-
Posts
3,077 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Everything posted by menton1
-
You mean like Bobolink? Oh, that's right, that was an advertisement in-between the real segments! As I indicated last week, my biggest issue with this show is the scripting, which makes Bourdain an actor instead of doing his impromptu thing, which is his strong suit. If they let Bourdain just be Bourdain, without a script and maybe just a rough direction, the show could shine.
-
At the turn of the century, Nice was developed as a winter resort. It became quite popular with the British and the wealthy Russian community; There are a lot of archived photos of folks walking on the Promenade des Anglais in sweaters and coats, and enjoying the warm sunshine. There was a casino built out into the water on a dock. Up until the 1950s, no one would ever DREAM of vacationing on the Cote in the summertime!! How things have changed...
-
Yes, we will be in Nice in 4 weeks! And it is super, we always try to go in September or June. More flowers in June, but cooler in Sept. The 30 mile stretch between Nice and the border is very nice, especially Villefranche and Beaulieu. And my namesake Menton is really beautiful. I do make an exception for Monaco, it is a place we avoid at all costs. Nice to St Tropez is a huge distance, about 120km. It is quite diverse, the Roman ruins in Frejus and St Raphael are along the way. Actually, it's quite calm between Cannes and St Trop. Nice to Cannes is very built up, including Antibes. Actually, the coast west of St Trop, the Var Coast toward Hyeres is quite different. Not as glitzy as the Riviera. That is where the original poster will be, on the Var Coast. Even quieter than the Vaucluse is the Alpes de Haute Provence department, with Manosque, Moustiers, and the Grand Canyon of Verdon. Ahhhh, only 4 weeks...
-
That is not true. Les Santons has one Michelin star. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Aiguebelle at Hotel Les Roches in 2000 and went to Les Santons early in our trip. It was so wonderful that we planned another trip the same week before we left. It is still one of my favorite restaurants and I would highly recommend it. ← You are probably right. It's really not that important to me, I'm a big disbeliever in Michelin anyway, from their too, too brief reviews to the godlike worship their fans give to it. Michelin was greatly discredited last year as well, they admitted to being short staffed and visiting many restaurants only every 3-5 years. Even in that time span they would never have the time to cover a country the size of France with the breadth of its restaurants, unless maybe they had 1,000 reviewers on staff; Grimaud is beautiful and Les Santons is good regardless of their "etoiles"; For a much better and more reliable guide, and for great descriptions as well, the Guide Gantié is now online and now in English as well. However, he only covers the SouthEast corner of France. http://www.guidegantie.com
-
Use this link, and type in Port Grimaud. Just at the beginning of the St Tropez peninsula. Http://www.viamichelin.com On the Gulf of St Tropez. P.S. After a stint in the Hamptons, Peter Mayle has moved on to Lourmarin (Vaucluse).
-
Enjoy. For a kick, stop for a quick look at Port Grimaud, not to be mixed up with Grimaud. This was a whimsical project in the late 60s by a French developer who wanted to make a mini-Venice on the Var coast. Well, it ain't Venice, but it is interesting, all the homes are on canals and there are almost no roads. You park outside the development. Do not eat at any of the touristy-restos there, though. La Pinède in St Trop is a 1-star, and has gotten a lot of good reviews. Personally, I prefer the ambience of Grimaud and the great family-run restaurants up there. Are you staying in Cavalaire-sur-Mer or Cavalière?
-
There are about 10 good thread discussions about Lyon here within the past year. Do another search and you should find them. Here is one: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=42870&hl=lyon As far as the coast, there is Cavalaire-sur-Mer, and Cavalière, which is a nicer choice. CSM is very built up and a bit industrial. Either way, you won't be far from St Tropez with some great restos, but my favorite town in the area is Grimaud, a picture-postcard town in the hills (village perché) with some super restaurants and a gorgeous environment. Great view of the sea in the distance as well. In Grimaud, try Les Santons or La Bretonnerie. They are right in the center, amongst the narrow streets. No Michelin stars, but terrific food and atmosphere there.
-
Look, this is no attack on the Ironbound, it certainly has its fans-- However, this whole conversation came up because of the Portuguese, and Newark does NOT have any resemblance to anything you see in Lisbon. New Bedford actually feels like Lisbon, it has an air of the old city that if you close your eyes, you can actually think you are in Portugal instead of Massachusetts.Lots of Fado music playing in the streets. The restaurants are very like the ones in Lisbon as well. The Ironbound has the atmosphere of...well, Newark! As far as giant lobsters, that is another issue-- I dislike large portions of poor food, and giant lobsters are for the most part tasteless. I personally prefer small portions of beautiful, complex-tasting food. When I do eat lobster, the best and the sweetest are usually in the three-quarter pound size. P.S. In Portugal, lobster is a rarityon a menu, because it is prohibitively expensive...
-
OK, but that wasn't the criteria described in the original post about the largest, it was specifically referring to Portuguese from Portugal. Besides, New Bedford is so so much more authentic than Newark. Those Ironbound 5-pound lobsters and 3-pound steaks are strictly a New Jersey phenomenon!!
-
I echo the choice of Balthazar for baguettes. When I looked on the main list I thought you typo-ed "bagels"!!
-
Well, it's a good size, but not the largest; that distinction belongs to New Bedford, Massachusetts; The streets here actually resemble a section of Lisbon. Food is great, too, and very authentic-- no giant lobster houses, like Newark, which one would never see in Portugal! A bit more attractive than the Ironbound as well. 3 hours from Northern Jersey, Newark is definitely closer though. http://www.moaa.org/magazine/June2003/f_world.asp
-
This is our favorite part of France! The countryside is really spectacular, low mountains with castles dotting the hills everywhere! Don't miss the caves with the 20,000 year old animal drawings. The Saturday market in Sarlat is terrific,and the town itself is a picture postcard of medieval architecture. A unique eating experience in the Dordogne is the Fermes Auberges, where by regulations, all food served on the premises must be grown and raised there. Pricing is so reasonable as well. WE found ours while driving along, but you should also be able to get a list at the OT in Sarlat. Here is one of the best online guides to Sarlat and environs dining, The Joker. Places are rated by from 1 to 4 "Jokers". Good little write-ups as well. http://www.sarlat.com/tourisme/restaurant/guide.php
-
Very disappointing... the Iceland and Paris shows were much better, IMHO... The show seems to be about 100% scripted, like a stage play. Bourdain is thus forced to become an actor, rather than a documentarian, and it doesn't work a lot of the time. As far as content, it was just not that interesting. Hiram's was the best part of the show-- Asbury Park was boring, the Bobolink advertisement was too long, and the Italian Bakery looked as ordinary as about 30 others exactly like it all over New Jersey. It was just a poor combination of food and history of the state, not really very good choices of discussion topics. But the show is getting a lot of press, probably doing good ratings-- too bad that the absolube BEST show of this ilk, Globetrekker, is on PBS so that it doesn't get the promos or the accolades it deserves. Ian Wright should be a star!!
-
An easy one. Environment is the first thing to bring you in to a restaurant for the first time. Also, Thai food is a more sophisticated type of food, and this is in a really blue collar strip. The folks in this area probably would prefer Chinese takeout, egg rolls, fried rice, and the like. Also, being empty is self-perpetuating. It's tough to walk into an empty restaurant and dine alone, you wonder why no one else is there.
-
The Tenafly Gourmet Farm produce store used to carry Ferrarelle, right in the front window past the cashiers. They do have new owners there, but I believe they still have this water. I have also seen it at other stores, but I don't remember exactly where. You should be able to find it. P.S. Is it that much different from Evian?
-
Yeah, I don't understand the appeal of this place. Passed by the one in Ridgewood, and glanced around. Menu looked well overpriced, and the environment looked something like the McDonalds seating area! They won't be seeing me there..
-
I agree! When he walked into that little bistro and just happened to "bump into" the Absinthe specialist, that was really contrived! It would have been much better to just say that they had arranged to meet with the guy beforehand. The show dragged in parts, but the Rungis Market and the bread bakery were very good.
-
We must be talking about a different Paris than the one I know. 4th Arr: Rue du Temple is packed with locals at 11:30PM, cafes still going strong, and even a few of the little artisan shoppes are open. 6th Arr: St Germain des Pres is extremely lively, Blvd St Germain teeming, lots of locals, lots of tourists, many shops open after 11PM, Cafe de Flore and Deux Magots are packed. 3rd: Place de la Republique very lively, lots of bars going strong 1st and 8th are busy on many streets... Of course, there are residential areas, as in any city, where the streets are "rolled up" and very quiet after 9-10PM; but Paris, in the right areas, rocks at night!
-
It's in the same shopping center as PathMark and Home Depot; just past Riverside Square going toward New Milford. (Another 1/2 mile up the road is the New Bridge Inn). A place to gorge oneself, not my thing-- also a very bare-bones environment. I'm in a minority of folks who prefer smaller portions of creative, complex-tasting foods. Don't think this place will ever see me. Has been around for years, though...
-
Actually, you are quite right. "Char-broiled" is certainly an anachronistic expression... I have a gas grill myself, and would certainly never mess around with any charcoal. The flavor I refer to results from grilling over high heat, with a hard material underneath, such as ceramic "rocks" or metal bars to "sear" the meat when the juices and fat drip down through the open grates. We really do need a new term for that way of cooking. It is disappointing to hear that the burgers are griddled here, very close to frying. I'm not a fan of burgers cooked that way. It's also a safe bet that they cook their steaks UNDER a broiler, which will never result in the flavor I look for in a steak, cook ABOVE high heat and seared. This is actually a desirable feature in France, they may have a woman or a man attendant, regardlesss of the gender of the rest room, and they hand you a cloth towel at the sink and you give them some small change. Very upper crust!
-
Adegiulio, are you driving to NNJ from Red Hook? Long ride! P.S. Sammy is soooo cute!!
-
Sounds like it might be worth a trip.. I assume these are char-broiled burgers? How would this place compare with Steve's Sizzling Steaks on Rte 17 in East Rutherford? That place is a landmark as well.
-
This is unfair. Most of America has strip malls and chain restos. If you head over to Sussex county, (Not very far from Randolph) there are NO strip malls. Lots of lakes, low mountains, green valleys, and tremendous wildlife. Serene. Of course, if you miss the Bronx you wouldn't like any suburban or rural environment. Overdevelopment is rampant in America-- it is magnified in NJ because of our density. But you will see "McMansions" everywhere, from Tennessee, to Pennsylvania, to Texas. But not in the Bronx! Having grown up in NYC and now living in NJ, I have to pinch myself often, and would certainly never dream of moving back!!
-
We were recently in Saratoga and were told that the Wine Bar was not really for dinner, but for lunch, brunch, or afternoon "Tapas". Or maybe a pre-concert light fare or even after concert. From the description we got of the place, it didn't seem to offer full dinners. Do you have other information? It seems from the posts that you DID have a full dinner there...
-
No, but it would be polite and incumbent on "Nizza" that after generating a question that aroused such interest on the board, to not leave all of us hanging and describe in a post, 3rd party or not, how the evening fared.