Luca’s Ristorante
1 Walter East Foran Boulevard
2019 State Route 27 (Location visited)
Somerset, NJ

Back in my old days of computer gaming (early 1990s), there was a magazine called Computer Gaming World (CGW). Gaming in the old days… 256 colours in 640 x 480. I am digressing here… So, what that (now defunct) magazine has to do with food? It just happens that until the later days of the magazine, it never gave a rating. It gave the games highs, lows and a general thought of the game and the writers opinion, leaving up to the reader to then decide whether he/she should get the game or not. You can say that my writing style is heavily influenced by this magazine. OK, what that has to do with food, some of you might still ask. Again, one thing I tried to do on this trip was to try different cuisines. Short of East Asian (other than Ichi Umi) and African, I have bounced back and forth. Today, it is about Luca’s Ristorante. The reason I came here? Because of all the high marks given by people, which led up to it being the number 2 restaurant in New Jersey, according to Urbanspoon…

But that still does not explain the relationship between CGW, Urbanspoon and Luca’s Ristorante! OK, here is the explanation: If you look at the Urbanspoon page for Luca’s Ristorante, you will notice the amount of positive feedback; however, if you keep on looking closely, you will notice that most of the reader reviews are people who have written exactly one review. While I accept the fact some people might want to put only one review (probably because they do not eat out often or similar reason), when over half of them are exactly one review will raise some eyebrows. Still, I wanted to find out myself…

And that led to yet another getting-myself-lost-while-driving silly experience! Although this time I did not have to go through highways and missing exits, I was challenged by the rain and the darkness of the area. Unlike most of the roads taken previously, most of the driving was through a large section of residential area but, for some reason, it was poorly lit. Given that I was driving slightly below the max allowed speed (due to conditions), I made a couple of wrong turns and that set me back up for almost half an additional hour to my road trip there! Don’t believe me? I am sure that Sherman and Anita can attest to my lack of sense of direction on the roads!

When I arrived, I found it interesting this restaurant was located in a strip mall, not that different to those you can find in Richmond, BC – with the exception that, rather than having another strip mall next to it, it was mostly empty lot in the back (or, at least, as far as I could see which was less than 25m!). Yet, there was some multi-culturalism present: next to Luca’s Ristorante, there was a middle-Eastern/Indian type cafe. After I walked past the door, I was greeted by a “long” corridor to where the maitre’d station is and then it separates the dining room into two. Since it was empty at that moment, I was given the option to sit anywhere. I chose the very corner of the restaurant, as far away from any potential customers who might be arriving later. The reason? Lightning…

While it was serviceable to an extent (and not as bad as Baru Latino), it was far from ideal for a picture taking perspective. This meant that I had to use my Speedlight. It was a good thing, I thought, there weren’t any customers yet but, not long after, two couples took a table in the same area where I was. Fortunately, they were far enough. That also meant I shouldn’t take my chances and try to snap as many pictures as possible as fast as possible. Anyway, to the food!

After I made my order, I was given this bowl of complimentary bread. I will admit the bread was quite good. Three different types of bread, all of them still warm. It wasn’t that fluffy but it had a good consistency to it. The one I found somewhat out of place is the middle one which had some fruit in it (blueberry? raisins?). Since I was expecting something neutral or savoury, it caught me slightly off guard. Out of the two dips, I liked the pesto to the right which enhanced the savoury-ness of the bread. The left one… Well, I was still trying to figure out what it was. I thought it would be olive oil and balsamic with the twist of some herbs on top. However, it did not have that olive flavour. I did not bother to ask either because, overall, the bread was good on its own.

To start off with, I had the… Sorry but I do not remember the name exactly. (I tried to take a picture of the menu for reference purposes with my iPhone but it was too dark to make anything out of it). Yes, yes, the general idea is that of mozzarella di bufala caprese, i.e., tomato, mozzarella and basil but, in this case, it also had some capers, grilled red peppers, oil and balsamic vinegar. While simple, this dish was good, in fact, better than expected. I knew that the tomato would be a challenge, specially because they used what seems to be a beefsteak tomato and tomatoes in general weren’t “in season”. And while the tomato couldn’t hold to that creamy texture of the mozzarella, the grilled peppers shined and took over that complimentary role. The sweet pieces mixed really well with that herb taste of basil and the oil and vinegar. The capers were mostly for show and don’t think it added much (not even some saltiness).

With my pasta dish (more in a moment), I received a side salad. The truth is, I could have lived without it. OK, OK, I wouldn’t mind eating more greens just that, well, it wasn’t that much to comment about. They might have grabbed some mixed greens from a bag and added some tomatoes on top and call it a salad. The dressing (not pictured) was better, though, as it provided some savoury notes to the otherwise average salad. (And I am among those who can eat salads without dressing!).

As mentioned above, I had pasta. In the case of Luca’s Ristorante, they have fresh pasta and, well, pasta. Since they make that distinction, I thought I might as well go for the pasta fresca. In this case, Gnocchi di Spinaci Genovese or Spinach dumplings served with braised sirloin and caramelized onions in a white wine sauce (the last part not 100% accurate as the picture I took is extremely dark). When I was served this dish, the waiter first brought a cloth napkin and put it folded into a square the table. Then, he brought the tajine like pot (except it did not have a hole on top). I was wondering what I was supposed to do with it until he put his hand on top and, in a theatherical act, he makes me wait and wait and then uncover this dish. And, then, he asked if I wanted some “Parmesan cheese”. I said yes and, using a grater, he topped some (or “until you say stop”). Authentic Parmigianino? Uncertain, but I am not going to argue on that point.

At first, the liquid was still bubbling, so I knew I had to proceed with care to avoid burning myself. After “mixing” it around, I took my first bite. Now, I know that pasta is a tricky business, specially if you bring it up to an Italian. Most people like it al dente, some others like it mushy. I won’t condemn anybody about this because, well, it is personal preference. In the case of gnocchi, I like it light and fluffy, though if it has a slight bite to it, I think I can live with it. In this case, I found its texture to be slightly chewy. While it did not have to chew hard (as in, say, a bowl of tong yuen, aka, Chinese glutinous rice ball soup), it had a chewier consistency than what I expected. The sauce, which, as mentioned above, started as bubbling liquid, started to thicken as it started to cool down. However, because the gnocchi was mostly smooth (baring that indentation, as if made with a thumb), the sauce did not really “cling” into it. As a result, I ended up eating this dish with a spoon rather than a fork, which I felt somewhat odd. Finally, the meat was an epic fail: partially thanks to the cut, it ended up dry, which did not help much to the beef taste as it was struggling to begin with. Size wise, I will have to say this would have been better to share rather than eat it by myself. Heck, I barely made past half the tajine!

On the way back to the hotel, I couldn’t help wonder… Why was everybody raving about this place? Did I order something wrong? While there were hits, the pasta dish, what a lot of Italians considers (or, at least, it is said) to be the key dish failed. If you fail on that, the rest of the meal will be incomplete. Of course, I did not have the dinner Italian style, still, I can’t help how I would have reacted if I was given that as second dish (after the antipasto) and I did not like it. Overall, I think it has good points but not high enough, specially to the extent some “reviewers” mentioned. Because of that, I don’t think I would come back if I am in there area again.

Ichi Umi
6 East 32nd Street, New York
352 Menlo Park Mall (Location visited)
Edison, NJ

As I have done in my last previous business trips, in that wish to make comparisons between sushi found in other cities and Vancouver, I did some quick search around and two places that kept popping out: Minado and Ichi Umi. There was a third restaurant I wanted to try, Mr. Pi Sushi, but, given the popularity of the previous two, I thought, hey, that is what people like so let’s go to one of these! And, out of the two, I ended up going to Ichi Umi mainly because that was the closest one (of course, “close” is a relative term given most of the drive was highway). However, there was something I neglected to do, not to mention something that was giving me bad vibes about this place: it is located in a mall. To make a really bad analogy, the two sushi restaurant in Vancouver that are in large malls (as far as I know and not counting the small stands) are Sui-Sha-Ya and Kawawa Japanese Restaurant. Both are all-you-can-eat and, out of the two, I have only been to the former (mainly due to peer pressure). As for the later, I will just refer to Sherman’s visit… But, back to Ichi Umi.

The same issue I mentioned in my visit to Pooja occured here as well: Due to my instinct on taking the left most lane to take a left turn, as we usually do here, I missed the exit to the mall which happened to be in the right most lane (out of three, sometimes four). Not only that, I was boxed by several cars for various clicks until I finally managed to change lanes to be able to take one of those jughandle turns. To make things worse? I ended up parked at the other end of the mall…

When I arrived, that one detail I neglected to double check hit me: Ichi Umi is a buffet – had I done my homework, this post would have been of Mr. Pi Sushi instead… But, I was there and not really in the mood of driving around so I just resigned myself. When I was seated, I found an interesting twist: There were induction stoves on some tables. My best bet would be used for shabu-shabu, which was listed as an option in the menu for an additional $5. Shabusen, anybody? As for the price itself, it does not come cheap either: Dinner for an adult is $29 on weekdays (and additional $3 on weekends). Since I was in New Jersey for two weeks and limited accessibility to a gym (there was one in the hotel, but, given it was a budget hotel, there wasn’t too much in the gym), I had to keep myself in check. It would be indeed a challenge…

After I was seated, I was told I could go ahead and hit the buffet, which is an interesting change from the fill-up-the-form type of all-you-can-eat here (of course, not that I have been to one in a long time). One thing I must mention: Since I wasn’t going to gorge myself to death, that meant the only way to take some pictures would be standing in the middle of the buffet area. As a result, before I started to do so (and get myself kicked out if they didn’t like that idea), I asked the staff if it was OK. I wasn’t given a general yes/no answer but rather, I was asked not to do a close-up of the food if it was still in the buffet area. Of course, if it was on my plate, on my table… So, here it goes!

So, here is your sushi and maki to start. Pretty much grab what you want. I noticed they replenished these pretty fast once they run out. Of course, that also runs into a catch-22 issue: what if there is an unpopular one? Would that be standing there forever?

They also has sashimi. Some of the pieces were oddly cut (almost as strips) but, otherwise, it wasn’t too large or too small. Of course, if you wanted more, it was just a matter of coming back and grab more pieces.

Yup, they have oysters as well! I don’t recall the exact oyster type (I did not take a picture of the specie/origin). More on that later.

Yup, they got snow crab legs as well! Just like the oyster, I will get back to the crab in a moment. Beside them was some kimchi rolls… Korean dish in a Japanese restaurant? Well, it won’t be something new, considering that some of the sushi restaurants found here in Vancouver are also Korean. Did I mention there were three Korean channels in the hotel room but no Spanish one???

Hot items from the grill… Yes, they had a grill on site, right behind the counter where I snapped these pictures. In general, these were hot, given they were cooking small batches and fast turnaround.

Once again, yup, similar to grill in the previous picture, they also have fried items. The interesting twist? They will fry items to order. In the picture above, there was some fried soft-shell crab.

Wow, it does not end there! There were also hot dishes in the form of large fish (which you can then take some morsels), more crab, some pork, ribs and even clams! In general, they had something for everybody.

And, when I said “something for everybody”, that includes dessert. In addition to small squares, they will also make crepes to order.

And here are some of the items I took, including (from the top picture) “okonomiyaki” (stretching the definition of it, of course), mussels, mushroom, (from the middle picture), beef and tuna tataki in the rolls, snow crab, oysters, (from the bottom picture) some pieces of fish and crab cake.

In general, there were some decent items but most of them went sideways, if not thumbs down. Most of the sushi/maki pieces were lacking that vinegar-y taste and were dry, something expected after they were sitting there for some time. The grilled items were above par, specially if they just came out; however, even then, they were overcooked. In my case, I took one of the scampi/shrimp and, it was good, just slightly over done. The hot items were decent, specially if the fact they have been sitting there for a while is taken into consideration. In fact, I was surprised the clams were still plum and juicy! But the fried items were pale in comparison. The soft shell crab was mushy and barely had some taste to it. How can anybody fail with a fried item?! The desserts (I had a couple of cubes) in general were decent, though, again, it suffers from the fact it has been sitting there for a long time under a cold plate.

Now to the two items that I would have certainly “attacked” in a buffet: the snow crab and the oysters. In both cases, they failed. While you could easily extract the meat from the legs and had some liquid in it, it was devoid of any taste. It is as if they were thawed, then re-frozen and re-thawed. Not a pretty scene… As for the oyster, it suffered a similar fate. Now, I am not an expert in this matter but I thought it had absolutely no taste in it and, in one case, something gritty at the bottom. It was when I saw them shuck the oysters that I found why: after they “break apart” the top shell, they dunk it into water before placing them into the buffet. As a result, most of the liquor was stripped in the process… Heck, the oysters in the motoyaki dishes found here, despite it has been baked and obliterated with tha mayo “sauce” on top, tasted better than the ones served!

Overall, I found they offer some interesting dishes (again, clams) but not a place I will recommend or come back. No, it wasn’t that bad; rather it is just that I am not their target market. Instead, I prefer to fork $30 for a well prepared one (like the one I had in Scottsdale at Pure Sushi) than have such a unlimited access to a large variety of dishes. Still, I am sure there will be people who prefer this and, I guess, that is the reason why it was highly rated. Compared to Vancouver? I will have to put it above places like Sui-Sha-Ya….

McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood
Hundred of locations in the US
400 Commons Way (Location visited)
Bridgewater, NJ

I am not a fan of malls. While I do go there for other reasons, if given the options, I would rather be somewhere else. However, when you are not in a major city, sometimes you can’t help it, specially when you are not from town. Also, a lot of restaurants would choose them as a spot to open. It might be a gamble for independent ones; not necessarily so for chains which has a corporate backing behind it. The major mall in the area happens to be Bridgewater Commons and one night I chose to drop by. Food court? Check; however, I went somewhere else instead. While there was other sit down restaurants there as well, I couldn’t find them (it happened they were partially “detached” from the main mall). Hungry, I ended up going to the one I was able to find: McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood

One thing that I am always wary about seafood restaurants in North America it is ambiance. For some reason, it tends to be higher end – sometimes for no particular reason, specially if we compare it to steakhouses (again, check my visit to Lone Star, which is a case of you get what you pay for). I guess, since seafood in this part of the world is expensive, added to the fact North American tend to consume top feeders (tuna, salmon, halibut, et al), it tends to make the meal an overall experience of its own. Here? Dim lights, every body dressed on the lines of business casual, et al. Not sure if it was a good thing I came here after work, when I was dressed business casual… Anyway, to the food.

As mentioned above, lightning was dim. I could have brought out my Speedlight but, while I wasn’t seated in the dead middle, using it would have really caught everybody’s attention. I wish I was seated in a booth instead. Oh, well. This, of course, has an impact on how the pictures were taken. In the case of the picture above of an Iceberg Wedge, it was heavily post-processed.

The Iceberg Wedge which, as the name suggest, is a wedge cut of an iceberg lettuce topped with some pieces of tomato, bacon and a blue cheese dressing. Normally, I don’t mind iceberg lettuce, specially if you are creative about it. Heck, I even like it “Chinese style”, i.e., blanch it and lightly stir fried. In this case, it was totally overpowered by the dressing that is started to feel heavy. Not necessarily a good way to start a meal. Somehow I wished afterwards I ordered any of the other salads to begin with. Heck, I might have ordered oysters! (It would have been really odd though to ordered BC oysters when I don’t do it here locally…)

For my entrée, I ordered something “safe”: salmon. In this case, Atlantic salmon from, out of all places, Nova Scotia. I had two options: stuffed with crab, bay shrimp and Brie or cedar planked and roasted – I chose the former. I will make a small stop here and switch topics: To those who are not aware of, almost all – if not all – Atlantic salmon is farmed, unlike Pacific salmon which is mostly wild. There are endless discussions about wild vs farmed and, while I won’t condemn the farmed fishing (which is something that have existed for millennia), in the end, I would rather have some fish than no fish. And, in this case, support Canadian industry rather than, say, Chilean sea bass, which was also in the menu and it is in the sustainability watchlist. Beside, in the case of salmon, you can tell it is salmon just by its unique orange colour; something you can’t guarantee with some other fish…

Now, back to my salmon. It came with two sides, the green beans as shown above being one of them. Blanched and some fat added to it, it made your basic side dish: not necessarily exciting but fulfilled what it is supposed to do. The other side dish was mashed potato. Unlike the mashed potato we usually find on this side, which usually has some twist to it, like garlic, here it was the basic mash. No garlic, no spices or herbs. I won’t condemn them for it, as I am sure some people prefer it that way; instead I will only add it was quite smooth. Finally, the salmon. Not sure if it is because I have had too much sushi or cooked differently (fried?), in this case, I thought the salmon was somewhat overcooked. It flaked fine but somewhat dry to my liking. As for the stuffing, I thought it was strange… Not to the point of a paste but really short. I could still see some “strands” or “fibers” but, otherwise, I won’t have been able to say it was crab, as the flavour wasn’t there. Something similar happened with the shrimp. Oddly, it wasn’t due to the brie, as there wasn’t that much of creaminess I associate this cheese with.

In the end, for a Vancouverite, the best comparison I can make would be Joe Forte’s, a seafood place where the food tends to be “safe”, not necessarily ground breaking. In a way it is not a place for me but I see why people would like it. The only thing I wish somebody could explain me: On the table next to me, there was a couple where a young woman orders… (Fried) chicken tenders… WHY???? Oh, well…

White Manna
358 River Street
460 Tonnele Avenue (Location visited)
Jersey City, NJ

Yes, this is the reason why the White Castle post was called “Battle of the Whites”! As mentioned previously, I asked Christina of Pizza & Bagels for suggestions on places to eat in New Jersey. She wasn’t the only source for these places. I also asked fellow blogger Sherman of Sherman’s Food Adventures for suggestions. One of his suggestions? White Manna (the store is displayed as “White Mana” but, for consistency purposes will use the double n). But, wait, isn’t White Manna in Jersey City? Yes, it was 50+ Km from where I was staying and, despite it was pure highway, it is still 50+ Km! However, this isn’t the first time I have done such drive for food (Ah-Beetz, anybody???), not to mention I thought I should make the most ouf of this trip! So, here it goes, White Manna!

Confession time: My first option for burgers on this trip wasn’t White Manna or White Castle or Fuddruckers. All of these came almost by “just because”. My first option? Louis’ Lunch. I am sure this name does not ring any bell because it is not rated or mentioned much. However, there was a reason why I wanted to go there despite that fact: it is one of the places that claims hamburgers were invented, not to mention the way they are cooked (on a sideway grill), the bread (white sliced bread) and condiments (NO catsup or mustard!). With such claim, I thought I should give it a try. And to prove how “dedicated” I am to this “hobby”, I was planning to drive all the way from my hotel to… New Haven, Connecticut! Let me translate that for almost all of you: a drive of around 225Km (one way)!

Unfortunately, there was a perfect storm, literally. The only day I could do this trip was the day a Nor’easter hit New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. I still wanted to do the drive… That is until I hit Jersey City, where I got myself lost. By then, the radio was broadcasting warnings of flooded and/or closed roads due to the storm (in fact, I ran into one of those flooded roads). I was disappointed as I had made the drive for nothing. About the only chance I could do it and was denied by random acts of nature… But, then, I switched gears and to the back up plan, i.e., Sherman’s suggestion: White Manna. Still, the backup plan required a backup. See, there are two White Manna locations: one in Hoboken and one in Jersey City – the one “rated” in sources like Urbanspoon was the one in Hoboken. However, there was only that much I could do so, instead, I went to the location in Jersey City.

After I walked in, the cook was slightly startled. I will have to say he should have. No, I am not scary! Instead, since really hard storm was hitting the area, most people would have most likely gone home. The fact I was able to take the picture above proves the point: I was able to take it because there were nobody else there! (When I walked in there were other four customers, two of them takeout).

After a quick look at the menu, which includes some fried items and shakes, I made my order which you can see being prepared in the picture above. Here is a funny “story”. Since it was pretty much the cook and me, I asked if I could take a picture. He did not mind; however, he shouted to somebody in the back (in Spanish, I must add): “Vamos a salir en el periodico Chino“, literally “we will be in the Chinese newspaper”. Sorry, dude, you got punk’d! Oh, wait, wrong show…

Similar to my order in White Castle, my order here was a meal which, again, had fries. I won’t make too much emphasis on this other than they are your regular fries. Well, aside they were piping hot meaning they were just fried. Still, they are your generic fries…

And here is my order: three cheeseburgers. I will make it brief: it was disappointing. If you thought the ones in White Castle were bad (I must mention, the sequence is altered: I went to White Manna first), these ones were even worst in almost all ways you can imagine. It almost felt like eating white bread with something undescribable in the middle (and we are not talking about the cheese). OK, the fries and the (commercial?) pickles were not that bad but, c’mon, I wasn’t there for fries and pickles! And to show how disappointed I was, that night I was really hungry and, instead of ordering something else, as I was still hungry after the burgers, I chose to skip it and drive back to the hotel under the heavy rain.

No, I do not blame Sherman for this extremely below par experience. After all, I am sure I should have gone to the Hoboken location or, heck, Louis’ Lunch. But, I have to deal with the circumstances and, in this case, it was an epic fail…

So, who won this “Battle of the Whites”? While I am sure you will think it was White Castle, the answer is no. Instead, the winner is White Spot…

White Castle
Hundres of locations in the US
5151 Stelton Road (Location visited)
South Plainfield, NJ

When I was in Panama, if you wanted burgers, the only options were fast food chains (we had the usual MickeyD’s, BK and Wendy’s, with brief stints from Hardee’s and other shops). After I moved to Canada, I became a bit more conscious of the fact there were more shops in addition to the ones found there. I mean, why should I? Back in Panama, while they filled a niche, there were better food (in either mom-n-pop shops or street vendors, et al). So, when I saw there was a movie called “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”, my first thought was “White Castle? What is that?”. Of course, I found out eventually but, alas, my curiosity to find out what was actually served in White Castle couldn’t be satiated…

Before I continue, I must admit I have not seen the whole Harold & Kumar movie – only bits and pieces. I have been told it is really hilarious but, regardless, there is one detail I know about the movie that makes a really silly connection to this post: The White Castle they were looking for is supposed to be in New Brunswick (as in New Brunswick, New Jersey, again, not the Canadian province)! And guess where was I! OK, I wasn’t in New Brunswick but, at a rock’s throw away, which, for almost all practical purposes, it feels like I was doing something similar! Of course, sans some herbs, hehehehe.

As for the food itself, as some of you know, they sell small square burgers called slyders (though it is trademark is for the way the burgers slide out – more of that in a moment). Since this was my first experience with this (mini burgers aside), I thought to go for the “basic” order (more of that in a moment). After I made my order, I couldn’t help myself take the pictures below.

Since it was behind a glass, this was the best I could do without setting up my Speedlight. Of course, that raised some funny looks until I told them I was on a trip from Vancouver and we do not have White Castle here. Mentioning that made the staff more relaxed and was able to continue snap a couple of more pictures. (Of course saying that with a different accent to prove you are not “local” helps a little bit! ).

Behold, their slyders! Again, since I wasn’t sure what to order, I went for their basic combo order, a Sack Meal which contains four slyders, fries and a drink. On that night, I wasn’t that hungry (as I had a snack from a “surprising” source, more on that on tomorrow noon’s post – yes as in tomorrow Saturday! With two posts!!!) so it would had been more than enough. However, being a sucker to try other things, I made an additional order of two other slyders of a “special” item they were having.

So here is their slyder. If memory serves me right, had I ordered one by itself, it would have settled me back around US$0.70. It is funny I mention it as I recall my first experience with a MickeyD’s hamburger (20+ years ago) was about the same price! The overall burger was meh, not much to talk about. You could barely “feel” the beef patty was there as it did not provide too much flavour. I have the hunch the fact the patty is small contributes to that lack of taste. The onions went a similar path which I thought was disappointing. But, then again, they were cooked long time before it hit the burger…. Most of the flavour was in the form of the catsup and the pickle, which also provided a slight crunchy “bite”.

The “other” slyder I ordered was a (time limited?) special they were running. You can guess what it is by the shredded look… No, it is not brisket! Instead, it is pulled pork which was loaded with a BBQ-like sauce. Unlike the burger, errr…, slyder, which had almost no taste and a bit of texture (thanks to the pickle), this one had a bit more. Unfortunately, it does not mean it was something good. Here, the BBQ-like sauce felt… Unnatural. It had some odd form of smoke taste which, fortunately, was dampened by, again, some odd sweetness it had. If it wasn’t because of that combination, I might have not gone past the first bite. Why did I continue eating it? To make sure I wasn’t making it in my head…

Overall, it is what it is. While it was relatively “cheap” (the whole order was under $8), I can think of better things to eat. Heck, I might have gone to a Subway instead! But, then again, some people like them for their own reasons and I might if I had grown up with it. Fortunately, I did not grow up with them…

Now, to close this post, you might wonder why this post is called “Battle of the Whites”… Well, just come back by noon (Pacific time) to find out!

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon
Several locations in the US
1271 US Highway 22 (Location visited)
Bridgewater, NJ

Did I mention I ate a lot of beef on this trip? Similar to my post yesterday where I went to Famous Dave’s BBQ for meat, on my last night in New Jersey, I decided to go for meat, again – this time in the form of a steak. Lone Star Steakhouse was the place I ended up going just because it happened to be on the way from my customer’s site back to the hotel. But, being a chain restaurant, I was sure there will be some gotchas. The question was instead if these were tolerable…

Now, now, I mentioned “gotchas” because Lone Star isn’t a high-end restaurant. In fact, it wasn’t even my first option: that “honour” will go to Char Steakhouse. So, why I did not go there? Since I was on business, that meant I was under a budget on how much I could spend on meals per day. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to check their prices on-line which made my decision difficult (*). Should I take a plunge to find out? Also, being on the higher end, what about somebody taking pictures, not to mention how packed full it might be? Recession? What recession? There were too many variables to consider – plus one that I will mention in the end – and, reality is, I wasn’t in thinking mood. So, in the end, I just went for the easy way out, i.e., Lone Star.

(*) It wasn’t until I came back and did further digging that I found out the cost of one of a meal: with sides, a drink and tips, it would have blown my meal budget…

Did I mention I was not in thinking mode? Well, when I walked in, they asked me if I wanted one of their bucket of peanuts. Yup, they have peanuts in buckets as appetizers too. I am not sure if it would have been in addition to the bread above. Regardless, somehow I said “no”. What? A food blogger saying “no” to an opportunity to take a picture of food? After I realized what I said, I thought I should have killed myself… But, back to the bread. The waitress mentioned the name/component of the bread that made it chocolate coloured but, because of the background noise, I couldn’t really hear what she said. As for the bread itself, it was surprising it was still warm and, when I spread the butter, it melted nicely. The taste was… Strange. It did not have that bland white bread taste but had some undertones I couldn’t identify. Regardless, it was OK not something I would die for.

Before I go to the actual steak, first the sides I ordered, starting with the creamed spinach which was topped with some cheese and broiled. It wasn’t actually that bad, despite there wasn’t too much spinach taste left. How come it is good still? It was creamy and rather than overpower any other side (or the steak itself), it was able to complement the rest. I would order this as a side again.

I must apologize for this really odd picture. In fact, for most of the pictures in this post, as the lightning conditions (again, a common theme on this trip) were somewhat challenging. Back to the picture above, it is supposed to be a baked sweet potato. One part that really threw me off was that it had a huge dollop of butter plus a generous serving of brown sugar on top. Sure, they asked me if I wanted that (and I foolishly said yes – second time that night!) but, do you really need it? It is not called *sweet* potato for nothing! Anyway, I ended up scrapping the butter and sugar out and ate what was left. And, reality is, the sweet potato was actually quite good on its own. That extra butter and sugar was not required at all.

Not knowing how much food I was getting, I decided to order one additional side in the form of mushroom and onion. I won’t say much more about it other than it was OK. I guess 2 out of three wasn’t that bad, eh?

And finally, the steak itself…

Behold, Lone Star’s Delmonico steak, a “12 oz. classic marbled ribeye”. I know the picture is not the prettiest but there are reasons behind it. See, in the last couple of months, based on some feedback, I have learned to take a picture of the food “as delivered” and, depending on what was ordered, might take additional shots. Obviously, that is not the case. Why? After I received my order, I was asked to cut the steak open to ensure it is cooked the way I wanted it. The part I cut it at first was a bit too too red to be medium-rare but it was OK for me. But, as I kept eating the other part of the meat was medium rare pink. Add that “puddle” of juice at the bottom of the plate translates into a piece of steak that wasn’t rested before being delivered. While that is something I can deal with to an extent, there is one thing that failed: Notice that piece of fat at the bottom right of the second picture? Yup it was actually a blob. While I want my steak to be fatty to a certain point, I do not want it to be as fat as that. As for the taste of the steak, while it did not require some side sauces, it wasn’t too outstanding.

In the end, there is something I must keep in mind. The steak was $19, not that bad considering it came with two sides. While it is not Brave Bull’s House of Steak type of steak, I must understand there will be some limitations. Still, I believe it could have been better. Which now circles back to Char. Again, I knowingly chose not to go there and then there is a marketing component behind it. Some time ago, fellow blogger o-toro of F o o d o s o p h y wrote a post on Chop, a steakhouse in Edmonton, which started strong but started to fail almost miserably afterwards. One noticeable marketing gimmick (for the lack of word for it) was their claim of cooking the steaks at 1800F – a claim also made by Char. That post was in a way lingering in the back of my head which in an unconscious way made me go to Lone Star instead. In my case, while I was not necessarily fulfilled, my stomach was full and seeing families gathered around the table enjoying their meal means something.

Pooja Cuisine
1075 Easton Avenue
Somerset, NJ

As mentioned previously, in this trip, I wanted to try different types of cuisines. So far, we have had diners, burgers, Latin American (Cuban), Southern/Soul and BBQ – in that order. For this post, though, I will have to break that sequence because of tomorrow’s post. As a sneak peak, it is about burgers (yes, again but… Let’s just say wait until tomorrow). But, other than that small burger detour, I kept that different cuisine line of thought. In this case? Indian food in Pooja Cuisine.

I must admit I did some homework before I went to Pooja. In fact I had another nearby Indian restaurant in mind: Hoysala. The difference between the two? Aside the fact Pooja has several north Indian dishes and Hoysala has southern, Hoysala also serves buffet style after 7:00 p.m. (They open at 5:30 p.m.). Reality is, I wasn’t really in the mood of buffets and endless food available. Then there was that wacky thought of ordering a la carte but having then a waiter go to the buffet and plate the food for me. OK, OK, it is possible they would actually cook it but I couldn’t shake that feeling. As a result, I ended up going to Pooja by process of elimination. (I must add Pooja also have buffet during lunchtime).

After I walked in, I was given the option to sit almost anywhere. Other than another table, it was pretty much the waiters, that other table and me. During my meal, a couple walked in so, pretty much it was a slow night. After looking at the menu and made my order, I got…

Papadum and chutney. These are not complimentary but part of a set dish I ordered (more on that below). I just tried a piece to taste the chutney and… Well, there wasn’t much to comment about. The chutneys did not have much taste at all which I found odd. Wasn’t it supposed to be minty or sweet/spicy? Anyway, since I did not care too much about it, I just let it slip.

To actually start my meal, I went for something… Unusual. Above, their coconut soup or, as per their menu, “Punjabi-style made with milk, grated coconut and nuts”. The reason I ordered it was because I like the taste of coconut and this really caught my attention. The end result was a bit mixed. It tasted like a warm, really thin sweetened coconut milk. It was probably a bit too sweet for my liking but, that aside, it was just weird. This is something I would have as a drink, not as a soup.

I know I am jumping back and forth but that was the order which I was served the meal. In this case, drinks, where I had lassi; however, unlike my previous visits to Indian restaurants, this is the regular lassi, not mango lassi, which explains why it is white rather than yellow-ish. I think I prefer this over the probably-over sweet mango lassi. As for the taste itself, if you ever had plain yoghurt, that is pretty much the taste of it but with a thinner consistency.

And, finally, the main components of my main dish… As you all know, when going to Indian restaurants, short of a buffet, the best approach is to go in a group. The main reason is to be able to order several dishes. But, when you go by yourself, well, the best you can do is hope they have a combination/set menu which allows you to taste several items. Fortunately, Pooja, did have such item and out of the four available, I ordered their house special which include:

Chicken tandoori. The lemon and raw onion was mostly for show as you can easily tell they were not cooked together. As for the chicken itself, taste-wise, it felt somewhat flat and, worst of all, somewhat dry. For goodness sake, it is dark meat!

Vegetable korma. When I first “stirred” the korma, I thought there was something strange, as if it contained something that shouldn’t be there and/or something missing. I did not pay too much attention to it and started eating it with the side naan (further below). Then it hit me… While you can use technically any vegetable to make the vegetable korma, I am used to what is served here in Vancouver, i.e., cauliflower, beans, carrots, sometime potatoes, et al. In Pooja’s case, the cauliflower was missing and instead of beans, it had peas. So, you do the math: peas, carrots… Does it sound like mixed vegetables?! The sauce itself was slightly sweet and creamy though not hot at all (I asked for the food to be spicy hot). So, my thoughts was that curry sauce was at par but the vegetable used was disappointing.

Lamb rogan josh. The sauce was similar to that of the korma, the difference here is that this one felt more oily. Since it is lamb, you would expect it to be game-y, right? Well, it was; however, there was something they did not manage to control: the meat was slightly tough. Now, not to the point you had to chew over and over but you could tell it wasn’t really simmered for a while to the point it starts to tenderize and fall apart…

The main carbs of the meal: rice and naan. The rice was average but did what it was supposed to do. One odd detail was that it was slightly lumpy. Not sure if I was expecting that. Out of the whole meal, I will have to say the naan was the best part. It had its share of butter/ghee on top which gave it an unique oily taste. And it manage to soak the sauce from the korma and rogan josh.

In the end, I was full. Despite it was an order for one, it was a bit too much food for a single person. However, it did not fulfill much. I have had way better Indian here in Vancouver from buffet or even below average Indian restaurants. But, then again, it might be an unfair comparison considering the Indian population here in Vancouver. Still, if I was craving for Indian in that area of New Jersey, that might not be the place I would go to.

Famous Dave’s BBQ
Several locations in the US
315 Route 206, Suite 502 (Location visited)
Hillsborough, NJ

I will be straight to the point of this post: the day after Delta’s, I wanted meat – End of story.

OK, OK, in a way, in this trip, I wanted to try as many different cuisines as I could – with the exception of burgers, you will find out why on Friday. Still, I wanted to go meat heavy and thought BBQ was the next logical option. But, just in case, I did have steak on this trip but it will be the topic of another post. Quickly browsing around, the only place that seemed “close” (and that is stretching it a little bit) was Famous Dave’s BBQ, a chain restaurant. While I had some hesitation, in the end, if they are ranked as one of the top 100 in Urbanspoon ranking, I must give it some credit, right? Now, since it is a chain, it shouldn’t really matter which location I went. So, rather than driving to the one with that ranking, I drove south-southwest to the location in Hillsborough. Did I mention I spent a lot of time driving around?

The waiter guided me to the dining room and was seated on a booth. Yeah, this time I wasn’t seated in the middle of the restaurant! Taking a look around, it was pretty much evident it provided a casual, family environment. Now, if sometimes the kids just behave… Why? There was one toddler who was screaming loudly while waiting for the food…

No idea what this has to do with BBQ – they were not selling any other meat outside of some fish, chicken, beef or pork…

While looking at the menu, I was reminded of my meal earlier this year in Bandana’s BBQ. The meal was priced in such a way you can get a decent portion but, if you want to go for broke, you can order a second meat and so on. In my case, while ribs are always a good proposition, I ended up going for brisket and pork.

After making my order, it was a semi deja-vu again. Again, back in Bandana’s, something similar occurred, i.e., they had several sauces in display, almost a bragging right. One in particular caught my attention: the Devil’s Spit (the squirt bottle in the middle), which was supposed to be the spiciest one. I have mentioned previously that me sweating after eating spicy food is my gauge to determine how hot/spicy the food is. I guess I would find out in a moment!

My full order.

Side #1 was mac-n-cheese. Unlike Delta’s which was a bit too (Cheddar) cheesy, here it was creamier, a taste I prefer for mac-and-cheese (once again, in reference to my homemade macaroni and cheese post). The addition of corn kernel gave it a different, sweet note, which was quite interesting. However, there was a component that I thought was MIA: the jalapeño. According to the menu, it had some jalapeño “kick” to it – I tasted none… Otherwise, I thought it was a good side.

Side #2 was baked beans or, as they call it Wilbur beans. Again, according to the menu, it has some additional goodies in the form of smoked pork, sausage links, brisket and jalapeño peppers. So, that is the reason why I “stirred” the beans a little bit, so you can see those goodies! However, similar to what happened with the mac-and-cheese, I did not taste that much of the jalapeño… As for the beans itself… I will rather not comment about it, as I am biased for almost anything beans. So, other than say I finished the beans, I won’t say anything else!

In the baked beans picture, you could see sneaking to the left a corn cob. So, here it is, the corn cob with a cornbread! The corn cob was quite good, as it still had some corn sweetness into it. And, fortunately, the kernels weren’t obliterated to a mushy point. So, I liked it! The cornbread was OK, not much to talk about, so I will leave it at that.

Now, to the key components, the brisket (top) and chopped pork (bottom). The brisket was a disappointment, worst of all, in several different ways. To begin with, it felt slightly dry. Second, it was a bit too uniform, you know lacking that smoke ring on a side. For some odd reason, I thought I was eating a thicker cut of corned beef rather than brisket. At least that served me for an experiment: that of the devil spit sauce mentioned above. My thoughts? I did not break a sweat… As for the pork, it was actually quite good. With all the pork goodness flavour and moist but, but… Did they have to put the sauce on top? Since it wasn’t mixed in completely, I would have preferred it did not have it and let me add it by myself. The last part I was curious about was… Sliced white bread? Hmmmmmmmm….

Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with the delivered product. Somehow, I feel it could have been better. Heck, I thought the offerings here in Vancouver (read: Memphis Blues) was superior to Famous Dave’s. I will give them the benefit of doubt it was an off day. But, given the options, I would rather try somewhere else.

Delta’s Restaurant
19 Dennis Street
New Brunswick, NJ

The day after my meal at Martino’s, I was in adventure mode again. After all, despite a couple of things went sideways, it was a good meal and that raised my mood. This time, I went further east-southeast from where I was staying, into the neighboring city of New Brunswick (which, of course, should not be confused with the Canadian province of the same name). During my “research”, I found out this ought to be a good place for good eats. However, given my driving “skills”, I ended up lost *again* (due to me being in the wrong lane and forced to turn into an almost endless street without driveways to do a 3 point turn) and driving around almost aimlessly. The original place I was looking for was a small eatery called “Stuff Yer Face“, which serves stromboli – something that looks like a mix of calzone and a wrap. Sure, I was business dressed but, hey, I will do almost anything for food! I ended up in some wacky streets and noticed a restaurant called Frog and the Peach which Christina also mentioned. When I parked the car (a block and a half away, I must add), I then realized there was somebody who appeared to be a bouncer standing outside (which, I will admit could have also been the valet). In an odd way, I felt intimidated… Could I be thrown out because I was taking pictures with my external flash, aka, Speedlight (as it looked quite dark from outside)? Not wanting to risk that possibility, I went to the other (almost unnoticeable) restaurant futher down the same block: Delta’s. Again, not willing to wander around aimlessly…

After I walked in, I couldn’t help to notice the ambiance was quite fancy. A bar, some dimly tables on the ground floor. The main dining room; however, was upstairs. Given I was by myself, that meant me in a small table which allowed me to take this picture from the area below.

OK, not the best picture but it gives a good idea of the restaurant. On that topic, I think I hit jackpot when I found out this restaurant is Southern/Soul food. While I haven’t been on business trip down there, I have always wanted to try authentic Southern/Soul food… So, after I made my order, I got my complimentary bread… Oh, wait, since this is a southern/soul restaurant, that would be cornbread!

Cornbread, split in half.

Before I continue, I apologize for the pictures. As mentioned above, some of the tables on the ground floor were dimly lit; this trend was carried over to the second floor. Short of bringing out the Speedlight, I had to hope for the best. Oddly, I shouldn’t have been so wary about it – later that night, when I was already halfway my meal, a party of six young women (I will have to call them as such, as the waiter was giving them hard time regarding alcoholic drinks) were taking pictures willy-nilly and, as expected, firing the flash every single time…

Anyway, back to the food. The cornbread was still warm and the butter was easily spread. One thing I noticed is that the cornbread had some corn kernels in it – something that, depending on the recipe, might or might not be used. While full of taste, it wasn’t too sweet, a perfect balance!

To start off, I had a spinach salad. Hey, you need some vegetables, you know! In general, the way I like my spinach salad is: a slightly warm dressing using the fat from bacon, mustard and red wine vinegar with some salt and pepper. Drizzle this on some spinach, toss them, add some of the bacon, serve with tomato, mushroom and hard boiled eggs. In this case, it was mostly that way, except the tossing side was tossed out of the equation. In this case, the dressing (an using this term loosely, as it was quite “fatty”) was on a side and there was some oil/fat at the bottom of the plate. Not necessarily a pretty sight which wasn’t helped by the texture of the “bacon”. If you look at the picture above, it indeed looks like bacon; however, it wasn’t the crispy bacon I am sure a lot of us are familiar with. Instead, it felt like cured ham and then cut into pieces – not necessarily “fried”. It was a bit nasty.

For my entree, as soon as I looked at the menu, I only had two dishes in mind: Fried chicken and chicken and waffles. OK, it is mostly the same dish, except the second one had, well, a waffle in addition to the regular chicken. With the order, I had the option of two side dishes and I went for okra and macaroni and cheese.

The okra was good and bad at the same time. I understand a lot of people do not like it because of the slimy texture; however, that wasn’t that much the case here. Instead, the issue was that it ended up being a bit too crunchy for my liking. Also, there was the issue of the tomato: outside of the crunchiness of the okra, you couldn’t taste much else aside from the tomato. C’mon, this is not a tomato dish! As for the second side dish, the mac-and-cheese, I did not like it that much. It wasn’t that it was bad; instead, I thought the (Cheddar) cheese was overpowering. I guess I prefer my own version of homemade macaroni and cheese over this one, where it makes more emphasis on the creaminess… However, at the same time, I have the odd feeling a lot of people would like it, specially that crust that developed on the top.

Now, the main part, the fried chicken! In one word… Disappointing!!!!!!! Looking back at the picture, I am surprised as to how small the pieces where. Were they cutting the pieces from a cornish hen? Or they are using smaller pieces of chicken? Size of the pieces aside, the skin was overcooked and the meat inside (in this case, I asked for all dark meat) was borderline dry, without much of the juices flowing. Furthermore, it felt… Bland, not even some hint of pepper! I had the odd feeling these were prepared in advance and then (re-?)fried. If that was the case, how come it took so long between ordering the meal and getting the chicken? Why there wasn’t any juices in the pieces?

Service was quite good, though with several checks, it felt borderline intrusive. Otherwise, everything felt it was timed exactly, almost as if working with a clockwork precision. However, while that worked well, I couldn’t help to feel disappointed. Fried chicken, being that quintessential Southern/Soul food dish ordered in a Southern/Soul restaurant. If they couldn’t deliver…

Yup, once again, this will be a two post day. Come back at around noon (PST!).

Martino’s
212 W Main Street
Somerville, NJ

Before this trip, I did a bit of homework: I contacted Christina who writes Pizza & Bagels, a blog which had several posts in the area I was staying, and asked for recommendations. After two nights of borderline average meals, it was time to use one of these recommendations/lifelines: Martino’s. (On that note, the posts so far has been sequential, i.e., they are what had night after night). While it was on my way back – after taking a small detour, that is, I wasn’t 100% sure of the driving instructions. Again, driving at 100 Km/H in an unknown area after 7:00 p.m. is somewhat challenging… But, after missing (once again) several exits I managed to find Martino’s, a Latin American (non-Mexican!) restaurant.

And, to be more specific, it was Cuban. If you see the exterior, it looks like fine dining but, upon opening the door, it felt more like somebody’s home. The table arrangement was somewhat odd: small tables on the side and two tables in the middle. Guess where I was seated???? In the dead middle with all the other customers (seated on the sides) looking at me every time I produced my dSLR!!! But, back to the food…

One of the funny things I do in Latin American restaurant is that I start speaking to them in English (if it is in Canada or the US) and, if I sense they speak Spanish, I will switch soon afterwards which usually cause funny reactions. What can I say, I am Chinese! In Martino’s case, I started asking some questions about the menu but, switch in between and made my order. My only concern was… What happened if they heard me wrong and ended up getting something else? I guess I was about to find out when I started with:

Sopa de Mondongo or tripe soup, a soup found in a lot of Latin American restaurants. Cooked for long periods of time to make the tripe tender, it also results in a slightly gelatinous broth. I am aware of some people thrown off by the smell it can produce but, prepare correctly, you can’t really notice that taste. Anyway, the soup here had a lot of pieces of tripe – more than what I thought it would. Also, it was really tender… One thing that could have been improved though was a bit more of seasoning in the soup but, still, as is, it is a good soup.

For my entree, I went for that quintessential somewhat stereotypical dish: pork. Here, we have pernil served with white rice, beans and plantain. The rice by itself is your usual rice but combined it is where it can be different. I am not sure how would be the best way to describe it other than thinking rice with a non-salty gravy mixed in… The plantain was tender and sweet, something you can expect from it. Oddly, the one part of the meal that disappointed slightly ended up being the pork itself. No, don’t get me wrong, it was good in its own ways; just that I have had better. The reason I found it disappointing was because I felt it watered down – as if they were mixing it with a variant of mojo or garlic sauce and it had a bit too much liquid in it and, as a result, the pork taste was dampened.

Since I was craving for good eats and the fact it was Latin American, it hit the spot. Considering there was a mix of ethnicity in the dining room makes me believe the food is good enough to attract almost everybody. As for myself, I did not come back because, well, there were other places I wished to visit, yet, had I had Latin American food cravings, I would have certainly gone back.