440 W Union Ave
Bound Brook NJ
I get my car serviced in the area, and while waiting for my car to be ready, I noted a delicious smell. It inspired us to go out to eat, and after some searching, we decided to visit Ray's. It wasn't meant to be, because they were closed for a private party on that day, so we decided to return over our spring break.
What an absolute treat it was. The food was outstanding, and there was SO MUCH! We ordered a fried calamari appetizer, and probably shouldn't have because so much more food came. It was great!
My sons shared a ravioli and loved it. My husband raved about his chicken marsala, and my dinner was great too (I ordered a Pasta Pomodoro, but I'm pretty sure I received Pasta Primavera). We were treated to bruschetta and garlic knots while we waited, and then a great salad came with our meals--so often these treats are no longer part of the meal so these were great surprises!
We were so full that we practically rolled back to the car. The food was delicious and, as I said, there was a LOT of it. Well worth our money!
Showing posts with label Bound Brook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bound Brook. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Mama Rosina's
350 E Main St
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
(732) 805-3377
http://mamarosinas.info/
You know how it is during the holiday season, so when we had a Living Social deal and a hectic evening, we moseyed over to Mama Rosina's. I was highly anticipating the meal, largely because I had read that it was in the former Bound Brook train station and knew this would be a real treat for my family.
As far as atmosphere, this was in fact a real treat. The trains flew by and my sons bounced off their chairs to run to the window. It's such a cool space, with the bar situated in the former ticket booth and it appears they have maintained some of the original windows for that space.
The service was really great too; I now judge service mostly on how accommodating they are of my children and at Mama Rosina's, they were incredible toward my kids (aside from the built in train entertainment).
The problem, of course, was that the food just wasn't that good. I had the Pollo Rosina, described on their website as "Breast of Chicken Sautéed with Mushrooms, Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes in a Pink Cream Sauce, Topped with Mozzarella."
The chicken was terribly overcooked, which made the rest of the meal really unpalatable. The sauce was ok, though I definitely picked up the flavor of canned tomatoes, but after picking out the chicken, I was really disappointed and ended up not even taking my leftovers home.
My husband's dinner got a rating of "fine," which is a sure sign of good enough to eat and enjoy but not good enough to come back. I actually would probably give it even lower marks, which is terribly disappointing to me. I had super high hopes of LOVING this place, which is close to home and could have been a real regular place for us.
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
(732) 805-3377
http://mamarosinas.info/
You know how it is during the holiday season, so when we had a Living Social deal and a hectic evening, we moseyed over to Mama Rosina's. I was highly anticipating the meal, largely because I had read that it was in the former Bound Brook train station and knew this would be a real treat for my family.
As far as atmosphere, this was in fact a real treat. The trains flew by and my sons bounced off their chairs to run to the window. It's such a cool space, with the bar situated in the former ticket booth and it appears they have maintained some of the original windows for that space.
The service was really great too; I now judge service mostly on how accommodating they are of my children and at Mama Rosina's, they were incredible toward my kids (aside from the built in train entertainment).
The problem, of course, was that the food just wasn't that good. I had the Pollo Rosina, described on their website as "Breast of Chicken Sautéed with Mushrooms, Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes in a Pink Cream Sauce, Topped with Mozzarella."
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| Sorry for the horrible dark photo |
My husband's dinner got a rating of "fine," which is a sure sign of good enough to eat and enjoy but not good enough to come back. I actually would probably give it even lower marks, which is terribly disappointing to me. I had super high hopes of LOVING this place, which is close to home and could have been a real regular place for us.
The New West Brook Tavern
525 Talmadge Ave
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
http://thenewwestbrook.com/
On Saturday, running errands conflicted with our eating at home plan, so we decided to go out and try a new to us restaurant. A friend had mentioned this, and it sounded like a good and easy place to go after my look at their website previously.
It's pretty low key and the restaurant is on the smaller side with about 15 tables. They have bands that play, and I can only imagine they remove tables to make the space for them.
Our server was great, giving us lots of attention and kindness to our two boys.
As far as the food, it's solid and portions are large. The "kids" hot dog was enormous and came with an awesome looking roll, plus at $4.95 (with drink and ice cream), the price really can't be beat. I had eggplant parm, which was really large as well and fairly priced. It came with salad and was your typical restaurant eggplant parm dish. When I looked at the menu, I noticed a sandwich that was like it was invented by my husband, having all the ingredients (and in a sandwich, no less) that he loves. Not surprisingly, he really enjoyed it. As far as the bar, they have a pretty standard selection of drafts, with probably 8-10 choices.
In short, this is a really solid neighborhood bar and restaurant with reasonable prices, great service, and good food.
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
http://thenewwestbrook.com/
On Saturday, running errands conflicted with our eating at home plan, so we decided to go out and try a new to us restaurant. A friend had mentioned this, and it sounded like a good and easy place to go after my look at their website previously.
It's pretty low key and the restaurant is on the smaller side with about 15 tables. They have bands that play, and I can only imagine they remove tables to make the space for them.
Our server was great, giving us lots of attention and kindness to our two boys.
As far as the food, it's solid and portions are large. The "kids" hot dog was enormous and came with an awesome looking roll, plus at $4.95 (with drink and ice cream), the price really can't be beat. I had eggplant parm, which was really large as well and fairly priced. It came with salad and was your typical restaurant eggplant parm dish. When I looked at the menu, I noticed a sandwich that was like it was invented by my husband, having all the ingredients (and in a sandwich, no less) that he loves. Not surprisingly, he really enjoyed it. As far as the bar, they have a pretty standard selection of drafts, with probably 8-10 choices.
In short, this is a really solid neighborhood bar and restaurant with reasonable prices, great service, and good food.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Carriage House Cafe
600 W Union Ave Bound Brook NJ
http://www.cafecarriagehouse.com/
We've tried to go here before, only to discover too late that they are closed on Sunday. We were in the area and decided to splurge on lunch out.
We got our meals to go; the boys shared (and enjoyed) a kids' cheeseburger, which came with fries. I had a Chipotle Chicken Panini and it was so good. Half was plenty for me, especially when combined with the fries I swiped from the boys and the onion rings (perhaps the best I've ever had) I shared with my husband.
My husband had their signature Bulgogi (Chicken) Sub. It's chicken in a Korean style sauce. It was tasty, and he enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't quite as good as my sandwich.
A good, and not too expensive, meal at Cafe Carriage House!
http://www.cafecarriagehouse.com/
We've tried to go here before, only to discover too late that they are closed on Sunday. We were in the area and decided to splurge on lunch out.
We got our meals to go; the boys shared (and enjoyed) a kids' cheeseburger, which came with fries. I had a Chipotle Chicken Panini and it was so good. Half was plenty for me, especially when combined with the fries I swiped from the boys and the onion rings (perhaps the best I've ever had) I shared with my husband.
My husband had their signature Bulgogi (Chicken) Sub. It's chicken in a Korean style sauce. It was tasty, and he enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't quite as good as my sandwich.
A good, and not too expensive, meal at Cafe Carriage House!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Stan's Chitch's Cafe
14 Columbus Pl
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
(732) 356-0899
The other night, we planned to order pizza. My husband said he wanted to try someplace new, so to the internet we went. He found a place, but for one reason or another, that didn't work out, and I had it in my head that this was the place I wanted to try--maybe the name, maybe the reviews on yelp, which are sort of mixed--and so this is where we called.
We ordered a half mushroom, half sausage (which is VERY highly reviewed on yelp and elsewhere on the internet). When it arrived, we were struck by it being on the small side. But it was a gorgeous looking pie!
It was a crisp pie; I tend to like a chewier crust. But it was delicious. The sauce was the perfect flavor, and though I don't like sausage pizza, the reviews were high enough that I asked for a taste, and I learned that I really DO like sausage pizza, but that I don't like the texture of the big chunks one typically finds on a sausage pizza. Stan's, however, grinds them up REALLY small, so it doesn't have the weird texture I don't really like.
For the size of the pie you get, it is on the pricey side, but the taste is really unbeatable.
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
(732) 356-0899
The other night, we planned to order pizza. My husband said he wanted to try someplace new, so to the internet we went. He found a place, but for one reason or another, that didn't work out, and I had it in my head that this was the place I wanted to try--maybe the name, maybe the reviews on yelp, which are sort of mixed--and so this is where we called.
We ordered a half mushroom, half sausage (which is VERY highly reviewed on yelp and elsewhere on the internet). When it arrived, we were struck by it being on the small side. But it was a gorgeous looking pie!
It was a crisp pie; I tend to like a chewier crust. But it was delicious. The sauce was the perfect flavor, and though I don't like sausage pizza, the reviews were high enough that I asked for a taste, and I learned that I really DO like sausage pizza, but that I don't like the texture of the big chunks one typically finds on a sausage pizza. Stan's, however, grinds them up REALLY small, so it doesn't have the weird texture I don't really like.
For the size of the pie you get, it is on the pricey side, but the taste is really unbeatable.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
25 Burgers
552 West Union Ave (Rte. 28)
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
www.25gourmetburgers.com
We were out and about and wanted to go to another local burger joint. Due to a town wide event, navigating the streets to get there was nearly impossible, so we went looking for somewhere else. Since 25 Burgers was on my mental list and in the area, that's where we headed.
When we walked in, I felt like this must've been what the food joints of my parents' youth in the 60s must have been like. The walls are decked out with celebrities of that era--Marilyn, the Beatles, Elvis, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, among others--and you feel like the music is straight out of the jukebox; I was singing along with almost every song.
My son ordered a hot dog. He enjoyed it. It was pretty big, I guess. It's hard to judge how good any food is when a 3 year old is involved.
My husband had a chicken burger; I can't recall which one. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't get a chicken with any of the toppings that go along with the burgers, which I think is a valid point. But, he also didn't ask if he COULD; he instead read and trusted what the menu said.
I had a Maui burger.
We all enjoyed our meals. I had a hard time refraining from eating the whole thing, despite being absolutely stuffed (we also had fries with our meal) because it was so darn perfect. I could go on and on about how good the roll was. I couldn't, however, really speak to the burger itself; the toppings were so great, that I don't think I really paid attention to it, you know? If you, like my mother, won't eat a burger that's not practically mooing, this may not be the place for you (at least, not the burger part of the menu, they have lots of other choices!) because they didn't even ask how I wanted my burger cooked.
Hubby raved about his, joking that he would be stopping every night on his way home from work.
So, yeah, we'll be back again. And we'll see if we end up back at that OTHER burger place......
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
www.25gourmetburgers.com
We were out and about and wanted to go to another local burger joint. Due to a town wide event, navigating the streets to get there was nearly impossible, so we went looking for somewhere else. Since 25 Burgers was on my mental list and in the area, that's where we headed.
When we walked in, I felt like this must've been what the food joints of my parents' youth in the 60s must have been like. The walls are decked out with celebrities of that era--Marilyn, the Beatles, Elvis, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, among others--and you feel like the music is straight out of the jukebox; I was singing along with almost every song.
My son ordered a hot dog. He enjoyed it. It was pretty big, I guess. It's hard to judge how good any food is when a 3 year old is involved.
My husband had a chicken burger; I can't recall which one. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't get a chicken with any of the toppings that go along with the burgers, which I think is a valid point. But, he also didn't ask if he COULD; he instead read and trusted what the menu said.
I had a Maui burger.
We all enjoyed our meals. I had a hard time refraining from eating the whole thing, despite being absolutely stuffed (we also had fries with our meal) because it was so darn perfect. I could go on and on about how good the roll was. I couldn't, however, really speak to the burger itself; the toppings were so great, that I don't think I really paid attention to it, you know? If you, like my mother, won't eat a burger that's not practically mooing, this may not be the place for you (at least, not the burger part of the menu, they have lots of other choices!) because they didn't even ask how I wanted my burger cooked.
Hubby raved about his, joking that he would be stopping every night on his way home from work.
So, yeah, we'll be back again. And we'll see if we end up back at that OTHER burger place......
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Girasole
502 W Union Ave, Bound Brook, NJ 08805
I had heard a lot of buzz about Girasole and had been wanting to go for a really long time. We finally had the opportunity yesterday to go for lunch, and we are so thrilled we did.
First they brought out some of the best bruschetta I've ever had. My husband had the Mushroom Bisque soup special, and it was incredible. I sort of expected him to lick the bowl. We both received salads next, and the vinaigrette they use is delicious. It was a nice, leafy green salad--hooray for no iceberg!
We also were given a delicious, soft, fresh bread, which was served with oil and fresh garlic. This was really interesting, since we are so used to getting oil with spices or roasted garlic at Italian restaurants.
We each chose off the regular lunch menu for our entrees. They were both very tasty and we decided that the portions were a perfect size for a dinner entree and exceptionally large for lunch. I took some of mine home, and hope to have it for lunch today.
We were so full after our lunch that we ended up skipping dinner. Although my husband thought it was an expensive lunch, I figure that the cost of lunch combined with no cooking dinner surely balances out the cost.
We will return to Girasole SOON and OFTEN!
I had heard a lot of buzz about Girasole and had been wanting to go for a really long time. We finally had the opportunity yesterday to go for lunch, and we are so thrilled we did.
First they brought out some of the best bruschetta I've ever had. My husband had the Mushroom Bisque soup special, and it was incredible. I sort of expected him to lick the bowl. We both received salads next, and the vinaigrette they use is delicious. It was a nice, leafy green salad--hooray for no iceberg!
We also were given a delicious, soft, fresh bread, which was served with oil and fresh garlic. This was really interesting, since we are so used to getting oil with spices or roasted garlic at Italian restaurants.
We each chose off the regular lunch menu for our entrees. They were both very tasty and we decided that the portions were a perfect size for a dinner entree and exceptionally large for lunch. I took some of mine home, and hope to have it for lunch today.
We were so full after our lunch that we ended up skipping dinner. Although my husband thought it was an expensive lunch, I figure that the cost of lunch combined with no cooking dinner surely balances out the cost.
We will return to Girasole SOON and OFTEN!
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