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Location
Metuchen, NJ
Yelping since
November 2013
3/3/24 was my first visit for lunch with my family. The place was easy enough to find, but I wasn't expecting that they didn't have their own parking lot (there's a municipal lot across the street). The location is right on the water and there's inside and outside dining. Inside, the place has a dark ambiance - I don't know if they were intentionally keeping lights off, but elderly folks might find this to be a challenge. On the way to our table we walked past a brick pizza oven so that's something to definitely consider if you are in the mood. I had a crock of french onion soup and the turkey club with fries, sister had the Baja Bowl salad, and brother in law had the spicy sausage and peppers pizza. Everyone enjoyed their meal and service was excellent despite the "winter staff" level and size of the crowd. It was a gorgeous 70 degrees so it was not surprising to see. We will be back!!
2/ l10/24 Saturday - This was our 1st visit to Angies. We were the inly patrons in the restaurant. Service was by Angie herself! I had the Cuban sandwich with FF. My husband had the Tilapia dinner (with rice + beans). Decor is very quaint. Music in the dining area is very Dominican (merengue, of course!) Highly recommend this BYOB .:. It is truly a neighborhood gem!
FRI (1/26/24)_OCCASION (my birthday dinner). RESERVATION: Party of 3 @ 6pm. Arrived 5:40pm but not seated until 5:55pm. An elderly couple arrived about 5 min after us and while we were made to wait, they were seated immediately (no reservation). We ended up being seated at the table next to them! I ordered a chocolate martini before dinner. Wait time was at least 15 min. What I received was a martini glass filled with chocolate syrup and vodka. This is NOT what I was expecting, and it tasted TERRIBLE! APPETIZERS: Bread arrived approx 5 min after our server greeted us. I had the Buttery Bibb salad (Good, change it to baby spinach and it would've been Very good), my husband had the Charred Broccoli (Very good), and my friend had the Wood Stack salad (Very good). DINNER: I had the Rigatoni Norma (Good, expand it so you can add sausage, chicken, or meatballs and it would be Very good), my husband had Rib Eye steak (Fair - make it a thicker cut, this piece he was served was more like skirt steak), and my friend had the Squid Ink linguini (Very good). DESSERT: No room for it ... For a birthday occasion, there was really no recognition of it by the staff. It would've been nice to receive a small appetizer or since I declined dessert, being presented with a $5 coupon for a birthday appetizer or dessert on my next visit would've been nice.
This was my 2nd visit to the Metuchen location since 2020. My husband and I went for an early dinner (5:30pm). We arrived on time and we were seated promptly in the main dining room. We definitely noticed that there were fewer tables (for Covid reasons). The menu has a wide variety of appetizers and pizza, and there is a decent offering of homemade pasta dishes . On the downside for those looking for an entree, there is only 1 chicken entree, 1 salmon entree, and 1 steak entree. My husband ordered the ribeye (rare) which came grilled, with mashed potatoes, and a side of marinated cippolini onions and whole mushrooms. Portion size was generous. The only fault was that the potatoes were very bland and they did not come with any butter or sour cream. So my husband had to ask for butter and he was presented with a small cup of compounded butter (lemon and basil?) which brightened up the dish considerably! This should be standard for this dish -- or give the customer a choice of sour cream or plain butter! I went for one of the pasta dishes -- BUCATINI ALL' AMATRICIANA which is described as
"thick spaghetti-like pasta, tomato, guanciale, black pepper, pecorino romano". When presented, I immediately thought "if this is a FULL size order, I wonder what a 1/2 portion looks like"? In other words, I thought the portion was on the smallish side (for $24). I also thought the dish's appearance was not very impressive. No obvious sign of pecorino romano (it would have been nice to see the cheese sprinkled on top). I also think adding a few fresh basil leaves or fresh parsley on top would have brightened up the appearance as well as the flavor. The tomato sauce was ok (although the traditional dish uses a buttery sauce, I believe) but the pasta was VERY dense. I was expecting a lighter and more springy texture (like Udon noodles or thicker than normal spaghetti). This was more like dumpling consistency (which has a drier and more chewy texture). Our server was good, but she would have been more effective if she was more available to actually provide necessities like a steak knife and the butter. Floor manager was nice and came around to ask how the meal went. We skipped dessert and paid the bill with CASH to avoid paying the 3.75% "convenience fee" that the credit card companies charge the restaurant. It's a decent place and we will probably return at some point in the future.
Today (2/2/20) my family, a friend, and I visited WoodStack in Metuchen for a 2pm brunch. It was our 1st visit. This location was previously a TD Bank and it was interesting to see how the space was transformed into a dining establishment. For starters, 2 of us ordered the Minestrone soup. It was very fresh and a bit unusual because there were potato chunks rather than pasta in the soup. It was delicious nonetheless. We also had a platter of the crispy brussel sprouts - which were VERY yummy as they tasted like they were in an Asian type of sweet sauce. For our main entrees, I ordered the Jersey Garden pizza, my stepdaughter ordered the calzone, my friend ordered the Stacked Burger, and my husband ordered the Grilled Chicken sandwich. The Stacked Burger and Grilled Chicken sandwiches were well presented and both came with fries (also a winner!) My pizza was good, but not as flavorful as I was expecting (esp with the carmelized eggplant). I think maybe a smoked mozzarella and some red onion would''ve been a good touch! The calzone was a huge disappointment for my stepdaughter. The sopressata inside was not a good flavor and the texture was soggy. Unfortunately she could not tolerate it and had to send it back. She picked out a pizza from the menu (The Nina) and took it to go.
To drink, we ordered a bottle of the Tortoise Creek Pinot Noir, however after tasting it, I had to reject it and send it back. Very harsh on the palate and it tasted of pure alcohol burning my throat as I swallowed it. I would like to suggest putting BOGLE Pinot Noir onto the wine list as a replacement. We next selected the Malbec (BODEGA LUIGI BOSCA, LA LINDA TILIA MENDOZA, ARGENTINA) which was better, but not the best Malbec we've ever had. Overall, the ambiance of the restaurant is casual, spacious and actually pretty nice. It was not very crowded on a Sunday afternoon, but I could imagine that on a Friday or Saturday night it would be quite loud. Our server (Marcella) strived to ensure we had everything we needed and cheerfully handled our disappointments with the wine and calzone. The other servers worked well as a team and were very friendly. If you're looking for a nice place to bring a date, or a place to hang out with friends or family, come on over to WoodStack!
I think it must be about 5 yrs that I've shopped at Wegmans in Woodbridge NJ. I don't shop here each week, but it's often enough that I determined getting a Shoppers Club card was worth doing. First of all, parking is PLENTIFUL! Just be mindful of WHERE you park your vehicle as it relates to proximity of the cart pens. On 2 separate occasions I managed to catch runaway carts before they crashed into parked cars. They escaped the pen and were rolling downhill towards the access road bordering the strip mall across the way. I contacted Customer Svc and alerted them, so hopefully they'll get a handle on that situation. Second, this place is well stocked! And if there's something you can't find, their associates really try to help and will go into the back to see if they can find what you're looking for. Their fresh produce is well cared for and puts my local Whole Foods to shame. I really like printing out the labels for my produce to speed check out. They have an impressive array of take out food and a really nice dining area if you want to grab a snack before shopping. I really miss doing the self scan for everything and then doing self checkout. I know the reason it was discontinued was because of unscrupulous customers walking out without paying, but that would have been solved by having Costco style receipt verification at the door. It would have only required a change in traffic pattern for exiting the store. Finally, the store is very clean, prices are competitive with other supermarkets (and in some cases they are better) and I think if you can't find what you want here, it doesn't exist. I would like personalized coupons for the items I purchase often. In their digital coupons list in the Wegmans app, there is rarely if anything that I buy.
Who knew that replacing a medicine cabinet could be such a monumental chore? I spent several days and way too many hours surfing the internet to find a replacement for a 24"x 30"x 6" recessed cabinet made of faux wood purchased 18 yrs ago at Pottery Barn. Amazon is mostly loaded with junk made in China and none of it matched my specs. Wayfair did NOT have what I needed, and what they had listed was already on Amazon anyway! So then I decided to try and find a NJ based woodworking business that could make my dream a reality. I really lucked out when I came across https://ridderworks.com/
Within the same day that I contacted Philip Ridder (the master woodworker-in-chief of #Ridderworks) a plan was set in motion for him to come to my home to inspect the space and take measurements. I gave him a photo of the item I was looking for as well as the original mirror that I salvaged from the old cabinet. The final quote arrived 2 days later, and I just picked up my dream yesterday (11/25/23) at Philip's very impressive workshop and showroom in Hamilton, NJ.
I feel true craftsmanship is very difficult to come by in 2023 and I'm so done with paying $$$ for junk of inferior quality. Philip is very easy to work with and he kept me apprised of the progress of the build. His pricing is competitive and the quality of his work is far superior to what's out there in cyberspace, so I have just commissioned him to build another small storage cabinet for my powder room that is now undergoing renovation.
Watch this space for more photos to come!