scarlet knight

Is that near the train station at the bottom of the hill or near Town Hall at the top of the hill?

It's very casual, but the seafood is very good at Caldwell Seafood on Bloomfield Avenue. The front is a restaurant, the back is a retail store that sells seafood. I don't know who serves better seafood. Sinclair's in South Orange and previously Westfield was good, but it's long gone. The former Peter's Whale in Fair Lawn has a new name which other posters will recall. I have not eaten at its current incarnation, but see other posts. We had good seafood at CulinArianne in Montclair, even though it is not primarily seafood. Same is tru of Blu! Also in Montclair.

We went the first weekend, so I would give them some slack. My wife had chicken couscous. It was one piece of chicken(leg-thigh combo) in an endless bowl of couscous with vegetables. I thought they could have put in more chicken. i had a lamb tagine. i don't want to say that the lamb was tough, but it took Glide floss, a Butler tooth stimulator and a Sonicare to get it out of my teeth. The place is beautiful, the staff could not be friendlier or more helpful. The seating is not that comfortable. Despite pouring rain and our 9pm arrival, the place was packed, so make reservations. I think that they can get it together. But do try different entrees than we had.

We went once. Food was awful, the dining experience was worse. Darwinian capitalism succeeds again.

Is it safe from a health perspective to eat raw shellfish such as lobster and shrimp? I have always been advised that it is not safe to do so. Anyone know if this is still true, an old wives' tale or you guys are willing to live dangerously?

I know this is the NJ forum, but in the interest of ice cream and ice cream-related excellence, may I recommend Cones on Bleecker Street in NYC and, further afield, San Crispino, the laboratory of gelato, near the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.

For those of us who are out of town, please explain. Were they in a Huffman Koos mall that closed? Did Huffman Koos not enjoy Babylonian food?

We were there about five years ago and we had a similar experience to dbrociner. My wife is allergic to lobster and we told the staff that before we started our tasting menu. After we were already eating a soup, a panicky waiter came over and told us that the soup contained lobster stock. Fortunately, my wife's allergy was not triggered, but we did make a big note of it. Are these people awake? Their bill is hundreds of dollars! Most of the people around us appeared to be on expense accounts, extra-marital affairs or special occasions. The food was no better than the good places in Montclair. Most of our tab was covered by a gift certificate. Have not returned and do not expect to do so.

We were at La Isla within the last year and we were very disappointed. The food was reheated and not reheated enough. It was not good. Rebecca's still wins. However, if you have any names or addresses from Bergenline Avenue, I'm all ears.

When we went in November, 2005, Rebecca's was good, but far from great. It sounds like it slid downhill. Maybe a new chef?

Any names and addresses for the Union City Cuban restaurants?

Montclair is the obvious choice: in addition to those named, try Table 8, Tuptim, Corso 98, Culinariane, Fascino and Aozora. Caldwell is the sleeper dining out town: Caldwell Seafood, Bangkok Kitchen, Gastronomia, Forte, etc.

We used to live in Cedar Grove and we had some nice meals there. Enjoyed it more when it was BYO. I think that it was au courant in the beginning, but has been culinarily surpassed by the Montclair restaurants. I remember that we went after a good Star-Ledger review and it was mobbed. What a tough business!

I join in on the vote for Super Duper Bagels in Livingston. The strip mall in which it is located is fronted by an ice shop (Ralph's?). In the same strip mall is Lulu's Bistro and a takeout Chinese restaurant. it's diagonally across the street from Shop-Rite.

I agree with Paula not calling back. It's like calling a food critic and offering them a comp to improve on a review. I want to know how they do when they think no one's looking. Also, I don't want a restaurant calling me and invading my privacy.

We ate at Bella Vita twice. We enjoyed it for a few reasons: the food was very good; the dinner entrees were generally $12-18 and it was BYOB. Of course, nothing good can last. When we went this past Saturday, the name changed to Reggiano. The menu was the same, but the specials were from the new regime. The specials cost $27-34! We were advised the new menu is upcoming and a liquor license is expected in six weeks. It is a new format. We liked the old format better. I will say the food was good, though. The chef was talking to a lot of tables, but not us.

I work in Morristown. I had lunch there twice and I thought the food was good. My only complaint was that the lunch menu was the same (as costly) as the dinner menu. We were told that this would change. Paula, was it crowded for dinner? I don't blame Paula for giving it a try even if it was panned here. People have different tastes. The same restaurant can vary, also.

I hope that Rosie stays active as a poster. Her evaluations are very helpful and informative. She can separate the contenders from the pretenders.

What's happening with Rosie? I didn't get the memo!

We last went to Orbis about a month ago. I recall it as a good meal, but I agree that some of the entrees are better than others. We find the daily fish specials, the oven roasted chicken and the hanger steak (medium or rarer, with pommes frites and Bordelais sauce) are consistent winners. We also find the waitresses to be charming and Nancy, the owner, is very nice to us. We have a soft spot for it due to the staff and atmosphere, but critically speaking, it has its hits and misses.

We ate here last night. Appetizers: Crab cake with grainy Dijon Mustard sauce; corn crusted fried oysters with a fresh horseradish sauce. Both very good with an edge to the oysters for their presentation and zesty sauce. Entrees: Halibut special with spinach, bacon and potatoes. Very good and spinach and bacon are high on my wife's list of favorite foods. I had scallops with a wild mushroom ragout. Great fresh ingredients. No starch?! I'm not on Atkins! Dessert: Pear tarte tatin with cinnamon ice cream. Tea with nice service--HOT water, good tea selection of real black teas (do people drink red zinger and peppermint that fill tea boxes?) and a cool sugar bowl. Sevice: Professional and attentive. I think our waiter thought I was nuts to take home two of my scallops. This restaurant is competive with Blu, Table 8 and Orbis. Get a reservation. It's small and it sold out on a Thurday night.

We had an 8:30 reservation this past Saturday at Terra. They offered us a table that was right where people walk in. It was cold and I wasn't in the mood to be the unofficial host for the evening. It appeared that there were 1 or 2 open tables, but the hostess said they were not available. She said that the table that we didn't want was fine. Wrong answer. We chose to leave. I try hard to behave and to be accomodating, but since I'm laying down my Franklins, I would have appreciated some help (another table will open up in 10 minutes, etc.). Well this was a fortuitous event, because we tried Pappillon 25 for the first time. Initially, the prices struck me as high (typical entree: $28), but after eating the food, we realized it was worth it. We enjoyed: Mesclun salad with goat cheese, corn and crab croquettes, whole grilled red snapper and grilled shrimp with mango. All excellent! We also were able to eat half of a key lime tart and we finished it the next day at home. We were traveling with our red burgundy from Terra. We told the hostess we didn't know in advance that P-25 had a liquor license. She conspired with our waiter to allow us to have our wine without the owner noticing--we left a third of the bottle for them. The hostess and the waiter were extremely nice and were very gratified to see us happy. Surrounding diners were kvelling over their food, too. This is a must-try in South Orange.

We've been there a few times. The food is good, prices reasonable. We've talked to the guy who we thought was the owner (or at least the manager) and he was concerned about our opinion and happiness. if you detect "attitude" from the waiter, perhaps it's a good idea to talk to the owner, manager or maitre d'. Giotto is the type of place where I think that they'd care. i do think that the still vs. tap confusion was caused by the diner, but the staff should have just chalked it up and move on. Now we're all wondering who the nasty waiter is.

It's funny. I passed Tomo's on the way to a business meeting in Hackensack on Tuesday. I noticed it and I thought to myself: it's so close to Sukeroku, which is one of the oldest, most established Japanese restaurants around. Also, as a former Cedar Grove resident, I don't think the demographics cry out for sushi the way it would in Montclair or Hoboken. I was concerned about Tomo's future. I'm glad to hear that it's so good. We will go there soon. We do have the chance to go on Sunday. Does anyone else worry about ordering fish and/or sushi on a Sunday due to the unlikelihood that the restaurant will receive a fresh delivery of fish on a Sunday? Or am I being overly cautious?

I've been on a sushi "roll" lately. We like Ariyoshi in South Orange, Sushi Hana in Montclair and Zen in Livingston. We had 1 roll and two pieces of sushi at Daruma. It was good. Where do you like to go?