tkrongold

We had dnr at Enoteca Vin Friday night. It was wonderful. Outstanding food, service, & wine. We were very well taken care of by Scott, the GM & sommelier. He started our evening with a glass of NV blanc de blanc and the delicious Ahi tuna tartare appetizer. Couldn't be better (especially after a delayed flight from Newark!). My main course was the wonderful burgandy braised short ribs (paired with a 2000 Aglianico Re Manfredi). My husband decided to sample several small plates (of course i had to help). We were not disappointed with the assortment: the deviled eggs (which I understand Vin is known for) were ethereal; the chicken liver pate was smooth & delicious, and the white anchovies (which I had never eaten before) were terrific. The highlight of my husband's meal was the frisee & local arugula salad with roasted beets, Laura Chenel chevre, with warm hazlenut brown butter vinaigrette! He had a delicious 1999 Gruner Veltliner with his meal. To demonstrate the level of service we received, my husband was pacing himself to wait for my short ribs to be served & as such, did not eat the salad right away. When my short ribs were delivered, Scott insisted on replacing it with a fresh salad because the brown butter vinaigrette had been sitting! We tried to protest, but Scott was too quick & distracted us with a special introduction to the Chef (who was extremely gracious). We were too full for dessert, but Scott "forced" us to try a fabulous Tokjai from Hungary. I wish there were more restaurants of this caliber in the northern NJ area. Vin will definitely be on our itinerary next time we visit Raleigh. At the totally other end of the spectrum, we had lunch on Saturday at Mama Dip's in Chapel Hill. Wonderful fried chicken!

great - thanks for the info!

thanks! i just made a reservation at Enoteca Vin.

Hi, SouthEast e-Gulleters... Coming into Raleigh this Friday evening for a corporate holiday party. The company party isn't until Saturday night, so I'd like to visit one of Raleigh's restaurants on Friday. I've just been reading the Magnolia Grill thread, which disappoints me because that's always been on my list of "must visit" places, but it sounds like it might not be worth the effort (yes? no?). Would love to hear other suggestions for dinner (Enoteca Vin?). Meeting some friends for lunch on Saturday & they want to go to Mama Dibs, which they've heard has great BBQ. Thoughts? Thanks! Terry NJ e-Gullet

Vita Mia's has great stuffed breads. You might also want to try the new Celantano's store in Livingston (not sure if they have them, but you never know).

just back from our trip to Maine. we had dinner at Angler's, the Chocolate Grille, Ming's (in Bucksport), & the Youngtown Inn (Lincolnville). Angler's had really great clam chowder and very good fried clams. We didn't try dessert at the Chocolate Grille - i had broiled scallops & my husband had a burger - they were both ok. Ming's was pretty good, although not like China 46 or Bill & Harry's here in NJ. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Youngtown Inn (thought it would be quaint & New England-ish). It is a beautiful, old farm house - very warm & cozy atmosphere (with a resident cat who curls up by the wood buring stove in the dining room). unfortunately, the food was really disappointing, although the butternut squash soup was outstanding. As it was Thanksgiving, i had the turkey, which came with a mixed white potato/sweet potato mash and cranberry sauce. my husband chose the rack of lamb which was overdone. for dessert, we had pumpkin pie & apple pie with maple walnut ice cream (both very good). the fixed price was $48/pp, which i thought a bit high for what you got, but it was quaint, especially with the snow that day. we tried a great bar in Belfast called The LookOut Pub. It was recently bought by two young women who just re-opened it about two months ago. we had lunch there - wonderful homemade potato chips are complementary with drinks. they had a special that day of homemade mac & cheese (really good) and chili (another good choice). if you are in the Belfast area, stop in - it's a nice place for a drink & lunch or dinner on the waterfront. thanks for all your suggestions on restaurants in the area!

thanks - we've been to Chase's for breakfast & it's very good.

great! thanks - i'm sure we'll try it while we're up there nxt wk.

thanks. where is Angler's - i'm not familar with that.

thanks!

thanks so much! i'm thinking that Nickerson's Tavern in Bucksport may now be MacLeod's. We were there a few months ago & it wasn't bad. Do you know what town the Lucerne is in? Thanks, again!

Going to be in this area of Maine Thanksgiving week - any restaurant suggestions? thanks!

congrats! what is the address of your new place?

they serve wine, but i don't think they have liquor.

Tried Cuban Pete's last night (they opened earlier this wk). It was pretty busy at 7:30. We were greeted by "Domingo," the owner, whom I later found out is the Dominick from Mexacali Rose. He was very pleasant and attentive. We decided to have an all-tapas dinner & ordered 6-7 selections. We also tried the Cuban Pete's Sangria, which was very good. Our tapas selections included Chicken Lollipops (grilled little chicken legs), sliced Chorizo, shrimp in garlic sauce, pequillo rellanos, mini-Cuban sandwiches, calamari, and a pork empanada. The Chicken Lollipops were the best of the bunch. It's not totally a Cuban-focused menu (as you can see by the above items), but the food was pretty good & the service was good, also. I would go back & try full entrees in the future. Of course, parking is a perennial problem in Montclair - we drove around for at least 20 minutes before finding a spot. Really detracts from the whole dining experience.

That would be them!

they are opening november 14.

yes, they were served warm, but they didn't have a whole lot of flavor... But we did have a nice time, thanks.

We also dined at Anthony David's on Saturday night. Loved the atmosphere there. We had a lovely table in the front room in the corner which was very nice. The wait staff were professional and attentive. We started with the cured meats and the pear walnut salad. The salad was delicious and it was a very generous portion. While the meats (prosciutto, two kinds of sopresatta, coppacolla (sp?) and very good provolone were delicious, if you weren't sharing the appetizers, that would not have been enough for one person (especially a guy). The sesame Italian bread was very good. for dinner, my husband had the pork tenderloin (again, delicious, but not much there). I had the veal bolognese pasta which was very good (you could really taste the fresh oregano) & more than enough for me. i have to say we were disappointed in the bourbon glazed doughnuts. i had read so much about them (here & on other sites) that i was really looking forward to something outstanding. the bourbon doughnuts lacked any significant flavor and the little cinnamon doughnuts that were served alongside were tasty, but not great. unfortunately, i compare all "made to order" doughnuts to the warm zeppole swirled in cinnamon sugar at Primo (in Orlando & Rockland, ME). These are what made to order doughnuts are all about! the cappuccino & espresso at Anthony David's were very good.

Thinking about this for birthday dinner this weekend - has anybody been here recently? appreciate the input.

Unfortunately, i must be a dissenter in the Cup Joint fan club. We went last night & maybe my expectations were too high, but we were very disappointed. Two of us ordered the meat loaf dinner; when we asked if it came with the famous mashed potatoes, we were told they didn't have any tonight. our waiter said they only had enough mashed potatoes for the meat loaf diner sandwich (he said that was their most popular sandwich & they couldn't risk running out...). he went to check in the kitchen to see if they would make an exception & serve mashed potatoes with our entrees, but they said no. he said the sides that came with the meat loaf that night were long beans & cous cous. we decided to order the diner sandwich & not eat the bread (a la Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces...). The meat loaf was very tender, but it came with a sort of BBQ sauce, which IMHO does not go with meat loaf. the mashed potatoes were good & so were the fried onions, but not great. our waiter told us that on Saturdays they are more of a breakfast/brunch place & dinners were not that busy. for at least 30 minutes, we were the only customers in the restaurant (at 7pm) & we felt it was poor customer service to not accommodate our request for mashed potatoes with the meat loaf entree (especially when they had them ready to go!). we also sampled the arugula/watercress salad - again, good not great. on a positive note, the carrot cake (as advertised) was wonderful.

thanks, Richard!

trying the Cup Joint tonight (after reading all the wonderful reviews here). are there any parking garages nearby (i don't expect to find parking on the street...although one can dream). thanks!

we were just at Red's over the weekend. we had always heard that Red's was great, but actually, the lobster rolls across the street at Sarah's are much, much better. and, you can sit down and have a beer with your lobster roll at Sarah's. don't have any recommendations for Bar Harbor, but if you go through Portland, definitely stop at Fore Street - great food, wonderful service. Enjoy!

just discovered this thread on Primo. we ate there this past Memorial Day weekend - it was wonderful. I had eaten at their Orlando location while on business last year & just fell in love with their cooking. the Rockland location is just great - wonderful atmosphere, attentive service, & of course, the food. i can't wait to go back to Maine to go to Primo again.