TomDel

My son is considering going to Erini Restaurant on River Road in Ewing Twp. on New Year’s Eve. This is the latest incarnation of what was once Landwehr's, then Peroni's, then it was Merlino's Waterfront until fire closed it in 2002. It reopened in 2003 as Diamond's Riverside and in 2007 it became Erini. I know that NYE is not a good night for dining out, but I’d appreciate any comments, good or bad, and any recommendations any of you may have. Thanks in advance.

The Trentonian reported yesterday that Pete Lorenzo’s in Trenton, NJ, once described as NJ’s best Steakhouse, has closed.

Yesterday, my wife, son, and I had lunch at the Dublin Square Pub on Route 130 N in Bordentown Twp. http://www.dublinsquarepubs.com/ My son and I both had the corned beef sandwich. It was served with an apple-onion relish, horseradish mayonnaise, and Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread. There was a choice of sides and we both had French fries. The sandwiches were excellent. The corned beef was tender, tasty, and lean. The fries were steak cut and also very good. My wife had the fish and chips and said that it might have been the best she’d ever had. The fish was two thick pieces of Atlantic cod in a light beer batter that was neither greasy nor heavy. The fries were the same as those served with the sandwiches and just as good. We all enjoyed the meal very much and definitely will be back. I think we’ll all be a little more adventurous on our next visit and try some of the more traditional Irish fare. The “Boxty” dishes look particularly appealing, as does the Shepherd’s Pie.

Take a ride down to AC and get a room at the Borgata. Try the porterhouse for two at the Old Homestead. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I really don’t care for “hoppy” beers like those you mentioned. I like the “malty” ones. In any event, their selection of even bottled beer was very limited. They had virtually no micro brews. The only ale was the new Budweiser American Ale which I think is terrible. I like most brown ales, English ales and beer, German Bock and Doppelbock, and the Belgian dark Abbey and Trappist beers/ales. Thanks for the invitation. Maybe you’ll convert me.

My son and I took advantage of a comp’d room and had another fantastic meal at the Old Homestead in the Borgata. We started things off by splitting a half dozen east coast oysters and an order of clams casino. This was followed by a great Caesar’s salad. Like most steakhouses’, everything is a la carte but they do let you share salads and sides. We decided on the porterhouse steak for two and were not disappointed. It was cooked to a perfect Pittsburg medium with a nice char on the outside and pink but not bleeding in the middle. You could cut this two inch thick steak with a fork and the aged prime meat had a wonderful flavor. We complimented the steak with an order of their crispy hash brown potatoes that were also great. They’re cooked in a pan or casserole dish that gets the outside a beautiful golden brown. It’s then turned out, upside down, on a dish that presents it like a golden brown potato cake. Dessert consisted of the big fat chocolate cake for my son and crème brulee for me, both were excellent. We finished this extraordinary meal with espresso and anisette. About the only complaint that I have is that I’m not much of a wine drinker and prefer a good beer with beef. Their selection of both draft and bottled beers leaves much to be desired. I ended up with a pint of Stella Artois which was decent, but I would have preferred a Belgian dubbel or an English brown ale such as Newcastle. The Old Homestead is expensive, but as a once or twice a year destination restaurant, I believe it is well worth the cost. If you like beef try it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Tom, is Dom's son still cooking and is the food still as good as when they were on Chestnut Street? I used to love this place, especially the limited menu and the almost surly all business waitresses that delivered the food. Where else can you get a 3 course lunch for 8 bucks anywhere and really great food to boot. ← I was there for lunch shortly after they moved and it seemed like everything was the same except they don’t have a liquor license. I’m not sure how much it cost since my buddy picked up the tab, but he didn’t comment on it and he was a regular Burg customer. I see that Rich below had a bad experience. That’s the first I’ve heard of anyone complaining about the food. The service has always been a little surly, but I can’t ever remember waiting too long. I guess I’ll have to give it a try for dinner on a weekend night.

Tattoni’s was a little known gem of a restaurant in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, NJ for years. It has since moved to the suburbs (Rt. 33 in Hamilton Twp.) and is now a BYOB. The menu is limited and not written down, but the food is great and more than reasonable in price.

Last night my wife and I found a little gem of a Chinese restaurant in Bordentown, NJ called Jade Island www.jadeislandrestaurant.com . It’s in a really weird location on a little spit of land between Rt. 130 and Rt. 206 where they cross over each other near Mastoris diner. They have all the usual Chinese dishes plus a number unique ones plus a sushi bar. They also have a liquor license which is in itself unusual for a Chinese restaurant in this area. If you decide to try it, be careful entering and leaving the premises as getting on either highway from there is a little scary to say the least.

I forgot to include their website http://www.delorenzostomatopies.com/ .

If you decide to go, I’d recommend going to their new place on Route 33 in Robbinsville, NJ. It’s a lot nicer and safer than the one in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. I’d guess that you’re about forty five minutes to an hour away depending upon traffic. You could either take Route 33 all the way or go south and pick up 195 which is longer but should be faster. If you go, let us know how you liked the pie.

I guess “fine dining” like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Having said that, I think there are still a few good restaurants left in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. Amici Milano’s and John Henry’s come to mind. Rossi’s known predominantly for its burgers also has quite a few other excellent entrées on their menu. I agree with Jeff L on both counts. The “Burg” isn’t nearly as dangerous as the papers would have you believe and both Amici Milano’s and John Henry’s have off street parking. Unfortunately, the last two times that I ate at Pete Lorenzo’s the steak was less than memorable. I don’t think I’ll be back.

My son and I decided to try Amarone’s Windsor Inn last night after reviewing the menu’s and specials on their website http://amaronesrestaurant.com . They were advertising a special “Steak House Night” with half prices and since we both felt like a steak, we decided to give them a try. A hint that we were probably in for a bad night was the fact that even though we arrived somewhat early, around 6:00 PM, and it was raining, the place was empty. Literally no one else was in the dining room and there were only 4 or 5 people at the bar. Only one other couple arrived while we were there. Unfortunately, it seems we were a victim of the old bait and switch scam. After reviewing the menu, I asked the waitress about the half prices for “Steak House Night” that were advertised on their website. She mumbled something about a mistake and went into the kitchen. When she returned, she had a single page menu that listed the 18 oz. N.Y. Strip Steak at $24 or $26 but not half of the regular menu price of $30/2 or $15. The Filet Mignon was $28 not $34/2 or $17. At this point, we should have just got up and left or at least I should have asked to see the Manager. However, we were both hungry and I didn’t want to make a scene or go look for someplace else in the rain. After ordering, the busboy brought bread and olive oil for dipping. Butter was never mentioned as an option. My son had the marinated portabella mushroom which he enjoyed and I had the crab cake which was decent and the anisette sauce worked well with it, but it was not lump crab meat as advertised or if it was, they shredded it during preparation. The salads were nondescript, room temperature and wilted. The plus side of all this is that we ordered the aforementioned steaks and they were cooked as ordered and okay, but they were nowhere near as big as advertised. There was no choice of potato but the mashed that came with the steaks. They tasted okay, but I would have rather had a baked potato or better yet, the traditional steak house home or french fries. The steaks were also served with a barely cooked sprig of steamed broccoli with no butter, lemon or anything else to put on it. We both had espresso and my son had cannolis which I tasted and were quite good. Needless to say I was more than a little annoyed with the bogus “Steak House Night” specials so I voiced my complaint this morning by sending an e-mail to the address listed on their website. This is the response that I received this afternoon. “I appreciate your taking the time to send this email. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. In our defense, we requested the menu be taken off the website, du (sic) to the fact that we were creating a new streakhouse (sic) menu. Unfortunately once requested, it can take 2 to 4 business days for the update to occur, and for new menus to be added. Sadly, with the increase in our providers prices, along with the inflation in our food cost, we simply had to eliminate our previous steak house menu, hence the new one with new prices. I apologize (sic) for the inconvenience, and am happy to hear you enjoyed your meal, despite the misleadings (sic). If you have questions reguarding (sic) menus or anything else, always feel free to contact the restaurant with inquiries. Thank you, have a great day.” As of 3:30 PM this afternoon, the website has still not been changed. I don’t think we’ll be back any time soon.

Has anybody had dinner recently at Amarone’s Windsor Inn? I believe that at one time it was called Scarotta’s or something like that. The menu looks pretty good http://amaronesrestaurant.com but the reviews are mixed but most of them are pretty old (circa. 2004-5). Their website indicates that Bobby Vitella (aka Bobby V) is the new manager. I think he was associated with the now defunct Grecco’s in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. Any info would be appreciated.

My wife and I went to the Borgata in Atlantic City on Monday (5/12/08) and had dinner at Bobby Flay Steak that evening. We started things off with cocktails. My wife had a V.O. Manhattan on the rocks and I had a Stoli on ice with a splash of Kahlua. Both drinks were made as requested and were very good. Our waiter then brought us a very nice selection of rolls with butter. They included a cheesy sort of Parker House roll and miniature ciabatta loaves, both were excellent. For appetizers we both had the Lobster-Crab Cake with Tomatillo Sauce and Saffron Aioli. This is an excellent dish but the cakes could have had a browner or crustier exterior. We were somewhat amused in the manner in which they were served. They used a bowl that looked like it was meant to be a serving bowl for vegetables or potatoes in a family style service. It didn’t detract from the cakes but it was absurdly large for a relatively small appetizer. We both ordered a Spice Rubbed Steak. My wife had the boneless Ribeye and I had the Filet Mignon. We both ordered them medium and they arrived exactly so. A word of caution however, both steaks were charred black. This wasn’t a problem for us since we both like a blackened or “Pittsburg” exterior. The spice rub may have contributed to this as it does with Cajun dishes like blackened redfish. I was a little disappointed at the size of the filet. I doubt that it could have been more than four or five ounces. My real disappointment was with the flavor and texture. It just wasn’t that good, not bad mind you, just not what I expected from a top of the line steakhouse. When I got home I checked their website and they don’t advertise their steaks as being prime or aged and I don’t think they are either. My wife had the Sweet Potato Gratin for a side that she enjoyed. I had the Brooklyn Hash Browns that I thought were terrible and IMO virtually inedible. It was as if they took fried hash browns, mashed them up with onions (?) and whatever and then put the resulting concoction in a gratin dish and heated it up. When I complained, our waiter replaced them without a problem with the Black Pepper French Fries with Chipotle Aioli which were decent if a little too peppery for my taste. He said that a lot of people had complained about the hash browns. He indicated that they were trying to duplicate the hash browns served at Peter Luger’s. Well, I haven’t been to Luger’s but I’m pretty sure that theirs are a lot better than these. I also had a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale with dinner and my wife had water. We decided to forego dessert and finished the meal with coffee. My wife had a cup of decaf and I had an espresso with an anisette on the side. The coffee and espresso were excellent. I’m glad we tried Bobby’s place but I don’t think we’ll go back. For over a hundred dollars a person, there are simply too many other restaurants in AC to try first. A word of advice for Bobby, don’t challenge the Old Homestead to a steak throwdown. You’ll lose big time.