I am very excited to be headed to Chicago for the holidays. Nearly 200 places on my list to prioritize for check out (so much food, so little stomach). I try to hit 6 to 8 places in a day and sample places and items featured on TV food shows, collecting lots of left overs along the way. It certainly helps to have at least one partner to share with and the woman will only put up with so much of that. So I am looking for anyone who would be interested in joining in. I'm up for anything from hot dog stands to fine dining and with such a long list can be pretty flexible. Not sure which days I'll be chowing down but there should be several between the 21st when we arrive and our departure on the 28th. Staying on the north side but plan to roam all over town. email me: warmbeers at the mail address for google users or just respond here.
TIA
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Took a little food tour through CT & MA earlier this week. One stop was the farmer's stand near Northampton, Outlook Farm. Another customer there was raving about their Orange Watermelon. So much so that I decided to try one. Unfortunately had too many other items to carry and after leaving the store intending to go back for the paid for melon I got distracted and left it behind. So now I am even more interested in finding out what I'm missing. Has anyone tried one of these? Anyone know of anywhere in Northern or Central Jersey that they are available for purchase?

And then the Crawfish. Used to enjoy filling up on these at the annual festival in Suffolk. But the price of admission went out of reach this year ($40). Is there anyone serving Crawfish or have fresh ones for sale in NJ?

TIA
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They charge you extra to get a fork and knife? Sounds like TT alright. ;-}

Roseville is a neighborhood of North Newark, but for purposes of this post I'll define it as the area bordered by I-280, GSParkway, Branch Brook Park and Bloomfield Avenue. I live nearby and every time I drive down Bloomfield I wonder about all the little restaurants and BBQ joints along the way. Recently I've started exploring a few and plan to use this thread to review a couple. Today I had to pick up some hardware from Kaslander's lumber yard and decided to try the little Dominican sandwich shop across the street (La Fritanga-not on Google maps yet).
For $7.50 I got a very tasteful chimichurri (Dominican burger), and good size order of Tostones and an imported soda. The soda was labled Merengue and after a discussion with the server, who could not give me a Gringo equivalent for the flavor but assured me I should try it, I found it to be very similar to a cream soda.
The sandwich had very fresh ingredients including cabbage and tomatoes and a sauce along with a frozen burger patty (I know it was frozen as they received a delivery while i was there, which included several boxes of patties).
The Tostones were delicious, lightly salted with a crisp exterior but not overcooked. They retained the flavor of the plantains and made me think of them as a substitute for french fries, a connection I had not made previously.
For the price this was a very good deal for the metro NY area. I was pleased.

So wondering if anyone else has visited places in this area that they can recommend, or warn me off?

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I gotta say there are some annoying things about this interface, like not being able to quote or post in different fonts, or preview my post. The below are the relevant statements in this thread about the Tick Tock:

Barbara: Tick Tock Diner -- Rt. 3, Clifton (oh, the late nights and hamburger deluxes of my youth)... 6/06

Ike: I don't visit diners often, but the Tick Tock is a good one. Good pancakes.

NJfoodLover: Tick Tock (Great Diner Food) - Route 3 in Clifton

milupa: Just got rated #3 in the state of NJ just under Ticktock and Mastoris.

adameats: Top 5 fav diners- (no order) Tick Tock...

Can someone please explain to me what the attraction is? I just do not get it. Is it just that the location is very visible, or maybe it's nostalgia. After the external refurb a few years ago it looks good outside and the EAT HEAVY clock is memorable, but my visit for breakfast was anything but. The decor is pretty shabby and nothing I had was at all memorable. "Great pancakes" - how badly can you mess up pancakes. I really would like to know. I just don't get it.

Oh, and the Babaganoush, really smoky flavor, which I love, others might not, but for me makes it even better.

Beyond Pita in Montclair is excellent, some items a little pricey but good fresh quality ingredients. Had a Shwarma this week, my favorite. Only negative is they stuff so much in the pita that it is impossible to eat without getting it all over yourself.
82 Church St
Montclair, NJ 07042

Does anyone have a source for pumpernickel flour in northern NJ? I've been making my own pizza dough and wanted to try a pumpernickel version.

What makes it so good? Creamy or Cakey (I like creamy)? With or without toppings(no toppings for me)? Crust or crustless(a graham cracker crust can't hurt, especially if chocolate or coconut is included-nor frequently found in this area)? Flavors evident other than cream cheese (I like a hint of lemon)?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind for next time. I did some searching here and on Roadfood and came up with several suggestions, but the brewery would have been a welcome addition.

On the way out we stopped off Senape's Bakery in Hazelton for some of their famous cold pizza to hold us over. It is a little hard to find but worth it for their delicious and very reasonably priced baked goods and extremely friendly service.

We got to Hughesville just in time to pick up our package and stopped off at May's Drive in in Muncy. Seems to be a local chain of 5 or 6 locations, which have a 50's nostalgia feel. They have old fashioned BBQ sandwiches (pork, turkey, hamburger, ham) which are not available everywhere, reasonable prices, and a tasty sweet relish, but the bun crust was a little stale, although the interior was soft and fresh. Someone had touted the large shakes for $2.50, but they were the standard soft serve plus milk version. The onion rings were ok but not excellent. Overall only an average place.

Further along we decided to try the Powerhouse Eatery in White Haven which we had seen on the way out and looked inviting, even though we had no reviews to go by. That was a lucky choice. Although not inexpensive the food, atmosphere and service were all exceptional, including a good choice of bottled beers. I had a Rogue Deadguy Ale, which seems to have recently been more widely imported from the west coast, where i enjoyed it on my trip last summer. My friend had a tasty cheese steak on whole wheat Ciabatta (first time I've seen that) and as soon as I saw the Lobster Mac & Cheese I knew that was the dish for me.

The rest of the trip home was a little hairy, as we got caught in a downpour and my wiper moter chose that inopportune time to conk out. But we made it back to NJ even with the limited visibility and an overall satisfying food adventure.

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Can someone please explain to me the appeal of Tick Tock diner? Been there for breakfast, which was just very standard and somewhat higher priced than most places, with below average service. Outside is appealing with the chrome, etc. but inside is somewhat dowdy. I have been to many many much much better NJ diners including:
Nevada in Bloomfield
Jefferson in Hopatcong
Pilgrim in Cedar Grove
I'd even rather eat at 6 Brothers just a little further west on 46 than the Tick Tock. I figured they must be living off their rep. but when I see several folks here still recommending them I just wonder ... am I really missing something or is it more nostalgia than a real consideration of the current status. I've been to more than 30 places covered by DDD and the T/T was one of the few to really be disappointing.
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Still learning the ropes around here. Is there a way to set the view of a thread so that it displays in sequence rather than according to which post was replied to? I find it hard to know if I have seen the latest post or not on any given thread.
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Not sure about the feeling about cross posting here. I tried to find something in the etiquette post but found no restirictions. I posted similar in the NJ board a little while ago.

Traveling from NJ along I-80 on Saturday out Rte 80 to near Muncy PA and back. Looking for any particularly special food locations along the way.

TIA
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duh, yes i know how to copy and paste. I'm talking about something like this:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Hi-guy...
(see the 3rd post as an example

where the quoted post includes attribution to the original poster and the font is different. Guess not available here.

Traveling from Montclair area on Saturday out Rte 80 to near Muncy PA. Looking for any particularly special food locations along the way to break up the ride. TIA
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Agree on the consistency issue.
Sort of like Longfellow's girl with the curl.
"When she was good she was very, very good
But when she was bad she was horrid"

" I had one called Palin (?) "
You don't by chance mean Palm? Often served in a special glass, more like a brandy snifter.

Off topic for a newbie. Is there a way to quote a previous post. Most boards have that but I don't see it here???

typical

Also will show up in the status bar at the bottom of the window if you roll over a post on a list of posts, like from the main page of one of the boards. You can play stumble within the discussion area by just changing that number in the URL line and hitting return.

Me to. Hopefully I have timed this right and hit post number 800,000! (Actually 790,000 since it seems that 10,000 is the first post back in 1998).

I would bet that in many cases where they are being that aggressive about collecting double tip it is quite unlikely that ANY of the gratuity gets to the server, whether collected by him/her or not. That part IS most likely illegal, although quite difficult to prove or to get the help to admit to.

I remember an article in the NY Times a few years ago about US Chinese restaurants that explained how the workers connect to an informal network and frequently move around the country working at different independent locations. Would think it makes for much opportunity for collusion among the owners.

Just my cynical side coming out.

Bruce. Jungleland.
"sitting on the hood of a Dodge. Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain. "
Besides the fact that beer tastes better when it is not as cold as normally served in the US.

Still can't believe that we'll never get to hear Clarence do that Jungleland solo live again.

Recent transplant from another board. Just having some trouble getting oriented. For one thing, there was no apparent direct way to get to this board (Site Talk) or did i miss it. Only stumbled on to it by doing a search for "places mentioned". Which is my real question.

Is there a FAQ that explains it (PM) in a little detail? How come some threads have it and others do not? How come some locations mentioned in a thread appear while others do not? Is there a way to save the maps? Join the maps? Get a map for all recent places mentioned in a specific board? Are there any other mapping features on this site i may have missed? I'm a huge fan of mapping locations and created my own MapMuse map that included all the locations for DDD, BTIEA, Man VS Food, Outrageous Food, etc, Has there been any activity here of that type?

Meeting a couple friends tomorrow morning. I'll be coming across the TZB, they're coming up the New Eng. Thruwy. White Plains or there abouts seems like a good place to meet. Read some comments here about City Limits Diner and Star Diner. One guest is a native Afghani visiting US for first time so would like to give him a typical experience. If there were a funky little coffee shop/breakfast place that might be preferred. Otherwise a NY/NJ style diner would do. How do those 2 places compare and is there any other option.
TIA
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City Limits Diner
200 Central Ave, White Plains, NY 10606

"The Porterhouse in Northvale (formerly Jose O'reilys, Cormacks, etc) is turning into a bbq place with Jay Lippin manning the smoker "

Welcome news. Miss the Backwoods. Thought Jay moved to Manhattan. Any idea when this will open?
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