Beautiful Tenafly

[Hank]

To me the real problem is how many "destination" restaurants does the area in question (Fort Lee, Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Closter, Demarest.etc.) have as compared to Ridgewood and Montclair and now even Hoboken which have quite a few.

If you believe that there are any I personally would love to hear which ones you would categorize as "destinations", as in places you would recommend friends to come to with at least a 30/40 minute car ride. As an example, Fascino and Latour have many customers coming to them from afar.

Edited February 26, 2006 by Hank (log)

[menton1]

To me the real problem is how many "destination" restaurants does the area in question (Fort Lee, Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Closter, Demarest.etc.) have as compared to Ridgewood and Montclair and now even Hoboken which  have quite a few.

If you believe that there are any I personally would love to hear which ones you would categorize as "destinations", as in places you would recommend friends to come to with at least a 30/40 minute car ride. As an example, Fascino and  Latour have many customers coming to them from afar.

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"Destination" restaurants were another contentious topic here a couple of months ago. People got caught up in what exactly that term may mean. I don't think there are many in the entire State.

It just seemed that Tenafly restaurants seem to have a higher failure rate than those in the surrounding towns, and I was puzzled as to the reasons;

As far as your 2 choices above, I would disagree with those as meeting my criteria for this label.

My destination choices in Northeast Bergen would be Xaviars, in Piermont, and Harvest Bistro in Closter, which, in spite of the puzzling disinterest about here on Egullet, has a filled parking lot every night, got raves from Corcoran at the NYTimes, and is attracting folks from far away.

[Rachel Perlow]

So, your destination choice would be Harvest Bistro, only. As you know darn well that Xaviars is not in Bergen County.

[menton1]

So, your destination choice would be Harvest Bistro, only. As you know darn well that Xaviars is not in Bergen County.

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Yes, it's 2 miles over the border and about 95% of their customers live in Bergen. Why do you mention this?

[Jason Perlow]

in spite of the puzzling disinterest about here on Egullet

Well, I can tell you that there's no conspiracy not to talk about this restaurant. So go there and write up a comprehensive review and maybe more people will go.

I don't think there's enough critical mass of active members that live around here to visit that restaurant. As far as I know only Rachel and myself, you and Hank live in the immediate area.

I remember looking at their website at one time and not being particularly excited about their offerings. It sounds like a nice restaurant just not to my taste. I don't see how I am obligated to go eat there, though.

[Hank]

To me the real problem is how many "destination" restaurants does the area in question (Fort Lee, Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Closter, Demarest.etc.) have as compared to Ridgewood and Montclair and now even Hoboken which  have quite a few.

If you believe that there are any I personally would love to hear which ones you would categorize as "destinations", as in places you would recommend friends to come to with at least a 30/40 minute car ride. As an example, Fascino and  Latour have many customers coming to them from afar.

←

"Destination" restaurants were another contentious topic here a couple of months ago. People got caught up in what exactly that term may mean. I don't think there are many in the entire State.

It just seemed that Tenafly restaurants seem to have a higher failure rate than those in the surrounding towns, and I was puzzled as to the reasons;

As far as your 2 choices above, I would disagree with those as meeting my criteria for this label.

My destination choices in Northeast Bergen would be Xaviars, in Piermont, and Harvest Bistro in Closter, which, in spite of the puzzling disinterest about here on Egullet, has a filled parking lot every night, got raves from Corcoran at the NYTimes, and is attracting folks from far away.

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You could argue about many restaurants in NJ not being a destination but if you do not believe that Fascino is a destination then you would be the very first person I have ever heard from (including everyone on this forum) that did not think that this is one of the best restaurants in NJ. May I remind you that they recently doubled their space (beautifully) and it is still difficult to get a table and Montclair has many choices.

The reason that I have not gone to Harvest Bistro is that all my friends and family that have gone say it is very expensive, very noisy, is not BYOB with a $25.00 corkage fee and overall very pretentious with many dishes just so-so.

[menton1]

I don't think there's enough critical mass of active members that live around here to visit that restaurant. As far as I know only Rachel and myself, you and Hank live in the immediate area.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. Can't explain it. "Northern Valley" as it's known, has about 200,000 residents. It seems that 3 years ago, there were so many more engaged discussions about food in this area. Don't know why we lost all our NV "readership". (log on-ship?)

[Jason Perlow]

There's a number of ex-members that live in this area that post elsewhere, menton. Your guess as to why they no longer wish to contribute to eG Forums is as good as mine -- and it isn't fodder for the food forums, anyway.

[menton1]

The reason that I have not gone to Harvest Bistro is that all my friends and family that have gone say it is very expensive, very noisy, is not BYOB with a $25.00 corkage fee and overall very pretentious with many dishes just so-so.

Well, that's a debate for another thread; However, Xaviar's is an iconic resto well known all over the Northeast. Fascino is not in the same league. Nothing outside of Manhattan or in NJ can compare to it...

[Hank]

The reason that I have not gone to Harvest Bistro is that all my friends and family that have gone say it is very expensive, very noisy, is not BYOB with a $25.00 corkage fee and overall very pretentious with many dishes just so-so.

Well, that's a debate for another thread; However, Xaviar's is an iconic resto well known all over the Northeast. Fascino is not in the same league. Nothing outside of Manhattan or in NJ can compare to it...

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The Northeast? That is very cute.

[TongoRad]

Steering this back to food, as Rachel says, Tenafly is no different in terms of its ability to "kill restaurants or food establishments" than any of the surrounding towns. Certainly, Cresskill has many of the same qualities, as does Teaneck, which for a while had a lot of vacant storefronts on Teaneck Road. Plenty of places fail in Englewood too, you just don't notice them as much because its a much larger town. Bergenfield also has restaurants fail pretty frequently, although we don't notice them as much because there are few places we like to go to in Bergenfield. Demarest is pretty non-existent in terms of any kind of dining.

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Non-existant? Our town is still abuzz about the recent Dunkin' Donuts shop. And we're definitely a destination spot if you want bad pizza...

Anyway, we tend to go out to Tenafly as much as we go to Closter or Cresskill or other towns in the area. It's all pretty much the same place to me. Unfortunately we're not such an easy area to get to via 80/95 or the GSP so a restaurant would have to be pretty darn special to pull people in from elsewhere. In theory Tenafly should have more of an advantage in getting customers from bordering Englewood than the towns to the north, so I was surprised to see America go under. (Does anybody know the story behind that? I was there not long before they closed and the place was full.) I can only speculate that Sapphire couldn't compete with the more 'established' Samdan just down the road.

[menton1]

Actually, the inaccessibility to major highways is, to me, a very appealing aspect of living in the Northern Valley. "Off the beaten track" does have its advantages.

Andiamo, just on the Demarest border, is impossibly hard to find, yet it has a loyal and dedicated following and is now going on over 20 years in business. Samdan and Ciao Bella in Cresskill are going on 10 years. So I don't know if easy access is much of a factor...

[M.X.Hassett]

I don't think there's enough critical mass of active members that live around here to visit that restaurant. As far as I know only Rachel and myself, you and Hank live in the immediate area.

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Demarest ex-pat in Teaneck and in my opinion Harvest is not worth a return trip, the food was decent, but the crowd is a typical "Bada Bing crowd" with some mixed wannabe teenies. If I return to that area again it will be to try Sanzaris.

Andiamos is pretty hard to miss considering it is covered in lights at at the intersection of two major roads in Demarest, not that it is worth finding.

[Hank]

Andiamo and Ciao Bella which I would put in the same class of restaurant certainly fill a need for families. The kids can have Pizza and a half portion of pasta (no sauce or anything green on it, please) and parents and grandparents can have a decent salad and a pasta course. Their veal is just so so and their fish is most times horrendous. So stick to the very simple and let the kids have a good time.

Samdam has not changed its menu nor added anything to it from day one. Can you believe not even a shrimp dish after all these years and I go back with them to Cliffside Park. Their fish dishes, either salmon or tuna is at times inedible, it is so overdone,even when we plead for medium rare. How do they remain packed even after after expanding beats the heck out of me. My guess would be that the price is right and they cater to an older crowd that enjoys very simply prepared food. (No sauce on my plate, please)

Give me Bennies in Englewood a hundred times over. We go there quite often and they always have something new to try and it is always delicious. We had a scallop dish the other night that was to die for. IMHO nobody makes a better hummus. Rachel and Jason recommended this place a long time ago and I am ever grateful to them for that, along with China 46. Too bad I don't see them there anymore. They are missing out on some good stuff and the bank account doesn't get slammed.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Hank (log)

[markymark]

Andiamo and Ciao Bella which I would put in the same class of restaurant certainly fill a need for families. The kids can have Pizza and a half portion of pasta (no sauce or anything green on it, please) and parents and grandparents can have a decent salad and a pasta course. Their veal is just so so and their fish is most times horrendous. So stick to the very simple and let the kids have a good time.

Samdam has not changed its menu nor added anything to it from day one. Can you believe not even a shrimp dish after all these years and I go back with them to Cliffside Park. Their fish dishes, either salmon or tuna is at times inedible, it is so overdone,even when we plead for medium rare. How do they remain packed even after after expanding beats the heck out of me. My guess would be that the price is right and they cater to an older crowd that enjoys very simply prepared food. (No sauce on my plate, please)

Give me Bennies in Englewood a hundred times over. We go there quite often and they always have something new to try and it is always delicious. We had a scallop dish the other night that was to die for. IMHO nobody makes a better hummus. Rachel and Jason recommended this place a long time ago and I am ever grateful to them for that, along with China 46. Too bad I don't see them there anymore. They are missing out on some good stuff and the bank account doesn't get slammed.

←

I have to come to Samdam's defense. One does not always need to be titillated when having dinner. Sometimes having dishes you like, consistently prepared, is worth a trip. Although my wife and I are fairly adventurous eaters, we always have the same meal at Samdam--Shepherd's salad, meze platter, and yogurtlu sis. The Shepherd's salad, in particular, is the best I've ever had. We have taken many friends there (all under the age of 50) and the restaurant receives universally approving comments from them. And no one holds the sauce

Edited February 28, 2006 by markymark (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Too bad I don't see them there anymore. They are missing out on some good stuff and the bank account doesn't get slammed.

We go there, probably 3 or 4 times a year. We were there probably 2 or 3 months ago. There's a lot of restaurants in Northern NJ, you know! And how am I supposed to find new stuff to write about if I keep going to the same old places?

As to middle eastern type stuff, I definitely would rank Bennies as the best in the entire area, with a close second being Babylon. I was never too impressed with either Samdan or Sapphire (Kervan 2)

[menton1]

Demarest ex-pat in Teaneck and in my opinion Harvest is not worth a return trip, the food was decent, but the crowd is a typical "Bada Bing crowd" with some mixed wannabe teenies. If I return to that area again it will be to try Sanzaris.

Andiamos is pretty hard to miss considering it is covered in lights at at the intersection of two major roads in Demarest, not that it is worth finding.

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Could you kindly give us a complete report of your experience at Harvest Bistro? As has been indicated herre, info about Northern Valley Restos is scarce and any and all input is needed! Here: Harvest Bistro on Egullet

N.B. Major roads? Hmmm. Everything's relative. When I moved out here, I had originally tried to rendez-vous with friends a couple of times at Andiamo. When both times, the people were an hour late and lost, I decided that was the WRONG place to try to meet at! IMHO it's a bear to find that place, especially at night. Yes, those two roads have a line down the center, but they are hardly major.

[Hank]

To me the real problem is how many "destination" restaurants does the area in question (Fort Lee, Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Closter, Demarest.etc.) have as compared to Ridgewood and Montclair and now even Hoboken which  have quite a few.

If you believe that there are any I personally would love to hear which ones you would categorize as "destinations", as in places you would recommend friends to come to with at least a 30/40 minute car ride. As an example, Fascino and  Latour have many customers coming to them from afar.

←

"Destination" restaurants were another contentious topic here a couple of months ago. People got caught up in what exactly that term may mean. I don't think there are many in the entire State.

It just seemed that Tenafly restaurants seem to have a higher failure rate than those in the surrounding towns, and I was puzzled as to the reasons;

As far as your 2 choices above, I would disagree with those as meeting my criteria for this label.

My destination choices in Northeast Bergen would be Xaviars, in Piermont, and Harvest Bistro in Closter, which, in spite of the puzzling disinterest about here on Egullet, has a filled parking lot every night, got raves from Corcoran at the NYTimes, and is attracting folks from far away.

←

I went on your post of April 26, 2004 and I quote you from that post: "Corcoran gave it an overall GOOD rating." That sir, is a far cry from a "rave revue". Your memory seems to have failed you just as mine does too often.

Last evening I spoke to both my daughters once again about the Harvest Bistro and their consensus was to save my money. The food and and the prices of their wines are just not good enough for what they charge. Neither they nor any of their friends have anything good to say about it and they live in Closter and Demarest respectively and would love to have a very good restaurant near by. Fortunately money is no object to deter them from any restaurants and they and their friends do drive to both Montclair and Ridgewood and New York for special food.

So just maybe that is the answer to your puzzle. Per Se, Jean Georges, Daniel, etc. etc. are over the top expensive but are full every night and not just corporate accounts. Could it be that they serve fabulous food? I do believe so and that is the bottom line to the success of most restaurants.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Hank (log)

[menton1]

Demarest ex-pat in Teaneck and in my opinion Harvest is not worth a return trip, the food was decent, but the crowd is a typical "Bada Bing crowd" with some mixed wannabe teenies. If I return to that area again it will be to try Sanzaris.

Andiamos is pretty hard to miss considering it is covered in lights at at the intersection of two major roads in Demarest, not that it is worth finding.

←

Could you kindly give us a complete report of your experience at Harvest Bistro? As has been indicated herre, info about Northern Valley Restos is scarce and any and all input is needed! Here: Harvest Bistro on Egullet

N.B. Major roads? Hmmm. Everything's relative. When I moved out here, I had originally tried to rendez-vous with friends a couple of times at Andiamo. When both times, the people were an hour late and lost, I decided that was the WRONG place to try to meet at! IMHO it's a bear to find that place, especially at night. Yes, those two roads have a line down the center, but they are hardly major.

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Hank and MHassett: Please post Harvest comments, good or bad, on this thread: Harvest Bistro on Egullet

This thread is about why Tenafly restaurants go bust.

[Hank]

Andiamo and Ciao Bella which I would put in the same class of restaurant certainly fill a need for families. The kids can have Pizza and a half portion of pasta (no sauce or anything green on it, please) and parents and grandparents can have a decent salad and a pasta course. Their veal is just so so and their fish is most times horrendous. So stick to the very simple and let the kids have a good time.

Samdam has not changed its menu nor added anything to it from day one. Can you believe not even a shrimp dish after all these years and I go back with them to Cliffside Park. Their fish dishes, either salmon or tuna is at times inedible, it is so overdone,even when we plead for medium rare. How do they remain packed even after after expanding beats the heck out of me. My guess would be that the price is right and they cater to an older crowd that enjoys very simply prepared food. (No sauce on my plate, please)

Give me Bennies in Englewood a hundred times over. We go there quite often and they always have something new to try and it is always delicious. We had a scallop dish the other night that was to die for. IMHO nobody makes a better hummus. Rachel and Jason recommended this place a long time ago and I am ever grateful to them for that, along with China 46. Too bad I don't see them there anymore. They are missing out on some good stuff and the bank account doesn't get slammed.

←

I have to come to Samdam's defense. One does not always need to be titillated when having dinner. Sometimes having dishes you like, consistently prepared, is worth a trip. Although my wife and I are fairly adventurous eaters, we always have the same meal at Samdam--Shepherd's salad, meze platter, and yogurtlu sis. The Shepherd's salad, in particular, is the best I've ever had. We have taken many friends there (all under the age of 50) and the restaurant receives universally approving comments from them. And no one holds the sauce

←

To defend Samdam when you write that you always have the same salad, meze and yogurt is very weak. Next time you are there why not be just a notch more adventurous (you say you are) and order their fish dishes or chopped lamb or beef and then we can have a debate as to what their kitchen can do. Again, all safety food without even a hint of diversity and or taste. Their menu has not changed even one iota since opening their doors. They thrive on bland.

[Hank]

Demarest ex-pat in Teaneck and in my opinion Harvest is not worth a return trip, the food was decent, but the crowd is a typical "Bada Bing crowd" with some mixed wannabe teenies. If I return to that area again it will be to try Sanzaris.

Andiamos is pretty hard to miss considering it is covered in lights at at the intersection of two major roads in Demarest, not that it is worth finding.

←

Could you kindly give us a complete report of your experience at Harvest Bistro? As has been indicated herre, info about Northern Valley Restos is scarce and any and all input is needed! Here: Harvest Bistro on Egullet

N.B. Major roads? Hmmm. Everything's relative. When I moved out here, I had originally tried to rendez-vous with friends a couple of times at Andiamo. When both times, the people were an hour late and lost, I decided that was the WRONG place to try to meet at! IMHO it's a bear to find that place, especially at night. Yes, those two roads have a line down the center, but they are hardly major.

←

Hank and MHassett: Please post Harvest comments, good or bad, on this thread: Harvest Bistro on Egullet

This thread is about why Tenafly restaurants go bust.

←

You mentioned the Harvest Bistro first on this thread but I will be ever glad to move to the Harvest Bistro thread if you go there also and explain to us where you picked up the "rave" review.

The reason why Tenafly restaurants go bust. Simple. In the 40 odd years I have lived in the area they have not had a single serious destination restaurant (as in Ridgewood and Montclair) that is worth driving even 5 minutes to.

And that is my last post on Tenafly restaurants.

[markymark]

Andiamo and Ciao Bella which I would put in the same class of restaurant certainly fill a need for families. The kids can have Pizza and a half portion of pasta (no sauce or anything green on it, please) and parents and grandparents can have a decent salad and a pasta course. Their veal is just so so and their fish is most times horrendous. So stick to the very simple and let the kids have a good time.

Samdam has not changed its menu nor added anything to it from day one. Can you believe not even a shrimp dish after all these years and I go back with them to Cliffside Park. Their fish dishes, either salmon or tuna is at times inedible, it is so overdone,even when we plead for medium rare. How do they remain packed even after after expanding beats the heck out of me. My guess would be that the price is right and they cater to an older crowd that enjoys very simply prepared food. (No sauce on my plate, please)

Give me Bennies in Englewood a hundred times over. We go there quite often and they always have something new to try and it is always delicious. We had a scallop dish the other night that was to die for. IMHO nobody makes a better hummus. Rachel and Jason recommended this place a long time ago and I am ever grateful to them for that, along with China 46. Too bad I don't see them there anymore. They are missing out on some good stuff and the bank account doesn't get slammed.

←

I have to come to Samdam's defense. One does not always need to be titillated when having dinner. Sometimes having dishes you like, consistently prepared, is worth a trip. Although my wife and I are fairly adventurous eaters, we always have the same meal at Samdam--Shepherd's salad, meze platter, and yogurtlu sis. The Shepherd's salad, in particular, is the best I've ever had. We have taken many friends there (all under the age of 50) and the restaurant receives universally approving comments from them. And no one holds the sauce

←

To defend Samdam when you write that you always have the same salad, meze and yogurt is very weak. Next time you are there why not be just a notch more adventurous (you say you are) and order their fish dishes or chopped lamb or beef and then we can have a debate as to what their kitchen can do. Again, all safety food without even a hint of diversity and or taste. Their menu has not changed even one iota since opening their doors. They thrive on bland.

←

I think that it is important to realize that certain restaurants and cuisines lend themselves best to certain types of dishes. I would no more order a tuna steak at Samdan than I would in an Indian restaurant. If I was eating in Instanbul, by the Bosporus, I'd be more likely to order fish. Samdan's menu is mostly based on lamb and beef, as well as salads and meze platters--this is what they do well (and affordably). That's why the restaurant does a good business.

Yes, I have had different selections from their menu over the last ten years. Many are fine, some have been disappointing. But for the three of four times a year that I go there, I stick to what I like the best. When I want diversity I go to Cafe Panache, or Restaurant X or the Freelance Cafe, or Relish...

Yogurtlu sis, by the way, is not "yogurt," it is a combination of lamb, fried bread and garlic yogurt sauce. And I fail to see how a dinner that includes tarama and acili ezme could be described as bland.

Edited March 1, 2006 by markymark (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

Max's-- The latest of several failed incarnations in this space.

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Max's failed? Darned that. I gave that place a great review about two years or so ago in the Record...

What a shame, a crying shame. He was a wonderful chef

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how long was Max's open before it closed?

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Max's Italian Grill is NOT closed. It is open and doing business at this very moment. I am embarrassed that I posted accepting a poster's word that it closed without double checking for myself. I apologize to Max's for allowing an unsubstantiated rumor to be spread on eGullet Forums.

[menton1]

Well, good for them. Sorry. The place was dark and closed for a good 2-3 weeks last month. Were they on vacation? No sign was on the door, either.

There's a newcomer in town, too: Segreto.

[Rachel Perlow]

I called and spoke to the owner of Max's. They were not closed for any length of time in February. Their regular hours are:

• Lunch: Tues-Sat 12-3
  Dinner: Tues-Thurs 4-10, Fri & Sat close at 11.
  Open Sunday 3-10
  Closed Mondays
  

When they take vacation in July the restaurant is closed for 10 days.

Where is Segreto's?