menton1

Saigon R on W Palisade Avenue in Englewood is absolutely terrific if you've never been, well within your budget. Saigon Website (Can't believe Jason left this one out!) It's Greek to Me in Englewood, and the best Greek place in Bergen County, IMHO, is Greek Village in Northvale. Moon Street Dean Street, Englewood. Acceptable, better-than-a-diner food and ambience, low prices. Joel's Malibu might be about $1-$2 over your budget, but it is a terrific place with food prepared with flair and a lovely quirky ambience as well. Joel is a terrific guy. 34 Oak Street, Ridgewood.

I have been treated rudely twice in 20 years in Paris, both times by non-French shop people. It's an undeserved reputation in my opinion. ← I think we've discussed the French behavioral stereotype often and at length here in these forums. It's like most generalizations, quite uintrue to people with hands-on experience. But if you took a poll of most Americans, they would probably agree that the French are off-putting. (Take the French out of France, etc.) I'll take the French any day over that loud, screaming group of Americans that one occasionally encounters in an otherwise quiet cafe in France!!

Didn't I see a post where Fink was looking for a job?

I you were below DuPont, it might have been Firefly, right next to the Hotel Madera. On the left as you are headed towards the circle. Since the weather was so nice, I expect they were in full outdoor mode. Pretty good brunch, nice selection of champagne cocktails. ← No, it was on the right side, we were about 150 yards before the circle on NH Ave coming up a slight hill, coming from Foggy Bottom.

To cap off a GREAT weekend visiting DC, with the weather being fabulous and the Cherry blossoms at their peak, we werre looking for a Sunday brunch place in DC. We had parked near the Foggy Bottom Metro stop and ventured off to the mall by Metro very early in the AM. We got back to the car at 1:30 and were famished. We drove by Dupont Circle, and waiting for a light on New Hampshire Ave before the circle, spotted a nice-looking sidewalk restaurant (Can't remember the name!!) but finding a parking spot was not possible, even after driving around for 15 mins. We continued on to Adams Morgan, and waited for an angle spot onm 18th st, and got one after about 8 minutes waiting. We wound up at La Fourchette, a very nice place for brunch. Great omelettes, and REALLY great home fries. Lovely family from Cannes, France runs the place. A good choice, if only by accident. One question: I noticed, from perusing several brunch menus in DC, that they never seem to include a drink. Here in the NY metro, it is pro forma to include a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa as part of a brunch price. Does that rarely happen in a DC brunch? P.S. Anyone know the name of that place right near Dupont Circle on NH Ave? Did we miss anything by not going there?

We would up at Le Refuge, and it was very acceptable. Not outstanding, but a nice place. Love the look of the place, really quite a bistro look right out of France, the wall posters, the seating. Good use of a small space. Food was nicely prepared, nicely presented, and service was excellent. All in all, I think this place warrants a "Good" and is worthy of a 1x every few weeks visit. (If I lived in the area). Love the Federal-style residential housing on the side streets of Alexandria!!

With 10 people at 1 table, most of these places mentioned are going to give you a long rectangular table, squeezed in. The problem with that is you are basically now 2 groups, and it is impossible to socialize with folks at the other end of the table. An alternative would be Taro, it is one of my favorites, with a beautiful ambience, very interesting Asian fusion food, and very large round tables that could accommodate all 10 people at one round table. Then everyone can converse with everyone else. Taro Website

For those lucky enough to be in Paris from April 16-20, they will have the opportunity to see one of the world's great culinary events. Starting with the Baking World Cup on Saturday, and then continuing with Iced Desserts, Chocolates and other events, the stars of the world will be out to strut their stuff. It is open to the public, and I hope one of our Eg contributors is able to attend top give us a thorough report. Here is the website: Europain Website Bon appétit if you go!!

When I checked the place out I was told that everything is made off site or brought in. What do they actually make there? ← They have another place in the Village where the food is made. That's homemade to me. I'm sure they do their omelettes and put the salads together on-site. I found the NY menu from Menupages.com; I think it's virtually identical to Tenafly's. Their opening hours are much longer, though. Cafe Angelique Menu

Finally got over to Cafe Angelique today... what a terrific surprise!! Place was buzzing, even on a Thursday afternoon at 2PM. A very pretty place, in the restored unused Tenafly RR station. One side is waitress-service tables, the other side is take-out. A great mix of casual and sophisticated. Very New York, and with good reason, they have 2 other locations in the city. Also, the weather was good so they have 10 tables spilling out onto an outdoor sidewalk next to the old tracks. A very nice place to sit. The menu is the salad-sandwich type, but the prices are reasonable and the food is excellent, everything is homemade. Chicken and tuna salads are terrific, and the salad plates are with mesclun and a lovely vinaigrette. This is a terrific place for breakfast, lunch, an after dinner snack, or just to go sit with coffee and a pastry and while away some time. Incidentally, the pastries looked gorgeous, of the artisinal variety, but I did not find out the source. The hours here are long, from early in the morning to 10 weekdays and Midnight on weekends. This type of wonderful Cafe was long overdue in Tenafly, and definitely deserves a "Quick-Bite" write-up in the Sunday Times!! Hope Jason can post some pictures as well, the food here is very photogenic!

It seems Restaurant Eve is a little over-budget-- looks like if I was going for that price range I might choose La Bergerie, no?

Going to Alexandria the middle of next week, and would like a nice looking, good food place, French or possible New American. I have picked out 3 possibilities: Le Refuge, Le Galois, and Chez Andree. All seem to have good and bad points. Can anybody please give me additional input to help me make my choice? Thanks.

Cafe Arugula, right in downtown South Orange, is a very nice place that won't bust your budget. It's on the order of bistro/trattoria with a New American/Italian/fusion style cuisine. Here is the website: Cafe Arugula Website Nice ambience as well.

A much better choice for French dining in Bergen County is Chez Dominique in Bergenfield. They also have a website. Chez Dominique Website. IMHO, of course. Also, Latour in Ridgewood for a very beautiful ambience.

I know it's now after the fact and out of this person's area, but no one recently has mentioned the very BEST bakery on this side of the Hudson: Balthazar Bakery in Englewood. A recent pre-Easter visit reconfirmed my enthusiasm for the place. Not only is everything delectable, but each cake, pastry and bread there is a work of art!!

Lasy time I went to Chef's Table, it was about 2 years ago. I was very disappointed. For the prices they get, the value just is not there. The place is so bright you need sunglasses; the food, while acceptable, is not worthy of the $24-$28 price tag on the entrees. Claude himself is quite nice, from a little town Collioures on the Mediterranean, but the place is in major need of a redecorating job, and the entrees should be priced about $5 less. Perhaps someone has been more recently, but I had no reason to go back...

Don't worry, Lou, I recommended you 8 posts ago!! Aren't you close to East Hanover?

I went to the Market Basket a couple of months ago and was pretty disappointed. I found most of their produce to be fairly ordinary and overpriced. The deli was standard Boar's Head cold cuts at higher prices than usual. Soups were interesting. All in all, I won't be making a special trip there. The Maywood Marketplace in downtown Maywood has expanded their deli and have an extensive variety of homemade hot foods now, and at very reasonable prices. They also have good produce at very low prices. Also a terrific selection of cheeses and olives. A better choice than Market Basket, IMHO.

I think I would stick with Badoit!! P.S. Ever notice how the bottles that the mineral water comes in in France are so much more beautiful than the plastic varieties we have here in the US? Badoit has that long-necked bottle with the embossed glass on top.

What happened to all the kudos for American Grill? Isn't that right near East Hanover? Lou, Rosie, I think this would be a great place for this person to go!! (You won't find American Grill in Zagat!)

Being able to live in Rome is quite a windfall!! I promise you, after a week or two of the fabulous food available there, you will hardly miss anything here. The food in Rome is extraordinary!! Not to mention the atmosphere, steeped in history, and all the fabulous architecture! The fountains! I'm so jealous!! What section will you be living in? How long are you staying? Actually, when we have been there for just a vacation stay, it is very difficult to appreciate the restaurants here. When we return, we just can't bear to eat at an Italian restaurant or Pizza place for months and months!! Even the McDonald's in Rome is gorgeous! (World's largest McD's) Don't eat any of the food there, but stop at the cappuccion bar in front and sit in the marble archways... Ahhh.... Buon viaggio!!

Wow, thanks folks! I didn't mean to be that provocative, but it seems that I got much better responses after my 2nd post than from my original topic-starter. Point of order-- We usually share an appetizer and rarely get a dessert. Nothing to do with price, just a matter of stomach capacity. I'll report back after the trip. Thanks again.

Sorry, disregard.

I'd like to hear about some of the member's experiences at restaurants when they have ordered tap water... I never did, until about 6 years ago, and now it is a widely accepted practice. Most of the restaurants place a "pichet" or carafe on the table, and some of them are quite beautiful. Can you please relate your experiences when you have requested "un carafe d'eau", or whether you have hesitations about doing so?

I live in the NY Metro and there are scores of restaurants here in that price range. I did not believe that DC was MORE expensive than NY, so I did a little digging, and it isn't. Just some cursory research turned up these places well within the budget: America, Union Station La Brasserie, Capitol Hill La Colline, Capitol Hill Monocle Cafe Atlantico Georgia Brown's Kinkead's Bistro Francais, Georgetown La Chauminiere Occidental Grill I got this info from a "friend of a friend" who lives in DC; this is a short list, he said there are many more in this price range!