If you’ve missed the great movies of 2010, here’s your chance to catch them in town at the Livingston Library.

They are showing three great movies during April, with 2 showings each.

You can watch them during the 1:00 pm matinee or the 7:00 pm evening show. I’m sure there will be a crowd, since these were highly rated movies. . .

April 11: Another Year (2010)

June 13: The Social Network

All films are sponsored by the Livingston Library Endowment Fund.

Right in our own backyard is a taste of culture that might be worth a trip during a rainy day this winter — the Montclair Art Museum.

But don’t take my word for it. .  .

Here’s some recent press mentions that highlight what’s right around town:

• The New York Times
• Local site Montclair Patch
• A top 10 list - although not what you’re probably thinking
• The Star Ledger

Buy using my links posted here, you can score a 50% discount on regular admission right now with this Groupon discount the MAM in Montclair NJ off Bloomfield Avenue.  And with that admission, you’ll also get 10% off all gift shop purchases too!  But hurry!!! The deal expires very soon. . .

QUESTION:  Have you ever visited the Montclair Art Museum? What do you recall from your visit?  Please leave a comment below!

Have you tried RedBox at ShopRite for DVD rentals?  $1 a night.  Just get the DVD back before 9pm the next day and it will be $1.07 total.  If you keep it longer, they just tack on $1 for each additional night until you hit $25, then it’s yours to keep automatically.

Interested in how Redbox came about?  Well, Redbox was originally funded by McDonald’s ventures,  but oddly enough, the McDonalds on Northfield across from South Mountain Arena doesn’t have a Redbox.  You would think Redbox would maintain some sort of agreement to be placed at McDonald’s at least.  Well, Coinstar bought out McDonald’s Ventures and that’s how we got to grocery stores for real estate locations.  Now there are over 22,000 locations.

The locations across the country is a key benefit.  Rent from any location and return at any other location nationwide – no extra charges.  That means you can look up inventory at the Redbox near your work or school and return it near home or vice versa.  If you’re traveling, you can rent a dvd to play at the hotel and simply return it when you get back home.

Ok, here’s a dealio for you. If you can see this photo of our kiosk at the local ShopRite, you’ll find a promo code that was working as of Thanksgiving 2010.  Enjoy a free DVD rental on us!

What was the last movie you rented from the RedBox DVD kiosk?  Leave it the comment section below!

But today, you can shout HOORAY!

A new Korean cuisine restaurant opened up recently east of Queens in the New Hyde Park / Mineola / Jericho / Roslyn / Port Washington area (Exit 36 or 37 Long Island Expressway).

Imperial Seoul

3365 Hillside Avenue

New Hyde Park, NY 11040

516-741-2340

The restaurant is located just a little bit down the street from the H-Mart korean grocery story, so you can get your Korean food fix completely in one trip.

The menu is standard fare and the restaurant is clean and modern since it is basically new construction.  There are three private rooms and a sushi bar (yes, they serve Japanese food like most asian restaurants these days).

You can check out Yelp for some reviews, but overall it is a welcome addition to the Long Island restaurant options.  No more fighting Queens traffic or parking.  The serving size for my dish was generous (see photo above).  Banchan was plentiful.  Everything was tasty indeed.

I guess people don’t know that you’re not supposed to push out the leaves until a specified week on the calendar.  Otherwise, the leaves clog up the sewer drains with junky muddy leafy muckety globs of mess.  And it ain’t fun with the winter thaw that comes along.

photo: livingstonpatch.com

Here’s the leaf collection schedule once and for all – hopefully people will pitch-in and hold off from clogging our roads all month long.

Leaves may be placed at the curb line or in the gutter of that portion of the
public street adjacent to the property from which the leaves are being disposed of
only during the annual leaf collection program in accordance with the times and
dates of the published leaf collection program schedule. Leaves shall not be
placed closer than 10 feet from any storm drain inlet or catch basin and may be
in the street gutter only for a maximum period of 7 days before their actual
collection.

And guess what, supposedly it is a ticketable offense too.

But as we continue to recycle more and more of our consumables as time goes by, batteries have been added to the list.

The next time you check in at the Livingston Library by the Oval, you can bring your dead, old batteries and drop them off for recycling.

There’s no fee to drop them off and you can bring as much as you can.  I just dropped off one of those big fat cube 6v lantern batteries.  It was heavy to lug, but felt good dropping it off knowing that it will be processed appropriately and recycled if possible.

Apparently, there are a couple of places in Livingston, where you can drop off used batteries now –  household batteries can be dropped off at recycling bins at the front steps of the Livingston Public Library, Community Center (on Hillside av) and Northland Recreation Center.

Do you still use alkaline batteries? Or have you gone all rechargeable batteries with the 21st century?

When getting out of the house in the morning, it is easy to see that people are still confused about what to put out on the curb since there isn’t full agreement of curbside bins.  Most recycling days still have some houses putting out paper goods, and others putting out co-mingled plastic and metal for recycling.  In theory, everyone should be putting out the same thing.

Another odd thing is to see some random things being put curbside for the recycling pick-ups.

First, I wonder if those people know that there is a big and growing list of items that qualify.  But it doesn’t include everything under the sun!

And there’s a published recycling pick-up calendar to let home owners know what type of recycling is due each week — I have mine printed out and taped to the inside of the cabinet door by my recycling bins.  Easy peasy.

As many as 3,000 locals reportedly pass through on some weekends as this is a well known 18 year local tradition of inviting the growers and merchants into Montclair, NJ.

This Saturday, there was a small crowd towards the end of day by the 1:30-2pm timeframe afterwhich the vendors started to pack-up for the day.   There were a bunch of interesting vendors — probably because the vendor fee is approximately $35/week for each spot in the market (~$800/year).  Montclair seems to have figured out that keeping it affordable will keep the vendors coming back year after year.

You can see in the photos included below that there is a variety of offerings – wine, buffalo meat, cheeses, pickled pickles, fruits, veggies, breads, real honey products and sausage meats.  A neat little inclusion was the taco food truck with some tables and seating available for those that wanted to take a break and stay awhile.

QUESTION: Have you ever been to this or any other local farmer’s market?  What did you buy?

FiveGuys is no longer the only new greasy burger joint in town.

If you drive just 10 minutes down from Livingston Mall on Columbia Turnpike, you’ll find a bunch of new strip mall development happening.  One of them houses the latest Smash Burger restaurant.

We decided to check it out this Saturday night – seems like everyone had the same idea.  Lines the length of the store from counter to door.  Loud and crowded, we waited a good 15 minutes to order, and then got seating and waited another 7-8 minutes for our food to be delivered.

Yelp.com reviews and others give it a so-so rating.  We do the same. . . 

The decor was clean and new.  Price is about $5-7 for most burgers — you’ll have to shell out another 2 bucks for fries and about another 2 bucks for sodas.

Smashburger at Florham Park, NJ

187 Columbia Turnpike
Florham Park, NJ 07932

Here’s some of the first impressions of the food itself:

• SALTY - overwhelming over anything else.  Every item has TONS of salt.  The burger meat itself was salty.
• GREASY - part of the experience you’re paying for – unhealthy comfort food, but wow, even the buns are shiny from the grease.  By the end of our meal, some of the remaining sweet potato fries weren’t crisp, they were just gloppy sponges of grease.
• PUNY - when fries are an add-on, you expect a decent portion.  They were puny.  Plus the way the “dishes” are made, which is basically wire baskets with a piece of wax paper covering the bottom, fries get lost and fall out or touch the table under it.  Something just seems…eewy to eat food that is touching the table that other people just eat off of back-to-back.  Especially, when the competition, Five Guys is known for their huge portions of overflowing crispy fries.

Here’s one thing to note, that might help inform why such an experience where the concept seems great, but in terms of execution, they are just a little off — apparently, the same operator for this location also runs Markers Restaurant, an upscale casual American Grille, located in Jersey City, NJ as well as other franchise concepts including Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and Carvel Ice Cream.  You can see lack of focus within the food spectrum — some of that lack of focus spills over in execution here.

The big question is would we go back?  Probably, but only if we’re in the area – definitely not a planned event.

QUESTION: What’s your opinion of Smashburger? (and which location are you talking about?  Please let your comment below!

This year, the New Jersey Nets have moved homes, albeit temporary, to The Prudential Center in Newark.  Downtown Newark has been on an upswing lately, and “the Rock” Prudential Ctr is one of the reasons – great venue.  The Nets must be happy.

We were happy when we grabbed some tickets as a part of a 2-for-1 ticket promotion.  Sitting 1st row in the upper section in “Kids Country” for $25.  That comes to $12.50/ticket.  Nice.

Parking is $25 right around the Prudential Center.  If you’re willing to walk just 1 block, there’s a couple of lots for $20 for the night.  And if you’re willing to brave the chilly night for 3 block, parking can be had for as low as $8.

Food concessions offers a variety of options – the usual hot dogs and fries ($10 for both – Nathan’s), hamburgers, pizza, etc.  Beer will set you back 9 bucks.  Popcorn $5.  Medium soda $3.75.  They also have gourmet sandwiches and some other fare to choose from.

The two-for-one ticket promotion is sponsored by McDonald’s actually.  Various games are labeled different tiers.  So you can get two seats for $20 all the say up to $180 depending on section and game schedule.

The nice part about Nets tickets through this promotion is that there’s no service fees like the $7.50 ticketmaster tacks on each ticket.  But there is a one-time $10 shipping fee for the tickets — which arrived via UPS overnight.

If you’re looking for a decent night of B-Ball with the kids, give Kyle Dudley a call in “INSIDE SALES” (201) 935-8888.  Tell him Kenny at FingerClickingGood.com/livingston sent you!