RockADS21

Personally if I were making a special trip to Nutley merely to dine there are several places that I would do it for before The Petite Cafe...Franklin Steakhouse being the first choice...

How is next Thursday June 5???

Come on Tommy, give me some notice! Actually, the rest of this week is pretty shot for me - next week or the following should work though...lets come up with a few dates and see who can make it - this can be a good one...

Here's an idea for a late afternoon/early evening...Park and Orchard for a glass of wine and an appetizer at the bar...Sonoma Grill for dinner and Shakers for an after dinner drink ...any takers??? Maybe even a cup of coffee at the diner before the ride home...

Actually I went the other way down the street for an Amstel Light at the fine beverage establishment behind the Meadowlands Diner.

I am almost afraid to post in this topic...we should all move to a neutral corner... The meal that I had at The Petite Cafe was a few months back but I will try my best to elaborate...we shared an order of steamed mussels to start which were very good...full of flavor. I also had a creamed vegetable soup that I recall being good as well, but apologize as I do not remember exactly which vegetable it was. For my entree I ordered the grilled game off the specials menu. It was made up of grilled elk and boar as well as venison sausage. The grilled meats were served with a curant topping...I thought the dish was imaginative and interesting but much like the restaurant it just tried too hard to be too much rather than just being one exceptional item. As I said earlier I will certainly venture another visit but in my opinion the true potential of this place would be accomplished better by concentrating on the kitchen and not trying to be a breakfast/coffee shop/lunchenette/part-time restaurant. One seems to be difficult enough to perfect...

I have only been to The Petite Cafe on one occassion for dinner and found their food to be very imaginative but not quite as overly impressive as the way NutleyResident describes. I usually like to visit a place at least twice however before I make a complete observation as I feel anyplace can have an off night or an off meal and conversely a not so great place can turn out a great meal on any given night. My thoughts from the outset are that this place needs more defining as to what they actually are - a breakfast place, a sandwich place, a coffee and dessert shop or a restaurant(they only serve dinner from Thursday - Saturday). It seems that the owner/chef is certainly talented enough that if he concentrated more on being just a restaurant instead of an everything in one that this place could rise to be much better. As for being the best of Nutley's gems... I like Terrazza, Franklin Steakhouse, American Bistro and Papilion more at this point.

Had lunch at Sonoma Grill on Friday - was my first visit since Foys departure...my experiance was top notch...started with a crab Louis salad which was very well done...a generous portion of lump meat served on a bed of arugula and avocado with a tasty passionfruit dressing - great Spring/Summer dish...I then had the tenderloin tip sandwich which also was very good - tender tips cooked perfectly covered in sauteed onions on a portugese roll served with a side of sweet potato fries which are awesome! If Peter or anyone with knowledge would be kind enough to offer what the ketchup(which I assume to be homemade) consists of I would be very interested - it is so good it almost dosent need to top anything! Also bread acoompanied by extra virgin olive oil, jalapeno jelly and herb butter started the meal. Had a Covey Run merlot as well...in my opinion a great choice for a house merlot out of Washington. Overall a very pleasant experiance and I look forward to a return for dinner in the near future.

Italian restaurants in Essex or Bergen county.......hmmm.....I dont think there are any...(sorry couldn't help continuing with the Olive Garden/Macaroni Grill theme)

OK...Westfield - I can never park!!!

Now wait a second - that sounds like two separate day trips...

The A.D.S.2003 Seaside Special: Start at the Sawmill for a few drinks(people actually eat that pizza???)...then onto the beachcomber for some clams....across the way for a cheesesteak at in my opinion the best of the boardwalk - the Seaside Steakhouse...then back for a huge slice at three brothers....after that walk it off all the way to the other end of the pier for a few more drinks at the Aztec...(sure beats work on a nice Summer afternoon!!!). I will leave out a certain gentlemens club on Route 35N in Neptune that usually breaks up the ride home as that can be a seperate discussion...interested in a day trip Tommy???

I for one will vote for Nutley...or was this not a poll of towns???????

South City Grill in Mountain Lakes and Soho on George in New Brunswick are the best in my opinion...

Was there when it was the Backstreet Gourmet which was sold and completely re-done in terms of menu and kitchen a few months ago becoming Salt of the Earth(walking distance from Papilion). I have not yet tried it but certainly plan to soon. Menu seems to have some interesting items. Interestingly the website does not mention liqour, but the old establishment did have a license - must not have been part of the sale as a liqour license in Nutley may be considered by the former owners as a more valuable asset than their restaurant space was...

And you didn't mention American Bistro, Scuttlebuts or Little Saigon - all above average within the small confines of Nutley...as well as Ralph's Pizzeria which I still consider the best pie this side of the Hudson...OK all - you caught me plugging my hometown - but Nutley certainly deserves mentioning as a small town with some rather decent eateries...

OK Lou...I am through stalling...I'll be there June 6!

I tend to say yes although I would hesitate to limit what I would consider to be high end in terms of quality just because a place is BYO. One of my very favorite restaurants in NJ - Cafe Abbraci in Metuchen is a BYO and I visit there normally at least once a month and would consider them top notch quality but probably wouldn't ever describe the place as high end. I think quality of food, presentation, service and atmosphere are still the most important features in judging an establishment. However I agree with Kim that the overall aura of "high end" for what I tend to think of as "special occassion restaurants" (some I which I have listed in my previous post) is somewhat absent when one needs to bring in a bottle or bottles. I will also always wait until after I have made my choice of food before ordering wine in order to pair the wine of choice with my/our meals(I am far from an expert in this area but I do enjoy it) - an aspect of dining which becomes limited when you need to bring your own.

I apologize if I stole any of your thunder here Kim...

I will...in no particulair order but what I would consider high end in terms of restaurant quality that can rival any in NYC... - Scalini Fedeli - Serenade - The Ryland Inn - The Stage House Inn - Il Capriccio - The Bernards Inn - Highlawn Pavillion - Restaurant Nicholas - The Frog and The Peach - Il Tulipano I mean no offense at all to those that I have not listed but these were the first ten that I thought of and with the exception of Nicholas, just ones that I have frequented...

Two recomendations: one North, one Central...North - South City Grill in Mountain Lakes...oysters seem to always be fresh and they pour a top notch martini(many varieties), Central - Soho on George in New Brunswick...

Would this estimate be via helicopter? It may be 15 miles but when you consider Routes 3,46 and 80 this is much longer than 15 minutes...trust me I work 5 minutes from the restaurant and wish you were correct...

Pardon my suggestions...

I second Park and Orchard - should be very accomadating for that type of lunch. Romanissimo in Carlstadt right off of Rte. 17 is rather decent Italian as well. Also Terrazza in Nutley as lunch may be the only time you could catch the place somewhat quiet.

The Ebbitt Room at the Virginia Hotel is outstanding. They have a room/dinner package as well if that interests you. Enjoy!