Rosie

Not much in that area. Would you drive to Trenton?

The sandwiches are made on a thick hearty herb bread so they will keep in the heat while hiking.

Jonathan loves his animals so much and has named all of them. I can assure you that he treats his calves humanely.

Not casual but very good--Tre Figlio, Egg Harbor.

Had a lovely dinner at Fortunato Ristorante, 775 Riverside Avenue, Lyndhurst, a 3 month old restaurant owned by Jeffrey Fortunato with Executive Chef Anthony Lo Pinto manning the stoves. We started off with a special of tempura battered soft shell crab over a salad; and a refreshingly light marinated seafood salad. We were in the mood for pasta and bypassed some of the delicious looking entrees that whisked by our table such as Orvieto braised veal osso buco with a cardoons and potato gratin; grilled herb crusted pork chop with caramelized escarole; and orata with baby artichokes, potato, and zucchini with a lemon brodo. The homemade pasta was great. Lowell had an outstanding special of lasagna with a bolognese sauce and I had pasta handkerchiefs with jumbo lump crab meat, wild mushrooms, and lemon. Dessert was a dark chocolate tart with vanilla bean ice cream, strawberries and Sambuca anglaise and a Mascarpone cheesecake topped with mango and strawberries. If we didn't have pasta as our entree I would have tried the pistachio Arborio rice pudding with roasted and bitter chocolate bark. Coffee was very good. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday; dinner Monday through Thursday 5 to 9:30 PM; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 PM; and Sunday for parties. For reservations call 201-804-6244.

We are going to hit the wineries between Portland and Salem that is why we thought we would stay there. Then we will be going to Eugene, Steamboat, Ashland and Berkeley CA. Flying home from CA. Have been on the coast of Oregon and up the Rogue River and Columbia Gorge. Thanks for your input.

Pluckemin Inn received 4 stars in the Sunday Star Ledger May 29, 2005. The article said that the there are 15,000 bottles on their wine list.

CONGRATULATIONS to Chef Michael Coury for receiving a VERY GOOD from restaurant reviewer David Corcoran in the New Jersey section in the New York Times, May 29, 2005.

Well at 6 feet plus it's hard not to recognize you Lou. Thanks for the report and if you remember anything about the desserts please tell us.

Phil: I'm not questioning the validity of your statement but the following is a direct quote from the Fact Sheet that I received from the PR agency representing The Pluckemin Inn. "Beverage Program: 1000 wines featuring European, Domestic and New World choices. Percentage of selections from owners’ personal collection" Just wanted to let you know where I received that information.

Don't know if there is a new chef but when I was there in Oct 2003 I was less than happy with my meal. So it may be that nothing has changed. Scroll up for report.

Brian "Ed Hitzel show next Saturday morning talking about the book and farming in New Jersey." Give us time and radio station.

So they are your recipes?? Very impressive. Can you share one with us?

Brian--Is your book available at Border's or Amazon.com? Thanks so much for letting us know about this book. And how exciting it was to recognize one of your subjects---Jonathan White from Bobolink Dairy.

There are 1000 wines featuring European, Domestic and New World choices. Percentage of the selections are from owners’ personal collection. What did you drink and how was the wine service?

it is a handsome place- and huge. but i found the place to be a bit pretentious and snotty. it is interesting for us to eat out at nj places that want to be known as 'fine dining' because we look a lot younger than we are. sometimes our service is pretty terrible compared to when we might dine out at the same spots with our friends who appear older. it is the one thing about eating out in nj that i hate. growing up in nyc, this is not something i'm used to. for example, i remember a night out at union square cafe where the next table a teen was celebrating her birthday with friends. the waitstaff was friendly, professional, and not condescending. anyway, sorry if this rant is hijacking this thread. it's just something that has been on my mind. ← Nanyun--Sorry to hear that you had bad service. In any case--what did you eat and how was the food and wine list?

May 22, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2Njk2ODQ4 May 15, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NjkzNjc1

Info on Rat's here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...t=23001&hl=rats

Have heard that the place is gorgeous but have not been. Matthew Levin, previously from Moonlight in New Hope, PA is the Executive Chef and the menu is contemporary American. If you go be sure to give us a report.

Any comments on this restaurant? It was recommended.

You may also want to consider Amanda's, Hoboken and Jocelyne's in Maplewood.

Rat's is very special. Stage House Inn is close to your house. Frog and the Peach is excellent. More info on The Frog and the Peach is here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=34898&hl= http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=Frog+the+Peach

You've picked some great restaurants. If you go to Rat's be sure to arrive about an hour or more before your reservation so you can walk through the sculpture garden. You may also want to check out the brunch at The Hilton Short Hills which is very elegant.

Congratulations to Jocelyne and Chef Mitchell Altholz owners of Jocelyne's, Maplewood for receiving a four star **** review in the Star Ledger on May 22, 2005.

Say hello to Blake and Jen for me.