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Author Message   shestheone Citizen Username: Shestheone Post Number: 298 Registered: 5-2003 Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 10:34 pm:        Anyone know when it's opening?   Mozek Citizen Username: Mozek Post Number: 87 Registered: 4-2005 Posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 9:47 am:        What's Sona?   mlj Citizen Username: Mlj Post Number: 317 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Monday, July 17, 2006 - 9:57 am:        Sona is Indian restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Celebrated Foods in Maplewood. Not sure when opening.   Shanabana Citizen Username: Shanabana Post Number: 798 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 11:09 pm:        It looked ready to open--not yet? Anyone gone? Looks shwankie!   finnegan Supporter Username: Finnegan Post Number: 365 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 1:46 pm:        Passing by last night I noticed some workers outsdie and asked - they said they would be opening on Tuesday (7/25.)   Dego Diva Citizen Username: Fmingione Post Number: 775 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 1:56 pm:        Anyone plan on going tonight?   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2337 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 2:48 pm:        So YET ANOTHER upscale Indian restaurant. Is that right?   susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 1719 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 3:53 pm:        Alleygater, "yet another?" Which others are you comparing it to? Most of the decent ones are at least 10 miles away.   connied76 Citizen Username: Connied76 Post Number: 47 Registered: 1-2004 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:02 pm:        Neelam is another and it is right here in South Orange.   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 197 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:11 pm:        Neelam is hardly upscale. And it's not very good, either. This seems like a great addition to Maplewood. I'm hoping, at least.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2339 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:12 pm:        Yet Another refers to the fact that all the Indian restaurants even remotely close to us are expensive. But the comment wasn't about the proximity to us. The expensive ones you ask? Sh*t, name me an inexpensive one would you? Raagini and Saffron are the worst offenders but Neelam is nearly as bad as both if you consider the word "value". I am used to inexpensive Indian from my time in the city. Don't get me wrong, I think MOST food is completely overpriced in NJ and that is especially true in our area. So it's not just Indian that I have a problem with. I just wish there were more reasonably priced meals in our area in general. I mean I think more people would order food in/have it delivered or go out to eat if the food wasn't so expensive. When food is priced at $15-20 for an entree people A) expect higher quality food and B) consider it to be only acceptable for special occasions. So I don't have too much sympathy for the Italian place that closed down where Sona is going. They had it all wrong. Their food was overpriced and not particularly tasty. And also for the record, Edison/Iselin and Jersey City have a whole slew of inexpensive Indian restaurants. So it is possible to do it.   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 198 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:27 pm:        I would much rather have a good Indian restaurant than a cheap one. Sure, somebody could open a crappy 6th St. style vindaloo joint where you can eat for nothing and then get sick on rancid ghee. But that's not what I'm looking for, and I'll gladly pay a little more for high-quality food. Which is what I'm hoping this new place is.   susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 1720 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:52 pm:        Me too...we do eat at Raagini, Begum Palace, etc., and would love something of comparable quality closer to home. A cheap but good hole in the wall would also be a nice thing to have, but in an area where real estate is so expensive, I can't complain about paying restaurant prices for quality restaurant food. I just decide how often I can afford to eat it.   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 199 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 4:56 pm:        I think a big part of the reason food is more expensive out here is the lack of liquor licenses. That's how restaurants make most of their money, so without liquor sales they have to charge more for the food. Also, less competition=higher prices. Maybe Neelam will cut prices if they start losing customers to a better place nearby. Then you can eat mediocre Indian food for cheap at Neelam and I'll eat good food (assuming it is, in fact, good) at Sona. Everybody's happy.   Dego Diva Citizen Username: Fmingione Post Number: 777 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 7:46 pm:        The point is, price wouldn't be an issue if the quality of food actually warranted it. I've yet to go to a higher priced Indian place in NJ that has food that is any better than my favorite NYC Indian. Although Raggini does come close.   mantram Citizen Username: Mantram Post Number: 249 Registered: 8-2003 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 8:11 pm:        Sona doesn't open until this Friday. But I did get a look at the menu (quite extensive, average prices for this area) and decor (artsy and tasteful). They also plan on having a daily lunch buffet for 10.99. I think they will do just fine.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2344 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 11:44 pm:        OK just for the record, I've eaten in little India on 6th street nearly a hundred times. Usually the food is an exceptional bargain and I've never gotten sick on rancid ghee. Don't be so irrational...please. You say stuff like that and it's as if you instantly lost the argument. If I had to guess nearly 99% of the people on MOL have had an enjoyable meal in Little India or in Murray Hill for under $10 and NOT gotten sick.   Mr. Big Poppa Citizen Username: Big_poppa Post Number: 799 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 8:10 am:        Hear, hear, Alleygater! I used to eat on 6th street all the time and never got sick. That's what is great about the city: good food at cheap prices. Out here, most any ethnic food can demand a premium for their food because there is little competition.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2347 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 10:08 am:        I do think that more liquor licenses would help the situation because they can earn more money by marking up the liquor. But many restaurants stay in business without them. I don't believe that the issue is ethnicity so much either. Italian is an extremely popular cuisine, and more often than not the entrees are mostly over-priced in our area. I think the real issue is that business owners in our area believe that the best business model is to charge high prices and serve less customers. This way you are serving some of the wealthiest patrons and have the most to earn. But this is NOT the only business model. Places like the area diners and the Village Trattoria (as a few examples) offer reasonable prices and serve more customers. My sole point really is just that I wish more restaurants used this model. It is actually a win-win situation. Because if you can convince the locals to go out more often (by offering good quality food at a reasonable price) then more business will open and stay open. So I stand by my opinion that we don't need YET ANOTHER medium-expensive restaurant in our area. In fact, we need just the opposite. There are very many big holes in our culinary landscape in our areas and most of those holes I believe should be filled by good quality, tasty cheapER restaurants that encourage the transplanted Brooklynites (and other ex-city dwellers) now living in Maplewood/SO that ordering in food is still a possibility and even though you have kids, it's ok to do it. Doing so won't break the bank. But right now, there is very little to offer those people other than Pizza, bad Chinese and Mexican. Well, at least Carribean Cusine now delivers. That's something at least.   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 202 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 10:24 am:        Well, I certainly can't claim to have eaten on 6th St. 100 times (god forbid!), but I have eaten there many times over the years (especially when I was younger and poorer) and I got sick on it several times. What's more, it just wasn't very good most of the time. And curry hill is a bit better (and a bit more expensive, surprise surprise) but still not great. Maybe you have a stronger stomach than I do. But anyway, I stand by my point, which is that I'm more than willing to pay extra for good food. Unfortunately, we don't currently have a good indian restaurant (cheap or not cheap) in our immediate area. I'm hoping Sona changes that. Also, I suspect that people who actually own restaurants are a better judge of what business model works for them than you are. As I said before, part of the problem is a lack of competition. When you're the only Indian restaurant around, you can charge whatever you like for your mediocre food (as Neelam does). If a place opens nearby that has better food or a cheaper price, you can bet Neelam will either lower prices or improve food (or both). Competition is good for our area and for our stomachs.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2348 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 11:15 am:        Agreed, competition is AWESOME for us. I just wish there was a bit more competition in the more reasonably priced food realm. That's all I'm saying. Really.   Eats Shoots & Leaves Citizen Username: Mfpark Post Number: 3542 Registered: 9-2001 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 11:51 am:        What does it mean when you say that food is "overpriced"? If people think the price is out of line for what they get, they will not eat there anymore and the restaurant will go broke (or do very very poorly). The fact that these places stay open indicates that at least some segment of the market considers them favorably priced enough to keep patronizing them. I have never understood why anyone patronizes Neelam, but that is my opinion and my taste in food--obviously enough people think otherwise and they remain in business.   susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 1724 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 1:42 pm:        I actually want to eat out (our house is kosher, so we don't do takeout from most places), and realize that it costs a few extra bucks to maintain a nice dining room. In the absence of the liquor license, they don't make many extra bucks from us eating in, so prices do indeed reflect that. Heaven knows I'm all for cheap good food, but I'm not going to tar a restaurant for having restaurant prices rather than takeout counter prices.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2352 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 2:28 pm:        Huh, so what you are saying is that restaurant prices ($15-$20) is the norm and you find that acceptable. It's as if no one lived in NYC or the boroughs and knows that GOOD food can be reasonably priced. I'm the only one who GET'S IT.   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 203 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 2:34 pm:        You really don't get the difference between NYC (massive competition, vast customer base, non-cooking culture, big profits from free-flowing liquor) and NJ (little competition, small customer base, stay-at-home cooking culture, zero profits from liquor)? You're the only one who DOESN'T get it.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2362 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Thursday, July 27, 2006 - 10:19 am:        I'm Only: I believe that Maplewood is FULL of the same people that used to live in the city. Take a survey, and I think you will see that a HUGE percentage of people living here moved from there. Are you suggesting that those people all had an innate stay-at-home cooking gene that was suddenly awoken when they moved out to the burbs? I think that is just plain dumb. If I had to guess the reason why people who moved out to the burbs cook more is because they don't have good options for dinner anymore. A lot of these people have kids and money is tighter. Also, very few places deliver or are even all that child friendly. And mediocre food costs more out here. I get all the things you are saying about the liquor sales (I think everyone agrees that this needs to be changed, so why doesn't it?), and less foot traffic/small customer base. And I agree mostly with all of that. BUT....I stand by my original point that our area needs more reasonably priced good quality food options. If we had it, I feel that more people would order in and eat out. AND...I think it is possible to create these places and for them to earn a profit. AND...No. I don't have any actual evidence to prove this but my gut instincts tell me it's true.   jamie Citizen Username: Jamie Post Number: 574 Registered: 6-2001 Posted on Friday, July 28, 2006 - 12:48 am:        Sona will be opening on August 1st. The menu is posted on the outside at the restaurant, we'll try to get an online version up soon. http://www.maplewoodonline.com/sona/   I'm Only Sleeping Citizen Username: Imonlysleeping Post Number: 204 Registered: 8-2005 Posted on Friday, July 28, 2006 - 9:32 am:        Alley, let me ask you this: WHY do you think restaurants out here aren't as cheap as their NYC counterparts? I can't think of any reason other than it being a bad business model. Seems to me that if it were possible to make a profit serving quality food at a lower price point then restaurants would do it. It's great that you think it's possible, but the evidence suggests otherwise.   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2368 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Friday, July 28, 2006 - 8:02 pm:        I believe that food is more expensive in our area because the audience will tolerate it. Bottom line, most of us are relatively affluent and can afford outrageous taxes. You also state that restaurants can't make a profit serving quality food at a lower price, but I don't believe this to be the case. Many places do it locally; like Caribbean Cuisine, Burnett BBQ, Nunzios, Church's Chicken, a diner or two, many pizzerias, a few Chinese places, . And if you expand the net a just a little further out to other areas in NJ there are VERY many cheap but good options. But the diversity of these sorts of restaurants in our area is lacking. Why isn't there a reasonably priced, healthy taqueria in town? Or a curry shack? Or HECK even a pasta joint?   Joe Citizen Username: Gonets Post Number: 1314 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Saturday, July 29, 2006 - 2:10 pm:        Alley, Unfortunately, I don't know that Caribbean Cuisine makes a profit in South Orange. Really their money maker is their East Orange location. They're having a hard time in South Orange. I'd love to think they'll be there until I'm old and grey, but unless they have a great year they might not be there much longer. That would be a damn shame.   cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 1090 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Saturday, July 29, 2006 - 2:55 pm:        For me, it's because a higher price tag means nicer surroundings, a tablecloth, wait staff that is reasonably attentive and things like that. When I worked in Manhattan, I didn't mind running over to a cheap Indian place on Lexington, or a comidas cubanas y criollas place on the West Side, but now I like a nice place for dinner. I don't want to go out to a cafeteria-style place, even if it is cheaper. I'd guess I'm not the only one. Also, here in this area, inexpensive restaurants usually equate to restaurants with lots of children. I love kids, but I don't want to have every meal with them. That could be another factor.   Joan Supporter Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 7898 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 - 2:51 pm:        Alleygater: The same high rents and high real property taxes which pose a problem for current and would be Maplewood residents on fixed and/or lower incomes also impact on the ability of restaurants in our area to charge what you are referring to as lower prices for their food. Restaurants have to charge moderate to higher prices to cover their overhead. In NYC, rents and real property taxes are comparatively lower in the neighborhoods you mention because NYC obtains a much higher percentage of its revenue from other forms of taxation.   Wendy Supporter Username: Wendy Post Number: 2842 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Sunday, July 30, 2006 - 2:59 pm:        Joan that's not entirely true. Residential property taxes in NYC are much lower compared with taxes on residences here because of the larger commercial base (in addition to other taxes you mention). Taxes on commercial real estate in NYC, which of course includes restaurants, I would guess are much higher than taxes on commercial real estate here.   slipknot (slippy) Citizen Username: Zotts Post Number: 284 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 1:57 pm:        I just had a take out, and it was good but over the top expensive, $4 just for rice, and I had to ask. The buffet was only 10.99 but I couldn't stay. I have been missing a good Indian resturant but wont be going here for lunch unless it is a sit down, and probably wont take the family.   Mr. Big Poppa Citizen Username: Big_poppa Post Number: 827 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 1:59 pm:        $4 for rice? Basmati rice? Was it a good sized portion? The buffet doesn't sound like a bad deal. Will they have a buffet for dinner as well?   Mtam Citizen Username: Mtam Post Number: 135 Registered: 11-2005 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 3:39 pm:        I do think it's a problem that we don't have more medium priced restaurants--while places like Terra and Jocelyn's and Verjus are wonderful, they're just not the drop-in kind of quality place I'm looking for. And if we have another expensive restaurant, I can't say that I'll frequent it as much. I'm sure that Sona is lovely, but I'm a little dubious as to whether it can sustain a lunch crowd, which will also be necessary for such a place to succeed. Me, I wish we had a medium priced bistro, or a Mediterranean style restaurant, which is good all through the day.   kws Citizen Username: Kws Post Number: 138 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 3:50 pm:        For my money the best meal value in the state is the "Indian Buffet" lunch. Sona has the nicest outdoor space in town. I hope they make use of it.   slipknot (slippy) Citizen Username: Zotts Post Number: 285 Registered: 7-2004 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 4:30 pm:        The rice was large portion, but I didn't want that much just a little for the chicken. I see an Ethoipian place is opening in SO, anyone know the type of food Ethiopian's eat?   Alleygater Citizen Username: Alleygater Post Number: 2393 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 4:59 pm:        When I had Ethiopian, I ordered a some vegetable mush that was served in our bowl shaped table (the table had an indentation in it). This was served lovingly on a oddly textured squishy bread that lined the bowl. So weird white bread with weird white snotty porridge. The idea was, you rip off a piece of the bread and shmear it into the mush with your hands and enjoy it. I however didn't. I hope you do though.   susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 1730 Registered: 3-2002 Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 5:28 pm:        Injera is a spongey bread made of teff, I believe, and is used to scoop up a number of different meat or vegetable dishes (lentil purees, etc.), ranging from mild to spicey. Meat dishes are typically stews in tasty sauces. It is a favorite in our family, and we are looking forward to having a place to eat it close to home! Looking forward to trying both Sona and Harrar!   eliz Supporter Username: Eliz Post Number: 1627 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 3:08 pm:        Had lunch at Sona today. Really wanted to like it but... the food was average to not good. The decor is beautiful and it has such potential but unless someone really takes seriously (quickly) the quality of the food they are going to be in trouble. The naan bread is premade and seems steamed i.e. it's soggy - it doesn't have the crispy bottom it should have. The dal makhani (which is a favorite of mine) was very bland. Some of the sauces were good but the meats were tough. The paneer was terrible. We ate from the buffet but in looking at the menu there is WAY too much stuff for a restaurant of it's size - no way can things be made freshly/properly. Aside from the food the a/c was obviously not working properly as it was very warm and there were fans running. We asked the hostess about it and she said "Oh no the a/c is working fine" as if there was something wrong with us. As we were leaving we were saying goodbye to the waiters and again mentioned how warm it was and they both said "Yes it's not working right and the a/c guy can't come until Monday to fix it." Such a disappointment.   Stuart0628 Citizen Username: Stuart0628 Post Number: 315 Registered: 2-2003 Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 4:13 pm:        We ate there last night...they have some things to work on (including the A/C) but overall I am very pleased. The veggie samosas were excellent...had a homemade look and feel to it. Chicken Makhni was very nice--the sauce was rich and tasty (but perhaps a bit on the salty side). Also worth noting that the chicken does not appear to have been coated in the usual tandoor yogurt marinade before being cooked. But very tasty nonetheless. We might try the Tikka Masala next time to see which we prefer. The kebabs are available in half portions as appetizers, which is a fantastic idea. We ordered the Seekh Kebab. We were expecting ground lamb and ended up with ground chicken. We were enjoying it too much to notice. We also ordered a paneer dish...and again I think they brought a different one than what we ordered, but again we were too busy enjoying it to notice that it didn't match the description of what we thought we had ordered until we had eaten most of it. Their "mild" spice level was actually medium, which suited me well, though it left our seven-year-old hunting for ice cubes in her water and hoping for dessert. The onion naan was cooked to order and pretty good. Entree prices were very reasonable as compared to Raagini and other similar benchmarks ($13-14 per entree.) But paying separately for rice puts them back at the same price level as the other comparable restaurants in the region. I guess if we were ordering a biryani and did not want or need white rice, we'd come out ahead. We did get dessert for the little one. A combination of one gulab jamun ball plus vanilla ice cream. She loved it. One of the bugs they need to work out: Apparently they had the wrong price in their computer for this dessert (menu said $4.50, which is reasonable; bill said $7,50, which is not.) They fixed the mistake on the first shot--and hopefully they will reprogram their system pronto.   eliz Supporter Username: Eliz Post Number: 1628 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - 4:53 pm:        Stuart - glad you had a better experience than we did. No doubt ordering off the menu is better than the buffet.   calypso Citizen Username: Calypso Post Number: 64 Registered: 1-2006 Posted on Thursday, August 3, 2006 - 9:07 pm:        I had take out on Friday, their first day open. The portions were quite good sized, and the food was tasty. Mulligatawny soup was peppery and flavorful, and lamb rogan josh was delicious (though I agree with Stuart that it was a bit too salty, and definitely too spicy for little kids, although the waitstaff assured me it was mild). The high cost for rice is indeed irritating--why annoy your customers about a food that only costs you pennies? However, I'll order from them again.   angel Citizen Username: Angelia Post Number: 11 Registered: 9-2005 Posted on Friday, August 4, 2006 - 12:31 am:        i had dinner with my friends on wednesday night, the food was outstanding and not greast, the portions were quite a good size. For me the price was right for the quality of the food. Good food is priceless. i will difinitely be back.