tommy:eats

Burger Land: Travel Channel

A few months back, Travel Channel aired two episodes of Burger Land, a great show on hamburgers hosted by George Motz.  I figured that was it for the show, but they've restarted with some additional episodes.

George is an affable character with some admirable sideburns and a real passion for burgers.  He did, after all, write the book on the subject.  The show is shot and edited well, and is a real pleasure. Don't miss it.

After catching the third episode, "Hollywood Hamburgers," which featured a place called Pie 'n Burger, I knew what was happening for lunch. 

The Pie 'n Burger cheeseburger consists of two four ounce patties, smashed down with a can of tomato juice, cooked on a flat top, with pickles, cheese, and a Thousand Island style dressing.  It also has lettuce, which I generally skip when making burgers. This style of burger is right up my alley.

Here is what my version looked like.  For some reason four ounce patties on TV are much smaller than they are in my kitchen. I wouldn't recommend eating a burger this rich more than once a week.  Or, whenever you catch Burger Land on TV.

 

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. 

 

Live from Daryl's House: music and food

 

I've been obsessed with this show since I stumbled upon it a few years back was an internet-only deal.  Thankfully Palladia has picked it up on cable, bringing it to your HD TV with ease.

For you youngins, Daryl Hall is a singer-songwriter who has been around for quite some time, who was blessed with an enormous career in the 70s and early 80s.  Enormous hits.  By any measure, he's a fantastic songwriter and singer.  This series illustrates this theory.

201 Magazine: Best of Bergen 2013

201 Magazine, the big, glossy magazine that you see in grocery stores (or in the mail...they seem to send it to people for free in addition to selling it), released their yearly readers poll. It's sprinkled with "Editor's picks" and "Celebrity picks."  I'm not sure I care what these folks have to say about restaurants, but I guess their opinion is neither better nor worse than that of any random person.

Either way, as usual, many of the restaurant picks are wrong, or just bizarre.

As I sometimes do, I'm going to put on my smug curmudgeon hat and provide the correct answers here, for you.

Pub 199, Mt. Arlington: destroyed by fire

Pub 199 was destroyed in a fire yesterday. Completely.

Seeing a fourfold spike in the t:e site stats yesterday, due to queries on Pub 199, sent me looking for info. I was sorry to see this news.

It should be noted that searches for Pub 199 have historically made up a very good sized piece of the traffic that hits t:e.  I'm not sure what that means, but it certainly suggests that people want to know about this interesting restaurant.

I'll miss the joint, and that wacky atmosphere.  Let's hope it comes back around.

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.

 

Napa Valley Grille in Paramus: Closed

Napa Valley Grille, in Paramus's Garden State Plaza, closed its doors yesterday, apparently very suddenly, and presumably for good. 

The chain, which is going through some downsizing, is down to just two restaurants, according to its website. 

I happened to pop into Napa Valley Grille this past Saturday.  And I wasn't going to go back, because it was just a mess.

I can't say anything about the food, because we left before ordering.

I can say that the staff seemed to be preoccupied with themselves, rather than making sure their guests were happy.  A cocktail listed on the menu as having El Jimador (a 100% agave tequila) was about to be ruined with some crappy mixto, until I noticed called it off.  The bartender said that they were out of El Jimador, and then the other bartender interjected "just use Cuervo."

No, don't "just use Cuervo".  It's crap, and I don't want it. 

"We never have El Jimador.  I should probably tell the manager to take it off the menu."

Yeah, probably.

Neither seemed to understand the difference between these tequilas, nor did they care to.

Let's hope whoever buys that liquor license has sense enough to train their staff. 

Jersey City: Make My City

There's a promotion going on this week in one of my favorite New Jersey cities:  Jersey City.

New Jersey: Food bank

Deborah Smith over at JerseyBites.com has organized another "blog burst" to raise awareness of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.  

Here is the official website:  http://www.checkouthungernj.org/

I'm not here to preach or suggest to which organizations you should donate your money.  But it couldn't be easier to grab one of those little tickets (you see above) at the checkout counter of any of our many participating food stores when you're picking up supplies for your family and friends, and have the cashier scan it.

Read more about JerseyBites' efforts and the participating blogs over at the JerseyBites blog.

And if you don't care much for food banks, maybe a couple of bucks to the ASPCA, Toys for Tots, or your favorite charity, or even just being a pleasant human being for a day, will add some nice to karma our section of the planet. 

 

 

Skinnygirl: Margarita

The poor margarita.  Once a near-perfect drink, in the family of cocktails known as "the sour" (not, you'll note, "the sweet"), blessed with a balance of natural sweetness, mouth puckering sour, and agave flavors, the margarita has become almost a joke in the hands of bartenders and regular folk across the land (and I suspect across other lands as well).  

You see, there was a time when a margarita would be enjoyed in a coupe, or cocktail glass (stemware which is now generally referred to as a "martini glass"), 3, maybe 5 ounces at a time. But I'm guessing most people, when thinking "margarita,"  picture a huge pint glass of a neon green, overly-sweet, vaguely tequila-y slushie, more fitting for a frat party or Bourbon street than for a restaurant or serious contemplation.  And that's the problem:  people don't know any better.  We've been brain-washed!

I've already noted here on this blog that a margarita's success is based almost solely on the use of quality ingredients, used in a proportion which you find appealing.  Those ingredients include: