menton1

Hmmm... Holly Moore gives it 5 Grease stains; I trust Holly.

Napa Valley Grille, in the Garden State Plaza. Not great, but acceptable for a burger and an alcoholic beverage. Nice bar area. Haven't been in years, don't know if Biagio's on Paramus Rd is good for this-- was decent many years ago. I know of a couple of others, but they are in the NE part of the county, not in your 'hood.

Relish is about 5 tiers above Stony Hill Inn and The Restaurant, IMHO. Just a completely different level of restaurant: more quality of ingredients, care of preparation, creativity, and overall experience. Also Freelance in Piermont, NY is excellent. Both these places are about 15 minutes from River Vale. But if quantity of food is the overriding feature that you want in a restaurant, you'd probably do best at the so-called Spanish/Portuguese type places that abound in Newark, with their 3-pound steaks and giant lobsters.

This place has finally opened their new little 12-table restaurant at the rear of their well-established retail seafood store. Nothing exotic here, but probably the best, freshest, and tastiest seafood in Bergen County. Everything is homemade, and the prices are low, too. Good luck to John and the crew!!

It would be very surprising if it turned out that many Per Se patrons take public transportation...

These food importation rules were not set up to harrass the public; they were instituted to protect the health and safety of Americans. They should be uniform, and they should be enforced!!!

The nicest hotels in NorthEAST NJ are Marriott Glenpointe, Teaneck Hilton, Woodcliff Lake. Sheraton Crossroads, Mahwah. These are the top hotels in this part of town... They are also the pricey-ist, I don't know what your parameters are. There are about two dozen less luxurious choices at lower cost in the area.

Nah, we've had our share of disagreements, but going to the city isn't one of them... I've often gone in just for a little shopping in Zabar's or Fairway, and the UWS is pretty easy. Peter Luger is a journey, though. This place is in Englewood Cliffs, but Englewood is pretty convenient, IMHO. It's just 2 minutes off Route 4, and is undergoing quite a renaissance. They just razed an old building on a complete square block and when the new one is finished, Englewood just might begin to rival Ridgewood as a viable downtown area. Like I said, steak is not my thing. I wouldn't know a dry-aged one from a wet-aged. (??) (Is there such a thing?)

Steak Houses are not my forte, but I've always seen The Assembly in Englewood Cliffs advertise its menu as "Prime Steak". If this place really has Prime, you could save a long trip into the city. Anyone been to this place?

Drinking too much alcohol is much less of a problem in France than in the US and other European countries. There is something inherent in French culture wherein it is considered very poor form to drink too much and/or become inebriated. Of course it is still a problem, but to a much smaller extent than in other countries and the US.

They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, because Joe left.

It's a shame that our rules now are such a joke. These guys, as has been said before, basically just "wing it". It's really a shame, because, as well as being confusing and anxiety provoking, it really shows that APHIS is useless, and that our overall health as a nation is just not really important. It just sounds good on the website.

No, I feel nothing personal here. I think your issue is with the Customs/Border Patrol. If they are wrong, you should get them to upgrade their website. They do take you around in circles, where they say to check APHIS, and then APHIS says to check with Customs/Border patrol. Those beagles are very very cute, though.

Here's a really lovely and informative web site: http://www.seldeguerande.com/anglais/accueil.htm

Anyone have a comment about Louis Lunch, the famous eatery in New Haven, where they claim to have invented the hamburger?

I'm sure it won't be too long before France, like its fellow EU members Italy and Ireland, will ban smoking in restaurants. As a matter of fact, a NYT article has talked of a new bill to ban smoking in restos in my native New Jersey. Its amazing, smoking is now banned in so many countries, US States and municipalities, with restaurants and bars no worse for wear after the ban. But the same tired arguments persist in protest before the new laws are passed, such as, loss of business, individual rights, etc. You would think the protesters might look at the huge numbers of countries, states and cities where smoking is interdit and realize that revenues are not affected adversely, and that life goes on normally after such bans.

Here are the appropriate quotes from the official Government websites specifically addressing this issue: From APHIS: USDA, APHIS, places limits on agricultural items brought into the United States from foreign countries because many items can harbor foreign animal or plant pests and diseases that could seriously damage America’s crops, livestock, pets, and the environment. APHIS requires that travelers entering the United States from a foreign country declare all: Fruits Vegetables Plants and plant products Meat and meat products Fish and fish products Animals, birds, and eggs From Customs/Border Patrol: Many fruits and vegetables are either prohibited from entering the United States or require an import permit. Every fruit or vegetable must be declared to the Customs officer and must be presented for inspection, no matter how free of pests it appears to be. Failure to declare all food products can result in civil penalties. Meats, fish, livestock, poultry, and their by-products are either prohibited or restricted from entering the United States, depending on the animal disease condition in the country of origin. Fresh meat and fish is generally prohibited from most countries. Canned, cured, or dried meat is severely restricted from most countries. Bakery items and all cured cheeses are generally admissible. You should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Services for more detailed information The key here is NO fresh meat or fish of any kind. I suppose flight crew is treatly a bit more loosely than other passengers.

Before you undertake this shopping, I recommend that you check with the APHIS website as to whether these items are allowed back into the US. Those cute beagles have very sharp noses, and your very prized foodstuffs might be confiscated!!

This has not been my experience, Robert; It has happened to me, that they answer back in English, but only about 10% of the time. Most of the time they continue the conversation in French, and, as I stumble a bit, they smile and ask where I'm from. They are taken aback when they learn that I'm American. I suppose that it is a bit unusual to have an American speak a good deal of French. But they do, for the most part, seem quite pleased that an American has bothered to try to learn their language. Perhaps when they do answer in English it is for the most part your selection (6), to facilitate the communication. Yes, most of them can speak English better than we can speak French. They can practice their English almost daily; opportunities to speak French in the USA mainly consist of watching "le Journal" daily for 30 minutes at 7PM!! Another cultural difference with the French is the much lesser importance that they place on Christmas than Americans. Decorations are small, if at all. And shopping is very very blasé. Perhaps they have the better idea!!

I think you forgot about the wine that they are drinking... Actually, I've seen carafes d'eau on the locals' tables quite often in recent years. Customs have changed. Even the bistros readily bring tap water to the table these days.

Yes, but you really have to be a devoted oenophile to be that concerned with pairings. I'm more concerned with the food, give me some great food, and I'll bring a wine that I know I like along and be very happy. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. One can also save from $20-$50 bucks on wine in a BYOB. That goes a long way toward better food as well.

This was true many years ago, but today I have found that just about all restaurants in France readily bring tap water if asked. The standard request should be for un carafe d'eau. As a matter of fact, it is now custom for most restaurants to distinguish themselves by serving tap water in a beautiful bottle and leaving it on the table. The thing you can forget about, though, is ice... not going to happen.

Perhaps you have not been using the actual Guérande Fleur de sel. There is a variety from the Camargue that is harvested by machine, and not subject to the strict hand-processing methods used in Brittany. I have always gotten a subtle sensation of violets when using this salt. This would be totally lost in cooking, so I disagree with you on that matter as well. Here is an excerpt from USA Today's Maria Puente: read the entire article here: http://new.cbbqa.com/articles/Salt/SaltStory.html You will have to scroll down to the middle of the page to the specific article about Guerande salt...

On my last visit to a Carrefour, there seemed to be quite a large selection of Cold-smoked salmon from Scotland, Norway and Sweden. Unless you mean hot-smoked, which is a whole different animal. Are there any restrictions to bringing this type of food into France?

I don't think the lines for stereotype and customs are that blurry... French rudeness is a Stereotype-- In all my travels to France, I can't really recall an incident of blatant rudeness on a French person's part. As a matter of fact, the French are actually a MORE polite culture than Americans-- strict rules of etiquette are expected to be followed there. Saying "bonjour" and "au revoir" upon entering and leaving a shop are strictly expected by the French-- this is a custom that, if not followed, will generate negative feelings in the shopkeeper or clerk. Reiterating what I've said before, I think the American (mis)use of the word "Entree" in restaurant menus is now a CUSTOM that somehow stuck from a mis-translation of the word. I seem to recall that many years ago, American restaurants used the word "Entree" quite properly for the starter plates. Perhaps someone can shed some light on how this mis-nomer evolved here...