Restaurant News

This week Rosie tells us about J&K Steakhouse in Dover, the Cape May Food & Wine Festival, a farm dinner at Wightman’s Farms in Morristown, and much more news about NJ dining.

J&K STEAKHOUSE, DOVER
Owners Jarod and Kathy Zelaya, a husband-and-wife team, used the initials in their first names when they opened J&K Steakhouse, 34 West Blackwell Street, Dover. When Jarod was ten years old, he came to the States from El Salvador, where his grandmother owned a restaurant, and he knew that someday he’d have his own place and continue the family tradition. Kathy wanted to open a business in her hometown of Dover. In May 2008 they realized their dream.

Although J&K serves USDA prime and dry-aged New York strip, filet mignon, bone-in rib eye, and porterhouse steaks ranging from $30 to $41, it’s not all about steak here. Also available are appetizers of Spanish chorizo, garlic shrimp, and tuna tartare, and an entrée of whole red snapper served with coconut rice and topped with shrimp, bay scallops, and calamari, with enchilada sauce. Portuguese-style chicken and ribs are served as well. Vegetarians can opt for the salads (the center-cut iceberg, with crumbled blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes, and purple onions is substantial); grilled eggplant gratin layered with Portobello mushroom, zucchini, and cheese, with tomato sauce; or vegetarian linguine.

A three- or four-course prix-fixe dinner with choices is also offered. The three-course is $29.95 and includes prime steak as one of the choices; an upgrade to prime dry-aged steak is $39.95. The $39.95 four-course dinner includes a ten-ounce prime Angus filet mignon as one of the entrée choices.

Desserts are made in house, and, although I wouldn’t advise it, if you choose to bypass the brownie with vanilla ice cream or the apple bread pudding with rum raisin ice cream, there’s a fresh fruit plate to end your meal. The restaurant is BYO, but J&K will blend the wine you bring with fresh-fruit-filled sangria mix for $15 per pitcher.

J&K Steakhouse is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 10 PM and Sunday from 5 to 10 PM. For reservations call 862-244-4536.





Center-cut iceberg lettuce with crumbled blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes, and purple onions from J&K Steakhouse, Dover.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein.

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THE DIABETES SEAFOOD COOKBOOK
Barbara Seelig-Brown, a New Jersey cooking teacher, author, and host of the TV show Stress Free Cooking, has released The Diabetes Seafood Cookbook, available at http://store.diabetes.org, in bookstores, or by calling 800-ADA-6733.


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CAPE MAY FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL
From September 19 through 27, eat, drink, and be merry at the thirteenth annual Cape May Food & Wine Festival, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). Events include the gourmet marketplace at the Cape May Winery, the Chefs’ Cook-Off, the People’s Choice Chowder Contest, Chef Dine-Arounds, gourmet lunches, a beer tasting dinner, workshops with chefs from award-winning restaurants, cooking classes, and more. For additional information about MAC’s year-round schedule of tours, festivals, and special events, call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278, or visit www.capemaymac.org. For more info about restaurants, accommodations, and shopping, call the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May at 609-884-5508.

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AJI LIMON, CLIFTON
It’s not often that we find grilled beef heart on a menu. Or cold cooked potatoes served various ways, such as in a cheese sauce, mashed and stuffed with chicken, in a pink (tomato) cheese sauce, and with peanut sauce and huacataya, a Peruvian herb that smells like mint and basil. And it is also unusual to find cloth napkins and tables covered with cloth in an inexpensive BYO storefront ethnic restaurant. But we found all of the above at Aji Limon, a Peruvian restaurant at 1239 Main Avenue, Clifton (973-272-3660), where ceviches, Peruvian-Chinese fusion (there is a large Chinese presence in Peru), steaks, and fish dishes are featured.

When you’re seated, large roasted corn kernels, perfect for munching, are brought to the table along with aji, a green dipping sauce usually made with aji peppers, although we were told that what we had was made with jalapeño peppers. Entrées are large (you will probably bring food home) and range in price from $10 to $14. The “poor man’s steak” is served with salad, rice, egg, sweet plantains, and French fries, almost like having breakfast, lunch, and dinner on one plate. Seafood options include fried fish; stews; shrimp in a sauce of Peruvian hot pepper, garlic, and milk; and the very popular ceviches, served in a lime juice, garlic, and cilantro dressing with boiled sweet potato, corn, and sliced onions. Peruvian doughnuts made with sweet potatoes and pumpkin are available on weekends, as is ice cream made with the powdered form of lacuma, a subtropical fruit with a maple and sweet potato flavor. Other dessert options are rice pudding, chocolate cake, crème brûlee, and flan. If you’re interested in exploring other Peruvian restaurants, we can recommend Sabor Peru in Rutherford and Misty’s in West Orange.


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NJ FARM DINNER AT WIGHTMAN’S FARMS, MORRISTOWN
On September 16, a New Jersey local farm dinner will be held at Wightman’s Farms, 1111 Mount Kemble Avenue, Morristown, to promote the importance of supporting NJ farms and agriculture. The following all-you-can-eat menu will be prepared by Ronnie’s All American Bar-B-Que Company: fresh pressed cider; tossed salad with tomatoes; grilled sausage, peppers, and onions; roasted fresh turkey; grilled London broil with fresh mushrooms; white corn on the cob; roasted potatoes; grilled eggplant; squash; zucchini; fresh artisanal breads; and fresh apple pie. 4 to 7 PM; adults $30, children twelve and under $10 (on the day of the event, $40 for adults and $15 for children twelve and under). For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Morris County Soil Conservation District Website, www.mcscd.org, or call 973-285-2953.

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WESTFIELD NEWS

Boulevard Bistro, 301 South Avenue West, has recently opened, offering classic Italian cuisine at reasonable prices. Menu items include hot and cold appetizers, pastas, panini, and meat, chicken, and seafood entrées. A children’s menu is also available. This BYO is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. For reservations call 908-264-8252.

Downtown Westfield Restaurant Week will be celebrated from September 14 through 25 with $15 two-course lunch menus, $25 three-course dinner menus, and $7.50-or-less café and deli lunch specials. For more information log on to www.westfieldtoday.com.

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CAPRICCIO, EDGEWATER
Capriccio (“whim” in Italian), a casual café, has recently opened at 547 River Road, Edgewater, featuring Italian cheeses, cured hams, and meats; pastas; thin-crust focaccia; salads; rotisserie chicken; and desserts. Frozen yogurt and gelato are made fresh daily, with about twenty rotating flavors offered. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as for late-night snacks (until midnight during the week, 2 AM on Fridays and Saturdays), plus wine, beer, and spirits. For more information call 201-943-0600.

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SAVE THE DATE
From November 6 through 15, Jersey Shore Restaurant Week will be held, with participating restaurants offering a three-course meal with three appetizer, entrée, and dessert choices for $20.09 or $30.09. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. For more information log on to www.jerseyshorerestaurantweek.com.

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DINING DEALS
There are lots of deals to take advantage of at David Burke Fromagerie, 26 Ridge Road, Rumson (732-842-8088). The Tuesday-night burger menu, which includes a salad, burger, and choice of a glass of house wine or beer for $20.09, is now also available every Friday for lunch. Three-course Sunday brunch and dinner menus, for $20.09, are offered. And on Wednesdays, wines by the bottle and glass are 50 percent off.

Catelli Ristorante, Plaza 1000 Main Street, Voorhees, has a back-to-school special for the month of September where children ages thirteen and under can eat free. Menu items include cheese ravioli, capellini or penne with butter or tomato sauce, grilled chicken Caesar salad, chicken parmigiana and pasta, individual pizzas, shrimp scampi over capellini, grilled cheese with French fries, chicken fingers with French fries, mac and cheese, and mini cheeseburger with French fries. The meal also includes the choice of beverage or milk shake and ice cream sundae or cannoli. For reservations call 856-751-6069.

Palmer’s Crossing Restaurant, Clinton Inn Hotel, 145 Dean Drive, Tenafly, offers a three-course early-bird special from 4 to 6 PM Monday through Friday for under $20. For reservations call 201-871-3200.

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Please send press releases and restaurant news, including information on staff changes, wine tastings, and cooking classes, to rosie@njmonthly.com.