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July 26, 2012

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The Blue Collar Foodie is Going to The Picnic and They are Providing Amazing Food, Beautifully Presented Meals, and Cuisine that Reigns Supreme

As promised, I decided to take Kat out for a fancy meal right in our own backyard at The Picnic Restaurant located at 14-25 Plaza Road North (in the Plaza Building), Radburn, Fair Lawn NJ 07410. I am embarrassed to say that this was our inaugural trip to this now well established eatery that is located seriously down the street from my house. As a foodie, I should be ashamed of myself for allowing a restaurant such as The Picnic to exist in my very own neighborhood, for now two years, without taking its menu for a spin, but such is life.

The Picnic is located in the historic and unassuming clock tower building in the heart of Radburn, which for everyone that does not speak Fair Lawnese, is located within Fair Lawn, NJ. From the outside you never expect a top-notch restaurant to be contained in this small strip mall which also contains a liquor store, which is the perfect place to buy your own bottle, Wink-Wink Nudge-Nudge, a dry cleaner, and a deli. But once you enter The Picnic, you will feel as if you were whisked away to a contemporary New York City Restaurant thanks to the competent designer that created the interior decor.

The Picnic is not a large restaurant by any means. In fact, part of its charm is the intimate dining area that they offer their patrons. As with any high end restaurant you are going to want to make a reservation before strolling in off the street, and I would also suggest a business casual dress when dining at this restaurant as most of the guests will be dressed to impress. Their reservation system is quite unusual as well, mostly because their hours of operation in the summer are only Tuesdays through Fridays from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., which means when attempting to call for a reservation you will most likely get the answering machine. No worries though, if you leave a message stating that you want a reservation for 2 at 7:30 on Wednesday, they will call you back and confirm or deny your request when they arrive to prep for dinner.

Once Kat and I entered The Picnic our server opened our wine bottle and gave us our menus as well as explained the specials that were being offered that day. We actually went to The Picnic to partake in the special Anniversary Prix Fixe menu that The Picnic was offering, I was happy to see that the regular menu was just as reasonable as the Prix Fixe menu so we were able to order whatever we wanted. While perusing the menu, Kat and I discussed the offerings, which from what I am told vary day to day. On this specific day, Kat decided upon the Classic wedge salad with bacon, crouton, cukes, tomato, egg and Thousand Island dressing for $7.00 and the Pork Milanese with peach, sugar plum and mustard compote atop for $26.00 as her entree. I decided to go with the BLT salad, which was described as sliced tomato, bacon, crouton, chopped egg, micro salad, with a cream dressing for $8.00 and the big bowl of Prince Edward Island Mussels, swimming in a creamy Provencal sauce, served with a baguette “to sop up the goodness,” for $20.00.

As stated above the Menu changes day to day, which is great for variety but can cause some issues when dining at this establishment the first time. We were unsure if the entrees came with sides considering under the entree portion of the menu there was a listing a sides to order. If there is one thing I have learned from years and years of eating at Restaurants is never be shy about asking your server questions about your meal before ordering it. There is nothing worse than ordering something that you think is going to blow your mind and receiving a dish that is not what you expected, it can really ruin your dining experience and leave a bad taste in your mouth. With a little helpful clarification from our server we had our answer and were satisfied with our order.

Once our order was submitted to the kitchen, our server returned to our table with a plate of bread and butter. It is relatively amusing to say, but I feel that you can tell a lot about a restaurant by the bread they serve before the meal. If they lack bread all together you most likely will be disappointed by their portion size, if they serve a plain loaf of bread that is uncut, it most likely means the food will lack the individual attention most fine dining needs to reach a level of greatness, and if, as The Picnic does, they serve individually sliced and seasoned pieces of bread, there is a decent chance that you will impressed by the upcoming meal.

After a short time our appetizers arrived and the plate presentation was superb. The Wedge Salad that Kat ordered was larger than I expected and was full of fresh vegetables overflowing from the bowl it rested in. My BLT Salad appeared to be meticulously constructed by the Chef’s within in the kitchen of The Picnic and looked as if it was a piece of artwork. Lucky for me it was edible art and with my first bite, I could taste the freshness of the ingredients that graced my plate. I savored each bite, but alas before I knew it my plate was empty and the taste of bacon lingered on my tongue making all my taste buds smile. Kat must have liked her dish as well because after noticing my plate was bare, I also observed that every last scrap of salad had disappeared from her plate as well.

With one course down and another course still to come, I filled our wine glasses and we began to converse about our daily activities. Within minutes our entrees arrived and were placed in front of us. Kat’s pork chop was thin and delicately fried to a golden brown color that almost made me wish I had ordered what she did. Then my attention turned to my meal and that thought floated from my head as I investigated my giant bowl of Mussels. As you already know, I can eat, so I was concerned about the portion size of the entrée that I chose to order, but I was happily surprised when the dish arrived, it was much larger than I expected. Now, I have had my fair share of mussels, as they are my second favorite shellfish, and I believe with conviction that, I can say that these mussels were close to the best mussels that I have ever had in my life. With food, as with sports, I can be a, “what have you done for me lately kind of person,” but I think if all the mussels I have eaten tasted like this, they would have claimed first place in the shellfish category years ago. The sauce that they were served in, merely added to the wonderfulness that was this dish, and I fully understood why they served it with bread, because wasting any bit of this nectar would be heresy.

As for Kat’s pork, not only was the pork done just right with a crisp out coating and a deliciously moist inside, the compote on top made my taste buds do back flips. The combination of peaches and plums offered the proper amount of sweetness to the dish and the juxtaposition of the mustard created the perfect balance. I was only able to wrestle one bite of this fantastic dish away from Kat, but it was enough to taste the complexity and yearn for more. Kat’s pork chop came with a dollop of creamy mashed potatoes and a summer squash medley that created the perfect meal.

As the keys of my keyboard go clickity- clack, I am already anticipating the hate mail I, The Blue Collar Foodie, will receive for reviewing The Picnic Restaurant. Some of you might think that The Picnic’s pricing is too high to be included in my blog, but I can assure that this is not the case. The Picnic offers remarkable cuisine that can easily compete with any of the renowned pompous New York eateries that will end up costing you double if not more than what the Picnic charges.

Still not convinced? Let’s do the math shall we. However you get into the city, you are paying a toll, because remember you always pay to leave Jersey. We will use the George Washington Bridge as an example for this equation, which costs $12.00 to cross. Once on the island of Manhattan, you might notice that every single restaurant, bodega, corner store, gas station, and lemonade stand has a liquor license, unlike New Jersey. This at first seems splendid, until you realize that the restaurant you are attending is going to charge you $40 bucks for a carafe of Carlo Rossi, whereas The Picnic allows you to bring your own bottle of wine, thus saving you at least $30.00.

So now I say to all my fellow frugal foodies, I believe the Picnic has saved you $42.00, before you even entered their establishment, so what are you waiting for an invitation? Well here it is, a call to arms directed at all the Foodies in Bergen County, visit The Picnic Restaurant and I guarantee that you will be pleased with what you find there. It is not every day that a world renowned Chef, like Christine E. Nunn opens an eatery in your back yard, and we should all flock there to show her our gratitude.

Judgment:

Overall: 4 out of 5

Taste: 4.5 out of 5

Presentation: 5 out of 5

Value: 3 out of 5

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July 20, 2012

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The Blue Collar Foodie Thais one on in Ridgewood Foodie Style at Malee!

Every foodie in Bergen County is familiar with the Ridgewood Avenue Restaurant row that offers a plethora of cuisine from every corner of the world. The best part of this seemingly endless strip of remarkable eateries is that most of them are bring your own bottle and for the most part a reservation is usually not needed. The latter is the key to this foodie haven because one could potentially park their car in one of the municipal lots and meander through downtown Ridgewood in search of a restaurant that tickles their fancy. I stumbled upon Malee Fine Thai Cuisine, located at 2 East Ridgewood Avenue, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, doing just that many years ago and fell in love with their food, hospitality, and overall charm.

Ever since we happened upon Malee Thai all those years ago, whenever anybody suggests we get Thai food, I instantly recommend this establishment. So when our friend Lorin, whom you may remember from my Blue Moon Café review, came to town and requested Thai, I knew just the place to take him.

The first thing to remember is that Malee Thai is a “bring your own bottle” restaurant, so you should stop at a liquor store on your way, or bring one of your favorites from your personal collection. The second thing to keep in mind is that parking can be a bit of a pain in the arse, but have no fear Malee Thai is situated just minutes away from a municipal parking lot that is located just around the corner. If you are parking in any of the lots or on the street in Ridgewood it is imperative that you read the signs regarding the rules and regulations of your parking space, or you will have a great dinner at one the Ridgewood Restaurants and then have no chariot to take you home for a relaxing after dinner cocktail. Once you are packing a bottle or two of the happy juice, and parked LEGALLY, you can make your way to your destination.

As you approach the restaurant you may notice that there is outside seating located on their patio. You may also notice that this beautiful outdoor region is Train Track Adjacent. I am not saying that you should not dine outside, because on occasion I have been known to choose this option, I am merely reminding you that trains are loud and they will be close by when they whiz by your delicious meal. I have seen too many reviews of Malee, that bring up this point and condemn the restaurant for this seemingly obvious point, as if when they sat down outside the restaurant they were oblivious of the giant train station a mere three feet from their table. On this particular occasion, Kat, Lorin, and I decided that we were in the mood to eat inside due to the noise and the fact that it was at least 215 degrees out.

We visited Malee on a Friday at approximately 8:00 P.M. and did not have a wait at all for a table for three. As soon as we were seated, we were greeted by our amicable server with a smile and our menus as well as three glasses of water, which on a summer evening is always appreciated. After perusing our menus for a rather long time, due to the large selection of variety Malee offers, we finally made up our minds, and it seemed as soon as we placed our menus on the table our server arrived and was happy to take our order.

Lorin, whom is a vegetarian, had an extensive selection to examine before making his decision, which is a welcomed rarity for veg heads like Mr. P. After quite some deliberation, his final verdict was the Vegetable Pad Woon Seng which was described as Bean thread noodles stir-fried with mixed vegetables and egg, for $14.00. Kat, who I was almost sure, was going to order her regular surprised me once again and decided to go with the Pad See Eew which was described as steak stir-fried with thick, flat rice noodles, egg, and broccoli in a sweet brown sauce, for $12.00. As for your fearless blogger, I ordered The Gang Ped Yang, which was described as boneless roast duck simmered in red curry sauce with fresh basil, pineapple, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes, for $19.00. Finally as an appetizer for the table to share we requested the Fried Tofu described as deep-fried, crispy tofu served with a tangy sauce with ground peanuts for only $5.00.

After sending our order off to the kitchen our server returned with a complimentary basket of Shrimp chips, which can be described as simply the best Styrofoam you will ever eat. Try them and you will understand just how tasty they are. Our server also opened the bottle of wine we brought from our personal stock, I recommend bringing a sweet white wine due to the spic that some Thai dishes deliver. With a glass of wine in our hands and tales dripping from our tongues, we anxiously awaited our first course.

As the plate of fried Tofu arrived at our table, we all peered inquisitively at the plate in front of us. None of us had ever had fried Tofu before, but all agreed that everything tastes better fried, so we each took a triangle of our fried goodness from the plate and dipped a corner in the sauce that was provided. The tofu itself was pretty much what we expected, the fried out coating was crispy and fried to perfection while leaving the inside soft and palatable, yet like all Tofu slightly tasteless and bland. Like Superman swooping in to save Louis Lane, the sauce rescued this dish; it provided a tangy and vivacious flavor that brought this dish from purgatory to heaven.

After we polished off the 6, which by the way is very good portion size for 5 bucks, fried tofu triangles, we poured ourselves another glass of wine and pontificated until our entrees departed the kitchen and landed on our table. Their arrival caused a pause in conversation due to their brilliant appearance and intoxicating aroma. I should add a small caveat at this point in my review and discuss the heat options that are available at Malee for most of the dishes they offer. If a dish at Malee contains an element that is traditionally spicy they give you the option of mild, medium, hot, or very hot. Believe me, when dealing with ethnic food, one must never be a hero. Unless you have climbed the ladder of spice at any particular restaurant, I recommend taking some caution when ordering hot or very hot from any Thai restaurant. The chefs at these restaurants have a very different idea of what spicy is than their Americans counterpart, so just because you can rock a five alarm chili means absolutely nothing. To be completely honest the “very hot” they serve us, from what I have been told is really their medium. Precede with caution my fellow adventurous foodies, for the hottest I have been able to enjoy is Hot which is what I ordered on this occasion.

The food at Malee Thai is always so fresh and succulent that I am honestly never disappointed in any dish I order, but this was the first time I ordered a duck dish, and I was extremely satisfied. The skin was crisp and the meat was juicy and tender. As with a lot of Indian or Thai plates, my dish came with a side of rice that you place on a plate as a bed for the entree to be placed on. The combination of the rice, the broth, and the duck concoction was tremendous. The heat of the broth was expertly countered by the sweet pineapple and the rice, creating a flawless balanced package on every forkful.

Kat’s and Lorin’s both had noodle dishes that not only looked spectacular but seemed to offer quite a large portion size for their price. They both must have been impressed by them as well, because by the end of our meal neither of them had any food left on their plates. Kat commented that she was full half way through but just could not stop eating because of its phenomenal taste.

Malee Thai offers a wide variety of dishes for foodies to experiment with but I do suggest that anyone that is visiting Malee for the first time try the Pad Thai. Pad Thai is the most commonly eaten Thai meal in the United States, and sadly most people have never had a truly great Pad Thai dish. I have eaten at quite a few Thai spots in my day, and believe me when I say that Malee Thai has the best Pad Thai that I have eaten in the Tri-State area.

When the ambiance of Malee is combined with the food and the staff this restaurant just can’t be beat, and the fact that it is around the corner is a welcomed bonus for any family bound foodies. To top it off, this establishment allows you to bring your own bottle of wine which can save you quite a bit of money. I love eating at Malee, and I think if you give it a whirl, you will too.

Judgment:

Taste: 4 out of 5

Presentation: 4 out of 5

Value: 3 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

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July 12, 2012

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The Blue Collar Foodie’s Tips for New York City Restaurant Week!

July has snuck up on us once again like a ninja on a zombie and that means a few things for us all. First and foremost, it means that the summer is well on its way to being over and the lovely sunny months will soon be behind us. It also means that the Major League All Star game has come and gone and the second half of Baseball season will commence bringing with it, all the glory of wondrous playoff races. As a foodie what this time of the year should mean to you is the beginning of a phenomenal event in New York City known as Summer Restaurant Week.

For those of you who don’t know, New York City Restaurant Week, which actually runs from July 16, 2012 to August 10, 2012, offers a three course pre-fixe menu meal for both lunch and dinner at the amazing price of $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for dinner. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of this fantastic event and all foodies should converge on New York City to take advantage of the crazy savings that this affair offers.

There are over 300 restaurants that are participating this year and the over 20 different types of cuisine that can be found all across, what everyone knows as the greatest city in the world. (Follow this link to see the participating restaurants.) I have been to other restaurant weeks in the past and I enjoy everyone I attend, but there is just something simply divine about donning your finest attire and strutting through the doors of a restaurant that at any other time you could not even pretend to afford the bread they serve as an appetizer.

The Pre-Fixe menus that are offered at the participating restaurants, read like a foodie penthouse forum magazine and our compromised a myriad of choices that range from vegetarian to carnivorous and back. Just a glimpse into some of the extravagant offerings that can be found at any one of the restaurants will tantalize your taste buds and have you rushing to OpenTable: NYC Restaurants to make your reservation. (A Pre-Fixe menu contains a sampling of what the restaurant has to offer. They usually have at least three options for the appetizer and entrée course but may only offer one type of dessert, you can see these menu’s on the NYCGO restaurant Week website.

As a service to my readers I will walk you through the process of attending restaurant week so when you get there you can impress your fellow foodies with the knowledge of a seasoned professional. Follow these simple instructions and you will be ready to take on Restaurant Week and appear as if you have been doing this for years:

1: Choosing the Restaurant: This is by far the best part of this game, I assure you. It takes me days of research and menu perusing to find the perfect restaurant for our group outing to New York City for Restaurant Week. Sometimes we choose a restaurant because the menu offerings are so stupendous that if we missed dining their we would cry ourselves to sleep, other times we venture to a restaurant that was in a movie that we love watching, and then there are the restaurants that look so inviting that the images seem to beckon us from the interwebs. However you decide to choose, make sure they offer something for everyone in your group and then move on to step 2.

2: Making Reservations: Remember Restaurant Week is not a secret, not only am I Blogging about it, everyone foodie in the New York area is screaming from the roof tops about it. Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram is going to be a flutter with Restaurant Week jibba jabba, so you need to plan your visit as soon as possible in order to secure a reservation. I also recommend that you call the restaurant that you have decided on before making your reservation in order to make sure that they are still participating in the event. The secret is to call twice, once to make sure that they are doing Restaurant Week and then again to make the reservation. I have no proof but, I feel that whenever I do both in one phone call, I get stuck at the table near the kitchen or the bathroom, but then again I am a conspiracy theorist, so it may just be me being crazy. You can also use opentable.com to make your reservation after confirming that the establishment is participating in order to gain points for your open table account and hopefully not have to share your table with a urinal.

3: Wine List Research: The day of your reservation you should check the restaurant’s website to see if they offer a wine list that you could peruse, if you do not see one online you can contact them and ask them if they could provide you with one via E-mail, their answer should be yes. Once you have procured the wine list you should jump on the Googles and do some research. If you are trying to impress your friends or a date, nothing will do this better than choosing the proper wine for the sophisticated meal you are about to eat. Read reviews, check prices, use the internet to become an expert on three or four wines that you may order, so if they run out of one, you have a backup plan. If you do not have time to do this research, the Blue Collar Foodie’s rule is to never select the cheapest bottle! Not only does is scream cheap, but it is usually marked up the highest and you will not get the best bang for your buck. The best value is usually in the second or third cheapest wines on the list, which are still marked up of course but, not as much as the bottle of Chateau De Cheapo which makes the Jug of Gallo taste like a vintage Bordeaux from France. When in doubt download a good wine application for your smart phone and let it make the decision for you.

4: The Pregame: In order to save some money on the wine from the restaurant which can be a bit overpriced, we usually meet up in the city in the neighborhood or the restaurant we chose at a local watering hole. Think of this activity as classy tailgating, which as blue collar foodies we can all get behind. Once again you should go to googles and find a moderately priced bar in the area and make it your rally point so you can have a few drinks before your meal and be on time for your reservation.

5. The Event: The time has finally arrived to chow down on some of the best food New York City has to offer. If you did your research up to this point properly, you should already know what wine to order and what you will be eating on the menu, so sit back and enjoy the scenery. These restaurants are not only expensive because of the quality of food you are about to receive but also because of the ambiance and history they exude.

If for whatever reason you cannot make it to New York City for this marvelous event, don’t fret, foodie nirvana may still be able to be achieved. The Picnic, located at 14-25 Plaza Road North, Fair Lawn, NJ, is celebrating their second anniversary with a Pre-Fixe menu of their own for just $35.00 a plate, for the entire month of July. This establishment is also B.Y.O.B which helps save even more money. I will be attending the Picnic’s Anniversary Celebration soon, so expect a review in the near future.

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June 13, 2012

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The Blue Collar Foodie plunges into a true North Jersey Dive Bar with High Quality Food at Blue Collar Prices!

As you drive up to Pub 199, located at 199 Howard Blvd, Mount Arlington, NJ 07856, you might ask yourself, why the hell did The Blue Collar Foodie send me to the end of civilization to some hole in the wall dive bar. You might be pondering if you want to drink your beer out of the bottle instead of risk drinking it out of any cups this establishment might sling your way. As you enter, you might begin to reconsider asking for a table in the dining room that is littered with taxidermy from the ground to the ceiling. You may even grab your I-phone out of your pocket and contemplate deleting me as a friend on your Facebook account for steering you down this dark and dreary foodie path. I implore you to put your phone back in your pocket and ask the server to your right to find you a table at one the best foodie finds in North Jersey. Sure, it ain’t sparkling new like the chain restaurants and the decor leads you to believe that the owner might shoot your family pet and mount him on the wall, but if you can get past these small issues and shovel some food down at Pub 199, you too will be singing the praises of this establishment to all your foodie friends.

There are a few things that every person that is about to eat at Pub 199 should know before walking in. I suggest reading the following list and informing any guests you are bringing with you of these important facts prior your arrival:

If you are a member of PETA or just really can’t stand the idea of hunting, this is not the place for you. When I say that Pub 199 has Taxidermy as decoration throughout the restaurant, what I mean is that you would be hard-pressed to find a square foot of empty space between the dead things that adorn the wood paneled walls. Not only deer and bears either mind you, we are talking Giraffes, Elephants, Wolves, or some crazy antelope type things that only a biologist could identify. This place is seriously like a museum of animals that the owner shot in the face.
The reason why this restaurant can serve quality food at ridiculously cheap prices, and I will explain just how cheap in a minute, is because, it ain’t pretty. If you want perfectly plated food served on a plate with gold inlay don’t go to Pub 199, if you want a huge amount of great food slapped on a plate delivered by a somewhat surly waitress, this is the place for you.
They only take cash! Credit card companies take a percentage of the bill when you pay with a credit card, and that percentage is always passed on to the customer in order to protect the owner’s small profit in the restaurant business. The owner of Pub 199 fixed that problem and just does not except credit at all. Go to the bank, the food is worth the hassle. If you forget to grab cash, there is an ATM on site but you will be charged a service fee.
If you arrive at Pub 199 during normal dinner time you are going to have to wait a bit for a table. This place is no secret in the area and the amazing prices bring locals in by the hordes.

With that said, let’s talk about why this out of the way, inconvenient, and dingy Pub is still in business, THE FOOD. Pub 199 offers some of the best deals on quality food that a true Blue Collar Foodie could ever hope for. Whether you are looking for a 1 ½ pound Lobster for $13.95 complete with a mashed potato, a giant 16 oz steak for $12.95 with a potato and a veggie, their King Crab Leg and Steamer combo, or several other tantalizing options you will not be disappointed. Their gargantuan serving sizes can quell any tumbley that is rumbley, including mine, which is not an easy task I assure you. I do recommend grabbing an appetizer of steamers for the table which are also at rock bottom prices per dozen.

Even though the prices are, as “Crazy Eddie” once said, INSANE, the food itself is still of a higher caliber than most restaurants around. Of course, you can find fresher more succulent lobster or leaner steak at an upscale eatery in the City, or perhaps in down town Montclair, but you will pay through the nose for it. Pub 199’s steak is a modestly seasoned and untrimmed grilled hunk of flesh that allows the cut of meat to speak for itself, and it does. This steak is not only juicy but bursting with true meat flavor that is not disguised by 37 different spices. I enjoy it immensely, mostly because my favorite part of a steak is what I have coined, “meat gum,” or the fat that most places throw away. Kat is actually not a fan of meat gum, which works great for me because I get to eat a little bit of steak while I dig into my Lobster. Again, the Lobster might not be the best in the world but for the price there is no better, in all the land that we call New Jersey. Pub 199’s lobster only needs the paper cup full of a melted butter served with it to accentuate the already fantastic flavor. Truth be told, I have been to Pub 199 quite a few times and have never been disappointed with anything I have eaten there.

On top of the wondrous selection of colossal foodie dishes, Pub 199 offers a full selection of beer, wine, and spirits. Be cautious as you order drinks though, if you drink here like you drink at most bars the bill will sky rocket. The drinks at Pub 199 are not as cheap as their food and this is where they make up some of their profit, so you have been warned. But please don’t let that stop you from having at least one cold draught beer with your meal because not only is one drink mandatory but it also adds to the Pub 199 experience.

Pub 199 is a restaurant that screams Blue Collar Foodie, and I am proud to recommend it to all my readers. When you go, remember to bring cash and an open mind and I promise you, you will leave this dive bar with a full stomach and a smile on your face.

Judgment:

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Taste: 4 out of 5

Presentation: 2 out of 5

Value: 5 out of 5

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