She and the piano accompanist were excellent! I guess you'd have to be to make it to Carnegie Hall, huh?

I don't believe I've ever heard of Carrot Top performing there.

You know the old joke, "Practice, practice, practice!!!"

Thats pretty much it. While it ain't bad, it ain't great either.

What do they get for a pastrami sandwich now?

My combo was about $18 ... plus $2.25 for a Lipton tea bag and hot water Reubens were like $23!

...and while it was quite enough in quantity, I remember them being way bigger than this even, and for less money (at the time). As for quality, I've had much better in much "lesser" places at this point.



Ahh well, it was close by at least, and I wanted deli.

~$23 Reuben:



$23??

Last evening we went over a friend's house for dinner. These friends are originally from Italy and they go back there 1 - 2 months out of the year, every year, to be with their families who still live there. So even thought they have lived in America for so many years, they have held on to their Italian traditions and still even speak fluent Italian and when speaking American, do so with an accent.

At one time they owned an Italian foccaceria / restaurant in Matawah New Jersey that was just fantastic. Unfortunately the shopping center where they had the foccaceria was sold and the new owner wouldn't renew any of the leases.

Anyway last night they started us out with all the Italian treats such as fresh buffalo mozzerella, suprasatta, home made caponata, assorted italian cheeses, fresh Italian olive bread, wines, etc.

Then when we sat down to dinner she made my favorite, home made Spaghetti Carbonara. Simply delicious. After that she served chicken marsala, veal franchese, and a pork roast made in a garlic and lemon sauce. On the table she also had a bowl of Insalata Frutti Di Mare, a fresh mozzarella and tomato/basil salad, as well as sauteed spinach in garlic and oil an a plate of sauteed string beans.

For dessert they served cheesecake, home made rum cake, Terrone, and fresh Cappuccinos and Espressos, made in an industrial Espresso maker that they once used in their foccaceria/restaurant.

Of course the wine was flowing all night long. EVERYTHING was out of this world. A fantastic evening with some really great friends.


She is just an incredible cook and they both are wonderful hosts.

Needless to say, when the night was over, we all ROLLED out of there!

Would that be Matawan or Mahwah?

That reuben looks pretty good. Is that a pickle on that plate? It looks like it's seen better days.

I love Reubens. Harold's makes a really good one.

However, there is a small local tavern here on Staten Island called Shaefer's Tavern, which has probably been around here for 100 years. The place is probably frequented by the same people who frequented it 50 years ago, and the bar tennders are probably the same bartenders from back then!

When my father in-law is up from florida, all the guys in the family as well as my father in-law's old buddies, get together on a saturday afternoon to go to this tavern for some beers and lunch. They make the traditional german stuff as well as pastrami, corned beef and other deli sandwiches. But they make a really great Reuben sandwich that I would pit against ANY famous deli. It's just out of this world.

Well it's not a mini-zucchini if that's what you're wondering...

Actually it's M-A-T-A-W-A-N (it's called a typo, when you hit the H by accident which rests above the N on the keyboard.

MATAWAN N.J.

WISE ASS -- both places exist

Just wondering cuz my brother lives in Matawan (about an hour away) -- too bad I missed out on the place (Mahwah would've been too far north for dinner lol)

I know that there's a Mahwah. But their restaurant was in MataWAN.

It was called THE VILLAGE CAFE

If it included a mini-zucchinin $23 would be a heck of a deal.

That sounds like an incredible meal, DC. And some incredible friends.

Wife and I went to a place called Kelsey's steakhouse. Great local joint. Spent $75 and it was worth it.

Absolutely! ALL AROUND!

Had to take my little man to the hospital to get some lab work done. We had Wendy's on the way home.

Hope it wasn't a cholesterol test.

Whats wrong with him?

He's on a seizure med and he's on a med for ADD. He just has to get blood work every so often to see how the blood is doing being on those meds. He's fine as wine.
Thanks for the concern SC.

Escarole and white bean soup tonight, with hot, crusty bread from Addeo's. The weather is pefect for it.

I want bread from Addeo's. Actually, we went to a funeral today, and then the family invited everyone to Joe & Joe's, an Italian restaurant up here which was originally in the Bronx. They ordered a ton of food. Hot antipasto, cold antipasto, fried calamari, penne vodka, and then a choice of veal, sole or chicken. I feel stuffed like a cannoli right now.

Ah yes, Castle Hill Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard, Miss Babe.

I drank away many an afternoon at the original. The food was never great, but it was good enough, and the atmosphere was just priceless. Right up until they pulled out (around 2002 or 2003?) it felt like it was 1970 in that place. It was really like walking into a time warp.

As much as I liked it, my Dad adored it. It was really 1950's, Bronx-Street Guy Central.

Well, your impression of the food was spot on. Certainly good, but definitely not great. They love to advertise "originally from the Bronx" because I think that people then assume that it's "authentic Italian", if you know what I mean.

You want GREAT food? You have to try this place Il Portico. Not only is the food out of this world, but the service is excellent as well. The carpaccio is wonderful, and even though it's not on the menu, they will make Spaghetti Carbonara on request. I've also enjoyed the filet mignon. And they have the most delightful tartufo I've ever eaten.

Double Whopper w/ Cheese on the Parkway

Was out on Looooooong Island today for a meeting, but didn't wanna stop in Tessio's territory for fear of getting stuck in badass traffic (let alone not being that familiar w/ the area). I got stuck in badass traffic anyway after stopping

Ok, I'm waxing poetic about the freshness and quality of Il Portico's carpaccio, and you pop in with a story about a double whopper you ate while stuck in traffic. Were there fries at least??

Fries and a Coke!

Surely you don't get fries and Coke with your fancy-pants carpaccio, do you? Nope, didn't think so.

No, alas, no fries, and no Coke!! But I think that McDonald's fries are WAY better than BK's anyway!!

And I told you to only call me "fancy-pants" when we're alone.

You're hopeless..... You passed right by the original Nathan's and Spumoni Gardens only to stop at a Burger King.