598428 Sun Feb 22 16:33:02 -0800 2009 9 16 Mid-Atlantic 0 4442334 My friend and I are planning on meeting for lunch/dinner. The issue is she lives in Brick Township, I live in Flemington. Does anyone know a good half-way place? We would like a place where we can catch up, and take our time. Any food is ok. We like it all. Sun Feb 22 16:33:02 -0800 2009 192643 sunangelmb 1 4442357 While its a bit closer for you than your friend, how about Tre Piani in Princeton's Forrestal Village. Sun Feb 22 16:42:26 -0800 2009 4442334 16458 jsfein 2 4932515 After seeing Tre Piani recommended many times on Chowhound, my wife and I visited on Saturday night for dinner. We were thoroughly disappointed and are very unlikely to return. We ordered a bottle of wine, but they brought out a different one to the table. The waiter did not point this out -- he waited for me to notice it. They insisted it was a better wine, but when we tasted it, it was definitely an inferior bottle. To their credit, they replaced the bottle with something else and did not charge us, so that was nice. They put some bread on the table, but no butter, olive oil, or anything else. The bread was cold and nearly stale, so we did not touch it after the first bite. We ordered the antipasti platter for the two of us and it seemed rather amateur-ish. The roasted eggplant pieces were devoid of flavor. The crostini with brie and marinara were not warm and pretty bland. The deep-fried calamari was room temperature. The two pieces of prosciutto were a decent size, but it was pretty low quality, domestic prosciutto. The other tidbits on the plate were generally just dumped out of a jar. An antipasti platter should be an easy thing for the kitchen to execute, but they fumbled it, which is hard to do. This was especially disappointing for a restaurant that prides itself on its commitment to local farmers and slow food. We split a margherita pizza, which was fine, though fairly uninspiring. For dessert, we split a nutella semi-fredo. The flavor was right, but the texture was a little off. It had sat in the freezer too long, so it lacked that light texture. The total damage for the meal was $120 including tax and tip. That's a lot of money to pay for an average bottle of wine, a bunch of antipasti items dumped from a can, an uninspiring pizza, and a dessert that sat in the freezer for a few days. Given that only a third or a quarter of the restaurant was in use, I must not be the only one with this opinion of Tre Piani. We would have spent about the same and been more satisfied if we took the train into NYC, built a dinner at DiPalo's and Piemonte Ravioli, and then took the train home to prepare it. Mon Aug 10 06:38:06 -0700 2009 4442357 13350 glutton 3 4944836 I've heard great things about Tre Piani, but am so very glad you posted this! Thank you! Thu Aug 13 16:53:11 -0700 2009 4932515 224238 Caralien 4 4945775 I've heard those same great things, which is why I was eager to try Tre Piani. Perhaps I had particularly bad luck or ordered the wrong items, but it was really bad, especially for the price. I have been very critical of the quality of food in the Princeton area since I moved here a year ago and I've committed to eating at each of the restaurants that get good reviews on this board. Tre Piani was the worst meal so far. Hamilton Grill was the best restaurant among the nicer, more formal restaurants. Lahiere's, MediTerra, Witherspoon Grill, Bluefin Grill, and Elements were all fine, but nothing inspiring and not places I'll likely return to. I've enjoyed some of the cheaper options like DeLorenzo's, Conte's, Bon Appetit, and Urban Tadkaa. I'll keep trying places because there are a few others on the list... Fri Aug 14 04:46:31 -0700 2009 4944836 13350 glutton 3 4946971 I have not eaten at Tre Piani myself, and likely never will, given an experience my SIL and her friends had there a few years ago. She and a group of her female friends, all in their forties, met for appetizers and drinks one night. They received lousy service and blah food. When they got the bill, they realized they were very seriously overcharged on the amount of drinks and wine they consumed. To the tune of the bar bill being at least three times as much as it should have been. My SIL said if they had consumed the amount of liquor they were charged for, an ambulance would have been called. The bill was blatantly very heavily padded. I guess the owner thought a group of middle aged, upper middle class women wouldn't notice the bar bill being at least three times what it should have been. For example, one of the women was drinking martinis and had three. They were charged for 10. The owner refused to change the bill, made a huge screaming scene and basically threw them out of the restaurant. These are all educated moms and businesswomen. I know most of them, and we're not talking about the 'Housewives of New Jersey' type women. My SIL was horrified by the entire event. Oh, and BTW: she is 100% second generation Italian American. Her dad owned a very well known Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, and her mom was a fabulous Italian cook. My SIL is also an excellent cook. She said the food served at Tre Piani was abysmal... Fri Aug 14 12:40:21 -0700 2009 4932515 95489 mschow 1 4442417 De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies in Robbinsville (considered the best pizza in NJ by many) 2350 Route 33 Robbinsville, NJ‎ (609) 341-8480‎ www.delorenzostomatopies.com This location is BYO. If you love incredible ice cream, try Halo Pub afterwards (about half a mile NW, same road): 4617 Nottingham Way Trenton, NJ 08690 (609) 586-1811 Sun Feb 22 17:10:33 -0800 2009 4442334 224238 Caralien 1 4442499 Paulies Anna Rose is an excellent choice...nice bar also... http://www.pauliesannarose.com/ Sun Feb 22 17:44:36 -0800 2009 4442334 181892 Tapas52 1 4449459 Like the other posters, I initially assumed that your friend would drive cross country to meet you at some half way point. Why not consider the "long way round", i.e. you take Route 287 South while she takes the GSP North? You could then meet at Harold's Deli in Edison. If you arrive around 1 PM, you should avoid the rush and be able to enjoy a leisurely lunch. Not so sure about dinner since I've only been to Harold's for lunch. http://www.haroldsfamousdeli.com/ Tue Feb 24 18:35:26 -0800 2009 4442334 57768 ambrose 1 4946756 I just noticed the date of the original post so this reply may be a little late, but I thought better late than never. Bordentown seems to be a good half way point and it’s close to I-295 coming from Flemington (via Rt. 31) in the North and I-195 from Brick Twp. in the East There are a number of restaurants to choose from such as Under the Moon, The Farnsworth House, Jester’s, Marcello’s, and the one I’d choose, Toscano’s among others. Do a search on any of these in this forum and you’ll find plenty of reviews. Fri Aug 14 11:19:21 -0700 2009 4442334 131082 TomDel