Rosie

Had dinner at 88 Cafe, 106 Mt Pleasant Ave, Livingston; BYO. Started off with 88 Cafe Wonton soup for two which was bland with doughy wontons. Entrees were good. We had udon noodles with chicken which were tasty but had very little chicken. Also, the menu described this dish as having sauteed baby bok choy so I expected more than a few green leaves. The vegetables and tofu in a curry sauce were very good but we didn’t expect it to be so spicy as there wasn’t a little chile next to it on the menu. Anyone else been here?

Cafe Matisse received 3 1/2 stars from David Bonom in the Bergen Record. Review is here: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...nFlZUVFeXkxNQ==

No. But they have new owners and dim sum on weekends.

The menu at Colors, 1090 Bloomfield Ave. West Caldwell says, “Simplistic, quality food, which will paint your palate.” Whether it will “paint your palate’ is questionable but the food and service were very good but the menu wasn’t exciting. There weren’t any dishes here that aren’t available at the other thousand plus Italian restaurants in NJ. But if you live nearby and don’t mind a non-BYO then do try this place. When seated decent Italian bread, olive oil and a bowl of cheese and olives are placed on the table. We had the following for dinner: Shrimp Arrabbiata: pan fried rock shrimp sautéed with olive oil, garlic, white wine, plum tomato, oregano, red pepper, parsley, and butter Peppers and Potatoes: hot and sweet peppers sautéed in olive oil and garlic, with fried potatoes Sausage and Rabe: hot and sweet Italian sausage with sauteed broccoli rabe in olive oil, garlic, and plum tomato Belmont Salad: escarole and sliced radishes; dressed with olive oil and fresh lemon Eggplant Rollentine Linguine Vongole: linguine with whole steamed clams in an Italian style white clam sauce; Pork Tenderloin: pan roasted and served over a white bean and wild mushroom ragout Atlantic Salmon: sauteed with garlic, fresh plum tomato, basil, calamata olives, capers, white wine, and butter Chicken Mezzanotte: pan fried pieces of chicken on the bone; with romano cheese, garlic, fresh parsley, red wine vinegar, and demiglace Chicken Parmigiano: pan fried, breaded boneless chicken breast; baked with mozzarella, provolone, parmigiano cheese, and marinara sauce Veal Chop: Grilled loin veal chop with fresh sage topped with homemade potato chips With two desserts, some coffees and two bottles of wine the bill was $50 per person including tax and tip. For reservations call 973-244-4443

Sonoma Grill, East Rutherford

I attended a party recently that showcased some of the restaurants that will be participating in Hudson Restaurant Week. What I tasted was delicious and with a price of $30.05 for a three course dinner and $15.05 for a three course lunch it is quite a bargain (beverage, tax and gratuity are extra). Some of the items I sampled were chopped tuna on sesame crackers from 4Fifty5 (Chef Jay Mc Donald); seviche from Sabor (Chef Carl Ruiz); eggplant stuffed with crabmeat from Spirito Grill (Chef Joseph Mastrella); steak spring rolls from Edwards Steakhouse (Chef Edward Gozdz); macaroni and cheese from Comfort (Gregg Liepzig owner); and vegetable empanadas from Baja (Mary De La Rosa manager).Tamara Remedios owner of “Get Out Hudson” magazine (www.getouthudson.com) is the organizer of this event. For more information log onto www.hudsonrestaurantweek.com.

Ekko should be opening in a few weeks. Japanese.

That is amazing. You rarely see a Turley on a wine list unless you are in Hawaii.

Never heard of this place. Is it near Cafe Matisse?

Some suggestions. Just check with the restaurant to be sure they are serving brunch. Indigo Smoke, Montclair Taste of Asia, South Orange or Chatham Original Pancake House, Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell Shubox Café--Cedar Grove Joy Luck, West Orange for Dim Sum Office Bar & Grill, Montclair Taro, Montclair has dim sum on weekends now Dancing Goat, South Orange Sweet Basil Café, West Orange Origin, Morristown

Did you have anything to drink and if so how was the wine list?

Welcome to eGullet pineypete.

More postings on Gaffer's here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...hl=Gaffer's

Have always had excellent meals and service at Trattoria Fresco.

Rosario’s Butcher Shop 252 Park St Upper Montclair 973-655-0999 This is a new place that is advertising that they sell prime meats. If you find out anything please let us know.

There is information about smoking laws on the NJ GASP website. Here: http://www.njgasp.org/ http://www.njgasp.org/d_legis.htm

We recently tried the three course/two glasses of wine. "Fall Festival of Food & Wine" dinner at The Perryville Inn, 113 Perryville Rd, Perryville which is offered Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 7 PM for $38. There were a variety of choices on this special menu. We enjoyed the entrees much more than the appetizers. I certainly would return to this restaurant again. For appetizers we had a classic seven onion soup with parmesan pastry twist. It was served lukewarm and we didn’t care for the broth. The salmon was sliced too thick in the house cured salmon gravlax with crisp vegetable salad and wasabi crème fraiche. The vegetable salad was similar to cole slaw. The wines we choose were a Pinot Grigio, Prima Terra Italy 2003 and a White Rioja, Marques de Caceres, Spain 2003. Our entrees were an excellent lamb shank with roasted vegetables and goat cheese mashed potatoes and my favorite dish of the evening which was an outstanding sautéed monkfish with parma prosciutto surrounded by linguine tossed in a lemon sage butter sauce. The wines for our entrees were Pinot Noir, Laboure Roi, France 2002 and Shiraz, Austin Vale, South Eastern Australia 2001. Desserts were a too hot to eat apple crumble and an unset lemon tart. For reservations call 908-730-9500.

Address? Pnone #? Are they BYO? Thanks for the info.

I have been wanting to try this restaurant for the longest time. THANKS for the report.

January 9, 2005 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NjM3MjU3 Anyone know anything about Villa Roberto in Rochelle Park?

Penang, East Hanover received a "Good" from Restaurant Reviewer David Corcoran in the NJ section of the New York Times 1/9/05.

pbelardo--Welcome to eGullet and be sure to let us know other restaurants where you like to dine.

FYI Esposito Brothers 90 Ridgedale Avenue (about 1/2 mile N of NJ 10) East Hanover

I haven't been to American Fare in years. Will try it again .

Thanks for the update. Was this your Tuesday night out restaurant this week? We're keeping a list!