menton1

Thanks, everyone, but a few comments: Erie1-- No, I know Landjaeger, it's readily available here in Jersey, it has a rectangular shape, not what I was thinking of-- different flavor. Holly-- No, I've tried the Reading Market as I said in the original post. byarvin-- This sounds interesting. But do you have more specific information, please-- exactly where is this Rte 27 market, and when is it open? Is it open all year round? By the way, Beiler's is also in Lancaster, but over there they are only a bakery-- they do not have any meats. Thanks again to all.

I have made a few trips to Lancaster, Pa and done the Amish country tourist thing. Among the memorable experiences was a Saturday morning visit to the Central Market in the center of Lancaster. Several vendors there sell cold cut type meats, but what pleased me most were some smoky sausage-type links, tasting a little like pepperoni, but a little softer and much smokier. These links are about 3/4 inch in diameter, and about 4 inches long. They are tied together. They are ready to eat, no cooking. I often dream about these little tasty links, but I live in NJ, and Lancaster is a long ride. Can anyone better identify these links for me, and is there a place maybe in Philly, or anybody in the Amish country that will mail order? (I did not see them at the Reading Market). Thanks very much.

A few years back I went with some friends to a wonderful Greek restaurant, it was about 2-3 blocks from the Chalk Farm Tube station. Does anybody know if the place is still there, and what is the name and address? Thanks very much!

Always look forward to a bi-monthly trek into the lower east side in NYC to stock up on old fashioned barrel pickles, tomatoes, and sauerkraut. I just discovered while driving in Bergen County a real NY pickle store, called "Picklelicious" in Teaneck, NJ!! That wonderful smell makes you feel dreamy as you enter the store, and then, ohhh-- the pickles!! I prefer the new, but they have half sour and sour as well. I got the sour tomatoes and sauerkraut as well, and they were wonderful. At $5/Quart, the price was a little less than in New York, and well worth it. They have lots of samples on the side, so that you can taste what you like and what you don't. They have a small selection of Eli's Bread from New York, but they didn't have the square raisin-pecan rolls that we love. They also have a small selection of olives and olive pastes, even some exotics like pickled celery and red peppers. The address is Picklelicious, 763 River Road, Teaneck, just off the Southeast corner of Cedar Lane, in a small house/converted to a store. They are closed Mondays in the winter, but she said the hours will change in the warmer weather. Now we can get our pickle fix every week!!

I went to this place several years ago and have a good memory of it. I understand that they are now closed Sundays and open Mondays. Anyone been there recently and have any feedback? Thanks.

Wayne is pretty much a restaurant "desert" except for unmemorable storefront Italian/Red Sauce and Ethnics. Take a short ride to Cedar Grove to Il Tulipano, or a 15-18 minute ride to Montclair, where good restaurants abound. A not-too-expensive very good place is Orbis Bistro in Upper Montclair, about 12 miles from Wayne. Very creative food, reasonable pricing. BYOB. Orbis Bistro 128 Watchung Avenue Upper Montclair 973-746-7641 Check out their menu here: Orbis Bistro

I checked with Dave, and he only uses a small amount of milk in the recipe. No cream. I actually thought this soup was extremely flavorful. And the minced pieces of tomato are wonderful. IMHO, this recipe should not be changed. N.B. Zabar's has a "Cream" of Asparagus soup that is non-dairy; creaminess isn't always reflective of cream.

Yes, I agree Food Network has gone way downhill in the last couple of years. The star of the Chocolate shows is definitely Jacques Torres. He is great. He is as much an artist as a pastry chef. It is mesmerizing to watch the show and see what he does. I'm sure the recipes are useless, few could do the things he does, like a painter showing you how to paint, it won't work. But the show is quite lovely to watch!! He has a disarming personality as well.

Anyone familar with the Guide Gantié? A wonderful, descriptive restaurant guide, but only covering the Southeast of France. Used it on my last trip and found it infinitely more helpful than Michelin. Also available online: Guide Gantié Anyone familiar with it?

Took out food from Fink's last night, have been there many times, food is great. Wanted to mention the soups are always homemade and wonderful. Last night topped them all, a Sun Dried Tomato soup that tasted as good as most soups I have eaten in good restaurants. Very creamy without cream. A round of applause for Fink's Sundried Tomato Soup!!!

I love Fork, in Old City, Market Street, and Astral Plane, near Rittenhouse Square. I agree that Philly has GREAT restaurants!! Too late for a reservation at Django-- they need 3 weeks in advance!!

JoeH-- I found the website for La Fornace and it looks fabulous!! Thanks so much for this tip!! We will definitely be going there! This part of the Italian Riviera is undiscovered by Americans. A european secret. Any familiarity with Hotel Punta Est in Finale Ligure? Thanks again!!

McCormick & Schmicks On this recent Washington DC thread, Rail Paul says there is a review of this restaurant in the Feb 2 NJ Section of the Times; I have just combed the 16 pages and cannot find a word about it. Was it in a different newspaper? Thanks.

Thanks, everyone, but I have done Santa Margherita, Portofino, and the Cinque Terre a couple of years ago. I want to go to the "Riviera Ponente", the western side, because of its magnificent coastline and littoral landscapes; I have honed in on Noli-Spotorno, it seems less touristed than Alassio and Diano areas. San Remo seems a little past its prime. I LOVED the Ligurian food last time, and was looking for suggestions in this specific area, hotels as well, even though this side is off a lot of peoples' radar. (That's the idea). Help, Francesco?

Thinking of spending a few days in Liguria, possibly in the Noli/Spotorno/Finale Ligure area in June. Looking for suggestions on hotels/restaurants. Can't wait to have that green lasagne!! Thanks!

I remember the jokes in France last May, because with the 4 and 5 day weekends, they wound up with only 14 working days!! (We should be so lucky in the US) Another issue is the Noon-2PM closing-- not so much in Paris, but in the countryside you need to be aware of this; I have gotten thrown out of museums and messed up my entire schedule because of this-- but I wish we did that here!! The French are dead serious about their leisure time!

Note that Michelin has a terrific website, http://www.viamichelin.com The entire Red Guides are listed here, and, better still, the listing is in English instead of the native language; You can also get great maps with zoom and driving directions. I use this site extensively when going to Europe.

The Times restaurant review disappointed me again today. A nice, neighborhood Italian, Taormina, that was made to sound like it was good, but not a place you would travel more than 5 miles to get to. The Times has never reviewed noteworthy (IMHO) places such as No. 9 in Lambertville, Napa Valley Grille in Paramus, and many others. Oh, well.

I feel obliged to add a rebuttal on several issues-- I did not mention the name of the NJ restaurant becuase this topic, under the "General Food Topics" category is read all over the US (and probably overseas) so that the name of the restaurant is seemingly irrelevant; The wait staff had no idea that I was annoyed about the bottled water pitch, so I could not have been labeled as "trouble"; The real issue here was brought up earlier by one of the respondents-- the place should accommodate the customer-- to warm up bread is certainly within the realm of a reasonable request, and should have been handled graciously, and NOT forgotten about. It is their job not to become distracted. And lastly, it seems that Fat Guy and myself are the lone warm bread advocates in this crowd. Well, at least I have a partner of stature!!

A "praline" in France refers to either a sugar covered almond candy, or just a plain chocolate candy filled with a chocolate mousse; In francophone Africa, praline can refer to a sugar covered cashew candy. The only difference in the US is that we sometimes refer to a praline as a piece of chocolate filled with crushed nuts (of any kind).

If you live in or around the NYC area, you will most likely have more exotic choices in yogurts. Most of the supermarket yogurts are indistinguishable to me. I do agree that Total greek yogurt is a completely different experience, although the fat content of the regular is 10%!! It's sooo good with honey. (It's plain yogurt) Some stores also have the 5% and the 2% which are not as unctious but good as well. Total has made great inroads in the last year, originally only at Fairway and Zabar's, it's now in a multitude of stores in New Jersey. For a fruit yogurt, I've never had anything as good as Mamie Nova from France, but I've only seen that at Zabar's NY. Try the Pruneaux D'Agen flavor!!

It's my understanding that the Macaron started in Nancy, Lorraine, and was named after "les Soeurs Macarons" who were Benedictine Nuns!! They apparently baked these cookies and created copious amounts of them for the residents of Nancy. Anyone have more info?

We went to this restaurant last summer, and for the most part, it was a nice experience. The place is tricky to find because it is down a foot path between houses where you find the entrance. An attractive place, two levels, but quite noisy on a Saturday night. Hard to converse. Food was excellent, memorable was the "Crazy Salad", a melange with fruits, nuts, and cheese. Also the Skate and the Sea Bass were perfectly prepared, wonderful sauces, and thoughtful vegetable accompaniments. My friends got the Confit Chicken which they thought was very uinusual and good. The only damper was that in order to make a reservation they require a guarantee with a credit card. This turned me off a bit, but I did it. The noise is a bit too high as well. But you should enjoy the place. Have fun.

FG, I definitely vote for warm bread; After all, I started this thread based on a visit to a "better" restaurant in NJ, where the bread was"room temperature", and when I asked for it to be heated, they were quite nonplussed, and, worse, never brought the bread back for 15 minutes!! I agree with the writer that said that actually, the restaurant should accommodate the patrons whatever their wish is. I do agree that I have never had warm bread in France, but here in the US, I do expect it, and I don't agree that it's an excuse for stale bread, especially in an above average restaurant.

This restaruant was recently highly touted in NJ Monthly in January. The description of the Asian fusion dishes sounded wonderful, and the prices seem more than reasonable. Has anybody been to this place, any comments are appreciated!