One night in Jersey

[Liza]

Actually, D. and I will have one night in New Jersey this Saturday and are considering NOT cooking for ourselves. We'll be in Bergen County with a car. Where would you send us?

[tommy]

northern or southern bergen?  it's quite big, even by car.

[Liza]

Tenafly, my ancestral home, and current home to the Perlows.

[tommy]

well bloody hell just go to china 46, silly!

[Rosie]

Other options--America in Tenafly--upscale hip restaurant.

Wild Ginger in Englewood--expensive but those who have been say it's worth it.

Remember NJ has alot of BYO's so ask when you make a reservation.

[tommy]

ridgewood isn't far and has many restaurants including:

latour - rosie thinks it's great, i thought it was pretty good (BYO)

28 oak - rosie thinks it's great, i think it's pretty good. (BYO)

zarole - rosie thought it was not even ok, i think it's pretty good but pricey (BYO)

additionally,

little saigon in nutley for better vietnamese than you'll find in NYC. (BYO)

rebecca's in edgewater which rosie loves and i thought was pretty good.  it's generally accepted as outstanding (BYO)

[Liza]

Where do you stand on Baumgarts? (I know, I know...wherever's available)

I've never had a bad dish there, and find the ingredients really fresh. It's our standard fallback place and have never been disappointed. And I LOVE that so many places are BYOB, which for us is bottle of wine AND beer.

[tommy]

i don't think i've ever heard of it.  where it be?

[Rosie]

Tommy--Is there anything that we agree on?

Baumgarts is in Englewood. Chinese.

[Liza]

Palisade Avenue in Englewood, across from It's Greek to Me. Chinese food, yes, but great ice cream desserts - even the famed Dusty Road.

[thereuare]

Baumgart's now has a second location (right in your backyard, Tommy):

158 Franklin Avenue

Ridgewood, NJ  07450

201-612-5688

I'm not a big fan of the place, used to be much better... i feel they built a good reputation and raised the prices, only to see the quality decline (how often does THIS happen)?

The following my discredit my above comment (as well as all future comments), but they DO have a good chicken salad sandwich.  I know, i know, it's a chinese restaurant, but the chicken salad sandwich IS good!

To answer the original post, i would recommend Cafe Matisse in Rutherford.  Expensive, but one of the best NJ meals i've had.

Another nice meal (steak) can be had at any of the River Palm locations, but the ones in Edgewater and Mahwah are best.

[tommy]

cafe matisse, nice job thereuare.  i would recommend it as well (BYO).

i would stay away from the Palms for two reasons:

1)  personally, i think they suck.  overpriced.  amatuerish service.

2) more importantly, they are not a uniquely Jersey experience.  i think liza lives in/spends time in NYC, and could probably get better any time.  

[Rachel Perlow]

Well you guys covered everything! Only thing I could add is that we've been tempted to go to Baumgarts many times but never did. We'd look at the menu outside, it sounds like Gourmet Americanified Chinese and head across the street to Bennies.

I will note here our favorite Chinese take out place in Tenafly is called Tea Garden. The owner & chef used to work at Baumgarts, they serve very fresh and simple chinese food and have the same type of homemade ice cream as Baumgarts.

[jhlurie]

I dunno.  The one benefit of China 46 is that if you mention tommy and/or Jason, you'll get treated pretty darn well.  

Ditto for Bennies in Englewood, at least for mentioning Jason.

Most of the others (especially Rebecca's) I'm sure you could name-drop Rosie pretty effectively!

Not that we encourage that type of thing...  

[Liza]

What about Park and Orchard in Rutherford? (I think)

[Rosie]

If you enjoy dining in an airplane hanger or high school cafeteria Park and Orchid is fine. They do have an award winning wine list. If you drink enough you can overlook the surroundings and noise. To be fair, some people love this place.

[Rail Paul]

P&O is a good choice if there's a vegetarian in your dining party. We go there twice a year (my mother in law loves it), and we've never had a bad meal. Never had a spectacular, this is wonderful, this is exciting, wow, wow meal there, either.

It's nowhere near as cutting edge as it seemed 10 years ago, though. Or, maybe it's exactly as it was 10 years ago, and I've changed.

[Jason Perlow]

Liza: BENNIES!

Ya wanna go with us?

[tommy]

P&O is a good choice if there's a vegetarian in your dining party. We go there twice a year (my mother in law loves it), and we've never had a bad meal. Never had a spectacular, this is wonderful, this is exciting, wow, wow meal there, either.

It's nowhere near as cutting edge as it seemed 10 years ago, though. Or, maybe it's exactly as it was 10 years ago, and I've changed.

i was there once.  it sucked.  to be fair, i was not into wine as much back then, but i get the impression that CA well well represented.  

well, well, well represented.

[tommy]

Baumgart's now has a second location (right in your backyard, Tommy):

158 Franklin Avenue

Ridgewood, NJ  07450

201-612-5688

is this a standard chinese place?  i drove past and it's in a huge old house.  doesn't look chinese at all.  what's the story with the menu?  how long has it been in ridgehood?

[thereuare]

I'd guess that they've been in Ridgewood about 1 year (+/- 3 months), although i've never been to that location.

It is "standard" chinese, but with an eclectic touch (or "neveau chinese" perhaps).  For example, the Englewood location took the place of a former ice cream parlour, and they kept much of the interior the same... when was the last time you've seen a chinese restaurant with homemade ice cream, including counter service and stools? (then again, when was the last time you were INSIDE a chinese restaurant besides Marco Polo and China 46).

This is how they describe themselves: "Baumgart's Cafe features a fine selection of Asian and American food for lunch and dinner. We specialize in infused food with Asian, Spanish, and Italian combinations."

Their website: Baumgart's Website

[tommy]

(then again, when was the last time you were INSIDE a chinese restaurant besides Marco Polo and China 46).

hehe.

thanks for the info.  i'm very intrigued.  i can't believe i've never heard of it.  i'll probably mention it to mrs. tommy and she'll say something like "oh yeah, i've been there a bunch of times.  it's very good."