Friday 7/5. Where are you going this weekend?

[Rosie]

We are going to Cafe Matisse tomorrow night. Don't know where we will end up on Sunday. Yesterday we feasted at Ocean King in Livingston. And you?????

[Rail Paul]

We have tickets for metamorpheses tomorrow evening, and reservations at Triomphe. Looking forward to both.

Had take out tonight from Desert Moon in West Caldwell. A mexican pizza (tortilla slathered with refried bean paste, roast peppers, small amount of chicken, fresco) and a Baja burrito (chopped chicken, mushrooms, and peppers). Very fresh, and a welcome change from pizza.

I wouldn't define it as wonderful, but ti was OK, Fresh Mexican food.

[glenn]

Can I cheat and talk about 7/4? We set out to go to Indigo Blue for lunch but they were closed. So we ended up next door at Deja Vu, our first time. I was happy to find another byo so we didn't waste $3 on the 2 bottles of Pete's Wicked we picked up. [little things make me happy] There was one other table, and soon, we had the whole place to ourselves. Hence, there was no issue with the service, which I heard generally sucks. I must say I'm not a big thai fan, but this could be the best curry I ever had. I was tempted to order something from the abbreviated French section of the menu, but nothing caught my eye. It seemed a bit strange that the menu would have such a separate section, no? How are the "french" dishes?

[tommy]

I must say I'm not a big thai fan,

you just dropped down a few pegs in my book.

the french stuff was good as well, when i was there 3 yrs ago or so. however, i didn't return after 2 times as it was always too hectic with spotty service. the same with thai chef. what a shame. the kitchens do such a great job at both of these places, but the front house ruins the whole experience.

[TCD]

We have tickets for metamorpheses tomorrow evening, and reservations at Triomphe. Looking forward to both.

One lunch and many positive reports from others had already put this restaurant on my "safe bet" or "go to" list. Returned about two weeks ago for another lunch and things have only gotten better -- flavors are sharper and service more polished. Seating is a little tight, but room is comfortable. Enjoy.

[Rail Paul]

TCD - thank you very much. I'll post my thoughts on the NY board.

Tommy and Glenn - Deja Vu is open relatively long hours (lunch goes to about 3 pm and dinner begins at 5). Getting there after 130 almost guarantees a negotiated (some of this, some of that) lunch, cooked to order. Lunch has been delivered by the chef more than once.

On food consistency, I'd rate TC and DV even and both very good. With 4-5 meals at TC, I'd give it an edge on service. There's a caveat in that we rarely dine at peak times anywhere, preferring an earlier or later shoulder.

[=Mark]

Am going to a ChileHead Hotluck this afternoon in Warren Township. This is the venue that was filmed for the TV Food Network special Eat the Heat a couple years ago. Am doing a Thai Beef Satay with chipotle spiked peanut dipping sauce.

[kenrbnsn]

Am going to a ChileHead Hotluck this afternoon in Warren Township.

Helena and I are also going ... I am bringing Sesame Noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce. The original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper. I decided to spice it up with about 1.5 teaspoons of crushed Tien Tsin China Chili Peppers (60,000 heat units per pepper) which I bought at Penzeys Spices in St. Paul, MN while on vacation.

This will be our first time at this event. We will see if we're completely burned out by the end of the day!

[Rail Paul]

Mark and Ken -

could you elaborate a little on the format? It sounds like everybody brings something, but do you cook / warm it there? Is there a formal judging, or a round robin tasting?

sounds like a lot of fun!

Paul

[=Mark]

It's totally casual, no judging. It's also not a Macho pissing contest to see who can "Take the most heat." It's more a reflection of how creative one can get with the spicy stuff. One of the past hits were Doug's "Evil Chocolate Chip Cookies," tasted quite normal and very good until 10 or 15 seconds later when the powdered habs kicked in. To his credit on the TV Food network special they did get a shot of Doug chomping down whole habs..

There are hotplates and a grill for cooking

[dodge621]

[Yesterday we feasted at Ocean King in Livingston. ]

How was Ocean King. Good fish selection?

[Rosie]

Had salt and pepper soft shell crabs which were excellent and lobster in a ginger/scallion sauce. The lobster was very good but I would have preferred a black bean sauce.

[=Mark]

Had a great time at the ChileHead "Hotluck." There was the spicy sesame noodles, Risa's kickbutt Hummous, Nancee's Vietnamese springrolls, Chip Welch's spicy Texas Brisket and Dougs mistakenly mild sausage. Interestingly there were 4 eGullet members attending. Nancee attended last weeks eGullet NJ Thai dinner (eGullet), attended today's Hotluck (ChileHeads) and may attend a BBQ Cookoff in WildWood next weekend (BBQ List). It's possible I may see her 3 weekends running as a result of 3 separate online forums we share!

Small world!

[=Mark]

Recipe for the dish I served at the Hotluck:

Thai Beef Satay

1 Lb. Beef sirloin, cut into 1/2 by 2 inch strips

Marinade:

1/2 cup good soy sauce

1 oz. rice wine vinegar

few drops of toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chile powder (Cayenne, red pepper flakes, etc. this version I used chipotle AND Jims Hab powder) or to taste

1 inch nub of ginger, peeled and finely minced

3 or 4 cloves of garlic minced

a bunch of green onions chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Mix it up!

Dipping sauce:

3/4 cup creamy all natural peanut butter

1/2 to 1 oz soy sauce to desired consistency

a splash of rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

splash of sesame oil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp chipotle powder (or to taste)

Store this at room temperature or it will solidify like paste. The peanut oil will tend to separate, but it's no big deal, just mix it up before serving (The chile powders will actually add an enticing reddish tinge to the oil, when swirled around!).

The meat, marinade and dipping sauce can be prepared ahead of time.

In a non reactive container (Ziplock bags are great for this) add the marinade to the beef, Refrigerate for one hour.

If using wooden skewers, soak them for a couple hours, and use 2 skewers for each kebab to avoid the "Spinning Food" syndrome. I got me a set of great steel double skewers for this. Make sure the bits of chopped veggie in the marinade are incorporated into the skewered beef.

Grill, turning every couple minutes while drizzling with reserved marinade (Don't forget those chopped veggie bits!)

Remove when done (You know when!), remove from skewers and serve with the dipping sauce

Best when served paired with a good chilled Pilsner Urquell.

[fitz]

Hey guys,

It's fitz here, from the old njo/foodbytes forums....

I moved to Austin, TX at the beginning of the year and have recently begun experimenting a bit more with the local cuisine. Way different from NJ, that's for sure!!

Rosie, what's this Ocean King you mention? My folks are living in Rockaway these days, and this seems to be a place they'd be interested in. They rarely go anywhere without recommendations, so I'm curious.

Well, hope everyone in NJ is doing well (and eating well); it's time to get some sleep out here...

[tommy]

welcome back, fitz!

[Rail Paul]

fitz - good to hear from you!

Lots of good comments on the Texas food scene over in the Southwest board, hope you're getting some of that

For fish I cook, I like stopping by the North American lobster in Parsippany (46 eastbound, just east of Vail Road). For fish they cook, the South City Grill in Mountain Lakes (convenient to Rockaway) has been pretty good.

Paul

[Rosie]

Ocean King 27 Livingston Ave. Livingston BYO

[Tom D]

Hi Rosie

Denise and I had a great day on Saturday in Philadelphia. Parked in Old City, toured some of the historical stuff, shopped a bit (what else)

Went to several pubs and had a cold brew in each, Black Sheep, Plough and the Stars etc.

Then went to dinner at one of the BEST restaurants in all of Philadelphia called DJANGO, which also happens to be BYO.

Food there is killer, simply great and about half the price of the "name" places.

Reservations are impossible since Craig Leban gave it a huge review last year.

We got lucky with a cancellation at 6:00PM. After dinner went over to Penn's Landing and saw the fireworks over the Delaware River.

Just a great day and evening.

PS Had a great 99 Turley with dinner.

PPS I would post this also over at the Pennsy board but that board is deader than a door nail. Such a shame. So many good restaurants and there's a post every two weeks.

Tom

[Rosie]

Thanks Tom. Sounds great. Will see you soon. And how was that Turley????