Bergen Record Restaurant Reviews

[dodge621]

Anyone see their dining review today. First, last week they fail to write a review for fine dining. Now, this week they review a restaurant in Garrison, NY. Luckily we have this forum because the Bergen Record is not worth the read.

[Rachel Perlow]

Do you have a link? What restaurant did they review in Garrison?

[dodge621]

They reviewed Xavier's

go into bergenrecord.com

then entertainment, then Dining

I realize Xavier's may be a great place, but I am sure many readers would prefer a more local place.

[Rail Paul]

Bergen Record seems to being having focus vs reach issues. They've reviewed places in Morristown (at the outer limits of their region) and Garrison NY (beyond?). A Bergen restaurant shows up only occasionally these days.

They may coming to the point the Times reached a few years ago, needing a few competent regional reviewers plus a core area (Bergen/Passaic) reviewer.

Which raises a question. Are the reviewers for the BR specifically restaurant reviewers, or are they freelancers (like the Ledger's reviewers) or employees who have other positions with the paper, but demonstrate competence (such as Mr Corcoran in the Jersey section of the Times)?

[tommy]

Bergen Record seems to being having focus vs reach issues. They've reviewed places in Morristown (at the outer limits of their region) and Garrison NY (beyond?). A Bergen restaurant shows up only occasionally these days.

it seems to me that you run out of restaurants to review at some point.

[dodge621]

my opinion is they are trying to extend their reach.  being that they only review 1 fine dining restaurant a week, I do not think they have run out of places to review.

[tommy]

the NYT's NJ section today contained a review of a restaurant in Nyack.  it seems to be a wider conspiracy than first thought.

Nyack, I'm sure, is much closer to a lot of NJ residents than is say Cape May.

[Rosie]

I never could understand why a NEW JERSEY section of a newspaper would have a review for a NY restaurant. And I don't buy the explanation that it is close to NJ! William Grimes doesn't review NJ restaurants!

[tommy]

I never could understand why a NEW JERSEY section of a newspaper would have a review for a NY restaurant. And I don't buy the explanation that it is close to NJ! William Grimes doesn't review NJ restaurants!

then what's your explanation?  (grimes not covering NJ restaurants is hardly a good analogy)

don't you think that the readership is served by the occasional review of xavier's or something in nyack?  have you been to xavier's?  i bet you have.  is xavier's only 20 minutes from where lots of people in bergen county live?  it sure is.  is nyack closer to everyone in bergen, hudson, and passaic counties than red bank?  yup.  is the readership served?  yes.  will the NYT receive hundreds of letters in protest?  probably not.  and if they do, they will be from a handful of crackpots who have nothing better to do.

i, for one, appreciated the reviews of the restaurant in nyack and also xavier's.  i'm guessing i'm not alone.

[dodge621]

Xavier's they are reviewed is in Garrison, NY.  I measured it on yahoo from both Ridgewood and Hackensack and both show it is atleast 39 miles.  Way too far for a NJ review.

[tommy]

related to xavier's in piermont, which admittedly is the one i thought they reviewed?

my friends in norwood don't think garrison is too far to drive for fine dining.

my friends all over bergen county don't think nyack is too far.  

the readership is served.

[Rail Paul]

Does NYT have a Rockland county edition in the Sunday paper? or do the readers there get the NJ edition, or the Westchester edition?

A review of a Westchester / Putnam county restaurant is useless to me, although perhaps not for people living in upscale  Bergen county.

[dodge621]

{have you been to xavier's?  i bet you have.  is xavier's only 20 minutes from where lots of people in bergen county live?  it sure is.  is nyack closer to everyone in bergen, hudson, and passaic counties than red bank?  yup.  is the readership served?  yes

This was said above by a poster.

[tommy]

after hearing all of these well-thought-out arguments, i concede that i'm obviously wrong, and those reviews were useless to me and everyone else in the state.  but i'll make sure i try both of these places.

although i'm not sure that bergen county can be categorized as "upscale", i'm not sure what that has to do with this discussion.  even a 1990 piece of shit toyota with 120k on it will get you to nyack from mahwah in 20.

dodge621, you are more clever than i am, as you continue to prove.  thank you for quoting me and referencing my quote with half a thought.  that, i suppose was "a lot to do [sic] about nothing," again.

[Helena Robinson]

Gee, can't wait to see what happens when the Record reviews a Shore restaurant.  They've been known to review one or two during the summertime - after all, ever think that some folks who live in Bergen MIGHT want to travel down that way?

Conversely, we sometimes have a reason to visit Bergen; even though it's an hour's drive (or more) for us.  It's one of the reasons I check the site on Fridays.  By the same token, I can't begrudge the NY Times for the occasional NY - or even PA - review.  Some of us live close enough that it might be worthwhile o...nce in awhile

[tommy]

helena, clearly you are wrong.

[dodge621]

[Rail Paul]

re-reading my comments on "upscale bergen county" I need to clarify.

That was part of a larger thought which didn't edit as well as I hoped. My original post focused on my guess that the Record and NYT may be focusing on higher end restaurants as a way to attract and retain higher income readers. Whether they're in the county, or nearby, if they're reasonably convenient to Bergen county, they're fair game.

As I distilled my post, that comment was reshaped by a context which conveyed a unfortunate meaning that all of Bergen county was upscale, which isn't true. There are many communities reflecting the full strata of America and our hope to build strong families and shared values. The many community organizations (volunteer fire departments, first aid squads, interfaith groups, etc) are clear testimony to that!

[tommy]

thanks for that clarification paul.  i do see your point now, and i was *thought* that came out wrong.

but that's what advertising is all about.  this shouldn't be surprising to anyone.

[jtphjl]

Great topic! May I add one more point - I've been to Xavier's, it's not that far from Bergen, and the food along with service is fine, but damn, with all the restaurants we have in Bergen (and Passaic, Essex, Hudson etc...) how many times do we have to read a review of the same place! The Record has already been here, done this...next!

[rozrapp]

Posted by Rosie: May 25 2002,11:40    

"I never could understand why a NEW JERSEY section of a newspaper would have a review for a NY restaurant. And I don't buy the explanation that it is close to NJ! William Grimes doesn't review NJ restaurants."

Amen, Rosie!!  It bugs me no end when the Times' Sunday NJ section reviews a NY restaurant.  I wonder if that happens with any of the other state-related Sunday sections.  The only other special Sunday section I am familiar with is the "City" section, and it sticks strictly to NYC restaurants, though it isn't a fresh review, of course, since Grimes does that on Wednesdays.  Rather, there are synopses of past reviews for several restaurants of the same type.  Does the LI section include occasional reviews of Queens restaurants?   Queens is just across the border.  Are nearby Massachussetts restaurants reviewed in the Connecticut section?  Mass. borders CT just as NY State borders NJ.  

Posted by jtphjl on May 26 2002, 19:14

"...with all the restaurants we have in Bergen (and Passaic, Essex, Hudson etc...) how many times do we have to read a review of the same place!"

And what about Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Hunterdon, etc., etc., etc.?  There are so many restaurants in every county; therefore, NJ papers really have no excuse for reviewing out-of-state restaurants.

[ngatti]

I never could understand why a NEW JERSEY section of a newspaper would have a review for a NY restaurant. And I don't buy the explanation that it is close to NJ! William Grimes doesn't review NJ restaurants!

Aw c'mon guys.  I live 15 minutes from the New York line and work maybe 7 minutes from it.  The (Bergen) Record is based in Hackensack and is for me and many others, a regional newspaper.  hell, the Citrus Grill is in Airmont, maybe 200 yards from the border of Upper Saddle River.  The people who live in Tappan, Sparkill, Piermont, Orangeburg etc. also read The Record as well as those who live in Rockleigh, Alpine, and Northvale. Those people who own Restaurants in these areas (yes even the New York owners!) advertise in it's pages.  Y'all may not like it but The Record does provide a service for others and myself who live near these places.  The Record of Hackensack provides extensive coverage of the Northern and Pascack Valleys and those of us who live there also eat in Rockland County.  Jeez, I'm good for lunch at Freelance at least once a month!

That said, I'll concede that Garrisons a pretty long putt.  But then again the  Ed. staff at The Record has never been shy about cosyin' up to the Kelly boys  

YMMV

Nick

 

[tommy]

does anyone read previous posts before posting?  i gotta wonder.

[stefanyb]

don't you think that the readership is served by the occasional review of xavier's or something in nyack?  have you been to xavier's?  i bet you have.  is xavier's only 20 minutes from where lots of people in bergen county live?  it sure is.  is nyack closer to everyone in bergen, hudson, and passaic counties than red bank?  yup.  is the readership served?  yes.  will the NYT receive hundreds of letters in protest?  probably not.  and if they do, they will be from a handful of crackpots who have nothing better to do.

Do you like asking yourself questions and then answering yourself?  I guess you do.

[ngatti]

Amen, Rosie!!  It bugs me no end when the Times' Sunday NJ section reviews a NY restaurant.  

I suppose I'd be annoyed if the Times concentrated on reviewing Restaurants in the NJ/Philly area.

I've always thought that the Times gives short shrift to Northeast New Jersey (Ridgewood excepted).  So when they review anything within a thirty minute drive of here whether in NY or NJ, I'm thrilled.  

For a while there it seemed that everyplace they reviewed was in the Princeton or Redbank areas.  I guess that's where the new and exciting restaurants are.  

Now I don't want to start another flamewar dammit.  But unless a compelling reason can be found (Tom Keller, Alain Ducasse etc type of dining experience AND on someone elses nickel ), I ain't driving.  Much easier to cross the bridge into NYC.

YMMV

Nick