Andre T.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Parking is practically non existent, so get there early to search around. One of the few things NYC does well is tow a car in a hot minute. This joint is better than the TGI Fridays/ Applebees chains, though Houlihans did upgrade their look and menu. Dinosaur's ribs of course, are the selling point, so rest assured they are among the best you can get at any price in the area. The ambiance is very hip. Lighting is just low enough to people watch. College students populate the wait staff, and the audience proves their hipness by venturing this far north and west to seek sustenance. Weekend prime time is a crush, but isn't it everywhere in the big apple?

Brooklyn's Brick Oven Pizzeria

The brick oven experience is an acquired taste. I like the fresh ingredients, but after a few tries, I still cannot get with the fact that a whole pie seems under done, especially toward the center. There's a lot of pooled liquid, and I don't mean the usual oil from the cheese. The dough is wet, very soft and wet. If you cut a slice, it hardly holds up for traditional eating. We had to use utensils or risk a real mess. Toppings are, to put it politely, sparse. To be fair, we found the same at the most famous brick oven pizza joint in NYC, John's of Bleeker Street. You can hardly get in that place for seating on any day of the week.

I recommend you try it and draw your own conclusions. Good pizza is a very personal experience. The fact that you are NOT going to Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, or Dominos is the most important thing.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

So glad this came to town, because I heard about it. I'm rating it well, as long as you understand it is a pig out! Being from Philly, I am used to the satiation of a good thick cheesesteak, and this is close to it's equal in a burger! Forget the arches or the crown or the little red haired girl. The castle? I'm laughing at ya! Everyone has there little shop somewhere that can do a burger well, so I guess I'm not going to convince many to say this is the best burger - okay well, Jackson Hole is no slacker either, but you can be in and out of this joint way faster, and the fries are primo works of art. Those in North Jersey that are loyal to White Manna in either location, need to put down those baby burgers and try these guys. If they strive to make their product consistent in all locations, it should be a great experience no matter where you go.

Now, I hate to ruin it, but on a health front:
Its a great burger and a great value - but at its core, isn't it a lot to eat at one time? I know chains are proud of their big burgers, BK even has four patties! I would suggest two folks going in on one order. The human system is not meant to take such a whomping hit of all that grease and red meat, and then add the grease and salt of the fries!

If you are out and about for the day, this might make you want to find a bed and nap out! Its good, no doubt, but the Nutrition Action Newsletter would probably class this under their "Food Porn" category. Like a REAL Philly cheesesteak, its best that this is left as a once in a great while indulgence. How people eat this for lunch and return to the job and work coherently is beyond me.

I posted pics of a takeout meal. The double patty is the standard. This one had onions, mushrooms, lettuce and tomato and steak sauce. Keep in mind, it was a few minutes to get home and the wrapped up sandwich gets "smushed" by the heat. The fixins run a bit, but even if eating in, this is no neat meal. The juice from the burger meat alone will drip on you so take care.

Burger King

To be fair, it's as good, or bad, as fast food is in general. I am reminded that I should not be eating at this level for my health and especially if I am expecting flawless service. With my two year old twins aboard, I ordered two kids chicken tenders meals in the drive thru, and a Steakhouse Loaded Burger meal for me.

I know it's "let the buyer beware", and I did not check before I left the window, but after driving all the way home, loading them out of the car and into the house, I see they forgot BOTH fries with the kid's meals, and gave them both ice tea, not Hi-C, which I had repeated three times through the squawky speaker. I call back to the location, simply to let them know they need to better train their employees and get no answer after 30 minutes of trying. Driving back is not an option, and frankly, considering the health and nutrition consequences, perhaps they did me and the kids a favor. My Loaded Steakhouse specialty sandwich is a horrific idea. It is a globby mess - who would think of putting a baked potato-like topping on a burger? Shame on me, a middle aged man with kids I want to see get to college, for trying it.

We've come to expect lowered quality out of most of our service industry venues. They are paying next to nothing so there isn't going to be a lot of enthusiasm or pride in one's job. It was Saturday afternoon lunch rush, but still, BOTH sets of fries? And the bags get forwarded on down and out to the customer? And shouldn't it be policy, even if a customer asks for it, that you do not give iced tea in a kid's meal? That's like giving a kid a cup of coffee, caffeine -wise. And I said no, Hi-C, the fruit drink, a few times. Mistakes happen, so if I had gone back, I'd have to be careful not to look "elitist", so instead, I'll thank my stars it's missing fries and mixed up drinks instead of an e-coli scare.

Buy some cans of tuna for a light lunch for your kids.

White Castle

This particular location has a very fast and efficient drive thru. You either like White Castle's burgers or you don't. Personally, I can take or leave the "sliders". I go there for the Chicken Rings, and the delicious Fish Nibblers. And where else can you get drive thru fast food clam strips?

One thing negative thing is the fries. They are hardly cooked at all. I have never had such pale fries from any fast food outlet. But if you have about $7 bucks, and are passing by, get the large fish nibblers and take them home to make them a side dish to a home cooked meal.

Louie's Charcoal Pit

I had a very good breakfast there and the amazing thing is, they have been on Cedar Lane all of the 14 years I've lived in Teaneck, and I hardly noticed them! I don't want to insult the IHOP down the street, but this is a REAL diner with an extensive menu for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner.

I'm particular about my eggs, and they did my order perfectly. I highly recommend them.

Big Mikes Soul Food Kitchen

This place closed almost as soon as it opened. I saw an article in the paper in early Spring 2007 and went over there and they were shuttered then. A man walking in the area said he has never seen it open.

You would think in these days off the internet, there could be a web page where the owners can tell folks what the deal is.

Angelo's Pizza

I just went back to Angelos recently. On and off, I have bought pizza from them in the 14 years we've been in neighboring Teaneck. I say "on and off" because there are other very good pizza makers in the area, and it's just a matter of convenience, because I always pick up my own orders. I would have been more of a regular here if they were as close as the others.

This is "real" pizza -- the traditional quality that harks back to the little neighborhood joints you grab a slice from on the way home from school with the change your mother doesn't know you accumulated. Good pizza is never EVER to be confused with the dreck that Pizza Hut, or worse, that Dominos and Papa Johns type joints pass off to the millions of low standard having sheep among us in society.

I stopped with my feeling that good pizza must be made only by Italians, though I still haven't met an Italian that made a bad one ( outside any that might work in the above mentioned fraudulent franchises), but instead I feel that a good pizza can be made potentially by any one. It always starts with the crust, is supported by the richness of the sauce, and brought home by the quality and generousity of the cheese and of course, the toppings. Real sausage looks like real sausage, not the little kibbles and bits the franchises use. And frankly, I've found a lot of the brick oven chic and "pizza kitchen" variety to be lacking substance as well.

Angelos has held it's quality for the 14 years I've known it. The staff has to have changed in that time, so the skill has been successfully passed on. Definitely worth a try.

Mango's

The only I've tried there is the fried chicken, on takeout, and it was over breaded with some institutional coating, and over cooked. If you follow the news, this is run by Queen Latifah's Mom. I'll trust the menu has better items, but I'm hesitant to trust again.

Cubby's Restaurant

It can get crowded at dinnertime on any given day, so you have team up and one of you claim a seat while the other orders. Or call ahead and swoop in for a takeout order. Everything is made to order, so at the counter when eating in, they give you a pager like at TGI Fridays. Your order comes up pretty fast. The seating is limited and of the hard laminate booth variety, so big bellies might have a space issue. The prices are also a few dollars higher than what you might expect, but Cubbys offers that little extra quality. The owner is usually on hand so the personal touch is evident. My personal favorite is the Rib Eye steak, either as a sandwich or platter. Oh and if you aren't a Giants fan ( Go Eagles!) do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut about it. The owner has done, or perhaps still does catering for the team, and the walls are plastered with Big Blue memorabilia -- enough ugly mugs to make you lose your appetite, but the food is worth it.