tommy:eats

Porta Pizza: Asbury Park, NJ

Oven at Porta

Porta intrigued me from the first time I saw the spray painted sign announcing its opening.  Odd indeed, I thought.  

Over the course of the next few months, the word was getting out: Porta is making some very good Neapolitan style pizza (and, apparently, incredible octopus).  I found this to be the case during my few visits.  

Funky stuff at Porta

It's a funky place, in a warehouse looking space, decorated with some doors (porta, in Italian), with picnic table communal seating (tables made from reclaimed wood from the building, I'm told). Concrete floors, exposed HVAC and ceiling joists.  My kind of minimalist thing overall.

Octopus at Porta

First the octopus. Rarely does anything live up to the accolades that you read on the internet. Let's face it, most people are idiots. Most people don't have very much experience with food to know good from bad, interesting from boring, exceptional from commonplace. But those idiots who gushed about the octopus were right (no offense intended, idiots).

Roots Steakhouse coming to Ridgewood, NJ?

The Ridgewood/Glen Rock Patch reports that the Harvest Restaurant Group is opening a third Roots Steakhouse (turn down your sound, the website is annoying), this time in Ridgewood in the old Blend spot.

I visited Roots in Summit a few years back (my gosh, it was over 6 years ago!) and wasn't really blown away, and took exception to the pricy wine list and the lack of disclosure on which cuts are actually USDA Prime and which aren't.  

Some comments on the Patch's piece on the internet are in the vein of "finally, a steakhouse [in Ridgewood]."  I'm not sure if these folks are aware that Park West Tavern (turn down your sound, the website is really annoying), right around the corner, has several serviceable steaks on the menu, and a more interesting menu overall.  

It's pointless to predict if they're going to be successful, but that won't stop me.  

I'm somewhat skeptical of having a restaurant of that size (assuming they take the whole space) serving food at that price-point in the quaint little village of Ridgewood. No doubt they are going to need support from a whole lot of diners from outside of the immediate area, as Ridgewood just doesn't seem to have the volume of diners who are going out to eat that often at places like Roots, or even Park West Tavern. 

There's little doubt that they will be poaching diners from Park West Tavern, which has enjoyed a very good run, so things could get interesting.  Park West Tavern filled a void in Ridgewood, and the townsfolk reacted enthusiastically.  Perhaps Roots will fill some void that I'm not aware of.  But if Roots doesn't come with a decent cocktail program, and some reasonably priced wines, I don't think you'll find me at their bar very often. 

I hope they can make a liar out of me.  Although I'm sure not going to bother if they have a dress code as they do at their other restaurants. 

 

Doins in Ridgewood: Wa Lobster Pot, Lisa's Turkish, that place that has waffles

Wa Lobster Pot in Ridgewood.  Wa?

Lisa's Turkish Kitchen, which has now added "Mediterranean" to their name, has successfully converted the previously horrendous space at 28 Oak Street into a lovely looking restaurant.  Not sure if the bathroom situation at that location has improved.

Something called Wa Lobster Pot is opening in the space that Lisa's previously inhabited.  I'm not sure what a Wa Lobster Pot is, but we'll see.

Park West Tavern continues to pump out excellent burgers and "sliders" (mini-burgers, actually), along with some other very acceptable, and often excellent, food.  Their website continues to pump out annoying and unecessary music.  Hey Park West Tavern, I'm listening to my own music while looking at your website.  Don't need yours.  Thanks, though.

The place called Raymond's, which I've read on the internet "OMG they have the BEST waffles," in addition to other food with is apparently "to die for," is open, and is, aesthically speaking, a wonderful addition to downtown Ridgewood.  I'm confident that most items are "cooked to perfection" and "SOOOOOOOO freakin good," and the "establishment" serves food that "my hubby loved," but I haven't made my way over there to be sure.

That is all.

 

Liberty House Restaurant: Jersey City, NJ

Probably some of the nicest outdoor seating you'll find in New Jersey.  I mean, what a view.  But is there anything worthwhile beyond that view?  Our first visit suggested that there could very well be a decent restaurant here.

It sure doesn't hurt having Chef Kenny Trickilo running the show. I've been a fan of his since his days at Bistro 55, back in its heyday. 

It looks like the chef brought along some of his dishes, including the duck confit grilled cheese sandwich, and the roasted garlic with blue cheese.  Unfortunately that great pork chop didn't make its way over to Liberty House.

The beausoleil oysters were perhaps in the top 5 of all oyster experiences of my life.  Beausoleil are typically briny, bright, clean tasting oysters, and these were no exception.  They were chilled, but not too cold, and all of that beautiful liquor was still in the shell instead dumped into the ice.  Absolutely outstanding, and if this serving was any indication of how they treat their oysters at Liberty House, it could certainly be my go-to place for sauvignon blanc and oysters in the summer months. 

A friend ordered the soup special, which was a cold melon soup of some sort.  Refreshing, but a bit too sweet for his taste.  It would have been fantastic in a glass with 3 ounces of gin, however.

She's a delicate little flower, ain't she.

Tuna tacos came 4 to an order.  Raw tuna with seaweed and spicy mayo.  Perfectly acceptable, although I'd prefer the tuna flavor and texture to be more pronounced. 

The burgers were ordered m/r and came out a bit more on the medium side.  They were also not very juicy.  Other than that, they were acceptable, and served with a good, light fluffy bun, and very sweet  pickles.  I have a feeling if cooked a bit less, these could be really super burgers. With one of the two burgers ordered, we subbed sweet potato fries for the cottage fries, both of which where exactly what they needed to be.

One of my favorite dishes at Bistro 55 was the duck confit grilled cheese.  This was just a fantastic sandwich.  Thick country bread stuffed with brie and duck.  The version at Liberty House didn't impress as much.  I'm not sure if it was different in some way, or it was just off for some reason.  It was fine, don't get me wrong, but not as good as I remember from my Bistro 55 days.

The cocktail list is certainly a step up from most cocktail lists, which sadly seem to focus on flavored vodkas and overly sweet concoctions, suitable for college parties more than serious contemplation.  This list does the same to an extent, but also has more tequila than you'd think, and fresh lime juice, which is fine by me.  However, a few of the drinks came out a bit too sweet, even though we stressed that we wanted unsweetened fresh lime juice.  Next time we'll sit at the bar (bar dining is almost always preferable), and provide some additional oversight and instruction. 

The selection of wines by the glass is robust and broad.  You'll not have to choose between 3 California chardonnays and a pinot grigio as you do at too many restaurants.  Sancerre, prosecco, sauvignon blanc from 3 continents, riesling, albarino, malbec, tempranillo all make an appearance by the glass.  Lots of food-friendly choices here.  Bravo, Liberty House.

The beer list is essentially non-existent.  Boo, Liberty House.  I'd like to see some craft beers filling the list here. 

The view really is wonderful.  The outdoor seating is comfortable and cosy. I got the feeling I was on vacation, what with this out-of-the-way location and magical setting.

Overall Liberty House really impressed me.  We're looking forward to returning.  And if you're planning an event, have it at Liberty House, and invite me.

Make sure you get the outdoor tables that don't have this view.

Liberty House Restaurant : 76 Audrey Zapp Drive : Jersey City, NJ : 201.395.0300

 

Rhodes North Tavern: Sloatsburg, NY

Representatives from the t:e organization found themselves at Rhodes North Tavern in Sloatsburg, NY, recently, and boy were we impressed.

If you're like me, you've probably driven past this place a bunch of times, and thought "hmm, looks like an interesting biker bar," but then never pulled the trigger.  That was a mistake on my part, and on yours as well.

Our first impression when pulling into the parking lot was "woah, this place is packed."  Thankfully, it's quite a large space, and all of those people from those cars found their way to some place other than the large, square bar, where we gleefully set up shop.

Right from go, we felt as if we were in another world.  While Sloatsburg is only a few miles from the New Jersey border, there seems to be a, umm, cultural difference from your average Bergen County restaurant.  In a completely good way.   Was it due to the country pop music playing over the sound system?  Hey listen, I hate country pop as much as the next guy (although I loves me some Big & Rich), but when subjected to it on a Sunday afternoon, you just can't help but think you're on vacation.  Like in South Carolina or something.  In a completely good way.  

Capital Grille: Paramus, NJ, The Burger

I didn't have high expectations, but I thoroughly enjoyed a burger ($16) at the bar at The Capital Grille in Garden State Plaza. As scholars of malls know, Garden State Plaza is in Paramus, NJ. As other scholars know, there's no 'e' in 'grill.' Unless they meant to name it "Ye Olde Capital Grille," which would be somewhat more annoying. 

The burger is said to be "infused" with bacon.  This could mean a few things, but in this case it means that bacon (along with onion) is ground into the beef.   The bacon flavor is somewhat pronounced, so if you don't like bacon, you might not like this burger. It works, although somewhat insults my purist views on burgers.  Yet it's hard to argue with results.  So conflicted. Adjusting meds...

2011: Tasty reasons to be thankful

We here at t:e headquarters are very thankful for everything at Chengdu 23.  Even the dopey flowers.

2011 wasn't a terribly active year in t:e posts, but make no mistake, food was eaten, spirits were stirred, and finds were found. 

Looking back at the past year, here are some things that the t:e army of editors is very thankful for...

River Palm Terrace: Mahwah, NJ

I've never been a huge fan of the River Palm Terrace restaurants.  Their steaks just don't seem to be as exceptional as they should be at those prices.  And maddeningly, I've never been able to get a straight answer on which of their steaks are actually 1) USDA Prime, and 2) dry-aged, rather than wet-aged (my preference is the former).  They are generally cooked perfectly fine, but I don't usually detect any funky minerally notes that you can get with dry-aged steak.  If you have any doubt of how funky and minerally tastes or smells, go to Peter Luger, where, I suspect, the butter/beef tallow "sauce" that they serve and cook the steaks with actually lends most of that flavor...not the meat itself.  

But occasionally, we'll find ourselves at the Mahwah location, primarily because we can't think of any other place to have a decent dinner at a bar (bar dining is almost always preferable), and because the Mahwah location also offers "sushi" (rolls, raw fish dishes, that type of thing).  On top of that, it's a little less hectic than the Fair Lawn location.

On our recent visit, I went through the same process that I always do, trying to figure out which steak might be exceptional.  The best bet seems to be the porterhouse.  But at 84 bucks, I'm not interested in rolling the dice.  Then I look at the shell steak, and wonder if it's really dry-aged, or would taste dry-aged, and I sort of remember that it tasted like a regular supermarket steak (from a place like Fairway, not Shop Rite), albeit one with a nice char thanks to the broilers in the kitchen.  But then the lamb chops jumped out at me. They seemed like a good idea.  And they were.

The lamb chops are the least expensive meat entrees on the menu, coming in at under 30 dollars.  There was also a special of a rack of lamb, with a red wine sauce, but we were in the mood for broiled meat, without anything additional that could screw it up.  Broiled meat on a white plate.  That's what we wanted.

And that's what we got.

Zinburger: Clifton, NJ

Sigh.

We certainly had high hopes for Clifton's outpost of Zinburger, part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts group of restaurants.  After all, if you read the reviews of the place on the web (many of which were from their free "VIP Preview" event), you'd get the impression that this place serves an exceptional burger.  <mini-rant>Perhaps if bloggers and yelpers waited until they spend their own money, bringing a more critical eye to the table, rather than filling their egos with "VIP" treatment and bellies with free food, their opinions would be more insightful and ultimately more helpful. No offense intended here, of course.</mini-rant>   But it doesn't serve an exceptional burger. 

Zinburger: coming to Clifton, NJ? Indeed it is.

We finally got around to giving Zinburger a try.  Report here <click>.

Per their PR agency, Zinburger in Clifton is opening 12/13/2010.  Bloggers will no doubt be lined up to grab the free food they are offering during their soft opening.

Update (2010/11/26):  t:e field reporter jimmy:rocks informed the t:e organization today that the lights are on, the signs are lit up, and they are looking like they are getting ready. He also spied a "nice big bar."

I suspect a  January, 2011 opening of Clifton's Zinburger.  Zinburger appears to be a place that won't bother competing with the likes Smashburger and Five Guys (these are obviously fast food restaurants), and if they can pull off their concept, it will be a welcome addition to the New Jersey burger scene.   Now back to the speculation from a few months ago...

 

t:e field reporter jimmy:rocks contacted the t:e organization today to tip us off on a "coming soon" situation in Clifton over by Stew Leonard's ("The Promenade Shops at Clifton", as it's called).  Apparently a Zinburger is opening there.  It seems to be from Arizona.  A far-away land.

Zinburger is a burger and wine bar concept type of deal, or at least that's what I gather from their website.  Here's the menu (click).

I like burgers.  I like wine.  So I like the possibility of yet another burger joint opening.  

If you have patience, you can read through what various Arizona yelpers are yelping.  I have no patience, so let me know if anyone has anything interesting to say. 

Whether any of this is true or valid remains to be seen.  Maybe it's "Zin Burger", different than "Zinburger".  But I'm no reporter, so I'll know when you do.

Update:  t:e field reporter jimmy:rocks has confirmed with the Fox restaurant group that it is indeed Zinburger.