higgins

I go here 1-2 times a month. Great lobster roll; excellent chicken and steak sandwiches on the bar menu. They obsess over the french fries, which are excellent. Used to have good coq au vin, but I think that's off the menu. My wife and I often have salmon or some sort of other fish and like it. The owners are the same as Amanda's down the block. They did an extensive gut rehap and an obsessive restoration. It's really charming inside.

Word is the space is becoming a Jamba Juice. The place been up for sale for months. The conventional wisdom in town is that Venue's menu was too odd and too expensive. The added burden: no liquor license.

The word around Hoboken is that The Jefferson is being sold to the owners of the Sushi House and will become a sushi place...

One thing's clear: you don't get into Page Six and the like regularly without a PR firm (if that's the kind of restaurant you're running; I tend to flee places mentioned in Page Six). You need somebyody But you don't need a publicist to get reviews or even minor coverage. But you've really gotta work it. I have one friend that put together a slender press kit, called a few reviewers and mailed. He ended up with an NYT review (Asimov), that then got recycled three more times in the following six months. Same with another that sent a menu to Grimes and got a Diner's Journal followed by an Asimov review (unfavorable, however). It seems much easier for a new restaurant, because NYC is a town that loves new restaurants and there's a number of outlets (NY Mag, Time Out, the dailies) But how does a mid-range restaurant get press later when there's no star chef involved? Seems to be easier on the high-end places than, say, United Noodle, Salt, OG, Miracle Grill, Pearl Oyster Bar, Chez Michallet or Japonica. How would you go about promoting a place like that??

I would vote Zafra, excellent Latin place on Willow and 3rd. Brace yourself for a bit of a wait, but its excellent. http://www.hobokeni.com/zafra.asp

Yes, Hoboken is the place to go..... :)

Oh, Cajun in Chelsea is horrible. Acme or Great Jones are better. But my favorite, favorite cajun place (and one of my favorites of any kind) is La Gould Finch, on Ave. B and 6th St. Great cajun food and a great vibe. They're pretty low profile, but it's always a great time.

No Amanda's for Hoboken??? Pretty surprising on a list this long...