We will be staying in Beachwood for a few nights in early June. Dinners are set for all but one night. Any suggestions for a chow-worthy place in or around the area? Thanks.

Two years ago we had a 90th birthday party/luncheon at Garlic Rose in Cranford. Private room with bar downstairs (if stairs are an issue, this may not work for you), food was excellent, and price was right.

The guys in the big office were asleep at the wheel. They can't keep getting the benefits of a franchising arrangement without keeping close tabs on franchisees' activities. It's not just about making sure that the napkins display the company's logo.

Loved the intro to your review. I (we) lived on 6th St. in the early to mid '70's, when there were only three Indian places--Shah Bagh was our go-to joint, probably because we could get out for about 50 cents less than the other places. Once we left the nabe for Brooklyn, we returned to the block a few times, but eventually the Jackson Diner stole our affections. They relocated and went downhill about the same time we moved to Jersey. We now live just a short drive from Oak Tree Road in Edison, where our general impression is overpriced food that can be OK, but not good enough to get us back. This sentiment seems to be borne out by posts on CH's New Jersey board, where no single place has garnered a critical mass of favorable comments, and the consensus seems to be that downhill slides are so predictable, no review is valid more than six months after it is published.

We were in HH in early February, we went to Hudsons three times in 4 days. The oysters--steamed, fried and on the half-shell, were outstanding. There may be valid reasons to criticize their more "creative" preparations, but that is not why we went there, and I can't speak to that. Stick to the basics.

Add Blackberry's in Plainfield to the list of restaurants that failed even after Kitchen Nightmares' intervention.

For whatever it's worth, they just got a pretty favorable review in the Star-Ledger (3/8).

We had dinner at Origins a couple of Saturdays ago. Food (upscale Thai/fusion) is quite good--but service bordered on the hostile. Reservations are necessary.

Deli-King's sloppy joes are outstanding!

I was never impressed by SP's dim sum, even as it was years ago. Wonder Seafood on Rt 27 in Edison is much better.

I like all hot cereals, but in particular, I like the 7-grain that Whole Foods sells in its bulk foods department. Their organic old-fashioned oats are excellent. If the slimy texture of oatmeal bugs you, try putting the oats into the water after it comes to a boil, instead of before--it preserves the texture. I always add raisins to any cereral I cook up, sometimes chunks of apple, sometimes a few peanuts--before mixing in sugar substitute and Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein powder.

This place has been around for over a year, I looked at their posted menu, which looks interesting, but no prices. By coincidence, Groupon now has a deal going on. Has anyone been there?

We returned to Blvd Five72 last night and had a great meal. Service issues that we experienced the first time around were completely absent--our waitstaff went out of their way--even opened a bottle of the wine were were considering to give us a taste (it was excellent and we stayed with it). Winter menu includes lamb shanks, which is what I ordered as a main, extremenly rich and full-flavored, served with an equally rich parmesan risotto, and roasted root vegetables. Highly recommend this restaurant.

Four Seasons is our go-to place for Thai, been so for over 10 years. If it were in NYC, there would be 2 hour waits.

Other suggestions in the Rahway vicinity that come to mind--I did not see any requests from the OP for Chinese, but Wonder Seafood in Edison is a destination for anyone seeking the best Hong Kong-Cantonese in NJ. Excellent dim sum on weekends. Also, since chains came up, I have always liked the Bonefish Grill on RT 1 in Woodbridge/Iselin. Plus (and this should make the OP feel like he's back in Fort Lauderdale), they have earlybird (called happy hour) bar specials--d/r whether they discount food, but drinks are half-price.

Completely disagee about Skylark. See my posts from several years ago.

Agreed--was just there last week for the first time in years, and while OK, it is nowhere close to what it was 10 years ago.

This past Saturday night we went to Vinhus for the first time an awhile. I used to really like this place--food was a cut above the other Portugese places in the area, and the services was competent and friendly. That has all changed. Our disastrous experience on Saturday night was something out of Kitchen Nightmares. We were seated for a good 15 minutes before our waitress came over, and she was not yet ready to take our order. Someone brought the bread basket, no water until we asked. When she came back, the waitress did not write the order down, had to come back to confirm, further delaying things. They had two salmon preps on the menu--one was a special that night, which my wife ordered. The prep from the standard menu was what came out, and the piece of salmon was a fraction of the size of that which the special delivered. We sent it back, they returned it with the original piece of salmon, which now had the texture of parchment, haphazardly thrown together with the specialty sides. I complaint to the owner, he said he would take care of it, but nothing was done. When I got the check, we were billed for the full price of the two dinners.

Stay far, far away from here!

It was very funny to read this today as the most recent post on the NJ Board. We are good friends with Michael's mother, and we saw her last night. When his name came up in the conversation, I told her that he had an active and loyal following on Chowhound, and needless to say she was thrilled to hear this!

We went to Blvd Five72 several days ago--thanks to our internet being deep-sixed by Sandy, this is my first chance to post. We were very impressed by the food we had there. I ordered the app of the sauteed day boat scallops, which we ended up sharing--possibly the most flavorful we have ever had, slightly caramelized on the outside, really good. Served on a lentil-celery puree--apple smoke bacon mix that was not very interesting. I had the loin of venison as a main, highest possible quality, again packed with flavor. My wife had the veal chop, she was in love with it.

Gripes: desserts were not up to the standards of the starters and mains. They are known for the gelato--we found them terribly disappointing (Gelateria Neri in Florence is our gold standard for gelato--this did not come close). I had some sort of chocoate-peanut butter concoction that did not really impress me either. Also, serious service issues, that have been raised in other forums, and which are stil. the case. Our waiter was, to be kind, unpolished. He brought my scallops on one plate, never came back to ask if we wanted a second plate for sharing the order. At some point, he vanished, and was replaced by someone else who was much more professional. Finally, they have a great winelist, but it was very hard to get any knowledgeable information when trying to make a choice. Our first waiter was unable to answer any of my questions. At my request, he somewhat reluctantly called in the manager, who was more helpful, but still had to admit that he had not tried some of the wines I was asking about. We ended up with a very nice choice, not terribly expensive (prices on the wines do skew high there), that was a good match for our orders, but I can't help but think I could have done better with more input.

Despite the flaws, we would definitely return.

Forgot about Manolo's, which is would be a great choice. It's in Port Elizabeth.

Vinhus is a good Portuguese restaurant located in Roselle Park, which is on the Elizabeth border. They are open for lunch.

Have known about this place for years, considering it for a special dinner. A few reviews on this board, very favorable, but none of them recent. Has anyone been there lately?

Not our experience at all. Maybe we're talking about a different person, but Tommy has consistently recommended some of the best dishes we've had at Wonder Seafood--dishes that have become part of our mainstay menu there.

The Stonehouse on Stirling Road is a beautiful restaurant, food is excellent.

Here's a recipe I adapted years ago from a recipe out of Miss Ruby's cookbook--she owned a restaurant in New Orleans that we went to in the '80's. I took her ingredients, reduced the fat and sugar and added one more banana. It's not very sweet, has a good moist texture, and is a great way of getting the most out of overripe bananas:

Approx. 2 Tblsp Crisco
1/2 C. or less sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 bananas--the riper the better
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C flour

Lg. loaf pan, greased and floured.

Oven @ 350

Using a potato masher, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs. Mash in bananas well. Add salt, soda and vanilla, stir well. Mix in flour until moist, do not overmix. Use a spoon--do not use a mixer or food processer.

To this, I often add a handful of blueberries, or some chopped walnuts or almonds, along with dried cranberries or raisins. Lots of other possibilities.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, bake until just done, which is about 60 minutes give or take. It's done when it just solidifies on top. DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!

Their mostly negative report on the San Marzano Pasta Bar in Westfield was interesting. Earlier this summer I stopped in there late in the afternoon for an expresso--nobody there knew how to operate the machine, and they ran around like chickens without heads looking for "the girl." Then one of the guys said he knew how--I asked for a double, and received a single shot in a large cup. Sounds like they are still not ready for prime time.

I've lived in Union County for 15 years and know of no place I would go back to or try. OTOH, we love Wonder Seafood on Rt 27 in Edison, where we've been going for years. Not far from most places in Union County. The food is Hong Kong/Cantonese, and the clentele is mostly Chinese families who come from all over the state. Many specials posted in Chinese on the walls, but if Tommy--the restaurant's manager--is there, ask him what's available. Dim Sum served every day, but best selection is on weekends--it's excellent.

We just spent about 9 days driving around SW Oregon, on vacation, and up the coast as far as Florence. In no particular order, here are some of our impressions.

As I reported in an earlier post, we did not find anything memorable in Florence--one mediocre meal at Mo's convinced us to look elsewhere the next night, and we ended up at the ICM C-food next door on Bay Street the next night, somewhat better, but still not exceptional. Ice cream place across the street was excellent.

Same with Brookings--we went to O'Holleran's, salmon was overdone--they said it was Coho, but it had no character to speak of.

We also stopped briefly in Bandon, a fun place, and had some sandwiches at a place on the waterfront, can't remember the name, but they were just OK.

Grants Pass--a strong rec for the One Fifteen Broiler--a place that specializes in steaks, and really delivers. Excellent NY Strips, we both asked for rare, and that is how they came, along with killer garlic mashed potatoes. Really good wine list. Sensational Umpqua ice cream for dessert. While I read that the prices were high for that area, we are used to paying much more for steak of this quality in NYC or NJ. Definitely worth a drive.

Finally, Ashland. We asked a friend who lives in the area for a rec--he admitted that they rarely ate out in Ashland ("small portions, high prices"), but he recommended Wiley's, which specializes in pasta, salads, and the occasional beef or chicken special. We went there three times--absolutely fell in love with the place, which is outside of the center on town, on Ashland Street (Route 66). It's a tiny place near the campus of SOU. Truly Chowworthy, Waitstaff is some of the friendliest we've ever encountered, the handmade pastas and sauces are delicious, the portions generous and the prices very reasonable. Some nice local wines available. Desserts--terrific homemade ice cream and a standout marionberry/peach cobbler. They do get busy, get there early if you don't want to wait for a table.

Add Mo's to the list of overrated places in Florence. I (a NJ-based Chowhounder) was there last week--we both had totally mediocre seafood at what is supposed to be one of the Oregon coast's best places. The next night we went to the place next door (could not get a reservation or even a bar stool at Waterfront Depot), which was marginally better (at least they did not overdo the salmon like Mo's did). Bottom line, no memorable Chow experience for us in Florence.

Curlz's friend is right on the money. We were there about 6 months ago, and I thought the place, even with the stunning view of the lake, could really use a makeover. Particularly since the Stone House, right up the road, serves excellent food in a beautiful dining room.