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Wine & Food Affinties


Previous BYO Restaurants

BYO Restaurant Index - a list of all previously reviewed restaurants with location, type of cuisine, and links to our "reviews."
Browse BYO Restaurants -  browse through all our restaurant "reviews." (They are in chronological order.)
Other BYO Restaurants - we haven't reviewed these, but we hear from various sources that they are very good and/or very interesting. Most are in other parts of the state, including many at the shore. A few are in New York. Since we can't update these regularly, call before you go.
Other Restaurant Links

EXPLANATION: This section is a resource for dining out in northern New Jersey, one of the few states that are blessed with a great number of restaurants that do not sell alcoholic beverages. Most will allow patrons to BYO - bring your own - wine or beer (Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations prohibit patrons from bringing hard liquor!).

This significantly cuts down on the cost of dining out, since restaurants frequently charge twice the retail price for wine. Often, even more (In Manhattan, you can count on it being at least three times the retail price)! It also vastly increases the selection of wines you can enjoy with dinner, since many restaurants with wine lists have a very mediocre as well as over-priced selection. Of course, we hope you will purchase your wine from us at Beekman's. When bringing wine to a BYO restaurant, it is a good idea to bring a backup bottle just in case. 

The "reviews" are not traditional, extensive restaurant reviews, but are simply a listing and brief description of restaurants that we have tried and found to be worthy. Any restaurant mentioned here should provide an enjoyable meal. Some are clearly superior and those are noted with either 1 or 2 pots of gold (). Expect them to be more expensive. All restaurants in New Jersey are now non-smoking (). Hooray!

Dinner prices are indicated by dollar signs. The amounts are for a modest, but sufficient dinner for two, including a shared appetizer, two average priced entrees, a shared dessert, and two coffees. They do not include tax (7%) or gratuity (20% is appreciated). "Specials" are often priced higher.

  • $ - inexpensive; below average for northern N.J. Less than $45
  • $$ - moderate; about average for northern N.J. $45 - $60
  • $$$ - above average for northern N.J. $61 - $77
  • $$$$ - expensive. Above $77

The date of the review will appear in [brackets]. The pricing structure was accurate at the time the restaurant was reviewed, but it may have changed since. We will try to delete or revise the reviews of restaurants that may have closed or changed owners, but it would be prudent to call restaurants reviewed more than a year ago before going.

The majority of restaurants in the area are Italian. While we love Italian food and have reviewed many Italian eateries, we make a special effort to seek out different ethnic restaurants. Also, you may note that there omissions, restaurants which we have not reviewed. In some cases this is because we simply haven't gotten a chance to try that restaurant yet. In other cases, it is because we had an unsatisfactory experience there. These restaurants are not mentioned because my mother always taught me: "if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all!"


LINKS TO OTHER RELEVANT SITES for general restaurant information in New Jersey:

 


E-Mail: beekman@conversent.net

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