Country Pancake House

Breakfast is a meal that I love to eat at any time.  This meal is good at any time and place period.  One of my favorite meals is breakfast for dinner!  I know people say you can't start the day without breakfast; sometimes it's hard to end the day without it either.

Country Pancake House

BEST BREAKFAST EVER.  Yes, I said it and I meant it.  They make some of the best breakfast food I have ever had ever.  When I think of breakfast, I think of these guys.  No exaggeration here people.  There are so many reasons why this place is great and I will go into great detail about it.

Pancakes:

They make some of the fluffiest and most tasteful pancakes around.  The smallest pancake is the size of a normal dinner plate and they give you 4.  Then you can also order the big one which is literally the size of a pizza pie and they give you 2.  The best and most interesting part is that it does not taste like batter.  When you make a pancake that size, being undercooked is always an issue.  They have found a way to avoid that issue.  

Menu:

Huge.  That's all I can say.  Sometimes I hate a huge menu.  Huge menus easily confuse me, but this is the exception, it's very easy to read and also be tempted. 

Other food:

They make everything good here.  Like everything, meaning eggs to burgers.  That's right they also make burgers.  I am a burger fan and they make one hell of a burger.  It's big and sloppy, just the way I like it.  Do not get me wrong, I prefer a burger that does not fall apart, but this is a real burger that keeps true to the spirit of burgers.  

I know I am jumping around a little bit, but here is a story of what happened to me one time there.  I ordered a normal meal from them and asked for a side of bacon.  Usually when I ask for a side of bacon, I get like 4 strips.  These guys served me something that looked like half a packet of bacon.  This is the only place I have ever said "that's way too much bacon".  Once I said it, I retracted it and proceeded to eat it all.   

There is so much more to talk about for this place.  For instance, they make fresh juice.  They squeeze and make their own juices. 

Here is the score

Service: 3.8 (can be slow at times, but only because this place can get packed.  I once stood in line to eat here for an hour, true story.)

Food: 5

Decor: 5

Price: 5 (great food at cheap prices!)
Total: 4.7

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Follow link for more info.

http://countrypancakehouse.net/

U Pie Company

Pizza is very much a staple food.  I have traveled to many a places around the world and everyone seems to have their own version.  I am not here to tell you which version is the best.  I love my pizza and everything it represents.

U Pie Company

This is a small place located in the heart of Englewood NJ.  This is going to be a simple and easy review.  I would rank this place on my top 3.  Now that is a bit of a high standard considering that I have been to many pizza places.  The following is why I think this way.

First they make your pizza order a personal sized pizza, but not the crappy circular 4 slice ones.  The personal pizza comes in a oval and with 6 slices.  It's kind of a mini sicilian pie, and the best part it was all for me!

I do not know what this cook does to make this pizza so good, but I can't ask him to stop.  He makes this pie as if it were cooked in brick oven.  Yes, I said it "as if".  He makes this pizza out of a oven.  I am not saying that pizza made from an oven is bad, but i honestly prefer brick oven.  The quality and flavor and everything about it can be taken to the next level because of the brick oven.  This man was able to pack in so much flavor and awesomeness into his pies but he does. 

This man got it right.  He represents what is right about food.  He makes it clean, tasty, cheap, surprising, comfortable and best of all easy.  So here is to you sir making that pie for me at U Pie Company you did it right.

Service: 4 ( a little slow at times)

Food: 5

Decor: 4

Price: 5 (great food at cheap prices!)
Total: 4.5

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follow link for more info

http://www.yelp.com/biz/u-pie-company-englewood

sorry they don't have their own web site.

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 EDIT: 2-8-2013

Sadly I passed by this place today and it was closed for good.  It makes me sad when I see good places go out of business.  I will miss their food.  

Filling Station and The 9W Market

I don't know why I haven't written a review about this place.  This is by far my number one place to go eat.  I consider this place to have some of the best food I have eaten period.  No joke or exaggeration here people, this is the place to eat at.

Filling Station and The 9W Market

This place is almost literally located in the middle of nowhere.  I have to drive almost 20 min just to get to the place from my house.  This place is surrounded by farm land and trees.  That is one of the major reasons why I love this place.  The fact that I can have a quiet place to eat and get away from the world.  This is a retreat for me, almost a mini-vacation.   This place to tucked away from the world that I often get lost in my mind and just enjoy the area.  I would say that this place is perfect in any season, even considering that most of the seating is outside.  

Lets talk about the food.  This is kind of complicated because the Filling Station and The 9W Market are two different places that share the same land and owners.  One is strictly a burger and ice cream shop and the other is a hot food and drink almost cafe type of place.  I will review both.

Filling Station

One word is all I need for this place.  This word is amazing.  They have found the secret to making the best damned burgers and fries that I have EVER eaten period.  When I eat a burger or french fries I use the Filling Station's burgers and fries as the bar.  When I first ate their burgers I literally heard a symphony in my mind.  Up to that point I thought I knew what a burger was, then I was educated.  This place takes  burgers and fries to a new and amazing place.  The texture, flavor and taste of that first bite was so great.  Honestly I wish I was a poet to be able to really put the food in better words.  The burger I ate was a kobe beef burger and it was just out of bounds awesome.  I know what you are saying.  Kobe beef is good all the time, and I agree.  So I also ate their regular burger and it was on the same level as the Kobe beef burger.  

So eat the burger here, and change your life.  You will never look at burgers the same again.  

The 9W Market

This place is kind of like a cafe and or coffee shop with an amazing kitchen to boost.  I have eaten many of their dishes and drank many of their drinks.  Honestly, I cannot say much more than may I have more.  I can spend days there just eating their food and desserts.  Their desserts are also one of my favorite things ever to eat.  Sometimes they have some homemade pies that really just blow me away.  They also feature one of my favorite iced teas ever, Joe Tea.  I can really sit here and talk about all the food there, but I think I will just run out of words to use.

Overall

Both shops are equally amazing.  I love to eat at both places all the time.  The staff is super friendly and amazing.  The food is cooked great and made great.  Some of the best highlights is that they use all organic food.  No hormones or steroids here people, all free-range and grass fed animals.  All the veggies are also all organic, no pesticides and chemicals.  Their bread comes from one of the best bakery's in the area, the balthazar bakery.   

So if you want to taste and eat real food, this is the place to go.  I am serious here people.  This is my favorite place to go to eat.  I almost did not review it just so that I can keep this place to myself, but I want to keep them in business.  Oh, I forgot to mention that this place is frequented by bicyclers so you may see a few of them there. 

Here is the score:

Service: 5
Food: 5

Decor: 5

Price: 2 (on the expensive side for the food, but worth the price tag)
Total: 4.25

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Follow link for more info

http://the9wmarket.com/

Smokey Joe's

OK. When I think of BBQ. I think of smoked pork with a equal amounts of love, flavor and portions. Southern BBQ is one of my all time favorite foods to eat, it is my comfort food. Just great food all together. My issue with this type of food is that everyone thinks that they can copy it or pass theirs off as an alternative. This is one of those instances of trying to make something more than what it is.

When I go a restaurant that claims to have southern BBQ, I expect to feel like a place of BBQ. I would expect to smell the smokey grill and pork in the air. I expect the place to be everything anyone would expect a BBQ place.

Smokey Joe's is located in New Jersey in the town of Teaneck. I had heard that this place had some inspired BBQ dishes. I had my doubts, they were to be confirmed.

I walk into the establishment and I was not so kindly greeted by some man. He gave me a look as if I were out of place or I walked into the wrong restaurant. I shrugged it off and proceeded to my table. As he left he told me that my server will be out shortly to greet me. I assumed shortly meant within 2 min. I was at my table waiting for about 10 min before I had attention. I know what you are thinking, there must have been a lot of people there. No there wasn't, there was one other family there. So it wasn't that this guy was too busy. When the waiter approached he did not introduce himself or welcome me either to the restaurant. I proceed their "signature" dish, brisket with sweet potato wedges and vegetables.

That is what I had to deal with at first. Let me talk about everything else. The decoration and layout felt more like a place to eat Mediterranean or Spanish food. The walls were colored with a color only to be described as pumpkin. Music being played seemed a better fit for Temple then a southern BBQ place. Oh yes I forgot to mention that this place was Kosher. 

While I waited for the food they brought out some cornbread and some type of preserve. The cornbread was fresh and hot, but it was too dry. The preserve was very well made. It was sweet and savory, it complimented the cornbread very well.

I also wanted to touch on their menu. It was big, confusing and with very little selection. Their food was very poorly marked off. I had to read the menu several times to actually find some other dishes.

The food finally comes out and I was fairly excited. It came out faster than I had expected.

Yes, it looks good, but you know what they say about looks they can trick you. I started with the vegetables. They were very well prepared. The flavor was there. Then I moved onto the brisket. The first bite was great. I had to kind of take a step back of how good it was, but I also realized that I was very hungry at that point. So I continued to eat and realized all the faults. There was not enough sauce. The sauce really made the plate amazing. It really brought out the flavor and texture of the brisket. The issue was that there was not enough. I don't know why they didn't use it more on the meat. I am sure it was not to overpower or take away from the meat itself. As I ate I realized that the brisket was overcooked. It was taking me more time to chew the meat. I was hypnotized by the sauce. I am going to guess that the sauce has a lot of Asian influence to it. It was sweet and savory, it didn't really taste like traditional "gravy". So I asked for more of it so I can power through the meal. It saved the meal all together. Then I came upon one slice that did NOT have any sauce. I was curious. I ate a slice and was immediately turned off. It was overcooked, dry and tasted almost like cardboard. I immediately put the sauce on it to cove the taste up.

Here is the score
Service: 1
Food: 2
Decor: 1
Price: 1
Total: 1.25



I do not recommend going to this place. They are trying very hard to be something that BBQ is not. They tried to make it fancy and sophisticated.

My final note. I left the restaurant hungry. That is a shame on them. BBQ is known for its large portions and heartiness. I should have left that place satisfied and full. Instead I left hungry, disappointed and broke. The meal cost me $30 with tip.

NOT WORTH IT.

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follow link for more info

http://smokeyjoesbbq.com/

Mr. Tod's Pie Factory

Pie.  I have been on a very long quest to find some really good pie for a long time.  There are few places in my area that only specialize in baked goods.  Those places are more likely to be a cupcake place.  So I have been on a quixotic journey to find it, only to find it right in front of my eyes.

Mr. Tod's Pie Factory

This place is literally 4 blocks away from my house.  I have passed by it so many times and not given it a second thought.  I honestly thought it was a pizza place.  When someone says pie to me, I think pizza.  So, naturally I never walked into the place.  

One day I was in the area of the restaurant and I decided to walk in, I wanted to grab a slice.  I was expecting pizza and all the stuff that came along wit it.  I walked up to the counter and was surprised with baked goods.  My fist thought was "oh wow this pizza place has desserts up front"  and as I looked around I came to realize that I was an idiot.  I saw that this "pie" factory was meant for baked goods.  So I adjusted my line of thinking and looked at the variety of food they had.  

Oh man can I tell you that they had quite the variety of baked goods indeed.  The young man behind the counter was nice and very helpful.  He suggested the mini peach cobbler and their apple crumble.  I was more than happy to accept his suggestions because those two were my two favorite type of pies.

I asked for them to be heated and of course with a scoop of ice cream.  I cannot tell you how delicious these two were.  I have been a big fan of peach cobbler for years.  I have a high standard because I have a friend that makes them for me.  I use her peach cobbler as the bar because it's so amazing and this place came so close to hitting that bar.  The apple crumble was just all around so good.  I cannot complain about anything from this place.  Plus, it was cheap so everyone wins. 

 That is what I ordered. 

Here is the score:

Service: 5
Food: 5

Decor: 5

Price: 5 (great food at cheap prices!)
Total: 5

In short, if you like pie and not the pizza kind, go to this place.  They are super friendly and helpful.  

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Follow link for more info:

http://www.whybake.com/

Best Dumplings

So I started writing this review and it kinda sounded like I was phoning it in.  I cannot do that to my reader(s), plus this place is good.  This one will be a short review though.

They decided to name their business "Best Dumplings".  In my experience of dumplings I think they forgot to use the word "EVER".  I might be exaggerating a little bit, but the dumplings here are that good.

This is a small place tucked away in Englewood, NJ.  Actually you would probably miss it if you weren't looking for it. 

They offer many types of dumplings and two styles of preparations.  They offer chicken, beef, and vegie steamed or fried.  I honestly can tell you that they are ll equally good and delicious.  I often buy two different types in bother either steamed or fried. There is only one word I can use for the dumplings.  Delicious.  I love their dumplings because they are made with love and fresh.  If you go around back you can actually see them make the dumplings by the bag.

Oh, I forgot about the dipping souse.  This souse is like having fireworks on a normal night. 

The staff is super friendly and the place is tiny.  There is really only one table to eat at, so needless to say get your food to go. 

I am not saying that this is spectacular.  I am saying that this place is very good for a very good meal.  So if you are looking for something different and good.  I am a big fan of this place.  I do believe that these are the best dumplings in the area. 

Here is the score:

Service: 5

Food: 5

Decor: N/A

Price: 5 (great food at cheap prices!)

Total: 5

YES! That is my first 5! HAZZZAH!

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 For more info please follow the link


Here is the score:


http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/53/1494770/restaurant/North-Jersey/Best-Dumplings-Englewood