New Russian in Red Bank

[=Mark]

Cafe Everest recently opened on Broad St. in Red Bank. Have not been yet, but coworkers and I have been drooling over the menu. Expect to sample it soon.

[Rosie]

Is it BYO?

[=Mark]

Yes, it looks to be BYO. It also features a coffee/Espresso and pastry bar, with European style pastries made from scratch daily.

[glenn]

I booked for Sat. night. The guy who answered the phone was very friendly and described many of the dishes, sounded great.

[=Mark]

Went there for lunch today and everything was great. I mean everything, down to the iced tea!

Started with an pierogi with mushrooms. An oversized cup of borsch served with lots of beets, cabbage veal and beef. I made the mistake of wearing light pants and a white Weebl & Bob tee shirt, which is now speckled with red spots...

Entree was Golubsty, sort of a Russian stuffed cabbage filled with seasoned ground beef & rice topped with dill and sour cream, served atop a roasted tomato and sour cream sauce. Home made pastries looked excellent but we did not have time to try them.

[rozrapp]

I booked for Sat. night.  The guy who answered the phone was very friendly and described many of the dishes, sounded great.

Glenn, Please post the phone number. TIA.

[Rosie]

=Mark This place is sounding good. How much was dinner?

[glenn]

Roz, it's 732-933-9848.

[rozrapp]

Roz, it's 732-933-9848.

Thanks, Glenn.

[=Mark]

=Mark This place is sounding good. How much was dinner?

Rosie, you gotta read my posts more thoroughly! We were there for lunch, and the bill for 2 including appetizers, 1 cup of soup (Actually more like a small bowl) and entrees was $32 before tip. Portion sizes are large.

Dinner entrees apear to be the standard $16 to $20.

This looks to be a nice ethnic addition to Monmouth County. Definately beats having yet another Italian or Chinese.

[Rosie]

Someone just told me about a place called River Edge in Red Bank. Know anything about it?

[Taboni]

I believe that was the very popular cafe that was on W Front St. which is now the Salvadorian restaurant. Used to go there for breakfast and lunch which were both very good. I thought I saw a sign that said they were open for dinner now, which maybe would indicate a change in menu? Not sure but if it is the place I am thinking of, they took over where Mulberry St restaurant used to be. Haven't been there since they moved.

[=Mark]

I've been to the relocated Rivers Edge and they are still very good. For some reason though they are having a slow start for dinners, wheras lunch often entails a wait to be seated.

[glenn]

The place has been open about a month. It’s brightly lit and sort of sterile. The big TV playing VH1 (no audio, and most of the time there a fashion show on) made it seem a bit like a Russian go-go place, not that I would know what those establishments actually look like, ahem. The 4 of us shared appetizers - 2 pierogies (beef and cabbage) and Blinchiki (ground beef, sauté onions- wrapped in pancakes with sour cream). We ordered the blinchiki because, well, we all enjoyed saying the word. Everything was ok, nothing more and nothing special.

My entrée was Russian Salmon Kulebyaka (or something like that). It was pastry stuffed with salmon, mushrooms, spinach, rice and eggs, served with asparagus and red caviar sauce. I really wanted a stuffed cabbage dish, either as an appetizer or entrée, but I didn’t see it on the menu as Mark had described (golubsty). The reason I ordered the salmon was because I wanted something different and it sounded interesting. It was good, but it reminded me of stuffed cocktail franks you get at bar mitvahs and such. The pastry was a little overwhelming. The same criticism about the appetizer, the blinchiki. Someone else ordered a similar dish to the salmon, but with trout. She thought it was too fishy, as did I, but then again, trout IS fishy, no? The other dishes ordered were veal, though I don’t remember the details.

Dessert was the low(est) point. We had a custard puff, brownie and chocolate cake. I don’t believe there was anything particularly Russian on the dessert menu. It was all very ordinary.

Service was friendly, though uninformed. The server either wasn’t overly familiar with the dishes or wasn’t able to describe them. We had to ask for a change of glasses when we changed from white wine to red. Our water came with like 3 lemon wedges each. One is one too many for me (I sent it back). Timing was good, up until dessert. We waited at least 15 minutes to have our dishes cleared, and then some more for our order to be taken. My espresso was brought out almost 5 minutes after I finished dessert. There was a maitre’d type walking about saying hello, but that’s about all he did. I think everything was priced $xx.95, adding to the diner feel. Entrees ranged from (I think) $14.95 to $22.95. Including tax and tip, the bill was $140 for 4.

The experience was very mediocre and I can’t see returning.

[glenn]

Someone just told me about a place called River Edge in Red Bank. Know anything about it?

As Mark said, the Rivers Edge Cafe was where the Salvadoran place is and is now located on Broad near the Russian place. It was crowded when we passed by around 8 PM, but had a few empty tables. Our friends have eaten there a few times and insist that we go there on our next outing in the area.

I mentioned the El Salvadoran place on another thread. It's superb.