JohnnyH

Agreed. Unfortunately, this is additional proof that when you really need something done, you're usually best off doing it yourself rather than farming out tasks to people who so generously offer their "help." Ah, well. Family...

I'll pass it along -- thanks for the referral.

My wife is hosting a wedding shower in Montclair next weekend, and it appears as though she's got a problem with dessert. More accurately, we can't find the contact information from "Martha's Marvelous Munchies" in Bloomfield. It's been a few years, and it's possible she's gone out of business, but if anyone knows different I'd love to hear about it. Barring that, suggestions for source of high-end cakes in the Montclair area would be appreciated. Thanks...

Can you explain why really active starter or using less starter would lead to larger holes in the bread? I've been working on this for a while now with mixed degrees of success.

Couldn't agree more, and let's be clear that I'm not defending Egan's. If anything I'm suggesting that, given the owners' apparent aspirations, it should certainly be held to a higher standard than Tierney's. I'm also not by any means denigrating Tierney's -- a joint I happen to like very much.

It's undeniably just a pub, but it's a whole hell of a lot more than one notch up the scale from Tierney's. Don't get me wrong -- I like Tierney's a lot and have very mixed feelings about Egan's -- but the owners are most definitely not shooting to be in anything other than a very different league.

I almost got killed trying to get back onto 3 out of that parking lot.

If your brisket wasn't beef, it wasn't brisket.

I've got the large AllClad roti pan, and I have a problem with it that I wonder if anyone else shares. The "floor" of the pan is not a completely level surface; it's designed to be raised toward the center. I'm not sure what the intended purpose of this design is, but in practice for me it tends to send fats toward the edges of the pan and leads to scorching in the center when the pan is used on the stovetop. Anyone else notice this?

Exactly my point, but thanks for the tip. Thanks, also, for replying -- I was starting to wonder if I had posted in invisible type.

I'm sure there's no shortage of opinion about this here -- where is the best slice to be found in Bloomfield and the surrounding area?

8 months it took you?!? That's unlucky. I hope you've made it to the Belmont Tavern at least... Holsten's is about 2 blocks from one of my offices. Great to grab a cup during lunch and sit in the park when the weather is nice. ← Yeah, I know -- it took awhile. My wife's family lives in Montclair, so most of our activity has until now been pointed in that direction. And yes, I've been to the Belmont. Shrimp beeps all over my shirt...

I've lived in Bloomfield for about eight months now, and we just discovered Holsten's a couple of weeks ago. Game over -- the cherry vanilla is maybe the best ice cream I've ever had.

Sounds great. Mmmm.... spelt.

Gman -- it looks like you got a good result (and I'm sure the pork was delicious), but you might want to look for a butt that isn't so well trimmed next time you decide to give this a go. Your first pic looks as though almost all the fat has been cut away by the butcher...

Just curious, but where would you plan on eating in Morristown? I left there around six months ago -- I never found anywhere there (outside of Sushi Lounge) that I would make special plans to visit, especially if I wanted to eat outdoors.

About Vasca -- what can one expect to spend on dinner there?

thanks for the link.

I’ve been looking in vain for a decent fishmonger that carries more than the usual salmon/tuna/shrimp selection; judging from your pictures this certainly seems to fit the bill. It’s a 25 minute drive for me — worth it?

dude, for real on the VI burger? it doesn't seem like a place i'd necessarily eat (although the wings smelled damned good). dollar buds on thursday. c'mon. ← My vote here goes to the burger at Tierney's, although you need to be there on a day the front half of the room doesn't smell like urinal pucks. Either that or drink enough beer that it no longer matters. Their bottled beer selection, on the other hand, sucks.

Perfect. Thank you.

just about any liquor store, no? they'll have the tap and everything. ← I'm looking for a distributor who will have the kegs in stock and won't have to special order anything.

I'm throwing a major-league barbecue early next month -- 8 racks of ribs, 4 chickens and one or two pork butts are all going into the smoker. Now I need a keg. Any ideas who to call? Thanks for the help.

Tommy -- off topic, but I've had a chance to read through your blog. Nice job so far; good luck. This is an interesting thread. If nothing else, it's made me want to go to Silver Oak so I can see for myself.

Well, this changes everything. At that point, I would have been livid and likely to follow Tommy's lead. At the very least I would have gotten the manager tableside immediately.