where to eat on weekends

[glenn]

I am so tired of the junky places in Jersey City, but I can't tolerate crowds on weekends so Jersey City is where I usually end up.  What are some decent, though not necessarily knock your socks off places, no reservation necessary, at least more than 4 hours in advance and no wait??  I'm not averse to traveling, 40 minutes tops.  Or am I dreaming?

[Rosie]

Glenn--you're dreaming but we all have our fantasies! Can we omit the no reservations part? Also, the won't knock off your socks?  Upscale restaurants are usually quiet and you won't have to wait for a table if you have a reservation. Off hand the ones that come to mind are Bernardsville Inn, Jocelyne's in Maplewood and Rosemary and Sage in Riverdale.

[tommy]

la carbonaia in ho-ho-kus.  a favorite of mine.  italian.  byo.

[thereuare]

The Lighthouse in Fairview :)

Heck, if you give me a call, i might even meet you there (with the finacee in tow).

I also don't know how their location in JC is, but we like Oddfellow's (Hoboken location).  The food is always surprisingly good, but as i've said before, "something" always goes wrong.  However, whatever goes wrong isn't enough to keep us from returning.

Another place i haven't been to in awhile but is good to walk in on a Saturday nite is Michaelina's in Hoboken (5th and Bloomfield), but you'll have to take a cab as i know how much you hate the Hoboken parking situation.

Glen, we're the same way... love good food, but can't stand the crowds!!

[glenn]

Bernardsville?? ho-ho-kus?? You guys are pushing the 40 minute limit rule!  And Rosie, if you and Lowell wanna give me an allowance, I'd love to make the Bernardsville Inn a regular on my list.

The Lighthouse in Fairview :)

thereuare, tell me more about this place please.

I also don't know how their location in JC is, but we like Oddfellow's (Hoboken location).  The food is always surprisingly good, but as i've said before, "something" always goes wrong.  However, whatever goes wrong isn't enough to keep us from returning.

I think it's so ironic that you brought up Oddfellows.  The JC locale is one of those crummy JC restaurants I was referring to   .  But we ended up eating there yet again last night.  [extremely lazy glenn] There's a few good things on the menu, but the specials are usually way overpriced and mediocre.  However, my beef with the JC restaurant is that the service is simply the pits -  much different than the Hoboken joint, though I've only had 1 experience there.  I think we've eaten at the JC place 5 times now -- every single time w/o exaggeration, they've brought out the entrees well before we finished the appetizer.  Last time I told them to take them back.  This time, when I ordered, I forewarned the waitress not to do that.  It happened anyway.  Yeah, I know, it's the runner or busboy that brings the food, but you'd think the staff talks to one another.  Additionally, they forgot to bring the cornbread and I had to ask for the bread basket. And I'm on a pepper crusade these days [ever since tommy chastised me about ground pepper] - not only was there none on the table, the waitress never brought any even though I asked.  I also think they brought the wrong entree for me because my bbq shrimp was not barbecued.  And to add insult to injury, the main reason I go there is that it's always empty and no wait [i can't imagine why].  Same deal last night, but there were no two top tables and they made us wait for one!!  It's just incredible to me how almost every JC restaurant is seemingly owned and staffed by a bunch of amateurs. I tell ya, I always tip a minimum of 15% no matter what the experience is, but last night was one of the few times I felt justified in leaving less since the entire staff seemed to be on drugs or something. Let's get rid of Jersey City.

[tommy]

glenn, la carbonaia in ho-ho-kus is not much more than 1/2 hour from hoboken, so it's probably just a tad more from JC.  so there.  

[TCD]

I can't tolerate crowds on weekends.  What are some decent, though not necessarily knock your socks off places, no reservation necessary, at least more than 4 hours in advance and no wait??  I'm not averse to traveling, 40 minutes tops.  

Moving out of your section of northeast NJ might be helpful; it being one of the most densely packed parts of the state.

[glenn]

glenn, la carbonaia in ho-ho-kus is not much more than 1/2 hour from hoboken, so it's probably just a tad more from JC.  so there.  

According to my abacus, it's 23.99 miles with lots of crummy NJ roads. I dunno about you, but I don't have my own private helicopter :wow:

Moving out of your section of northeast NJ might be helpful; it being one of the most densely packed parts of the state.

Ya know, considering my antisocial tendencies, not to mention I have a hard time admitting I live in NJ [i usuall mutter I'm from the NY area ], that definitely sounds like a viable alternative - not to mention I wouldn't have to agonize about my taxes going into some crook's pocket - though I'm not so sure it'll help my restaurant quandary.  But I digress as usual.

[Rosie]

Glenn--I think the problem is that you want to be able to walk into a restaurant on a Sat. night without a reservation. Even restaurants that serve "allright food" are hard to get into on weekends and are crowded and noisy. I would be suspicious of a restaurant that was empty on a Sat. evening.

[tommy]

According to my abacus, it's 23.99 miles with lots of crummy NJ roads. I dunno about you, but I don't have my own private helicopter :wow:

oh my god you're such a complainer!  jeesh.  screw you.  sit in the culinary hell-hole that is JC for the rest of your life for all i care.  oh, and, you can always go to little saigon in nutley.  reseverations a must on the weekend, but you can usually call in the afternoon to secure them.

and if you're really nice, i'll let you borrow my private helicopter some time.

[Rachel Perlow]

We went to America in Tenafly on Friday night (see the what you ate this weekend thread). Although we had reservations, I don't think they were necessary considering the place was only half full the entire time we were there (7:30 reservations). I'd assume Saturday would be a little busier, but just calling ahead might be enough notice.

[glenn]

Re America:  i've been wanting to check them out.  Rachel, your review has me sold... I wonder if it was just a fluke that the place was only half full [pessimist glenn].  [[and congrats on the article!]]

So, thus far my choices are Little Saigon, taking Tommy's helicopter to la carbonaia (how do you pronounce that??), moving to a remote island and eating the fish, getting a gift certificate from Rosie for the Bernards Inn (or is it Bernardsvile Inn??), Jocelyne's -- I've always wanted to check them out or Rosemary and Sage (hate the name though), taking a chance on thereuare's questionable taste (he likes Oddfellows!) and checking out Lighthouse... though in all likelihood I'll end up at the Liberty Grille in Newport next Saturday and bitching about the ground pepper.

[tommy]

though in all likelihood I'll end up at the Liberty Grille in Newport next Saturday and bitching about the ground pepper.

where is the liberty grill again?  my friend tells me of this pretty cool bar, that is on a boat, near or in liberty state park.  apparently, they even have a (relatively) decent selection of wines by the glass (read:  more than merlot and cab).

[glenn]

where is the liberty grill again?  my friend tells me of this pretty cool bar, that is on a boat, near or in liberty state park.  apparently, they even have a (relatively) decent selection of wines by the glass (read:  more than merlot and cab).

I forget the name of the place you're thinking about, but it's not the Liberty Grille [it's on washington st. just north of the newport path stop] - fairly big bar scene there too. Yes, it's on a boat... we went there about 4 years ago, one of the first places we ate out at in JC.  I should've moved out of JC right then and there.  I don't recall the bar scene at all, but the food and service were really really awful.  I've seen other posts about this place [chowhound??, or can i say that word?] saying more or less the same.  However, the view of nyc is, or at least was, gorgeous.

[on another note, we have tiks yet again to a show and we're gonna take a helicopter over to your recommendation Cascina, though I'm armed with backups should they be closed yet again.  in this day and age, how could a restaurant not have an answering machine with a recording of their hours!]

[glenn]

where is the liberty grill again?  my friend tells me of this pretty cool bar, that is on a boat, near or in liberty state park.  apparently, they even have a (relatively) decent selection of wines by the glass (read:  more than merlot and cab).

The other brain cell kicked in... it's called Cafe Newport and I believe it's at the end of washington.

[tommy]

that's not on a boat, is it?  the place i'm thinking of is new.  cafe newport has been there for a long time.  this place, apparently, is on the same side (south side) of that "canal" as the liberty science center.  ringing any more bells?

[glenn]

Hmmm... not sure what you're referring to, except possibly the new place that was supposed to open in or right around liberty state park but got delayed because of 9/11, or so the rumor has it.

And your place Cascina was closed today.  Why not, it's only the busiest day of the year!  So we were able to get the last reservation at hell's Kitchen... not to go into detail, but I can't believe we waited 2 years to go back there.  That place is so original - the spices and dishes quite imaginative.  And dang, did it feel good to eat in a real restaurant for a change.

[Rosie]

Tommy and Glenn--Check out Openings and Closing on Table Hopping With Rosie   CLICK HERE

You must be talking about Port or Point Liberte. In any case, Glenn it's BernardsVILLE not BernardsVILE LOL!!!  There are many good restaurants in the Montclair area but not for Sat. night. There are many restaurants that you can walk into on a weekday night that are very good. Have you been to Amanda's in Hoboken?  They have an agreement with a parking lot. Actually, we have been  dining out more during the week locally and I have been cooking on Sunday. Well, except for today because it was MOTHER'S DAY  !!  And not next week because we have tickets to a show.   BTW--instead of Lighthouse go to Casa Vasca in Newark.

[glenn]

Tommy and Glenn--Check out Openings and Closing on Table Hopping With Rosie   CLICK HERE

Rosie, inquiring minds want to know, what's the skinny on this place?  It's your job to find out these things!  

And I had to check, but it is BERNARD'S INN, unless they spelled [spelt??] their name wrong on their website..  http://www.bernardsinn.com/ .  [and bernardsvile wasn't a typo!]

[tommy]

And I had to check, but it is BERNARD'S INN, unless they spelled [spelt??] their name wrong on their website..  http://www.bernardsinn.com/ .  [and bernardsvile wasn't a typo!]

i think rosie was referring the town and not the restaurant.  the owners really couldn't have made it any more confusing by naming the restaurant after half of the town.

[Rachel Perlow]

Rosie, I think when thereuare mentioned Lighthouse, he was talking about the Korean place in Fairview, not the Dominican place that is now called Casa del Faro in West New York.

Here are links about each:

Casa del Faro, West New York/NJ Forum

Lighthouse (aka Myung Ga) in Fairview/NJ Forum

However, I concur with her recommendation of Casa Vasca in Newark, except that it is very crowded on Saturday nights and Glenn would have to wait a long time. Better locations for a Saturday night would be Spanish Sangria or Seabra's at Meditteranean Manor.

[thereuare]

Glenn,

Sorry it took me so long to reply but i was busy yesterday with the whole mother's day thing (now that i'm getting married, gotta do it twice!)

I see somebody gave you a thread up above for the Lighthouse, and that is the place i was refering to.  Stick with the (limited) items on the plastic menu that permanantly sits on the table, which looks like it should have drinks on it rather than entrees.  I've had both the #10 and #11 (or it may be #9 and #10) which are the Boolgogi and BBQ Ribs... both are EXCELLENT.  The tofu soups on that menu are also very good, and if you like Tofu, they are a MUST.

Regarding Oddfellows, if you re-read my post, we are actually in agreement on this place.  I said the food is good, but SOMETHING always goes wrong (and this SOMETHING is usally related to service).  They often run out of cornbread, food not cooked as specified, i've had bits of debris in my water, not receiving ketchup/mustard after asking for it and then not seeing the waiter/waitress for some time, etc, etc, etc.  But, even with all of the above "problems", we still end up going back because it's convenient and when the food is finally prepared/served correctly, it IS quite good.  

I was disappointed when you comented on the poor service at the JC location, because that is the one thing they definately needed to improve upon when expanding their Hoboken location.  I also recalled after my first post that we DON"T go here on Fri or Sat nites, as they don't have a non-smoking section, and the place is likely busy enough on those nites that we wouldn't be able to shelter ourselves (i support anyone's right to smoke, i just don't like smelling it while i eat).

There is also China 46 which everyone on this board seems to love, BUT you might want to first read the post i'm about to create after this message.

[tommy]

i hear they have great chicken fingers at oddfellows.  which night is "dart night"?  and are they still doing "recession tuesdays", all you can drink (bud or bud light draft) for 4 dollars?  it's really quite a place.   hehe

[glenn]

i hear they have great chicken fingers at oddfellows.  which night is "dart night"?  and are they still doing "recession tuesdays", all you can drink (bud or bud light draft) for 4 dollars?  it's really quite a place.   hehe

haha... they initiated recession tuesday, wednesday and thursdays because you're completely broke after eating there on the weekend.  I can't believe I paid $75 for two (including a 7.5% tip) with no drinks.  Jeez, hell's Kitchen cost less and I had 2 margaritas.  They'll be out of biz before the year is up, so sez Carnac.

[glenn]

thereuare, as long as you clarified your view of Oddfellows, I'll take you off my probation list of PPUR [persons providing unreliable referrals].  I'm a little confused though, why do you have to get married twice?

Seriously, thanks for the info on Lighthouse, congrats on the upcoming nuptials and awfully sorry to hear about your China 46 experience.