SECOND HELPINGS

... and speaking of Duff

... here he is with Victoria Finkel, 10, of Glen Rock, who won A&P's Best Birthday Moment essay contest for A&P.

Finkel, one of 50 finalists chosen to meet Duff at a luncheon at The Boathouse in Manhattan, had her essay selected by Duff as the best. She received a $3,000 gift certificate for a custom cake from his Charm City Cakes in Baltimore.

'Ace of Cakes' book signing

Duff Goldman, the star of the Food Network show "Ace of Cakes," will sign his book by the same name at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Bookends, 232 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, 201-445-0726.

Apple picking this weekend?

OK, a confession. I don't particularly enjoy apple picking. Mostly, it's because I used to live in Warwick, N.Y., where traffic stands still for miles every autumn weekend. Nine years after moving, I still resent the out-of-towners.

That said, if you're heading out this weekend and don't have a favorite place, here are some recommendations:

Bistro 55: One photog's opinion

So here's a compliment for Bistro 55 in Rochelle Park: "It's the first time I've ever wanted to sit down on the job and have a beer."

That from Kevin Wexler, one of our photographers, who does a fair amount of restaurant photography but never mixes business with pleasure. He mentioned how tempting the scene and beer menu looked,so I thought I'd pass some of his photos along. The story that goes along with them will be published next Friday. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the place (not the menu typos. Between here and tommy:eats, that's been pretty well covered).

Today in North Jersey dining

In today's Better Living section, Elisa has 2 1/2 stars for Nanni in Rochelle Park, an Italian restaurant that still marches to its own beat.

In our Eating Out on $50 feature, Jeffrey Page dines at La Battala in Bergenfield, That story seems to have gotten lost from the page to the Web site, so I've pasted it below:

New plans for Ridgewood spot

Damiano Pascali, the owner of Roman Pizza and Restaurant in New Milford, plans to open a casual Italian and American restaurant in Ridgewood. Pascali is renovating the Chestnut Street spot formerly occupied by L'Aragosta (and before that, La Cambusa); he hopes to open in November.

The menu, aimed at families, will include brick oven pizza and classic Italian dishes, as well as steaks and burgers. Most entrees will cost less than $20. "Ridgewood needs a restaurant with good food and reasonable prices," Pascali said.

Mythos closed, Jalapeno's back

Mythos in Glen Rock has closed after less than a year of business as a Greek Taverna. Owner Dennis Georgatos says he's converting it back to its previous concept, Jalapenos, a Mexican restaurant.

 "We're doing Jalapeno's again and this time we're doing it big time," said Georgatos, who said he bought out his partners and is bringing back some of his cooks.

Smoke Chophouse adds lunch

Smoke Chophouse in Englewood, which offers lunch on Fridays only, will be opening for lunch at 11:30 every weekday beginning Oct. 1. The dinner menu will be available, as well as a modified lunch menu.

Smoke Chophouse is at 36 Engle St., Englewood; 201-541-8530; smokechophouse.com.

Two food businesses fined

Two nuggets you'll see in the health department inspection reports in Friday's newspaper:

• California Farms, 1475 Bergen Blvd., Fort Lee, was fined $699 on Sept. 22 for employees’ failure to wear protective gloves when handling food, failure to repair a glass case and failure to keep floors clean in a food preparation area. Summonses were issued by registered environmental health specialist Jan S. Beye.

Balocco in Clifton closed

Balocco, easily one of Clifton's best restaurants, has apparently closed, with its phone disconnected, its Web site down and its building dark. The Italian restaurant and wine bar sat at the top of Vincent Drive, next to the Benedictine monastery and in full view of the Manhattan skyline.

Nobody answered the phone this morning at chef-owner Adolfo Marisi's other restaurant, Italianissimo in Caldwell.