Huntley Taverne

[Rosie]

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.

[RockADS21]

Had dinner here a few months ago...I recall my entree was a battered monkfish dish that had an Asian flare to it - a special I believe. Very different although I think it may have been better seared rather than battered and lightly fried. Overall I was impressed with the place and the food but I enjoyed their sister restaurant 3 West in Basking Ridge more. Have not yet tried the also related Trap Rock Brewery or Ciao. Huntley also seems to be very loud and bar-heavy particulairly from Thurs-Sat.

[mikec]

Rosie,

I've eaten at Trap Rock and Huntley. Both have good food and on Thurs-Sat, hopping bar scenes. You might want to try and get a table upstairs by the fireplace at Huntley to avoid the hubub by the bar downstairs. They have a wonderful list of beer. My biggest problem is the fact that they have a liquor license. For me, that's a huge turnoff when eating in NJ.

[Rosie]

Had a very good lunch at Huntley Taverne, 3 Morris Avenue, Summit. We had perfectly cooked crispy calamari, with frisee, radicchio and a delightful thai chili vinaigrette; cauliflower soup; hanger steak chile (my favorite); jumbo Maryland lump crabcake with a buttermilk-chipolte cole slaw; and spicy tuna tartar with a lime-miso vinaigrette. If you are in the area it’s a great place for lunch. Now I have to be sure to go back there for dinner. Phone: 908-273-3166.

[tommy]

if this is the place right off of 24, i've always wondered about it. i think every time i pass it i say "hmmm, they look like they probably have a good burger."

any burgers there?

[andyabramo]

Have had dinner and a few lunches within the past few years...loved it....although lunch was better then dinner.....this was also confirmed by the person that introduced me to the tavern. Love dining on the porch in warm weather.

[tommy]

website

[Lreda]

Now this is funny as I had lunch at the bar on Monday. I had a Thai chili shrimp dish with soba noodles and papaya. good , needed a little more chili. Had a burger with maytag blue, grilled red onion mid-rare with truffled shoestrings. You know, always forget about this place, yet am never disapointed. Good service and well-priced although a little high for lunch. With 3 glasses of wine and a cappuchino bill was $63 for myself. I like this place, will be great to sit outside if the effin winter ever ends.

[Rosie]

Lou--3 glasses of wine? You should have ordered a bottle.

[tommy]

Lou--3 glasses of wine?  You should have ordered a bottle.

knowing lou he had a coupla different kinds. (lou, if you call it a "flight", it sounds more sophisticated. )

Edited February 26, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Lreda]

Yeah, a flight, that's right, after all it was shrimp 1st, meat 2nd. Can't have the same wine.

[PaulaJK]

This was my first visit to Huntley. I enjoyed it and

will return although I agree that the items border on pricey.

For example, the burger w. fries was 12.95$ [i believe]...

but it did look delicious as it passed. The setting & service

are quite good and the lunch items had rec'd the kitchen's

attention including in presentation. The crabcake was tall

on crab and short on filler & accompanied by remoulade

sauce. Since it was not accompanied by chips or fries, I

am not certain that it alone would be enough 'lunch' for

many diners. Hence, when you add app or dessert, you

do have a chit in the making.

Merlot at 10.75 per glass did indeed seem pricey...but

I am finding this in a lot of places these days. Is anyone else

having this experience?

[Lreda]

Yeah, they're a little high end price wise but I'm sure the rent/mortgage ain't cheap. At least they keep up the quality end. $10.95 is a little high for a Merlot but they offered other red wines for less. I had the burger. it was good.

I try to keep my wine by the glass between $5-$8. only because I don't find people like to spend more than that. If they're going over $8 a glass they'll prefer a higher quality wine. As a the person who chooses wines I think it's possible to serve good wine by the glass if people are adventurous for $8 and under. This isn't a criticism of Huntley tavern.

[Rosie]

Dining at Huntley Taverne, 3 Morris Ave, Summit is always a pleasure. We started out with white bean and vegetable soup; macadamia crusted shrimp with a curried coconut broth and rice noodles; mozzarella, basil, and fresh tomato sauce wood fired pizza; and crispy calamari salad with a Thai chili vinaigrette. If you like coconut broth you’ll love the shrimp. The calamari had a kick and was deliciously spicy; a nice change from the calamari that is served with tomato sauce.

All of the entrees were winners. The tempura nori wrapped rare tuna with Asian vegetables, marinated soba noodles and a ginger-sesame dipping sauce was a good as it looked. I also loved the ragout of gnocchi with baby artichokes, asparagus, portobello mushrooms, roasted Vidalia onion, sundried tomatoes and mushroom broth. Pan seared halibut was beautifully presented in a large bowl with roasted prosciutto wrapped asparagus and an asparagus broth. And a pan roasted breast of chicken over creamy polenta with warm cherry tomato, sherry vinegar and olive sauce and addictive Parmigiana Reggiano fried baby artichokes brought this ho-hum bird to new heights.

We shared some cookies and sorbets for desserts.

[dbrociner]

if this is the place right off of 24, i've always wondered about it.  i think every time i pass it i say "hmmm, they look like they probably have a good burger."

any burgers there?

←

Finally, an answer to your question about the burger on the blackeyedpig.