Hank

Had the pleasure of eating at RM twice. Once at a pre-opening by invitation only that was a bit hectic, but when we went on our own the food was wonderful while the service was bad, but I am sure that Rick has taken care of that by now. There is no excuse when our wine arrives after we are finishing our appetizers and someone else's food is brought to our table. That said the Spaghettini Bolognese, lobster instead of meat in a tomato sauce was wonderful as were the scallops. The cod was as good as it gets. There was nothing that we tried that reminded us of Oceana. Very different preparations. And while we are on the subject of Oceana my advise is GO. The sous chef, Michael, who worked for quite some time with Rick has also left and the new chef Cornelius Gallagher served us one of the best meals I can remember. Totally different from anything that Rick ever did. He has worked at Daniel, Peacock Alley, Lespinasse, Bouley, El Bulli in Spain and L'Esperance in France. We were most highly impressed with this chef. Just try his yellowfin tuna tartare with a topping of horseradish sorbet. Outstanding. We will be going back in the near future and will gladly report to you our experiences. Some people have mentioned to me that the prix fixe at Oceana is $68.00 while at RM it is only $55.00. Don't be fooled folks. That price, as soon as all the tables are filled will certainly go much higher.

Went with my family to China 46 last evening and we once again had a wonderful meal. We started with crab and tofu in a spicey sauce that was nothing less than outstanding. We then went for the scallops with basil in a black bean sauce that was very different from any other preparation of this dish that we have had many times before and again, we all loved it. We ended with chicken with broccoli and vegetable chow fong. Drank a couple of bottles of german spatleser's and went home very happy. The restaurant, by 8:00 had quite a few people waiting for tables. So, those of you that are worried about this restaurant, have no fear. It has kept me from schleping to Chinatown and hopefully for a long time.

We met friends at Luce, in Cauldwell this evening. The good news is that they are BYOB and we had two very fine bottles of wine. The bad news is that we drove 45 minutes to have food that will in no uncertain terms ever bring us back to this restaurant. To say that it was ordinary would be very kind. The worst part of the evening was that we had to wait an hour (no exageration) for our appetizers. When we complained to the manager we were told that it takes a long time to grill calimari. An hour??

Last evening we went with friends back to Zarole in Ridgewood (a BYOB) and again we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant that is just becoming better and better. To start, when I learned that my friend was bringing a 1975 Latour I realized how absolutely right Tommy was in saying that great wines deserve special glasses and not the restaurant standard fare. So, for the first time ever I felt not ashamed nor snobbish to bring along our own Spiegelau Bordeaux glasses which I am certain made a big difference in our enjoyment of memorable wines. Nor did they hurt the second bottle which was a 1978 Pommard by Courcel. Needless to say they were both spectacular. Tommy,thanks for your advice and encouragement. I actually made a toast to you. We live and learn. As for the food, I started with wonderful crab cakes while my wife had the skate. Excellent choices. Our friends had the risotto whcih they loved. For mains three of us had the special for the evening, scallops on a mound of leeks and grated, roasted potatos. My wife and her friend liked them so much that they asked the chef (B.J.)for his recipe which he most happily gave to them. Our other friend orderred the sea bass which he said that the rendition of was the best he had ever had. For dessert we shared a plate of sorbet and a fresh fig gateau. Then wonderfull, fresh brewed coffee. It makes a big difference not to be served coffee that has been sitting on a hot plate for an hour or longer as is unfortunately the practice in many restaurants. On leaving we made reservations to come back with our children and grandchildren some time in November so that should tell you how much we enjoy ourselves

Is this restaurant BYOB?

I am chairing a '97 Brunello tasting,dinner and though I normally never include a wine that I have not tried myself I did take the advise of one of my suppliers and bought 6 bottles of the Le Macioche because Tanzer had given the wine a 95. Lo and behold the Wine Spectator gave it a 79. (that is low and scarey) So, I opened a bottle with 4 wine friends and our average score was 93.5. Once again, for perhaps the hundreth time I have sworn not to ever read the WS ratings of wines. They rarely get it right while I rely and trust Tanzer, plus my friends and people like Steve on this forum.

We went to Annisa for only the second time on Thursday evening and had a second outstanding dinner. Annisa was recommended to us quite a while ago and can only say that it was pure stupidity that we did not try it sooner but, we shall remedy that quickly. This is definitely a destination restaurant and I recommend it highly. Already have res for end of next week.

Tommy, Would you please elaborate on the incompetence at the River Palm. Have never been there because I don't eat red meat but all my friends rave about this place, especially if you can get there before 6:30 and the maddening crowd.

To Lord Baltimore. From your posts I take you for an ABSOLUTELY pompous ass. Though the members of e-gullet don't always see eye to eye on everything no one in my memory has ever been as insulting and condescending in their remarks as you have and as far as I personally am concerned there is no room for the likes of you on this site and I believe you would do all of us a big favor and go ACROSS THE BORDER. As far as the review of this restaurant is concerned I have been there twice in the past 6 months and was quite surprised that it received 3 stars. IMHO, (though you seem to hate other peoples opinions) this is a 2 star at most, if that high. The reviewer was much too kind in her rating and in her own words she did not like enough dishes to warrent her high rating.

We have gone to the Park and Orchard quite often but certainly not for the food which at times has been awful. BUT, their wine list is another story. They have a great selection of Burgundies from excellent years as well as some very hard to find Brodeaux. Best of all their prices are incredible. Many times we have paid less than retail for some real gems.

Bennies can easily seat 30 people quite comfortably, and yes, for a Friday or Saturday evening I would make a reservation as they tend to be quite busy. They are BYOB and you will make Bennie quite happy by sending him a glass. He loves wine, especially Burgundies. No fool, he.

Anyone's criteria for sushi and sashimi restaurants should be first and foremost the freshness of the fish. Because of their huge turnover I have always experienced only the freshest of fish at the Wild Ginger. And, their preparations are beautiful. Yes, they are more expensive than most sushi restaurants in the area but quality does come at a price. Compared to some sushi restaurants in New York though, they are a bargain without having to compromise as to choices including Toro, Salmon, Eel, and etc. Also, and I hope that you are listening Rosie, they are BYOB and a nice German reisling kabinett or spatlese will go perfectly unless you are a fan of Saki. A votre sante to all.

Bennies in Englewood has a large selection of vegetarian preparations to choose from and very healthy to boot as he uses no butter, creams, and very little oil. But, everything is very well spiced and seasoned and is great for eating there or as takeout.

Tommy, in answer to your most legitimate question I first called the restaurant, asked for the owner and asked him when the review ran in the NY Times. He told me that he did not remember when they reviewed his restaurant nor did he have a copy of the supposed review. (I am most sure that a review attesting a restaurant to being one of the top 6 in NJ would be in the window the same second it came out). I next went on the the NJ Times web sight dining section and could find no review for Donatello's in Fort Lee for the past year. I believe that I did my homework before claiming that the ad was a fraud. I certainly hope that you agree.

For what it is worth, Donatello's Italian Rest. in Fort Lee has never been reviewed by the NY Times in their NJ section or any where else. Their ad is just a ploy to get some poor suckers to come to their restaurant. Maybe someone should let them know that this only drives people away, and if they want customers let them serve some edible and interesting dishes.

If that is true I am a bit shocked. Our office is on the same block and we never ever see any patrons in this restaurant, lunch or dinner. In fact we walked by at 8:45 this evening and there was not a soul in the restaurant. We often ask each other how can they possibly remain open (at least 6 months or longer) without doing any business. I have not been there because three different people told me not to waste my time and money. Wow. Maybe they meant to say bottom 6. Talk about false advertising.

Sorry. Forgot to mention that we were ten people at a dinner at our house and I served these two wines with the cheese course. Funny, but no one touched the cheese and only had some bread to clear their palets from tasting one wine to the other.

Many years ago I bought a bottle each of 1928 and 1929 Latour for which I paid $100.00 per bottle. My wife and I both thought that I had lost all my marbles spending that kind of money on wine. Well, we celebrated my 60th birthday by opening those two bottles and I will never forget the aroma that filled our dining room as I poured out the wines. They were both still loaded with fruit, had wonderful acidity and ofcourse the tanins had softened beautifully. I have never tasted such complexity and structure in a wine. After almost 10 years we are still discussing which year we preferred. I would chalk up a big tie myself. An unforgetable experience, even for someone like myself who has been so fortunate over the years to drink many a great wine both from my cellar and through the generosity of my many wine friends.

You are probably right Rosie.They can seat up to 22 and are also byo. Because of the spicey dishes people tend to bring cold beer but it would be interesting to experiment with different wines to see if any would fit in. I would try a gewurtz or a german kabinett or spaetlese. One of your spicey Turleys probably wouldn't be bad either.

Yes, Joe asked me if your post on the internet was the reason I had found them and ofcourse I told him that that was correct. I hope that you have a few more of these up your sleaves.

After reading the Perlows' posts about this restaurant my wife and I have gone there twice already and are bringing some family there this coming Sunday evening. (It is located at 58 W. Palisades Ave. in Englewood). Tonight we decided not to have any appetizers and opted for 3 main courses. We started with crispy tofu in a spicey brown sauce accompanied by bok choy and grilled red peppers, onions, string beans and mushrooms that was as good as it gets. Tofu is something I normally don't order but this dish was outstanding. Next we had grilled egg plant that was stuffed with crab meat and came with a very spicey chilli dipping sauce and rice noodles. We loved it. Our third main was salmon in a black pepper sauce. We each had a plate of white rice and we spooned the sauce over the rice and left not a morsel. Wonderful dinner served by the friendliest waiter this side of the GWB by name of Joe. The owners,two sisters and their mother do the cooking. One of the sisters, Mimi, came to speak to us when she heard that my wife and I will be going to Vietnam in January and was an immediate fountain of information of things to do and see. Worth going to the restaurant just to meet this most charming,sweet and smiling lady.We are also going to go to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. Very excited. From there a few days both in Bangkok and Hongkong and back home with lots of tee shirts for the the grandchildren. Till now I have not recommended any restaurants in Englewood that to me are worth a longer drive but both these small store front restaurants, Saigon Republic and Bennies (Lebanese specialties) are in MHO worth a detour.

Before I comment on your comments may I just tell you that we just got back from Tabla in NY. My reaction. WOW. Our tenth time there and hopefully many more times. Ms. Perlow, in answer to your comment that noise can add to the atmosphere I will only accept if we are at a disco or ball game but not when we go to a restaurant and we can not have a decent conversation whcih is part of the reason to be there in the first place. Tommy, your suggestion about carrying a pepper mill with you is fabulous. Will buy one tomorrow that is small enough for either my pocket or my wife's pocket book. Problem solved. Rail Paul, there was not even a hint of any pepper, chilli, or for that matter any spice on my rather large, very fresh piece of tuna. So bland I ate only half. We went to Oceana a couple of weeks ago and we both had their pepper encrusted tuna. I can assure we did not leave a morsel.

We went there Friday evening because we had read some fairly good posts about this restaurant and also because we were taking out a friend of ours that lives very close by. The food and service were good. The busboy twice wanted to remove plates while we were still eating from them. But, the noise level was horrendous. A tin ceiling, tile floors and brick walls certainly don't help. Our waiter, much younger than we were had a hard time hearing us give our orders. He told us it's a major complaint and next time to come at 8:30, 9:00 when the restaurant starts to empty out. True to his word when we left at 9:00 we could actually hear each other. Aside from the company of our friend not a pleasant or relaxing evening and though the food was nice enough definitely not worth an hours journey. I ordered a bean soup which was very good, but my blackened tuna, though it was perfectly cooked very rare as I had ordered it was tasteless to say the least. Our friend ordered a breast of chicken dish which needed lots of pepper and lemon and my wife had to request some additional pepper for her pasta and seafood dish to bring out some flavor. I will never understand why restaurants don't have small pepper mills on every table. It would make things so much easier especially when the restaurant is very busy. One huge plus was that they did list the specials for the evening on a seperate sheet with prices.

My wife and I will be in Scottsdale for 4 nights and Sedona for 3 nights next week and we love Southwestern food. Which restaurants are a must? Authentic Mexican would also be great. Many thanks in advance.

Scalini has excellent decanters and glassware. I did go to a serious wine dinner (grand crus only) at a BYOB rest. not long ago where one couple brought their own Riedel glasses and thought that that was pushing the envelope a bit too far. I use only Riedel glasses in my home because I feel that they do make a difference but I will not bring them to a restaurant. Life is too short to become that fanatical about a glass.