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Sam A.M.  |  American  |  Menu |  112 Morris St. Jersey City, NJ

Sam A.M. is a breakfast/brunch spot that is open from 6:30 am - 3:30 pm Monday - Friday and 8:00 am - 3:30 pm on weekends.  It's a great spot to go to and will make you feel like you're part of the neighborhood.

Location:  The small restaurant is located in the middle of a neighborhood street lined up with apartments and trees (there was an open house right next door and the place was large and beautiful).  At the end of and across the street are other restaurants.

Atmosphere:  The restaurant is usually very crowded.  There are two rocking chairs outside for customers to sit as they wait for a table or their pick-up order and steps in case those chairs are occupied.  When you enter, the place is homey; the kitchen-- with its pots hanging on the ceiling-- and the cash register are right by the entrance.  Also by the cash register is a case of donuts and on the wall to your left is a chalkboard with a list of beverages.  A counter with high chairs separates them from the few tables on the floor (there are about 5 tables).  On the table is a wooden basket with hot sauce and other condiments and a small vase with fresh flowers (I think they're real).

Food:  The coffee is good! I think they use Stumptown coffee; they do carry their cold brew.  The food is pretty good.  The donuts are too bready for my taste but my friend loves 'em.  There isn't enough cream inside the boston cream (but I am a fat ass) and the chocolate frosting is dark chocolate.  The vanilla challah french toast is a nice spongy, but I couldn't really taste the vanilla custard.  People usually order a side of bacon with it and they brown their bacon perfectly-- not as crunchy as I like, but the color is spot on.  The pimento sandwich is deliciously messy-- I wonder if they make their own pimento.  There's no meat in it, just a sunny-side up egg.  As for the chicken and waffles, the gravy was fluffy and a good consistency but I should have gotten the gravy and cranberry syrup on the side, and possibly separate from each other.  Come to think of it, I don't remember the chicken... I don't think it was fried.  My favorite sandwich is the classic (farm egg, cherrywood bacon, vermont cheddar on ciabatta).  The bread was crunchy, the yolk was cooked (which I prefer) and the bacon gave it the saltiness that it needed.  MmmM, maybe I'll get some tomorrow.

Staff:  The staff is very friendly.  They all seem to have been working there for a while.  Because the place is always full, I've only eaten here twice (and the wait was an hour once).  No complaints.  One of the employees reminds me of Adam Savage; he is very friendly and has a good sense of who ordered what to go.

Payment:  The prices are reasonable ($$ on yelp).  My fave sandwich is only $7 (which is a decent serving size) but the plates can cost up to $15.  However, the portions are fair to the price.  The beverages on the other hand are a little more expensive.  Especially their o.j.  A small glass is $4 and a slightly larger one is $6.  I do enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice (although they made it a tad too sweet that day) but I'd rather order the coffee for less.

Menya Sandaime  |  Japanese   |  Menu |  1638 Parker Ave., Fort Lee, NJ

A new ramen spot has opened in Fort Lee.  Menya Sandaime opened its doors 3 weeks ago and was recommended by a friend who noticed its arrival.  Sis and I decided to check it out.

Location:  The restaurant is next to BoA, across the mini plaza with Caffe Bene and the Tea Bar.  It's isolated which makes it unique and kind of welcoming because it looks like a house.

Atmosphere:  The place reminds me of a cabin because of all the wood.  It's a small cozy and intimate place with Japanese paintings and writings and a thick elegant golden/patterned band on the walls.  There are also little samurai figurines on the bar table.  Japanese music in a moderately low volume was playing in the background.  The chairs next to the walls were like benches which had small flat pillows that matched the pattern on that thick band which gave the place a pop of color.  They have poster boards standing with pictures of their menu by the entrance so you can see what the food looks like.

Food:  Their menu is simple and straightforward making decision-making easy.  My sister ordered the black ramen and I ordered the tonkotsu ramen (which looked exactly like her soup except lighter in color).  The food came out in decent timing and with a cute wooden ladle.  Both came with marinated egg and pork.  The aroma was moutwatering and I enjoyed it.  It tasted as good as it smelled and was not too salty.  The black ramen had more of a sesame flavor while the tonkotsu was more miso.  The egg's yolk was semisold and not fully cooked, which they intended, but I personally prefer a fully cooked yolk.  The noodles were cooked just right, not too firm but not overcooked.  There weren't that many ingredients (bean sprouts, spinach) in the bowl but sometimes simple is better.  The pork was very juicy and tender and melted in my mouth that even the fat was delicious.  However, I felt oily after eating, as with any ramen, because the soup gets all over my face from slurping.  Anyway, the bowl may not seem that big when you get it, but it was enough to make me quite full.

Staff:  The staff was all right.  The host wore a black shirt with the restaurant brand on it (I think) and the server wore a flower blouse (not sure if that's what the uniform is).  They were both Korean which made me question the authenticity of the place.  We were able to see the chef cooking next to the bar and he was wearing floral Japanese attire and my sister said he looked Japanese.  We weren't really tended to that often; I ran out of water within 10 minutes and had not had it refilled.  Otherwise, my server was ok.

Payment:  The food wasn't that expensive which makes me happy-- unless they change it once more people find out about the place ($$ on yelp).  Our bill was $20 for two bowls of ramen.

Patisserie Florentin  |  French   |  Menu |  10 S. Dean St., Englewood, NJ

Patisserie Florentin just opened on June 17th this year by chef Tomer Zilkha and his wife.  Samya and I found this place on Yelp! while looking for an after workout brunch since we knew that iHop's pancakes would make us feel satisfyingly guilty. 

Location:  Restaurant is at one end of Dean St. closer to route 4.  There is street/meter parking and we parked right outside the restaurant.

Atmosphere:  There were maybe two small tables outside to sit on (can't remember) and probably 10 seats inside.  Instrumental/orchestral music was playing in the background.  The interior is pretty strange: the walls are white with wooden floors and yes, they did just open but it also looks that way.  The counter, register, chalkboard menu, and baked good are right in front of the door; the seats are not in any order and the table we sat at was against a closet(?) door.  The wall with the closet door also has a lot of random paintings hanging and on the small amount of wall they have by the door, are a few shelves with coffee bean packs for sale.

Food:  Even though we waited half a century for service and food, it finally came.  I ordered an onion quiche and green tea latte while Sams got the decaf macchiato and French toast.  

The green tea latte was slightly creamy and the matcha felt a bit grainy but it was all right-- not sure if the barista was trying to make a design but the foam was just a white blob.  Sams' macchiato was strong and acidic/tarte-- it was unusual to us. Both our drinks came with a little complimentary pastry which was soft and almond flavored; it was like a small madeleine that made our mouths smile.

After another million hours, we received the food.  The quiche was a decent portion slice and was fantastic.  He may have used a mellow cottage cheese, but it had a little bit of that texture.  The onions were also mellow but had a caramelized sweetness, maybe shallots were used?  The side salad had a splash of vinaigrette and paired well with my creamy quiche.  Samya's french toast was a good size also.  They used a thicker kind of bread/roll with almonds on it and it had powdered sugar, bananas, strawberries, butter, and a glaze on the side.  I had a small bite of the toast and it was soft and eggy/fluffy and had a great texture.

I also bought a banana chocolate-chip loaf for later and it was buttery and soft.  The semi-sweet chocolate-chips were chunky as if it were cut in cubes from a larger bar.  The cake wasn't chewy or dry, it was moist, not too sweet, and may have tasted even better if eaten earlier than later.

Staff:  Now, the staff.  Samya and I weren't too sure how this place worked.  We didn't know if someone would greet/seat us, but since no one did, we went up to the counter to ask if we can be seated.  The young guy in the front was kind of rude (maybe judging us with our gym attire).  Another young server, a French one, finally seated us.  He was kind but gosh damn... can you move a little quicker?  We didn't get our water for a while and 10 mins or so later a nice lady asked if we'd like to have some water, not knowing we were already waiting for it.  The chef was also kind.  He was out-and-about serving select customers their dishes and was even behind the counter on the register for a while.  His wife was nice and came by asking if we were ok.

Payment:  The food was decently priced ($$ on yelp).  Our bill was $27.66. For the portion and the quality and taste of the food, I think it was a pretty good deal.

Olio Pizza e Piú  |  Italian   |  Menu  |  3 Greenwich Ave. New York, NY

Olio Pizza is a welcoming and casual Italian restaurant.  We passed by Olio's and took a look at the menu and decided to dine-in after the manager/owner asked if we wanted to get a table.

Location:  Restaurant is located downtown in Greenwich where the streets form a triangle.  It's not too far from the Path and since Umami Burger had a 45 minute wait, we ate here. 

Atmosphere:  It was warm out so we sat outside on high stools with a rectangular wooden high table.  It's a busy intersection and the restaurant was as lively.  We sat next to the leaf covered wall and there were flower pots around the open outside dining area-- and I love foliage.  Through the open door, I could see the fire blazing in the brick oven and hear the Italian music. 

Food: We ordered bruschetta, a margherita pizza, and a mojito.  At first, we thought we received a complimentary baguette, but then when our pizza arrived we realized it was our bruschetta.  (Looks at menu now) I suppose it's Gil's mistake because we assumed there was only one type of bruschetta-- the one that came with chopped tomatoes.. Gahhh. Anyway, there was too much garlic butter which had more butter flavor than garlic.  The pizza was pan-size and can be eaten by one person.  It was ok, nothing special.  The cheeses were nice and thick and it wasn't too greasy.

Staff:  The staff was kind, very welcoming, not eager like some workers in Little Italy.  The manager saw us looking at the menu and asked if we'd like seats and sat us right away.  When Gil walked across the street to take a photo, the manager came by to ask if I was ok (probably thinking he left me there).  The waiter was also kind, although he could have checked on us more often and didn't take too long to give/retrieve our bill.

Payment:  I suppose the food is a tiny weeny bit expensive for what you're getting ($$ on yelp).  I think our bill for those three items came up to around $40 with tip.  I guess Yelp! gives it $$ because there are so many pizza joints everywhere including pretty good slices for $1. 

Hanabi  |  Japanese   |  Menu  |  1550 Lemoine Ave.  Fort Lee, NJ

Hanabi is one in a handful of Japanese restaurants we have in Fort Lee. Jeffrey Moon is the chef and has his recommendations on the menu.  The plating, well-- in the pictures on the site, are very appealing to the eye. 

Location:  Restaurant is located in the the Whiteman Plaza Shopping Center not too far away from School No. 1 or Whiteman Park Plaza where Starbucks, 711, Boston Market, etc. is.  It is less busy in this area and the indoor plaza is also quiet.

Atmosphere:  The restaurant is average in size, one open room with a bar running along one wall and the rest of the space filled with about 15 - 20 tables.  Miley was playing in the background and as more Korean people came in, they switched the music to korean music.  The place was nice and clean and had a pretty Japanese feel to it with their black, red, and white table setup and sakura wall decal.

Food:  We had hot tea with our meal at no charge. The food was pretty good.  Gil ordered chicken teriyaki and I got a dragon roll-- our safe choices.  His meal came with seafood soup and a salad.  The seafood soup had a few muscles and clams with rice on the bottom and it was really tasty.  The broth was well seasoned and captured the flavor of the shellfish.  It warmed up my tummy and I didn't want to stop eating it.  The salad did not come with its usual ginger dressing; it came with balsamic vinaigrette.  It tasted ok but it doesn't feel right to have it without its natural pairing.  

I didn't have any of Gil's chicken but he seemed to really like it.  He mentioned it was tender, not rubbery, and actually tasted like real chicken.  My green dragon roll was good.  It wasn't drenched in sauce and the avocado, eel, and filling was fresh.  It had a soft taste where the ingredients all blended together and neither overpowering the other.  Even though it was good, I'd rather pay $2 less and have a larger serving from PJ Sushi by School No. 3.

Staff:  Our server was very attentive.  Maybe too attentive as she took away my salad before I was completely finished with it.  She and other staff were quick to clean up our table as dishes came, but it was a rushed feeling-- and I hate being rushed.  At least she paid attention and was able to explain what the difference was between the red and green dragon rolls.  The waitress and other servers are Korean and the chef at the bar wasn't even Asian which made the place seem less authentic Japanese than I thought.  However, the food is what really counts.

Payment:  The food is a little expensive ($$ on yelp).  The sushi rolls are in the $13+ range and one hand roll is in the $6-7 range.  The chef's recommendations are decent, $10-13 but some other things in the menu go up to $30. 

La Silhouette  |  French/American   |  Menu  |  362 W 53nd St. New York, NY

La Silhouette is a very dark, cozy, artsy restaurant in midtown.  Chef Steve Luttrell gets his inspiration from his father's french cooking and mother's southern Italian cooking. Together, the decor and cooking make me feel very French (although I have yet to travel there).

Location:  The restaurant is located in Hell's Kitchen, where it is sandwiched between two no-name buildings (because I have bad memory and it was dark out). It's right around the corner of 9th ave. where there is a table with two seats outside in case you wanted to people watch while you dined. 

Atmosphere:  Inside, it's quite small.  The rooms are divided into sections:  the entrance, the first dining hall, bathroom/server area, and the second dining hall (didn't get to see how this looked like).  The entrance has a small bar on the left, the host on the right, and the walls are covered in sunflowers.  The 1st dining room is a bit bigger than the entrance and has 4 tables on each side with booths running along the walls.  We were seated here and in red lighting it was quite dark with faint jazz music in the background.  Minimalistic black and white paintings of cars and objects lined up on one wall and on the other wall, smaller framed drawings were in checkerboard formation.  There are two single bathrooms and they are tiny but it's nice and bright in there; you can actually see what you look like in the mirror.  The 2nd dining hall is much bigger and has more tables and chairs.  From the website, they have a large red and white striped wall where the staircase is.  They continue the flower theme with flower vases and paintings along the sides.

Food:  The complimentary stuffed olives were enough to hold me over until dinner and I ate them all since Samya hates olives.  After ordering our food, we all received a crispy flavorful potato croquette accompanied by a cold creamy lobster (?) soup or vichyssoise if you will. While we waited for our meal, we also got to choose between sourdough, raisin, and another type of bread which we were still offered during our meal.  They weren't too stiff even though it was around 8 pm. 

My first course was bone marrow and it was delish.  It was salty but not overly salty, well-seasoned, and it didn't have a bloody taste to it; there was also a good portion in two large bones.  The pâté was mehh; it tasted like a tartare and was cold and Micah said it tasted like spam.  Samya's mixed green salad was fine, it had a light sherry vinaigrette and maybe a hint of mustard.  Micah's smoked octopus salad seemed to be okay since there were no complaints, but I didn't try any.  

For the main course I got pork belly roulade and it was delicious.  It was cooked perfectly and was tender, even the fat was divine.  It had sweet baby cipolini onions and mushrooms on top and the sauce was thick and savory.  I really enjoyed it.  On the other hand, Sams got the pretzel-crusted chicken breast and she was saying it was quite bland.  Too bad.  Nick and I were enjoying our pork bellies.  We also had a bottle of Tucumen malbec, which wasn't too heavy nor tart, which pleasantly complemented our meal (but I just love malbec).

For dessert, I got the goat cheese cheesecake drizzled in strawberry sauce.  It wasn't bad but you can sort of taste and feel the grainy texture of goat cheese.  The strawberry sauce was light and syrup-like, and didn't really improve the taste.  Nick's brownie was nothing out-of-the-ordinary, a little hard, but Sam's coconut panna cotta tasted like something familiar, something Filipino.  It  was gelatinous, flan-like, in texture, and had toasted coconut pieces on it.  The different textures went well together and it was delightful. We also received a complimentary dish of mini muffins and chocolate-chip cookies (although they tasted like something that may have been packaged).

Staff:  Since we entered, the staff has been kind.  The host was really nice and even stepped out of the way when I was taking a photo of the place.  The bartender gave Samya and I olives as we waited for our male friends.  The server was very attentive and able to answer our questions about the food.  He and other servers were always quick to fill our glasses with water or wine and didn't forget to offer us more butter or bread.  At the end, I even dropped my scarf and was walking down the street when one of the servers chased after me to give it back.

Payment: We were here for Restaurant Week.  The three-course meal was $38 per person but we had a bottle of wine so we paid a little more.  A three-course meal during lunch on Restaurant Week would cost $28.  Regular prices are as you'd expect with any decent restaurant in the city ($$$ on yelp).

Photo by Tim Williams

New York held its first ever Tomato Battle in Brooklyn. The tradition started in Spain and has made its way to the States. Rotten tomatoes are supposed to be used so that no tomato is wasted. The event was perfectly sponsored by Tide, who kindly gave out laundry detergent samples. My sister’s friend couldn’t make it and invited me to go with her. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while and am so happy to have experienced it.

When: Saturday, July 20, 2013. Started at 12:00 pm; costume contest at 3:00 pm; tomato fight at 4:00 pm; ended at 6:00 pm.

Cost: $25 on Groupon; $50 on site. An extra $10 for a round-trip school bus ride from and to Flatbush Ave.

Location: Floyd Bennett Field’s parking lot. About 4 miles away from civilization. They had several booths including Nestle, Snap Yourself photobooth, Village Voice, and an outside bar serving only Budweiser with Heineken umbrellas.

Photo by Tim WIlliams

Atmosphere: The place was in the middle of no where. We registered next to the parking lot where the bus dropped us off. After signing a waiver, we were asked “single" or “in a relationship" and received a wrist band identifying our status.

Then, we entered the gate leading to the other side of this lot. The Nestle rabbit was great— dancing, posing, and greeting everyone in the heat. Staff was trying to set up an electric bull but could not get it to work, but we still sat on it and pretended it was alive. There was suppose to be a live band but there was a dj who played hip-hop, reggaeton, and classic rock songs instead. We danced and danced some more and at one point, there was a conga line.

The people were great. There was a great variety of people of different ages. We also spent a lot of time with this geared up lady. She was fun and brought a inflatable beach ball that everyone tossed around. People also brought video cameras they wore on their wrist or head and were filming the whole thing. Hopefully, one of the guys will put it together and upload it somewhere.

3:00 pm hit and the costume contest began. My sister and I went up with the warrior lady and posed for the camera. There were people dressed in scrubs, matching attire, and different costumes: a banana, orange with drill bottom, ketchup bottle, mustard bottle, pirate, hula dancers, chefs, and many with mustaches.

Finally, 4:00 pm hit… 3….2….1….

Photo by Tim Williams

People were crazed and squeezed their way into the gates of the battle zone. I almost lost my slipper and held my shield up the whole time. OUCH! These tomatoes f*cking hurt! "I wish I wasn’t allergic to tomatoes," I heard a guy say. I nodded my head in aggreement. I pu**ied out in a few minutes and stayed along the sides picking up already thrown tomatoes and throwing them again in the center. A red pool started to form and grow larger. I went outside and spectated the fight, seeing tomatoes, slippers, shirts, and boxes being thrown in the air. Near the end of it, people were laying in the tomato pool and splashing each other. A stranger said I was too clean and hugged me with his tomato guts.

There was a cleaning station on the other side of the parking lot. It consisted of a line of hoses people had to manually hold up. They eventually turned it off and turned on a larger hose. People circled the hose and after being sprayed I just got dirty again because other people wanted to get some hose action. A pool of people’s residue started to form and some folks were laying in it :T Some of us eventually gave up. We were smelly and dirty but at least a group of us got to ride the same subway cart together.

Overall: I had an amazing time dancing in the sun with a bunch of happy energetic fun people. We met a nice guy at the subway early on who noticed our tomato-esque accessories. We stayed as group until the end. He had a waterproof camera and took awesome pictures but we didn’t exchange any contact information. My sister messaged him on fb and I messaged him through a donation page— yes, I’m creepy but I really want those pics :( Send them! I don’t know if I’d go again because the tomatoes frackin’ hurt and the tomato pool and cleaning station pool must be bacteria infested (Lauren head someone say he peed somewhere around the area). Idk.. I had a blast.. we’ll see.

BCD Tofu House | Korean | Menu | 1640 Schlosser St. Fort Lee NJ

BCD Tofu House is a chain restaurant located in different parts nationwide and internationally.  It opened in Fort Lee a couple of years ago, maybe in 2011, and is a good spot for soondubu, a tofu stew, and bbq.

Location:  The restaurant is located in the Fort Lee Towne Center Shopping Center, next to Koryodang, a Korean bakery, and the Pancake House. Even if I go to the center for pancakes, the smell of bbq always changes my mind and lures me in.  They probably have a barbecue scented air freshener they spray around the plaza.

Atmosphere:  The place is fairly large and spacious.  There is a more private dining section next to a bright blue children's playroom, which looks out of place since the restaurant's color scheme is wooden brown and the decor very simple-- the most exciting piece is the skewered bowls by the entrance.  The music in the background is at a good volume, not loud but not too low (probably Korean music or light oldies).

Food:  No complaints about food.  It's average but it's still tasty.  They usually serve this barley water which tastes so much better than water; they didn't have it this time :T  Side dishes differ daily depending on what they have available, but you will always get kimchi and your own fried fish.  Usual side dishes include soy beans, spinach, kimchi raddish, and flavorless coleslaw.  The kimchi tasted rancid this time though.  I find it odd that a while back, I asked to have one of the side dishes doggy-bagged but they said no.  I wonder if they recycle side dishes? Ew...

I usually order LA galbi because galbi is delicious and they marinate it well.  The bulgogi is also good and has noodles in the bottom.  The bibimbap, a rice dish with veggies and shredded beef, was more salad-like than I'm use to.

The tofu stew is quite good.  I usually get the seafood one with shrimp, oysters, and clams-- although there isn't much difference in flavor among the other choices.  The stew is a bit spicy so I eat it with rice.  The bowl may may not seem large but the dish is very filling.  There is raw egg for you to crack open and mix in your still boiling stew; sometimes the server does it for you which is preferable-- during Gil's first visit, he threw the entire egg, shelled, in the bowl. Oh boy.... lol.

They do not have dessert :( Come to think of it, I don't recall any Korean restaurants that offer dessert.  At least the bakery is close by.  I also wish they had traditional korean drinks available--not talking about soju or bokbunja-- but like sikhye or this warm brown rice drink that my friend's mom made for us when we were in elementary school (wish I knew the name).

Staff:  The host/hostess hands you a buzzer if the place is packed.  When you're ready to be seated, s/he will just show you to your table without saying anything.  The servers come to you right away and place the appetizers on the table as soon as they can.  After you get everything, they seem to disappear and it takes a while to get a refill or the check. 

Payment:  Most Korean bbq places are costly and this place is no exception ($$ on yelp).  Almost every Korean restaurant will give you several side dishes for free.  If I'm really hungry and am craving Korean bbq, I'd rather pay $30 at Picnic Garden, an all-you-can-eat spot.

Spice Market  |  Thai/Asian Fusion  |  Menu  |  403 W 13th St. New York, NY

Spice Market was opened by French chef Jean-Grorges Vongerichten.  He was inspired by the street food in Southeast Asia and created this Asian Fusion restaurant in 2004.  They are participating in this summer's Restaurant Week but have a regular tasting menu availabe all year-round.

Location:  Restaurant is located in the lovely cobblestone grounds of the Meatpacking District where everyone is out-and-about.

Atmosphere:  Place is quite large, two floors. and spacious.  The color scheme is red, black, yellow, orange, white and the decor is oriental.  We were seated in the middle of the restaurant in a cute gazebo type structure with very comfortable loveseats.  It was pretty dark and I didn't want to be the jerk taking flash pictures of all the food so I'm sorry for the sh*tty pictures :(  The music playing was indie/pop and it was freakin' loud so it was hard to have a conversation with the girls on the other side of the table-- not like I could see their faces.  I can't deny the restaurant's beauty, though, and I do like it that I am able to see into the kitchen.

Food:  First of all, one of the girls wanted Thai iced tea, a classic beverage at any Thai restaurant but.....they didn't have it??  They didn't have Thai iced coffee and only two tea options.  I started to question their authenticity and was especially baffled when I saw kimchi fried rice as one of the starters.  ::Smh..

Anyway, I didn't take a good look at the regular menu because we were there for the Restaurant Week menu.  Samya and I ordered the mixed green salad with basil vinagette and the salmon sashimi with garlic and lemon soy as a starter; the roasted skate wing with Thai chili sauce and basil and the chicken "65" satay with preserved lemon and mint for the main course; and two black sesame cakes with green tea mousse with yuzu for dessert. 

Before any dishes ordered were given out, we were served light, crisp, toasted chips (squid?) with a red sauce-- tomato paste with pepercorn and other spices; It helped us tame our hunger while we waited for our meal.

There was nothing special with the salad but the salmon sashimi was terrific.  The texture of it wasn't mushy nor rubbery and the garlic and lemon bits added a nice complementary flavor and crunch.  The roasted skate wing came with a bowl of rice and it was spicy but not uncomfortably spicy; it gave the fish a good kick without the spice sticking to my taste buds.  The chicken "65" didn't come with rice.  Instead of being traditionally deep-fried, it was satay.  It was drizzled with some white sauce, tasted a bit like tzatziki but lighter, and it went well with the chicken-- where the f* is my rice?  The sesame cake sat on top of a bed of green tea mousse-- which thankfully didn't have that fishy matcha taste.  On top of the cake was a sour yuzu frozen yogurt with two flat sesame wafers.  The sesame cake kind of tasted like a brownie and had the texture of fudge, which was good.  Sam and I agreed that we could have done without the sour yuzu froyo; it was a strange mix.

Staff:  There were so many staff members helping us at our table.  Some dressed in orange mandarin collar shirts and orange pants (like federal prisoners) and others in a white Nehru jacket with orange pants.  They served us water and cleared our plates quickly.  I can't tell if they were friendly or not because there were so many different workers with one purpose: to bring a new plate, hand us cold hand towels, replace the paper mats, etc.-- in-and-out. 

Payment:  We were here for Restaurant Week so the three-course meal was $38 per person.  The regular menu is pricey as with any NY menu ($$$ on yelp).

Bistro Du Saigon  |  Vietnamese   |  Menu  |  168 Main St.  Fort Lee, NJ

Bistro Du Saigon is a fairly new restaurant that opened maybe a month ago.  It's nice to have a more authentic Viet restaurant in town because Pho 32 is something else.  

Location:  Restaurant is located near the end of Main St. heading towards Edgewater.  There are shops and salons neighboring the place and you can park by the Fort Lee Towne Center Shopping Center if all the meter parking spots are taken.

Atmosphere:  Place is a decently small and clean--it is new.  There was jazz music playing in the background.

Food:  They serve the basic dishes you see at other Viet restaurants like Pho, sandwhiches, vermicelli and rice dishes.  Our Viet coffee was freshly brewed and we were able to get more condensed milk after asking, which was nice.  I had the pork chops and it was juicy, a little bland but I'm a bit biased since I've had more flavorful pork chops from my favorite Viet spot, Saigon Shack, in the city.  The spring rolls are as any other but $7.00 for two?-- I don't know. The sandwich was all right, but I don't like sandwiches.

Staff:  Our server was nice and very attentive. It was 2 in the afternoon with maybe 3 other people in the restaurant.  He took care of all of us without being annoying.  He served us quickly and the food came out in a timely manner.

Payment:  The food is a tad pricey ($$ on yelp) for what it is.  It's about $1-2 more than what I'd pay at Saigon Shack; not that bad though. They also do not accept Discover or Amex at this time.

Happy Birthday Day rainbow cupcakes for miss-gidget aka Chun-Li!