crawl. the conversation and company were wonderful, although the long table made for 2 separate conversations for the most part. but, when dessert wrapped up, i was shocked to see that it was already 11 pm. time flew. time flies when you're eating 7 courses.

blondie, that's right, i remember seeing it at 10th and willow, where Lisa's used to be (the restaurant, not the deli). iano, make reservations on *any* night that you plan on going. i wear shorts and a t-shirt if that's any indication of the type of place it is.

ahhh, fabian's. what is Flamboyan?

the last thing to come off of my stove top was duck ravioli. the rest of the week has been pretty much (delivery) pizza and meatball heros. decidedly unexciting.

weird request, but... i've got some friends coming into town. they are big sinatra fans and love all of that 40's and 50's mob stuff. so, they want to go to a few places with this "theme". i have no idea what to do. i figure they can walk past sparks, where that nice italian man was shot. i'd send 'em to hoboken, but there's not much sinatra going on there either, and it seems a bit ambitious for strangers to the area. any suggestions of places with that theme? whether it be pictures on the wall or something will real "historical" significance?

lucky me. i checked this thread out just in time for that little gem. *groan*

Girasole Restaurant (732) 469-1080 502 W Union Ave Bound Brook, NJ

i'm assuming the brisket in the db burger is braised, so it is very tender. i don't think that there is enough of it on the burger to make too much of a textural difference.

paul, i think you had a little too *much* of my wine, as you're making up stories!! 4 inches across and 2 high? oh man, if you really think so then you're the only one who's 2 high. and they weren't browned on the bottom (well, not the ones with all of the soup at least). and not to make myself sound any more clumsy that i already do (or am), but i wasn't using chopsticks (which might have made dropping your dumpling excusable). it was actually in a spoon. i really don't know how it got away. regardless, nice save. as always, a pleasure.

well aren't you just great peter wolf. i've noticed hostipal staff wearing similar shoes. it's hard to believe that in this day and age (as opposed to when peter was young) that they can't design a shoe that is comfortable to stand in and doesn't look so bloody silly at the same time.

along with his pony tail and shorts, his clogs are his "trademark". they are generally orange. :)

i wouldn't characterize ali baba as "slumming'!! i totally forgot about that place. i've been going there for probably 15 years (before my palete grew up) and always enjoy it. they have been relatively consistent over that time. it's one of the few restaurants left from the 80's. the chicken kabob sandwich is still one of the tastiest and best deals in hoboken. i just remembered that back in the early 90's, when they had the other ali baba down on newark st, they threw a yearly party called Babapalooza in the empty lot next to the restaurant. it was a day of great local bands, great food, and cool art. now that store is dominos and that lot is 4 story condos. *sigh*

yes, la scala can be spotty. they really hit their stride, imho, about 5 yrs ago, with a consistent staff and food. i think being relatively "regular" there helped most of my experiences. i would say that for frankie and johnnies as well, from a service standpoint.

jeesh, i thought mario batali made them famous worldwide!! kidding aside, he is the first guy that i noticed wearing clogs. after that, i started looking down more often in kitchens and found that they are extremely popular. who knew?

having lived in hoboken for many years, and loving the town, i can say that it is a culinary wasteland. iano, i'd add la scala to your list. :)

well, it obviously has nothing to do with AB Budweiser, and it's probably doing it a disservice by even mentioning AB Budweiser! umm, right? i found it a bit floral, and very drinkable. how does jason say it? bood VISE er.