Archive for March, 2010

After Athens – Eros Cafe


2010
03.24
19 Park Avenue Rutherford, NJ 07070
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I have visited this cafe a few times in the last few years and one thing remains consistent, the horrible service. The seating hostess (or host) is never welcoming and the servers are never friendly but rather rude. You will be rushed whether it is a slow or busy night and the servers don’t care or pay attention to you when needed. To some, the atmosphere may seem cozy and comfortable and some may be fooled with the large selection on the menu, but the prices are high and the quality of the food isn’t great. The service deserves 0 stars while the food and atmosphere each get 1 star.

Rebecca’s Restaurant


2010
03.23
236 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

We decided to visit this restaurant after hearing some good things about it and because I love Cuban food. It was not a very busy night, which is why it was surprising that it took almost an hour for our food to get to the table. That may have been acceptable if the food was worth the wait, but no. It was no better in taste and appearance than any $4 Bergenline Ave meal. At least there I would get fast service. Come to think of it, the waiter did have time to drive for take out. Service was unusually bad, never have I experienced being interrupted mid-sentence to hear “How is everything?” twice!

“Ropa vieja” with a side of “Give us your money, and GTFO.”

Akasaka


2010
03.23
457  Paterson Avenue
Wallington, NJ 07057

Rating: ★★½☆☆

I went to Akasaka for dinner one night and ordered what I usually get at any sushi establishment. One order of spicy tuna roll, one spicy salmon roll and one salmon hand roll.  Although the restaurant is spacious, comfortable, well-lit and has a cozy atmosphere; the food was an entirely different story. It took longer than expected for my food to arrive and the sushi was not fresh and tasted dull (as if some things were missing). Later that night I felt unwell from the food that I had which ultimately made me rethink sushi for a some time after.

Starbucks


2010
03.21
457 River Road
Edgewater, New Jersey 07020

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

What else can I say?

The French Roast


2010
03.21
78 West 11th Street, NY, NY 10011

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

What used to be a a place to frequent for decent food is no more. I have been going to this place on and off for roughly eight or nine years. For the most part it WAS consistent and satisfying. Now I can only speak for the late night cooks and crew, but the only thing getting “roasted” here is the customers. On one occasion I was inquiring about the cheese selection, to which the waiter knew nothing about (not that big of a deal). We were there with a party of six and the place was relatively busy, but the service was mediocre  and I was already turned off by the lack of experience and knowledge the staff had. More over the staff seems to carry about with a level of self importance, as if they did have a clue. I was in good company so I proceeded to play along. Until I ordered my desert. How one can screw up creme bruleé in a French restaurant of all places is beyond me. This simple dish was transformed into a hot soupy mess before it was brought to me. For some reason it was put in the broiler, I didn’t even bother to send it back. Check please.

Round 2:

I actually went back figuring it was just an off night. My friend and I decided to stop in for a bite, late night. It was a saturday night the place was desolate. The host was not very accommodating, the dinning room was empty and we were forced to sit by the front door (it was winter). There was one other table in the place and we still had to wait 30 minutes for a chicken dish with what seemed to be three day old mashed potatoes. All the while the porter is sloshing a disgusting ammonia soaked mop around us while we are eating. We asked nicely if he could do that after we finished eating to no avail. Rule no.1 for running a restaurant: Never use strong chemicals to clean in the dinning room during business hours. This place has fallen off hard. I have no intentions of returning and would warn anybody to stay away. French bistros are a dime a dozen in NYC. All of which out do this place.

Provence Breads & Cafe


2010
03.21
1705 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Can’t attest for the breads part and the manner of the staff was nice as can be but as for the cafe, and I can only say this specifically for the Hillsboro Village location, I’ll say the following:

They put a latte in the microwave for reheating after my friend politely complained about the lukewarm drink.

THE MICROWAVE!!!!

FIN

Sushi Cruise


2010
03.21
725 River Road Edgewater, NJ 07020-3181

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Hated it!