tkrongold

Tried Ekko last night. Beautifully remodeled inside, great wine list & sake menu. Four of us were seated at about 7:30. Nice menu - French/Asian influences. Two of us ordered the butternut squash soup (delicious). Our friends shared the spring rolls which they said was very good. At least an hour passed before our entrees were served and that was after we flagged down our waiter who didn't seem to have a clue. When we asked the waiter about our meals, he said "gee, I'm not sure..." My husband had the Chilean Sea Bass, which I sampled. Unfortunately, it had almost no taste to it. One friend tried the Asian-inspired short ribs, which were tasty (almost like "upscale beef jerky," was one comment), and our other friend had the Dancing Shrimp Tempura. Nice presentation of 4 shrimp on skewers served on a beautiful highly-varnished wood platter. For some reason, I chose the Chicken Breast with gorgonzola on a bed of spinach and risotto. I almost never order chicken out (& never breasts because I love thighs), but it sounded really good. Well, the breast was dried out, there were maybe two leaves of spinach, & the risotto was gummy. The waiter barely came to our table & never asked if we wanted a second drink. The person whom I think was the manager (Judy) came over at the end of our meal & we told her we were very disappointed with the food & the service. Basically, she smiled & laughed and said the kitchen was very busy (the restaurant was barely half-full). We noticed that the rest of the tables had delayed service, also. On the way out, Judy gave us 15% discount cards for another visit. One bright note was the bartender (we sat at the bar for a drink while waiting for our friends). He was personable, efficient & good at his work. We were very disappointed in this restaurant & had high hopes for it. Maybe they'll get their act together - I hope so. Has anyone else been there?

we tried Piatto's the other night. nice, casual restaurant. good service, BYO, and very good brick oven pizza. their pizza is similar to the brick oven place in Hackensack - with fresh mozzarella, ricotta & basil. we had a tri-color salad first which was very good & more than enough for two people.

thanks. where is Michael's in Nutley?

do they have thin crust pizza (like Kinchley's)?

we went today, too. they are the nicest people. Andre "forced" us to sample the chocolate cake, a croissant, some cookies, & his spinach quiche - all wonderful! we bought a chocolate/coffee eclair and some sort of chocolate cream puff. we are having them for dessert later.

we tried Round Trip Fare last night. they've done a nice job redecorating the train station. we got there early - about 6:30pm. Only two other tables were taken. the server came right over & gave us menus. not a huge menu, but enough items to choose from. i had read on barista.net that they had burgers, but they were not listed on the menu. they will be getting a liquor license next week, but right now they offer patrons a complimentary glass of wine with dinner - nice touch. i ordered the chicken giambotta - very good with 5-6 pieces of bone-in chicken, sliced Italian sausage, peppers, onions, potatoes, in a delicious gravy. my husband ordered the crab cakes and a house salad. he wasn't thrilled with the crab cakes - he thought they tasted manufactured (out of a box). i tasted them - they were ok, not great. his salad was fine. they only have three items on the dessert menu - Paul's Cheesecake, flan, & creme brulee. we declined dessert & coffee, but they offered us an after dinner drink - something like Bailey's. We asked about the burgers. they said they are having new menus printed & they will be on there. The owner said to ask for anything you want that's not on the menu & they will try to accommodate it. i would give it another try.

we tried Highland Grill last night. it's a nice location (right across from the park), they've got about 7-8 tables. service was very good. the owner (a woman, i can't recall her name) came over to ask about food, service, etc. she has never been in the restaurant business before (she owns the massage studio above the restaurant). they've been open about a year. they start everybody off with a complementary dish of (what looked like) pita chips with a sort of slaw, which was tasty. unfortunately, the rest of the food was very average. first course, my husband had the potato leek soup, which seemed to be missing something. i had the house salad. entrees: my husband had the bleu burger which comes with seasoned fries and cole slaw (approx $8.95). he ordered it rare-to-medium rare, but it came out medium. i had filet of sole with spinach, which comes with smashed potatoes & a green bean/carrot mixture ($17.95). we skipped dessert. maybe we should have ordered the "ho-made" marinara... we had such high hopes of this being that great little neighborhood spot for a casual dinner, but it definitely didn't stir those feelings of "i've got to go back there."

Thanks. sounds like it might be worth a try for a casual meal.

I remember reading on one of the topics about two wks ago a mention of Highland Grill (I think that's the name) in Rutherford. They said it's around the corner from Matisse. Has anyone been? Do I have the right name?

my husband & i went this past Tuesday for dinner. we had the Yin & Yang spring rolls - very good, the potstickers, also good, but the dough was a little chewy. my husband had the lacquered duck for his entree, which was delicious. for our tastes, it could have been a little rarer, but still good. i had the lo mein with shrimp & vegetables. huge bowl with good soup broth. i was a little disappointed in the dessert menu, especially after our waiter told us that they have a French pastry chef on staff. i think there were only 3 items on the dessert menu plus a trio of ice creams (green tea, red bean, & chocolate). maybe they expand the dessert listing for weekends. i agree with previous comments about the management being new at the restaurant business. our waiter was very tentative and almost too solicitious in his service, but that's better than rude & abrupt! overall, we liked it & will probably go back soon (after this week's trip to Miami) since it's very different than other restaurants in the area.

kind of across the street from Cafe Matisse. thanks, JWJOJO. doesn't sound like it's worth a visit.

Years ago when I worked in the area, we used to go to Steve & Andrea's on Park Ave in Rutherford for lunch. I passed by recently & see that they now serve dinner. Has anyone visited lately? Thanks.

Tommy, next time you go, try the Chicken Crisp on the bone. Similar to Savoy, but without the acidity. It is outstanding with wonderful crisp potatoes.

Went to Azucar a few years ago. The food was ok (not great), but what really turned us off was the service by the owner. As we were seated eating our main course, something started to drip from the ceiling onto our heads & plates. It wasn't water - it was a greasy substance. When we called it to the owner's attention, she simply asked us to rearrange ourselves somewhat at the table. We asked for another table and asked to have our food replace. She was very nasty and refused. Her solution was to offer us free desserts, which we did not want. Obviously, we never went back.

Hello. Coming to Paris next week for business/pleasure. Have 3 days on our own before business kicks in. Would love some recommendations for the restaurants and bistros we should not miss. Thanks!

Thanks. I love Bill & Harry's - we go there all the time. A friend just recommended Florentine Grill so I think we'll try that. I just read the thread on it. And, of course, I love Amer Grille, but we were looking for something a little more casual tonight. Thanks!

looking for suggestions for restaurants in this area. nothing fancy, just good, decent food. thanks.

if you venture south along rt 17, you'll come to a little town called Southport. Great restaurant there called The Pharmacy (at least it was the last time i was there - about a year ago). The owners are originally from Philadelphia and put out very good high-end meals. Also in Southport, for good casual food on the water, go to The Provision Company. Nothing fancy, just good burgers, grouper salad, etc. For a little more upscale, there is another place on the water (actually next door to the Provision Company) called Mr P's Waterway. They do great shrimp & grits & wonderfully fresh & flavorful soft shells.

Hi - just getting back into the eGullet mode after months of traveling for work & noticed the Hot Rod's thread. Joann (the bar owner) is actually looking to sell the building & liquor license. My husband & I & a friend made an offer, but the building needs ALOT of work so we decided not to take the plunge. But someone else in the eGullet forum may be interested. Also, sorry to say we missed the Trattoria Fresca event last night, but we're going tonight to try it. It sounded great on the posting.

Hi. We tried to go to Stickey's last night. Got there late (around 9:00pm), but they are open until 11pm. The place looked very disorganized. Several tables looked like they had not been bussed in any recent time (dirty dishes piled up). They were doing a very busy takeout business. We were told someone would seat us. After standing there for about 10 minutes, we left. One of the cooks was sweeping the floor & several servers were running around looking very harried. We were disappointed, but we figure we'll give it a try on a non-Saturday. Hopefully the food is better than the organization.

The original owner of Ruga sold it about 2 yrs ago & opened EM Bistro in Los Angeles (which has been getting excellent reviews). The last time we were at Ruga (probably about 5 yrs ago) it was ok, not great. Definitely agree with the reviews posted here about Rosemary & Sage. Planned a birthday or anniversary dinner there a few yrs ago & was so disappointed. Food, service, etc., definitely below par.

I really want to go to this (after Lou's nice invitation to join a future eGullet outing), but I am traveling that week for work. If my travel plans change, & there is still space, my husband & I would love to join the group for dinner. We loved our dinner at An American Grill recently.

i am really looking forward to their opening. it sounds great & while Fink's is good, it's not like a "real" BBQ joint (a la KC, NC, or TX). NJ needs real BBQ! Jason, will you let us know when they open? thanks.

well, after reading about The Petite Cafe for a long time here on eGullet, we are finally going to try it for dinner tonight. I had been there for breakfast a couple of years ago & was not impressed, but their dinner offerings certainly look promising. i'll post afterwards.

Great, thanks, Casey. Can't wait to see your review. Is that the former "Evergreen" space?