C’mon peep’s let’s try to generate some of the old Chow NJ mojo here…Obviously that one “New Monmouth” thread created some activity, I would love to see such topic’s mirrored here. The Hungry Onion site overall seems to be growing at a healthy rate, but our little piece of this world is lacking. I know I’m guilty of participating on that thread over “there” as well, but I’m also doing what I can here…I’m going to be doing more NJ Board posting, I look forward to your contributions…no I’m not trying to take the board over…yet.
Help get the word out…c’mon let’s get this going. Hope everyone is well getting ready for another NJ Summer. Peace peeps.
I’m here. I do want to see this board succeed but I haven’t really had anything of note to post. Although I did have a pretty epic meal at Little Sheep yesterday.
Not a whole lot to talk about, it was a pretty standard hot pot experience but well worth a visit. I did make a post about a similar restaurant that I really want to explore more of, Thumbs Up. HOdown!
LOL!
I have to agree with Joon… I only post when I can answer someone’s question or if I have something new and interesting to share, and I haven’t had much of either lately! That Monmouth County thread was of interest to me because I’m still new to the area and have barely started exploring. I think some regular HOdowns might garner a lot more interest over here, but I’m also concerned that the summer is going to keep everyone too busy to commit and show up! Maybe some of us have to agree that we’re going to X on (day) and WE have to show…?
A couple months ago I made mention of a fantastic price for Rib Roast at Shop Rite in the NJ forum only to get a “warning” that I needed to list a region or something to that effect.
No need to list a region, (Shop Rite / Wakefern) “at cost” or “Loss Leaders” are corporate decisions and not regional. If in doubt, check your local S/R.
Don’t have the time or patience for bureaucratic BS. HO quickly becoming a once a week check in here.
Well Tom I can certainly understand how whomever sent you that thought the information would be helpful for readers, do you really thing it was a “warning” rather than a suggestion?
You’ve always been a resource, especially for steaks etc. I would certainly enjoy contributions.
I’m very active on Yelp and while the Food Elite may frown on the site,I’ve grown a base of like minded eaters that value each others opinions on NJ restaurants over the past 5 Years…Much to our dining enjoyment.
Adding to that, some may be hesitant to participate to the dialog on this site in fear of being called out or not being able to,in essence…Keep up. You must realize that just a cursorily scan of the site’s posts is rather daunting in it’s scope,tone,detail and experience as was CH’s…You folks are well traveled,versed in culinary culture,history and the nuances that each and every eating establishment,recipe offers.
Not necessarily a conducive environment for the average NJ diner IMHO.
I don’t wish to demean or exclude us as a state but in my experience NJ is obviously not NYC,Boston,Miami,Montreal et al as a dining destination and our dining experienced may seem pale in comparison to others on this site.
That being said I will attempt to add as much of my dining experiences in NJ as I can in the future…and there are many fine places the have yet to be discovered in the Garden State.
Wow…interesting perspective of “us”. I would certainly encourage you to participate and share your experiences, and “IF” you are so inclined maybe whisper to some of your Yelp friends to give us a try too. I’m really surprised you said you find us (I use the term “us” loosely to include myself because I consider myself a dope, lol ) to be so daunting. I really don’t like the idea that we are giving off that kind of impression.
I know there is a concerted effort being made by Sampson, the owner of this site, to try and help us promote our local board here, so I’m sure all new voices will be appreciated.
I love hearing and learning about all new spots, dives - fancy and everything in between. Look forward to hearing more from you! (please do invite some yelpers!!) Thanks and regards.
Currymouth, I understand where you’re coming from but at the end of the day there is only one thing that unites us all…our love of tasty food. If you ate somewhere and had something that you really enjoyed, I would hope we have an environment where you are free to share without any hesitation. I personally always love hearing about others’ experiences whether I agree or not, and I would never discount someone’s experiences based on their travels or knowledge about culture.
I’m interested to hear how you communicate with these people on Yelp and would love to join your circle. I like yelp and it’s an invaluable resource for people seeking food but my one dislike with it is that there is no forum for this kind of discussion there. If you’ve been able to put together a group I would love to see what happens there.
{{shaking head}} Joon, my man…the purpose of this thread is to try and encourage more users of this board, NOT for us to go join other boards!!! LOL Thanks buddy, you know what they say about friends like you.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people like the one-way-street of posting on sites like Yelp, rather than the give-and-take and “social club” aspect of internet forums. You share your thoughts and have a built-in audience (on yelp and TA, etc). Younger people especially. I’d think that growing a community like this at this point is much more difficult than it was to grow one, say, 5 years ago even.
No need to be hesitant here. We pride ourselves in maintaining a friendly atmosphere. Besides, one can only know so much about a cuisine and we rely on each other for that wide collective body of knowledge.
Please feel free to invite your group to engage in that dining dialogue that can be rewarding in leading to new discoveries! I am happy to reach out also to them also if you want to.
Thanks for chiming in, currymouth! A few comments… if I hadn’t joined eGullet (back in THE day) and then CH, I doubt I’d be as well-versed food and drink-traveled, and wouldn’t read 90% of the books and blogs and everything else that I do now. I grew up in a house w a dad who has the food gene, but my mom doesn’t, so it’s not like I was raised in the restaurant business. That said, the internet opened up this world and I’ve gotten to know a few people (IN PERSON, even!) thanks to meals with like-minded people. I’ve never found them intimidating; if anything, there’s a universal enjoyment we all seem to get by sharing what we know and learning from each other.
ETA that I lurked on eG for a long time and easily learned the ‘personalities’ who were know-it-alls vs. those who knew stuff but were also funny and kind to other posters. It took a while before I commented, but once I was in, I was in. Hopefully you’ll jump further in to the conversation, invite your pals to do the same, and even if it’s only once in a while, contribute to these threads; that’s’ what makes the boards more interesting!
Curlz
Hey, great to see everyone here! I got so p----d off at Chowhound’s idiotic makeover, I stopped checking in–I just looked in for the first time in months and saw that Curlz had mentioned that most of the NJ posters had migrated to this site. I’m now a member! Unfortunately, we have not been going out to restaurants much–my wife has been on the Dukan diet for the past year and has lost over 55 pounds, but the downside is that we mostly eat at home now, few opportunities to try new places or revisit the old ones. I will be checking back often and posting when I can!
@albinoni, Welcome! I stopped participating on CH several years ago, well before the latest design change, when I finally got fed up with unfair treatment by the moderators. I was thrilled when Sampson created H.O. because it has given me the opportunity to reconnect with many of my NJ pals. Now, I’m glad that includes you!
