ekdd's Profile
Taverna Mykonos
Finally made it to Taverna Mykonos after my wife raved about an outing with her friends. Very impressed by the experience. We started with the sampler of spreads---choice of 3- we chose the humus, skordalia,(almond garlic spred)and the eggplant spread...all were delicious.Could of had some more pita bread with this however (altho i am sure if we asked it wouldnt have been a problem ...plus we used the delicious warm house bread). We then shared the meatballs(keftedes) which were a definite standout with terrific tzatiki (this was the best version of this i have tasted!).We then shared the prasini salad --dill , scallions, romaine , cuccumbers ...very fresh and delicious along with the chicken souvlaki which was very good (this also came with more pita and tzatiki) altho will be more adventurous next time instead of going for an old reliable. The lemon potatos were quite good too.The dinner came with complementary dessert which we were not expecting...2 pieces of baklava withvanilla ice cream and slight choc drizzle. There are also several beautiful looking greek cookies pastries on the greeeting table ..we tried 2 cookies both with a great texture and taste...and big! With 2 drinks and one coffee the bill czame to about 90 bucks in total.Only negatives...i am not a fan of valet parking and were charged for an extra glass of wine (cheerfully taken off when mentioned). The service was friendly, knowledgeable and really outstanding throughout and the place itself is beautiful on the inside (hard to believe you are on a ugly stretch of broadway near the kmart on elmwood park/fairlawn border). We will be back .
our goodbye to tabla
Tabla has probably been our favorite restaurant over the last decade or so. Due to its price it still remains an occasion restaurant---birthday , anniv etc but we go at least once a year. We are and were upset to hear of its closing dec30th and made sure to get back one more time. We both ordered the tasting menu at 72$...one vegeterian and one regular and it was excellent. In truth I remember the food being truly outstanding a few years back and feel that it might have slipped a notch to "just "excellent. There were 5 or 6 courses that were all close to great. No freebies thrown in but there was more than enough food. The highlights were probably apple/potato chat, sourdough nan,beets,duo of soups---at first the onion soup seemed plain but once you mixed it up a little it was outstanding as was the pumpkin seed soup and hamachi tartare. The "misses" really only included the way too strong lemon chutney in the trio of chutneys(the tomato and mango were both quite good), and possibly the scallops that my wife felt had too much ginger. The dessert -chocolate souffle with coconut ice cream was very good also. On the whole the service was as always great as was the room (upstairs looking over the park). Certainly not cheap ....about 250 with 4 drinks included and tip.
We will miss you
POLL: Tabla Is Closing: Will You Miss It?
We have been to Tabla about 8 or 9 times and it among our favorite restaurants. We love the space and the food. For us it is a splurge restaurant due to the price but we always feel it is worth it. When I told my wife yesterday that it was closing she said "that's where we are going for my birthday!". Enjoyed the Bread Bar too.
Definitely upset to hear of the closing ...
best indian buffet east 50s.....
been to chola and yuva the last 2 dats. Both were around 14 bucks.
Chola was prob slightly better but both quite good. i liked the chicken tikka masala and veg curries better slightly at chola. Yuva had more apps overall incl a nice paprichat and veg choices. Sevice good at both...chola with a bigger crowd . either a good option
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Chola
232 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022
Yuva
230 East 58th St, New York, NY 10022
expired gift certificate
Figured I'd leave an update as it has been a year and finally decided to return on a rainy night when i didnt want to travel. Unfortunately we had not gone in the restaurant since before this incident even armed with a lot of the good info/legality/advice you folks had given . I just thought if I had to argue to get the gift certiciate honored than it is not worth it. The owner eventually saw me and came over and quietly apologized. He said he had been having a rough time emotionally and financially and admitted he was "out of line". No mention however of the specifics were discussed just that he was happy to see us . So ..not the perfect ending but will take it
bar mitzvah cake suggestions ...bergen county bakery
Looking for a bakery to order a bar mitzvah cake ( 130 guests or so) in ridgewood nj area. Also does anyone have an idea about the expected cost. thanks!
Bistro 55
Went to Bistro 55 on rt 17south ....mixed review overall. First we were put off by the maitre de as we arrived 5 minutes early for our reservation at 6:15 and told to wait 10 minutes matter of factly... to an absolutely empty room. All he really had to do was give us some explanation or simply "were sorry ...we are running behind..it will be 10 minutes".....but he didnt look up as he said this. We actually contemplated leaving but didnt even as we saw many staff around ....doing nothing. Anyway after about 10 minutes we were told that they werent finished seating earlier reservations but unsure what that meant ...no one was waiting when we came in and they sat 2 other parties who arrived after us. Anyway 5 minutes later we were seated (at this time probably 6 tables in the entire large restaurant were occupied).
Anyway the staff once seated was friendly and efficient and we enjoyed ourselves. Even empty as it was early, it was lively with staff and music. Drinks were excellent...nice selection of beers on tap and well priced. Started with the garlic chips app.....a very large bowl of warm chips which was quite good although could have used a little more zing. The burger was excellent and the plate was quite large....although at 13.95 you would expect cheese to be included with the burger. The fries were above average although i prefer the fries a few miles down the road at 5 Guys. The pleasant waiter highly recc the fish special ...mahi mahi......very average and somewhat dry with decent sides. Dessert was good...enjoyed the ice cream.
Although some definite negatives there were enough positives to give it another shot.
Disapointment at Oceanos - how would you have handled it? [moved from New Jersey board]
I agree its hard to phrase that without feeling that you are insulting the owner. BUT thats a good amount of $$ being spent for an entree ..even by nyc standards. He should have taken your cues and brought out a new properly cooked piece of fish. I personally like Oceanos but stopped going due to the prices.
Pita Grill--Worst Falafel Ever!
tried pita joe.....excellent grilled chicken , felafel and and salads. Would still give taim overall edge though
Happy hour with outdoor seating
try adriennes pizza bar, 54 stone street...outstanding thin crust square pizza. great place to people watch. the outdoor benches arent the most comfortable but the food and people watching is great.
Review ....Rose's Place---fairlawn ,nj
Had dinner there for first time last night after several previous lunches (although none recently). The place is tricky to find off broadway/rte 4 in fairlawn (even after being there before!) and we managed to miss the parking lot and ended up on a residential street and walked half a block. in any case, the place is in need of some new decor but was packed with new tables being put up in front of a drafty door in the midst of a busy night. The owner was pleasant as was the rest of the staff but service was sloooow taking 15 minutes to order and a good twenty minutes between courses. All that said (and i do remember previous visits on the slow side as well) the place is well priced for the value of the food. Among the highlights....tabouleh salad is unsurpassed, great hummus, delicious borak (phyllo cigars filled wil spinach & cheese), above average very thin pita (from paterson in a bag, although very good i would still much prefer if served warm). The shish tawook chicken platter was great with outstanding rice and beef kebob platter terrific as well. will certainly return although will try to go earlier and when not pressed for time.
Babbo?
Meal was terrific. We really thought it was very solid all along with the polenta the highlight. The mozarella en carozza was very good as well . The 2 mains for us were black cod and spaghetti basil and both were great, Shared the chocolate dessert and we couldnt finish it all (the outstanding bread basket and spreads to start is dangerous)l With 2 glasses of wine and one cocktail plus 2 cappucinos the bill with tax and tip was 190 $ (listing the total as the web site doesnt list prices ).We took a walk to highline park after and it was a great night!. thanks again
Babbo?
SteveH,
thanks so much for the info on seating. i called after reading this and this was perfect.
Much thanks!
best tourist slice
Have friends coming to visit soon with 16 year old daughter. just wondering what people felt is best ny (counter top , small table or stand etc) pizza slice joint . This may well be different from interpretation of the actual best pizza as we are not looking for table service or full pies etc. Also not looking into other boros (difara) and prefer downtown/village area but not a must.
Is an amuse-bouche usually free?
an amuse bouche is free... this must have been the restaurant trying to tack onto the bill probably asking if you wanted to try the special app of the house (or whatever they are trying to sell) regardless of the complete meal ordered. depending on how this is presented I could easily see how you felt it would be complimentary. The restaurant needs to be upfront about extra charges...especially if an item is "offered" like this
"That's What You Ordered!"
I agree with Leonardo.... this happens from time to time (but rarely) but has never been an issue as it has been corrected easily
expired gift certificate
you are welcome to side with the owner...hence i started this with... it may be cut and dry to some (obviously with a GC that was expired!). sorry for the confusion re dates ..smarties interpretation of timeline is exactly right . I have no doubt that i caught the owner at a bad time because no rationale person in his line of work would react angrily to a customer who introduces himself on the phone as a "regular". I called to make a reservation at a restaurant i like and to avoid any conflict while there (and in fact double checked as initially told by receptionist that it wouldnt be a problem). I acknowledged the GC was old and gave him the exact dates. 2 ways for him to handle this (1) graciously state he would honor this (which we now know was really his only choice as this is what is legal) or maybe honor some portion of it (50% etc) or (2) state he is unable to honor this in this economy ....in a less than agitated tone....He choose (3) to say there is no way he could do this, no restaurant does this.... with a nasty attitude . Thats fine and his choice on how to do business . However i wont condone this by replying anything other than I wont be making a reservation. As a business owner I look at things as a whole and "write off " money for what i feel is best in the long run and trying to keep people relatively happy. (thinking about this maybe thats why i have trouble making payroll each week :) ) And to make assumptions that cool was lost is wrong, never raised my voice for a second (more important than anything is not waking the baby !). - thats the view from the treadmill
expired gift certificate
AC- its helpful if you read the thread before commenting. The first thing I said to this gentleman was the GC had expired 5 months previously and certainly without threatening anybody. I specifically said it was a restaurant I had enjoyed several times. I spoke to a receptionist earlier in the conversation who said it wouldnt be a problem to which I was nothing but pleased..I asked to speak to higher ups after that to be sure this wouldnt be an issue. There are no consequences for me , there are probably 10 other italian restaurants within a 3 mile radius. I have no desire to give my hard earned dollars to a place that treats patrons in that manner. The other thing to keep in mind is it IS the owners job to know the ins and outs of something he sells in his establishment. As others have mentioned upthread GC are a winning proposition and i doubt that this is the first time it has come up since the law was rightfully changed.
expired gift certificate
truth be told I wouldnt change a thing I did ..I spoke in a calm manner throughout. The owner is the one who handled this poorly.....I realized this certificate was iffy and if I was spoken to, instead of lectured at (customer service 101), it would be a moot point. What is the appropriate way to handle this btw...after I called and explained the situation prefaced with an " i am a loyal customer" etc, i received an angry annoyed response which i was unprepared for. i guess some here would say the appropriate response to being on the receiving end of an owners minitirade is .....oh sorry to have bothered you , can i please have a 4top at 8pm next weekend?!. anyone in my situation would respond in a similar manner (mind you never raising my voice-unlike said owner). To answer your question, gloriousfood hit it spot on
expired gift certificate
Thanks for the link and well said! Funny anecdote I just heard...friends of ours were apparently in a similar situation with an expired gift card (similar time frame- it had expired 4 months earlier and for more money) and went to said restaurant , used the card, without a word said on either side! No problem! I called ahead to avoid any issues...I also asked to speak to higher ups evenwhen the receptionist on the phone told me it should be fine. And no Always Cooking, I dont make it a habit of returning to places where I feel mistreated.Its amazing about how people forget to be pleasant when speaking to their customers. Again a very aggressive tone when I was calmly trying to explain my side and patronage. I own a small business. I cant tell you how many times a week I need to write something off/take a loss etc for the greater whole
expired gift certificate
the 2007 (december) vs 2009 analogy is fairly useless...the reality is the certificate expired 5 months ago . Like I said previously I can live without the 75$... the real victim is the restaurant- we've spent a lot of $$ there and sent many people there and guess what ..thanks to the above (Linda Whitt etc) I have found out that what the owner with the attitude told me is wrong and in fact illegal! And BTW the only person getting "testy" about this was the manager who rudely told me "a lot of restaurants have the same policy" and I had no leg to stand on. Its tough economic times for everyone SK and the threatening comment was inane
expired gift certificate
i should also add that this wasnt a gift card but a mostly handwriiten certificate with a date of late december 2007 ( stated on the paper was that it expired one year from the date it was 'authorized")
expired gift certificate
By no means did I ever" threaten him " I just said ,understandably i think ,that we wouldnt be eating there given his response with never even an I'm sorry about this etc.. thrown in and with a misplaced aggressive attitude. Truth is we have already given this establishment much good will in the recent past with our patronage and with my wife recently reeling off 6 names of people she had sent to the place.
expired gift certificate
the expiration date itself was actually only 5 months ago although i agree its a long time. its a bit frustrating as we go there often. I can get over the loss of the 75 bucks he had , i cant get over his indignation/tone. If I had stayed on to talk to him I would have suggested splitting the difference and making it a 35 or 40 compromise but i dont enjoy getting that attitude on the phone and at that point figured i wouldnt be happy for any price. in this day and age its really not my loss
expired gift certificate
this may seem cut and dry to some but let me explain. friends of ours were given a gift certificates -by us- for a restaurant that we enjoy. as it was somewhat of a present that the couple thought was unnecessary they had insisted on using it with us ....anyway as life happens sometimes by the time we went to use it it had expired by 1 yr and 5 months( i understand this is a long time however the gift certificate had a i year expiration date on it). did not want to have a problem at the restaurant so i called to determine if certificate could be used...initially the girl on the phone said no problem but to be sure i asked to speak to the manager who deferred me to the owner. Anyway i prefaced my talk with him (on the phone) by saying we are regulars (we have probably been to the restaurant which is walkable for us maybe 30 times in the past 3 years and have sent him much business in the form of takeout and new customers)...the manager was quite nasty in tone on the phone saying what his policy was and that is online with what others do..I really do feel this is poor business practice for any business (i am a business owner myself) and I told him so. I told him we would not be returning with the couple for dinner this week and he accused me of "threatening him" with loss of business. We go out about 3x /week and although i like the restaurant and for this area of north jersey it is quite good albeit overpriced i wont return.
Help me spend $20 at Starbucks
I agree with emily. desserts arent close to worth the calories .........unless i havent eaten the whole day (when you always make the wrong choices)
