pete ganz

I've never eaten in North American's restaurant, but their retail seafood quality and selection has gone downhill. It seems now to be on par with most supermarket seafood departments.

We were way in the corner against the wall (to the left when you enter) by the vent. I had a blue-ish polo on, my wife had a black shirt on...maybe you saw us. My wife was not feeling too well, so I basically finished off our entire bottle of wine myself.

That's funny, my wife and I were there last night too (7:30 reservations). We split the steak tartare for starters and she had the hanger steak this time and I had the Niman Ranch pork medallions. The tartare was a huge portion and very flavorful, tasting like a fair amount of cornichons went into it, which were also served with it on the side along with garlic toasts. The hanger steak was terrific again but I have to say the pork was a bit dry and overcooked, although it did come with a nice cheese polenta and tomato cofit. I should have had the rabbit special instead....

Thanks Ian. I've heard about Pizzeria Bianco (and the hour + waits..), but if they only serve dinner, I can't make it. Even though I'm no longer going, thanks for the tip on Janos. That would have been out of my own pocket, and it didn't sound cheap.

Ouch! I think you may be in the minority with that opinion, but you're certainly entitled to it.

And how about Cafe Matisse in Rutherford (a dry town). An excellent BYOB, in my opinion. I've never really heard a bad review of it, and we thought the food was terrific. And it's in Bergen County! Their website

I will be travelling to Tucson for business in 2 weeks, but will be flying into Phoenix. I want to grab some good Southwestern food for lunch before I make the trek to Tucson (for dinner at Janos). Something representative of the region that I can't get in New Jersey . Does anyone have any recs for a good place I can hit in Phoenix before I head out to Tucson? Doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. Thanks!

Sorry, but the mental image of that is hilarious.

I would like to give this method a try, but how big a burger are we talking about here Colonel? 1/3 lb.?

I've been to the SCG on Rt 17 a couple times and thought the food was pretty decent each time. I can't really recall the wine we ordered, but those mark-ups are ridiculous. I've had the tuna, which tasted really fresh, and I think the noodles were served cold. I also had an excellent blackened shrimp wrap with a surprisingly good cole slaw for lunch there...tasted like there was Maytag blue in it. Supposedly they have live jazz on Sundays, never checked it out. I remember one time we showed up there on a whim on a Thursday night and they told us no short sleeves allowed after 7:00 (I had a polo on), so we left. The next time we went at night I was all ready with my long sleeve button down, and 9 out of 10 guys in there had polos on. Ya gotta love that.

I think the place Jason was talking about was this one... Hanna Krause

I just had the best corned beef sandwhich ever...can't wait to try the pork shoulder tonight. Thanks again for smokin' this up for everyone Klink, you da man!

Has anyone been to that Portuguese place in Belleville he mentioned? I'll probably go soon and report back on it.

We went to Epernay last night and man was it good. I just started scrolling through NJ threads it happened on this one. I had the frisee salad mentioned earlier, which was delicious. The pieces of bacon in it are a cubic inch! I also had the hanger steak in red wine sauce with bone marrow...awesome. I've only had this cut 2 times before (Les Halles was one place), but this was by far the best example. The mashed potatoes and haricot verts that came with it were terrific. My wife also said she loved the tuna, which was the standard seared/rare method but served on a bed of lentils and greens with a vinaigrette. Excellent frites as well. It was quite busy for a Thursday and there was a nice buzz in the place, I enjoy a bit of noise. The portions were extremely generous all around. For 2 apps, 2 mains, and a side of fries, the bill came to $69 before tip. I will definitely be back.

The one time I ate at one of Emeril's restaurants (the fish house in Vegas), I had an excellent meal. He is the one responsible for getting the ball rolling on my interest in food. However, I think he lifted that lamb's tongue dish from Molto. Babbo

I have a bottle of Mean Green in the fridge too, along with their regular hot sauce (good on eggs).

I went there about 6 months ago and forgot to post about it. Excellent steaks, certainly right up there with Frankie and Johnny's or Ruth's Chris. The room was very comfortable, dark colors with an elegant but relaxed vibe. I remember Tommy mentioning a steak tartare amuse brought to each table, but I don't think we received one (did you get one this time Tommy?) I believe we also had the crabcake as an app, which was very good...lots of crab. Great place if you live in the area.

Mogsob, I am under the assumption that you are in the NY area (as well as the pubs you mentioned). If so, do you mind listing the other 2? Thanks.

I believe it's referred to that way here in the States as well. I could be wrong, but I think any ale made with lager yeast fermented at ale temps is called California Common.

What a great description. I can't wait to eventually get to Craft.

Unfortunately, no. Maybe because the setting was a bit more formal than I expected. If I would have seen other diners at Diwan doing this, I would have jumped all over it.

What an excellent meal we had there last Saturday. This was the first time wife and I had been to an Indian restaurant and I can't wait to get back. I had to go after all the glowing reviews on this thread and mainly ordered the dishes people described from the get together (samosas, beggar's purse, basil chicken, tandoori lamb chops). When ordering the beggar's purse, I asked if they had Suvir's chutney, only because I remember someone saying they were out of it when they went. Our waiter, Vinny, asked if I knew Suvir. I told him only from his posts on a website I check out. He said, "oh....eGullet!". The funny thing was, when it was time for dessert, he said, "so I suppose you'll be having the chai pot de creme". Read my mind. I think the lamb chops had to be the star of the show. I desperately wanted to just pick them up and start gnawing on them. They even gave us 2 Cognacs on the house after dessert. All together a great time, just wanted to share that.

Just to be clear, is the guy who seats everyone, with black hair and glasses, the owner? I have had some terrific meals at AF, particularly the duck, hanger steak, scallops, and beef cheeks.

Although I live in Kearny, I have never been to Thistle (or Argyle for that matter), but I hear it's pretty good. How was the cod? The one good example of fish and chips I've had (and I haven't really had many) was at The Grasshopper in Lincoln Park off Rt. 23 S. It's a nice Irish pub/restaurant where anything fried is a good bet.

The January edition of Gourmet lists Sara Moulton as the executive chef