BYO's in or near Totowa, NJ

[shopgirl]

We've tried Porcini in Totowa and thought it was pretty good. Are there any other BYOs in the area? Thanks, Chowhounds.

[fourunder]

First off, I have never been to this restaurant and I would not normally recommend some place I have not ever been to........second, I generally do not frequent BYOBs, so my experience is limited in this area, but I hate when a query is posted and no responses are given.......so I will just pass along this place as I know it has a loyal following and I know friends who also go here on occasion who have also enjoyed it. Check out the menu and decide for yourself

http://www.amorecucina.net/

[shopgirl]

thank you, fourunder, very much. especially for your response. all too often some posts go unanswered and i'm sure people leave the forum, thinking we are all snobs or something. So, I am very grateful for your response and will check out the website.

[fourunder]

shopgirl,

Since I am on a roll.....here's one BYOB in Clifton I do have an interest in going to. There were some very positive reviews in the local media you can read on the site.

http://daltoristorante.com/Home_Page....

[Striver]

If you don't mind my query, is there any particular reason why you avoid BYOs? In my experience, some of the best restaurants I've eaten at in NJ fall into that category (Panache, Fascino, Culinariane, Lorena's, etc.), and I'm curious as to your reasoning.

[fourunder]

If you don't mind my query, is there any particular reason why you avoid BYOs?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Striver,

Your question is a reasonable one, and yes, there are some very fine BYOBs to consider. ....My reasons for my decision stems from my work history and history of family ownership in the restaurant business for over forty years. My general opinion of most BYOBS are that they charge for their products excessively and many in may instances, even higher than restaurants that do have liquor licenses when their overhead does not warrant the prices charged. I do believe any restaurant owner can charge whatever he wishes, but the plain facts are the BYOB owner does not have the additional overhead, specifically the costs of the liquor license, liquor & wine inventory, staffing, construction of the bar and equipment associated and finally insurance concerns to deal with. I also find most BYOBs rarely have linen on tables, whereas full service restaurants usually do......so it comes down to a matter of principle for me.

Yes, the restaurants you mentioned are all very good, if not great, but there are also many restaurants that fit that bill that do have liquor licenses and to me, they are full service and I do not need to stop at the store beforehand if I want to enjoy an adult beverage. Although there are some BYOBs that take wine service seriously, most do not and they do not assist in the service of wine or beer being served correctly(glasses or temperature). Many times from past experiences, if you have a white wine, the restaurant will not provide an ice bucket for example, or if you bring beer into a place, they do not store the extra bottles in ice or in a cold enough refrigerator. For me it's just more simple to avoid these situations.....and also, I am not really interested in saving money off my entire bill. Yes, I know the argument is I can enjoy a better bottle of wine with my meal regardless of the cost....but when I go out for dinner I rarely drink wine anyway. I am more of a spirits drinker before meal and I enjoy a sparkling water with my meal....one rare occasion when I do drink wine, is when I have a steak. Then I do enjoy ONE glass with my meal......not to be a pompous poster, but when I do go out for a steak, it's at a better restaurant and if a quality bottle of wine is not ordered for the table, the places I frequent always have a good choice available by the glass....thus another reason not to stop at the liquor store.

When you get to the place I am in life, from my history in the food business you meet many people along the way who become friends....and many of these friends are restaurant owners. At my age, I go to places I like and not to the newest hot spots that pop up. My usual destinations treat me well and I know exactly what to expect and I am rarely disappointed. The places you mentioned are simply too far away for me to enjoy them and drink responsibly considering the drive home. Living in Bergen County, I have been to Panache, The Saddle River Inn and Cafe Matisse. These restaurants were not my choices at the time, but that of friends....... never the less they are all excellent and these are exceptions to the comment I made about excessive charging and wine service.....however, many places in Ridgewood and Montclair where I have been to are guilty of my grievances mentioned in my opinion. The majority of these places I base my opinion on charge at or over $20 for chicken dishes. I can go to one of my favorite restaurants.....LuNello's in Cedar Grove, and their prices are less off their regular menu. Last fall, a very good friend took me to a place in Parsippany called Gourmet Cafe, which I had heard and has a very good reputation. My opinion is you really do not get any bang for your buck there. Since I was a guest, I declined ordering a salad or an appetizer. My host couple ordered a salad for $9.95 that was supposed to have blue cheese, beets, fruit and candied nuts in it.....it came out as mostly simple Mesculin Greens with scant traces of the other ingredients on a small plate, not nearly enough for him, let alone the thought of sharing for two. His wife ordered a shrimp appetizer, which came out as something with 60 or 70 count shrimp similar to Garlic Shrimp served in a Spanish/Portuguese restaurant for $11.95. For dinner, all the items were approximately $22-25.00...... they both had fish entrees and on the recommendation of the waiter, I had a Pork Chop Giambotta which he said was very large and hearty. What I received was a nice single pork chop with exactly one red bliss potato, THREE HALF SLICES of sausage and some overcooked carrots and celery.....really, not even one sausage link cut up, but less than two slices. My friends fish were about a 5-6 ounce portion which is acceptable, but incredibly came out with ordinary carrots as the vegetable of the day. When asked how my meal was, naturally I said it was great, but inside my mind, I was thinking to myself I couldn't believe he thought this was a good place. For what was served, I have been to many restaurants with a liquor license that served the fish with a small salad included for the $22.00....rather than spending $32.00 to have a salad included.....Overall, I just feel the quality and value are not that great as others do

My major complaint I have with most BYOBs is they serve too much food to justify their prices.....the problem with that is it's too much white food,.e.g., potatoes, rice or pasta. given a choice, I prefer to receive a nice portion and not a pound of pasta. I will bring food home, but I prefer not to.....and what's the point of bringing home starch. I prefer quality over quantity.

These are the negatives I choose to avoid. BTW, just so you do not think I am not a complete snob, I did recommend Di Palma Brothers on another thread to someone.....and the OP, (shopgirl), found it pretty good.

[tommy]

Chendgu 23 in Wayne has exceptional sichuan food. River Kwai in Totowa is a serviceable Thai restaurant.

[fourunder]

tommy,

Your thoughts and or opinion, whichever you deem is more appropriate......I see that you recommend Chengdu 23 quite often recently...and I believe you have also visited Chengdu 1 in Cedar Grove in the past....... why one over the other if you do not mind me asking, given the near proximity of both restaurants to each other? Thanks in advance.

BTW, have you tried Chef 81 in Parsippany/Lake Hiawatha?

[tommy]

I recommend both, and generally pick one over the other based on location. The room at Chendgu 23 is a bit "fancier", which is sometimes a consideration. Also, I've not noticed them in the weeds as much as I've noticed Chendgu 1 in the weeds.

They're both excellent.

Haven't been to Chef 81, but read a review from NJ Monthly's Rosie. Sounded good. A bit far for me, though.