Wiener

N----I have to give you credit for your comments. Now, that some time has passed, I find myself missing Taromina a lot. More than Palermo, Trabia, and the Trapani area. When I reflect on the places we ate, the beautiful scenery, and the excellent food, I really remember Taromina the most. I even have softened to my opion on Maffei's. The food was excellent and the garden, charming. There were too many servers, yet, maybe they were all in training for the summer season. This is what I find the most fault with----too many servers standing around. I am already plotting out a way to return next year. I want to see different things, perhaps spend more time in Syracusa but I would love to end my stay, once again in Taormonina. Sicily really does work some magic on the sould. I was once and avid visitor to Vienna. I'd go to Vienna once a year, taking the usual sidetrips. I have to admit that I think about Sicily every day now and that is truely something special for me.

Ate here yesterday afternoon. Very fresh Greek salad, good feta cheese, and a delcious spinach pie. Very very reasonable. Service was excellent. Would return as it is quick, tasty , and very inexpensive.

Agree with both posts. With the abundance of food in this area, you must be able to cook something !!! Shop Rite is Nutley is excellent and very inexpensive. I admit, it is sometimes difficult to find certain ethnic foods in this store, but they are often there. You can always ask.

Something has been bugging me. Last week I went to a Farmer's Market and bought some peaches , cherries, and other vegetables. I took two peaches to work yesterday and they had those tiny stickers on them . This kind of caught me off guard. I would have thought that the produce would have been " Jersey fresh" . What 's do stop someone from going to Shop Rite and buying produce and selling it at one of these markets?

Bella Napoli. I visited the original restaurant , which had re-opened, again. Food is good and exactly the same. Ambiance is gone, however, and the place seems so empty in terms of decor, waitstaff, and customers. I got the feeling that another family has taken over this original sight and had begun running the restaurant. The place does not have the same flair as the originally owned one did. Also, I still do not know why they chill the red wine . It actually arrives at your table iced cold. They did this in the old place, as well. Food is good, though, so it is not all that bad.

I have lived in Nutley for 40 years. Although some of the resturants might make for good suggestions, Nutley is definately NOT on the requested path. Nutley is off of Route 3 , between route 21 and the GSP. With the dail mess from rte 3- to rte 46 and then from rt 46 to 23, all of these should be avoided at all costs. I drive therefore, know , that Nutley is not the best bet for this itinerary. Sorry!

I eat at MR once in awhile. The food is slightly better than your average Mexican restaurant, however, I do think the place is noisy, chaotic, and over crowded. Service is quick, which is a plus. Not sure why I return to this place. Good point.

I always have a good meal and some good beer at Helmers German restaurant. Food might be a bit too heavy for these warm days, however, a good beer and some Brats make a good decent summer dinner.

I think the Napa Valley Grille serves good food and wine and agree that it is the best mall restaurant in that area. I have to say that the service is probably the worst in the area. Have been there twice. Most recent case was a month ago. We showed up at 3 p.m. and saw that both the brunch and dinner menu(s) were posted next to her station. We asked if they were serving brunch or dinner and she replied, " What do you think?." After swallowing my pride and remaining calm, we sat down for dinner. After dinner, I told the manager what she had said and he offered to pay for the wine. I declined. The first time we had a similar attitude problem from a waitperson. I wrote a letter and they offered us a $25.00 gift certificate, which was not necessary. I did enjoy the food both times and the wine we had was excellent. In my opinion, they need to work on their customer service, however, since this is also a chain, I doubt they really need to.

Based on the selection you mentioned, sounds like these owners are from Sicily. Having just returned from Sicily, I am on the hunt for some authentic Sicilian foods. Hope they are open this weekend.

Makes perfect sense. In the window of the Franklin Steakhouse, there is a big advertisement for BICE. I did not get up close enough to read it , but definatley recall seeing it yesterday. Steakhouse has not been too busy this past week. Have walked by each evening since last Thursday at around 7 and there were plenty of seats. Was surprised to see that. Hope it 's just the weather.

Fun post ! Enjoyed reading the replies. Still am able to comprehend how anyone could wait 3 hours for a table anywhere? Second, everyone says that the cheesecakes are delicious, probably so, but how can they be classified as fresh, if they were made in Texas, and shipped frozen? Does not sound that fresh to me. Sounds like something I could buy in Shop Rite.

Also have to give a thumb's up to Little Saigon in Nutley. I eat there once a week. If you can get in before 6 p.m. on a weeknight, you might get right in. After six, make a reservation. Has anyone tried their chicken entree , prepared with chestnuts and apricots, served piping hot ? I had it there a few years ago and then again, last month. This most recent time, it was prepared entirely different. More like a stew . Great restaurant and glad to see it last.

Have to agree with Viejo on the topic of Italian cusine in NNJ. Many place tend to over-sauce, over cheese, and just over pasta every meal. Having just returned from Sicily and watching chefs chop, cut and mix ingredients for a fresh pesto and pasta couse for each individual serving, taking fresh caught fish off the ice and cooking it as ordered, I am less than enthusiastic to return to some of my own staples here in NNJ. Then again, I learned that Sicilian cooking is quite separate from mainland Italian cusine in many ways; guess that is why so many chefs go to Sicily to learn about the art. Where am I going with this? Guess, I would love to hear some thoughts on restaurants, which serve some good authentic Sicilian cooking. I am no wine expert , however, I found an excellent white wine produced by Planeta (2001). I looked it up here upon my return and it has received some good praise in some circles for a good affordable white wine. Ciao

I also just returned from Sicily on Saturday. The food in Palermo, Cefalu, Marsala, Milazzo and Syracusa was outstanding. Wine and deserts were excellent. Unfortunatley, Taoromina was somewhat disappointing. Although the city is beautiful and quite breathtaking, I found the atmosphere to be too touristy and geared way too much to the Germans and British. We had decent meals there but were very disappointed by one upscale restaurant called Maffei's. The food in Taoromina was typical Italian fare. Island is beautiful and my favorite spot was Cefalu.

As a Nutley resident for over 40 years, sorry to report that The Petite Cafe did not impress me at all, the one time I ate there. After reading many positive reviews, I decided to give the place a try. Service was bad, food ,cold, and decor, awful. Not fond eating at a place with a TV blaring from above. Hope they got rid of that. I'd be willing to give the place another try , since I live so close, however, best bets in Nutley are still Little Saigon, Scuttlebutts (decent food, odd atmosphere), and Franklin Steakhouse , when I am in the mood for good steak and a somewhat hectic atmosphere. The Petite Cafe just isn't worth a visit, in my opion, unless you live close by or just want to see what all of the fuss is about.

The place is always crowded. Looks great. I will definately visit it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>decent restaurants, overpriced homes for such a bad school system, good train system......................... It alsmost sounds like NYC !

I am down there most weekends . Mad Batter had been , in my opinion, on the decline over the past two years, however, I ate there two weeks ago, the first sunny Sunday they opened the porch, and the food and service were excellent. They finally learned what fresh juice is. I had a delicious carrot - orange juice and a delicious breakfast burrito. Coffee was great , too. Go now before the summer lines start forming. It might be too late. My favorite dinner place is The Blue Claw. Most of the restaurants mentioned are excellent. Blue Claw has great service, a cool , yet un-pretentious view, and very friendy staff. I also like Maureen's in Wildwood but she might not have opened yet.

Really enjoyed reading the posts. I am leaving for my first visit to Sicily on May 10th for two weeks. Can't wait to try some of the food you all mentioned. I am starting in Palermo and moving on to Cefalu and then on to Taoromina. thanks again all.

Thanks to Rosie , who mentioned the following place to me about two years ago, my favorite place to go for ice cream is in Florence, Italy, and is called Vivoli. Ciao

I take the train to Delawanna , which is right down the block from Rutt's Hut. After reading all of the posts, I swung past the place last night around 6:30 p.m. and the lot was full. I mean full. Perhaps a wedding or graduation! Anyway, you all should have fun. Not an overly religious person myself, just keep in mind that next week is Ash Wednesday and some people don't eat meat on that day. Have fun. Wish I could join you but it's my Mom's birthday and she might panic if I took her there.

Not an easy connection, however, you can take the NJ Transit train to Newark and then take the 74 bus to Nutley. This can be a very long commute but is one of the only ones I know of.

Having grown up in Nutley and lived there for 40 years ago, I used to pass the building. in which The Petite Cafe is housed, each day on my way to school. When I was a kid it was a hairdresser for the blue haired lady, crowd, then a psuedo antique store, then a beauty supply store, and now this restaurant. I hear so much about the place but each time I walk by the place is empty. Wish someone could convince me to give this old beauty parlour a try because I would love to have a great restaurant close by, which I could walk to. The Franklin steakhouse and Italian place across the street are ok, yet not worth the lines outside.

Does anyone know how the custom started, ....serving bread at the table before and during dinner. I love eating some good freshly baked bread and butter before dinner but is it really necessary? In some cases, I have ordered a sandwich and the waitperson still plopped down some bread and butter before the main course arrived. I am not saying I do not like it, just wondering if it is really necessary, considering the amount of calories already included in many many meals.