tommy

the one i'm thinking of (by mcdonalds in the strip mall that you're referring to) is in fact a "Brooklyn's Brick Oven Pizza." i just called and the fellow said that it's the same owners as the one in hackensack.

a decent sandwich.

Brooklyn's Pizza in hackensack is by far my favorite. of course, not everyone appreciates that style of pie, but it's the tops for me. Grimaldi's in hoboken, which is another distant cousin of the original patsy's is about 20 notches below Brooklyn's, but still better than most of the offerings in hoboken. hoboken's bennies serves that huge slice, and their pizza always tastes much better at the restaurant than delivered. i'm convinced it's different pizza when it's delivered. went to Patsy's on 3rd ave in NYC yesterday. decent enough. another distant relative, or so they imply, of the original. in NYC, there's a place on 49th btwn lex and 3rd called La Bellezza. it's some of the best pizza i've had in NYC. thin crust, great taste. yummy. highly recommended. NYC pizza overall is just completely horrible. you really have to know where you're going. BTW, does anyone know if the "Brooklyn's" in edgewater is related directly to the hackensack outlet?

commonly known as "twice-baked potatoes"? ;)<p>and yes, they are just fantastic. it's like having mashed potatoes and a baked potatoe all at once. doesn't get much better.<p>my in-laws make creamed onions (the little ones). i'm not sure if this is a tradition outside of their family or what.

it sounds like you think that "foodie" has quite a negative connotation. that's a shame, as i think generally it's more of a cutesy word than anything else. we don't need any more negative words. there goes that english language again...leaving everything open to interpretation!

weeeeeeeeeelllllll....??????!!!! care to share the specifics?

this issue has been touched on here if i'm not mistaken, although a cursory search has not located it. i had good service just tonite at a BYO. the total tab was about 30 dollars. the waitstaff was attentive to the wine i brought. i'd usually throw down 6 as a tip, but since they serviced the wine, i tipped 8 and change. not much of a difference, but instead of 20% it was closer to 30%. not a lot from me, but for them it adds up. with that said, if a BYO provides no wine service besides bringing out glasses, that rule goes out the window. as far as tipping on 跌 bottles, that's a different issue, and one that i have given much thought to, although on the rare occasion that i spend 80 or more on a bottle of wine (well, i should say 2 or more at 80 bucks, as that starts adding up), i won't tip ภ a bottle. and i certainly wouldn't tip 60 on a 300 dollar bottle...although in those rare situations it's usually on an expense account and it's not my money anyway. i don't think there's any such thing as "over-tipping". tip what you're comfortable with. the notion that there is a correct amount to tip seems to be defeating the purpose.

i've never met a food that doesn't go with a good sparkler. of course i'm being a bit over the top. and i agree, an alsacian white with thai is a good thing. some think the acidity of new zealand SVs is too much for thai, but i also find that enjoyable. of course, thai is a dynamic food, and one needs to match the coconut milk based dishes a bit differently than the citric and spicey salads and whatnot. but really, fried chicken from KFC and a bottle of dry sparling wine is a fine fine sunday afternoon lunch. there's something about that grease and champane combination. yummy.

i don't generally, because as fat guy has suggested, they're often out of date. then again, i can find out more about a restaurant i'm considering through other means, such as this website, then by simply looking over a menu online. in a pinch, it's nice to see what type of food they might be offering, but i'd never say "man, that lamb looks great, i'd better go there tonite!" because there's a pretty good chance it won't be on the menu as stated on the website, if at all. in all aspects, information is only as good as its source and its, ahhh, currentness. ;)

with any luck, this (fact) will counter act the anti-sticking substance (oil - fiction) that you seem to want to put in your pasta!! ;) seriously, my pasta *never* sticks. i attribute that to a good boil, one that comes back quickly, and to a lot of water. these three issues are related, in my experience. skimping on water will lead to a few things: 1) the water takes too long to come back up to a boil after you've added the pasta. the more water, the more energy, and the faster you get up to boiling. 2) the water becomes too saturated with the starch from the pasta, which leads to a gummy sticky water, which will lead to gummy sticky pasta. 3) the pasta doesn't have a lot of room to move around. i've read that for long pastas especially, the consistency is affected (in a positive way) by how much it gets to "swim" around your pot in the great rolling boil. i'm not sure if this is touched on in any of my science of cooking books, but i'll take a look-see.

i'll second that recommendation for ali baba. i totally forgot about it. i've been going there for probably 15 years. BYO. no outdoor seating. open face "sandwiches" are a great value and tasty.

unfortunately, there is no dining on the roof top. from what i've seen, it turns into a meat market. mrs. tommy enjoys the food there now and again. i do not. i wanted to write a little mini-review of their burger, and now you've reminded me. it could be a great burger, but i've always thought that there's something wrong. i figured it out during my last visit: too much bun. the bun is sourdough, large, and hardish. it really detracts from the otherwise good burger. the outside seating (in the front) is nice though, with a view of the city. i would say that for dinner it's a bit expensive and not really worth it, but for brunch it's a good spot.

i think i'm going to go ahead and give dried shrimp another chance. i've been converted, for now. as long as i know they're *supposed* to be chewy and salty and pungent, i guess i can deal. bring it on! now, where the #### have i had them in the past?!!?!?! and Bux, exactly how do you go about "drying" fresh shrimp? i mean, i've dried beef, but i can't imagine it's the same process. wait, now they seem disgusting again. forget it. i don't want to know. ;)

a few faves: frankie and johnnies (14th and garden) - great steak. i think as good as most NYC steakhouses. great room. old-school hoboken. amandas (washington and 9th or so) - fine dining. wonderful room. it has been hit-or-miss for me service-wise, but i've always found the experience pleasurable enough. la scala (14th and garden/bloomfield) - northern italian, BYOB. reasonably priced for the most part, although they like truffles, and truffles in your pasta or steak can run from 35 to 45 dollars. i've found it worth it, considering the savings on the wine (if you drink). otherwise, you can get out of there for 40 bucks a head with app and salad. baja (14th and washington/bloomfield) is fun for brunch, especially if you want to get buzzed on their margaritas. food is typical tex-mex. fun atmosphere. the brass rail (washington and 2nd) has great burgers and steaks. its outdoor seating is a plus in good weather. lots of interesting wines by the glass, and a relatively extensive wine list. the two thai restaurants, sri thai (3rd and bloomfield) and bangkok city (washington and 4th or so), offer fine fare at reasonable prices. sri lacks in atmosphere or outdoor seating, but it's BYOB. people seem to like margarita's (7th and washington), which is good i suppose, but simple. outdoor seating again. i haven't been there since i was about 28, which is what the average age seems to be. there are a few others that i'm not thinking of right now that i would probably recommend for one reason or another. rather than be negative, i won't list the other 400 restaurants in hoboken and why i never waste my time going. ;) ...although, i've heard good things about zafra (willow and 2nd or so) and a few others. good luck. (Edited by tommy at 9:50 am on Oct. 17, 2001)

i don't wear these thick cartoon glasses because they make my yellow face look good, that's for sure! just to keep this on topic a bit, i will say that until about a year ago, i couldn't stand blue cheese. couldn't even have it touch any of my food. now i love it. it seems i had been eating the crappy blue cheese-that-comes-with-buffalo-wings variety for the longest time, not realizing that at its best, it's a wonderful food. (Edited by tommy at 11:18 pm on Oct. 16, 2001)

and they're even better when we disagree with ourselves. i've spent many a thread arguing a point to death...alone!

we agree. good. ;) and yes, as an element, they add wonderful flavor. when you get a whole one stuck in your teeth, it's quite another story. as i mentioned earlier, shrimp paste is even worse i think, and is not much more than ground up shrimp i would suppose. (Edited by tommy at 11:17 pm on Oct. 16, 2001)

you don't *really* think that, do you? do you like prunes? how about plums? i guess it has to do with the intesity of the flavor. if i were to guess, i'd say one of those chewy little shrimp packs the flavor of about, oh, 5000 shrimp. so assuming one could fit 5000 shrimp in a cavity in one of your molars at once, do ya think you might see why some might find it yucky? ;)

our server was friendly as well. i went as far as to invite her to an event i was having in hoboken. she wasn't a bad server mind you, but it wasn't fine dining. the shrimp cocktail was mealy and very very fishy. very off-putting. the king crab legs were cold. the grilled swordfish was, well, grilled swordfish. it came with a rather nice corn salsa though. maybe to put things in perspective, we were sitting out on the deck basically to enjoy some drinks and the view, and the ordering of food was a secondary thought. but it was as i described. an interesting (or not) situation arose on that beautiful day...a couple of jet skiers, or wet-bikers, or whatever they are, were showing off right by the deck, and decided to cruise by, turn sharp, and effectively get about 6 tables of people soaked. the diners were none too impressed, nor was i. not the restaurants fault of course. i do believe the manager tried to make things right for the diners, but to what extent i don't know. luckily, we weren't one of the wet ones! thanks to everyone for the suggestions!

yes, why not? as i suggest, napa is a long way to go. jealous? ;)

From what I understand, Scuttlebutts is owned and run by a husband and wife team. The husband tends the bar and his wife is the hostess. One son works behind the bar, and other son works behind the stove. (He’s worked at the Frog and Peach, if memory serves, and some other notable restaurants.) This family situation translates into the laid back atmosphere and friendly service. The place is a dump, in a charming way. The red vinyl booths scream “hamburger and milk shake”. The room is smoky, as the bar is connected to the dining area only by a half wall. And people were spotted smoking at their tables. On to the food… The regular menu is filled with mostly insipid fare, and nothing much caught my eye (lemon chicken, various pastas, steaks, etc). However, the excitement lie in the specials, which were printed with prices. We had a Crispy Duck Salad. Shredded duck meat and skin that has obviously been slow roasted for hours. Apparently, the chef throws the duck pieces in a hot skillet right before making the salad. Greens with bits of apple and blue cheese were all about. It could have used a little more duck, but it was very good nonetheless. The Lamb Chops were served with garlic mashed potatoes. There were about 8 chops in all, served double-cut. Perfectly done. Meaty. Delicious lamb flavor. Served in a wonderful au jus, with some vegetables mixed in. The Beer Braised Short Rib was the big winner. One rib, so long that it hung over the plate, was fall-off-the-bone tender, like butta. The outside was “burnt”, or rather caramelized. Perfectly done. Served with a pumpkin puree, some mashed, in an incredibly deep and rich au jus. Wow. I took half of this thing home. It was like something out of the Flintstones. Entrees come with a soup or salad as well, which makes the prices even more reasonable than they already are. The Short Rib was 20 bucks, the duck salad about 9, and the lamb about 22 I think. The wine list needs some help, but they have a serviceable Zin, and pinot grigio, so you can always fall back on that. Price before tip was about 77 bucks, with the above, one bottle of wine, and 2 glasses. Highly recommended.

this was reported in the NYT a while back, or maybe some other major publication. if i recall, it will be in the new complex that's being built there. i'm looking forward to it, as napa is a long drive.

went to Scuttlebutt's in Nutley last night. wow. incredible! i gotta run, but if anyone has any feedback on this place i'd love to hear it. details to follow...

i've heard horrible things about the Binghamton. although, i've never actually been there. it took me a minute, but i finally realized what you mean when you say "the lighthouse". that place has been there for quite some time, and i always wondered about it. but, does it still have a view, considering all of the development in that area? it's on "old river road" if i'm not mistaken, which tells me there's probably a Target, Old Navy, or 500 theatre mutli-plex btwn it and NYC at this point!

i've been buying Anchor Steam in hoboken for about 12 years. it was my first favorite "premium" or "micro" beer. and at 6 bucks a six pack (back in 1988) in college, it was something that i didn't buy often, and only when i knew i'd enjoy it. i've carried my love for it since then. although, they have several types nowadays (liberty ale being one if i recall). they are available in almost any liquor store in NJ from what i've noticed.