Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant
261 Main St.
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Tel: 201-487-2620
$10-20

A friend recommended a Thai restaurant on Main St. in Hackensack but he had forgotten the name of the place. There are at least 2 or 3 Thai restaurants on Main St. so after reading a NY Times article on Bangkok Garden I thought I had found the right one.

I went to Bangkok Garden with my partner and his family from California. We were large group of 8 but the restaurant had no problem accommodating us. The white tablecloth and dinner napkins made the place seem nicer than some of the surrounding restaurants and in the area.

The waitress who took our order seemed annoyed that she got stuck with a large party and was rather curt with us. We ordered several things on the menu including Tom Yum Soup, Gang Keow Wan, Pla Jearn, Thai Bar-B-Q Beef, Bangkok Lemon Chicken, and Pad Thai.

Both Chicken and Shrimp Tom Yum Soup were very good. Although we requested mild, the soup left a burning sensation on everyone's upperlip. The Gang Keow Wan which is beef cooked in coconut milk, green curry, basil, bamboo shoot, and green pepper was not up to par. The flavors were too tame for a spicy, curry dish. Even worse was the Thai Bar-B-Q Beef. The meat was very dry and was definatly not barbequed. It had a funny, sour taste that reminded me of spoil meat; I immediately moved on to the next dish.

The Bangkok Lemon Chicken was pretty good. The citrus tenderized the chicken breast and the sauce was both sweet and sour. The Pad Thai was ordinary. Pla Jearn, a whole deep-fried fish with a ginger sauce and topped with canned vegetables. I would put it slightly above the Gang Keow Wan.

Maybe I am being to critical. How can I compare this place to the authentic restaurants in Thailand or even the cute Thai restaurants in NY? (My favorite is Boyd on Thompson St.)

Here is my suggestion to Bangkok Garden: Simplify your menu! Concentrate on mastering maybe 10-20 great dishes and expand your menu from there.

Rating
Food: 2
Value: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2

Aquavit (Scandinavian)

Aquavit
65 E. 55th St. (bet. Madison & Park Ave)
New York, NY
tel: 212 307 7311

$25 Prix-Fixe Lunch

Summer 07 Restaurant Week Menu

First Course
Mixed Lettuce Salad

Herring Sampler
Chilled Avocado Soup

Second Course
Swedish Meatballs
Hanger Steak
Hot-Smoked Salmon

Dessert
Arctic Circle
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Okay, I know Aquavit is not located in NJ but since it is Restaurant Week and I work in Midtown Manhattan I thought I should take advantage of the $25 prex-fixe lunch menu. I went to Aquavit with two my colleagues and we ordered everything on the menu except for the salmon. Let us start with the first course:

Herring Sampler: "4 bits of herring, with the typical sauces-mustard on one, a cream sauce on another, a plainer one. The 4th was more original--cream topped with fish roe--and delicious. All served with the traditional potato, perfectly cooked, and vasterbotten cheese. As good as any in Sweden, and--I hate to say it--better than my grandmother's." - Linnea West, pictured on the right.

Chilled Avocado Soup: (First photo above) The soup was very light. Not creamy or heavy which is perfect for summer. The crab salad in the soup needed some work. I could not taste the crabs but the bacon in the salad gave the soup a nice smokey flavor.

Second Course

Swedish Meatballs: "Hard to go wrong here, meatballs are always a treat. These were huge and served in a bubbly brown gravy with mashed potatoes. On the side were lingonberries and pickles. Lingonberries (similar to cranberries) are often used in a sauce, but these were prepared a special way so as not to burst them. Very nice. The pickle slices were imported from Sweden, where a diiferent type of brine is used. I personally much prefer them." - Linnea

Hanger Steak: Juicy, tender, and flavorful. Lightly seasoned so you can taste the natural flavor of the beef. Excellent.

Dessert

Arctic Circle: "Everything I had up to this point was very traditional Swedish cuisine. The artic circle was a wonderfully bizzare addition to the menu, and it was delicious! I wish I knew the secret of the goat cheese parfait! Great flavor (def. used a mild goat cheese and the texture was light) It was topped with a wafer and blueberry sorbet. There wsa a yellow curd down the center of the goat cheese parfait cone that I originally thought was pineapple, but have since discovered is passion fruit." - Linnea

The taste and texture reminded me of a creamy cheesecake made of goat cheese. (Photo below)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Coconut Sorbet: The little cupcake looked plain and wimpy but inside I discovered a soft, moist chocolate paradise with creamy peanut butter. The coconut sorbet was mediocre. I'm more of a gelato fan. Oh how I miss my days in Firenze.

Rating

Food: 4

Value: 3

Service: 4

Atmosphere: 4 (We were the youngest patrons there.)

White Manna (Burgers)

White Manna

358 River Street

Hackensack, NJ
tel: 201- 342-0914
$1 - $3

This tiny diner serves tiny burgers. As I watched the grillmaster flipped over the juicy meat, I thought I better order at least 3 double cheeseburgers. My brother and boyfriend ordered 5 double cheesburgers each. At first glance, you may think that White Manna burgers are similar to White Castle burgers but once you take a bite into one you realize that White Manna burgers are in a world of its own.

The doublecheese burgers came out larger than expected, about 3/4 the size of my palm. The patties were thick, juciy, and well seasoned. I believe there was a hint of cumin in the beef. White Manna burgers are served on potato buns that are grilled right next to the burgers. I also ordered a side of fries and a strawberry milkshake. The fries were cut super thick but the milkshake was a bit too runny. If you are a fan of sliders I highly recommend this place. Ironically there is a White Castle right across the street of White Manna. But who would go there when you can get a fresh, quaility burger for about the same price?

Rating

Food: 4
Value: 5

Service: 2 (Slow, no real line. They need a number system.)

Atmosphere: 2 (Cute diner when it's not crowded.)

Not recommended for large groups. This is more of a take-out place; although, you may be able get one of the coveted seats by the windows when it is not busy.

Soft Tofu Restaurant (Korean)

So Kong Dong (Soft Tofu Restaurant)
130 Main Street, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
$8 - $12

When we pulled into the small parking lot of So Kong Dong, I knew immediately that I was in for a treat. The line for people waiting for a table spilled out into the parking lot. The hostess went around to each waiting party and took people's order so their food would be ready once they were seated. I was surprised to see the menu only offered a variety of tofu soup and beef ribs. Where was the Bibimbop and Jap Chae?

So Kong Dong specializes in spicy, tofu soup. I got the seafood, beef tofu soup and an order of beef short ribs (Kalbi). The tofu soup was nothing I had ever tasted in Manhattan's Korean Town on 31st Street. The tofu was so soft; it almost melted in my mouth. The shrimp and shellfish were plentiful and fresh. The oysters, clams and mussels gave the broth a very strong "seafood" flavor. I did not find much beef in my soup except for some ground beef at the bottom of my bowl. Next time, I'll skip the beef in my soup. The beef short ribs were good. It was marinated in a sweet sauce and the meat was very tender.

Rating

Food = 4; Value = 5; Service = 3; Atmosphere = 3

Rating System

Restaurants reviewed are rated on a scale from 1-5. 1 = poor, 5 = awesome

Food = Taste? Quality?
Value = Will you get your money's worth?
Service = Speed? Friendliness?
Atmosphere = Decor? Mood?

From NY to NJ

Two months ago I made the big move from Manhattan to Hackensack, NJ. After living in Manhattan for 6 years, I decided that I was tired of throwing my rent money down the drain for a 450 sq feet studio.

Adjusting to NJ was a bit difficult. Instead of walking 15 minutes to work, I now have to take a 45 minute bus ride to Port Authority. But the most difficult adjustment was finding restaurants that could satisfy my taste buds. My father went to culinary school and I spent most of my childhood running around my parent's restaurant. Food was such an important part of my upbringing.

In NY, finding a good restaurant was easy. There are so many resources dedicated to NY restaurant reviews: Menupages, Time Out NY, New York Magazine, Zagot, Citysearch, DigitalCity. What about for the 8.7 million people that live in NJ? We need to eat out too!