lamb

In the New York-area Costcos, the free sample culture is rather cutthroat. It's not like at the nice Midwestern Costcos where you walk around and a smiling AARP type gives you a slice of sausage on a toothpick while saying, "You can use this in a casserole . . ." Here, it's more like the customers saying, "Psst. How many minutes left on the ravioli? Two?" And then, Arnold-like, "I'll be back." As soon as a batch of whatever comes out of the little oven or electric kettle, a crowd gathers. Often each person takes five or six of whatever it is, loudly proclaiming, "This one for my son; this one for my husband . . ." If you're lucky enough to get a piece of whatever it is, you feel quite triumphant. If you do this with five or six items, it's a strategy game and a meal in one. My son volunteers at the Senior Center in our NJ town. They readily confess to him that they go to the Edison, NJ, Costco several times weekly for a free lunch worth of samples. I've coincidentally been there at the same time as their group visits. Whew - don't go anywhere near a senior who is brandishing a cocktail toothpick while eating their free lunch! They know exactly when each new item will be ready and glide between each saute pan for their sample. They use their shopping cart as a pusher to get to the front of the line.

Romantic Italian restaurants in Long Branch are not that plentiful. Joe & Maggie's has great food, but not Italian, and not really romantic. The Reef Club is a great seafood restaurant, but again, not Italian. Maybe a bit too busy to be romantic. Are you flexible regarding cuisine and location?

The White Sands Hotel, Ocean Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach has a lovely restaurant and decent wine list. I've only been there for dinner, but have seen their luncheon menu and it seems interesting. Nice ocean views from second story restaurant. see link for white sands hotel edited to revise link

FG- My husband recently switched from a business to individual membership. The only real difference in privileges is the 10:00 am for business vs. 11:00 am for individuals opening time. We can still purchase via credit card on the individual membership, at least at the central NJ Costco's. An added benefit, the Edison, NJ store sells wine. Some good names at great values.

Aspargus, grilled with a little EVOO and cracked pepper. White corn, bought just as it's being dumped into baskets at our local farm stand. Brocolli rabe, sauted with garlic. Peas, however, are completely out of the question. Any kind, any preparation. No, no, no.

Jersey peaches. Eaten at the shore during the summer. Yum. Clementines. We eat them by the crate in our house in the fall.

That is a no brainer!!! What Chop said!!! By far, Nicholas is one of the best restaurant experiences in NJ, never mind the Red Bank area. Enjoy.

Really? I was there last year, and the men in our group didn't wear jackets. Management didn't ask them to wear the "requisite jacket in the back". I don't recall other men wearing jackets either. Did their rules change recently?

IT is the same premise as acupuncture except they use a laser pointer on the pressure points instead. The success rate of the clinic in toronto is 94%, whereas acupunture's success rate is around 55%. I have no idea why! At the same time, I'll have laser therapy to control weight gain. I worked way to hard to take all that weight off. I'm not going there again. The laser therapy is supposed to be one visit with a free follow up if you need it. (On january 14th, I'll be a non-smoker. On January 14th, I'll be a non-smoker. On January 14th................my new mantra) WOW - that sounds impressive. I don't think, or at least I've never heard of, something quite like that in the USA. Do you think they have a laser therapy procedure for too much egulleting? Again, best of luck to you!!

Marlene, Best of luck in your worthwhile endeavor!! I am a reformed smoker (smoked for 15, have not for the past 16) and know firsthand just how difficult the ultimate decision and process is. What is the laser therapy process for quitting that you are scheduled for? I'm not familiar with it and would like some more info. Thanks, and again GOOD LUCK!!

OH NO! Our firm Holiday Dinner is at LG this year on a Friday evening. No spouses, a party of 20 decently well-informed foodies and winers. As our office planner has spent a considerable amount of time planning this event, I won't burst her bubble with the comments here. At least I know not to set my expectations too high. We are bringing some gaming (roulette and blackjack) tables in for our entertainment. That should take the spotlight off the food. I was hoping for an exciting food evening, though.

I tried the BlackBear beef franks during the summer. Bought them at Shop-Rite because they were having a sale on them. Turned out to be a great purchase. One of the best franks I've ever tasted. You can boil, broil, or fry them - they are just great! I am also pretty sure that there was a hot dog thread this summer that discussed them too.

My mom made me sardine on white bread sandwiches for lunch. I was able to clear the cafeteria table at St. Bernard's Elementary School in 10 seconds flat. My two older brothers were there, however, to beat the crap out of anyone who made comments about mom being weird. They were good catholic school boys. Today they are the ones making the comments about mom being weird. Therapy works wonders.

Hydrox are Oreo wannabes.

DOES IT EVER STOP?????????

I cook for people who don't feel bad. And, especially, for those who do. i pity those who don't cook for people who feel bad. I feel for people who cook for bad people. I feel people who cook and aren't bad people. For I cook people who don't feel bad. I don't cook for bad people. Don't feel bad, for I cook people. Feel bad for people who I don't cook. I don't feel bad for cook people. I don't cook, I feel bad.

Uh - Mark, what's a region? I'm familiar with towns within a county, but can't quite figure out what a region is.

When I mentioned the Cakebread, it was responding to Hollywood's post about the Cakebread sauvignon blanc. Sorry if I confused it with the Chardonnay - but I still think the SB would be a good choice with Chinese.

My husband has been picking up Cakebread SB lately in Costco. It's a great choice with Chinese.

Tootsie Rolls!

Sardines. My mom would pack a sardine sandwich on white bread for my school lunch. I was able to clear the entire lunch table at St. Bernards elementary school in Brooklyn, NY. No matter how much I pleaded, she insisted on packing that once a month. Thought she made up for the sandwhich by packing Hostess pink snowballs with them. Hate them too.

An interesting note about my cruise on Royal Caribbean this past August. We were surprised our first night out that our waiter presented the wine list. When we asked if the sommelier would be by to take our order, our waiter told us that RC did away with their sommeliers at the beginning of 2002. The ship still had a cellar master on board, and it was his duty to bring the waiters up to speed regarding their wine knowledge. I have to say that even though our waiter tried his best and did a decent job, it was not the same as having the wine presented at the table by the sommelier. We had some memorable times on past cruises on the Celebrity Line with the sommeliers and was looking forward to the same on RC. Guess it's a sign of the times.

While I'm certainly not anywhere near an expert on this subject, I did observe a ship loading its goods when disembarking this summer. On the Royal Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale, we noticed pallets of food stuffs that were dockside waiting to be hoisted below. My friends and I commented on the MANY cases of wine that were among the items. That would lead me to believe that most wine does not stay on board for too long (they also don't have the storage capacity), so jostling would not have too much effect. The jostling effect could be applied also to wines that ship cross country, say from the West to East Coasts for distribution. Anybody have any thoughts about that?

Forgot to add this to the previous post: YOU HAD DOGGIE BAGS?!!! I have never left there without cleaning my plate!

Rosie, Sogno is one of my favorite restaurants in the Red Bank area. I have been there several times over the past year and have not been disappointed. Glad you enjoyed your experience there.