GoodEater

For some people who are excessive complainer the question should be: Is anything OK!! Stolen from an old joke!

I see they blend home study and classroom work!

I don know for certain, but, I think the health department has stepped in and the sauce is being kept refrigerated instead of being left out to properly ferment. The same thing has happened at Johnny and Hanges. The sauce just isn't the same as in the old days. Fear of lawsuits and the need to protect us from ourselves has led to the loss of flavor of the sauces. They should give us a choice of "safe" or "flavorful" and have us sign a waiver that we won't sue if we get sick. This is the same deal as getting unpasteurized milk cheeses- which were banned for years. The powers that be don't understand and appreciate that some of us are willing to take some chances when it comes to eating.

Went here last night for the first time. (Second time for my parents) Even though the place is not much to look at the food was excellent. The food is as good as Wondee's but their menu is more limited. Prices were very, very reasonable. The owner said that she closed the restaurant temporarily because there were too few customers coming in. She reopened in April but said that business is very slow. I agree with Tommy that if you are at the GS Plaza it is well worth it to drive around the corner for this place than to eat at the food court. Hopefully all of the E-gullet people can help her keep the place open. I know that my family will be going back soon. They use the perfect amount of oil and they adjusted the spice level (read heat) of the food to our tastes. (We like the food to be very spicy but not so much that it overwhelms all of the other flavor components). Every dish we order was a winner. That is a very rare happening at most restaurants. Please give this place a try. As has been stated on many E-gullet posts, we can't let the chain restaurant knock out all of the hard-working independent owner who deserve a chance.

Here's the solution: Go to a French restaurant and sit on the east side...Your eating Swiss. Go to a German restaurant and sit on the south side...Your eating Swiss. Go to an Austrian restaurant and sit on the west side...Your eating Swiss. Go to an Italian restaurant and sit on the north side...Your eating Swiss -or- Go to the Melting Pot... Your eating Swiss.

The pizza place on the right is called Soprano's (A very good Jersey pizza place name indeed). Porcini is located on the extreme left end of the plaza. It's windows are usually completely covered with drapes from almost the top to the very bottom of their windows. Porcini is another "new" (new for me I mean) place I will have to check out. FYI: I had one slice at Soprano's one time and it was OK. Much better pizza around the corner at Linwood Pizza (Next to the Appolo flag place and Office Depot on Route 46 West.)

What a loss to the radio industry. I enjoyed listening to him for years. As far as him being "full of himself" I do not think that is the case. He just got impatient with people who did not listen well or who did foolish things in restaurants and expected the restaurant to bend over backwards to bail them out. He taught me a great deal about food, cooking, baking and the history behind all of these subjects and more.

Yes I guess I knew that but at least I thought he was trying to hawk higher quality items. Live and learn.

Sorry to say this but it appears as if David Rosengarten is a sell-out. I'm not going to say that Romano's is the worst of the chains but I had a different image of David when he talks about food on his own shows or in various apperances. RMG is not high-end. This is a review that explains my point: http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/Profiles/romanos.html This is like the mismatch between Martha Stewart and K-Mart. High-end meets low- end. Look where she has ended up!! I fear for David Rosengarten's future. Edited to add: It depends on which area you are talking about. In and around NYC and Northern NJ there are some great mom and pop places for low cost basic Italian food. In the middle of nowhere a MG might be a welcome sight - but not around where I live.

I called the corporate office too and just got a voicemail message for Stephanine as well.

I don't really remember what channel I was on as being a typical male I was flipping around all over the place. It was around 10 or 10:30 last night. Sorry I can't be more specific.

I think I really saw it but my focus was not fully on the commercial. Just wanted to know if anyone else saw this and what they think. I think it smacks of the shameless Rick Bayliss(sp?) and Burger King promotion.

I don't disagree with that at all. In fact one of my top 3 favorite restaurants is in the suburbs....of Gary, Indiana!!! (and when I say that, it's setting aside the once-in-a-lifetime places that I've eaten) However, it has been my experience that those restaurants in the suburbs that are great tend to bring with them an approach to food that one might generally call "urban". Rarely does that work in the opposite direction. I see what you are saying. It's just that the attitude of certain (but not all) New Yorkers can be overwhelming and disturbing to those of us who grew up and live in Northern NJ. Sorry to be so New York-centric. I guess the attitude has spilled over from NY on to me. Things are probably very different outside of other cities!

Last night I thought I saw a TV commercial for Romano's Macaroni Grill featuring David Rosengarten. I could not believe it! Did I really see this or was it a bad dream?

I am sorry to say that I think there is an inherent snobbiness coming from this idea that the city is so much more sophisticated than the suburbs. I have had both excellent and shitty meals in NYC and the same is true in Northern NJ. It depends on the individual chef to make the meal great. Arrogance and attitude can really get in the way of just creating great meals and a wonderful dining experience. In addition, many of the people in the city restaurants really live in the suburbs and are just visiting for the day.

Hence the reason so many people love BYOB places! It certainly makes going out more affordable for the average person. Only for a business lunch/dinner setting is a restaurant with a liquor license my preference.

I think the name of the shop in Totowa is Dimaiolo Italian Bakery. It is at 181 Union Blvd. Very good pastry. I agree with you that Il Dolce in Hawthorne is excellent. I believe that the "lobster tails" that Tommy is refering to are called Sfogliatelle in Italian. My Italian boss from Milan called them Sfogliatelle di Napoli when I brought some into the office when he was in the USA.

DaleW - You are already married! Don't worry - If this was a first date then that's a different story. Your wife will respect you more from now on because she will realize that she didn't marry a fool or a sucker!

They did rip you off. That price is outrageous. Chalk this one up to experience and always ask the prices of the specials from now on. This is a real pet peeve of mine that they do not give you the prices while telling you about the specials. I alway ask," and how much is that?" There is a radio talk show host here in NY named Arthur Schwartz and he gets really upset at this behavior. He advised every to ask the prices and he compares it to buying anything else. He says something like you wouldn't buy a fur coat or a jacket without asking the price- would you? DaleW you are a very knowledgable and experienced diner as I can tell from you well written post so do not let these arrogant, snobby restaurants intimidate you into ordering something without knowing the price. You are the customer and deserve to be treated better.

Finally got to Dragonel this past Friday (July 30). What a different and delicious meal. Had the hot and sour soup; corn with salt and pepper; Kongee crispy lamb; Schezwan chicken; garlic crispy noodles with shrimp; and the eggplant dish. The Schezwan chicken was sweet but it worked well with the other dishes. I also went in with the knowledge (from Egullet , of course) that some of the dishes were sweet in nature. For dessert had the vanilla ice cream (their only desset)- one plate topped with lychees and the other topped with candied walnuts! - Yum! Spoke to the owner, Andy, and told him that we also love Indian food (and that my wife made some "mean" lamb chops). He brought us some lamb chops from his place next door (Dhaaba) to sample. They were fantastic. Marinated with some indian spices and then cooked in the tandoori oven. Tender and flavorful. Some of the best I have ever had anywhere. This was after we had finished dessert! What a great post-dessert treat! We will definitely be checking out Dhaaba very soon. The prices are very reasonable too. It is BYO too- so in terms of value this is the best place I have been to in the last year. Service was a little choppy to start but once we got going everything smoothed out.

The may want to rename the entire operation - Maybe they could call it Moor's or Colson and just start all over again!

I'm still amazed at how Netspeak continues to insinuate itself everywhere. Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't even realize my mistake! I type google so much that I forgot how to type goggles!

Nope. They are sold and drunk as "cocktail wines" and trophies and wines to win tastings. The more out of balance they are, the better they serve these purposes. Indeed, it is many European producers who are modifying their style to compete. If that works for you, cool. But I don't know many people who do like that pairing; a touch of sweetness and high acidity is the classic match. Or beer. I'll ignore the ad hominem and get on to the substance of what you said -- in fact, you've got it exactly reversed. There are precious few wines coming out of CA that can compete with the vast sea of better-made cheapies from France, Spain, Italy. And nothing at all that can compete with sub-$15 (even these days) wines like the Clos des Briords Muscadet, or the Coudert Clos de la Roilette Fleurie. Last night I opened an $11.90 (net) JP Brun Beaujolais. It was very very nice. I knew that I could get some people on a roll. I was being a provocateur to stir things up. I am really a wine novice (as I'm sure you can all tell from my simplistic posts) but I really am learning a great deal as I have been reading the wine forum over the last few months. Please forgive me because I have a "New Jersey" sense of humor- I can't help it as I was born here.

I hate to disagree with you on this one point. I think the higher alcohol works well with spice. Everyone likes something different. There was a thread about weird food combinations that worked even though nobody thought they would.

What's the address?