bobferdon

http://www.bourgogne-wines.com/ best spot...

CK's in Rutherford... DON"T miss the staek soup!

You had one of my favorites... Peter’s pasta's are very special and if you did not notice from the front cover of the menu he take his veal very seriously. Well, he takes everything he serves very seriously... You should sign up for his newsletter. He does monthly dinners. We are going next Friday (Feb 10th) for a Barolo dinner.

Fromagerie is excellent in my book... Spargo's in Manalapan is very nice too. Tim is very creative. He was the Chef for my wedding. Frog & Peach and stage left are excellent also.

It is the best thing that could happen for restuarants in NJ. I know many people who don't go to places because of the smoke. I know places that I won't go to because of bartenders who spend too much time lighing up behind the bar. Dry cleaning bills will go down.

We eat there twice a month since it is 3 blocks from my home. I was the one that put on the winemaker dinner that rosie mentioned. The food is first rate. The wine list is mainly Peidmont and it is THE BEST wine list for Barolo in the USA.. I'm not kidding. Peter B. is the Ownere/Chef. Say hello to the wait staff Peter & Joe. Both have worked there >32 years. Berta's is coming up on the 80th year in business. They do it right.

I had my wedding rehearsal dinner upstairs. This is a family (children friendly) place that serves great food at reasonable prices. If you are a pizza fan it is a great area. If you want thick crust you drive a few miles to Reservoir Tavern. But if you want one of the best thin crust pizzas around come to the Columbia Inn. The owners have been in the business for decades. I grew up in tow of their other places. The Locker Room in Cedar Grove and Time Out Tavern in Orange. Franco is a special chef. I love what he does and you can pick up a good bottle of wine and not get burned. The new manager Tony is terrific and makes sure you are treated properly. They get knocked for the tables being close but many times I find my family talking to other diners about their meal and our kids. This is a once a week stop for me.

I had the pleasure of visiting last summer. Our producer will be releaseing a wine from the region in three years. The work need to plant in this area is unbeleivable! Slate, Slate everywhere on very steep and high slopes. I can't wait...

Phil, Thanks, I will try it. I also heard about another great place to buy. Fabrique Delices in CA. www.fabriquedelices.com

baguettes - YES... I asked last week about them. Balthazar in Englewood. Both items blew away my French bosses.

Thanks Pete - you came thru big. It was a hit tonight. Bob

You have been a great help in the past. Do you know where I can get Saucisson in NJ? Merci, Bob

Thank you. I will give them a try. Forgive my spelling. Bob

Just back from a week in France and breakfast each morning was good coffee, good butter, good jam and great bread. I would like to continue this pattern. I can get everything else here but the bread. Do any of you have a suggestion on where I can get some good bagets? Merci, Bob

My father founded the Montclair Farmers Market. At the time he went to every supplier and measured the farm and produce to ensure it was "Jersey Fresh" and that what they supplied was local. He did the same for 16 other markets that opened after that. There was always a problem with others who wanted to be part of the markets but were kept out because my dad wanted it to be kept real. He suceeded. It all changed in 1996 about a month after he died. Now it's an open air supermarket. Still good, but not what it started out as.

Vina Esmeralda from Torres, Moscatel and Gewurtztraminer. Great warm weather stuff... floral with good acidity

According to the winery this is very rare but can happen. Corks are kept at controlled humidity untill they are used but it is visually impossible to tell if a cork was too dry when it was used. I have been working for the Drouhin family for 6+ years and this is the first I have heard of this. The Drouhin's spend more on their corks they most of the industry. Regarding "corked" wines, the world average seems to be somewhere between 5-7% the wines from Drouhin well, well below that. I my market I rarely see it and if I had to come up with a number I would saw between 1 & 2%.... I'm sorry to hear about this problem. BTW? How was the wine? The 2001 I had this week was drinking the best it ever had.

I have had two bottles in the last week and several cases in the past year and have never come across this problem...

I just read about 40 threads after searching egullet for Zagat as requested. There are complaints in other markets about Zagat but 85% are from NJ and a small group of people. So either the Zagat editors need to be changed or the small group of people need to give up. Who will win? I'm ready for beating now... How do you think I feel when editors of a major publication go into restaurants and tell owners to remove my wines from the list or risk their ranking... We need to better educate the end user so we can all sign our posts the way we want without worrying about retaliation.

I just noticed that La Griglia in not in Zagat's either.... a great place! If I was a Zagat editor I would not list anyone who's motto was Zagat is French for shit. It's their book. I guess they have an agenda as does the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate. We are supposed to know better but I would never expect to get anywhere with them by trashing them. It's odd to trash them but then hope for their blessing?

If you want a full menu be sure to be seated in the back of the restaurant... The front is a small menu.

""That's a very nice theory. But if you regularly read Egullet, we have done giant threads both in New Jersey and New York putting serious doubt on Zagat's veracity and credibility. There are some very interesting stories and a bit of inside information about how Zagat can intentionally leave a restaurant off their ballot, their scoring system, and use of their signs "Zagat Rated" in restaurant windows where the restaurant actually got an awful review!! Unfortunately, Zagat now wields tremendous power both with the public and the media..."" Welcome to the real world. Same goes for The Wine Spectator and Robert Parker. I will go back and read the threads.

I beleive I ate there several years ago. I remember it being nice. No scored means not enough people have submitted reviews to come up with and average. I have been an on-line subscriber for 3 or 4 years and to this day when I log onto a restaurant it shows what I wrote 3 or 4 years ago. It allows me to update my notes but not submit and whole new one. I guess that prevents one person from stacking the deck. I watch how the review is written know that what is in quotes is from someones submission and they write a review by assembling quotes from a whole bunch of people. Sound bites bother me but you can usually pick out what will draw me to or place to dine or keep me away from it. I don't care about decore if the food and service are good. I can put up with average service as long as it's not an over-priced family joint. I go out for food and wine...

I thought so too, but thought I'd wait for you to inquire. ← You need to sign up and submit reviews. You can only do this once. You can update your review. Multiple reviewers are nessesary before scores are posted.

YES!