Rob "robricc" R.'s Profile

Ate here last night after seeing a small banner up on Paterson Plank Rd. It would be really easy to miss this place since it's on the 12th floor of the Days Inn. They've apparently only been opened two weeks when I dined here.

As far as Chinese buffets go, this one is better than most. The food was nicely prepared and flavorful with a nice mix of traditional Chinese-American dishes and some less common ones. Unfortunately, the lack of clientele at this point means some food has been sitting out getting dry. To the owner's credit, they did offer to make a fresh portion of anything on the buffet that we wanted.

The view from the 12th floor is really nice and is quite unique for the area. This restaurant also has an event space up on the same floor. They book events and do catering.

Whatever you do, do NOT give this dealer your phone number. They will spam you with recorded messages every couple of months. I just got this gem today:

"Hello, This is James Walker Service and Parts Director for Joe Heidt Volkswagen and Buick, I'm sorry I missed you today. I'm calling as part of our Customer Care Program efforts to verify all customer records. I see here that you had missed some of your recommended maintenance suggested for your vehicle. Our experience has shown that routine maintenance, can help prevent future costly repairs if I can answer any questions regarding your vehicles maintenance schedule. Please feel free to give me a call at (201) 327-2900 I can be reached anytime during our regular Schedule Service Hours, 7:30 AM Monday through Friday to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday and Saturday 8 to 12. Again, this is James Walker at Joe Heidt Volkswagen and Buick and I can be reached at (201) 327-2900 Thank You and Have a great day."

Thanks "James," but I don't appreciate a robot telling me to spend $100+ per hour on your overpriced labor. This kind of invasive marketing guarantees 100% that will never return to your facility.

I'm not a trucker, so I can't comment on those types of concerns or facilities. But, my car suffered a screw through the tire tread at 10PM on a Saturday. This Petro was close to my hotel, so I took the wheel off my car and brought it to their tire shop. They plugged the hole quickly and did it for no charge. Obviously, I tipped the mechanic.

They saved me a lot of hassle.

I feel like I have to counter some of the recent poor reviews of this place. I was hesitating to go because of some of these reviews, even though I've generally been pleased with this restaurant in the past.

I feared that there had been some sort of drastic management change, but I still recognize most of the staff from past visits. So, it's basically the same as it's been for the past few years. The menu did change a bit, but it's hardly revolutionary. To be honest, I don't think much has changed other than physical menu itself. All the same old dishes are still on there and the specials board contains another 15+ items just as it has in the past.

If you come here, you really don't need to order an appetizer. Every main dish comes with soup, salad, starch (potato dumplings, spaetzle, etc.), sauerkraut or red cabbage, and dessert. Perhaps ordering starters is why other receivers thought there was too much food?

I've spent a few weeks in Germany. I'm fairly confident I know what a schnitzel should taste like. The Black Forrest Mill does a commendable job for the area. As long as you keep in mind where you are, Black Forrest Mill satisfies. If there's a better German restaurant in Orange or Rockland county, I haven't found it.

The staff is pleasant and accommodating. They can describe the menu items without a problem if you happen to be unfamiliar with something and they're pretty responsive if there's an issue.

Black Forrest Mill deserves a solid 3.5 stars. Since I can't do that on Yelp, I'm going to round-up. It's not the best German food I've ever had, but it's definitely decent.

If sleeping without climate control bothers you, don't stay here. The two star review is mostly because of the moronic occupancy sensor in the room which controls both the TV and the air conditioner/heater. Last time I checked, I have a pulse. Having to wave my hand through the air repeatedly in the night to get air moving is ridiculous. This type of system is a terribly annoying step backwards in and effort to placate the green crowd. Enough already!

Other than that, this is a very standard renovated Comfort Inn. On the plus side, they have free WiFi and the breakfast area has waffle irons.

There were only 5 cars in the parking lot when I arrived around 10PM. The hotel was basically empty, yet every guest seemed to be clustered in the same hallway. Fortunately, the walls worked well to keep unwanted noise out.

I'm not sure if this is a non-smoking hotel, but my room was. Sadly, the room smelled of cigarette smoke on and off throughout the night.

This place used to be called Buy-Rite and I recall it being a decent place to buy liquor. It's now "Buy Wise" and uses the same color scheme for the signage, perhaps to confuse you.

This has to be one of the sloppiest liquor stores I've been in. Unless you know exactly where your item is, there is nothing pleasurable about shopping here. The aisles are so narrow, two people cannot walk past each other. Wine and hard liquor are inter-mixed so finding anything by spirit-type is nearly impossible. I found vodka stocked in 4 different places inside this store. There seemed to be no reasoning as to why some vodka was on one side of the store vs. another side. While you were able to find vodka all over the place, gin was given very limited shelf space. The selection of gin was terribly slim.

The checkout clerk was really rude. Instead of a greeting, I got "Are you over 30?" They must have a policy of requiring ID from anyone that appears to be under 30 years old that I'm not aware of. Maybe she thought I was trying to pull a fast one. The tone was very condescending, especially from someone that appeared to be 18 or 19.

The prices are nothing special here, the selection is hit-or-miss, and the service leaves a lot be desired. For me, there's no reason to come back.

The all you can eat option is tough to beat. In this area, most all you can eat sushi places neglect or totally leave hot food off the menu. At Cho Cho San, however, you can get a complete meal of soup, salad, appetizers, and sushi for a low price.

The hot food is excellent, especially the gyoza and negimaki. The selection of sushi rolls is good for an all you can eat deal. Nigiri pieces have more rice than I would prefer, but it's still within reason. For $21.95, it's hard to complain. Service is really fast and friendly.

The first time I was at this restaurant was when they just opened. It was a weeknight and place was packed. We had to wait 15 minutes for a table. The food was decent, but nothing to go too crazy over. They have a wide selection of interesting beers on tap. The sushi was notably excellent and the atmosphere was cool. They have a large kaiten sushi bar and people were sitting at it.

The second time I went here was only a couple weeks ago on a Saturday. There was no wait to get a table... not a great sign. After being seated, we waited at least 20 minutes before a waiter came over and asked if anyone had taken our order yet. I guess the hostess forgot to tell someone she just sat a table. At the same time, we also appeared invisible to other waiters and floor staff.

Again, the sushi was very good. I ordered the braised short ribs special as my main. It came out only warm (not hot), but it was OK. Definitely not the best I've had, but passable. It should be noted that the sushi bar was virtually empty this time. The conveyor belt had very few plates on it and was set to only revolve in the small area directly in front of the sushi man.

I came back to Duke Ocean Grill last night. Despite it being Hudson Valley Restaurant Week and reservations being "required," we were able to sit immediately. This giant restaurant was not even a quarter full.

Similar to what you might find in a greasy Chinese takeout, there were two tables pushed together in the dining room piled with crap. Tablecloths, bags of things, plates and utensils. I immediately got the impression that they'd given up.

This time, our waiter wasn't very attentive. Drinks took longer than they should to reach the table and sushi was served without soy sauce. Speaking of sushi, it was still pretty good. It's unfortunate the sushi man spent most of the night standing around waiting for orders.

For our main, we ordered the porterhouse for two, a "chef's special" for $75.00.  The waiter warned us that it takes 30 minutes to cook this piece of meat. Since we were having appetizers and weren't in a rush, this was fine. The steak was ordered medium-rare.

After at least an hour from the time our order was put in, the steak finally comes to the table. It was far from medium-rare. It was so overdone and dry, I wouldn't even call it well-done. You could sand drywall with this meat.

We notified the waiter of the error as soon as we could. His response was "that is medium-rare." For that, he deserves a punch in the face. Not wanting to wait for another steak or something else, we decided to just make the best of it. It took a lot of béarnaise, but we were able to get some of it down.

Our waiter came back during our meal to say he was sorry and the chef didn't look at the steak before it left the kitchen. If I owned a restaurant and my chef didn't check a $75 piece of meat before it left the kitchen, that person would be looking for a new job.

To apologize, we were comped a round of drinks and dessert. That's nice, but it really doesn't help that the (relatively expensive) meal was ruined. I give Duke Ocean Grill two stars only because the sushi is pretty good. Otherwise, it would be a 1-star review. The experience and quality simply don't align with the prices.

I stopped in to Cafe De Novo on a whim for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. This is one of the few restaurants open in downtown Middletown for lunch on Saturdays, it seems.

Cafe De Novo sells "Jamaican & American" food. You can get a burger anywhere, so I don't see why you would order that here. While I don't know much about Jamaican food, I have had jerk chicken before so that's what I ordered. A small portion cost $6.50 and came with 3 pieces of dark meat chicken, rice with beans and some fried plantains.

At first bite, it was immediately obvious this was the best (and probably most authentic) jerk chicken I've ever had. The seasoning might be too spicy for some, but I think it was just right. You got a lot of heat without it being overwhelming. Rice and beans helped put out the fire.

Service (at least during lunch) was similar to a pizza place. You order at the counter, and then your food is brought out to you. From the time we ordered, the food was in front of us about 5 minutes later. Unexpectedly, it was served on a normal ceramic plate with metal utensils. This makes me assume they offer more traditional table service later in the day.

The lady behind the counter was very nice and smiley. She was clearly proud to be serving this food. I immediately felt like a valued customer. Cafe De Novo is a very welcomed addition to downtown Middletown.

This Chinese restaurant is a nice change of pace for the area. The food is a couple notches above takeout and they have proper pupu platters.

The exotic drinks are hit or miss. There is no bartender, so the drink is made by whomever. It could be the host, or even your waitress.

Service is pleasant and friendly.