[Kitchen Nightmares] Restaurant review: Grasshopper Also in Carlstadt
Ubiquitous
At the end of his "Kitchen Nightmares" show at Grasshopper Also in
Carlstadt, an exasperated Gordon Ramsay walked out and proclaimed it one
of the toughest he'd ever done: "Because this restaurant has everything
it needs to succeed. Except one thing: a leader."
The corned beef and cabbage at Grasshopper Also. This followed a truly
nightmarish kitchen scene involving mozzarella sticks tainted by meat
blood, "bubbly and slimy" chicken tenders and Ramsay yelling things
like, "There's not enough liquor in that bar to get them inebriated
enough to even attempt to eat that!"
The main source of Ramsay's angst was Grasshopper co-owner Mitch
Sandler, whom the show portrayed as an ineffective leader who was
letting down the family business. Sandler's father-in-law, Ed
Fitzpatrick, who owns a share in all four of the Grasshopper restaurants
in North Jersey, is shown repeatedly criticizing Sandler.
What was it like to watch yourself humiliated on national television?
"Thank goodness [Mitch] has a sense of humor," said Sandler's wife and
restaurant co-owner, Maureen. "My husband is an amazingly hard worker,
and they didn't depict that in the show." (Mitch Sandler referred
interview requests to his wife.)
Family dynamics aside, "we're looking at our establishment as a work in
progress," Maureen Sandler said. As a result of the show, the struggling
16-year-old Irish pub and restaurant revamped its menu, strengthened its
Irish dishes and hired a new chef.
Clearly, the exposure has brought in new customers. When we dropped in,
a family at the next booth had driven from Staten Island, and a couple
was grilling the waitress about Gordon Ramsay. But the 160-seat dining
room was mostly empty — which it was for all three of our visits (one
dinner before the show aired but after Ramsay had visited, and two
dinners after the airing).
Part of Grasshopper Also's problem has been its location. It sits in a
very industrial corridor near the Meadowlands, which used to be
something of an asset. But then the Nets and the Devils moved to Newark,
and construction in the area and chain restaurants didn't help. Save for
Giants games and concerts, it's a place most have to go out of their way
to reach, and the food simply doesn't justify going out of your way.
The Grasshopper is certainly a great choice for drinks and socializing.
It has welcoming staff and a laid-back vibe, and its 90-seat bar was far
busier than the dining room during all of our visits. The restaurant
wouldn't be a bad place to eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's
Day, when there will be live music all day. Or if you're in the area and
swing by for a beer and a shepherd's pie, you'll probably leave happy.
But travel any distance or expect any more and you may be disappointed
by inconsistent quality and overreaching.
The shepherd's pie was one of Ramsay's prime targets. Grasshopper had
been incorrectly making it with beef instead of lamb (rendering
meaningless the "shepherd" in the name); now it's a perfectly
respectable version topped with bronzed puffs of mashed potatoes
($12.95). Another target: fish and chips. Grasshopper switched to a
lighter batter after the fall taping, though you never would have known
this from the oily mess we were served on our first visit. After the
show aired, we gave it another try, and were relieved by our flaky cod
with a much lighter crust ($10.95).
Other fine options: classic corned beef and cabbage ($11.95) and
untraditional, surprisingly ungreasy "Irish nachos" — thin-cut potatoes
smothered in pinto beans, cheese and sour cream ($6.95). We expected the
Reuben egg roll special ($6) to be a disaster, but the three fat rolls
were delicious, filled with corned beef, Swiss cheese and a shot of
acidity from some sauerkraut that kept them from being overly rich.
But then there was the Irish ale beef stew, which is made from Guinness
stout, not ale, and was overwhelmed by a too-strong, bitter beer flavor
($10.95). Lamb sliders had a little too much gristle and too-bready buns
($8.95). We thought we'd be safest with a basic Grasshopper bacon
cheeseburger — only to wind up reenacting the scene in "Kitchen
Nightmares" where Ramsay cuts open an undercooked patty with disgust.
("All I want is a burger! A [expletive] burger!") Ours was ordered
medium but arrived bleeding ($8.75).
The daily-specials list generally includes Italian dishes like risotto.
We tried out a seafood version and it was a horror — hard rice, smelly
scallops and three still-attached crab legs still in their shells, with
no seafood cracker until we asked for it ($15.95). On another evening,
the offering was duck confit with a cranberry almond risotto, which was
ruined by limp skin and the amount of duck grease that coated the rice
($14.95).
The best selection from the dessert tray was something called an Irish
bash cake ($4), which is somewhat of a cross between a cheesecake and a
mousse cake. The traditional sherry trifle layered cake and cream with a
sherry-laced berry compote that didn't taste at all like sherry, just
strawberry jam. Rice pudding ($3) was a better choice than the big,
gummy mass the restaurant calls Irish soda bread pudding ($4).
One night the bread basket contained wonderful fresh, pillowy Irish soda
bread, but a few days later it was a little stale, making us wonder
about turnover. However, Gordon Ramsay may be pleased to hear that we
did repeatedly see Mitch Sandler authoritatively directing the show.
Grasshopper certainly has a hard-working leader; now, if only it had a
few more compelling reasons to visit.
--
It is simply breathtaking to watch the glee and abandon with which
the liberal media and the Angry Left have been attempting to turn
our military victory in Iraq into a second Vietnam quagmire. Too bad
for them, it's failing.
Anim8rFSK
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> The corned beef and cabbage at Grasshopper Also. This followed a truly
> nightmarish kitchen scene involving mozzarella sticks tainted by meat
> blood
As opposed to carrot blood?
--
"Please, I can't die, I've never kissed an Asian woman!"
Shego on "Shat My Dad Says"
Ubiquitous
>> The corned beef and cabbage at Grasshopper Also. This followed a
>> truly nightmarish kitchen scene involving mozzarella sticks tainted
>> by meat blood
>
>As opposed to carrot blood?
There's a reason we mock SLop doing her "me washie handsies" but
managing to cross-contaminate everything with the raw meat fluids.
