tommy

had this tonite for the first time. thought it was very good. a lot of fun. not a lot of food, but that's just as well. the sichuan peppercorns were alive and kicking in the ox tongue and tripe. more so than they have been in a long time.

Acutally "stars" didn't really factor into my definition of "fine dining" at all. I was just thinking about places where great food is served in a professional and courteous way in surroundings worthy of a special occasion. that question was directed towards bux. sorry for the confusion.

that sounds like a reasonable explanation. but i still think it's an excuse when we're talking about a place like JG.

that was probably 7 Star. or Bennies, but Bennies is right on washington. both are better after a tour of hoboken's bars.

does your definition of "fine dining" include only those restaurants that are rated 4 stars or pretentions to 4 stars? i think for some people Babbo would qualify as "fine dining". Gotham as well. it's all relative, but i'm curious if there's an actual definition that i've missed. edited for clarity.

the idea of getting odors of the freezer on the wine cubes doesn't appeal to me either. i'd have to go with small bottles.

i haven't been to JG in a while, but aren't reservations hard to come by even on a wednesday night? if so, isn't there just as much of a strain on the restaurant on wednesday as on a saturday? assuming all things are equal (turn-over time, etc), i'm tempted to say that the 'weekend rush' explanation is just an excuse. clearly JG should be able to run at the same high level on tuesday or saturday.

i was thinking that, but it strikes me as a much different change. i'd be tempted to freeze wine for cooking, but only if i could remove most of the air from the vessel. i'm not sure that's practical, though.

this is why god invented Zima.

there's at least one american grill thread. maybe rosie can move the post there? rosie? what says you?

looking at the issue with the guy's name and whatnot, i assume this was what he was told. or was it some sort of research/editing error? if it's the former, "so what" applies.

they should add that quote to their menu as a mini-review.

since you're splitting hairs, it's two stores in from W. Camden on Main st.

but dey got da goods. kaffir, lemongrass, curries, thai videos, the whole lot.

it might be called Udom's. if you're looking at Wondee's thai restaurant, (at 296 Main St, Hackensack), the grocery is about 3 doors to the right.

800 degrees is the realm of pizzeria ovens. For the best pizza, that's exactly where you want to be. i know. i'm just wondering if it's practical/safe to get the safety mechanism busted up. i'll check out that thread. as far as peels go, i've been happy with my wood peel. i've never wanted to any sharper than it is, and nothing sticks to it with a little flour or cornmeal. seems to suck up tomato sauce, though, making clean-up a bit of a pain sometimes.

there's a decent indian market in Fairlawn, and another in Belleville. Belleville also has a thai market, although i think the one in hackensack that fink mentions is a bit better. they're both worth a visit.

i'm pretty sure ovens on a self-clean cycle get pretty hot, maybe upwards to 800 degrees even? but in my experience, ovens on a self-clean cycle lock and stayed lock until the temp drops to about 100 degrees. so unless you can get around the locking mechanism (which might not be recommended strictly from a safety perspective), or you like your pizza really really well done, this might not be such a hot idea. but i'd like to hear if anyone was able to pull it off.

i had a waiter say "but it's red" when i asked for ice or a chill. just another symptom of the horrible wine service and training that most restaurants provide at just about all price-points.

here ya go damn. i tried that, but since my pop-up blocker stopped the lame pop-up, and the title of the page is something totally random, i figured it was one of those crappy squatters. shame on them for having such a poorly designed (and slow-loading) website. (a pet peeve of mine obviously ) thanks!

had a burger at Michael Jordan's the other day. ordered m/r, sent out m/w. regardless, it was very juicy and flavorful, with a great crust and good bun. they have 2 burgers: a 10 oz for about $15 and a 16 oz for about $20 i think. the 10 ounce seemed like the right size. i'd put this burger up there with S&W and Blue Smoke. wines by the glass at Michael Jordan's bar are pathetic. i'm offended they'd even offer Glass Mountain.

i poked around there not too long ago looking for a thai restaurant. i don't know why, i just thought that the old rumors might be true. i do know that the Thai Chef people opened a japanese place in Riverside Square about a year ago, but that doesn't really help us. a sign in riverside square reads "coming soon: thai chef". obviusly this is in addition to the japanese place they opened there a while back. that's closer to me than both englewood and montclair, so it's a good thing. does anyone know their website? i used to, but i didn't save it, and now my memory is failing. they used to have 2 URLs, both of which i can't remember.

i agree with your assessments of those restaurants. however, we're probably not average 35-year-olds. we're special. also, we should include the up-and-coming fine dining set, which is what i tried to do when i said "younger people" (younger than me). my first trip to JG was years ago, probably when i was 28 or so. i associate with some people in their late 20's, and i'm not sure they would agree with us.

valid point. there are certainly younger people who prefer to not dine where their uncle or parents do. if i didn't think Jean Georges was so good, it would certainly fall into the "old and stodgy" category for me. and whether it is old and stodgy isn't the point.

do you think they didn't have a choice? oh my. The choices probably were (1) agree to team up, or (2) we will look for someone else. another choice might have been 1) do a show for x dollars. 2) team up for 10x dollars.