| Author |
Message |
    
vor
Citizen
Username: Vor
Post Number: 372
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 3:48 pm: |     |
Lot 15 is very good. It had some growing pains with service, but the food is good. Bringing over Franco and the CentAni staff (I assume) will only make it better. It's mostly a steak/seafood restaurant and the Chef is the old chef from CentAni (Joe). Base on my conversations with Giacomo he has big plans for the place, (private party rooms, music, etc)
I recommend it, if that means anything from an anonymous poster. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 4584
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 3:58 pm: | |
Where is Tinga's please? |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 661
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 4:02 pm: | |
Lot 15 is also incredibly expensive. Very easy to spend $100 for two there (and, in my opinion, they still aren't delivering quality of food/service comparable to that price). |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 2924
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 4:04 pm: | |
Tinga is in Millburn on Millburn Ave -- just about across from Basilico. |
wharfrat
Citizen
Username: Wharfrat
Post Number: 1539
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 4:52 pm: | |
Since nobody has brought this up-
How much monthly rent does Carmelitas pay? I think the retaurant seats 50. If the rent is comparable with other rents in town this restaurant needs to be SRO to cover costs + profit.
Can any restaurant stay open at that location at going rents?
BTW-I've eaten A LOT of mexican. Carlos makes good food. If true, I'll be sorry to see him go. |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 922
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 5:49 pm: | |
I'm a big Carmelitas fan (and was so in Hoboken). Sad to see it go, but then we never got food their to often, since my wife doesn't like it all that much. She prefers Tinga and Toro Loco.  |
tabby
Citizen
Username: Tabby
Post Number: 173
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 6:16 pm: | |
OH NO!!!!! We LOVE Carmelita's!!! Say it isn't true......
We have never had a bad meal there. Carlos has always taken good care of us. What a terrible shame.
Does anyone know where he's going?
Tabby |
Jay
Citizen
Username: Jaymon
Post Number: 15
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 6:34 pm: | |
Glad to see that place go, it was yucky (how's that for a mature review?). Let's hope we don't get another nail salon, like we're getting on the corner.
I think a Taco Bell would be an improvement on that place. The only place to go for Mexican is Toro Loco in South Orange, Tinga is pretty bad and you have to order at the counter. Now what's up with that?
We could use a Benny Burritos in there, anybody up for soliciting them? You won't regret it..... |
Lydia
Citizen
Username: Lydial
Post Number: 903
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 7:06 pm: | |
I LOVE Carmelita's! I was a loyal Carmelita's patron in Hoboken and it's my favorite Mexican restaurant around here, actually it's the only Mexican place that I think is really tasty around here.
He makes chicken taste like it does in Mexico, and his guacamole... just so good. When I was pregnant I used to fall asleep looking forward to getting up and eating his enchiladas the next day. Sometimes I'd buy 2 on Saturday night so I could eat one Sunday morning. Oh, I'm going to miss that place,
I never found the wait too long, but good food should take a bit of time tbefore it's ready for the table IMO.
Also Carlos makes dining at Carmelita's just a happy experience. He's funny, smart and a wonderful host.
It's a real shame Carmelita's is moving out of Maplewood. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 1810
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 10:06 pm: | |
I love Carmelita's also. However, having grown up in Tex-Mex country, I can attest that Mexican food tastes vary widely so I can believe that some folks don't like it and others (like me) can't get enough of it. I'm just sorry that there aren't a few more folks from the latter group who have discovered Carmelitas, because Carlos does a great job of the style of cooking he follows. (Sorry, I'm not enough of an aficionado to know what it is called, I just know what I like!) |
Kramer
Citizen
Username: Kramer
Post Number: 86
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 12:51 am: | |
Carmelita's is good mexican food, it is different. The reason that some might not like it is because it's healthy!
From Carmelita's website:
Carmelita's Cafe is Maplewoods's best choice for healthy Mexican Food. All of our meals are prepared without lard or grease. We use only soy bean oil and our meats are stewed in their own juices.
Most other Mexican places do use lard or grease. |
jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 1157
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 7:37 am: | |
We like Carmelita's, too, for eat-in. Our experience with take-out when they first opened was disappointing, but then take-out is never as good as fresh out of the kitchen. We'll miss the place. They do a great job with fish, which I almost always order there, the vegetable side orders are nicely cooked, and we enjoy Carlos. |
n/a
Citizen
Username: Judieh
Post Number: 112
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 8:34 am: | |
A few weeks ago I asked Carlos if the rumors were true and he said they were. I asked when he was planning on closing and he said as soon as they sell the place. He really didn't seem like talking about it though, I felt bad. I believe someone else posted a while ago that he was retiring.
We have eaten there many times and most of the time have really enjoyed the food. Carlos and his wife were always extremely nice to us and our daughter. |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 302
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 9:05 am: | |
Carlos was a good guy. Last time i was there, he was also happily drunk. Tequila... good times. |
ML
Supporter
Username: Ml1
Post Number: 2229
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 9:17 am: | |
The enchiladas and the guacamole at Carmelita's are really good, although I'm not a fan of the burritos. I'll be sorry to see Carlos close, but I have to admit, I ate at his Hoboken restaurant a lot more often than here in Maplewood. |
michelezembow
Citizen
Username: Michelezembow
Post Number: 99
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 2:00 pm: | |
Guess I'm also part of the not-so-sorry-to-see-Carmelita's-go group. Now to pick up on some other ideas from a wishlist for another venue in their place...how 'bout a good used book shop/cafe? A great falafel joint (think Mamoun's on MacDougal Street)? A Vietnamese or Thai restaurant? An Italian bread bakery? A NJ branch of Two Boots? A vegetarian eatery? (Probably shouldn't wonder aloud on an empty stomach. Sorry. ) |
AlleyGater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 42
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 2:51 pm: | |
I had my issues with Carmelitas, being vegetarian, but I could really appreciate the integrity that went into the food there. You got the sense that there was a chef back there who cared about each and every dish that left the kitchen. THAT IS NOT THE FEELING I GET WHEN I EAT AT TINGA, which I also like. So I will definitely miss Carmelitas. Good food that is prepared properly is hard to come by in this town. Extremely hard to find.
I agree with Michelezembow this town could totally use a falafel joint, Vegetarian, Vietnamese or Two Boots. How bout Korean, Cajun, creative Sushi (like in CA). I think we have enough Thai though, lets shoot for variety.
This town (and all of NJ for that matter) also needs a cheap but good italian pasta joint (like Pepe Roso, Jiallo, Verde, etc.) in the city. Regular pasta for $7. Special pasta for $10.
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jem
Citizen
Username: Jem
Post Number: 1160
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 3:02 pm: | |
I LOVE Pepe Rosso! One of my favorite treats is their air-cured beef sandwich with goat cheese and arugula on focaccia!
But I can't imagine them moving out this way. |
Cato Nova
Citizen
Username: Cato_nova
Post Number: 478
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 3:22 pm: | |
How sad and pathetic that a garden variety joint like Carmelita could inspire such loyalty amongst the hoi polloi. There is indeed no sense of taste or discrimination in the masses. As if there is more than one or two Mexican places that are more than a step above Burger King in quality. And a pasta place? When you can buy fresh pasta, boil it, and make it yourself easily? |
vor
Citizen
Username: Vor
Post Number: 374
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 3:34 pm: | |
BTW...the best Mexican in the state of NJ (IMO) is a place in East Rutherford (or Rutherford) call Fiesta Hut. It's a block east of the train station. (There used to be one on Route 4 in Paramus, but I think they closed that one)
Sorry to see Carmelita's go. Carlos was a nice man who was great with the kids.
Not sure if this means anything, but we have Waterlillies, Carmelita's, Celebrated Food and CentAni all gone within a month or two. hmmmm |
Ukealalio
Citizen
Username: Ukealalio
Post Number: 1794
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 3:41 pm: | |
Two Boots would probably do terrific with all the young uns we have here in MSO. It was always a haven for my wife and I, when our son was young in Park Slope. We could have a decent meal and our son (and all the other kids in the restaurant) would be entertained by the cooks who handed them pieces of raw dough to play with. |
Mark Fuhrman
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 1224
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 5:22 pm: | |
CentAni is gone? What is up with that? |
vor
Citizen
Username: Vor
Post Number: 377
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 5:35 pm: | |
Mark
Rumor has it that it was sold, but will stay italian. Franco is to join Giacomo at Lot 15 |
Dego Diva
Citizen
Username: Fmingione
Post Number: 221
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 6:35 pm: | |
"There is indeed no sense of taste or discrimination in the masses. As if there is more than one or two Mexican places that are more than a step above Burger King in quality."
Cato, your comparison, and your ego, are sadly exaggerated. Come down off your high horse, honey, and join us lowley masses in reality!
I have to agree with AlleyG - although Carmelita's was NOT my favorite, I appreciated that Carlos put some care into his cooking, and that my food wasn't being prepared by a minimum wage employee without integrity.
As for your comment about the pasta place...
I can fry up some beef, veggies, and rice and roll into a nice burrito easily, thank you, but that doesn't mean that I always want or have time to do so. Likewise with pasta. I just don't have the time or energy to do it when I come home from work at 8:00 or 9:00. Go to NYC and spend $7 on a bowl of Peppe's pasta and tell me you couldn't get into picking that up for dinner once or twice a week!
|
mck
Supporter
Username: Mck
Post Number: 711
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 6:40 pm: | |
We are very sorry to see Carmelita's leave. As Jem says, the fish specials were always delicious, my daughter loved the beans and cheese, and more important we felt a warmth and authenticity from Carlos that was more important than the food. His music was great, as was the atmosphere. Really, sometimes I think we Maplewood foodies are merciless. The food was good, and healthy, and produced by a family guy with local roots, and still he can't make a go? Very sad. |
Jay
Citizen
Username: Jaymon
Post Number: 18
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 7:15 pm: | |
Sorry, there is no accounting for taste. Bad mexican food has nothing to do with being a 'foodie'. |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5137
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 8:32 pm: | |
Carmelita's is good, but Mission Burrito (Hoboken) is heaven. |
newtoallthis
Citizen
Username: Newtoallthis
Post Number: 183
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 4, 2005 - 3:54 pm: | |
The below post smacks of libel. I'm sure plenty of the journalists in the SO-M area have seen the AP Stylebook definition of "injury to reputation." In fact, since the below comments were "published," they may even fit the criminal libel definition if untrue.
Posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 - 9:05 am:
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Carlos was a good guy. Last time i was there, he was also happily drunk. Tequila... good times. |
Dave
Moderator
Username: Dave
Post Number: 5164
Registered: 4-1998
| | Posted on Friday, February 4, 2005 - 4:06 pm: | |
It would have to be provably untrue that he was not happy. |
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