Marco Zog's Profile
Good lunch places in Orangeburg?
I would also suggest the hot dog truck (I think it's called "Glennies") across from Lowe's on 303. One of the last places to get a natural casing Sabrett with HOMEMADE onion sauce-not the canned glop that 99% of places use.
Twins India Palace is a must to avoid, IMHO. It is some of the most godawful, if not the worst, Indian food I have even eaten or seen. And the place is really, really depressing.
LaTour: Detour!
Dinner at La Tour in Ridgewood never happened last Friday because of the unbelieveably rude and unaccomodating attitude of the hosts, and the chef/owner. Two members of our party were a few minutes late for a 6:30 reservation. The management pressured us to order and then told us that we would be forced to leave at 8:30, because they "needed the table." We did them a favor and left then and there.
The place is cramped and pricey, another sorry example of a suburban restaurant getting away with lousy service and a bad attitude because of a lack of competition. By contrast Marcello's of Ridgewood (where we wound up) was a lovely, delicious dining experience.
Angelica Kitchen
Fourth trip to AK, and still not impressed at all. I love vegetarian grub of all kinds, but this place continues to disappoint. My tempeh sandwich tasted of cinnamon and cardboard, the bread it was served atop was stale. Previous meals have been underseasoned and just not very tasty.
Plus, I think the place is kind of a ripoff.
It really is a shame that NYC has nowhere on the level of Greens in SF, or LA's RFD, two examples of just how great vegetarian or vegan cooking can get. AK perpetuates the vegetarian restaurant stereotype that prevents lots of folks from trying this kind of food.
Joel's Malibu Kitchen in Ridgewood
First time at Joel's last night, and wish I could say I'd want to go back. The place is cute and eccentric enough, and the menu is elecletic as all get-out, but the food is mediocre at best.
The main problem- EVERYTHING is coated in, sauteed in glazed with or dressed with so much sugar as to be almost inedible. Each app and entree is flavored with one or another version of a sweet/ sour/spicy sauce or dressing. You really never taste anything except sweet. The place claims to make "California cuisine," but the only thing I've had in California that it resembles is See's candy.
Appetizer salads were so sweet (5 people) couldn't finish them. Pan seared snapper with "Malibu"
shrimp (whatever that is) were two pieces of fish and three shrimp in a sweet citrus sauce that tasted like marmalade. Veal scallopine was napped with the sweetest sherry/butter reduction I've ever tasted.
If the bill for 5 (without wine-the place is BYO) wasn't near $200, I might not quibble. But there are many other options at those prices, in places with more room and nicer service.
Pampa 97th Street-Joking?
Returned to Pampa after a several year absence to find it not very inviting. The prices seem to have risen to market level, the "Side dishes not included !(sic)" is a turnoff on the menu, as is the "$30 minimum" rule. And no plastic accepted.
Our meal was mediccre at best,(overcooked ,tough steak, greasy fries, stale bread) and out of curiosity I asked if they sold chimichurri sauce to go. I was told that a container was $20.
This is no longer the nice neighborhood place that opened ten years ago, and it appears that success has spolied it. It's a ripoff.
NYC Hound in search of great Miami Nicaraguan
Spending a few days in Miami next week (depending on Jet Blue!?) and was hoping for an excellent Nicaraguan place. I've heard about El Novillo and was wondernig whether this is the place, or are there other, better, lesser known spots?
Thanks!
Silver Oak, Ridgewood,NJ Report
With high expectations of a nice "new Southern" meal we went to Silver Oak Friday night. The crabby chicken and "rags and fungus" pasta were good as apps, but then dinner went waaaay downhill in a hurry. My panfried "Tuscan" chicken was either putrid or freezer burned (or both). When I told the waiter, he disappaeared in to the kitchen for 5 minutes, and then came back with no apology, tossing a menu in front of me and rudle saying "It's freshly prepared, as always..." No offer of anything to make it better.
Dinner was a bummer after that, as this lone waiter turned rude and brusque. At no time did the chef/proprieter, who had made a big deal out of coming out of the kitchen to greet diners earlier in the evening, emerge to say anything, and we were never offered desserts or heard one other word from the staff.
My wife's blackened grouper with cheesy grits was OK, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't grouper. Maybe tilapiaor catfish, but not grouper.
To compound matters, when I emailed the place to give them a further opportunity to respond, I got a snotty email reply from the owner suggesting that "chicken was not for you...", as if I didn't know what I had eaten.
The place is cramped, the decor is nothing special and does not resemble what is on their website. The nonstop Dr. John soundtrack is cliched and really cloying after a while (and I like Dr. John.)
Save your money and go to Popeye's, or just about ANYWHERE else.
