Hank

It certainly is excusable that no one should have to work 7 days a week. So I don't understand your question. What I thought was inexcusable was that whom ever the chef was that night should have been more careful with the amount of salt he/she used if that was the case. With that said, do we know whether the poster is more sensitive to salt than other people. I for one have never experienced an over salty dish at this rest. That is probably a discussion we could toss around for ever because I have many times witnessed people shaking oodles of salt on a dish that I thought was perfectly salted/ seasoned. Worse than that is the person who adds salt/pepper before even trying the dish.

As I am a close friend of the owners of Tocqueville I will make sure that they read your review. Since it was Sunday evening I do not believe they were there which, though not excusable, could have been the reason for the salty pork dish. We have always had wonderful experiences at this restaurant and am never worried about recommending it to my friends. Yes, the wine list leans towards the expensive side but I get around that by paying a $30.00 corkage charge and bring my own. The ever chqnging menu makes this an exciting restaurant for us to go to, plus the service is always most professional.

Would love some feedback about Restaurant Jane on Houston St. My friend would like to do a small party there and asked my advise but unfortunately I have never been.

The chef/owner of The Saddle River Inn comes from Switzerland and he just might cook some favorite Swiss dishes for you on request. His name is Mr. Egg (sp). The restaurant is always high on Zagat's list of best restaurants in NJ (I totally disagree) but you will get decent enough food there for a lot of money. I beleive that it is still BYOB.

Rosie, Please call Fadia at 201-894-5700. I am certain that she will gladly give you her recipe. Actually she makes them with either chocolate, orange and splendid other combo's. Not only are they wonderful but healthy to boot and never gooey sweet.

Hi Tommy, Just got home from a late dinner. Thanks for the pictures. You got exactly what I told you earlier. Retail they call this cut top sirloin while in the trade we called it top butt. It is actually a boneless hip. It is used mainly for a cheaper roast beef. Sliced real thin on a slicing machine it can be just okay but it is really a terrible cut for steak and should not be sold for that. Also, it does not look like prime meat to me though it is not fair of me to make that judgement from a photo. When I looked back at their ad I did notice that they said sirloin steak and not sirloin strip which makes a big difference. Again my friend, you get what you pay for. For your information the cheapest PRIME sirloin strip steaks I have seen lately was $21.00 at Fairway on 125th St. Anything less has to be choice or lower.

But China 46 is the ultimate example. So many people, when I have recommended this restaurant say to me and I quote, "A Chinese restaurant on route 46 in a former diner. You've got to be kidding". I go there often during the week and it is almost always pitifully empty. Anyone opening a retail business must always consider location first as should our poster. A perfect example is the Silver Pond on Main St. in Fort Lee. Great location, food not even close to that of China 46 and yet it is most always crowded. Even at lunch time.

Just to let you know the kind of people these are, since Fadia knows we are Jewish and the fact that she makes fabulous flowerless cakes for the restaurant, every Passover she bakes for us "flowerless" cakes to take home with us. Even though my wife is a wonderful cook and my family loves our sedar it is now Fadia and her cakes that take center stage at our sedars. What a wonderful lesson if only the Muslims and Jews on the other side of the world could learn to live together like that.

Tommy, you're old enough to know that if it is too good to be true it isn't. I just made a quick call to my friend and the wholesale price for this "TRUE" cut is better than $12.00. Add on delivery charges, shrinkage, labor and etc. and this store is losing almost $20.00 a lb. No way Jose. Maybe they are selling choice boneless top butt, and even that is a bargain. So, have your teeth sharpened before you dig in. I only wish that I could see a picture of the cut they are selling you. I will lay 38 successful years on the line that it is not real sirloin steak.

Tommy, that must be a typo either on their part or yours. Even $16.99 for prime boneless sirloin is a huge bargain. Spent 38 years in that business before retiring and still follow it very closely. For my money, in this area Kocher's on Bergen Blvd. in Ridgefield has the finest of prime meats and meat products. Has been there for many years and has never waivered from selling only the best beef they could buy and that also goes for their veal, lamb and pork. Ofcourse it all comes at a price but if you can afford the best then go for it.

For a long time now Bennies has become my families favorite neighborhood restaurant (we all try to meet there almost every Friday evening)so we were all most delighted that they received a much deserved 3 star review from the Bergen Record this past Friday. Abrahim and his lovely wife Fadia (both born and raised in Lebanon)and together with some help from their children have created a truly wonderful middle eastern restaurant. Their Huumus and Baba Garnush (bad spelling) are as good as it gets and a fabulous starter along with Pita bread. They have excellent grilled vegetables, many salads both hot and cold with their three bean salad my personal favorite. Abrahim (we all call him Bennie) at times will make a lamb couscous for us that is a marvelous rendition of this very popular dish. He serves quite a few lamb, chicken, fish and shrimp and at times beef dishes if you do not like going the vegetarian route. Fadia's expertice is desserts and you just can't leave without sampling some of them. Rather than sugar she use only honey to sweeten her cakes and pastries. It is BYOB and they actually have decent glass ware. Not to forget, they use no butter or cream in their cooking. This restaurtant does not have wonderful decor or ambiance but it does have a family that is dedicated, by very hard work, to bring its customers the absolute freshest and tastiest food they possibly can serve. PLEASE, do not think for a moment that I have any interest in this restaurant aside from the fact that we have come to really care for this family who left a war torn country to build a new life in America for themselves and their children and I believe have succeeded (to our benefit) in that dream. As I am sure many fo our parents did in past years. Again, many thanks to Rachel and Jason who put us onto Bennies a couple of years ago. As often is the case you were right on in your recommendation.

A great BIG thankyou to all the eGulleteers who posted about this restaurant. My wife and I went on Saturday evening and had an absolutely wonderful experience. The food and service were excellent. As many of you know we go often to Oceana in New York and the Arctic Char we ordered (as one of our 5 courses) was easily as good as at Oceana. Actually we savored everything we tasted, and $48.00 for a 5 course dinner is a great value. They also have a 7 course menu but we could not have handled the additional 2 courses. 5 for us was more than enough. Rosie, YES, we have found another Jersey restaurant to keep us from crossing the bridge. Our list is growing and we are very happy for it and owe a lot to eGullet.

A) When I mentioned the size and contents of the menu to KT her response was that she needed time to get used to the new equipment in the kitchen and she also did not have the kitchen help necessary for more than was now on the menu, whcih, by the way, has plenty of wonderful choices on it. Just look at Jason's photos. They are fabulous and plentiful. B) There is free on street parking after 6:00pm or you can park in a city pkg lot directly behind the restaurant for a measly 50 cents an hour. Let me also remind you of all the posts about pkg availability in Montclair. Those rest. owners would give their right arms for the size of the Ft. Lee lot behind the post office. Come to mind, so would Englewood and a few other cities. C) If there is one huge downer about the Englewood location it is their cramped size and lousy air conditioning. They could not even on a bet squeeze in one more chair. To boot, the noise level can get way out of hand. Fort Lee has excellent space and air conditioning and no one bumps your chair. D) YES. There is no debate that Joe is a terrific guy but please, let's not cut short the wait staff in Fort Lee. Joe, the son of KT, Laura, her daughter and Pete who has been working along side Joe for the past 6 months at Saigon (and a terrific personality himself) are now waiting tables in Fort Lee. Again, there is no debate about Joe but I would hope that he is not the reason that Saigon is so successful but rather that KT is a wonderful chef with Joe only the icing on the cake. After all we go to Saigon to eat. With all that said and done "A Votre Sante" to you all!!!

Menton, aside from your 4 reasons about going to Englewood (would like to debate those with you as I believe that you are wrong on all counts) why was there no comment from you about how you liked or did not like the food. After all, is that not the reason why we go to restaurants.

To JPR54. Do not choose a book by its cover. Yes, the decor is colorless and a bit depressing but then again we do not eat decor. Wait till you see what is on your plate and what goes into your stomach. KT is an amazing chef who has put all her marbles into building her kitchen and very little into the front but give her time. She will eventually fix that too for those clients that need pretty surroundings.

Saigon in Fort Lee is now open. Went there for both lunch and dinner yesterday and they were doing quite well both times so word of their opening has gotten out pretty fast. KT was doing the cooking and everything ordered was excellent.

MY wife and I went this evening and at 7:00 the rest. was 1/4 full. By the time we left at 8:15 it was 3/4 full and you could hardly hear yourself think. We can only imagine what a packed Sat. night must sound like. Terrible accoustics. That aside we only ordered tapas, 6 in total and they were all good, but besides the shrimp in garlick and white wine none of the others blew us away. We ordered potatoes in a tomato sauce, grilled sardines (overdone) anchovies, red peppers stuffed with cod and an omelet with peppers, sausage, potatoes and onion. All dishes we have had numerous times in Barcelona. Again, okay, no more. They do have quite a nice wine list with very good choices in the 25/35 dollar range and then some real big hitters. The list had no years for the wines which to me was a bit strange considering the expensive choices. Sorry Rosie but they are not BYOB. It seems that is an important criteria for you. One downer and I do think that it was an honest mistake but when I added up my bill there was a $10.00 error in their favor. Just goes to prove that you must add up your bill or at times you will get hurt. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people (including my friends) not look at the bill and plunk down their cc. As they say in the Bronx, "stupido". For the sake of the good (but no more than that) food and the noise level we will not be going back any time soon. P.S. The very pretty Sushi rest. next door was virtually empty.

Count me in Tommy. My wife and I love to shop at this store and would love to have one on this side of the river.

Rosie, are you sure the Dr. Loosen was an '03? The '02 has only been here a short while. Either way I love this wine a lot, have been drinking it for many years and still own a few of his oldies.

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my post about Portland restaurants. With that list I am sure that we will be very happy for many trips to come and hopefully we'll find some pearls on our own.

My son and his family are moving to Portland after 14 years in Seattle. My wife and I have been visiting them 4/5 times a year and pretty well know and have gone to the best restaurants Seattle has to offer and I must say that they have quite a few excellent ones. We will dearly miss a number of them. So, would someone please make some suggestions of the better Portland restaurants. My wife and I will eat anything as long as it is properly prepared and presented since good food has always been very important for us. We have traveled all over the world and we have never not liked a cuisine. After all, it's up to the chef and the ingredients and not the style. Many thanks in advance for your comments.

We went to this rest. shortly after it opened and 3 months later a second time. Well, the second time was a big mistake and won't be going back. Saigon Republic is a gem and that is where we go, at least 3 times a month. It just gets better and better. And who in the world is a nicer guy than Joe?

So much has been written about this restaurant over the years from so many egulleteers but IMHO not nearly enough. The food here is truly extraordinary and Cecil and his wife are the most charming of people. So, please tell me why no one seems to go here on weekday evenings. My wife and I just returned from there and at app. 7:40 when we left the restaurant two other people had just arrived. So, between 6:20 when we got there and 7:40 we were the only people there. We told Cecil how badly we felt for him. People should be waiting on line to get in. When I think of the terrible, horrific, yucky food served at Chinese rest. in Fort Lee, Englewood, Tenafly, Closter, Edgewater and surrounding areas I am truly dumbfounded that this rest. is virtually empty on a Thursday evening. Yes, it still looks like it's a diner from the outside but whatever happened to word of mouth? I am worried that at some point they would have to pack it in and all of us that love fine Chinese food will have to drive to Chinatown again. Again, YUCK.

Tommy, you got it wrong kid. It is only inappropriate when we DON'T tell the ladies how young and beautiful they look.

Last night our foodie friends from Manhattan joined us for dinner at Fascino. They drove 25 minutes to our house and then I drove for 40 minutes to the restaurant. Their reaction? Henry, when are we going back? What absolutely wonderful food and ambiance. One bummer. My 1978 Ceretto Barbaresco was badly corked. Fortunately the 1978 Barolo Brunate, again by Ceretto, and my backup was magnificent. While reading the menu we ate the most addictive finger food known to man. The fried polenta sticks. Rosie, I did ask Anthony if you were in the rest. as I would have sent a plate to your table. I understand that you have a bit of a lust for them and I can understand why. Everything we had, ravioli stuffed with rabbit, salads, fish and veal dishes were expertly prepared and beautifully presented and served. We ended with terrific deserts that are prepared by Anthony and Ryan's mother. I tease her that she looks more like she could be their sister, and truthfully, she could absolutely be their sister. (Hopefully she reads this and I might get an extra desert next time.) Lovely lady. My wife and I have been to Fascino 7 times now and all I can say about it is that it just gets better and better. As Anthonthy advised, just don't come on a weekend. I am happy to spend all my Tuesdays and Wednesdays there.