KathyH's Profile
Private Party Locations in Central NJ?
We have held our annual animal shelter volunteer holiday party upstairs at alphonso for about 8 years now. We do the pizza party package to keep costs down. They always do a good job and the food is good too. They will work with you on liquor and will let you bring in your own cake too.
baby shower Brick area need suggestions
Thank you all for your help. Mom of the mom-to-be booked Martell's Tiki Bar. She said that they were able to work with her on price, which is good as when I called they were $$$. Not sure what it is like, some of the reviews look kind of iffy. Can't find any pics of their banquet room. Oh, well, it's booked.
Again, thanks all for your help.
KathyH
baby shower Brick area need suggestions
Thank you for all the replies. Right now we are looking at Tuscan House or The Villa, both in Toms River. It's tough not living in the area trying to pick a place.
baby shower Brick area need suggestions
Actually did stop in at Vitta Vittoria. Unfortunately their 2 private rooms are booked that day. We could have the shower in the restaurant itself. Would prefer a private room or area but it is on the back up list. Smelled good when I was in there.
baby shower Brick area need suggestions
We are looking to have a baby shower some place off the parkway approx. halfway from the Bridgewater area to the LBI area. Will be in the afternoon on Sunday, 4/15. I figure this puts us at about Point Pleasant or Brick. But willing to go a bit further north or south.
Would prefer a BYO so we could bring in our own liquor and a place with a private room but willing to look at all options.
Places we have looked at so far are Lobster Shanty/wharfside (has no availability), famous Daves (their party room wouldn't work, and others that have been too costly. Trying to keep it at $20 or under pp.
Considering Charlie Browns in Lakewood. They have a reasonable deal. Their private room is booked but they can put us in the room by the bar and set up partitions.
Waiting for a call back from Rellas in Brielle and going to call The Shrimp Box on Wednesday when they open.
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
KathyH
Belgian Restaurants in Central NJ
Monk's is awesome. Great beer selection and the mussels are fantastic as are the frites an their dipping sauce.
eating at the bar in Charleston
Will do. We are flexible in our plans and willing to go with the flow so to speak. Can't wait to chow down on some good southern cuisine.
eating at the bar in Charleston
Great, that is what we will probably do. Might do for most of the trip. I'm the one traveling with the fussy sister so this way lets us look over menus first before deciding on eating there.
My husband and I like to eat at the bar in most restaurants. It's fun and friendly. A good way to meet people.
Leaving Saturday for 3 nights in Savannah and 4 nights in Charleston. I'm ready and cant' wait.
eating at the bar in Charleston
Looks like I may have waited a bit too long to make reservations at some of the restaurants we are interested in for next week. One of them is FIG.
What are the chances of dining at the bar in most of the charleston restaurants?
KathyH
Savannah and Charleston trip
Sue, thanks for the quick reply. I think we'll do FIG on Tuesday when we get into town or maybe on Thursday.
Do most restaurants post menus outside?
Definitely will add both Closed for Business and Cocktail Club to the agenda. Thought it might be fun to hit one of the rooftop bars for drinks too. I know that drinks are usually over priced at roof top bars, but hey, we are on vacation. Fun to get a look at Charleston from a differant perpsective.
I also do not care for buffets at all. But Gullah Cuisine looked interesting. Plus thought it might be a scenic drive out through low country. Okay, scenic and slow due to traffice.
I know oysters are big down there but not one of my favorites. I will eat them raw but don't care for them cooked at all for some reason. I like clams and mussels but just not oysters.
Thanks again.
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Gullah Cuisine
1717 U.S.1717 U.S. 17, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
Savannah and Charleston trip
We will be headed south in a little over a week. We will be headed first to Savannah for three nights and then drive up to Charleston for four nights. It will be my husband, my sister and I. A first time trip for all of us.
My husband and I LOVE food. I have a serious obsession with food, love reading about, reading menus, plan trips around certain meals, and most of all eating. We like most kinds of foods, our biggest problem when looking at a menu is trying to decide what to eat. My sister on the other hand is extremely picky. I mean seriously picky. She doesnt' care for any spices on her foods and the only condiment she uses is butter. To be fair, she said don't plan around her, she'll find something to eat, but I would like to find places we all can eat.
We are from NJ and have a lot of good restaurants up this way. When down south I'd like to focus on southern cuisine, low country and gullah. Looking for some good fried chicken for one. I can't remember the last time I had fried chicken, good shrimp and grits, etc.
Another thing is my husband is a beer guy, likes brewpubs and interesting beers. I tend towards cocktails and wine. We love eating at a bar, and sometimes in cities wil have a bite at this place, a bite at that, and do that for an evening.
In Savannah we have reservations on the 22nd at Old Pinke House. Plan to go to Mrs. Wilkes on Monday for lunch. Had thought might be nice to head out to Tybee and maybe stop at the crab shack for a late lunch on Sunday. Is that worth doing? Other stops, more for my husband and his love of good beer would be Moon River Brewing and Crystal Beer palace. Our hotel has breakfast so only need lunch and dinner suggestions if there is any other must go place.
On Tuesday we drive up to Charleston. Thought it might be fun to drive out to Gullah Cuisine for lunch. We'll do a leisurely drive, exploring on the way.
Now Charleston is the big problem. You have way too many really good interesting choices.
We have reservations on Friday at Husk. I know it gets mixed reviews but I do want to go there. I'm hoping they will have a filet or steak on the menu that my sister will eat. I've heard the chef will not vary dishes or alter the menu.
I'd also like to go to Hominy Grill and Jestines for breakfast or lunch one day.
Other places on the radar are FIG, Cru Cafe, High Cotton, and Penisula Grill.
As I mentioned we like dining at the bar. What are the chances of going to any of those places and doing that. Or should we make reservations if we really want a place?
I've been all over this site and read a billion posts. I just get more and more confused.
Any help would be appreciated.
We can't wait until our trip.
KathyH
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Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Gullah Cuisine
1717 U.S.1717 U.S. 17, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
Octoberfest...
There is an octoberfest on Oct. 8th at Forest Lodge in Warren. We went last year and had a good time. Good selection of german beers and food, music and various other things. Here is a link -
http://www.forestlodgecatering.com/pdf/oktoberfest-2011.pdf
healthy bar recipe needed
We are doing a fundraiser walk in a few weeks and volunteers are baking goods to hand out. I'd like to make some kind of healthy bar cookie that still tastes good. Want a recipe without nuts as someone is making ones with nuts so like to option of nut free.
Doesn't have to have all kinds of things like flaxseed, etc., mainly just lowfat.
Thanks,
kathyH
Husk restaurant question
That is exactly my plan. Eat a late breakfast and then our early dinner at Husk. And Hominy Grill is on my list of breakfast/lunch places so that might be where we go that day. Yum! Can't wait!
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Hominy Grill
207 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Husk restaurant question
I decided to take an early reservation, 5:30. It's earlier than we usually eat but that is fine. It will give us plenty of time afterwards to wander and maybe get a second dessert elsewhere. Hey, I'm on vacation so what the heck.
While I like cheeseburgers I think when at Husk I'd probably order something more creative. Very excited about dining there.
Doing research now about where else to make reservations. Will post other questions in a separate post. Thanks all.
Husk restaurant question
Looks like I waited too long to make reservations for our late October visit as I can only get 5:30 or 9:30 reservations. I may just have us all eat a late breakfast and make a 5:30 reservation, but would prefer a little later.
I read they have a bar area. Do you need reservations for there? We will be in Charleston 10/28 and 10/29. What are the chances of 3 of us walking into the bar and gettting a seat at the bar or a table in the bar.
Thanks for your help.
KathyH
Black Eyed Susan's LBI this pas weekend
I like that they use locally sourced ingredients where possible. I wish more restuarants were farm to table type of places.
As you said, not that many choices down that area so I the BES was a very good choice.
Our other two possibles were L'Assinette, formerly Plate, and Yellow Fin. I read reviews that said both had terrible service. SIN and daughter like Yellow Fin but I got put off by the reviews that said they cater to the locals adn are rude to others. SIN is a local, but still that kind of attitude does not sit well with me.
Black Eyed Susan's LBI this pas weekend
We were down in LBI visiting daughter and her husband this past weekend.
Early in the day we took a drive south and went to Allen's Clam bar for lunch. Food was good. We split a small fried scallop platter and they scallops were good, very lightly breaded, not greasy and sweet. Husband had the fried clams and loved them. Daughter had the cold seafood plate which had shrimp salad, a couple cold shrimp, some clams and what they called sea flakes. Turns out those were sea legs. Now for the life of me I cannot see why any restaurant would ever serve them, much less a jersey seafood restaurant. I had the crabcake sandwich. I was okay, not spectacular but not bad. Oh, I started with the new england clam chowder. Unfortunately it was not hot and nary a clam could be found it it, thought it did have a decent taste. A little too thick for me.
We stopped at Renault Winery for something to do and did the tour and tasting. The tour was excellent, really good. But what made it good and fun was the tour guide, she was humorous, interesting and the stories were fascinating. She made the tour. As for the tasting it as better than I expected, a couple of the reds were quite good. I bought a bottle of their white merlot for my sister. I found it sickeningly sweet which means she will love it.
Dinner was a Black Eyed Susans. I was trying to decide between there, Yellow Fin, or L'assinette and after reading reviews picked Black Eyed Susans. I called two weeks ago and had no trouble getting in for Saturday night. Apparently the place is a cafe during the day and they add tables and turned it into a dinner spot not too long ago. What I liked is that they could have fit more tables inside but chose not to. We did not feel like we were jammed in there.
Now getting to the food. I thought it was wonderful. The guys had the shrimp and grits. Shrimp were perfectly cooked, the sauce spicy and flavorful, the grits rich and tasty. Could have used a few more grits maybe. The girls had the roasted beet salad with fresh ricotta crostini. The plate consisted of a couple kinds of roasted baby beets, the crostini and a flavorful vinargrette. It was so tasty. Nice and light too.
Dinner my husband had the strip steak. Not sure how it was because he barely took a breath as he ate. He said it was very good. Daughter and her husband had the seared scallops. They tasted as if just caught from the sea, sweet and tender, nicely seared in a tasty sauce. I had the crabcakes which were pretty much all jumbo lump crab and had a hint of tarragon. They were also very good.
We all wanted dessert but sadly had no room. It is not cheap but I'd go back there in a second, I thought the food outstanding.
KathyH
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Allen's Clam Bar
5650 US Highway 9 N, New Gretna, NJ 08224
Renault Winery Restaurant
72 N Bremen Ave, Egg Harbor City, NJ 08215
Husk Experience (Charleston)
I realize you can't have the bar menu in the dining room but can you have the dining room menu in the bar area?
Great Steak Casual Atmosphere in New Hope/Lambertville?
I got a mojito there once and sent it back. I will not drink a mojito mix mojito or one with mint flavored rum or mint schnapps instead of real mint. Had a mojito at Marsha Brown's once that was also undrinkable.
Husk Experience (Charleston)
My pet peeve at any restaurant is when salt and pepper are not available. Some people may prefer their food more salted or peppered. My not be the chef's preference but it is the diner's and their request should be honored.
Last Saturday in the city
Just a good report on our day in the city last Saturday. We went in to see a show, Anything Goes. We both thought it very good.
Day started with brunch at Locande Verde, we got the suggestion here and it was a good one. We started with the fresh sheeps milk ricotta with truffle honey and burnt orange toast. Oh, man was that good. I've been craving it ever since. I might have like the toast to have a stronger orange flavor, but that is minor.
The bread that came to the table was focaccia with carmelized onions. I am not normally a fan of focaccia as I find it heavy and greasy. This was light as could be with a super crispy crust and was not greasy.
My friend had the lemon ricotta pancakes. Boy were these delicious. They were lemony and rich with ricotta flecks. Only quibble here is if the pancakes had that crispy edge that would have been even better. Still I'd order them if we went back.
I had the hazelnut crusted french toast. It was good but the pancakes were better.
We rolled out of there, wandered and found ourselves in Jacque Torres chocolate shop. We each got two. I love chocolate so no matter what I'm happy. These were good. I particulary liked the chai tea spice one I had, it was subtle but nicely spiced with a slight afterburn. Caught a cab up to the theater and had time to kill. Wandered into Byrant park and stopped at the little outdoor bar for a drink. The drink was not memorable but the setting was fun. There was a lovely breeze and people watching was great. A good spot to remember.
After the show went back downtown to the Standard for a drink. Friend had a Pimms cup and I had a Penny drop which is their version of a moscow mule. Ginger is my thing right now so I look to any ginger drink. It was quite good. Siting outside this is another great people watching spot. My one question is, what is with the dresses the waitstaff wears? I thought they were seriously ugly, looked they should be waitressing at a HoJos.
Dinner was at Barbuto, we both wanted to try the chicken they are known for. While my friend loved it, I thought it good but not stellar. The skin was not really crackly crispy like I was hoping. Flavor was good and chicken moist. The potato side dish was good. I think it was a baked potato that wasa smashed and deep fried, then sprinkle with parm and herbs. Very tasty. Jonathon Waxman was there and was quite personable. I did like the restaurant, the staff were friendly, and the service good.
Lastly we walked to Sweet Revenge. Friend wanted to go there as she liked the idea of pairing cupcakes with wines. I had heard that it was just okay. Place is tiny but that was fine. I was surprised that they only had 5 flavors to choose from. I realize they may have had many more during the day but thought that on a Saturday night they'd be busy an want a better selection. We got one to split, a coconut cupcake. They paired that with a vanilla bellini which was sparkling wine with vanilla syrup. It was sickeningly sweet on it's own but paired okay with the cupcake. I didn't love it though. As for the cupcake, probably up there with the worst I've ever had. The cake itself was dry, tough, dense and just not good. It did have decent coconut flavor but still was terrible. The icing while coconutty was extremely sweet. I didn't even finish my half of the cupcake and I always finish cake. I should have listened to the reviews and gone elsewhere.
Still all in all a great day in the city.
Thanks all for your help and suggestions.
KathyH
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Jacques Torres
350 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
Barbuto
775 Washington St., New York, NY 10014
Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013
The Standard Biergarten
848 Washington St, New York, NY 10014
Great Steak Casual Atmosphere in New Hope/Lambertville?
Hamilton's Grill in Lambertville is byob and might be what you are looking for. Marsha Brown's also has good steaks.
dessert in the west village
Thanks for the feedback. I've read mixed reviews on Sweet Revenge, I think more negatives than positives. I'll have to check out Victory Garden.
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Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Victory Garden
31 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Your Favorite Drinks 'n' Apps spot
Yes, that would be a problem, I forgot to check hours. Pegu Club sounds like it would be a great stop. I'll add that to the list and tomorrow we'll decide.
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Pegu Club
77 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012
dessert in the west village
Figure since I was asking about before dinner drinks figure I'd ask about after dinner dessert. My friends wants to go to Sweet Revenge for dessert after dinner. My problem with there is that I read the cupcakes are huge. I prefer smaller cupcakes, not minis, but smaller. That way you can try two differant kinds.
For me, I'd be just as happy stopping into one of the gelato places in the village. But I also love fantastic really interesting desserts the kind that you just don't make a home.
Any place that we can wander into in the west village area and have a great dessert?
Thanks again for your help.
KathyH
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Sweet Revenge
62 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Your Favorite Drinks 'n' Apps spot
Thanks for the reply. I'll scratch Spotted Pig and reserve that for a time when we plan to eat there. I had thought of Little Branch but we were hoping to have before dinner drinks. They don' t open until 7. I know, I know that is early for NYC but we were thinking of drinks more around 5 or so.
KathyH
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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014
Little Branch
22 Seventh Ave South, New York, NY 10014
Your Favorite Drinks 'n' Apps spot
I have the same question but was looking to stay in the West Village area before drinks. Looking at The Spotted Pig, Employees Only and Tavern on Jane. We like a good and interesting cocktail. Any suggestions or input about my choices?
Thanks,
KathyH
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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014
Tavern on Jane
31 8th Ave, New York, NY 10014
Employees Only
510 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
LBI dining
Thanks. We've been to the Black Whale a number of times and really like it. We like Mud City a lot too. It's just that we always go there so looking for someplace differant.
I know a lot of people prefer BYOs but I'm not one of them. My husband drinks beer, as does my SIL, my step-daughter will have that or wine, I drink wine but often prefer a cocktail first. A liquor license gives us more options. Plus I think sometimes that BYOs seem to charge more for food so in the end your bill is not that much more.
I checked out Stefano's and while it looks good it is italian and we'd prefer not.
We'd love a good seafood restaurant. Which probably brings us back to Black Whale or Mud City, huh?
KathyH
brunch questions
Thanks Kathryn, we decided on LocandaVerde. Making reservations tomorrow.
KathyH
