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Live from the Munchmobile Reader's Choice Trip

by Peter Genovese/The Star-Ledger

Saturday August 23, 2008, 4:27 PM

Take six Newark firemen, two Port Newark longshoremen, one paramedic/EMS/Fire department dispatcher, beautiful blue skies, one giant hot dog, endless highway, and what do you have?

A bunch of wise guys.

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The Munchmobile: Best Chowder Update

by Peter Genovese/The Star-Ledger

Friday August 22, 2008, 5:00 AM

Modesty is one of the rarer commodities on the Munchmobile. We don't mean our Munchers, but rather restaurant owners and employees, who often brag that their sandwich/salad/burger/pizza/pasta/steak/whatever is the best we'll ever have.

Pat Tirotta took bragging to Olympian -- or is that Promethean? -- heights. At Pat's Lunch in Middle Township, where you can buy both bisque and frozen bait, a sign advertises "World Famous Cheesesteaks." Inside the seafood diner/shack, the 88-year-old Tirotta will inform you his soups are "unbelievable," and his lobster bisque is "the best soup in the country."

"If you don't like it," he says, smiling, "walk out the door. I don't care."

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Long on ambition, short on execution

by Teresa Politano/For The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 21, 2008, 2:34 PM

Church Street Kitchen. 12 Church St., Montclair. (973) 233-0216. Hours: Dinner: 4-11 p.m. daily. Brunch: Noon-3:30 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sundays. churchstreetkitchen.com. Area: Essex County. TWO STARS

We had high hopes for Church Street Kitchen, a new American restaurant in Montclair that tried to reach beyond the ordinary and go for the gold in this Olympic summer.

We had heard the place had revamped its kitchen and we were eager to try it. The dishes are adventurous -- rabbit, lobster wontons. Smoked salmon tagliatelle comes in a cream sauce made with tobiko (flying fish roe); Jersey day boat scallops are accompanied by sauteed arugula and quinoa (a grain).

The philosophy at this casual byo is great food without the attitude, and the setting is intimate, soothing and comfortable. Plus, the restaurant offers live music on weekends. The promise is great. Unfortunately, Church Street Kitchen failed in execution; it seems to be reaching beyond its ability.

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Mangia is sure to satisfy that craving for Italian

by Cody Kendall/The Star-Ledger

Saturday August 16, 2008, 10:00 PM

Mangia, 322 S. Main St., Wharton. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fridays, 4-11 p.m. Saturdays, 3-9 p.m. Sundays. Full bar. Major credit cards. Casual dress. Two steps at entrance. Reservations recommended: (973) 989-5300, www.mangia-nj.com. TWO AND A HALF STARS

Mangia! It can be a polite invitation or a strong suggestion. But however it's delivered, the Italian word always means "eat."

That made it the perfect name for the restaurant Keith Schmerber and his wife, Diane, started at the end of 2006 in the building that once housed the Harlequin Cafe, a longtime fixture in town. More recently, it was a Chinese restaurant before the Schmerbers took over and refurbished, but there was never any question in their mind what type of food they'd be serving: Italian.

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Live from the Munchmobile Sauce/Pasta Trip

by Peter Genovese/The Star-Ledger

Saturday August 16, 2008, 5:46 PM

Several serious, significant if not globally important questions are being asked, and answered, on this most recent Munchmobile trip.

How hot, exactly, is hotsy-totsy shrimp?

Why did one restaurant owner beg to get on the Big Dog?

And how much pasta can you eat in one day, anyway?

"Pasta is my favorite food in the world,'' said Geoffrey Schiller, at 11, the youngest member of our eight-person Munch crew.

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