menton1

OK, so you see NJ as having 3 sections? "Central" NJ is a new wrinkle...

Well, I am a tourist myself in these restaurants! Is that the kiss of death? It is bad form, IMHO, to be that disdainful of seeing tourists in a restaurant. The key for me is whether a restaurant is "Touristy, wherefore they have become actually non-French, non-Parisian so as to make these tourists feel "at home." Whether the food and service were exemplary here is a matter of discussion. But La Petite Cour as I observed it, was certainly NOT touristy... (The tables all around us were locals) France is the most touristed country in the world, upwards of 75 Million + per year. Would you prefer that all the tourists stay home?

Well, Lambertville is hardly a "conclave" of New York City; I don't think "South Jersey" necessarily means south of the AC expressway. And besides, I can't think of a downtown area in the deep South of NJ that has more than 2-3 restaurants. Perhaps Haddonfield? Moorestown?

If a BYO is great in every way, I have a wine store near me with upwards of 10,000 bottles of wine. I can pick my choice and pay about 75% less than the restaurant would charge for the wine, if it had a license. BYOs are a luxury, and New Jersey probably has more than any other state, because of the licensing laws. Yes, I'm not ashamed, I like the significant money savings. Over a year, it can really add up, could be hundreds of dollars!

Better yet, come with me to France when I go again this fall. That would make a heck of a starting point for my wine education. No BYOBs there, either. P.S. I won't become a wine snob, will I?

Well, yes. that is a point. What we're really saing is that a major factor in this area is just how "wine sophisticated" one is. I've already said that I was quite a novice, I don't get into the fruits, flavors, or the slurping. I know what I like, usually under $20, and stick to it. So, fortunately, (or unfortunately) for me, wine plays a very small part of the experience for me. I like wine, I want it with the meal, but that's it. Perhaps I'll get educated into "Oeonophile" status one of these days, but that might also be a burden. Then I would probably be disappointed in a lot of things that don't faze me now.

Well, I suppose that since I had no baseline to compare to yet, it was acceptable to me. I went in the evening, so the fountains were lit up in lots of colored lighting, it was lovely. Have to go back to my journal to recall what we ate, however.

Well, we are in approx. the same ballpark. Sure. I go for the 100 Euros per couple. I was at La Petite Cour in September. It was nice. The setting helps a lot too. Is it "over the hill" now, in your judgement?

I don't there are a lack of great mid-range restaurants. Perhaps the restaurants you have gone to in the past are just not holding up. They have not carried on with the same zeal, changed chefs, changed owners, or whatever. But they have been replaced by burgeoning newcomers. I'm going to assume that "midrange" is somewhere about 50-75 Euros PP for dinner. (That's what it means to me. ) Here are some that I love, they are a wonderful dining experience at a moderate price: Le Dome du Marais, 4th Arr. Wonderful venue with slight accent on Breton specialties. L'Epi Dupin, 6th Arr. Close quarters, talk-with-your neighbor tables, lots of fun, good service, and terrific food. Don't miss the Goat cheese & endive tart. La Petite Cour A gorgeous setting below street level in a courtyard, wonderful classsic food, beautiful sculptured fountains. L'Alivi, 4th Arr. A cute little resto that is all-Corsican, from the "affiches" on the wall to the wine to the cuisine. Nice. Just a sampling, there are scores of excellent midrange restaurants in Paris, IMHO. It seems that the ones you frequent have gone down over many years, but good new ones have sprouted all over to take their place.

Segreto's is on a side street in the space formerly occupied by Jerry's Osteria. Cafe Cafe looks closed and dark. Is it premature to say they are history?

Well, good for them. Sorry. The place was dark and closed for a good 2-3 weeks last month. Were they on vacation? No sign was on the door, either. There's a newcomer in town, too: Segreto.

I think that's a bit of an extreme. Sure, there are issues of wine pairings, and wine selection. Some folks, like me, are less sophisticated about their wine, and it matters little about pairings. If the food is great and I bring a wine I know I like, that's fine dining for me. If a BYO restaurant you knew had fabulous food and was GREAT in every way, couldn't you stop in a large wine store and get a wine that was acceptable enough so as not to diminish your experience? Not to mention all the money you save on the wine...

Well, the thing I keep in mind with Porto Rico is that he sells about 10,000 lbs a week of coffee. It's hard to have stale coffee with that turnover. And the proof is in the pudding, I have never had a less-than-outstanding bag of coffee from there. N.B. I think we forgot to mention another High Court of coffee in these parts, Zabar's.

Honestly, Louie's is just a diner in an in-line store format. Very ordinary. Stick to eggs and burgers. Menu is pro forma diner.

A ditto for Porto Rico. Anytime I'm near the Village, I always stop there to get a couple of pounds. They have been going strong out of that location for over 100 years. The owner, Peter, is a terrificly knowledgable person about coffee, when you can find him, that is. He is often down in the tropics seeking out good coffee! IMHO the very best coffee store in the NY Metro!!

Some pretty decent coffees available ground-to-order or in the bean at Ridgewood Coffee Co, a non-Starbucks independent little place on the corner of Ridgewood Ave and Van Neste Square. (the little park downtown). In a pinch, Melitta canned coffee in the supermarkets is about the best of its ilk.

We don't need a list of diners here, do we? They are just about all open 24 hours. I think "real restaurants" was the key phrase.

Weeknight or weekend? (Many more choices on Fri and Sat nights) And they usually WILL have liquor, that's why they are open at that hour...

There seems to be quite a proliferation of these "throwback" places in many of the working class towns in Northern NJ-- There are literally a couple of dozen of them that I can think of. To me, they are basically a pizza parlor with tablecloths and big prices. I was forced to go to one of them a few months ago with some friends who "love the place". The waiter was actually Eastern European, pretending to be Italian, When I asked him something in my basic Italian, he did a double take and responded with a Sid Caesar-like jibberish, and quickly disappeared into the kitchen. I have enough difficulty enjoying a modern "Italian" resto here, they are so common and so ordinary. But these throwback places, hopefully never again.

We also go often to the Burns. 2 exits north on the Saw Mill is Mt Kisco, and a terrific restaurant there is Lexington Square. The food is excellent, and if the weather is warm, the patio is delightful; Temptation Tea House also in Mt Kisco is a great change of pace, an excellent Pan-Asian (Not Chinese) with some fusion food served beautifully in a nice space with an open kitchen. Great teas as well. Luna in Mount Kisco is also terrific. For a more casual bite, Jackson & Wheeler in Pleasantville is very good. Down the Saw Mill about 12 miles is Haiku, another sensational Asian in Bronxville. On your way home, in Tarrytown, is a VERY casual Greek resto with great salads and gyros, Lefteris. Dragonfly Cafe around the corner from the Burns, is good for a quick snack and terrific coffee before the show, as is Jean-Jacques on the other side of the RR station. Wish we had a Jacob Burns here in New Jersey, it is a fantastic arts center!!

I was quite disturbed to hear of this revelation; You write a column in the New York Times. `This is a restaurant you reviewed in the newspaper. Comped meals are not only unacceptable, IMHO, but completely against all journalistic principles. Does the NY Times editor know of these comped meals? If they do and approve, shame on the NY Times. I feel that any media food critic should be anonymous on his visits prior to review; there should also never be a comp after the review, either, because that casts a further cloud on the veracity of the review, e.g., a possible quid pro quo.

There are several very good choices in this area. Also depends on what time you mean by "after theater". 9:30PM or later would severely limit your choices. Also the Iron Horse Grill, the top restaurant in town, is closed on Sundays. Are you looking for a top-notch, high end meal, or a casual, bistro, nice experience? Are you going to the Jacob Burns? (What a fabulous venue!!)

Yes, as I've indicated and discovered since starting this thread, in New England, Red chowder is only found in Providence. Outside of Providence, Red Chowder is heresy. Hence the title of this thread.

Home delivery customers get TimesSelect for free.

At the risk of sounding sexist, I find the Oscars to be a gender thing, that is, er, most men do NOT watch the program. (In my unofficial survey of the men I know) They disappear onto their computer (Like I am doing) and leave the women to stay glued to that (tedious) 3 hour + program. I could never dig up anyone to have a party over it, unless the men & women split up into different rooms...