Rosie

Was there for lunch and it was lovely. Had a salad but the burger looked luscious.

We dined at Sol Mar, the bar area of this restaurant. They have two menus and the menu at Vila Nova is more expensive. The sangria was fabulous and not watered down. If anything it had too much brandy. No appetizer. Also soup was not included in the dinner. Lowell had roast suckling pig which was very disappointing. It was served at room temperature and was very salty. It was accompanied with pickled vegetables and ho-hum French fries. We should have asked for the Spanish potatoes. I had seafood in green sauce which was actually seafood in a tomato based sauce. It was a generous portion but nothing to get excited about. We didn't have dessert. As we were driving around the area we fell into a bakery on Oliver St near Jefferson called Pao de Milho and bought a lot of goodies which came to $4 and change. We are in the process of tasting them tonight! We have decided that our new research should entail all the little restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark that we have never heard of. Any recommendations besides the usual tourist spots?

LOL!!! Hank-- I have a reputation of always asking if a restaurant is BYO. What kind of wine? Doesn't Turley go with everything?

August 21, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NzUyODAw

Walked into the Upper Montclair location once and the tables hadn't been bussed and there was no place to sit. We walked out. Let us know what you think if you go there.

Congratulations. I think a Japanese restaurant was there before. Are you BYO?

I've had cake from Sweet Sisters and it was excellent.

More info here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...3917&hl=Orchard

The owner of Café Monet previously owned The Show in Chatham so he has had experience in running a restaurant. When entering the restaurant we noticed a dirty rug by the front door and that the room was very warm. We were told that an “older” lady said that the room was too cold and therefore we dined in a warm room. My app was a thin gazpacho with shrimp. I prefer gazpacho that has chunks of vegetables and some substance rather than being just a broth. Also, rather than a doily, there was what looked like a folded paper towel under my soup bowl. Lowell had an arugula, mushroom and roast tomato salad which he liked but I thought the dressing was too sweet. Entrees were good but small. The salmon topped with potato crepes came with a lemon wine sauce and ratatouille. The potatoes tasted like mashed potatoes that had been grilled. The tuna was perfectly cooked and came with a very tasty carrot-ginger puree. Service was amateur. The waiter didn’t know where to place the dishes and we couldn’t help laughing at the lack of communication between the two waiters. One example is that one waiter asked us if we wanted dessert and was told no. Then the other waiter came to our table with the dessert menus. The dessert menus had no prices except for the cheese course. We assume that this was the waiters’ first night on the job because when we asked him the price of desserts he didn’t know. He did find out and came back to the table to tell us “all desserts were about $7.” I have no idea of the price of the coffee or tea. The restaurant is BYO and the waiter was also clueless on how to serve wine. I prefer my wine glass not to be filled 3/4 full and I don’t need an ounce of wine poured into my glass to taste when the bottle is first opened. The restaurant has bare walls and an unfinished look. Loud music and the hot temperature didn’t add to our lackluster experience. Another friend who has not posted here was at Café Monet and said the food was excellent. The restaurant is new so hopefully improvements are on the way.

My daughter loves Indian food so we found ourselves at Devi and had an outstanding lunch. The restaurant has a $20.12 three course tasting menu with 5 appetizers, 6 entrées and 2 desesrts to choose from. We started off with a Manchurian cauliflower and tandoori chicken stuffed with lamb, goat cheese, spinach, that was served with tomato chutney. The portions were generous and the spice level was enjoyable without being overwhelming. Entrees were the juiciest basil chicken breast I have had in a long time served with coconut chutney and tomato rice and what must be the best tandoor grilled lamb chops in NYC. They were served with pear chutney and curry leaf potatoes. My favorite of the two desserts was an addictive crispy saffron bread pudding topped with cardamom cream and candid almonds. My daughter had pistachio kulfi comprised of Indian ice cream, candied pistachio, citrus sorbet and fresh citrus. We were stuffed. All of the dishes were beautifully plated. It was a delicious experience and a bargain. Do try this restaurant.

Drove by there and a For Lease sign is up. No mention of Whole Foods.

Does anyone know a bakery where a low fat dark chocolate (bitter sweet variety) cake can be purchased or special ordered in NJ? If not NJ then NY?

They have a new chef who is making some changes to the menu. The web page with the new menu should be up in two weeks.

Caldwell isn't on the list. Neither is Livingston. I've never seen any brochures about these classes. Are there any and how long has Shop Rite been offering the Culinary Workshops?

Thanks for the info Ann and welcome to eGullet. Also, ShopRite in Caldwell on Passaic Ave. has a fabulous cheese department.

Jocelyne's has been taken over by Humberto Campos Jr and his fiance. Was there and the food was excellent. Info was on "Chefs On The Move" http://www.njmonthly.com/rosie/chefs.html June 2005. More info will be on Table Hopping With Rosie in a few weeks. Restaurant will become Lorena's on Oct. 1.

August 7, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NzM5Njk5

Yes. To my knowledge.

Top Notch will be closing. The place will be renovated and there will be a different restaurant with a different menu.

Haven't heard anything and as of today they are open.

Yep!! They are renovating and will be opening a new place. Will post info as I get it. Thanks for the heads up.

Click Here: http://www.njmonthly.com/rosie/rosiemain.html

Cody gave Restaurant Drake 3.5 stars in the Star Ledger on 8/7/05.

July 31, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NzMzNzAx

We dined at Restaurant David Drake, 1449 Irving Street, Rahway a few weeks after they opened and you should put this restaurant on your “must try” list. It is located in a cozy little house with small comfy rooms near the train station in Rahway. The upstairs area had a bar and I would request this room the next time I dine here. Since Chef Drake had only been open a few weeks the menu and wine list were evolving. But Chef Drake is still a master chef producing exuberant dishes that will have you licking your chops. We started of with an amuse of tuna tartare with slivers of portobello mushroom. Appetizers were a Maine crab salad with pickled cucumber, mango, and lemongrass emulsion; an excellent warm mushroom napoleon with marrow dumplings and warm sorrel broth; and a don’t miss flavorful shellfish and corn chowder with saffron, fingerlings, bell pepper, and shallot rings. The seared foie gras with braised baby turnips, and clear oxtail broth were perfect but then I have never met a foie gras that I didn’t like. The foie gras came with a $5 supplement but don’t fret as the prix fixe menu was $49 which we felt was very reasonable for the quality of food and service that we experienced. Entrees were equally delicious and all of our plates were squeaky clean. The scallops a la plancha with succotash of early corn, zucchini, fava beans, and pickled seaweed were excellent. Crispy red snapper with pea shoots, parmesan, and barley risotto was perfectly cooked as was the roasted black day boat cod with fresh English peas, potatoes, and Italian summer truffles. Cumin spiced lamb loin with 3 artichoke preparations—braised, pureed and shaved raw-- were so delicious that I hope this dish is still on the menu when I return. Desserts? Of course we inhaled them although we were full. My favorite was a lemon pie with blueberry preserves and strawberry sorbet that had both a top and bottom crust. The Peach Melba with genoise, Tahitian vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam was palatable as was the beautifully presented chocolate sorbet (coulant) with dark cocoa and goat milk sauces. For reservations call 732-388-6117. OH—FYI—the bread and coffee were great..