April 19
...serving up your daily dish.
If you go to Tierney's upstairs room this weekend, the guy in biker regalia sitting next to you could be cathar ... or it could be an actor. "All the bar's a stage" in a brand new form of theater being brought to Montclair the next two weekends by part-time impressario Dave Hoffman. Don't expect long rows of seats, ushers or a curtain. The audience and the actors are all mixed together, the action shifts from one part of the room to another when scenes change, and you can drink a beer or order food while watching the show.
Hoffman, a math teacher by day, calls this art form Cafe Theatre, and his run at Tierney's will feature eight original mini-plays all relating to the theme "Close Shave" and the subject matter ranges from a disappointed Yankees fan to a groom left at the altar.
Tickets are just $10 for students and $15 for everyone else, but one lucky Baristanet reader will get to go for free -- and bring three friends. Just be the first to answer the following trivia question:
Cafe Theatre's show CLOSE SHAVE gets its name from the SHAVING CREAM song made famous by Dr. Demento's radio show in the 1970's.
"I have a sad story to tell you,
It may hurt your feelings a bit.
Last night when I walked into my bathroom,
I stepped in a big pile of -
Shaving cream-
Be nice and clean-
Shave everyday and you always look clean....."This novelty song along with a hundred others such as "Everybody Loves My Fanny" and "Without Pants" was written by a then famous Vaudeville composer and lyricist. What was his name?
April 19, 2006 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (22)
February 27
...serving up your daily dish.
Soprano Sue reminds us in her blog that the Sopranos' highly-touted Google Maps promotion is supposed to go live today. We predict this could be an even bigger time-waster temporarily more interesting than Baristanet. Imagine the possibilites of sitting in front of your computer all day and finding where Paulie Walnuts lives, and how long it takes him to get to Tony's house. There's only one problem. HBO doesn't seem to have remembered. Nothing on their website about the maps yet. (Although we did discover that there are a lot of Bada Bings out there.)
While we wait for the map, let's brainstorm about how the show might finally come to an end -- the subject of a story in yesterday's New York Times.
One thing both men now know for sure is that the voyage of "The Sopranos" is coming to an end. After several years of speculation, Mr. Chase and the executives of HBO came to an agreement that the latest season of 12 episodes, which starts up on March 12, would be the show's last — and then they renegotiated again and added a mini-season of eight more episodes that will be shot in the coming months and played starting next January.
Of course, like with Six Feet Under, it's got to end with the main character's funeral, right? So how should Tony Soprano get offed? In fact, let's make it a contest. Prize: some Sopranos swag lying around Soprano Sue's house, yet to be determined. Judge: Soprano Sue herself. Points for creativity and making us laugh out loud. And remember, boys and girls, this is a family website. So keep it clean.
February 27, 2006 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (43)
January 18
...serving up your daily dish.
To win four free tickets to this, correctly answer the following question. (Don't guess unless you want to dance, buster.)
Who was Ira Gershwin speaking of when he made the comment: "I never knew how good our songs were until I heard _______ sing them."
January 18, 2006 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (20)
December 23
...serving up your daily dish.
Thanks for everybody who participated in our Festivus Challenge (and by the way, since it's Festivus, if you see Liz today, wish her a happy birthday). We had 39 correct entries, and here are the winners.
- $100 at Whole Foods: Mary Meyer
- $100 at Church Street Opticians: Barbara Miller
- $75 at Joseph's: Shelly Latham
- $75 at Osterio Giotto: Sherri Zuckerman
- Meal for two at Raymond's: Patrick Preblick
- Massage by Body Wise: Meghan Murray
- Two tickets to 12 Miles West: Carol Teacher
- $50 at Cosimo's Trattoria: Karin Robinson
- $50 at Seniorita's Mexican Grill: Alan Shaiman
- Tickets for a family of four to First Night Montclair: Genevieve Murphy
- Lesson plus $25 of beads at Montclair Beadworks: Michelle Caron
- Crystal decanter from Dusty and Rusty Antiques: Selena Brogan
Winners: we'll be in touch with instructions about how to collect your prizes. Prize givers: thanks so much for making this so fun.
December 23, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (9)
December 15
...serving up your daily dish.
Click on the banner on the top of our page to see our Christmas card and enter our Festivus Challenge. All you have to do is name the six ghosts of Baristaville Past, pictured on the ornaments and send them to our contest e-mail with your real name.
And here's a list of the gifts in case the flash went by to fast for you:
- $100 Whole Foods
- $100 Church Street Opticians
- $75 Joseph's
- $75 Osteria Giotto
- Meal for two at Raymond's
- Massage treatment by Body Wise
- Two tickets to 12 Miles West
- $50 Cosimo's Trattoria
- $50 Senorita's Mexican Grill
- Tickets for a family of four to First Night Montclair
- $25 of beads plus a lesson from Montclair Beadworks
- A crystal decanter from Dusty's Antiques
No cheating and posting answers in comments! You have until next Thursday at 5 pm, then we draw for winners. And have a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa whatever.
December 8
...serving up your daily dish.
Sometimes, holiday gifts hide out in unsuspecting places. Piazza Della Sole, Watchung Plaza's shoe boutique extraordinaire, actually offers a lot more than snazzy shoes and boots. 
The store is stocked with accessories galore, including gorgeous boucle, chenille, silk, cashmere and wool scarves, men's Italian leather accessories (passport covers, wallets, money clips, essentials travel bag) from Lodis (priced between $35-$75), sleek leather or toasty warm shearling gloves for women ($70-$95), and a handbag selection to rival any bag store. Judy Tylpados and Camille Kessler always leave out goodies to nibble on (allowing moms to actually try on shoes in peace). 
Check out the store to score some great gifts sure to make a big impression. And for one lucky reader, Piazza Della Sole wants to give you a pair of those leather or shearling gloves (your choice), just for answering these questions correctly:
How many pairs of shoes did officials find when a popular revolt forced Imelda Marcos and late dictator Ferdinand Marcos into exile in 1986?
When the shoes were found, what was Marcos' shoe size?
What style shoe can be found on a street in Montclair?
December 8, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (14)
November 18
...serving up your daily dish.
Here's another chance to win two tickets to the Gas Lamp Players' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, playing this weekend in Glen Ridge.
Question: There's a famous theme from another Webber & Rice show referenced in the closing number of “Joseph.” From what show is that theme, and how did it come to be in the score, since “Joseph” is Webber & Rice’s first musical collaboration?
November 18, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (3)
November 16
...serving up your daily dish.
Win two free tickets to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, playing this weekend in Glen Ridge, by being the first to answer the following question: what American explorer, from New Jersey, has the same first name as one of Joseph's brothers?
November 16, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (6)
November 11
...serving up your daily dish.
Sure, we thought, when we saw the sign for the grand opening of the new Commerce Bank at Pathmark Plaza in Montclair: free food, entertainment, maybe even toasters. Like anybody's going to come out to a grand opening of a new bank. Why don't they give away something really good, like money? Then when we got home and downloaded our pictures, we noticed this. Yowza. $500, that's worth stopping by for.
And speaking of signs, and money, we saw this today outside the liquor store on Glenridge Ave. in Montclair.
November 11, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (17)
November 10
...serving up your daily dish.
Some lucky Baristanet reader will win four tickets to MOC Musical Theater's production of "The Wizard of Oz," which runs this weekend and next.
Baby boomers will remember that "The Wizard of Oz" came on TV once a year, every year -- a very big deal for kids in the pre-video world. Which network aired the movie annually, and what years was it on TV?
November 10, 2005 in Win Stuff | Permalink | Comments (12)
