MAC AND CHEESE ALERT
We don’t know where to dine first, as two chefs from Landmark Hospitality, Phil Campanella of Liberty House, 76 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City (201-395-0300), and Jerry Villa of Stone House at Stirling Ridge, 50 Stirling Road, Warren (908-754-1222), will have a month-long addition to their menus of the perfect comfort food, mac and cheese, through March 31. The promotion will feature a specially created version of the dish daily, such as South of the Border (with chorizo, jalapeño, and queso fresco), Macaroni Blues (with Maytag blue cheese, smoked bacon, and wild mushrooms), and Rib Stickin’ (with braised short rib, chives, and aged horseradish cheddar), for $9.
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PF MARKET, FAIRFIELD
Eat at the restaurant, order takeout, or bring fish home to cook yourself at PF Market, 1090 Bloomfield Avenue, Fairfield (973-227-1007), a seafood market and restaurant. This casual BYO eatery with paper napkins and cloth-less tables offers exemplary service (ask for Joe, the most delightful waiter we have encountered in a long time), tasty fish, and surprisingly lovely wineglasses. Light blue walls with nautical pictures, a fresh seafood display case, live lobsters in a tank, and a blackboard listing the specials of the day all add to the ambiance.
Don’t fill up on the addictive spicy crabmeat and hummus dip that’s presented with bread when you’re seated. It’s that good and hard to stop popping in your mouth, with or without the bread. Starters were a Greek salad, large enough for two to share, with tomatoes, capers, cucumbers, onions, olives, and two slabs of feta cheese, as well as a rich New England clam chowder. Rare black-pepper-crusted ahi tuna was delectable and meaty. Served over a tricolor salad with ginger soy dressing, this was a filling entrée, although we would have preferred more zip to the dressing. Pristine and perfectly cooked whole branzino with a colorful mélange of red and yellow sautéed peppers and steamed green asparagus was pleasing to the eyes and the palate. Check the specials written on the blackboard. On one visit, stone crabs and a macadamia-crusted sea bass were listed, both winners. A few desserts are brought in from an outside source, but the one we tried, a pecan tart, was dry and tasteless. Call for reservations, as locals are starting to discover this delightful restaurant. PF Market is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
Black-pepper-crusted ahi tuna.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein.
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VINCENT’S AT THE KING GEORGE INN, WARREN
Vincent’s at the King George Inn, 181 Mount Bethel Road, Warren, offers traditional Italian dishes such as fried calamari, pasta e fagioli, rigatoni with Bolognese sauce, veal and chicken parmigiana, and zuppa de pesce. Although the waiter offered to make any dish we requested that was not on the menu (as long as the kitchen had the ingredients), we were disappointed that the countless specials of the evening were recited without prices. Eggplant parmigiana was listed as an entrée, but we ordered it as an appetizer, and to the kitchen’s credit it was split and served on two plates. I could actually taste the eggplant, a plus in my book, and the marinara sauce was so delicious that I wiped my plate clean with hot Italian bread. The chopped salad, a special, was heavy on the cucumbers but was a light starter and a large portion. Two veal entrées were ordered: very lightly battered veal Francese, which was declared one of the best preparations a dining companion had eaten in a long time, and tender veal Nonna with red roasted peppers, Portobello mushrooms, and artichokes in a white wine sauce. Pork chop giambotta and a special of delicate house-made pappardelle with broccoli rabe and shrimp in a white wine sauce were high on flavor and presentation. Dessert, a cheesecake, was ordered with four forks. Although Vincent’s is housed in a historic inn with two wood-burning fireplaces in the large dining room, we found the ambiance lacking and the room charmless. This was the only downside of our dinner. For reservations call 908-580-0033.
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NJ CHEFS ON CHOPPED
If you missed Michael Madigan Jr., executive chef/owner of Farm 2 Bistro, 177 Franklin Avenue, Nutley (973-667-3276), and 100 Hibernia Avenue, Rockaway (973-625-3276), on Chopped recently, you can catch a rerun on March 13 at 3 PM. This Food Network show challenges four chefs to turn a variety of everyday ingredients into a three-course meal, with one chef being chopped from each round. Madigan’s casual storefront BYOs feature ingredients from local farms and markets when in season; the motto is “Farm to plate in a day.”
Chef Bradley Boyle, owner of Salt: A Gastropub, 109 Route 206, Byram (973-347-7258), will appear on Chopped on Tuesday, March 9, at 10 PM.
More information on the show can be found at
www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/chopped-liver/index.html.
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UPCOMING CHARITY EVENTS
On March 15, Taste of Madison, presented by Gary’s Marketplace of Madison and featuring food, desserts, wine, beer, and spirits from local restaurants and retailers, will be held at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Ferguson Recreation Center, 285 Madison Avenue, Madison. This annual fund-raising event is organized by the Rotary Club of Madison, the Madison Chamber of Commerce, and the Madison Downtown Development Commission, and proceeds will be distributed to fund community, national, and international projects. 7 to 9 PM; $65. VIP hour 5:30 to 7 PM; $100, including complimentary valet parking. For tickets call 973-377-7830.
On March 11, thousands of hors d’oeuvres prepared by students from the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College, house specialties from 40 area restaurants, and an elegant Dessert Extravaganza headed by executive pastry chef Eugen Ess of the Trump Taj Mahal will be showcased at a black-tie Restaurant Gala to benefit student scholarships at the Academy of Culinary Arts. The event will be held at Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino, Park Place and Boardwalk, Atlantic City. 6:30 PM; $200. Tickets can be ordered by calling 609-463-4672 or by logging on to www.atlantic.edu/gala.
Dine at Nisi Estiatorio, 90 Grand Avenue, Englewood, on Wednesdays, for lunch, dinner, or even a glass of wine in the lounge, as it donates 10 percent of its revenues to charity on this day each week, aiming as much as possible to give priority to local organizations. In light of the recent earthquake in Haiti, however, the first recipient was Red Cross Haiti relief. For reservations call 201-567-4700.
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IT’S FOR THE DOGS
On March 6, a Mutts and Martinis event with food, beer, wine, and specialty martinis will be held at PJ Whelihan’s, 1854 East Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, to benefit Lilo’s Promise Animal Rescue. 7 to 10 PM; $35 in advance, $40 at the door. For tickets call 856-952-1978.
On April 10, the St. Hubert’s Canine Cotillion will be held at Hamilton Farm Golf Club, 1040 Pottersville Road, Gladstone, to benefit homeless animals at St. Hubert’s shelters in Madison and North Branch. Ties and tails are optional, and guests are welcome with or without canine companions. 6 PM; $275 including admission for one dog. Call 973-377-7094 for tickets.
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TAPAS AT THE FROG AND THE PEACH, NEW BRUNSWICK
Through March, the Frog and the Peach, 29 Dennis Street, New Brunswick, will offer tapas at the bar on Fridays from 5 to 7 PM. Spanish wines and sherries will be also be highlighted. For more information and dinner reservations call 732-846-3216.
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DINING DEALS
Avenue, 23 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch, has a new prix-fixe three-course brunch, with the choice of a mimosa or coffee, for $20. For reservations call 732-759-2900.
Mondays through Thursdays through March, Trattoria Rustica, 517 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, will offer a three-course prix-fixe menu for $21. For reservations call 973-783-3436; BYO.
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