no activity at Highland Place

There may already be a thread on this, but anyone know why there hasn't been any work at Highland Place for the last couple months?

My experience is these things almost always take longer than projected. Renovations are expensive, maybe a loan needs to be acquired, or the contractor one wants may not be available. The new restaurant owner - who I think has other restaurant(s) - may be busy there. And there might also be work being done that isn't obvious to people driving by.

True, that's a possible scenario .....or the project is on hold indefinitely.

It's definitely on hold. We're not talking about the work taking longer than expected, or no contractor hired, or work not being visible from the street. A contractor started work, then stopped two months ago and no one has worked there since. I thought maybe they uncovered some asbestos but abatement would not take this long. Just hoping the deal didn't fall through.

Maybe the tenant is waiting for the liquor license issue to be cleared up with the Township before moving forward?

June said:

It's definitely on hold. We're not talking about the work taking longer than expected, or no contractor hired, or work not being visible from the street. A contractor started work, then stopped two months ago and no one has worked there since. I thought maybe they uncovered some asbestos but abatement would not take this long. Just hoping the deal didn't fall through.

They're probably using the same contractors who are doing the "flip" two houses down from me. They've been trying to fix up this house for well over two years. They finally started putting up some drywall a few weeks ago. Like the contractor at Highland Place they also disappear, sometimes for weeks, or even months, at a time.

Follow the no money.

I hear that plans are still on target for an opening in Spring.

I was somewhat hopeful that this new place would be "good"...but then I looked at the menu and read some of the reviews of the The Publick House—the restaurant that this new owner supposedly currently runs, and I was immediately let down. Hope I'm wrong, but, like most of the food choices we have in this area, seems this one will also be tragically average, at best.

Zeus2112 said:

I was somewhat hopeful that this new place would be "good"...but then I looked at the menu and read some of the reviews of the The Publick House—the restaurant that this new owner supposedly currently runs, and I was immediately let down. Hope I'm wrong, but, like most of the food choices we have in this area, seems this one will also be tragically average, at best.

It would seem to be the new owner would be shooting to make the dining experience special. Given the turnover

of owners there and available in many places food stuffs............time to take the hint

author said:

Zeus2112 said:

I was somewhat hopeful that this new place would be "good"...but then I looked at the menu and read some of the reviews of the The Publick House—the restaurant that this new owner supposedly currently runs, and I was immediately let down. Hope I'm wrong, but, like most of the food choices we have in this area, seems this one will also be tragically average, at best.

It would seem to be the new owner would be shooting to make the dining experience special. Given the turnover

of owners there and available in many places food stuffs............time to take the hint

I would hope so shouldn't that be the goal of anyone opening a restaurant. Never had the experience of eating at Highland Place or any that proceeded it, since we've not been here that long. I will say that if this guy is going to be bringing the same ilk as his current place, it shall prove to be un-inspired, and basically The Pub, only possibly a notch higher. Again, hope I'm wrong.

A new record for the timing of complaints on restaurant "openings".

boomie said:

A new record for the timing of complaints on restaurant "openings".

I started to post the exact same thing earlier today but got interrupted before I posted it. I mean....c'mon...the place is barely under construction and already it's being marked down as a disappointment. {{facepalm}}

Only on MOL

TigerLilly said:

boomie said:

A new record for the timing of complaints on restaurant "openings".

I started to post the exact same thing earlier today but got interrupted before I posted it. I mean....c'mon...the place is barely under construction and already it's being marked down as a disappointment. {{facepalm}}

vermontgolfer said:

Only on MOL

TigerLilly said:

boomie said:

A new record for the timing of complaints on restaurant "openings".

I started to post the exact same thing earlier today but got interrupted before I posted it. I mean....c'mon...the place is barely under construction and already it's being marked down as a disappointment. {{facepalm}}

Questions as to the lack of progress and opening date on the part of the people who will frequent the place

are perfectly legitimate...........not denigrating

author said:

vermontgolfer said:

Only on MOL

TigerLilly said:

boomie said:

A new record for the timing of complaints on restaurant "openings".

I started to post the exact same thing earlier today but got interrupted before I posted it. I mean....c'mon...the place is barely under construction and already it's being marked down as a disappointment. {{facepalm}}

Questions as to the lack of progress and opening date on the part of the people who will frequent the place

are perfectly legitimate...........not denigrating

Those aren't the posts post we're talking about.

This is:

Zeus2112 said:

I was somewhat hopeful that this new place would be "good"...but then I looked at the menu and read some of the reviews of the The Publick House—the restaurant that this new owner supposedly currently runs, and I was immediately let down. Hope I'm wrong, but, like most of the food choices we have in this area, seems this one will also be tragically average, at best.

If you think about it, there are so many ethnic restaurants in the Village............Chinese takeout, Japanese sit down

Pure Indian and Indian with a mix of Mexican and others, Thai fusion, and Mexican.............Irish at the Pub

and Colombian.............plus no real idea of what the Farm to Table restaurant will be serving. I could make a suggestion, but a true Greek restaurant was tried in Cranford several years ago and it did not last long Americans

prefer the pretend Greek dishes served at a few places around here

The new owner and chef will have a challenge on their hands

I would also put the three Italian joints and Lorena's in the ethnic restaurants category. They are no less "ethnic" than the ones you mentioned.

xavier67 said:

I would also put the three Italian joints and Lorena's in the ethnic restaurants category. They are no less "ethnic" than the ones you mentioned.

Yes.........further proof of the difficulty a new restaurant has in establishing it's own niche

author said:

If you think about it, there are so many ethnic restaurants in the Village............Chinese takeout, Japanese sit down

Pure Indian and Indian with a mix of Mexican and others, Thai fusion, and Mexican.............Irish at the Pub

and Colombian.............plus no real idea of what the Farm to Table restaurant will be serving. I could make a suggestion, but a true Greek restaurant was tried in Cranford several years ago and it did not last long Americans

prefer the pretend Greek dishes served at a few places around here

The new owner and chef will have a challenge on their hands

And none of these "ethnic" restaurants are good, or authentic...As a Greek, I'm shocked by what passes as "Greek" around here. Even 12 Islands, which is owned and run by a Greek is average at best.

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm just really let down by the restaurant choices around here. With all the transplants from NYC, I would have thought the choices would have been much better. I'm really hoping whatever does go into Highland is something great, same for the "Farm-to-table" place that's supposedly coming.

on a percentage basis, I'm not sure it's any worse in Maplewood village than even in NYC. In the village we have Arturo's, Abril Cocina and Lorena's, which are each very good at what they do. That's three out of about 10 places in the village that are really good. Are any more than a third of NYC restaurants that good? Just like the village, the city has more than its share of pizza joints, take out Chinese, etc.

It's just that with about 1% as many restaurants as Manhattan, you run through the gamut of our good restaurants pretty quickly.

I don't know what others opinions are about Coda, but I find their food to be pretty damn good on a regular basis. I've only been disappointed with one thing I've ordered there. The menu is a little big and all over the place but the food is pretty good.

Zeus2112 said:

author said:

If you think about it, there are so many ethnic restaurants in the Village............Chinese takeout, Japanese sit down

Pure Indian and Indian with a mix of Mexican and others, Thai fusion, and Mexican.............Irish at the Pub

and Colombian.............plus no real idea of what the Farm to Table restaurant will be serving. I could make a suggestion, but a true Greek restaurant was tried in Cranford several years ago and it did not last long Americans

prefer the pretend Greek dishes served at a few places around here

The new owner and chef will have a challenge on their hands

And none of these "ethnic" restaurants are good, or authentic...As a Greek, I'm shocked by what passes as "Greek" around here. Even 12 Islands, which is owned and run by a Greek is average at best.

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm just really let down by the restaurant choices around here. With all the transplants from NYC, I would have thought the choices would have been much better. I'm really hoping whatever does go into Highland is something great, same for the "Farm-to-table" place that's supposedly coming.

Just had to pass this along. We share a common background. I was raised in a bi lingual household and Greek fare

was frequently the order of the day. Since my Grandfather owned restaurants he frequently brought food stuffs home for the family. Avgolemono Soup was always one of my favorites. Since my Grandmother and mom passed away

I just have not had a bowl. * This is a soup made with egg whites and lemon and when done properly is really tasty

So one day one of our local restaurants had it listed as a special. I went for it. The waitress who brought it to me

had a thick Scottish brogue. She said she was married to a Greek, knew the food , and this was not it.

She said there was so much starch in it you could use it to hang wallpaper. I tried it anyway. You could

not only hang wall paper you could probably attach a few pictures to it. I think Campbells could have done a better job

Now I have my Avgolemono in Piraeus

author said:

Zeus2112 said:

author said:

If you think about it, there are so many ethnic restaurants in the Village............Chinese takeout, Japanese sit down

Pure Indian and Indian with a mix of Mexican and others, Thai fusion, and Mexican.............Irish at the Pub

and Colombian.............plus no real idea of what the Farm to Table restaurant will be serving. I could make a suggestion, but a true Greek restaurant was tried in Cranford several years ago and it did not last long Americans

prefer the pretend Greek dishes served at a few places around here

The new owner and chef will have a challenge on their hands

And none of these "ethnic" restaurants are good, or authentic...As a Greek, I'm shocked by what passes as "Greek" around here. Even 12 Islands, which is owned and run by a Greek is average at best.

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm just really let down by the restaurant choices around here. With all the transplants from NYC, I would have thought the choices would have been much better. I'm really hoping whatever does go into Highland is something great, same for the "Farm-to-table" place that's supposedly coming.

Just had to pass this along. We share a common background. I was raised in a bi lingual household and Greek fare

was frequently the order of the day. Since my Grandfather owned restaurants he frequently brought food stuffs home for the family. Avgolemono Soup was always one of my favorites. Since my Grandmother and mom passed away

I just have not had a bowl. * This is a soup made with egg whites and lemon and when done properly is really tasty

So one day one of our local restaurants had it listed as a special. I went for it. The waitress who brought it to me

had a thick Scottish brogue. She said she was married to a Greek, knew the food , and this was not it.

She said there was so much starch in it you could use it to hang wallpaper. I tried it anyway. You could

not only hang wall paper you could probably attach a few pictures to it. I think Campbells could have done a better job

Now I have my Avgolemono in Piraeus

Nice!

And I'm not saying that the Greek food, or any ethnic food for that matter, should be the same as the country it's representing—that's just not possible. Real Greek, Mexican, Italian, etc will always be the best in those countries, not here.

My point was just that i feel we suffer from tragically average, at best, options.

Arturos is good pizza, NOT worth waiting an hour for—for pick up or to eat it there.

I've not eaten at Lorena's, I'm sure it's very good, but I'm turned off by the atmosphere. It look far too "stuffy", especially for a more casual dinner VS a more "special occasion".

CODA: I've been here many times, last night being the latest, and each time I vow to never go back. The food is "ok", the menu is definitely all over the place, with no real speciality anywhere in sight. A case of way too many ingredients in each dish—more of the "shot gun" approach. If this place were in NYC, or any other city, you'd never even think twice about it...But, its here, and one of the only liquor licenses, so it stays in business.

Zeus2112 said:

author said:

Zeus2112 said:

author said:

If you think about it, there are so many ethnic restaurants in the Village............Chinese takeout, Japanese sit down

Pure Indian and Indian with a mix of Mexican and others, Thai fusion, and Mexican.............Irish at the Pub

and Colombian.............plus no real idea of what the Farm to Table restaurant will be serving. I could make a suggestion, but a true Greek restaurant was tried in Cranford several years ago and it did not last long Americans

prefer the pretend Greek dishes served at a few places around here

The new owner and chef will have a challenge on their hands

And none of these "ethnic" restaurants are good, or authentic...As a Greek, I'm shocked by what passes as "Greek" around here. Even 12 Islands, which is owned and run by a Greek is average at best.

Not to highjack the thread, but I'm just really let down by the restaurant choices around here. With all the transplants from NYC, I would have thought the choices would have been much better. I'm really hoping whatever does go into Highland is something great, same for the "Farm-to-table" place that's supposedly coming.

Just had to pass this along. We share a common background. I was raised in a bi lingual household and Greek fare

was frequently the order of the day. Since my Grandfather owned restaurants he frequently brought food stuffs home for the family. Avgolemono Soup was always one of my favorites. Since my Grandmother and mom passed away

I just have not had a bowl. * This is a soup made with egg whites and lemon and when done properly is really tasty

So one day one of our local restaurants had it listed as a special. I went for it. The waitress who brought it to me

had a thick Scottish brogue. She said she was married to a Greek, knew the food , and this was not it.

She said there was so much starch in it you could use it to hang wallpaper. I tried it anyway. You could

not only hang wall paper you could probably attach a few pictures to it. I think Campbells could have done a better job

Now I have my Avgolemono in Piraeus

Nice!

And I'm not saying that the Greek food, or any ethnic food for that matter, should be the same as the country it's representing—that's just not possible. Real Greek, Mexican, Italian, etc will always be the best in those countries, not here.

My point was just that i feel we suffer from tragically average, at best, options.

Arturos is good pizza, NOT worth waiting an hour for—for pick up or to eat it there.

I've not eaten at Lorena's, I'm sure it's very good, but I'm turned off by the atmosphere. It look far too "stuffy", especially for a more casual dinner VS a more "special occasion".

CODA: I've been here many times, last night being the latest, and each time I vow to never go back. The food is "ok", the menu is definitely all over the place, with no real speciality anywhere in sight. A case of way too many ingredients in each dish—more of the "shot gun" approach. If this place were in NYC, or any other city, you'd never even think twice about it...But, its here, and one of the only liquor licenses, so it stays in business.

Absolutely agree...coda is one of those places that I want to like, but it is so inconsistent that it's a crap shoot going in there. As far as Greek is concerned, we basically only eat that at Stamna in Bloomfield. Wild ginger is not Thai food. For Thai the only authentic place around is Thailand in Clark.

I still miss the laurel. It was one of those places that you could go in and enjoy a delicious meal, there was always a healthier option, and the vibe was cool. I've been in this community for close to 30 years and there are just not a lot of options out there that inspire me to want to go out to maple wood or south orange for that matter...

There of tons of people who want a drink and some food and because Coda and the pub are often at capacity, there is plenty of room for this new place.

ml1 said:

on a percentage basis, I'm not sure it's any worse in Maplewood village than even in NYC. In the village we have Arturo's, Abril Cocina and Lorena's, which are each very good at what they do. That's three out of about 10 places in the village that are really good. Are any more than a third of NYC restaurants that good? Just like the village, the city has more than its share of pizza joints, take out Chinese, etc.

It's just that with about 1% as many restaurants as Manhattan, you run through the gamut of our good restaurants pretty quickly.

===============================================

This. I think if you took a random sampling area of NYC containing a population of around 20,000 and/or a 4-block commercial area, you would generally find that the food options there would not be significantly better than those in the Village. Hell, even if you limited that test to Manhattan, I still think it would largely hold true.
That said, I also empathize with Zeus2112. Moving out here from the City has been an overall benefit for the family and me, by a long shot, but the biggest personal sacrifice I felt was the extremely diminished universe of convenient restaurant/delivery/take-out options. That was probably the biggest adjustment for me -- even more so than NJ Transit....

weirdbeard said:

ml1 said:

on a percentage basis, I'm not sure it's any worse in Maplewood village than even in NYC. In the village we have Arturo's, Abril Cocina and Lorena's, which are each very good at what they do. That's three out of about 10 places in the village that are really good. Are any more than a third of NYC restaurants that good? Just like the village, the city has more than its share of pizza joints, take out Chinese, etc.

It's just that with about 1% as many restaurants as Manhattan, you run through the gamut of our good restaurants pretty quickly.

===============================================

This. I think if you took a random sampling area of NYC containing a population of around 20,000 and/or a 4-block commercial area, you would generally find that the food options there would not be significantly better than those in the Village. Hell, even if you limited that test to Manhattan, I still think it would largely hold true.
That said, I also empathize with Zeus2112. Moving out here from the City has been an overall benefit for the family and me, by a long shot, but the biggest personal sacrifice I felt was the extremely diminished universe of convenient restaurant/delivery/take-out options. That was probably the biggest adjustment for me -- even more so than NJ Transit....

Yeah, the take-out delivery options are just terrible...Im shocked and every time we say we're going to order in, the dilemma of "Ok, from where?" sets in...

I've found Pita on Essex, in Millburn, to actually be pretty good. Beyond that, there isn't much, sadly. Really hoping that'll change with this new place and hopefully others. Wish there wasn't a Starbuck's and a bank going into the new development.

Zeus2112 said:

Yeah, the take-out delivery options are just terrible...Im shocked and every time we say we're going to order in, the dilemma of "Ok, from where?" sets in...

What can I say except, "Welcome to the 'burbs?"..... Try to view this minor curtailment to your quality of life as relatively insignificant compared to the benefits that I hope you're enjoying from your relocation (I mean, this is the epitome of first-world problems). At least, that's how I see it.

Furthermore, while I find the number of options around here limited in quantity, I don't view them all as terrible. Many are in the sufficient-to-pretty-good category as far as I'm concerned. I do get really bored with the same small handful of go-to places, however.

weirdbeard said:

Zeus2112 said:

Yeah, the take-out delivery options are just terrible...Im shocked and every time we say we're going to order in, the dilemma of "Ok, from where?" sets in...

What can I say except, "Welcome go the 'burbs?"..... Try to view this minor curtailment to your quality of life as relatively insignificant compared to the benefits that I hope you're enjoying from your relocation (I mean, this is the epitome of first-world problems). At least, that's how I see it.

Furthermore, while I find the number of options around here limited in quantity, I don't view them all as terrible. Many are in the sufficient-to-pretty-good category as far as I'm concerned. I do get really bored with the same small handful of go-to places, however.

I'm very happy with the choice to re-locate here, don't get me wrong. I'm just shocked that with as many transplants from NYC (and yes, BKLYN is a massive part of that), that the food options wouldn't be of a higher calibre. Maybe as time goes by things will change, but I am in awe of how some of these places have managed to stay in business, with a mediocre product. Sorry for being negative