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Previous BYO Restaurants
BYO Restaurant Index - all previously reviewed restaurants with location,
type of cuisine,
and links to our "reviews."
Browse BYO Restaurants - browse through all our restaurant "reviews."
(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.
Explanation
of this Resource
BYO Etiquette and
Suggestions
Other Restaurant/Food 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
- $$ - moderate; about average for northern
N.J. $45 - $64
- $$$ - somewhat above average for northern N.J.
$65
- $79
- $$$$ - expensive. Above $80
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 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 some obvious 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!"
BYO ETIQUETTE AND SUGGESTIONS
- *When you bring your own bottle, the wait staff works almost as hard as if
you had purchased the wine from the restaurant. TIP GENEROUSLY (as if the
bottle had been included on the check)!
- Don't bring a cheap bottle. Spend a little more on a better wine. After
all, you're already saving a lot of money by bringing your own bottle.
- If you go to a restaurant that has a liquor license but allows you to
bring your own bottle with no or minimal corkage fee, don't bring a cheap
bottle and try not to bring a wine that is on their wine list. Again, TIP
GENEROUSLY!
- Always bring a backup bottle in case a bottle is bad. The backup needn't be anything special, just something to have in an emergency. And if
you see a patron who didn't bring wine because he/she did not realize the
restaurant was a BYO, give them the backup bottle. You'll have done
your good deed for the day (and maybe made a new friend).
LINKS
TO OTHER SITES for
restaurant and food information in New Jersey:
E-Mail:
beekman@conversent.net
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