menton1

The municipalities are allowed one license per 3000 residents; the towns can only issue additional licenses when it can document an increase in population-- then it is up for bids. Otherwise, you can only buy a license from an existing license-holder. The only town in the State that is exempt is Hoboken, something to do with an issue dating back to the 40s. Maybe someone can expound on exactly why Hoboken is exempt.

Nobody has mentioned that on Sunday the Reading Market is closed; on Sunday, if you want a quintissential American breakfast, go to Blue In Green, 3rd St just North of Market. Great eggs, homefries, etc., in a great retro setting; for a more laid back breakfast, Metropolitan Bakery on Market 1 block west of Front St; fabulous baked goods, great homemade granola & yogurt, sandwiches, wonderful coffee in an art gallery setting, with changing art exhibits. In the same area, I would opt for Fork, 3rd & Market, for a wonderful dinner. Creative New American. Enjoy Philly!! N.B. A great thing to do in the afternoon is the Walk Philadelphia walking tours, run by a non profit architectural society. Walk Philadelphia Web Site

Not surprising, it's a lot like a taxi medallion in NYC. There are only a finite # of liquor licenses, per municipality, allowed in NJ. They can turn around and resell the license, probably for a profit. Creates a lot of BYOBs as well!

Oops!! Had a brain lapse. They do take cards. A great destination restaurant. Don't know what I was thinking about......

Cash Only, hasn't slowed their business down at all. Reserve 2-4 weeks ahead!!

here Still looking for some choices in delis, though.

I didn't think the Zagat guide involved research; they claim that all they do is compile the information sent in by the survey respondents. Based on the Egullet Zagat New York thread, it seems that they do a lot more than that; inclusion and exclusion is one factor, and a lot of politics with comp dinners and decals as well. Quite a revelation. Hope Andrea shows her personal integrity by coming onto Egullet and answering tough questions!!

I had been told it did well in France; Here, it's very unlikely for a French movie to be a hit, it mainly appeals to the "Art & Independent"movie crowd, a pretty select group. The only French movie in memory to be a "hit" in the US was "Amelie". All I can say is that I liked the movie. Jean Rochefort was pretty terrific as well.

One of my favorite things to take out to eat at home is a great coleslaw. Once upon a time, there was a deli on every corner making their own coleslaw, each one a little different, but all very good. These days homemade coleslaw is very hard to find. Most of the delis now use a commercial coleslaw, they buy it in large tubs and put it in their displays-- too much mayonnaise, too much sugar, not good. Even Grand Union made a very good coleslaw on the premises for the last 5 years of their existence-- but they are gone now. Can anybody recommend a deli (North Jersey, please) where they still make a coleslaw in the store, fresh, and that tastes really good? Thanks very much.

You could sell tickets for your terrasse!!

I clicked on the home page, and, voila!, there he is, Lance Armstrong, on the bike on the top right. An oversight, to be sure. The French love Lance Armstrong, he lives in France 4 months of the year, and speaks French fluently, appears often on French TV. Totally non-political. Just reading about Johnny Hallyday, a French actor/singer who is loved in France because of his emulating Elvis in his songs; he just turned 60 and he is in a hit movie now showing in the US, " Man on the Train" . They also love McDonalds, surprisingly enough.

Rosie-- Where is Sammy's? Brief description, please.

It souinds much better than Dante's. Dante's makes enormous, good value sandwiches, but the prepared food is so-so. Much of it has way too much oil, and also alot of their stuff is commercially prepared, not homemade. Now Jerry's, in Englewood, has GREAT prepared food in the showcases!!

It souinds much better than Dante's. Dante's makes enormous, good value sandwiches, but the prepared food is so-so. Much of it has way too much oil, and also alot of their stuff is commercially prepared, not homemade.

Latour in Ridgewood, full blurb in the window. Arrugula Cafe in South Orange, full blurb. P.S. Where is Andrea?

Good luck getting anywhere near any of these race locations on that day; See if you can befriend someone living in an apartment with a nice terrasse facing the race!! Head to Chartres early, stop in a local bar and watch on TV. (Better choice).

Yes, that's true... interesting that you inferred that...

I was in South Jersey this past weekend, and decided to try this place. It is touted as a Vietnamese/French fusion restaurant. A BYOB as well, which is nice. An unlikely place, a strip mall on route 73 in Marlton, but when you get in, it's lovely. Two nice rooms, subdued lighting, real TABLECLOTHS, changed every sitting, and giant picture windows facing trees and lawn. It is set back quite a way from the highway so you see mostly the trees. Excellent low noise level, with a nice CD of Sara Brightman playing in the background. The menu is more french that Vietnamese, but the spices and sauces are definitely Asian-influenced. WE started with an unusual Seafood Pockets appetizer; this was a seafood mousse, with shrimp and scallops enveloped in a rice-dough pocket, and tied with piece of nori strips. The top was crunchy, and the bottom of the pocket was soft, the mousse was spectacular, as was the tomato-tamarind sauce on the plate. The Spinach Salad was beautiful baby spinach, jicama, and candied macadamia nuts in a terrific peanut vinagrette dressing. A slight kick made it wonderful. We were tempted to get the Duck for the Main Course, but opted for the Scallops and the Vegetarian Plate instead. Scallops were large, tasty, cooked perfectly with a dollop of whipped potatoes with Asian spices. The Vegetable plate had about 16 different fresh vegetables, long-cut, in an exquisite ginger-soy sauce, with rice. The desserts were traditional French, but we were stuffed so we opted out, just coffee. All in all, a nice restaurant experience in South Jersey. Le Mê Toujours 515 Route 73 South Marlton, N.J. 856-810-2000

This is interesting as I've noted several places that got good ratings and are sporting the red Zagat Rated decal.

I'm attaching the link to a Zagat thread we had in the Food Media section here a couple of weeks ago. Lots of dirt about Zagat. One tidbit I found interesting is that, when a restaurant gets a pretty bad rating, they give them a red square generic window decal "Zagat Rated 2003", as if this is something prestigious, even though their actual ratings in the guide were awful! I look forward to having the NJ Editor here if she shows; it will take a lot of guts for her to do that! Food Media Zagat Thread

Well, that is ridiculous--- maybe it's a bit touristy, a bit commercial, but there is a beautiful beach, the Mediterranean, and a nearly ideal climate; It sure beats Disney World!!

That would show not only stupidity on their part, but a complete lack of understanding of city planning. The revenue from parking tickets will never compensate for the business lost to the community. If the businesses do not succeed, they will not pay the real estate taxes, sales taxes, and the trickle down effect of failed businesses affects all merchants and the desire of people to come and spend their money in the town. I prefer to think that the Hahne's situation was just caused by an inertial attitute on the part of the city, the real estate might have been tied up in court, or something. If someone was more proactive they probably could have at least knocked down the building and put up parking. But more parking brings in a lot more revenue than does parking tickets.

The old Hahne's has stood there as a rotting eyesore after it closed over 15 years ago. It could have been razed, you could probably have had a parking lot for 500 cars there.

Great idea!! I would be particularly interested as to her explanation of =Mark's story of the sudden disappearance of Casa Comida; That is a tough one to justify.

Yes it is amazing, but true. One of the best things about getting off the airplane when you have arrived, usually at about 9AM, is to go to a café and have that first cup of coffee!! It's usually too early to check in, so you just have to soak up that first European fix as you swoon with jet lag. But that coffee is like heaven!! What a difference!