menton1

Joel's has terrific Israeli Chicken Soup, and most of the other things on the menu are excellent as well. Unfortunately, NJ does not have a Soup Nazi or a Hale & Hearty as in NYC, but there are also some delis which have good homemade soup to take out. The best clam chowder, if you want something of that ilk, is at the Maywood Fish Market. What part of NJ are you in, what type of soup, and do you want sit-down or take-out?

Paris has done it again-- leading the world in innovation and unique ideas. Dans Le Noir has recently opened in the hip 4th Arr, with an idea that has been successfully tried in a couple of other European cities. The restaurant seating is in total darkness. You are seated with strangers at a large table. And the wait staff consists of blind people! (Everyone would be equally blind in this environment). Early reviews indicate that people are loving the place. Very tough to get into now, need advance reservations. Apparently the darkness not only stimulates conversations with strangers, but gives the food a unique and stronger taste sensation because when one sense is eliminated, the other senses get stronger. It also provides employment to blind people. What a fabulous idea, can't wait to go next time I get to Paris!! (Has any Eg-er actually been and can report on their experience here?) Dans Le Noir 51, rue Quincampoix Paris 4 ème 01 42 77 98 04

I think your questions are so generalized that you will find many, many answers and opinions just by browsing through these France forums. (Love the way you identified Chicago!!)

Anyone have any info on the new owners here?

Looks like the poor quality impacted on business pretty quickly.... Since Monday, there is a sign out front "Under New Management". Maybe the quality will get back to the old Haglers days.

What happened to the Fauchon on 3rd Avenue and 78th? It seems to have disappeared practically overnight... Or do I have the wrong street?

No, it is not a kosher place. It is surrounded by several kosher stores, but this fellow is from Normandy, France. You should try it as well, Jason-- pretty close to you, I believe. This place is really worth a trip. It's fairly unacclaimed, but it's been there 25 years serving loyal customers, and the cakes and pastries are just a touch under Payard. (NY)

There is a problem with taking a Swiss person to a place that "feels like home". Switzerland is not a homogeneous country; A person from Lugano is used to different cuisine than one in Geneva, and different again from Zurich. The German side does pea soups, potatoes and cabbage. The French area likes boiled fish and wheat beer. And the single Swiss province that speaks Italian, the Ticino, likes typical Italian cuisine from Lombardia. I don't think it's going to happen in this area.

You definitely want to go to Patisserie St Michel (Mentioned above) I know it's about 25 mins from Nutley, but this place is worth the trip, if you want extraordinary cakes.

We often travel on weekends and HATE diners;Stopping for breakfast gets you through the day to dinner. Starbucks is acceptable, but BORING. Looking for a more sophisticated ambience, and a little more than cakes and danishes for food; My examples of places fitting this to a "T" (but in the wrong location) would be Metropolitan Bakery on Market St in Philadelphia, Runcible Spoon in Nyack, NY and Provence Breads in Nashville, TN.

Thanks, but I am interested in NON-chain places only...

Best cakes and pastries in Northern NJ are from Patisserie St Michel, on Queen Anne Road, The Plaza, Teaneck. They don't have long hours, so call first. Patisserie St Michel 1389 Queen Anne Rd Teaneck, NJ 07666-3540 Phone: (201)837-8140

How do you know, Jason?

Sorry, IKEA is SWEDISH. Meatballs and herring, and a lot more tall blondes than in Switzerland.

Am looking for a coffee-bar type place (NOT Starbucks) that has sandwiches, possibly a bakery and/or fresh bread with a nice ambience and seating. Looking for somewhere along I-80 or I-287. Any suggestions?

There is nothing particularly distinguishing that identifies "Swiss cuisine" so it's unlikely that you will find a "Swiss" restaurant anywhere but in Switzerland. About the closest you will come is that fondue place that recently opened in Westwood; I think, though, that fondue is more of a fad than a cuisine...

They were actually yellow with a tinge of green. I found a photo of them Here

Took advantage of a day off today to go early to the Nyack Farmers Market. With about 12 terrific vendors, this has to be among the best markets in the Northern NJ-Rockland area. We started at Andryshuk, who as mentioned grows everything on the stand himself. Really nice lettuce at 3 heads for $2.75, nice yellow plum tomatoes (red also) terrific corn, carrots, beets, peppers, about 12 varieties of potatoes and onions. Next to him is the well-known-to Eg- Bobolink Dairy with their cheeses and breads. On the other side is The Baker's Wife, with a big selection of Balthazar Breads that is actually about 25% cheaper than buying the bread at the Englewood store! A fresh Mozzarella vendor, a local winery, a really interesting Soul Food vendor, a Mushroom vendor, a fresh poultry vendor, a Pepper and Herb live plant vendor, "The Rugelach Guy" with some nice looking pastries, Conklin Orchards, with some nice fruit and some otherwise standard stuff, and the best of all, Blooming Hill Farm. An all-organic farm without the high prices, this place was great! Husk cherry tomatoes, a tiny little tomato in a husk that you remove and it tastes almost like a grape! Pea shoots, wonderful for a salad; Heirloom tomatoes at only $1.50/lb; (about 8 varieties) terrific lettuce, Oak Leaf, Red Spotted, and some others; Organic corn at 4 for $1. What a great place. They also have an organic restaurant at their farm near Monroe, NY that is now on my list to try. Get over to this Nyack Market if you can, only 4 more Thursdays until closing for the winter!!

Menu looks fairly unappealing and ho-hum-ish; I would stick to Thai Chef in Englewood-- they seem to have pretty much gotten their act together with the service, the food is excellent, and the ambience is very pretty.

Can't understand why the Bound'ry Restaurant doesn't get more acclaim here... We had one of our more memorable meals there back in July. Fabulous!! Here's my Review

I have to respectfully disagree; I have always believed that oven broiling is between 550° and 600°F. It has been very daunting to find a pan suitable for broiling. I guess most of the US population grills outside...

Thanks so far, everyone-- it's too bad we don't have some more definitive answers and more suggestions-- Is in-oven broiling that unpopular? I would think that for apartment dwellers it's the only option. I wonder what people are using. Can't find anything on the manufacturers' web sites, either... Strange.

It's interesting-- everytime we do a thread critical of Zagat, we get the incredulous folks who just can't get themselves to believe that Zagat is anything but a Bible... To answer your question, check Here

Does All-Clad make a pan that can be used for broiling in the oven and will withstand the high broiling heat?

Just another point on the long list of smarminess associated with Zagat... None of the mainstream press seem to care about this-- Zagat is on their side of "The Thin Blue Line". About the only place Zagat gets a negative word is here on Egullet. Tim & Nina just keep getting their free meals at all their restaurant friends, as they get more and more corpulent... From "Zagat Rated" , even though they got a miserable rating, to not being listed at all, to not having their survey results audited, to mysteriously eliminating from the book established restaurants, Zagat takes the cake (!) for sliminess and disreputable conduct, and they just keep racking up the sales.