tommy

it goes on all of the time. "discouraging" it on one website is hardly going to matter. and, more than a few days out, and for the restaurants listed (other than, perhaps, kittichai) it won't matter one bit. if you want to make a difference, work to change the system. you're addressing the symptom rather than the issue, and not really being very helpful, all at the same time. if you think this doesn't happen every day, in every city, then you're probably kidding yourself. thankfully people cancel at the last minute so i can get those last minute reservations. cancel away! edited to say that i've gotten no indication that the poster didn't plan on canceling as soon as he decided. no-shows are no-shows, regardless of if they happen in a multiple reservation situation, and i agree that they're not very nice.

gotcha. agreed.

unfortunately the chef probably has little influence on the front of house. i would think that the drink being left on the bill was an oversight on the server's part. i would have mentioned it and i'd think it would have been taken off and an apology offered. if not, i would have deducted the cost of the drink from the tip, letting her know of course. she, in turn, would probably tip out the bartender a bit less than usual, and that's about that.

what goes on in the basement? it used to be somewhat of a performance space/lounge. i applaud the kitchen for actually brining the pork! it's a shame it was over-brined. are those tomatoes on that steak? if so i'm thinking they should be removed and replaced with something else until they are in season. hopefully they taste better than they look. sounds like it's worth a trip.

very good neapolitan-style pizza, and the only place i considered adding to this list. not quite as interesting as Una Pizza Napoletana, but overlooked and delicious and somewhat unique nonetheless.

still there. Taste of Thai, also in Ridgewood, excels at salads, but I've had some horrible entrees there (beef with basil comes to mind). Ridge Thai is a decent enough option. I like Malee as well. None come close to Wondee's, unfortunately. there are probably individual threads on all of those places.

you're probably referring to Giant. It has an incredible selection of fruits/veggies, and some parts of animals that you're likely not going to find anywhere else. and all for real cheap.

Udoms in hackensack.

it must be horrible for you. i use the Platinum concierge, and i'm not lazy. it's handy for people who need a last-minute table. not necessarily for people who are too lazy to call the restaurant.

i don't know much about this cel-ray stuff, but i think the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock carries it. i know they used to, that's for sure. www.koshernosh.com

errr, Americans *are* obese. it would be naive to think that anyone would eat this sort of thing very often. obviously the occasional pig-out isn't going to impact health or weight very much. i would guess that a 9 course tasting at some restaurants are high-calorie high-fat propositions as well. and yes, all Americans purge after meals.

good call john. the hazel street exit is definitely the way to go. 19 is a strange road, and after decades in north jersey, i still can't figure out where it goes or why it goes there.

the possibility of toppings aside, this is a good thing, from my, you know, NJ perspective. but what does tommy know? wasn't the the phrase? it's been so long. can't wait for a local version of Papaya King.

one must take control of ones experience whenever possible. for sure.

for the FMU/Holmes party? (edit: oops, that was the 7th. *seems* like last week.) peter, it hasn't changed one bit. 'cept the people got younger, and i got older.

i'm not sure if you're directing that question to me, but it's easy to decide on food and wine and then just order the wine. when it comes to the table, order the food.

i generally order drinks before i order food. i pace the meal myself, unless it's at a top tier restaurant, where i might actually have faith in the staff. problem solved, for the most part. i also generally pour my own wine so i can pace that aspect as well.

Fascino in montclair. as far as non-byobs go, if the wine is unique and they don't serve anything like it, then a good restaurant probably won't have a problem with letting you bring it for a nominal corkage fee. you should always call and discuss with a manager in advance, however. Scalini Fedeli, i would think, would be one of those accommodating restaurants.

Blue Mountain, in PA, makes a tasty vidal blanc. otherwise you should be able to go to any decent wine store and pick something up. http://www.bluemountainwine.com/

Would not be in New Jersey. Last really fav place was Dish in Passaic Park, in the Bruce days. But had my last meal there some time ago. ← i loved that place. I just saw Bruce and his brother (who helped run Dish) last week at the Loop Lounge, which he still owns. Dish was pretty remarkable, especially given that it was the 90's.

I think you are misjudging the market. There are an awful lot of dinners served every night in New York, for which an extra $25-45 would be a trivial add-on. There are plenty of people who call at the last minute, and when they are told no tables are available, that is the end of it. In principle, I am sure a good deal of those people would pay a small premium, if it meant their request could be accommodated. i tend to agree. having some experience with taking clients to dinner, and associating with many others who do, i can say with some level of confidence thati would often consider this service for business alone. i can't tell you how many times a client has decided where they want to go on the day of, and you find yourself in the position of having to say "uh, let's go elsewhere." the 45 dollars is trivial in a client dinner situation, and well worth it. not sure if anyone has come across it yet, as no one has mentioned it, but Broadway theaters offer "premium seats", which can run at least twice the cost of regular seats. i generally buy those seats as i don't have to plan 8 months out to see a play, and still get good seats. obviously all the money goes to the theater, and i don't feel so bad about it. not that the theater business model is even close to the existing restaurant business model, but i'm just sayin'.

so they can sell you a new one when yours turns black and ugly.

amatuer gourmet writes for Seriouseats. some of seriouseats' content is supplied by people who also have blogs, who are not "professional". Seriouseats is published using blogging software, or something that emulates the look-and-feel of blogging software. how is it then different from the contributors' blogs? is it more relevant? are you saying that you prefer the defintion "online diary" as the definition of "blog"? i can understand why you might think that's an accurate definition, especially if you have little experience reading or publishing blogs, and I certainly can't debate a preference, but i don't think it's very accurate. again, a blog is whatever the author makes it. to go back to an original point in this thread, the Amateur Gourmet got a free meal from Le Cirque. indeed, behold the power of the blog.

a blog is whatever the author wants it to be. blogs are no longer just for 14 year-olds talking about what they did today. blog software is mainstream and nothing more or less than an online publishing tool. as far as the content, if you dismiss the content of food blogs (or any blog for that matter) as nothing more than highly personal impressions, or their authors as attention-needing soapbox-standing amateurs, then you have to dismiss the content of egullet and its ilk, and the contributors, as they fall into the same category. i don't think it would be reasonble to dismiss the impact on sites like egullet, or blogs. blogs routinely come up on top of google and other web searches. i think you underestimate how many people read blogs. that's not to say people have RSS feeds to thousands of blogs, but people are seeing, and reading, many.

one difference is that the service presumably is essentially blocking out tables that someone might possibly get without paying the fee. let's take it to the extreme and now this service books every table in the restaurant 30 days out. no chance for any diner to get a table without the fee. that's not the case (i guess) but it illustrates the difference. i think it's easy to see and hard to debate the value-added for the person who uses the service. however, it's the people who don't use it who are now getting the short(er) end.