Rosie

We returned to Plaza Bistro, 2 White Deer Plaza, Sparta (BYO) last night and had a delightful dinner. Not much has changed since the last time we were here except the restaurant needs to be spruced up and perhaps redecorated and repainted. On a Saturday night Plaza Bistro unfortunately was less than half full. This is too bad as like Chef Stephen Nolan is very talented and if more people knew about this restaurant I am sure that business would be better. The tables had tablecloths covered with paper. Service was very attentive. Our wines were opened and new glasses were brought to the table when we started a new bottle. Bread was paired with a bean spread, which I prefer to butter. The amuse was a "give me more" of chopped olives with a creamy sauce on slices of bread. Lowell had an excellent roasted butternut squash soup with a spicy aftertaste that was decorated with crimini mushrooms. Other appetizers were a poached pear and Maytag Blue cheese salad with baby greens topped with crunchy pecans and dressed with a cranberry Dijon vinaigrette. I liked the salad and all the diverse flavors, loved the dressing, but not the spice laden pear. The other appetizer was a house cured salmon with sweet rice, avocado salsa and a mango chiptole glaze which was declared to be a winner. I had a beautifully plated sautéed French cut chicken with sautéed spinach, portobello mushrooms, oven roasted tomatoes and a lemon risotto butter white wine sauce which I thoroughly enjoyed. Lowell had a special of wahoo with black rice and vegetables that was perfectly cooked. The other entrees were a pan seared duck breast with wheatberry rice, sweet potato and carrot puree in a demi glace and a jumbo lump crab cake over mashed potatoes with black bean and corn salsa. The dish was completed with a chipotle pepper drizzle. Everything I tasted I would be happy to order the next time that I am here. I particularly like Chef Stephen Nolan's sauces and combination of flavors on the plate. They are not overwhelming and have delicate nuances. Dessert was disappointing although everyone thought the coffee was good. The walnut cake was heavy in spices and the accompanying ice cream was icy. I would recommend a better brand. A special of tira misu was fine. It's hard to ruin a tira misu but some are better than others. Prices here are very reasonable with entrees ranging from $18 to $25. Phone: 973-726-9399. Did you go out this weekend? Be sure to give us a report.

When did Cafe LADA 520 ANDERSON AVE, CLIFFSIDE PARK open? There used to be a Turkish restaurant there. Also, would you recommend this place?

The Pittstown Inn is a charming stone restaurant which has an open kitchen and walls decorated with pastoral murals. It's too bad that the food and service aren't as lovely as the surroundings. Appitizers were a floury butternut squash soup that was cold until I swirled it around with my spoon and then it was lukewarm; a seafood bisque that tasted more like tomato soup; crab cakes that were good, and an acceptable quail salad. Entrees were chicken with thinnly sliced potatoes that were layered with cream and/or butter. They were cold on top and warm underneath. Although I suspected that both the squash soup and potatoes were heated in a microwave the waitress told us that there wasn't a microwave in the restaurant. A large pork chop was well done, not medium rare as ordered. The grainy mashed potatoes that accompanied this dish didn't taste freshly made. A hanger steak came medium rare as ordered but I thought it would have been better without the sauce and the accompaniment of limp French fries. Scallops were the best dish of the bunch although the rice with coconut milk and pineapple was too sweet for my taste. After finishing our meal our dinner plates were taken away and we waited what seemed like ten minutes for our dirty bread plates to be bussed. Finally we asked the waitress to remove them. We were told that the desserts were all made in-house but I wonder about that since the dull banana cake looked too perfect with exact size layers and icing. We had a hard time finding the mixed berries in a berry cobbler that was also burnt on the edges and uncooked in middle making it inedible. Phone: 908-735-0125.

Ronn--Good to hear from you. eGullet has a CA board. You might find some interesting restaurants listed there.

640 Club? Lowell grew up in Elizabeth and never heard of it. Can you tell us more? What kind of steaks?

Which date?

If you are willing to drive I would recommend Sammy's, Rt 24 in Mendham. You can go in dungarees or a tuxedo. The place is a dive serving one of the best (IMHO) steaks in NJ.

The last time I was at Huntley Taverne, 3 Morris Avenue, Summit was when they first opened a few years ago. This week Lowell and I attended an Australian wine dinner there and were very impressed with the outstanding food and wine. Chef Bill Hendra served the following menu: Char grilled squid, merguez sausage, and cornbread with mussels (Leeuwin Estate, "Art Series" Riesling '01) Loved this dish. The spicy sausage played off the perfectly grilled squid and riesling. Hazelnut crusted skate wing with caramelized fennel, radicchio, broccoli rabe, and lemon confit-caper jus (d'Arenberg, "The Hermit Crab" Marsanne/Viognier '02) The skate was very good but the caramelized fennel was fabulous. Grilled quail with a quince-celery root puree, foie gras, cranberry walnut maple chutney, and pomegranate reduction (Penley Estate, "Phoenix" Cabernet Sauvignon '01) The sweet/spicy chutney was a perfect accompaniment to the quail and what could be wrong with foie gras? Roast loin of venison with honey dumpling squash puree, pearl onions, chanterelle mushrooms, brown butter Brussel sprouts, and date-rosemary jus (d'Arenberg, "The Dead Arm" Shiraz, 00) The venison was served medium rare and could have been beef it was so tender. The shiraz had 15 % alcohol and was better (ok as good as) a Turley. Unfortunately this is a very hard wine to find. As with all the dishes I devoured the vegetables. Fig, date and walnut strudel (Chambers "Rosewood" Muscat) I only took one little taste of the strudel as I was very full. It reminded me of baklava. The muscat smelled like raisins and went well with this dish. Another aspect of this dinner which I really was keen on is that they did not serve bread allowing me more room to enjoy the delicious food. The dinner was held in the cozy upstairs loft which is a perfect place for a private party. So now I have to get myself over to this restaurant for a "regular" dinner. Has anyone been here? Phone: 908-273-3166.

Are they open yet? What was there before?

When did David Corcoran review this restaurant? They may have had a different chef. My posting is here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...rante+da+benito

He did include young and gorgeous in his description, didn't he??

Tommy--The information was on my Food Events page for months and there was a story on Table Hopping With Rosie/Restaurant News October 1. If you don't want to miss the good stuff read my page!! It's updated every Wednesday.

I didn't suggest America or Saigon Republic (Englewood) or Kratiem (Englewood) because I thought they weren't in the immediate area. But yes, good choices. And worth the drive.

What a super drinking evening we had! Good to see you also Double O and your friends. What was so enticing about this event is that they had wines from $5 to over a hundred dollars. Did you see the crowd by the Gaja table?

America 115 Country Rd Tenafly 201-227-1200

I have always enjoyed reading Pete Genovese and find him to be a very talented and knowledgable writer. He signs his columns with the following so you can always ask him your question. "Where should Pete eat next? Call him at (973) 392-1765 or e-mail to pgenovese@starledger.com."

Randi--We await your report.

These are open on Mon. and have full bars. Le Rendezvous is BYO. Basking Ridge Tre Vigne Bernardsville Bernards Inn Hoboken Amanda's Hoboken La Tartuferia Il Whippany Capriccio Livingston Nero's New Brunswick Frog & the Peach New Brunswick Panico's Randolph An American Grill Scotch Plains Stage House Inn Short Hills Hilton Dining Room Summit Fiorino's West Orange Highlawn Pavillion

Jason--I listed Christians as being open in August 2003 on Table Hopping With Rosie. I don't think they have been open 9 months.

If you haven't been to No 9 Restaurant, 9 Kline Court, Lambertville put this BYO restaurant on your "must try" list. I would just recommend that you not go on a Saturday evening as the restaurant gets very noisy. We started with a lobster seafood bisque; lobster/avocado salad; and a potato and goat cheese tart with roasted red pepper and grilled onion. Entrees were roasted chicken with mashed potatoes, wild mushrooms and vegetables; grilled hanger steak with a red wine sauce and roasted herbed tomato; fall off the bone braised short ribs with mashed potatoes, vegetables and horseradish cream; halibut with a beurre blanc sauce; and scallops with Asian stir fried vegetables. There was not a plate that wasn't licked clean! Only downside was that none of us cared for the quality of the bread. For dessert we bypassed the peanut butter brownie parfait and had a healthy slice of carrot cake. Friends had a bittersweet pot de crème and crème brulee. With tax and tip the bill was $47 a person. No 9 has a web site at www.NO9Restaurant.com or call 609-397-6380 for reservations.

Has anyone been to Il Dolce Vita on Rt 15 in Wharton? They opened up at this location a few weeks ago and previously were in Denville?

Yes. The lunch menu looks great and friends who have been there say that the panini is fabulous.They have the long and narrow pizza's, panini, grilled panini, and soups. I'd like to get there for lunch also so be sure to give us a report if you get there before me.

Health Checks 10/12 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...UVFeXk2NDM4MzQ4

When did David Corcoran review this restaurant? I was there maybe 3-4 years ago and found it very strange that an Italian restaurant was named American Bistro.

A very small trattoria that is worth visiting opened a few months ago in Montclair. Il Forno, 18 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair (973-233-0800); BYO. Owners Chef Massimo and Anne Marie Ranni also specialize in Italian artisan bread which they sell. Theyare open for lunch 10 AM to 3 PM Tuesday through Saturday and dinner 6 to 9 :30 PM Wednesday through Saturday. We were there for dinner and had the following appetizers: red pepper stuffed with orzo; mozzarella in carrozza; and portobello ravioli in a basil sauce. For entrees we had tilapia with crabmeat, roasted potatoes and broccoli rabe; swordfish in parchment with the same sides; pappardelle with rabbit; gnocchi with a ragu sauce; and spaghetti with mussels. Don't miss the homemade gelato for dessert. The menu has about six appetizers; six pasta dishes and three fish or meat dishes to choose from. There are also daily specials.