coughy

I absolutely hate when a waiter/waitress removes an empty plate while others are still eating. It drives me nuts!

whole foods and kings both have beautiful produce.

David's Deco-Tessen in West Caldwell has great deli sandwiches.

We needed some place close to have dinner last night. We chose Sweet Basils and I am glad we did. We had another wonderful dinner. Our 12 year old who wins the picky eater award was even happy. The staff was friendly and accomodating. I had a rack of lamb that was outrageous. The restaurant, unfortunately, was empty. If you are looking for a moderate priced delicious meal give it a try.

My husband loved Ruth's Cashew Supremes made by Archway. We haven't seen them in ages. Does anyone have any info?

I have been lucky enough to eat there twice. Both times we walked in we were greeted by name by the bartender, Nick, who is known for his colorful vests. I asked him how he knew our name and he said we were the only people who weren't regulars. The tables are like condos. You "buy" the same table for the same day every week. If you know you aren't going to be there you have to tell the managers. There are 11 tables, no menus and the most wonderful dining experience you will ever have. The products you can buy at the grocery store in no way compare to the food you eat at the restaurant. After a drink or two someone comes over to your table, sits down and tells you what is on the menu. They tell you how many slices of cheesecake are left and say that if you want a slice reserve it because it goes fast. Don't miss it - the creamiest cake I ever had. We ordered so much food both times because we couldn't decide what to eat and knowing we might never get back we wanted to try it all. The menu consisted of all the things you find in the cookbook. My favorite dish was the lemon chicken. We ate everything and licked the plates. Frank Pelligrino was in both nights and after 10:30 he puts on the jukebox and serenades you. We had an 8:00 reservation and didn't leave until midnight. We were concerned for our car because the neighborhood is rather rough. There are a few shady looking characters out front who we gave some money to to watch the car. When we came out not only was it still there, intact, but had been polished. Dining at Rao's is wonderful. When you leave you ask when you can call again. We were there in August and were told to call in November for the spring. We can't wait!

I grilled chicken breasts tonight and topped them with chopped garden tomatoes, red onion and fresh parsely that I drizzled with EVOO and lemon juice, salt and pepper. There weren't any leftovers.

Bagelwich on Bloomfield Avenue in Verona has decent bagels.

we refer to the owner of super duper bagels in livingston as the bagel nazi. she is the only kosher bagel baker in the area and she knows it! the bagels are good but not worth having to deal with "HER".

I am so happy to hear your report. I have been searching for the tastes of my youth when every Sunday my family would eat Chinese food. It was pretty much the same thing every week - soup, egg rolls, spare ribs, shrimp with lobster sauce, roast pork fried rice, chow mein and a few others. I grew up in Brooklyn and we alternated between two restaurants. I am going to try Bill Hongs. Thanks.

We had an awful experience dining at the Manor in West Orange, NJ. We had been there for many wonderful dinners and even hosted two parties there. On one specific occasion the food was mediocre and the service demeaning and disgusting. The captain dutifully offered us his card and told us to call him the next time we were coming in and he would be sure we had a glass of wine on him. No thanks, we weren't coming back. I wrote to a radio personality who hosts a food show because the Manor was one of his sponsors. He forwarded my letter to the restaurant and I received a call from the General Manager who asked me all about our experience and proceeded to send us $125 in gift coins. We will definitely return and give them another chance. Had he not made this gesture I don't know if we would ever go back.

Yom Kippur is a piece of cake compared to Rosh Hashana because we are with friends and not family. Every year I make a hearty mushroom barley soup, meat - either roast beef, grilled steak, or london broil also on the grill. I make mashed potatoes that I mix with sauteed onions and mushrooms and bake and a vegetable. Challah of course and we finish with a plain marble cake and coffee. Breaking our fast is with six families that take turns hosting. It is at our house this year and I am ordering all kinds of smoked fish (from Zabars) and I will make a dairy noodle kugel. I have a huge platter with all kinds of hard and soft cheeses, tomatoes and onions and various breads. Lots of great cakes, too!

Our family is exactly the same - they like it just like last year - but if I make one more brisket or turkey i'll faint. any menu suggestions?

The holidays are coming fast - any new ideas to liven up the dinner table?

I did see that they had another menu that wasn't offered to us. I caught a glimpse of it and it was only in chinese. Wouldn't have done us any good. Where is China 46?

Rosie - on your recommendation we went to Hunan Cottage for dinner tonight. I read the postings and made a reservation. For a Thursday night, the restaurant was jammed. Our table and one other were the only non-Asians in the place which we took to be a good sign. We definitely felt we were discriminated. The waiter removed the chop sticks as soon as we sat down. We asked him to leave them. We ordered and then we waited and waited and waited some more. The table next to us came in way after us and were served immediately. My usually patient husband said that if our food didn't come out in 5 minutes we were out of there. Luckily, it did come out about 3 minutes later and it was only the soup course. We ordered the house special wonton which needed help. I asked, and waited again, for soy sauce and mustard. Our next course were what we thought were pork buns but turned out to be more on the order of dumplings. They were okay. We ordered the shrimp with walnuts which turned out to be fried shrimp with steamed broccoli, walnuts and a very strange tomatoey sauce. We also ordered triple chicken dish which was tasteless chicken and vegetables, lemon chicken and sesame chicken. Again, we waited and waited. The sesame chicken part was good. The table that had come in after us by this point had paid their check and left. We had to keep asking for water. I am willing to give this place another try but will look to bring Asian friends so we can get better service. Ho-Lee, the take out joint on Pleasant Valley Way has better food than we ate tonight.

I had a delicious very thin crust spinach, feta, shrimp and roasted garlic pizza the other day. Boy, I wish I had another one!

I like Zabars for cookware. They have a terrific selection, good prices and you get to buy food on the way out.

I tried a few WOW chips one day and spent hours in the bathroom afterwards. It is no coincidence that many people have the same reaction.

Asian Delite is in the mall on Bloomfield Avenue west of Passaic with Kings, Marshalls and Walgreens.

hasn't anyone been to Ess-a-bagel???????

Rosie - you mentioned a take-out in Livingston - which one is it? Has anyone tried Asian Delite in West Caldwell. They do Chinese/Japanese. Some of their Chinese dishes are interesting and good and the sushi is always fresh.

We just ran out for dinner at the diner - the Park West Diner on Route 46 in West Paterson. The food is terrific and the staff is always nice and eager to please. They have huge salads with choices of grilled fish/chicken/shrimp, etc.

When my husband and I first moved out to suburbia from NYC we didn't know where to go first for a decent meal. I took a new route home from work one day and spotted a restaurant that had very upscale cars in the parking lot. We ventured there only to come to the conclusion that you don't necessarily have taste if you have money. It was a large restaurant that I learned was an area institution. I ordered a tuna sandwich and it was vile. It had the sweet bread and butter pickles chopped into dark tuna. Eventually we bought an upscale car but needless to say never went back to the restaurant. It has since gone out of business but every time I pass the area I get a sour taste in my mouth.

where is After Athens?