scarlet knight

We had dinner with another couple here on Saturday night. It is brand new, cheerfully decorated and spacious. They have a wide assortment of appetizers. We shared a large portion of "two minute" calamari and somewhat smaller portions of mozzarella, cauliflower and broccoli rabe with garlic and oil (three different appetizers). Not your average appetizers and enjoyable. My wife and I both ate wood roasted chicken diavolo. We liked it, but after a recent foray to New Mexico, it wasn't spicy at all. Our friends had a shrimp with risotto dish and eggplant ravioli. The service was extremely cordial and helpful. If you make a right as you pass the restaurant on your left, you go into an alley that leads to a parking deck. 37 Maple in Summit. The tab was $85/couple including tax and tips for apps, entree, dessert and coffee. It's reasonable, casual and fun. We would go again and we recommend it.

Has anyone been to Bona Vita in Summit? I believe it is the newest incarnation of Mama Tucci's since it left Livingston.

We love New American food and Chef LoPinto is one of NJ's best interpreters of it. I just don't think it seems to go over among local diners. Wish, Earth, Sweet Basil's and Blue Sky are no longer around. Blu, Passionne, Orbis, Culinarianne still serve New American. On the west coast, they call it West Coast dining--fresh, local ingredients with a touch of light French, Asian or tropical accents. Unfortunately, I think that veal parmigiano (sp?) is the unofficial state dish. While I love it, it's not my first choice for fine dining. Good luck to Anthony in his next endeavor. He has many supportive fans.

We liked it , also. But we were going to Viet Ai more and restaurants less due to my weight reduction plan. Sad to see them go, the staff was very friendly.

We ate at Gramercy Tavern for our anniversary on 6/2/08. My wife's tagliatelle appetizer was overly salty and my black sea bass entree was overly salty. Not by a little, it was really salty. They also forgot to give us a plate of petit fours. I didn't say anything because I am in a weight conscious mode. We much preferred our meal at Passione in Montclair, NJ two days earlier. GT is a beautiful place and the servers tried hard in general, but I've had better food many other places. I realize that we are not a random sample and we may have run into a salt-happy sous chef.

I went to the South Orange store today. Very impressive, a must see if you like good food.

Relatives who will go unnamed liked this place, undoubtedly due to the price point. We called it "Chew and Choke." Happy trails to them!

We couldn't get into Passionne at a decent time for Saturday night, so someone noticed that this is a good place. We'll try again.

I prefer Orbis and Culinariane in the same area. Have you tried these, Paul?

I thought I noticed a Ricci's sign at Lulu's across from Shop-Rite in Livingston. Has Lulu joined Mama Tucci's as a casualty?

We ate at Cocobello on North Livingston Ave., Livingston, last night. The food was very good. I had polenta-dusted grouper, my wife had a great duck. The staff is super friendly. Lots of regulars. Best cappuchino ever, successfully disrupted my sleep. Only complaint is that it is noisy. Good food and service and reasonable prices.

Mama Tucci closed but Fresh City and the popcorn store are still open in Livingston Town Center--no justice. We liked it in January, should have gone back sooner. I think the economy is going to take a lot of places out. We ate at a fairly empty Blu last night, their cheaper Next Door restaurant was packed, as was the inexpensive Raymond's on Church Street.

We tried Crave for dinner and it was very good. It has a "clubby" atmosphere and it attracts a younger crowd. I think that is a good, free spending, heavy drinking demographic that will benefit the restaurant's bottom line. It is a cool-looking place. We went on a Thursday night and the place was packed. I ordered the tomato and mozzarella stack, my wife had the house salad. Both very good. For entrees, I had monkfish over a white bean, tomato and spinach stew. The tomato-ey stew was a good dipping sauce for the fish--a generous portion. My significant other had grilled mahi-mahi. Very fresh, really grilled, I tasted it and the fish was fresh and high quality. We greeted Chef LoPinto on our way out as we know him from Sweet Basil's and Fortunato. He is really the best practitioner of New American cuisine in the area and I recommend Crave. If you like things on the quieter side, go earlier in the week. Fortunately for the restaurant, it was packed on Thursday and we were told it gets more crowded Friday and Saturday. A happening place with a great chef.

E Gullet road trip to Crave?

We tried Mama Tucci's again and it was very good. Red snapper and osso bucco entrees were tasty, service attentive, atmosphere pretty, prices fair. i think that we went when it just opened and they had to get some kinks out.

Try Orbis in Montclair. I think that the restaurant would hold your group and people could walk around and talk to each other. Don't think that would work in some of the restaurants you named. The chef-owner, Nancy, would work with you on the menu. It's a nice room in Upper Montclair with good parking--better than downtown Montclair and Hoboken. The New American cuisine could accomodate picky, non-adventurous eaters as well as more adventurous people. It is particularly strong with fresh fish specials. You could eat there yourself first to see if you like it. It's off the beaten track, but that is one of its charms.

Any idea as to why they closed? Pizza stores seem like a winning bet for the owners, especially if the pizza is good.

We went for dinner on Christmas night with my parents. Since we frequented Katz's in NYC in my childhood, there was a deja vu feel. My wife and I had turkey. My wife noticed that you can get a half sandwich on two slices of bread, which is a good idea for those of us who are "watching" how much we eat. I ordered a regular turkey sandwich and I had to take off a lot of turkey to make it an edible size. The turkey was very good. My parents had pastrami, which looked good. I find it too powerful in general, but if you like it, this is the place to get it. The entire East Hanover movie theater let out and descended upon Irving's. Their staff was challenged by the hungry mob, but the manangement was in good spirits and the staff was trying hard to do well. Not our favorite cuisine (we prefer New American, Modern Italian, Japanese, etc.), but a good representative of the genre. Try it!

I had lunch at Viet Ai today, too. I had the same things I had in my first post. I like the summer rolls more than the spring rolls because I'm not a fan of fried food. I thought that the seafood pho was very good and it was huge for $6.25. I arrived at 1:30pm and there were no spaces in the parking lot. Large contingent of Vietnamese customers, which I interpret as a compliment to the restaurant. My opinion holds--best Vietnamese in northern NJ.

The last review sounds like this place is a disaster. Anyone brave enough to go recently? Zagat's likes it, but maybe the data is dated. Where else would you go in Ridgewood?

We went there very soon after it opened and found it to be a little disappointing. We thought that the food was average, but the prices were high. Maybe they fine-tuned it and got their act together since our last and only visit. Did you agree that the prices were high, Cook456? I usually don't notice, but it struck me that way at Mama Tucci's.

Glad everyone likes it...I've been meaning to go back myself, thanks for reminding me!

We ate there with friends a month ago. We eat there periodically and we were regulars when it was Jocelyn's. It is one of the best restaurants in NJ and I am sure you will enjoy it. Bring your favorite wine(s)!

Are the owners of Crave the same owners of Earth?

A relative was going to host Thanksgiving for 18-20 family members, but due to her spouse's recent illness, I want to suggest we all go out to a restaurant to alleviate the pressure on her. Does anyone have any suggestions? Half the group is in west Essex and a large contingent is from southern Somerset and Middlesex counties.