tommy

Dude, were we separated at birth or something? That is exactly the type of thing i would do. i think in total i spent 70 dollars on steak tonight. for one meal. i can really sniff out a deal.

i'm with ya kid. i'm with ya.

haven't been since right after it opened, GG, but it didn't suck, so i'd imagine if you don't have a choice that it won't be a terrible option at all.

good question rover. i'd be interested in some pork with a thick skin on it as well. anyway, i got the Market Basket steak. i'll say that it wasn't pretty. however, it was 6.99/lb. i don't have the inclination to resize them, so links will have to suffice: (maximize your browser to enlarge the pics if desired) pic 1 pic 2 pic 3 pic 4 pic 5 pic 6 as you can see in pic 5, there was a bit of connective tissue running through the meat. pic 6 shows the larger part of the cut, which seemed a bit better. flavor-wise, the steak had good flavor. the fact that it was almost 2 inches thick made cooking a breeze. it got a nice char, which is obvious in those pics. the piece was 2 lbs, so that was 12 dollars. if i were on a budget, i'd certainly consider this cut for grilling. however, it was a *little* too chewy at points for me, so i'll probably skip it next time. perhaps it would be worth grinding or braising or something else. now i'm going to cook the 12.99/lb shell steaks that i picked up just in case this sucked.

as i stated, i know full well what location can do to a business. however the initial question, as it was framed, was what is important to *you* as *diner*. and as i said, i don't care where China 46 is. i don't think many of its fans do either.

perhaps a *very* important factor (or is that factors) for success, but not always a concern of the diner. take China 46 for example.

thankfully the NY Times doesn't award stars in NJ. i agree with your thought, though (mostly...i do think there are some "fine dining" restaurants that are BYO. Cafe Panache, Cafe Matisse, LaTour, et al). but there are only a handful of places worth of being the "best of the best." i'm not sure that the poster is shooting for that. if he is, i'd hope he's got another source of inspiration and information aside from this motley crew.

i was hoping you could explain this. upselling and "super-sizing" aren't always the same thing. at least in my experience. unless this is a separate tirade against non-mom-and-pop profit-loving restaurants.

i don't know many successful business people who aren't concerned about profits.

i'll post a picture and a full report.

no typo, hank. i'm not sure it's the top-of-the-line prime sirloin, but at 7 bucks a pound you can bet your ass i'm going to find out tonight. i called the MB and asked the butcher how much they were selling prime boneless sirloin steaks for. he said "6.99/lb". i said "really, you're *giving* it away". he didn't hesitate and said "always...you know the market basket." and there you have it.

the market basket is doing prime boneless sirloin for 6.99/lb this week. dry-aged t-bone/porterhouse at 16.99/lb.

artichokes give me a tickling sensation in the back of the throat. actually, even *thinking* about artichokes gives me a tickling sensation in the back of the throat. this quickly turns into a craving and a jones, which i'm having right now. and i even had artichokes at lunch.

if you insist on making sense then we'll have nothing to mindlessly complain about. the cnn article is refering to a study that is probably new. these studies oftentimes happen over and over, by different people. sometimes we miss them the first few times, so i'm happy cnn is here to bring it to my attention. i hate it when they try to push bottled water.

marinate cucumbers and red onions in it. a little sugar too if the vinegar isn't already sweet. (salt shredded or sliced cucs and let the water drain first). serve with grilled meat.

in terms of a NJ restaurant (and i do think this can be considered NJ-specific to some extent, and getting NJ readers' opinions would certainly be helpful...and a lot of them don't read the other boards including 'general'), depending on your target audience and menu, i'd say that BYO is attractive. other more obvious answers include: good consistent food, interesting food, competent service, comfortable atmosphere (by no means does this mean "upscale"), etc. that combination, however, far from guarantees success in NJ, or anywhere for that matter. good luck.

Tim Zagat has more-or-less defined his own category, so it's pretty hard to say whom his peers would be. Nobody else is doing what he is doing, at least not on his scale. or one could say that publishers are his peers. and i would think that other publishers would respect someone who made gazillions in publishing. either that or they'd hate him.

the all important website.

excellent point. and i wonder if those who don't think these tactics work have run their own studies similar to those presumably run by an associate professor at Cornell's School of Hotel Adminstration. more some more this guy puts a lot of thought into other people's tips.

that sounds about right. i seem to remember a park being right there, but i can't be sure. it's right down the street, i think, from that old-school place with the chicken savoy. as far as grilled vs. boiled, they're just so different and both have their charms. dirty water implies water though. in NYC, very few hot dog stands have a grill. most are water. but, in the last 2 years or so, i've come to prefer grilled as well, and seek those out. in NJ i almost always stick to deep fried.

there's that truck in north newark, or something, near bloomfield, right on bloomfield ave i think. granted i've only hit it at about 2 am, but everyone that i mention it to seems to know the place, and there's always a line (after midnight at least). i think they're boiled.

i'm with rich and lenn. i'd like nothing more than to see LI continue refining their cab francs, which i've always enjoyed immensely. i don't recall any merlots, as i'm usually grabbing up steely whites or cab francs.

The restaurant was full on a Sunday night in late August, even with many folks on vacation. i'm glad they're still doing well even though they're under the radar and not getting much play. to clarify, the buzz was "hot". it's simply not now. the food seems to be what it was. those who went back in the 90's have probably, like me, moved on to other places. obviously it has retained a fanbase or else it wouldn't be open.

taro was hot years ago. it has definitely cooled down, and now it flies under the radar. the whole asian-fusion/pan-asian thing has played out during that time imo. i'm more likely to go to the various vietnamese, thai, and chinese restaurants in the area if i want any of the styles they're serving. that said, i always thought the place was fun and decent. not challenging or earth shattering, that's for sure. good with a group. maybe i'll return for lunch. main page of website.

i think the distinction between the man and the book might come in handy here.