Friday April 11?

[Rosie]

Going out this weekend? Where? Be sure to give us a report.

[glenn]

We went to [..] on Friday night, Jersey City's latest addition to the downtown restaurant mess. We asked the waiter what he recommended. He said he hadn't the slightest clue because he never tasted anything other than the freedom fries. And then the service went downhill. As you might suspect, the food was as bad as the service. Next time I'll get the canned diet coke instead of the fountain, which was all syrupy, and have the mushroom pizza instead of pepperoni.

[Rosie]

Where are you going tonight?

[tommy]

does yesterday count? how about wednesday?

went to Scuttlebutt's in Nutley. i saw that they had oysters on the menu. i asked the waitress what kind of oysters they had. she looked at me like a deer in headlights, and kinda giggled and said "uuu, oysters?" i asked if she could possibly go to the kitchen to find out from someone. the answer was blue point.

interesting food at this place. smoky old pub cum fine cuisine outpost. the grouper was perfectly cooked, and served over a ratatouille type thing. bit of fresh tarragon were throughout the butter-based sauce. the sauce, although clearly made from better, wasn't overpowering. a very good dish for 20 bucks.

the hanger steak was cooked to order, med-rare. served with flavorless mashed, whose texture sucked as well. tasted like they were made the day before, and not even given an extra dose of butter and cream when reheating. the blue cheese-carmelized onion sauce was more appropriate than i had feared. not overpowering at all, and provided an unexpected and delicious foil to the already rich meat. the blue cheese flavor popped right out of the sauce.

entrees come with "soup or salad." lentil that night i think. good soup, and the whole thing is in keeping with the diner theme they have going on there.

the wine list is dismal. there was a huge zin offered at, um, oh hell, i don't remember how much. i'm guessing 20's. at 15.5% alcohol, perhaps it should have been on the port list.

service is always nice, although they are certainly "diner waitresses."

the place is smoky, and people smoke at the tables. everyone around us was ordering wings and burgers and pitchers of beer and watching whatever boring game was on the 4 or so TVs that are all around the dining room. it's quite an interesting place.

last night was a quick stop at kinchley's in ramsey. just fantastic thin crust pizza.

[glenn]

Where are you going tonight?

Too far in advance to decide. Hopefully far away from JC.

We went to Anthony David's (David Anthony's?) -- ok, the Dining Room - last weekend -- it's becoming a habit. I was disappointed their spring menu wasn't ready, but everything was great as usual.

[Rachel Perlow]

I was disappointed their spring menu wasn't ready, but everything was great as usual.

Well come on, it snowed this week. How can they be inspired to start the spring menu with a couple of inches of white stuff outside?

[Poots]

Last night the 'rents asked that i meet them for dinner at Charlie Browns in Millburn(no yelling at me). Anyway, the wait was too long so i convinced them to try out Martini's around the corner. My parents do not like change. I constantly argue with them to try something other than their normal dishes to no avail(chix francaise, bland pasta, etc.). Martini's is located on a cross street off of Millburn ave(not sure of the name, same street that CBs is on). Lots of glass in the front to peer in at the bar area as well as the dining area. The namesake's menu is 2 pages long and runs you 8 bucks for a large variety of martinis. I had an Espresso martini to end the meal, but it was heavy on the sugar and light on the booze

Started with an app of BBQ'd duck spring roll, and the rents shared a chopped salad. They must really like the numbers 8 and 9, b/c those #s appeared many times with the afore-mentioned apps both being 8 or 9(not sure which). The kalamata olives in the rents salad were very good(only thing i tried) and they seemed to enjoy the salad(this i could tell by my father using the unpalatable foccacia to mop up the plate). My app came with 2 small crispy spring rolls on top of 'japanese' coleslaw and some kind of sauce scattered here and there on the plate(think it was chili oil, but it had little to no heat). Was straightforward, and a little disappointing, tasting like something i can get for $3 down at the all night chinese take out place, but edible. Well they pulled me down with them, and all 3 of us had the Sirloin Burger. Mine medium-rare and theirs medium. a decent burger, but i think i would have like just a regular mixed meat burger better(more fat) . Fries were good, so that's a plus. Would like to try some of the other things on the menu, but the drawing point really is the bar. Happy hour, wealthy divorcees, young professionals, and the like crowd the over-priced bar. Last time i was there a 40-something mother of 2 was trying to take home my late 20s buddy. Interesting crowd, and a little high-falutin compared to over in my neck of the woods.

[Rail Paul]

Last night the 'rents asked that i meet them for dinner at Charlie Browns in Millburn(no yelling at me).  Anyway, the wait was too long so i convinced them to try out Martini's around the corner.  ..................

Happy hour, wealthy divorcees, young professionals, and the like crowd the over-priced bar.  Last time i was there a 40-something mother of 2 was trying to take home my late 20s buddy.  Interesting crowd, and a little high-falutin compared to over in my neck of the woods.

Martini's used to be Cafe Main, I believe.

It's been a while since anybody discussed the food at Martini's, but their bar trade is substantial, as you noted. For a few dollars more, per head, Lilac (around the corner) is a better bet for food

[glenn]

Well come on, it snowed this week. How can they be inspired to start the spring menu with a couple of inches of white stuff outside?

Look who's calling the kettle black! Wasn't it you last week who was looking to bbq in the snow? :))

[whoever can guess the origin of the kettle black saying gets a free dinner at the beet]

[Rosie]

Meaning Someone who criticises another but who is just as much at fault themselves. Origin From Cervantes' Don Quixote.

I would prefer dinner at a NJ restaurant!

[Rachel Perlow]

Well come on, it snowed this week. How can they be inspired to start the spring menu with a couple of inches of white stuff outside?

Look who's calling the kettle black! Wasn't it you last week who was looking to bbq in the snow? :))

Duh, that's what I was riffing off of.

Edited April 11, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[glenn]

Meaning  Someone who criticises another but who is just as much at fault themselves.    Origin    From Cervantes' Don Quixote.

I would prefer dinner at a NJ restaurant!

Oooh, what a scholarly bunch we have. In lieu of the beet, I can offer a handful of JC's finest.

Duh, that's what I was riffing off of.

Well then, duh to me. But like, spring menus should begin on April 1st, glenn susser rule #46.

[Rosie]

So does that mean I don't get dinner?

[Rail Paul]

So does that mean I don't get dinner?

Only in NJ...

[NJ2FLA]

Went to Brookside Thai with my brother last night. (On Broad Street in Bloomfield - there is a topic on this somewhere).

We had vegetarian Spring Rolls, Beef Satay for appetizers.

He had some sort of Chicken Panang which was spicy! I had the ever trusty Chicken Pad Thai.

To drink I had coconut juice which was served in an actual coconut which was way cool. They removed the hard outside and carved down the meat along the sides and top and bottom. Very interesting.

My brother ordered an order of Chicken Pad Thai to go and the total check was $25.00 for the both of us. The food was excellent as always.

This is a family run place and I always enjoy talking to the owners - very friendly.