fuma's Profile
Long Beach Island, NJ?
The Caribbean restaurant in Harvey Cedars is great. I think it's called Cinnamon Bay.
best coffee brand, period!
Cafe Yaucono, a puerto rican ground coffee that has flavor, but is not bitter. You can buy it on Ebay where they ship it from Yauco PR or buy it at hispanic supermarkets. You can get the Yauco Selecto from fancy coffee bean places. it tends to be pricey at more than $20 per pound. The regular Yaucono is five dollars for a half pound.
Puerto Rican coffee - Yaucono or Cafe Rico
In NYC there is Yaucono a the Associated Supermarket on Third Avenue on the East side. They sell it for more than twice the price in PR but you don't have to buy a plane ticket. It costs about $5 for 8 oz. It's not the select, but the Cafe Molido or regular coffee.
Why is NYC appliance repair so difficult?
Try Peter Natoli of Father and Son Appliance Repair at (718) 344-3362 or at his website at www.appliancerepairbrooklyn.com
He is professional, timely and very, very reasonable. We actually picked him up and drove him into Manhattan and back. He is available on weekends and nights, too. He does all kind of appliance repairs and handled our vintage stove with great care. I highly recommend him.
Stove repair in NYC?
Peter Natoli of Father and Son Appliance Repair (718) 344-3362. His website is www.appliancerepairbrooklyn.com. He is thorough, respectful, timely and very, very reasonable in his rates. We live in Manhattan and we drove out to Brooklyn to bring him to our home. He didn't charge for the travel and made our 1951 stove work like a charm. In addition to vintage stoves, he is great with current appliance repairs of all kinds. He learned the trade from his father and has been doing this work for more than 25 years. I highly recommend him.
Best 36" gas range under $2000?
Go vintage! Most stoves from the 1960's and 1950's were 36 inches and they cook beautifully. Check craigslist or www.stovelist.com for locals who are selling.
vintage stoves?
Thanks, Leroy. I have figured out my !950's stove now and it working like a charm. With the help of a great appliance guy, we saw that the oven control valve shaft needed to be replaced. The part was $75. It took about eight hours of the guy's labor to source the problem and fix it, but he only charged us $100!. It cooks so nicely.
Le Jardin, Edgewater?
We went to Le Jardin for a birthday dinner. While it was nice to see the view, the food was just ok and very expensive. I would recommend instead Santorini Taverna in Fort Lee on 2020 Central Road, right near the Bridge. (201) 947-2055. It just opened in early 2009 and is run by the former captain of the Palm Court from the Plaza. It feels like a beautiful greek island taverna with reasonable prices, fresh seafood and meats, salads, soups, all from scratch! The service is warm and welcoming. Highly recommended
Birthday dinner in Fort Lee
Santorini Taverna at 2020 Central Road in Fort Lee just a few streets away from the GW Bridge on a quiet road. (201) 947-2055. Just opened this year by the former longtime captain of the Palm Court from the Plaza! They serve fresh seafood, great lamb, beautiful salads and soups for reasonable prices with large portions and great, warm service. They have a dining patio, too. What a lovely place for a birthday lunch or dinner
vintage stoves?
LeroyT,
Does your Roper have separate broiler and oven? If so, how do you light your oven?
I have a 1953 Magic Chef and can light everything but the oven.
Thanks
Piermont Restaurant--Great Diner Food-Great People!
Sorry for delay in response. I believe they do dinner too....up till 8 pm.
Great Sunday Bargain at Berta's Chateau in Wanaque, NJ
Just returned from a fabulous Sunday lunch at Berta's Chateau in Wanaque, NJ....about 30 minutes outside of NYC. For $23 you get a choice of 10 different appetizers, 10 different entrees and dessert with coffee, tea or espresso along with the usual Berta's delicious freebies which include three different homemade dips with crudites and fresh bread, farina dolce (breaded sweet semolina cubes flavored with lemon) and a fresh vegetable medley. The service is very attentive. Peter 's wine cellar is amazing and you'll find unusual Italian wines at half the cost of an NYC restaurant. The regular four course menu and a la carte menus are available too. It is a warm and welcoming place with Northern style Italian food that Peter sources from here and Italy. Take advantage of the recession specials. Go, go go!
Piermont Restaurant--Great Diner Food-Great People!
Was taken to a small diner in Tenafly, NJ yesterday and fell in love with the place. It's called Piermont Restaurant at 72 Piermont Road...(tel no. is 201-568-0133).
They make EVERYTHING HOMEMADE AND TO ORDER!!!!! It is a family owned and run diner that has been here forever and known mostly to locals. They serve breakfast, lunch and on some days, dinner. Everything is made from scratch and served with warmth and timeliness. I had a truly homemade chicken soup with pastini and noodles. Nancy runs the place and her folks come from the Piedmont section of Italy. Her pride in her food shows! The physical layout of the diner is not fancy....no snobs should come here...Just true lovers of great homecooked food and kindness...I especially loved the fresh tomatoes in the side salad, the crispy bacon on my sandwich and the full-bodied tea that I got...not some wimpy, weak tea bag...but a true tea lover's tea..It is very reasonably priced. Go have a bit of home with Nancy and her gang!
Catia's Kitchen & Classic Cakes
I'm from NYC and was visiting with friends from Scottsdale who took my husband and I here. There is genuine warmth and care at this bistro. Our friends come here often and love it. It is BYO....there is a Basha's down the block. I have food allergies and they were totally accommodating...(unfortunately not typically the case in NYC). I had a lovely grilled salmon with a nice side salad. I shared a tiramisu for dessert. The others in our group had a beef roulade with an appetizer of bruschetta that came in a variety of ways (different toppings, not just traditional tomato). The service was unrushed. The only tiny complaint was that the server never brought me a requested tea. We left in such a good mood that my husband forgot his package. By the time we realized, we were 40 minutes away and the restaurant seemed like it might have closed. Fortunately, it hadn't and the staff stayed until we returned for our package. I would definitely return for the food and the hospitality!
Lunch in Sedona?
I second the recommendation for Picazzo's...try the chocolate chip cookie pie (a donation from each pie is made to cancer research group and the pie is awesommmmmme!) A second Sedona recommendation is the Cowboy Club....great game pot pie, great steaks and chicken fried chicken steak, great cold beer and locals like to drink at the bar...we are talking real cowboys!
Please comment on my upcoming trip PHX to Sedona to Grand Canyon to Vegas
Highly recommend Rock Springs Cafe for pie and lunch. Highly recommend Cowboy Club for great game pot pie, steaks, chicken fried chicken steak, great beer and locals who are friendly and like to chat. Recommend Piccazzo for amazing varieties of gourmet pizza and a killer chocolate chip cookie pie.
Enchantment's restaurants are good, but not great. However, the view is awesome.
Sedona- Cowboy Club or Relics? or Ken's Creekside?
We just returned from Sedona and the Cowboy Club really made our visit memorable. My husband had the game pot pie....it had elk, buffalo, and I think even some rattlesnake meat. He raved about the flaky crust and yummy sauce. Yes, it is crowded, but you can eat at the bar with no wait. The beers are cold, the company is local. We talked to two local ranch hands who were having an end-of-day drink at the bar and got a great insider's view to local news and views.
Pie or Cheesecake for Wedding in Phoenix
Let me give another call out to Rock Springs Cafe and their pies. They are truly light, flavorful and delicious. I also would recommend the Jack Daniels Pecan Pie. It was not too alcoholic. Just the right amount of bourbon flavor. The Blackberry was not too sweet or too tart. My husband and I had pie as our wedding dessert (though it was here in New Jersey). It is a great twist on the wedding tradition. Congrats to you and your fiancee.
What should I have at Rack & Soul?
The Fried Chicken is to die for. You can and should request all dark meat. Have it with their smoked collard greens and candied yams or coleslaw. Ymmmmm.
The mac and cheese is ok, but not great. Love those honey sweetened warm biscuits, too! BTW, the fried chicken has been consistently good over the dozen times I have been there in the past two years....(any more visits and my LDL would be so high!)
Stony Hill Inn - Hackensack - My Mom's 80th!!
My husband's family has been going to Berta's since the 1950's. Berta's grandson, Peter, has been running Berta's for a number of years now. He has an absolutely amazing wine list. When we would go for a meal, my wine-knowledgeable in-laws would order something that no one else was yet carrying in NYC. Sure enough, about two years later, you would see other restaurants carrying that wine or that vineyard. He goes to Italy regularly to source wines and other products. E.g. I remember we had a duck prosciutto there once (So much for saying Berta's is only traditional).
The ultimate compliment I heard about Berta's came from my mother-in-law who said she never ate gnocchi out because her mother's version had spoiled her. Guess what? She eats the gnocchi at Berta's! The prices are for an entire multi course meal which includes a full multicourse antipasti, pasta course, salad course, main course and dessert along with homemade biscotti. My husband's grandmother, who generally never enjoyed dining out, so loved the homemade biscotti, that she would take the extras home. This is from a woman who usually never ate anything that she didn't make from scratch herself! Peter has special evenings in which he pairs beautiful wines with each course. The wait staff is filled with career level servers who make you feel at home. The only priviso I give is that someone should be a designated driver, since the roads up to Berta's are hilly and curvy and best navigated by someone who is sober.
Popovers does anyone serve them anymore?
Come to Manhattan, to Popovers at 86th Street Amsterdam Avenue.
Food Stores in North NJ - Your Favorites
I am about to reveal a great secret. It is called "Euro Market" at 414 Bergen Blvd. in Palisades Park. It is a small Italian deli/grocery run by a brother and sister from Southern Italy. They are a wholesale distributor that has been doing retail for only a year. Their prices are half of what you will pay anywhere else (especially Jerry's) and their products are fresh, fresh, fresh! You will feel like you are in a small Italian town shopping for fresh bread, fresh mozzarella, fresh seafood salad and olives. Every size pasta you can imagine, fresh nuts. Everyone is speaking Italian, and no one is pushing or shoving or in a hurry. Behave yourself and go soon!
gourmet markets/deli's
For the past year, Euro Market at 414 Bergen Blvd.in Palisades Park has been doing retail business for its fabulous Italian deli and grocery staples. The prices are half of what most other places charge as it primarily does distribution. The food is FRESH. It is run by a brother and sister from Southern Italy. It feels European and most people will be speaking Italian. One of the assistants speaks Spanish. Everyone at the store speaks English.Go and feel like you have discovered a new gem. You have!
ITALIAN run restaurants in NJ...Where?
I am a little scared to reveal my favorite place. Please don't overrun the joint. It's a small Italian grocery/deli that is run by a brother and sister from Southern Italy. It has a very low key sign that says "Euro Market". It is in Palisades Park on Bergen Boulevard. They make their own mozzarella, cure and season their own olives, and have all types of Italian specialties at half the price of Jerry's. They are able to do this because they are primarily Italian food distributors. Enjoy!
