mr pastie in penn argyl (in the "slate belt" bordering the southern poconos) homemakes them. some supermarkets have the beef variety, usually two well-hidden rows in the freezer section. the bakery, though, has many varieties of pasties.

http://www.merchantcircle.com/busines...

good taste, on monroe at market, has them on the menu, but, i haven't tried them yet.

http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/...

i've been to grace gardens, though, which was mentioned in a response by lydia r.. those noodles are basically a very mild tasting minced, white fish. they are about 3/8" in diameter and soft. grace gardens is a short detour when traveling by car between manhattan and washington, dc (it's about ½ way btw balt and wash).

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Good Taste
41 Monroe St, New York, NY 10002

after trying pepe's white clam pie, i must go to pepe's if i'm in new haven. i've been to pepe's a total of five times (all in the last five years), but the last two times, a "sorry no clams" sign was on the door.

the first time pepe's was out of clams, it was ~9:30pm. being near the end of day, it was disappointing but didn't seem unusual.

on tues (dec 27), though, i arrived at pepe's just before 4pm. everything seemed great. there were still a few empty parking spots in the official lot. it was starting to rain, but the line ended at the end of the canopy. after waiting a few minutes of the promised twenty minute wait, i noticed the "sorry no clams" sign on the door. pepe's basic tomato pie is a nice pie, but, i feel like you're wasting your time if you go to pepe's and don't get the white clam pie (i'm lucky that denino's of staten island is my go to pizza - sausage pie to be exact).

so, i was curious if i just had bad luck, or, if i had stayed, would a truck with a picture of a lobster and a swordfish on the side have pulled up and dropped off a few hundred pounds of clams ? do persons call in advance to get a prediction on when the clams will run out ?

thanks in advance for any insight.

cafe d'alsace seems to be close to your specs:

http://www.cafedalsace.com/home.aspx

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Cafe d'Alsace
1695 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10128

church festival food tends to be hit or miss, but, this one was hit after hit after hit.

the halupki (aka cabbage stuffed) were meaty, medium-sized ones in a thin but not sugary tomato sauce, everything melding together nicely.

the halushki (aka cabbage and noodle) i was going to skip until i saw it. i would have expected a dish with what seems a third green cabbage, a third white noodle, and a third butter. instead, the halushki was mainly white from a home-made pasta that looked similar to orecchiette. compared with most halushkis which drip in butter, this version was light.

the pelmeni (miniture dumplings) came in a cup of broth. the broth was undistinguished but the pelmeni were quite flavorful.

the pirozhki (meat patty baked into a roll) is definitely a must try. it was almost like baking gyro meat into a non-greasy roll. the bread had no chance to drown out the taste of this spiced patty.

items i didn't try included:

keilbasi, sausage, turkey, blini, kugel, potato pancake, borscht, chicken soup, pierogi, poppy seed rolls, tons of kiffles, other home-baked goods.

st. nicholas russian orthodox church

980 bridle path road, bethlehem, pa

www.stnicholasoca.org

Risser's Family Restaurant on 422 in Womelsdorf does it, but with ham. approximately every three weeks, it's a fri, sat, sun special. there is an ad each week in the myerstown merchandiser (usually updated on tues or wens):

http://www.themerchandiser.com/lebano...

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Risser's Family Restaurant
4055 Conrad Weiser Pkwy, Womelsdorf, PA 19567

the regional "must have" specialty is baked stuffed pig's stomach. outside of eastern pa, it's not really known (except in parts of germany). the few restaurants that sell it usually sell it as a special, instead of on the every day menu. the following two links have local ads of restaurant specials:

http://www.themerchandiser.com/

http://www.windsorpress.com/

the bar-b-q pit in sinking spring has excellent pork souvlaki and cheap drafts - i can't recommend anything else on the greek side of the menu, not even pilaf, and haven't tried anything else:

http://www.barbqpit.20m.com/

the grand opening of shanghai noodle house in edison at pep boys plaza (route 1 & old post road near the shell/711 - note: old post road crosses route 1 twice) has commenced.

this is really shanghai bun north. it is good to make a new name because the reason to go to the original shanghai bun in matawan is the homemade noodles, not the namesake soup dumplings (buns) which became a food fad ~15 years ago and is still a money-maker for restaurants that commerce them.

my original post:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/187199

website:

http://shanghaibun.com

that's a shame. ST's ma la chou doufu was amazing (and popular). the smell either made people hungry or made them want to leave (especially people who weren't sure what they were smelling and were speculating on the origin of the smell - i witnessed a couple get in an arguement within a minute of the sterno-fueled arrival of my order - luckily, cooler heads prevailed after they figured out the source of the smell).

in the main part of the food court in the flushing mall on 39th ave at the stand all the way to the right (but to the left of the hand made noodle place which is kindof outside the main part) has ma la chou dofu (clearly written in english). it is different form ST's but is served in 1 person size portion if you're with persons who don't want to partake. the person cooking there has a deft hand - this is the only stand from which i eat in this mall except upstairs where the korean women make the best steamed chinese dumplings in nyc.

the greek store in kenilworth, nj cuts halvah to order from a slab, but i don't think it's homemade.

http://www.eatgreek.com/docs/other.html

at bella palermo pastry shop in elizabeth/kenilworth, they sell moist, frosted, cocconut-covered lamb cakes for easter (third photo down on left except imagine it covered in cocconut):

http://www.bellapalermo.com/holiday_s...

check out spelling on page 4 of the northern berks merchandiser:

http://www.windsorpress.com/

(continue to page 10 for baked stuffed pig's stomach)

manhattan's chinattown meets your 30 minute spec on weekdays if you can leave newark at 6:45p. you'll hit the holland tunnel at 7p. head downtown. then, make a left on worth street (STAY OFF CANAL !!!!). make a left onto bowery. cross over canal. when you pass grand street, street parking starts opening up around 7:15p, as the small shops start closing. parking in this area is free after 7p, so you can have a leisurely meal, nosh walk, or both. The parking spaces will start filing up again, so the timing is important.

i haven't been here for a while, but, Phillipine Flavors, a combination store and restaurant in toms river, had made to order phillipine food that was very light for pinoy food. of note is the fresh lumpia - no matter what one orders, he or she has to try one or more there:

http://philippineflavors.com/default.aspx

don't go if you're in a rush - it's not fast food or served fast.

as i said in the beginning, i haven't been here for a while. its website didn't have a link to an address. not sure why (hopefully not the sign of an obit). searching, found a link to the address on the site:

http://philippineflavors.com/directio...

the last stand on the left of this just opened food court on roosevelt btw main and prince has really good fish dumplings. they're hand-make from a white-meat fish whose taste doesn't get lost in the dough. the stand doesn't have english signs, but, they do have a printed translation.

it's a great thing that no one can claim to have tried every freshly-made water dumpling (水餃 - Shui Jiao) in flushing, but it might be worth trying first the korean stand that is upstairs in the flushing mall (it is NOT in the food court, which is 1 level below). i'd enjoy finding a place that makes them better than these amazing dumplings.

39th st btwn prince & college point.

seems like construction took forever, but red mango has finally opened on 262 broad street in palisades park. i tried tcby once and disliked it enough never to try it again. i don't like any of the frozen yougurts in the supermarket, either. red mango, however, really captures the flavor of yougurt, including a nice tang. it's sold in plain or green tea, with a variety of additional pay to pile on toppings available. it's fine straight up, though. pinkberry is similar, but to me, pinkberry's tang seems contrived, almost as if some lemon-like substance had been added.

biodata on red mango:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Mango

http://www.redmangousa.com/

"looking for something good/different".

about 10 mile south of esu on rt33 is hartman's two restaurant in belfast. it is an average, at best, family style/diner type restaurant, but the 2nd thurs of each month they serve baked stuffed pig's stomach. there aren't too many places to get this regional specialty anymore. i suspect they have a butcher make it for them. i don't recommend this place for anything else.

http://www.hartmanstwo.com/

general advise for eastern pa is go for the special as long as it's not a regular menu item.

gotta get to old forge at least once before you leave esu:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/440268
(scroll down for my post

not a restaurant, but mr pastie in penn argyle makes/sells a regional specailty called - surprise - pasties. giant in wind gap sells them frozen (and other supermarkets), but they are always hard to find due to limited shelf space:

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070722/NEWS02/707220301/-1/rss01

there's an old school made-to-order fastfood place in wind gap that has decent soups including hard to find pepper pot:

http://daisyfamilyrestaurant.com

this book has been mention on chowhound before. pretty good starter for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Eaters-Guide-Ch...

definitley rocks in flushing's food stalls with no english translations. comes in handy on 8th ave, too.

not to get too technical, but something doesn't sound right concerning "a large south asian food festival at a very ornate temple" - more likely a great festival with lots of great south asian food at a very ornate temple.

the following is not at a temple, but you'll never forget the firey end to this festival in edison in 1 month:

http://www.dushahra.com

post from last year:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/419539

fair website:

http://www.iselinfair.org/

i usually don't start going there until mid-late july through early october. they usually have some sort of peppers most of the time. at work, we refer to this place as the "dirt farm", an allusion to kevin smith's "dirt mall". if the stuff that's in the refridgerated cases looks passé, check the baskets that are on the floor; they are usually fresher.

would like to treat a mumbai native to some sprouted beans curry - if i could find it !!!

thanks in advance.

the real crop at cheesequake farms seems to be the land. they seem to be strongest on growing with peppers (at least 12 types) and eggplants (at least 5 types).

if i remember correctly, in additon to scotch bonnet, they have a pepper that is even hotter. anyway, too early, try july:

Cheesequake Farms Rt. 9 & Jake Brown Rd., Old Bridge
Directions: Between Rt. 34 & Rt. 516 at Jake Brown Rd.
Phone: (732) 721-5728

for the nearby exit 4 area, tacconelli's makes a decent thin pie - it's been discussed a lot on these boards (and its mother restaurant in philly) - to me, it tastes a slight bit sweet - not enough to be a pie killer, just an annoyance.

http://www.chow.com/search?search%5Bquery%5D=Tacconelli%27s&Search.x=30&Search.y=8

website:
http://www.tacconellispizzerianj.com

(you may want to take a road trip to staten island, ny)

just west of allentown on a residential street is a restaurant called "willows restaurant".

it's only open fri, sat, & sun, but, when it is open, it always has decent rendition of baked stuffed pig's stomach. also, has a salad bar with home-make pepper slaw and zucchini bread.

http://lehighvalley.metromix.com/rest...

it's definitely raising funds using the grounds of the firehouse, but the old sign only said "Ribs Sat". pork. no idea the best way to get there from woodbridge, but 9 bridge to 35 south, left on bordentown, then, left on feltus and there's no way to miss it about a ½.mile down and up the hill.

the south amboy fire dept has replaced its hand-painted "Ribs Sat" sign in cursive with a store bought sign that says: "Satski's Ribs" " March 29".

this is the 1st monthly rib sale this year, so get there early or get shut out.

more info from last year's post:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/393598

"...cheap but good Italian (pizza place that serves good food is okay). "

other than the aforementioned harold's, the raritan ctr is a dead zone for food. not too far away (about a mile), you can score a decent grandma pizza at santos deli. usually you have to purchase a whole pie, but, if it's the day's special, you can buy it by the slice.

http://santosdeli.com/index.asp?mid=1

rocky's pollos, 140 elmora ave., elizabeth, has excellent rotisserie chicken. most of the people taking orders know english, but it is possible you may have to ask for "un pollo, por favor". also, rocky's complementary aji sauce rocks. sometimes though, you have to remind them to include it - just ask for "salsa verde", and they'll know what you want. they also have inca cola (the us-made version), the gold-colored fruity cola in a refrigerated case. recently, they opened another branch on elizabeth ave in elizabeth, but i haven't been there yet.