Zarole

[Hank]

Last evening we went with friends back to Zarole in Ridgewood (a BYOB) and again we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant that is just becoming better and better. To start, when I learned that my friend was bringing a 1975 Latour I realized how absolutely right Tommy was in saying that great wines deserve special glasses and not the restaurant standard fare. So, for the first time ever I felt not ashamed nor snobbish to bring along our own Spiegelau Bordeaux glasses which I am certain made a big difference in our enjoyment of memorable wines. Nor did they hurt the second bottle which was a 1978 Pommard by Courcel. Needless to say they were both spectacular. Tommy,thanks for your advice and encouragement. I actually made a toast to you. We live and learn.

As for the food, I started with wonderful crab cakes while my wife had the skate. Excellent choices. Our friends had the risotto whcih they loved. For mains three of us had the special for the evening, scallops on a mound of leeks and grated, roasted potatos. My wife and her friend liked them so much that they asked the chef (B.J.)for his recipe which he most happily gave to them. Our other friend orderred the sea bass which he said that the rendition of was the best he had ever had. For dessert we shared a plate of sorbet and a fresh fig gateau. Then wonderfull, fresh brewed coffee. It makes a big difference not to be served coffee that has been sitting on a hot plate for an hour or longer as is unfortunately the practice in many restaurants.

On leaving we made reservations to come back with our children and grandchildren some time in November so that should tell you how much we enjoy ourselves

[tommy]

jeez hank, i'm flattered that i made an impression on you. i forget what kind of stemware zarole has, but i would expect at their prices that they are at least reasonable...but certainly not as good as bringing your own.

i have been carrying glasses with me for a few weeks now, but haven't needed to use them. the village green in ridgewood has *passable* glasses (though not ideal), and my cup of tea in allendale has very good stemware, offering red *and* white.

i'm glad to hear that zarole is "getting better." my one trip there was not good enough for me to return, especially at 110 bucks at a BYO. however, i'll need to give it another shot.

speaking of the village green, i'm finding that place to be a pretty good option in ridgewood. although it doesn't get the press that 28 oak and zarole get, i'd put it right up there.

[tommy]

i should also note that the village green is not inexpensive, with a rack of lamb at 34 dollars, and most apps/salads at 10 or 12.

ediot: i keep interchanging "village green " (ridgewood) with "village gourmet" (rutherford) on egullet, in speech, and in my head.

[Rachel Perlow]

Great comments, Hank. Sounds like a place we should try.

On another note - may I kindly ask that when anyone is starting a thread about a restaurant, it would be appreciated if they did a search for said restaurant first. Instead of starting a new topic this post could have been added to either of the other two threads about Zarole that already exist. This would hopefully consolidate all comments about a restaurant in one place.

[201]

On another note - may I kindly ask that when anyone is starting a thread about a restaurant, it would be appreciated if they did a search for said restaurant first. Instead of starting a new topic this post could have been added to either of the other two threads about Zarole that already exist. This would hopefully consolidate all comments about a restaurant in one place.

I was actually going to pose this question on the Site Tips forum, but isn't there some sort of adminstrative way to combine threads after the fact? I know we duplicate threads a lot (Rebecca's in Edgewater has FOUR... or maybe five!)

Don't get me wrong, I know it's our responsibility to shoot for coherence as users, but is there a management solution to undo some of the clutter that's already lying around?

[Jason Perlow]

On another note - may I kindly ask that when anyone is starting a thread about a restaurant, it would be appreciated if they did a search for said restaurant first. Instead of starting a new topic this post could have been added to either of the other two threads about Zarole that already exist. This would hopefully consolidate all comments about a restaurant in one place.

I was actually going to pose this question on the Site Tips forum, but isn't there some sort of adminstrative way to combine threads after the fact? I know we duplicate threads a lot (Rebecca's in Edgewater has FOUR... or maybe five!)

Don't get me wrong, I know it's our responsibility to shoot for coherence as users, but is there a management solution to undo some of the clutter that's already lying around?

We'll have the technology to do that in Invision Board 1.1 .

[tommy]

I was actually going to pose this question on the Site Tips forum, but isn't there some sort of adminstrative way to combine threads after the fact?  I know we duplicate threads a lot (Rebecca's in Edgewater has FOUR... or maybe five!)

Don't get me wrong, I know it's our responsibility to shoot for coherence as users, but is there a management solution to undo some of the clutter that's already lying around?

i think it's up to the user to search on old threads, assuming that user is savvy enough. additionally, if the user then determines that a new thread should be started, i don't see a problem with it. in this case in particular, the old threads were largely conversational without much or any discussion on the restaurant (save rosie's review).

i'm of the thought that users should use common sense, and everything wil be OK. as with anything.

[Rachel Perlow]

Most things are better with a dash of common sense. However, even if the previous threads are more conversational, they should be combined because when some future reader is interested this restaurant and they do a search, they won't have to click back and forth through three threads to find useful information, they'll just have to page down.

[tommy]

all due respect rachel, this was discussed a while back and if i recall some other coordinators felt the same way i do. once a thread gets too long it becomes, and oftentimes there is a very valid reason for starting a new one. if the first 10 posts are not about the restaurant, one could make an argument that a new one is in order.

[tommy]

i re-visited zarole recently.

i have to say the meal was pretty darned good.

we opted for a tasting menu, which consists of 5 course from the menu (2 app, 2 entree, 1 dessert) for 65 dollars. actually, we added a course which brought the price up to 75 dollars. that's not a cheap date in NJ.

started with tuna tartar in a ponzu viniagrette. the fish was fresh and wonderful. i am a sushi purist, however, and therefore could have done with the viniagrette. however it was very good, nice and acidic, and played well off of the tuna and cucumber slices.

foie gras - served on top of what seemed to be a corn muffin or blueberry muffin. a generous piece of foie gras to say the least. the plate was decorated with aged balsamic and a bit of fruit (apple) puree.

day boat diver scallops, served on mini potato cakes. perfectly seared, if not a little *too* done (but acceptable). a bit of sauteed leek as well.

here's where it gets tricky: we were supposed to receive 2 more course (entree type courses). but a salad came out. what can ya do, we figured we'd eat it and not question, as i didn't want to get into it with the server. however, it because apparent that this course was a misfire and shouldn't have been brought to our table (although it was our server who brought it, so i had to assume she knew what she was doing). now i started feeling like they were getting over, and would only bring out one more entree course. i called the server over and said "the salad, that was a mistake, right?" and she quickly said "don't worry about it, that was extra from the chef, and we'll be out with your remaining courses." well, the next course was obviously already in the can and was...

beef tenderloin atop truffled mashed with a red wine and truffle reduction. quite a heavy dish, and clearly the grand finale. it was very good, with a perfect crust on the meat, done med-rare. we joked that they'd have a hard time coming up with something bigger than this for what was now the 6th course. we were hoping to get another fish course before the steak, or even at this point, but we got...

rack of venison. that were able to present a dish that was even heavier and richer than the steak and potatoes. we were so full, we barely finished it and skipped dessert altogther.

i have to wonder had i not mentioned that the salad was a mistake, if we would have never seen that last course. unfortunately, there's no way of knowing, so i'm hesitant to say that they handled the issue correctly.

the room is pretty damned sharp. i'll give 'em that. and overall, the food was spot on.

160 before tip. yikes.

website

[tommy]

looking at the above post, i see it has been almost 1.5 years since i last ate at Zarole. it's very frightening to realize how quickly time moves on as you get older. but that's not important right now.

had a "really good" meal at Zarole recently.

an amuse was brought out to the table. a spring roll of some sort. another restaurant that understands the fact that presenting an amuse is a good idea. this type of consideration and service sticks in my mind.

crabcake app - mrs. tommy wasn't pleased with it. i thought it was very good. i, however, prefer ingredients in my crabcake. i'm not of the thought that crabcake should be "all crab". if i want all crab, i'll eat a crab. it's as though they're expensive, precious, or hard-to-find. the crabcake was served with, among some other stuff, a lump of guacamole. completely unnecessary to my mind. tasty, but unnecessary.

for entrees, we had a cod dish and a tuna dish.

the cod was cooked perfectly. and it was a generous serving. i don't remember the details.

the tuna was sashimi quality (fat guy loves when i try to pass off that phrase). it must have been 8 ounces or so. served sliced, with a piece of foie gras on top, and in a deep demi glace of some sort. i don't know that i'd be tempted to make something like this, as i don't think the dish works in theory. however, the tuna was great, and i wanted foie gras, so i killed two birds with one stone. ideally, though, i would have had a foie gras app, and then had some sashimi delivered from Kumo down the block.

we shared a dessert sampler, which consisted of a chocolate cake (dry, should have been molten to save the damned thing), an excellent vanilla "shake", and pot de creme (sp?). the latter two were delicious.

there was another app, but i forget what it was.

service was very friendly and eager to please. and she seemed like she was into food, which is nice.

nice bathroom here.

2 apps, 2 entrees, 1 dessert sampler, for about 120 before tip iirc.

Edited March 14, 2004 by tommy (log)

[fatcatbrew]

I went to Zarole in Ridgewood last night and was dissapointed. The menu was exactly the same as it was when I went last fall. All the choices were heavy and autumnal. I thought that their menu changed to reflect the seasons. Anyway, the food was bland and the service was even more bland. I always thought of it as one of the better restaurants in Ridgewood, but not any more. Is it that once a restaurant procures a reputation, the restaurant owners are afraid to change anything and it becomes stagnant......?

[menton1]

Have you considered trying Harvest Bistro in Closter, a promising new beautiful restaurant in Closter that has gotten pretty good reviews in its infancy from the NY Times, and has already been on TV because of its interior design; It seems most of the NJ Eg contingent has turned a disinterested eye toward this budding new place for no apparent reason. But your interest in Zarole indicates to me that you would also be interested in Harvest Bistro.

[Rosie]

Best restaurant in Ridgewood IMHO is Village Green.

[adegiulio]

I'll second that Rosie. I'll be posting tomorrow for a Village Green get together...

[tommy]

I'll second that Rosie. I'll be posting tomorrow for a Village Green get together...

that's good to hear.