Rail Paul

If you liked Nicholas, and David Drake's, you'll undoubtedly like Blue Hill at Stone Barns. You might also like David Burke's Fromagerie in Rumson. The cooking is on a par with Nicholas and Drake's, although the rooms are a bit dated in appearance. (Burke took over the place recently) Fromagerie Website

if you're looking for "road food", the regional hot dog chain Yocco's is located at your half way mark. There's a branch of the chain on PA 100, just south of I-78's Fogelsville exit. If you're looking for a lunch that will cost more than $6, consider circa restaurant in High Bridge. Wonderful selection of European beers, and a very creative chef. Circa

Go south on Fairount Avenue from Chatham Center There's a map on the restaurant's website

John from StarLight Farm ("John the organic guy") had sugar snap peas at the Montclair farmers market last week.

Thanks for sharing this, John It seems that the Ledger tries to convey a sense of each place reviewed in the hot dog segment, with some negatives and positives for each but letting the bulk of comments suggest a viewpoint

Brandl in Belmar is also quite nice, a notch below Nicholas, but it has the advantage of being BYO-friendly. Brandl

The restaurant is most accomodating to late diners if your first time choice is unavailable. The night we were there people were being seated at 9, 930, even 10pm. Quite unusual in many places.

Are you suggesting that Menton, who offered some dissenting views in his otherwise favorable comments, should confine his negatives to the comments card, while people who praise the place should do so publicly on the various foodboards?

I'll add my thanks for a job well done. Rosie has been a class act, from the FoodBytes days to the present. Best of luck in whatever you choose to do going forward.

tommy, there's also the issue of which Bergen Record reviewer gets the assignment. With at least three people splitting the job, there's the luck of the draw on which reviewer writes the document.

Has anyone compared to Chocolate Path to Chocolatier Anais in Verona? That's my local gold standard for upscale ($25 to $35 per pound) chocolates. Chocolatier Anais (973) 571-4110 526 Bloomfield Ave Verona, NJ 07044

Burnet BBQ 1844 Springfield Ave Maplewood New Jersey 07040-2905 (973) 761-6200

Looks like the Whole Foods is closer to realization in West Orange. Baristanet reports: Whole Foods sign is now up in WO

As of a few minutes ago, Fascino has space for parties of 2 and 4 on Friday, a week from today, and the following Saturday. Minimal accomodation for tonight or tomorrow, though. I've found reservations accessible at Fascino once you go out beyond a week on OpenTable.

Star-Ledger has an article today. Very positive. Eat with Pete

I'm sure they could configure the upstairs room for 20 people by adjusting the tables, etc. But, you would have guests walking upstairs to use the adjacent restroom at the head of the stairs. That could bother some attendees or speakers. You might address your question to Richard at the restaurant and see what arrangements they could offer for a group

The restaurant states it has 1,060 wines on its wine list, and its cellar contains 15,000 bottles. That would seem quite reasonable, considering that some of its auction purchases were for less than case lots, and other purchases could be for multiple cases. Among the treasures obtained by Mr LaGrassa are Les Gaudichot (1929), and several 1920s and 1930s verticals of La Tache from the Doris Duke cellars. According to the auction catalog, a few year-lots of the Gaudichot had just 3 or 4 bottles. Pluckemin Cellar Wine List from Cellartracker

Dee and I had dinner here on Saturday night. An amuse of tuna tartare, with a golden beet broth. The broth was wonderful, with hints of lemongrass. The cube of tuna was graced with a mini-green and placed in a small bowl. cold group wild salmon. turkish coffee. cocoa nibs. tobacco ice cream This was visually engaging, with a 4 oz piece of salmon, set on a bed of streaked dark coffee, and a thimble scoop of ice cream. Good taste, contrast in the chew, nice after taste. burnt pears. spiced pecans. celery leaves. english stilton fondant. savory caramel gastrique This one was much less engaging visually, but much more of a sensory overload. Several thimble sized pieces of dark pineapple, topped with the cheese and pecans. Crisp, sweet, slightly bitter, all in one bite maine lobster. black currant cylinder. eucalyptus aspic This had immediate appeal. A dark currant cylinder, with a filling and overflow of lobster jelly. I wasn't impressed with this, as I found the currant much too sweet, and the lobster flavorless hudson valley foie gras bon bons. assorted accompaniments ( 5 dollar supplement ) This was a home run in presentation, with three bon-bons of foie gras, each increasing slightly in gaminess. The first had a topping of maple crystals, the second had a topping of mixed berry crystals, the third had a topping of dried cola flakes. The third also marked the first pipette, this one contained cola. I would prefer the foie gras be a bit warmer, this was cold, but I liked the idea. The clunky fork broke the foie gras into pieces, rather than allow a clean separation. hot cepe soup. parmesan marshmallow. white truffle air Another very successful delivery. Delivered as divided elements, with a dark brown soup to the right, a mushroom truffle air to the left. A cube of flaked parmesan floated in the liquid. Very fragrant. The bowl was also quite impressive, as it rose to a height of about seven inches on one side, and about four inches on the other. The parabolas nicely accented the line between the liquids diver scallops. chestnuts. shiitake caps. dry stout Two good sized (U-10) scallops on a large plate. The setting was a brush stroke of dried stout on the white plate and chopped chestnuts alongside. cervena farms venison saddle. cherry leather. verjus. turnips ( 5 dollar supplement ) Dee found this to be more "gamy" than she would prefer. I found it OK, but not up to the level of other items braised pork belly. brussels. micro mushrooms. sorel. celery root packages Another laboratory influenced presentation. Five cubes of braised pork, each with a slightly different jus, each topped with a micro-green or mushroom. The presentation was a ten inch long cylinder laid on its side, with five shallow indents. Each contained a cube of pork, its jus, and its topping. Very engaging, although there was no easy way to get to the jus. The server brought a large spoon, on request Pineapple with seared sesame seeds and a beeker of foamed miso. dessert dark chocolate parfait. pistachio. curry ice cream. shaved yogurt. saffron A supersweet piece of chocolate, with a rainbow of tastes from the saffron, yogurt, and curry. This was a very fitting finish to an engaging meal. The plates were interesting. We saw six or seven different types, and a range of flatware. In most cases, they were tailored to the food presented, although a few, like the pork server, were not suitable for my use. The service was wonderfully attentive. Items were removed promptly, everything was explained. I noticed that the service and kitchen slowed as the house began to fill and the servers covered more tables. It seems almost churlish to mention two minor flaws. One involved a server stacking Dee's plates on my plates in front of me as she was clearing. That happened later, by which time most items were being delivered / taken by one person. Most service had been two people simultaneously delivering / taking. The other was the delivery of the check, unrequested, with the coffee. I found that a sour note in an otherwise very high quality service The noise level ran from OK to very loud, abetted by a large party in the loft. Sound echoed from the loft, across the open space, and back down across the main floor. A few sound baffles, or banners, would make a huge difference. This is a wonderful restaurant. From the friendly, happy reception person to the servers, to the great food, it hits on so many great notes. $150 pre-tip. BYO permitted, NJ wines available by the bottle. Venue

Thousand point deal bonus on OpenTable for Saturday night, early seating. That's equivalent to a $10 per table discount, which more than pays for any parking charges. Venue sounds like an interesting and challenging restaurant, I'm planning to go this weekend.

Wegman's still holds an option on the former Varityper property in East Hanover, I believe. That's tucked in between Hanover Park High School and Novartis, at the west intersection of Old Mt Pleasant and NJ 10. (Behind the Burger King and Gogel tire.)

30 Church Street in Montclair, between the new Raymond's and Taro free parking in the new Church Street garage Nice place, and their yellow lab retriever is quite playful

Link to Lunch Menu

Don't count on it. If you want good stemware for their great wines...Bring Your Own in This Nifty Tote

The MBC staff doesn't take well to criticism, either. The proprietress was most displeased when, in response to her question, I told her the olive bread was twice dry as sawdust and I had no plans to purchase any more. I'll give them points for support of organic products, community activities, and feminist causes, but the stuff should not taste like sawdust.

I too was there opening night. Thankfully, one of our party makes his own award winning wine so the fact that the food was awful didn't matter much after we each had a bottle of wine! Really, I wouldn't step foot in there again. I didn't even order a main course! ← Do they charge corkage if you bring your own wine to a NJ-wines-only resto? If so, how much?