tautog

Mario's pizza is the best up that way, just a notch below the original Patsy's and original John's when it was still good. I also still like Emilia's, especially for lunch.

I stopped in for a heavy snack/light meal on Saturday afternoon. Had a bit of uncomforatbleness when I first sat down and they were trying to take away the chop sticks and give me a fork. Was asked if I was sure I wnated to use chopsticksand I commented that I eat with chop sticks at least three times a week and am quite used to eating dim sum, including more eclectic things. After that, I was well served. I had shrimp dumplings with were standard, spring rolls which were pretty good, some sort of soft beef noodle roll and a larger dumpling with pork, greens and peanuts. It was good and relatively inexpensive at about $11.50 with tip for 7 dumplings and 6 spring roll sized items. Would rather go with more people next time so I get a better sampling.

Apparently the hurricane got the Lorelei and Marker 88.

For relatively fine, but not that expensive seafood dining, try Lazy Days. The crispy fried snapper is excellent and the cracked conch is the most tender around. Marker 88 is very good for continental/seafood. Lorelei Tiki Bar has a good atmosphere for fish sandwiches and drinks. Hawks Channel Bar has some of the best grouper sandwiches around.

I would probably watch the Oscars if I could watch it with food service workers from Arthur Avenue. Maybe with the Cafe al Mercado crew, a bunch of mussels in white wine, broccoli rabe with sausage and a few jugs of homemade wine.

This wasn't a chain. It was tuxedo service, northern Italian, veal chops, gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. Nothing ground breaking, but all well executed.

The Causeway accross from the Yankee Fleet is a good local place. Great mussels and huge, decent fried seafood plates.

Cantina di Italia, very good Northern Italian food.

I eat there occasionally. The soft tacos are fairly good, about as good as a mediocre sitdown Mexican place. I think it winds up costing about the same, but with less wait.

Thanks. There is one pretty good place on Main Street that is only open for dinner. I haven't been yet because if I'm still in the office after 7:00 pm, I don't have time for dinner.

Large lobsters taste just as good as small lobsters. In fact they are more tender, especially in the tail, because they just sit in one spot most of the time, rather than "exercising" like smaller ones. However most of the time they are overcooked. I had a 4 lber this weekend that cooked up perfectly in 11 minutes.

I have started work at a law office in Toms River and was wondering if anyone had any opinions about good foos in the area. For reference, I have eaten at the Office and all the local lunch places "downtown." Thanks in advance.

I will be at the Venetian for 5 days in April and was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up on the restaurants there. And yes I will be going to LOS.

I would second Roberto's. Dominic's is an experience, with pretty good old school food. Emilia's isn't half bad either. If you're ever in the area just to go shopping and need a quick bite, Cafe al Mercado in the market is better than you'd expect.

I thought the Niman Ranch was quite good but not quite worth the tariff. They are a large dog that plumps when you cook it. Not very spicy but think it might be a good fryer though.

The Orginal Oyster right down the street from Doris and Ed's is rather good. A bit hidden in a marina but fresh seafood at good prices. Also not a hard table to get, even on a summer weekend. I enjoy their fried oysters and praline snapper, tastes better than it sounds.

I second the Boradway as a bar/casual restuarant. I would also pick Red's over Spikes. If you want some Lobster to take home, checkout Point Lobster Co. near Southside Marina. Cheapest, though not cheap, in the area.

Route 35 Southbound lane.

I used to eat at the Oyster Bar about once a month on my travels from Fordham to my home in New Jersey. I would recommend the scallop panroast, like it better than the oyster version, the cold-water bay scallops, rarely avilable from Mass and worlds apart from the cheap warm water ones at most fish stores, the pompano and snook if available. Am also found of the shrimp that Steve has mentioned previously.

I'd recommend Jody's in Neptune and Spikes in Pt Pleasant Beach. If you are near the fishing boats, such as the Dauntless in Pt. Pleasant Beach where I fish and work from time to time, around 3:30 pm, you can also buy fresh caught fish, such as sea bass, for around $2 a lb whole, from the crew, who can also fillet it for you.

Bistro M has a website, www.bistrom.com, that has some of the menu items listed.

Can't think of any Vietnamese in Roanoke. All the Asian food is mediocre at best Chinese and Indian. I do however have some other recommendations. El Palenqiue is an excellent Mexican restaurant just outside of town on the Hersberger near the airport. It is authentic food at dinner time, fine quality food at a fairly moderate price and in modest surroundings. Ask the owner Frank or one of his sons for recommendations and save room for desert. Bistro M is a great new restaurant downtown that features rather experimental Eurasian food and offers tasting menus in addition to the more usual appetizer/entree option. Frankie Roland's is a pretty good upscale steakhouse. I have also heard good things about the restaurant at the Hotel Roanoke, but have not eaten there. For out of town, I can recommend Cafe Michel in Clifton Forge, a little over an hour away, for somewhat simple French and seafood done very well. Steven's and Claudia's Blues Cafe in Salem do passable NO style cuisine. The town of Lexington, about 50 minutes away has the Southern Inn which is a good New American style place.

I ate at a pretty good French restuarant in Key West, Cafes des Artistes. It is not all that creative, but it is solid, and very different from native Conch seafood style cuisine, which I love but tends to be repetitive after a while. I also recommend Marker 88 in Plantation for food that runs the gamut from Continental to Keys seafood. Rusty Anchor on Stock Island does have good Keys style seafood and usually a Cuban dish or two. In Marathon, I would recommend the Barracuda Grill for good New American that takes advantage of local seafood. Lazy Days in Islamorada has some of the best cracked conch and crispy fried fish around. It has a nice view of the ocean and is also a great place to bring your own fish if you intend on going fishing. Some off the beaten path places are Castaways in Marathon which looks like a real dive, but has great all you can eat beer steamed shrimp and fish dishes in rustic surroundings. The Lorelei cabana bar in Islamorada is great for light fare and drinks at sunset.

As a past Arthur Avenue resident for 3 years, I would like to shed some light on some places not mentioned in Jason's post and to expand on others. For fresh mozzarella, I always liked Casa della Mozzarella best. They make it on Weds morning and some other day I don't recall. Always loved their domestic prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and roasted pepper sandwiches. Vincent's meat market was my regular place for meat. I especially like their lamb sausage. Though Roberto's is the best restaurant in the neighborhood, Emilia's is worthwhile too and has a nice lunch special. Even Cafe al Mercado makes some respectable and large pasta dishes, not great, but better than you'd expect. During cold weather their tripe and baccala can be quite good. The wine shop is a fair value for Italian wines but a great value for Spanish offerings, vintage ports and other non-Italian spirits. The owner orders a lot of things he likes personally, but that don't sell to his Italian seeking customers. Thus he is often seeking to unload some of this stuff at a good price. For semolina bread, I slightly prefer Addeo's over the other places. If at all possible, avoid weekends, easier said then done. I don't think the best produce and fish is available on Fri and Sat. Plus the shopkeepers are so busy, you can't pump them for advice and get the best free samples.

The popularity isn't all that surprising. They make a very good sub, and even a good cheesesteak. Don't think it deserves a 26 or whatever from Zagat, but it is one of the better places to get a sandwich in the state. I would agree that some Italian delis are superior, but then again they serve sandwiches that aren't available at the White House. The fact that it is in AC obviousy heps as Italian delis aren't present in any great numbers in SJersey. My recommendation is go if you are in AC, but don't take a long drive or anything.