Restaurant 89--Mountainside

[Rosie]

We dined at a winner last night in a town that begins with an “M” and it was not Montclair!! Restaurant 89, 899 Mountain Ave, Mountainside (908-233-2355) is under the direction of owner Richard Grignon and chef Albert Barker both formerly from Le Petit Chateau.

When seated we noticed that there were two different old Better Homes and Garden cookbooks at our seats. These turned out to be the menus cleverly pasted in the front and back covers. After reading the menus and wine list we had fun browsing through the old recipes. A complimentary kir is also brought to each table before ordering. What a delightful touch that put us in the mood for a wonderful dining experience.

Service was attentive and the staff was well trained. The restaurant was out of the wine we ordered and kudos to the owner who offered us a higher priced bottle at the same price as the wine we originally ordered.

The bread could be skipped but we were told that a new purveyor would be on board soon. We started with a beautifully composed mixed field green salad with lemon grass citronade and a fabulous glazed asparagus with a ragout of exotic mushrooms with rosemary in a puff pastry. Lowell had a don’t miss Korean white tuna with a black sesame crust and a blood orange-lemon grass emulsion accompanied with a snow pea and leek salad. I had tender braised short ribs with rutabaga confit and butternut squash which was topped with potato sticks and surrounded with an Asian juniper sauce. Everything we had was outstanding.

Dessert was a lip puckering apple tart, a satisfying end for our meal. Coffee was fair. With tax, tip and $25 bottle of wine the bill was $102. Do try this place.

[tommy]

"A complimentary kir is also brought to each table before ordering. What a delightful touch that put us in the mood for a wonderful dining experience."

that is indeed a lovely touch. more restaurants should do this. with some sparklers as cheap as they are, it would hardly amount to any huge cost.

[Rosie]

The owner felt that he wanted to do something different and rather then sending out an amuse he sends out a kir. I like the whole idea also as you can sip it while reading the cookbook!! Forgot to mention that my salad had small balls of goat cheese with a grape inside. They were coated with walnuts. What a pleasant surprise I had when I bit into them.

[tommy]

ok, so i might be more demanding than the average customer, but i appreciate a kir *with* an amuse. nothing makes me happier, and sets the tone of the meal better, than some sparkling wine with an amuse. hell, a little thimble of seasonal soup is good enough and easy enough. if that doesn't put a smile on the diner's face, i don't know what will.

but i applaud them regardless.

Edited December 27, 2003 by tommy (log)

[andyabramo]

The Star Ledger had a nice review as well. Just made reservations for Saturday night and looking forward to it.

[Rosie]

Andyabramo--Be sure to give us a report.

[dbrociner]

RS, I believe that the address is Mountain Ave in Mountainside. I hope this restaurant does well as my parents live just up the hill. Being from the area I can tell you that this location has hosted several restaurant failures over the last 5-7 years. I wish the owners good luck and I'll plan a visit to check it out soon.

[mikec]

Is this on the corner? Mountain Ave and ? Across from what used to be Friendly's and is now a bank?

[Rosie]

It's on the corner.

[Wiener]

When I was in Sicily last year, many of the restaurants offered a kir or a glass of champagne when we sat down. By the end of the trip, I became disappointed when we weren't offered this. Glad to see this catching on.

[Rosie]

It's the only restaurant to my knowledge in NJ that is doing this. Nice change from an amuse.

[birder53]

There was a review in Sunday's paper, Star Ledger? I thought from the review that they serve a complimentary Kir, not a Kir Royale. Rosie, which were you served? (I hope it was the Royale!)

[Rosie]

Kir--white wine and creme de cassis

[andyabramo]

Just back from dinner at 89. Had a wonderful dinner....and yes they are still serving kir. Very nice.....The meal was great. Had baby green salad with the goat cheese around a grape....salmon appetizer and sesame white korean tuna....all were excellent. Portions were very small but satisfied. I do know some that would not be satisfied with the size. Wine was very reasonable.....No one wanted to share dessert so I bowed to the peer pressure! Service was slow but not a problem being conversation was good. Will definatlley be back.

[mikec]

Can I assume that this place is not BYO? If so, it pretty much gets knocked off the list of restaurant to try even though it's about seven minutes from my house.

[Rosie]

Not BYO but they have a reasonable wine list.