tommy:eats

Free Dunkin Donuts coffee!!!!!

Hey guess were I was yesterday between 10 am and 10 pm at participating locations!!??!?!

New Jersey Farmers' Markets: it's almost time

Repost:

It's that time of the year. 

To find a farmers' market near you, let the government help you:  click.

For heirloom tomato transplants, hook up with Catalpa Ridge Farm.  They're always at the Ramsey market the Saturday after Mother's day.  We had excellent luck with their transplants last year.  Once you grow and eat your own heirloom tomatoes, you'll never eat a supermarket tomato again.  Come to think of it you shouldn't have been eating them in the first place.

White Castle doubles: 200% the burger, 150% the bread

The other day I realized, after eating White Castles doubles for about 20 years, that the double isn't just double meat.  They also put an extra piece of bread in there.  Like a club sandwich.  Has that extra piece of soggy bread always been in there?  That's freaky, because I've never, ever noticed, after countless White Castle doubles.   You'd think I was drunk or something all of those times I ordered those White Castle Doubles not to notice.

Chengdu 23: Wayne, NJ

So I drive past a strip mall which is as utterly bland as its name (West Belt Plaza), next to the Willowbrook mall in Wayne, and I see a sign that says "Chengdu 23".  Having a good feeling that it's not related to the awesome Chengdu 1 in Cedar Grove, and hoping it has nothing to do with the way-too-80's Chengdu 46, I pulled into the lot to have a quick drive-by look-see.  It didn't look promising at all.   "Asian cuisine", the sign proclaims.  Yuck.  Bye-bye.  I put the place out of my mind.  I mean, what are the odds of a random Chinese restaurant opening and serving authentic food of any kind, if the sign says "Asian cuisine".

Until the other day, when I read a bit about the place on northjersey.com.  "We make home-style Sichuan ... the type of food you'd get in central China, where they like things spicier," the owner says in the article.  "Well fuck me," I thought.  So, you know, off I went.

Food Basics: good stuff, good deals, Manager's Specials

I'm finding myself shopping at Food Basics more and more.  Food Basics is sort of a budget store, owned by the nice folks at the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (who own A&P, and others) that seems to cater to a lower-income audience than does say a Whole Foods or Stop & Shop.  You'll also often find Food Basics in ethnically diverse neighbors.  When a store caters to an ethinically diverse community, you're not only going to find great values, but you're going to find great products that you won't normally find:

Pigs feet?  Check.  Ox tail?  Check.  Pork shoulder?  Not a problem. Tripe.  Got it.  Offal of all sorts?  Yippers.

Gone are the days of calling Stop & Shop the day before a BBQ and pleading them to save a pork butt before turning them all into sausage.  Food Basics always has a bunch of butts right there in the case.  Carnitas is only some onions, OJ, and fennel seed away.

Carnitas, Jim

Hunan Villa, Ridgewood: Closed - and other Ridgewood restaurant doins'

We noticed a sign outside of Hunan Villa which states that it has closed its doors.

Inventor of Egg McMuffin dies: Herb Peterson

[I could google and steal someone's picture, but you'll have to use your imagination instead]

I just read that the inventor of the Egg McMuffin, Herb Peterson, died on Tuesday.  I don't normally regirgitate news stories because, well, that's what news outlets and newspapers do quite well already, but I think he did some very very good work, and I think he deserves a mention.  Read on McCNN here (click).

I'm not sure if Herb had a hand in the Sausage McMuffin with Egg though.  One would think he did.  At the very least he created the foundation.  Some jerk probably came around afterwards and said "Hey, let's put some sausage on Herb's sandwich and take all the credit!"  Pricks.  That SMwE is a level up from the regular Egg McMuffin, and it's exactly what you need if you've tipped a few too many the night before or are getting a scratchy throat from a cold (it's like health food or something).  It takes a perfectly acceptable sandwich, and adds a bunch more fat and salt.  Excellent.

So, as I sit here eating a Talyor Ham egg and cheese on a roll (throat's a little scratchy this morning thank you), I think that I should stop at McDonald's tomorrow, and try the regular ol' Egg McMuffin.  Maybe I'll get a SMwE too, just in case.

A little tip

If it's green and it doesn't grow from the ground...

Dunkin Donuts: File under: WTF?

Dunkin Donuts has the order-by-number approach, so popular at fast food restaurants.  I can't help but think the whole breakfast at Dunkin Donuts thing is just a little excessive.

Top ten: idiotic posts recently read on the "big boards"

As much as I'm tempted to start a series of posts pointing out the most idiotic, self-serving, naval-gazingest, disingenuous posts on those big boards (you know which ones I mean), my self-imposed rule of keeping things positive and helpful, and talking about food rather than people (including me, as much as possible, although the nature of a blog makes that a challenge) keeps getting in the way.

Damnit.

I guess, though, if I were to post something like this, I really wouldn't be talking about people per se, but rather, their viewpoints.  And maybe if I just hide a link and you can guess which posts I find idiotic, self-serving, or disingenuous, I really wouldn't be breaking my own rules.

Now that I think about it, I don't have the kind of time necessary to keep up with such a series.

The strangest thing I ate this week: boiled, and I mean BOILED, hot dogs

I'm not sure what Jim was thinking.  I know this much for sure:  he was excited that the Giants were in the playoffs, and he really really wanted some dirty water dogs for his party. 

Sounds like a pretty fool-proof plan to execute, right?  I mean, you got the Giants in the playoffs, you got a bunch of beersh, you got you a boatload of Sabretts (skinless, although I complained and instructed otherwise).  Seems like a perfect night.  One that could run on autopilot.

But something went wrong.  Horribly, horribly wrong. 

Another doin' in Ridgewood, NJ: Broad Street Smokehouse closes

According to its owners, Broad Street Smokehouse has been sold, siting the tough economy.  The new owners will not be serving BBQ.

I only tried their 'cue once, and had made plans to return, but it just never happened.  Looking forward to seeing what springs up, though.  It's a decent location, with parking in the 'hood and Super Cellars right next door (and excellent wine shop).

Gen Hibachi and Asian Cuisine: Ridgewood, NJ

When I first noticed a new placed called Gen Sushi and Hibachi opening up in downtown Ridgewood, I thought "great, another Pan-Asian place."  And, as usual, I was pretty much right.

What Gen has going for it, however, is tasty rolls and above-average sushi...

Pan roasted: potatoes

Every now and again you hit on something and you think "Hey, I have to remember that."  Even I, every now and again, hit on something, but even more rarely do I commit it to memory.  But I don't have to remember things because I have a blog, and can just type stuff in for near-instant recall.  This is one of those posts.

Fascinating service moment of the week: Oysters

Me (knowing full well what I'm about to get into):  What kind of oysters do you have?

Bartender (bewildered):  What kind???!???

Me (not surprised):  Well yeah, there are different types.

Bartender (confused):  Umm,  just regular oysters I guess?

Poor thing. 

Duck confit, mushrooms: penne

What do you do when Chef Anthony LoPinto, from Fairfield's Crave Restaurant, gives you a handful of house-made duck confit to take home?

I found myself facing that question a few days ago.  After an outstanding meal at Crave the night before,  Chef gave me a 'care package.'  There are few ways to be taken care of more than you are when given a handful of duck confit.  Of this you are assured.

To answer my own question, since no one has raised their hand:  you say 'thank you' and you take it home.  And then you don't waste it.  You cook it.  The next night.  Because it's really good.

Blogging from the bar on an iPhone: at Crave: Fairfield, NJ

Beets and duck confit. Excellent dish. A study in balance. Housemade confit.

Update:  Monkfish and white beans. Classic LoPinto. Herbal. Just salty enough. Luscious. Near perfect.

2004 Benziger Merlot at 32 bucks. Sign me up and keep me signed up.

Dessert coming up.

Update:  the bathroom door signs are maddening.  Like taking a tinkle IQ test to pick the correct door.  Particularly confusing if you're a boy who likes to sit when he pees...or so I'm told.

Update:  The bar at Crave is the kind of place where an inordinate amount of people think vodka is interesting.

Update:  What happened, did the Internet go down?  Not one person has read this since I started.  Do you know how difficult it is to type all of this nonsense on an iPhone?  You ungrateful bastards. 

Update:  Chef LoPinto sent out too many desserts (and I paid for them in the interest of disclosure). I've acknowledged before that we know each other, for the record. He has a way with sweets as much as savory.

All done.

Crave Restaurant and Lounge : 168 Passaic Ave : Fairfield, NJ : 973.882.8700

Ceci, shrimp: and chiles, a la Otto

Over on the blog I Am Not A Chef, the blogger known only as 'I Am Not A Chef' was discussing great and simple combinations.  Specifically, shrimp and cannellini beans.

I figured I'd one up him with an even more simple shrimp/starchy stuff combo:  Ceci, shrimp, chiles, a la Mario Batali's Otto.

Verizon: at the Tick Tock: Clifton, NJ

I noticed my beloved Tick Tock diner on the TV the other day, in a Verizon commercial...

Tom Sawyer Diner: Paramus, NJ: Lights were on

Update (03/05/2008):  t:e reader JohnS reports that the Tom Sawyer is now open.  So get over there and get that happy waitress special, 2 eggs over easy, turkey club, or whatever the hell it is that you eat at a diner.

I drove past the Tom Sawyer Diner, in Paramus, NJ, the other morning (by "other morning", I mean the week of 2/11/08) and noticed that the lights are on.  Not quite open for business at that point or today (2/20/2008), but they've got power, which is a good start.  It seems like just yesterday it was a hole in the ground in the middle of a small, cramped parking lot.

Warning:  Objects in picture are closeder than they appear

The strangest thing I didn't necessarily eat last year

Brace yourselves.

On November 9th, 2007, I took these things:

Turned them into this stuff:

And made a few of these:

They were pretty good. Grinding your own hamburger meat is always preferable to buying that nasty stuff from the supermarket.  Although, given the chance, I just go to the Swiss Pork Store in Fair Lawn, NJ, and buy some of their freshly ground beef, which is simply the best.

Anyway, on November 17th, 2007, the kitchen started smelling prit-tee funky.  We searched high and low for the offending organic matter, which was clearly being consumed by micro organisms, which were in turn creating tiny but smelly micro organism farts and stuff.  We finally found the source of the odor:  the garbage disposal.

The people at Insinkerator claim that you can put just about anything down their disposals.  Who am I to question this.  However, when you put fat trimmings in there, and you kind of ignore them for several days, you apparently get this:

Crave in Fairfield, NJ, is open

Update:  Crave is officially open for business.  Their website is at http://www.cravelounge.net

Update:  I had a quick and excellent meal at the bar, mentioned here.

I know a lot of you are searching for information on Crave Restaurant and Lounge in Fairfield, NJ, Chef Anthony LoPinto's (late of Totowa's Earth, and a bunch of other restaurants over the last 15 or so years) latest venture, and I know that a lot of you already know that they're opening "soon."  But in case you don't, I'm here to say that Crave is opening in about a week or so.  Two maybe max?  Do I have any insider info?  Liddlebit. Nothing I can share, and posting this might be a betrayal of confidence, though I doubt it because the word is on the street.  And heck, I'm pretty excited and want others to be as well.  I can almost taste the Benziger now.

Today is Tuesday, 2/12/2008, and I'm guessing I'll see some of you there by next Saturday.  If it's not open by then I'll go down personally and pound on the door, incognito of course, demanding more insider info, and I'll apologize for getting your hopes up.  Otherwise, I will be  sitting at the bar, enjoying Chef LoPinto's cooking, because bar dining is almost always preferable. 

Don't say "hi' if you see me, however, because I don't like people.

Crave Restaurant and Lounge : 168 Passaic Ave : Fairfield, NJ : 973.882.8700

Epicurious.com: slamming me with SPAM

Epicurious.com is really starting to get on my last nerve...

Red Robin: Why?

Here's a question for you:

What's the worse thing you can say on your way to lunch at Montclair's Little Saigon, where you're planning on having a big ol' hot bowl of pho and some of their wacky "egg rolls," wrapped in lettuce and dipped in nuoc cham.  The answer is, of course, "Hey, let's try Red Robin for the hell of it."

I clearly have to remind myself more often that the people on roadfood.com and chowhound.com and citysearch.com, and any other open forum where anyone can post anything, for the most part, don't know what they're talking about.  "Red Robin has a really good burger" I read somewhere.  Why did I believe that for even one second?  I suppose I really didn't.  But I was curious.  Once a seed gets planted in my head there's really no getting it out until it germinates.  I'm obsessive and compulsive.  Two wonderful traits.  So yeah, I had no choice but to stop at Clifton's Red Robin.

Grand Sichuan in Jersey City? Can it be?

I just read on chowhound that NYC's Grand Sichuan has opened a branch in Jersey City.   The post comes from a first-time poster, it references their website (which expired the other day), and sounds suspicious to me.  But hey, who cares!

South City Prime: Little Falls, NJ and South City Grill: Rochelle Park, NJ

A tale of two South Cities?

Oh that was hacky.  Please accept my apology.

We rolled into South City Prime, on its first night (stupid, I know, but what the hell), with reasonably low expectations.  After all, we had no love for its sister restaurant, South City Grill, a restaurant at which we had a forgettable (regrettable?) meal 10 years ago.  More on that place later.  That, coupled with how unimpressed I was with the other new Little Falls steakhouse, Rare, and hell, I was figuring this was another gaudy big-money more-flash-than-flesh pick-up joint, posing as a steakhouse.

And I was wrong.  At least about the steak.

Best dish of the week: Preserved pork: Chengdu 1: Cedar Grove, NJ

You don't eat enough leeks.  I know that about you.  You know what else I know about you?

Tomo: Ramsey, NJ (Closed)

Ramsey's Tomo Japanese Restaurant has closed.   I noticed it was dark the other night, and no one has been answering the phones.

Biagio's: Paramus, NJ

I’m guessing the Bergen Record recently changed their business model and decided to ramp up their online ad revenue.  And how do you get advertisers to pay you for online ads?  Traffic.  And how do you get traffic to your website?  By having your editors share their opinions on cooking and lifestyle and restaurants and stuff?  Yeah, maybe a little.  How do you *really* get traffic to your website?  Answer:  allow anyone to use it as a soapbox.  And that’s just what the Bergen Record did when it opened up its main site and its Second Helpings food blog to reader comments a few weeks ago.  Now, idiots like you and me can post practically anything (although I’m sure they have guidelines as far as what stays up) in response to the editors (and each other). 

Did I read Second Helpings to see what Bill Pitcher was reporting on before the comments opened up?  Sure, every now and again.   But you can bet that I’m checking more often these days, hanging on every word that TruffleWhippedCreamGal says about A Mano or what SherlockGnomes says about the Allendale Bar and Grill.  Oh the Record is getting multiple hits from me every day, that’s for sure.

And what brilliant timing for the shift to open comments:  they had just published a most unflattering and somewhat brutal review of a well-loved family-run Bergen County restaurant:  Biagio’s in Paramus. 

I sat here on the morning after the review was published, reading the various comments left by fans of Biagio’s (and more here).  I was extremely entertained.  People were clearly taking this very personally.  “Attack my favorite restaurant!?!?!  How DARE you!?!?!?!  You, ma’am, have no idea what you are talking about and should be stoned, publicly.  I am officially canceling my subscription to the Bergen Record.  You need to apologize for being so mean!!! Fire her!!!!!”

The collective reaction was interesting.  I mean, you trash someone’s favorite restaurant, and you are, in essence, attacking them.  And then people hate you.  And I get that.  People have no doubt grown up with Biagio’s (the family has owned the restaurant for quite a few years).  They’ve had birthday parties there.  Graduation parties.  Weddings.   Hell on each of my two recent visits (a weekend day and a weekday night), there was a party going on in one of the private rooms (they have several for your partying pleasure).   The regulars know the owners by name and they’re known by name.  That makes people feel good.  About themselves.  About the restaurant (or, the “establishment”, as its fans like to refer to it in those comments).  Biagio’s is woven into their memories, into the fabric of their very being.  This, I think, partly explains why they don’t realize that Biagio’s simply does not serve very notable food.   Perhaps Biagio’s fans weigh those aspects more than the actual food.  Perhaps they really don’t give food much thought to begin with.  The former is no doubt true, but I’m not about to discount the latter. 

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with not giving food much thought.  I don’t give much thought to a lot of things that others are fanatic about:  clothing, electronics, cars, and pretty much everything but food (and music).  The difference, though, is that my feelings aren't when a magazine reviews my crappy Onkyo receiver and gives it a bad rating:  I’m comfortable with the fact that my Onkyo receiver isn’t all that good.  It serves my needs, and that’s just fine by me. 

But it’s really not important why people like Biagio’s.  I’m sure they’re very nice people, some of whom clearly do not spell very well or write very often, but I’m not going to put much more thought into it.  All I know for sure is what I think about Biagio’s.  You want to know too.  Admit it.  That’s why you’re here, right now, reading this nonsense.  So here you go, complete with crappy cell phone pictures.

Washing pre-washed greens: Why?

Are you of the opinion that if your vegetable is "pre-washed", you don't have to wash it?  I'm not, for the following reasons:

1)  If your spinach is coming from a bag, it's going to smell a little funky.  It's not going to smell like a spinach patch, that's for sure.
2)  I can't imagine the factories are using just plain ol' water to wash your stuff.  There has to be something else in that water.  Chlorine, or something.  I'd google and confirm, but don't care enough about it because I know I'm right.

And the biggest reason I always wash my pre-washed stuff (no, not doodie):

Franklin Hill Vineyard: Blues berry wine

This tasted just like it looked.

I really can't recommend this wine.  Or anything this color.

But if you're in Pennsylvania, check out their other wines.  PA wineries can produce some tasty ice wines on occasion.

Franklin Hill Vineyard website

Bergen Record: opens up its website to thousands of...

...thoughtful and articulate people.

When I first read that the Bergen Record's website remodel included the ability for anyone to post a comment on their stories, I thought, "oh jeez, now the Bergen Record is going to look like a blog, with countless idiotic comments on every subject."  And I'll tell you that from what I've read so far, I was right.

2007: let downs

Right now, 10's of people all over New Jersey are wondering, "When is t:e coming out with his lists!?!!?  I can hardly wait!" they say.  But damn if I wasn't so busy putting together my 2007 lists that it's already 2008.

Some background first.

2007 was a funny year for t:e.  Not "ha-ha" funny, but strange funny.  Not strange "weird", but strange unusual.  I visited very few restaurants, although for about 6 months I ate out every single night.  I guess I stuck to the old standards, which are for another post.

But for this post, I'm going to focus on the negative, the places that sort of let me down for one reason or several.  Oftentimes it was because expectations were set too high.  Other times the food was just plain not good.

<quick aside>Anyone who reads this blog (you two know who you are) knows that I don't focus on the negative:  I try to find the interesting stuff, and I like to share it.   If you want to hear people complain about some server who made them feel less of a person, or some other restaurant-goers who were acting so horribly as to ruin their meal, or about the chef who was clearly out to get them, go to egullet or nj.com or one of the hundreds of websites seemingly devoted to the lowest common denominator, negative, nasty discussion that is just so darned easy to generate.  Go now, don't let me stop you.  Please.  I'm simply not going to be able to give you what you want.

For my part, I'll say I didn't like something, and I'll explain why.  And usually it's not because someone hurt my feelings.  </quick aside>

So here they are, the let-downs of 2007:

New Year's Eve: food

"What did we eat for dinner last NYE?"

This question was posed to me by the missus moments ago.   I remember ending up at the neighbors' house up the street, eating tons of wonderful Cuban and Latino food (including, IIRC, fried pork belly), dancing (not me, necessarily), hanging out in the backyard in what I recall as 70 degree temperatures.  But what on earth did we eat before we headed down to the Cuban bash?

It took about 2 seconds before I realized that whatever it was, I most likely took a picture of it.  I don't know why I do what I do, but I do it.  Hell I've been taking crappy pictures of crappy food since 1998 or so.

A quick look at the 20061231 folder brings us to the answer...

Rib: roast

Ask 10 people what the "best" way to cook a rib roast is and 10 different answers you'll get. 

"Sear first"
"Don't sear"
"Blast it on high heat to form a crust and then lower the oven"
"Slow and low"
"Season first"
"Salt only after cooking"

You get the idea. 

My thoughts on this?  It probably doesn't matter.  Well, not my thoughts, they matter a lot  --  I mean I have a blog for cryin' out loud, so I must have something important to say.  But rather, the method of cooking probably doesn't matter all that much (unless you do something totally silly).  What matters is the piece of meat that you're starting with.  After that, you're just heating the thing up.

Googled: again

They best part about looking through the tommyeats.com site stats is seeing how people stumbled upon it.  Obviously there are 3 people who come by regularly for my bi-monthly updates, but others come via search engines (usually google, sorry Yahoo).  The search terms that they type into those engines sometimes strike me as funny. 

Six months ago I offered up this batch.   And I've collected a few more gems...

Ben and Jack's Steakhouse spotted on "30 Rock"

Since no one else on the internet has mentioned it, I figure I'll take it...

Potato: skins

The food stuff we throw out is oftentimes the best stuff.  Bones, chicken skin, fronds, leaves, stalks, tails and snouts, innards:  all good stuff.

I was making mashed potatoes the other day and peeled the potato skins into the sink, figuring they'd go down the disposal.  And then it occurred to me:  why?

I took them out of the sink, rinsed them off as far as you know, dried them, tossed them with EVOO, s/p, and baked them at 425 until they got crispy.

A better pre-dinner snack you will not find in your sink.

Next time, maybe some herbs?  Spices?

The Fine Grind: Little Falls, NJ

There was an article in the NY Times a while back about a local coffee shop in Little Falls, NJ, that took out a big billboard ad right across from a Starbucks. “We may not be BIG…but we’re not BITTER,” the billboard proclaims. It goes on in a separate font, "We ARE your neighborhood coffee spot!". I dunno, I guess Starbucks serves bitter coffee? Isn’t coffee generally a bitter drink by nature?  Maybe that's why people put sugar and flavored syrups and "mocha" in it?

A bunch of blogs and other publications picked up on the David and Goliath angle (is that the right usage?), and ran with it. I'm a bit late to the party.

The place is called The Fine Grind.

A couple of points, a bullet pointed rant, if you will, not about The Fine Grind:

Oh for eff's sake, another burger: sure, why not

We're perdy.

Yer perrrrrrr-dy. 

I could lie and say that this was beef ground freshly in my kitchen, but there's no glory in that.   I bought it from Stop & Shop.  It was in their "upscale" case, though, where you'll find CAB (Certified Angus Beef) and other goodies.  Have a look-see.  And while you're at it, have a look in their "Natural" dairy section for some pretty darned good Greek yogurt.

I wanted to duplicate the burger that I've had at Morristown's Copeland, cuz that's a mighty good burger.   All I really had to go on was beef, cheese, and bacon, so I ran with it. 

Two chinese joints and a "pan-Asian" place: Shanghai Cafe, Chengdu 1, Wild Ginger

A reader here at t:e a reader has been talking up Alen Lee's  Westchester restaurants (Westcheraunts, if I may).   When the news that Mr. Lee was opening a place in Ridgewood, NJ, the reader was very pleased indeed.

For my part, I was skeptical right out of the gate.  Mr. Lee's restaurant are best described (and self-described) as "pan-Asian."  To the best of my knowledge, that means various Asian cuisines on a single menu, tamed, with a some sugar added for American palates.  I used to get a bit excited for this back in the 90's, when it all seemed new.  Not so much anymore.  I find the food too safe (chicken breast?), too sweet ("glazes" and whatnot), and just not terribly exciting (no tripe on these menus, that's for sure).

Well I finally got around to sampling some of the food at Wild Ginger (not related to Englewood's Japanese restaurant of the same name, but sister restaurant of Hoboken's), and boy oh boy, I'm big enough a man to admit when I'm right, and was I.  It was the first day of what turned out to be a three day Asian craving.  Suffice it to say the craving would have not lasted so long if I didn't dick around on the first two days.

The strangest thing I ate this week: my skin and blister juice

Why are we compelled to bite a blister, giving it just a little pinch with our canines, even though everything in our wiring tells us that it will hurt.  Why expose that delicate pink flesh, hidden underneath and not-quite-ready-for-prime-time, to the air and elements?  It should be kept under the tough, bubbled, blister skin, until it's ready to take over for the soon to dry-up-and-fall-off stuff.  But no, we poke a hole in the protective blister skin as soon as we get the chance.  Why? To relieve pressure?  Nah.  Doctor's orders?  Nah.  No, we chow down on the blister bubble because God put that really tasty juice under there, that's why.

Thank you, God, for making blister juice so darned salty delicious and irresistible.

Primehouse New York: New York, NY

Jakes

“Well, here’s the thing. The steaks were *cooked* perfectly, but, they were *not* served in butter.” 

That’s the thing, according to my friend Jake, who left me a vmail on the way home from our meal at BR Guest’s Primehouse in New York.  And you can ask him.

Back in the kitchen: quite a decent burger

Searching for a good burger isn't fun.  It's depressing.  You follow crazy leads (Krug's Tavern, Newark - worth a visit), eat mediocre burgers that should be better (Harvest Bistro, Closter), and generally get bitter from the experience.  Or, more bitter, in my case.

The other night I was reminded that quite a decent burger can be found right in your kitchen.   My kitchen, more correctly.  This time around, it was a large, steakhouse style burger.

t:e pulls out the yellow sign with the guy shoveling a pile of, um, stuff?

So I'm sitting there at Esty Street (in  Park Ridge, not on Esty Street) tonight with the missus, enjoying a nice meal, and I pull t:e up on the ol' iPhone, just for your basic shits and giggles, and to get into myself a bit more than I already am, when suddenly what I had already realized became very very clear:  I haven't posted about anything very much recently.  At all.

So in her own, special, ball-busting way, the missus suggested that I put up one of those "under construction" signs.  And here it is.

Overlooked doin: Ridgewood, NJ: Septemberish, 2007

A day or two after cherished t:e reader menton1 lamented that Alan Lee, famous in Westchester, needs to open one of his pan Asian places in NJ, lo and behold, Wild Ginger, opening in Ridgewood where nothing notable (Wild Noodles?) used to live on Chestnut, is, actually, in fact, an Alan Lee restaurant, complete, no doubt, with a "pan Asian" menu...and did I spy a communal table in there?  Oh dear, no, not a communal table.  (EDIT:  some thoughts on Wild Ginger here (clicky).

Well, I guess there's only one thing to do:  try it, with sticky sweet fried sea bass pan-Asian expectations that I might have had in the early 90's.  EDIT:  and try it I did.  Expectations:  met.

Seriously though, it has to be better than Wild Noodles.

(And no, it's not related to Englewood's Wild Ginger.)

Some more doins: Ridgewood, NJ: Septemberish, 2007

A recent newsletter from the nice people at Ridgewood's Broad Street Smokehouse (Update:  now closed)mentions that Super Cellars will be moving from its current local across from Whole Foods to a new location at 33 Godwin, in what I would think is the old Palmero plumbing building.  That's a big spot, and I think it has parking.  Super Cellars is a decent wine store with some interesting beers as well.   It's a shame its moving from the "other" side of the tracks, though.  That side just gets no damned respek.

Speaking of the other side of the tracks, Starbucks has opened right there on Godwin, a coupla doors down from Silver Oak Bistro.  I don't care what you say, Starbucks has some good coffee.  I stop there just about every morning.  It's nice and convenient now that it's on the NYC-bound side of the tracks in the morning.  Even if you don't like their coffee, you have to admit they practically created the industry for that Starbucks-style pendant light that you find over kitchen islands all over America.  Not mine, however.

Looks like Gen Sushi and Hibachi has opened where that horrible upscale Chinese place used to live on East Ridgewood Ave.  I think there's one in Montvale as well.  It sure do look purdy, but I can't say I'm all that excited about it.  I bet the kids will love it, though.  Update:  More thoughts on Gen Sushi here (click).

What else is going on around Ridgewood.  Oh, well not really Ridgewood, but Biagio's on Paramus Rd seems to be almost done with that facelift of theirs.  I stopped in expecting to see a new and improved Biagio's (that wouldn't be hard -- OK, so I've never eaten there.  But I just kinda know these things, ya know?), and found the same sticky bar with the same i'll-get-to-you-when i'm done talking-to-the-regulars service that they used to have.  I waited 3 minutes and walked out.  I ended up at El Cid, which happens to have some decent sangria.  Nice and brandy-y.  Not too sweet either.

Updated: Troubling news from the field on China 46

Update:  Bill Pitcher, who, unlike me, actually reports and fact checks and stuff, apparently spoke with the owner of China 46, Cecil, as I suspected he might.  The restaurant has indeed closed for good.  Info here (click me, silly).  The good news is that everyone is apparently OK.  The bad news is that there's no more China 46.  I speak for plenty when I say I'm looking forward to Cecil's next venture, and I sure hope it's in NJ.

Original post, now, of course, out of date:

t:e correspondent and field reporter Jimmy:rocks went to China 46 last night (9/6/07) only to find the place closed, with no sign of a sign.  China 46, mind you, is generally open 365 days a year.  A few calls to the restaurant this morning went unanswered.

Let's selfishly hope for the best.