tommy

i can appreciate that puns are often hard to translate into URLs, especially when one is typing into an address box in a browser. and they are hard to search on regardless. but, there are so many ways of finding URLs these days, that i bet, with smart submission, "grilled cheese jersey city" would return the URL. in fact, there are a few restaurants whose names i don't remember exactly, or can't spell because they're foreign words, or whatever, and i use google (or one of many other search engine-type sites) as "spell check," with excellent results. one thought is that every business or presence need not be "unique" in the sense that it's "tommy.com". there are plenty of "tommy.com"s. the idea is that there needs to be a path to each of them, given a few more parameters...which is why google is so successful. i suppose on those points we disagree. it's a consideration, but certainly not a show-stopper. not with the right marketing and the right internet presence.

actuall, P&O is a great idea for me. it's close, it's got a bar, it's got a bunch of wines, and the food is, well, ok enough. that will be on the radar for next time. as far as Legal Seafood, i don't recall anything. but i have this enormous cut on the back of my skull. can someone please explain that? i'm beginning to fade...im dot shre wha thd.a hd g..j ahsdg 'dg.....fgjggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

do you mean today's skyline? or perhaps next week's. don't get too tied in to a skyline. you know better. (that said, the colgate clock is the only thing that has survived the skyline in JC for more than 10 years...and in fact, it will probably remain until we're both dead. with any luck). Ooze and Ahhs. i like that. i really really like that. excellent work, randi. take a raise out of ePettychash.

ok then. Blend is right out.

coughy, where is creskill? rosie, you bring up an excellent point. i don't want a byo, as i'll likely be belly-up to a bar. i might take one for the team and go to blend. i have no idea why.

it's not tuesday, but where should i eat dinner?

this is the biggest problem with just about any sub shop, in my opinion. NJ might very well be the center of the universe as far as subs are concerned, and even our best suffer from too little meat. i generally have to order a sandwich twice the size that i'd want, and transplant the meat from one side to the other to double it up. my experience at quizno's was certainly no different. a tiny bit of meat. so little that it was an insult. NYC has notoriously bad sandwiches as well (with a few notable exceptions). the best sandwich i've found is at a supermarket deli counter during lunch. they load up the roll with a reasonable amount of meat, and for 4.95. one of the better deals in NYC, primarily because the sandwich is actually edible. i take sandwiches very seriously.

here's another hint: if you order something like an "italian", take it home, add dried oregano, salt, pepper, and some extra vinegar. this will help in the case of any chain, or local sub shop (who also, believe it or not, produce mass quantities of crap all over the country). welcome to egullet pandor.

you must be joking. go with the "italian" and call it a day. trust me.

the trick is: don't have very high expectations and you'll not be very disappointed. it is what it is. personally i'd never get guac unless it was freshly made, preferably table-side.

one reason: because there's oftentimes an air of "he doesn't know what he's talking about", or, "she doesn't know enough about wine to contribute meaningfully to this discussion" that pops up in the strangest places: dinner, social engagements, food/wine websites, etc.

that can work both ways, and i can't think of any instances where it was detrimental to a business to be associated with a city or locale. Jersey Mike's Subs is a good example of a local place that franchised and can now be found in states other than NJ, and it's presumably doing well. that said, i think "Hoboken Melt" would have a lot more legs than "Jersey City Melt" across the country, but that might change what with JC becoming the next hoboken. or whatever it's becoming.

i can appreciate your concerns about "Melt" sounding too "upscale", but i think you should consider who your customers might very well be: upper middle class folk working/living near your place. or is there another demographic that you're aiming for? Melt is the clear winner. wfnugent just got wfriggin lucky on that one. as far as a tag line goes, that's another issue. "Jeez that's good cheese!" came to mind somewhere in the middle of a hotdog earlier. i suppose Jeez is a play on JC, which you don't like, but it's a bit better than "Jesus Christ that's good cheese!", which is probably right out. edit: i guess it should be "...good *grilled* cheese". bobolink makes good cheese. glenn not so much. but he makes good grilled cheese.

i had thought about that, but it seems too close to "Grillin & Chillin", which is a completely overused phrase, imo, and of course tied to Booby Flay, which can't be good for business.

star tavern

Glenn's Crazy Folly. personally i'm not a fan of the "company" and "factory" bit, although i can see how "factory" might speak to Jersey City, depending on your location. JCGC & Shake - and steal the CBGB omfug logo. and play rock music. or steal the AC/DC logo. and play rock music. or don't steal any logo and just go with it. has a ring to it methinks. what types of locations are you looking at?

cut up the meat into 1 inch or so chunks and put in the freezer until they're a bit firm (not frozen, but rather not mushy). put meat in regular food processor and give about 10 or 12 1-second pulses. you'll probably have a good idea of when the texture is right for you by looking at it.

i've noticed that from time to time. but these fluff pieces get written over and over again and are probably showing up in at least one newspaper any given week. it might be the ol' "i just bought a blue pick-up truck and now *everyone* has a blue pick-up truck" thing. i should note that i haven't read the article and most likely won't as bugmenot.com has been down and i don't have the interest in lying about my name, address, phone number, salary, and gender.

although there's nothing inherently wrong with naming the place Xaviars.

i suppose because about 10,000 of them are reasonably successful? but that sure don't make it right.

rosie reports that Xaviers in west paterson closed. i still don't know if this is the right thread.

i ordered that at that location...twice...forgetting the second time that the first time it was a bunch of fatty belly. hopefully i won't make that mistake again. but yeah, i just don't see the point of that dish. great flavor, but inedible for me and my guest. on the other hand, i've had pork belly that was wonderfully tender and delicious elsewhere.

carnivoyeur?

supply a source of heat and i'm in.

thanks for that info, hank. as soon as i saw them i knew it wasn't a "sirlion steak" as i'm used to seeing them. i figured it came from a funny part of the animal, but in a way that it could be called "sirloin". i'm sure they played games with the naming, as the convention is so butchered (ha ha) to begin with. i doubt, however, that they'd sell choice as prime. it might be low-grade prime, but i have to think it was prime. regardless, the prime shell steaks were very good. and the choice t-bone from Stop and Shop (4.99/lb) wasn't that bad at all either.