ParkLaBrea wrote:Can't stress enough how great Reservoir Tavern is in Parsippany.....best pizza in Jersey as far as I'm concerned (magnificent old school atmosphere)..

Arthur's Tavern for an amazing burger....(Morris Plains and Hoboken)

And, of course, Rutt's Hutt for a ripper (Clifton)....simply the best hot dog I have ever had (with their signature yellow relish)...

I've done Reservoir twice (it's been a few years) and wasn't that impressed. I think it's partly that the menu is great for family style, less so for a solo, traveling diner -- I'd like to order a starter and a pizza, but it gets way past my budget and appetite.

But I found a new gem, the sort of place that would be on the GNR list in a snap if it were, say just off Rts 14 and 53, which is a reasonable approximation of the sort of location it's at out here in the Jersey burbs.
Tino's BBQ & Grill
229 Littleton Road
Parsippany NJ 07054-1868
(973) 588-7979

The menu is Portuguese and Italian -- pastas and grilled meats. A $7.00 appetizer of mussels was huge, delicious broth of white wine, tomatoes and loads of garlic. I probably could have stopped with that for dinner (maybe one of the empanadas on the counter -- what were those doing there? Dunno, but I'll be back for them.) I followed that with the grilled ribs -- Tino (yes, there's actually a Tino, always a good sign) said that they were one of the traditional Portuguese entrees (more of the appetizers had Portuguese names). They're marinated then charcoal grilled. Very tender (I suspect they've been sitting around on a steam table waiting for a la minute grill crisping), meaty, salty and garlicky. They're not my favorite ribs, but a delicious hearty platter with rice and fries for $12 -- lots left for lunch (glad there's a fridge in the hotel room and a micro at the NJ office). I'll definitely be back.


Grilled spare ribs
Thick paperback for size reference -- the plate's longer than it looks, cell phone lens is rather wide-angle. It's piled about 5" high.

One more stop -- right next door to Tino's, is

Sri Ganesh's Dosa House #1
209 Littleton Rd
Parsippany NJ 07054

Also at
809 Newark Ave
Jersey City NJ 07306

Menu at http://m.allmenus.com/nj/jersey-city/55 ... ouse/menu/

Another hole in the wall like Tino's, very casual. Counter service, styro plates and cutlery. Sambal available as needed from a pot across from the counter.

I started with an order of samosas ($2 for 2 pretty large ones). They were OK, nothing special, but the chutneys were very nice and fresh-tasting (I meant to ask if they make them in-house).
They have probably fifty different dosas on the menu, in exponential combinations (Rava, Pondicherry, Paper, Butter, Cheese, Malaza Powder, Pesarattu, Onion, Chilli, Masala, Mysore, Green Peas, Cheese, Ghee, Channa, Palak, Paneer), running from $3.50 to $9. I had a Pondicherry Masala, $6. Arm-sized, nice heat, lots of onions and potatoes. They were accompanied by a coconut and an orange-colored somewhat creamy chutney that was tasty, but I can't figure out what was in it.

The menu above also includes idli, vada, uttapam, biryani, and they had some specials on whiteboards, chalkboard and paper tacked to the wall including a thali.

I'll definitely be back here!

So, company is in the process of moving the office, and I find myself in West Orange.

Dinner last night at T.S. Ma in Montclair was very good. Not LSC great, but well-executed.
Well.... let me me qualify that. All of the entrees we had were very good, the appetizers (steamed dumplings, scallion pancake) were rather bland and pasty.

For the entrees, which ran $13-$17 (some were under $9, but not what we ordered), we had:
* Salt and Pepper Shrimp: Good flavor (could have used some jalapeno slices), perhaps breaded a little heavy (and weren't shell-on), but really well cooked, large shrimp
* Shrimp and Eggplant in Spicy Garlic: Nicely spicy, again perfectly cooked shrimp
* Crispy Chicken Szechuan Style was a little odd: shredded, battered chicken (looked like HoJo's clam strips), with a sweet and spicy sauce. Very tasty, but didn't feel "authentic"
* Szechuan Salmon Spicy Garlic Sauce had a very nice sauce (I think tamarind?), good texture to the fish

No alcohol (don't know if BYOB)

T S Ma Chinese Cuisine
199 Bellevue Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043
Phone:(973) 509-8878
tsmachinesecuisine.com

One more data point: We went back to the old digs (which haven't emptied out yet), and from there to Minado Sushi Buffet for lunch. $17.50 ain't cheap for lunch (especially with drinks another $3, even tea), but compared to most buffets, this place is very high class. Nigiri and maki make up about 30% of a very large buffet, prepped in small quantities to keep fresh. These ranged from your basic tekkamaki rolls to some silly tempura-crunch-spicy-tuna monstrosities, and the nigiri included surf clam and mackerel on top of the basic ebi/salmon/tuna/snapper/omelet sorts of things.

The rest of the buffet was about 30% cold dishes (some very nice salads including a well-seasoned okra one), and the last 40% soups and hot dishes, majority of which is seafood -- good gyoza, tonkatsu, mussels in cream sauce... There's also a grill where they do something to order, but it didn't appear to be getting used for lunch. Desserts were an additional line, and included fresh-looking fruit and a lot of cakes cut into petit-four-sized pieces, including some flavored with red bean and green tea.

Very high quality stuff, not what I'd expect in an AYCE environment. Certainly beats the snot out of Chicago-area Chinese buffets. Pristine appearance, attentive service on drinks and plate removal.

Minado Sushi Seafood Buffet
2888 Route 10 West
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
TEL: 973-734-4900
http://www.minado.com
(other locations listed on the website)

New client, slightly different part of New Jersey -- I'm in Paramus for most of the week.
I asked the front desk what they recommend, and she said she liked Tin's House for Chinese. The menu sheet she had was pretty generic, hard to tell if there were any things to avoid or specials that would catch my eye.

When I got there, I was surprised to see it was primarily carry out, with one formica table in the front area (where they were willing to serve me).

Food was prepared perfectly: Shrimp tender and juicy, broccoli just barely steamed, egg roll fried crisp without being greasy... but all completely flavorless. The Shrimp in Garlic Sauce (ordered extra spicy) was bland bland bland to the point where I added a plastic packet of soy and two of 'hot sauce' (which was not, as I'd hoped, sriracha-like, but more like a weak Tabasco-style). The egg roll tasted mainly of cabbage, and their sweet and sour and mustard packets were pretty weak.

So... unless I missed what they're really good at, I'm not going back there. The hotel borders on a mall, and it's all chains around (there's a Shake Shack, which holds some interest)... any other clues for Paramus?

reverse commute into manhattan

leek wrote:reverse commute into manhattan

Blergh. Last thing I want to do after more than 9 hours in my client's office is drive into Manhattan (or even sit on a train). Just want a decent meal and to crash.

Tonight I fared better. After asking the front desk again and them foisting chain restaurants and a fistful of indistinguishable Italian places on me, I just got in the car and drove south on 17 a couple minutes... and found a Japanese place called Kiku, that had a bunch of Korean specials. Not interested in the camaraderie of teppanyaki, I ordered a special deluxe bi bim bap that included some premixed 'special' veg, a bowl of rice, a platter with several king trumpet mushrooms and pieces of teriyaki steak, and a bowl of some other relish/banchan. All very tasty, great textures, and just plain loved those mushrooms. $19.95.

I'd started with a set of fried shu mai: nice crisp, nice shrimpiness, with a very mild dipping sauce more like what you'd find with tempura $5.95.

Kiku
365 New Jersey 17
Paramus, NJ 07652
(201) 265-7200
(no website so far as I can tell)

After an 11-hour work day, I wanted food fast. So my earlier-researched "Pho Thai Lao" was dumped in favor of the Shake Shack in Paramus.

I'm sorry to say I don't see what the fuss is about. Yes, it's a very good burger, but it's not an oh-my-god burger. Edzo's got nothing to worry about when they open in Chicago, and at that price point, neither does Culver's. Or even Five Guys.

Burger: very juicy, very good beef, typical american cheese (at least well melted), bun is nothing special. Toppings are lettuce, tomato, shake sauce (doctored mayo). Tomatoes were pretty wan for early September. The only other toppings listed were bacon and cherry peppers on a specialty burger. At least with Five Guys you've got grilled onions and mushrooms, raw onion, pickles... this seems a little spartan. Fries were nicely cooked, but thinner than I like for fresh-cut (they did manage not to overcook them, a nice trick). The Black and White Shake (vanilla custard, fudge sauce) was pretty darn good, but again Culver's is in the same ballpark, and Edzo's much better.

Tomorrow night, the sales droid is taking the client and I out for dinner, so no choice there, and we're working through lunch. Thursday I head home midday, so this is probably my last report for this trip.

Just got back from a quick trip to Edgewater NJ / NYC and wanted to share one place I went while in Hoboken - Augustino's Restaurant.

It's what you picture when you think of "old school" NJ Italian - tiny place with about 8 tables, impossible to get a reservation, small bar (best chance to sit on a walk-in basis), cash only. I've read other reviews about the place on "other sites" and they have a mixed opinion of the service. It didn't bother me much but I have a thicker skin than others. This is a family place and they have a lot of regulars / family that come by. The servers treat you like family - they are very touchy/feely, which could be uncomfortable, there's some course language, which could also be uncomfortable, and they are pretty no-nonsense with moving you through your dinner as there are multiple seatings per night. None of this bothered me and I had one of the best new world Italian meals I've had in a while (in a restaurant, that is).

On Thursdays, they serve "Sunday Sauce" and all three at our table ordered it. It's basic but great - rigatoni with red sauce, with a side plate of the meat that goes into flavoring the sauce - a meatball, two pork ribs, one Italian sausage, and one piece of braciole. It's enough to feed two people but I ate it all (almost) since I rarely get this kind of meal at a restaurant. We also had an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms (sausage/Parmesan/garlic/basil), which were also good but I wish I would have been able to sample some more items. I'll have to go back - if I can get in.

Augustino's Restaurant
1104 Washington St
Hoboken, NJ 07030