menton1

Best lunch I've ever had around Philly is at Jack's Firehouse. A quirky, fun place on the outskirts of the center, this is a renovated old firehouse with a real skulling boat hanging from the ceiling. Great selection of beers, bourbons, great ribs, steak sandwiches, catfish, and more exotic selections, at friendly prices. Address is 2130 Fairmount Avenue, Tel. 215-232-9000. Be sure to give us a report!!] And the Barnes is absolutely fabulous as well!! What an astounding collection of art in one building!

My patience has ended with the Michelin Restaurant Guides, and the Gault-Millau; These self absorbed guides are so political and so important to the restaurateur that their information has become less reliable. On my trip to France last spring I ordered the Pudlo guide from Amazon.fr, in french, and it was wonderful! Pithy, thorough coverage, and so many good restaurants in there that are not even mentioned in the Michelin! Do the french themselves use Michelin and GM as much as the tourists, and what is the general Frenchman's opinion of this Pudlo guide? Je vous remercie!!

My disdain for the Record restaurant reviewers has grown again. Every restaurant, good or bad, seems to get 3 stars. I went to Chef's Table a few months ago and was very disappojnted. 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 Collieres on the Mediterranean, but the place is in major need of a redorating job, and the entrees should be priced about $5 less. One more notch of less respect for the Record's reviews!!

Finally got over to Wondee's last Sunday night. Cannot say we loved it, but maybe we just ordered wrongly. We started with Larb salad, which many folks raved about here. Either the spices were off, or we just did not like the combination. It was served at a cool temperature, which we did not like as well. We stayed away from Pad Thai, which we love, because we wanted to try something new. We got Pad Prew Warn with pork. It was fairly tasty, but alot like Sweet & Sour dishes you would get in a Chinese restaurant. Not very interesting. Then we got a beef Pad Ped, which the menu said was in a red chili paste. The sauce was very thin and watery, not like a paste at all, the veggies and meat were OK, but again, not very interesting. The best part of the meal was the French white wine we brought along!! I might go back there after a few months, but possibly we could get some suggestions about what to order. Or maybe the Thai combinations of spices are just not for us. I do love Pad Thai, in the peanut sauce, but you can get that anywhere. We left wishing that we had gone to Saigon in Englewood, where we love just about everything on the menu. Any ideas for us?

We ate at American Fare a year ago, and our experience was not as good as yours. The service was very UNattentive, the tables are one on each side with an aisle down the middle, so it's fairly uncomfortable as well as un-aesthetic; the food was just OK; not a good price/value quotient. We have had a much better experience at Celebrated Food just down the block where the ambience, food and service were far better than American Fare. And Jocelyne's is on another level from both of these places. Top notch is all areas. Slightly more expensive, though. (Well worth it)

they can't taste much different than grasshoppers, can they? Yeah, that's what I meant. I think that was the Vietnam show, wasn't it? Or maybe Cambodia.

I hope Tony Bourdain doesn't have any ideas about frying up those cockroaches and eating them!!

Saigon Republic in Englewood has a deservedly lopsided favorable thread, also.

David Corcoran yesterday reviewed this one and gave it a "Very Good". But with the NY Times, it won't be available on the web site for about 2 weeks.

Times has never reviewed Latour. Best frisée salad I've had north of No. 9 in Lambertville. A work of art. Here is an old one from the Star Ledger: http://www.njdiningguide.com/latour5e.html

So what do the natives drive? Hummers?

Nick, you sound like a politician. You did, after all, call this place a "joint". Englewood is sort of eclectic, when it comes to money-- the towns to the South and West are quite moderate, middle-income, even blue collar areas. To the north, some very expensive real estate. But Englewood also has Saigon and It's Greek to Me; unassuming, moderately priced, VERY GOOD food places. If I wanted to spend $75 PP, I would probably be much better suited at an Egullet fave, America in Tenafly, only 5 minutes North of this place. (A lot of Acuras and Volvos in their parking lot)!!

This proves that having big bucks and a fancy car doesn't give you good taste in restaurants. I'll take an Egullet recommendation any day.

This place is in Englewood, Not Eng Cliffs-- Saw it made the NY Times VG List-- Friends have told me that this could be the MOST expensive place in NJ, and for no good reason! For a few bucks more you could do Ducasse in NY!! And when driving by, it looks like a big Lincoln/Cadillac crowd there. Any more input, anybody been there, too expensive, what did the Times like?

Rosie, this really is not a restaurant-- it is a "Luncheonette" atmosphere, only a few seats, oriented to takeout mostly. But the barbecue is very good and unique in NJ. Just show up.

Rosie-- The only further comments I have about the NY Times list: Conspicuous by their absence: No. 9, Corso 98, Restaurant 28 (Montclair), Blue Sky, Cafe Matisse, Latour. N.B. 90 Grand Grill, Englewood: People tell me this is the MOST expensive restaurant in NJ-- and for no good reason!! For another $20 PP, you could do Ducasse in NY!! From the outside it looks like it appeals to the Lincoln and Cadillac crowd. Do we have any discussion on this place?

I'm up in Bergen County, so I am unfamiliar with the Foodaramas and the World Class house brand. But I knew that they were a separately owned cooperative operation; Here we have the Glass Shoprites, and the Inserra Shoprites. There is no comparison. The Glass ones are the best run with the nicest service. I will never go to Inserra again-- I once got a raincheck for an item out of stock, and when I went to Inserra in Emerson, they refused to honor it! (Which is against Shoprite policy). Glass has the new Shoprite on Rte 4 in Paramus, a huge store with very good merchandising and very nice employees.

Why would a restaurant offering a free glass of champagne have greater repercussions than a restaurant with a license that sold a magnum of the stuff? Bonne Année, everyone!

This restaurant on Schraalenburgh Road in Closter has undergone several incarnations over the years; the latest is Delmonico's. It used to be called Fiddleheads for a while. I drive by about every 2 weeks, and invariable the parking lot has about 50-60 cars!! Usually about 7PM on a weekday. The same was true for Fiddleheads. Anybody been here, and why is this place so packed? And why do they go out of business if they are always so busy?

Ahh... I see. I only get the NY Times delivered on Sunday. I get the Bergen Record every day and they do the same on Sat-- many of the Sunday sections are delivered the day before. N.B. I don't trust the Record Restaurant reviews-- very suspicious-- either not very aware, or worse, not objective!!

Thanks, Nick. Now I understand-- you guys get a "heads up" on Saturday! Is "No. 9" in Lambertville conspicuous by its absence?

Where is this NY Times list of Best Restos in NJ? Is it online? Does anybody have a link? Thanks.

I don't think it was the Xmas galette-- I think it was the regular tarte des poires-- it cost $17. It was on the cart, so we just pointed and took a shot. P.S. In France now, the boulangeries all sell "sandwichs" and lots of little foodie bread items-- little pizzas, meat rolls, cheese rolls, even tuna & ham sandwichs. Ahhh... wish I was there!!

I have been reading all kinds of good things about Capsouto Freres near the Holland Tunnel. We just love good French restaurants. Anyone have any feedback on this place, not the easiest to get to, but is it worth the trip? Does it get less acclaim because of the location? Thanks.

Something very similar happened to me in England when I made a left turn out of a parking lot into the RIGHT lane!! (Those ingrained reflexes again). But even as a pedestrian crossing the street can be dangerous in London-- you never look in the correct direction to see if there are cars coming!