McLoone's Boathouse, West Orange NJ

This place is great, I discovered McLoone's on my way home from work due to a major traffic jam on the parkway. I was forced to take a different route and as much as I hate traffic I was happy on this day. I drove by and noticed it and called "Connie Corleone" right away. My next night off I called "Connie" and we went out to discover McLoone's in West Orange.

The Boathouse features American cuisine and seating inside and out, web site states 240 inside and 100 outside. Outside looks great and a awesome place to sit with your lady and order a bottle of wine and some appt's and just relax. For us the dining rooms are nice but give a feel of banquet rooms instead of a dining room. Go and eat @ the bar, this allows great seating, great service and the ability to oversee everyone as they are coming and going. Great place to people watch.  

Visit their web site to see one of the seven different offering's McLoone's has established.

Below are some photos of just two items we had. The Crab Cakes are outstanding.....

Ahi Tuna Crisps, Ahi tuna tartar mixed with chopped cucumber, scallions, & sesame seeds tossed in a soy-ginger sauce, and served on a crispy wonton

McLoone’s Crab Cakes, Our signature recipe for over 25 years. Served with basil aioli, wild rice & grilled asparagus

www.mcloonesboathouse.com

This venues gets four out of four corks

The Spaniard

P.F. Chang's, China Bistro

I've been going to P.F. Chang's for years, loved this place. My lady and I always knew that their was only one place to go if we wanted to enjoy great Chinese food and great service. But since they sold out and tried to touch that untouched demographic "home menu" with supermarket packages they seem to have loose their passion and love and it seems like they are just focusing on the all mighty profit margin.

The food is still great but they need to spend some of their marketing dollars on training their staff on service.  I still go thinking that last time was just a bad day and this time it will be great.....wrong again, the staff just doesn't show any kind of appreciation for us being there. We have so many different venues within minutes of each other.

last time we visited we went with friends 4ppl, upon arriving the hostess told us 1 1/2 hour wait. We said OK and decided to go the the Cheesecake Factory for a cocktail while we waited. We where at the CCF not even 30 minutes and the we got buzzed letting us know our table was ready. We had just recieved our beverages. Gulped them down and walk over.

We always go and order many appt's and one or two bottles of wine. As true foodies we love sharing everything. We ordered everything from dumpling's, egg rolls, seared ahi tuna, ribs and lettuce wraps and wontons. Again food is great but when I asked the server to cut out egg rolls to make it easier to share I was told "you can cut it yourself"....again spend less on marketing and more on training. I'm not going to relive the night and express everything our server did worng but I feel with a little bit of training the night could have been completly different. Hire smart, train hard and watch your profit margins get better and better every quarter.

I truly feel P.F. Chang's can get back in the game if they go back to their roots. Great food, great service and go back to being the palce that made you famous.

This venues gets two out of four corks "only cause the food ws great"

The Spaniard 

Taken to school, by my SON!!!!

After all the years of letting him win this time he actually beat me. I found myself actually trying to do better but my 9 year old son kicked my butt. I was so proud of him. The look in his eyes was priceless, I think he knew I was trying to win but he just out shot me. I'm going to kick he ass next time......just kidding but I'll be trying a lot harder.

To all you dads out there, our sons are growing up all to quick. Enjoy the time together and make every day count because one day you wake up and their not so little anymore. My son is everything to me and I focus on the time we have together instead of the time we are apart.

The Spaniard and this little Spaniard

Quote for today

"A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine"

The Spaniard

Open Road, USA

Gas $15 dollars, leather jacket $225, Insurance $165 for the year, tolls EZ pass, the feel of the open road and the power in your hand as you throttle and feel the engine come alive....Priceless!!!!

I always like to pay homage to my first long distance ride and to all the bugs that decided to Kamikaze my face all day.....the big one really hurt when your doing 70 mph.

To all my biker brother, be safe, never ride alone and enjoy the open road.....

The Spaniard

CA VA, New York NY

After the show we walked around and noticed Ca Va, seeing it was a Todd English establishment we just had to visit.

World-renowned Chef Todd English's newest restaurant concept, Ça Va, is located in the heart of New York City's Theater district. Ça Va is a modern twist on the traditional brasserie serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a Pre-Theater dining menu.

Web site below, check out pure elegance.....

Anything associated with Todd English get four out of four corks in my book.

www.cavatoddenglish.com

The Spaniard

Nizza, New York NY

I love heading into the city for a Broadway show and with the re-release of Evita I just knew I had to go check it out.  I was happy to hear Ricky Martin was in it, (not playing Eva Peron) but the male lead role "Che".  I just can't head into the City and not make it an adventure, so I called "Connie Corleone" and we did some R&D and headed out.

Evita is playing @ the Marquis Theatre and located near by is Nizza.  The web site states "Dinner & a show. Meet me @ Nizza", so true.  Our show was @ 8p so we made a 5:30 reservation.  Not realizing it was Easter weekend and the normal travel time of 30 minutes turned into an hour and a half.  Just a side note...paying $12 for the Lincoln tunnel & having 10 lanes merge into 2 lanes.....Sucks. Any way, we called the restaurant and they told us they would honor our reservation.  We didn't arrive until around 630 and I must admit our anxiety level was very high due to only having an hour and fifteen minutes before we had to head out for the show. Our waitress Quan came over and made us feel at ease right away by telling us you have plenty of time and don't worry.  The place was packed and we just didn't know if the food would be OK.  All of our worries went away as soon as we saw Danny Aiello leaving the restaurant rubbing his stomach in delight.....

We knew our food would be fine, or would it???

One of their house specialties is the crispy chickpea pancake cooked in the brick oven with sage, onions & pecorino. For apps we had the Eggplant Involtini and Clams Oreganata, littlenecks broiled with herb breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil & lemon.

For dinner we had the Branzino Fillet, fennel, potatoes, onions and olives

and the Wild Boar Lasagna, boar bolognese, crescenza cheese,

bechamel & parmesan.  All sucked back with a lovely bottle of Barbera.

We found the place had great synergy and it's always awesome seeing a room full of people having a great time. I must say that I was very surprised to notice the food lacking seasoning, almost flavorless in fact. The Branzino was excellent and the service was top notch.

On another note, Evita was great. I can honestly say that I've never been in a room with so many gay Caballeros in my life.  I wish I had brought my scarf.

One more note, in the lobby at intermission I noticed a foodie superhero Bob Tuschman, GM/Senior VP of the Food Network & the Cooking Channel. This guy rocks. To Bob, thank you for all you do in

entertaining us foodies.

www.nizzanyc.com

This venue get three out of four corks

The Spaniard

Huntley Taverne, Summit NJ

Huntley Taverne is one of nine different concepts under the umbrella of  the Harvest Restaurants.

I highly recommend you visiting their web site and picking a place to visit. The Chef here does an amazing job creating a menu that uses

fresh local farmed ingredients and classic seasonal cuisine.

Tremendous wine list with over 250 wines.

Outdoor porch dining, & two stone fireplaces.

Since we were celebrating, we decided to enjoy a bottle of Quintessa, Rutherford 07'.....So good!!!!  drinks like butter

Mussels, house smoked bacon, grilled local spring scallions, roasted chickpeas, white wine, garlic and served with ciabatta for dipping.

Crescent Farms duck breast, Israeli cous cous, chopped hazelnuts, golden raisins, local scallions, roasted garlic with a pomegranate sauce....Outstanding.

www.thehuntleytaverne.com

This venue gets four out of four corks

The Spaniard

il vagabondo, NY

I was watching the food network and "the best thing I've ever had" was on. As I watched Emeril Lagasse comes on and start talking about Veal parm. I've been in North Jersey for a year now and still have not found a good veal parm. He started describing the veal parm @ il vagabondo, by the time he was done I had already googled it for directions. I called "Connie Corleone" and told her I had a surprise for her for lunch....

Originally Il Vagabondo was a bar for the local clientele of this predominantly Italian neighborhood. The locals would drop by for an espresso and more often than not an espresso corretto and a game of bocce. To be in accordance with the liquor laws the establishment starting serving food, mostly simple sandwiches and then the occasional plate of pasta. Before long more than the locals were stopping by at this unique establishment for a refreshment and a bite to eat. Emeril, thank you very much.....love this place. Wed site below, this place is a must.

www.ilvagabondo.com

This venues get four out of four corks

The Spaniard