thereuare

Oddfellow's in Hoboken makes a large and GOOD burger (served "blackened", as it's a cajun themed place), but expect something to go wrong service-wise, even if you only anticipate "pub service." There was a place i went to in West Orange that i went to based upon a message board recommendation called Gaffer's which was quite good IF ordered with the "house cheese" (not called that, but they'll know what you mean, it's similar to cheez whiz but much thicker, spicier, and better). Don't know how big the burger is, but it is quite good. I will also reiterate the Jackson Hole mentioned above, which i think has one of the best burgers around.

I grew up right near this place, and although they're known for their burgers, i never understood what the fuss was all about, i thought they were just "ok". I much more prefered the burgers at the DQ/Brazier on Rte 4 (now closed), which i eventually ended up working at for about a year when i was in High School. The fact that i worked there AND still ate the food from there should count for something! If you're in the area and looking for The Fireplace type atmosphere (which i would describe as "Take-out that you can Eat-In") i would suggest my ritual whenever i'm visiting the area.... La Bella Roma Pizzeria in Paramus on Farview Ave just south of Century Road. Bypass their pizza (which is decent in it's own right, but not awesome or chow-worthy) and order a "Chicken Parm Hero". They make the best chicken parm sandwich i've ever had, and is the sandwich that i compare all others to. I've never realized how long i've been eating them until i started typing this, but i've been chowing down on them at this "local institution" for 15+ years! My next trip to the area is going to include a stop at Fink's Funky Chicken and Ribs based upon what i've been reading on this board.

Going to visit some family (the other side of the family, so first time there for me). Looking for some good food. My counterpart over there is as much of a foodie as i am, the wives don't care too much. Nothing fancy (as there will be a <2yr old in the group), but anything from casual to "roadside stand" to a "joint" is acceptable. Thanks for any and all help.

Rosie, The name is hidden in my first message, it's called "T Thai". Tommy, Yes, it's BYOB -Thereuare

Tommy, There is a new Thai place in Hoboken on the corner of 2nd and Hudson, across the street from the movie theater. Just thought you'd like to know as you just mentioned thai above. I'm "new" to eating thai (and actually craving it on certain days) and both this new place, T Thai, and Sri Thai mentioned above are good (IMO). Oh yeah, and they're open on Modays! (and also open 'til midnite Thru-Sat) -Thereuare

Right, they make a GREAT sub and everything else is cr*p! If somebody told me they want to take me to a great sub place in their town, i'm gonna compare it to a great sub, which is what they serve at the above Hoboken delis. I don't think they INTEND on "running in two different races", but they do because one makes a fabulous product, and the other doesn't know any better.

tommy, are you saying that the places in Hoboken can't compete w/ the Mike's, The Sub Base, etc. OR are you saying Mike's, The Sub Base, etc. can't compete w/ the places in Hoboken OR the Hoboken places don't classify as "sub shops"?

I'm biased, but here's my slightly off topic pics: If lattitude is allowed outside of Bergen County, any of the following places in Hoboken: Vito's, Fiore's, M+P Biancomono (fresh mozzarella is a MUST at any of these!!). The first 2 are the tops, the third is a distant third, but still great! For a hot sub, La Bella Roma pizzeria in Paramus makes the best chicken parm hero in the state! It's a "hole in the wall" pizza place but their chicken parm hero is a must whenever i'm town.

Tommy, he was able to meet Liza before you.

Rosie, Looks like we had similar (positive) experiences. Which location did you go to, it sounds like the one on Terhune Street.... do you know anything about their other location off of Kennedy Blvd? Apparently it's in the oldest building in Jersey City and a little nicer on the inside. I'm thinking about trying this location next time, as i HATE to drive, and apparently this location is walkable from the Journal Square PATH station (and i can walk to a PATH train from my apartment). As i stated above, the person who recommended this restaurant to me said the location on Terhune is better, but i also read on another message board that the location off of Kennedy Blvd is better, so i'm willing to give it a shot.

OK, couldn't wait for a reply (i waited a whole 3 hours!!) so i tried this place myself tonite, figuring i could deal with the short drive and a short wait with it being a holiday weekend (i heard they get crowded early, and don't take reservations). We first walked in and were thrown back in time, this is a real "locals" place, where local describes anybody in a 20 mile radius.. We stood in the doorway trying to figure out if we were supposed to wait to be seated OR if there was somebody to give our name to. I approached an employee to ask and all she said was, "Bartender, bartender." I stood at the bar for too long a period before i was acknowledge by the bartender, but we finally gave our name, ordered a couple of drinks, and then were seated in about 5 minutes. We started with a house salad with house dressing which is included with all entrees and served family style, along with a basket of 2 types of bread; one of which is their version of garlic bread which isn't really garlic bread as i'm used to it, however, both were VERY good. We then had an order of baked clams which were EXCELLENT. You could tell they were freshly made from quality ingredients. Entrees were shrimp and lobster with marina sauce over fettucini and a shrimp fra diablo over linguini. The shrimp fra diablo had some of the biggest shrimp i've ever seen! Both were very good, but the sauce could have been a little thicker. We were too stuffed to try dessert, but overall this was a very good meal and an excellent value for the money. The above food ran about $50 with tip (+$10 for the drinks). Few other thoughts... the place is in a residential area in a converted house. As a result, the restaurant was not designed as such, and the space is somewhat 'obtuse'. Service (other than the bartender) was above average and accomodating.

Laico's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge 67 Terhune Ave Jersey City,NJ (201) 434-4115 Has anybody been here or know anything about it? I've never been, but heard from an unknown source that it was excellent (unknown that i didn't know the person, but it was somebody i met at a "destination" pizza restaurant, so he's at least gotta know food a little bit) The man basically said that it rivals some of the best italian in NYC, at a fraction of the price (not that the prices here are cheap). Apparently they have 2 locations, but the one above is the better of the two. Any comments to reinforce or disprove the above recommendation would be appreciated. I figured i'd ask Glenn in particular since he seems to know the area and has claimed it a "food wasteland."

As i'm in the process of planning a rehersal dinner, i will add that one restaurant we considered has a policy of adding a 21% gratuity to the bill. I thought that was a little "double dipping."

I never get the dessert wrong thanks to a 7th grade teacher, who commented, "It's so good it gets two 's's" (<-- ok, how do you correctly type two letter s?) The other word that is often mispelled on the internet is loose vs lose. But then again, i'm in no position to be critcizing other people's grammar or spelling!

Rio Grande on Third Ave and ~37th Street. Might not be your crowd, but after one margarita, you probably won't care!

Jason, I ordered things that were recommended from this message board. The shrimp dish i had the first time there was a recommendation received from this board (although i think the thread is now gone). This time around i ordered the Kung Bo Chicken after trying it the first time at Grand Sichuan on 9th Ave... then reading a recent post how China 46's version was different, yet one of the best renditions of the dish the poster had ever had. I can't help the rest of my family who insists on ordering "Americanized" chinese food. But i will stress once again (to be fair), the food was not the problem.

The items i remember from the first trip were Peking duck, and a shrimp in an orange type of sauce. This most recent trip we had: chicken with broccoli, double delight, peking duck, kung bo chicken, chicken shaumane(??). Also had a few egg roll, spare ribs, vegetable dumplings, and soup. As i said, the complaints weren't food related.

OK, at the risk of having all of my future comments not read by anyone on this board, i will tell of my thoughts after a second trip to China 46. I will start off by saying that the food is good, not the best i've ever had (which would be reserved for "Hong Hing" in Westwood which closed after the partners decided to retire), but China 46 is indeed better than your average chinese restaurant. Even though, i don't think i'll be back a third time. The first time i was there was about 3 months ago, and the meal was good and uneventful, EXCEPT for a fight that broke out at the register! A couple was paying and apparently the wife said something negative, to which Cecil(??) raised his voice in response to her. The woman then raised her voice, and then Cecil raised his voice and in the process told the woman to "shut up." At which point her husband got involved and yelled, "Don't tell my wife to shut up, you apologize to her." Meanwhile, the wife is yelling, "Don't tell me to shut up, you shut up" and Cecil is screaming back at both of them! I don't know who was right/wrong in the whole situation, but i DO KNOW that an owner of a restaurant sometimes has to swallow his/her pride and sometimes just say "thank you for letting me know" when you really want to give the customer a piece of your mind. An owner should never be seen fighting with a customer OR an employee while other diners are in the restaurant. So even with the above situation which we thought was a just a fluke, we decided to return for Mother's day as the food was decent, and we thought it would be a nice place that wouldn't have a "special holiday menu." We were a party of 5, and when we arrived we asked to sit in the room to the left (which is less 'diner-like'). We were told that room was all booked up for reservations (which is fine) and were seated at a table for 6 right in front of the register, near the door. Less than 5 minutes later a family of 6 walks in, and when asked if they had a reservation they said "no", and then they were seated right away in the room to the left! My dad got up from the table and asked Cecil(??) why we couldn't be seated in the other room too, as the family that just came in didn't have a reservation either. Cecil wouldn't let my dad finish a sentence and kept interupting him, just like he did when he argued with the couple last time we were there (by the way, another important characteristic of a good restaurant owner is one that LISTENS to his customer). Cecil tries to "cover" by saying that since we sat down they had a cancellation and that's why the other family was able to sit in the other room. However, my dad quickly points out that the phone hasn't rung in the 5 minutes since we sat down... so how did they receive this 'mysterious' cancellation! So Cecil reconsiders, says he'll see what he could do, and in less than 30 seconds we were reseated in the other room. The whole experience left a bad taste in our mouths before we even ate a bite. Additionally, they forgot to bring out two orders of spare ribs which we asked for with the appetizers, so they were just brought out with the rest of the entrees. I also noticed that all the Asian customers received a small dish of green vegetable when they sat down, while we (and other "caucasian" diners) received nothing. I'm sure the Egullet "regulars" that visit this restaurant receive this "special treatment" and "extra dishes" as well, but nobody likes to go to a restaurant and feel like they are getting second-tier service relative to others. So go ahead and let the rotten eggs and tomatoes fly, but that has been my experience at this place which others on this board consider a Mecca. Maybe i'll go back WITH one of you OR wearing some Egullet memorabilia, at which point maybe i'll be treated better and will join the ranks of those that give China 46 high accolades.

Glenn, Sorry it took me so long to reply but i was busy yesterday with the whole mother's day thing (now that i'm getting married, gotta do it twice!) I see somebody gave you a thread up above for the Lighthouse, and that is the place i was refering to. Stick with the (limited) items on the plastic menu that permanantly sits on the table, which looks like it should have drinks on it rather than entrees. I've had both the #10 and #11 (or it may be #9 and #10) which are the Boolgogi and BBQ Ribs... both are EXCELLENT. The tofu soups on that menu are also very good, and if you like Tofu, they are a MUST. Regarding Oddfellows, if you re-read my post, we are actually in agreement on this place. I said the food is good, but SOMETHING always goes wrong (and this SOMETHING is usally related to service). They often run out of cornbread, food not cooked as specified, i've had bits of debris in my water, not receiving ketchup/mustard after asking for it and then not seeing the waiter/waitress for some time, etc, etc, etc. But, even with all of the above "problems", we still end up going back because it's convenient and when the food is finally prepared/served correctly, it IS quite good. I was disappointed when you comented on the poor service at the JC location, because that is the one thing they definately needed to improve upon when expanding their Hoboken location. I also recalled after my first post that we DON"T go here on Fri or Sat nites, as they don't have a non-smoking section, and the place is likely busy enough on those nites that we wouldn't be able to shelter ourselves (i support anyone's right to smoke, i just don't like smelling it while i eat). There is also China 46 which everyone on this board seems to love, BUT you might want to first read the post i'm about to create after this message.

The Lighthouse in Fairview :) Heck, if you give me a call, i might even meet you there (with the finacee in tow). I also don't know how their location in JC is, but we like Oddfellow's (Hoboken location). The food is always surprisingly good, but as i've said before, "something" always goes wrong. However, whatever goes wrong isn't enough to keep us from returning. Another place i haven't been to in awhile but is good to walk in on a Saturday nite is Michaelina's in Hoboken (5th and Bloomfield), but you'll have to take a cab as i know how much you hate the Hoboken parking situation. Glen, we're the same way... love good food, but can't stand the crowds!!

Zingerman's Website I know, i didn't think it could be true either, but this place rivals any NY deli. Their specialty is "grilling" sandwiches (like a reuben) but they do mail order also. Their philosophy is "buy the best we can, or don't buy it at all." My favorite is a #18 (Georgia Reuben) which is best when they make it, but they'll also do a mail order and send you all the ingredients to make 4 sandwiches.... but all of their stuff is EXCELLENT. And just so i stay on topic with this post, i think we're going to China 46 for Mother's Day :)

Rosie, ... and i thought your replies to me indicating "Go Blue" was just you being social, now i know you've actually spent some time in Ann Arbor!! I don't mean to get off topic for this thread, but have you had BeBimBab at Steve's Lunch? I could talk Ann Arbor food for an eternity (Blimpy Burger, Mountain Jacks, Zingerman's, etc) Go Blue!

One more question (so i know what to crave on may way there).... are the shrimp at dinner still in the shell (ala Beefsteak Charlies fame) or are they already peeled? I"m assuming they are in the shell. To me, the hassle of peeling shrimp for the small morsel inside isn't worth the trouble. EDIT: a second question since Tommy didn't ask... BYO??

Is this the former location of Mount Fuji? Tonite i'm going back to my new (ok, a few months new) favorite, Lighthouse, but i'll put this place on the list to try in the next few weeks. For others that like asian buffets, there is a GREAT chinese buffet on Rte 17 near the Mahwah/Ramsey border called The Grand Buffet (southbound side, across the street from the Pathmark shopping center). Unlike most other buffets, the trays are small so they are CONSTANTLY refilling them with fresh food, and most of it is VERY good. It's another "bargain" at only $10 or $11 for dinner. However, on holidays they do a "Special Buffet" with seafood which i don't really like as much (and the price goes up, but i'm not too much of a seafood fan). Thanks for the tip on the new place.

Great chinese food, fantastic chicken dish. Service was lackluster at best, but maybe the waitress was just having an off nite.