Restaurant News

This week Rosie tells us about a collaborative feast at Elements in Princeton, Sefarat Kebab House in West Orange, Rob’s Bistro in Madison, her kitchen renovation, and much more news about NJ restaurants.

MARITIME PARC, JERSEY CITY
The event side of Maritime Parc, 84 Audrey Zapp Drive, Liberty State Park, Jersey City is hosting its first function post-Sandy on Friday, November 9th. Chef/Owner Chris Siversen expects that the a la carte side may open as early as the end of next week. The restaurant luckily sustained only minimal damage and power has been restored. Check the website for further updates: http://maritimeparc.com

COLLABORATIVE FEAST AT ELEMENTS, PRINCETON
On November 15, a special seven-course, wine-paired dinner that will feature a menu by the area’s best chefs will be held at Elements, 163 Bayard Lane, Princeton. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. The menu will be created from the best and freshest ingredients available on the day of the dinner, and diners are encouraged to come hungry and ready for an extraordinary evening of food and wine. Hors d’oeuvres begin at 6 PM and dinner at 7 PM; $125; optional wine pairing, $60. Reservations: 609-924-0078 or at www.elementsprinceton.com.

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SEFARAT KEBAB HOUSE, WEST ORANGE
Sefarat, a new restaurant that has opened in West Orange, distinguishes itself by serving the fabulous pida bread from Taskin Bakery in Paterson with an herbed olive oil for dipping. For us, this is an impressive way to start a meal, as so many Turkish restaurants offer mass-produced tasteless pita bread. As usual, when we try a new Turkish restaurant, if available we opt for a combination appetizer plate. At Sefarat, seven items: babagannush, hummus, spicy finely chopped vegetable salad, eggplant salad, thick lebni, bean salad, and spinach sauté for $15.95 (separately they are $3.95), were presented separated by tomato slices. Our favorites were the hummus, lebni and eggplant salad. A refreshing coban salad with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onion, and parsley topped with feta was dressed with a lively olive oil and vinegar dressing. Zucchini pancakes suffered from being too salty and burned on one side. A few traditional Turkish dishes caught our eye: a colorful non-slimy baby okra and tender lamb stew, which we can recommend, and tiny, poached beef dumplings served with a spicy, yogurt sauce—which alone were bland, while the sauce gave them some character. We thought the dumplings might be better added to a chicken or vegetable soup. Kebabs and combination plates are available, as well a few seafood options. Baklava was crispy and not overly sweet, a perfect end to our meal.

Combination appetizer plate.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein

Sefarat Kebab House
460 Pleasant Valley Way
West Orange
973-669-3582
BYO

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COCCO BELLO CAFE, LIVINGSTON
We had a 15-percent-off coupon for cash, and decided to return to Cocco Bello, which we hadn’t visited in a year and a half. This casual restaurant is still drawing in locals with its moderate prices and, for the most part, tasty food. Two of our choices were winners. One wasn’t. We started with their Italian bread offered with a dip of olives and soft, roasted garlic in an herbed olive oil. A salad of baby arugula, flavorful, warm, roasted figs, Gorgonzola, and toasted, slivered almonds was dressed in an amazing honey-balsamic dressing. We also loved Lowell’s roasted Asiago chicken breast with the scrumptious roasted-garlic sauce. It was accompanied by sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes. My eggplant lasagna sounded different, but the execution was not successful. The pasta was floury and the eggplant undercooked. Service was also slow. Reservations: 973-992-1999.

Baby arugula, roasted figs, Gorgonzola, and toasted slivered almonds salad with honey-balsamic dressing.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein

Cocco Bello Café
155 S Livingston Avenue
Livingston
973-992-1999.
BYO

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ROB’S BISTRO, MADISON

Expect to find flavorful, moderately priced, classic French-bistro dishes at Rob’s Bistro in Madison, as well as some of chef/owners Robert Ubhaus’s customer favorites, such as foie gras, duck breast, and scallop preparations formerly offered at the now-closed Resto. We started with a rich onion soup with gruyere cheese floating on a raft of bread, followed by an excellent preparation of falling-off-the-bone, braised rabbit that was accompanied by red-wine risotto. Our other entrée was a noteworthy, perfectly cooked, seared Scottish salmon with red-and-yellow beets, spinach fricassee, and a salmon-roe crème fraîche. A side of al dente haricot vert was shared. Dessert was an A-plus treat of house-made chocolate sauce swirled, dark-chocolate ice cream. A plat du jour is also on the menu. There are two that we’d like to try: on Friday, bouillabaisse and on Sunday calves liver with caramelized onions and lardoons. Other menu options include: vanilla-bean salmon gravlax salad, duck confit, moules or steak frites, and sole tapenade. Service was attentive, our waiter friendly, and we loved that our wine was served in stemless glasses. Be sure to make a reservation. The place was packed when we were there very early on a Saturday night.

Salmon with red-and-yellow beets, spinach fricassee, and salmon-roe crème fraîche.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein

Rob’s Bistro
75 Main Street
Madison
973-377-0067
BYO

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HIGHLAWN PAVILION, WEST ORANGE EXTENDED WINE LIST
Highlawn Pavilion, Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange now has a wine program that includes more than 50—frequently changing—wines by the glass that have each received professional wine ratings. Additionally executive chef Mitchell Altholz, whose dishes are inspired by locally sourced ingredients, has a menu that allows diverse pairing options. His seasonal produce is grown at Pleasantdale Farm and greenhouse, located on the grounds of the nearby Pleasantdale Château, a venue also owned by the Knowles family. Check out the Highlawns’ dramatic wine cellar, an impressive setting for wine tastings and private dining events. Wine is stored here and the eastern wall is the natural “Eagle Rock,” upon which Highlawn Pavilion was built. Lunch is served Monday through Friday, and dinner daily.

Highlawn Pavilion wine cellar.

Highlawn Pavilion
Eagle Rock Reservation
West Orange, NJ
973-731-3463
www.highlawn.com

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NEW JERSEY RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION GALA EVENT
On November 26, the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA) will host its Annual Gold Plate & Restaurateur of the Year Gala at the Madison Hotel in Morristown, where the following winners will be honored: chef David Burke of David Burke Fromagerie in Rumson, who has been awarded Restaurateur of the Year; Ashley Lauren Fisher of Pazzo Pazzo in Morristown, who will receive the 2012 Gold Plate Award; and Betsy Alger, formerly of Frog and the Peach in New Brunswick, for the Deborah Roy Dowdell Lifetime Achievement Award. The black-tie gala is open to the public and costs $225. For more information, or to purchase tickets or journal ads go to njragala.com, or contact Stacey Barone at 609-599-3316, [email protected].

Celebrity chef and restaurateur David Burke has also been honored with the Hotel Concierge Choice Award for Best Chef in New York, which credited him as one of New York City’s most elite chefs for his outstanding achievement and service at David Burke Townhouse located on East 61st Street between Park and Lexington avenues.

David Burke

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ANTHONY’S CHEESECAKE, BLOOMFIELD
It’s not all cheesecake at Anthony’s Cheesecake in Bloomfield. Breakfast and lunch are served daily except Sunday; dinner Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 9 PM. This is a cute little casual neighborhood establishment, where at dinner there are double tablecloths and cloth napkins. The menu is small but changes weekly, and the restaurant rotates 40 different cheesecakes along with other homemade desserts. We opted for one prix-fixe dinner, a fabulous deal offered from 5 to 6:30 for $12.95. It comes with a respectable house salad—greens, ripe tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers and a tasty balsamic dressing—and a bowl of fettuccini with a spicy pomodoro sauce. There were three entrée choices on the prix fixe: chicken parmigiana; turkey meatloaf; or beef fajita. We opted for the beef fajita and it was basically a wrap filled with sweet red peppers, mozzarella cheese and ground beef. Sour cream and rice came on the side. Bottom line, even thought it wasn’t a traditional preparation we thought it was dynamite and quite filling. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the salmon fillet for $22.95, which we couldn’t eat as it was undercooked and when sent back, re-delivered very well done. The accompanying light garlic lemon sauce was also tasteless. Although the waitstaff was friendly and accommodating no mention of our uneaten plate was made. Of course dessert is a no brainer here and we shared a serving of caramel pecan cheesecake.

Anthony’s Cheesecake
71 Washington Street
Bloomfield
973-415-8885
BYO

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PLAID PIPER FARM
Plaid Piper Farm, 197 Rt 629, Branchville, has 100 acres of natural pasture where animals roam free and eat natural, antibiotic and hormone free food. Their turkey is available for Thanksgiving (pickup only) as well as beef, eggs and other meats. This farm has quite an interesting history. It is owned by Paul Dalrymple whose great, great, great grandfather and mother bought the first parcel over 200 years ago and the farm has remained in his family ever since. For information or to order log onto: www.plaidpiperfarm.com

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CONSTRUCTION BLUDGEON –KITCHEN BLOG CONTINUED
We are in the middle of a kitchen renovation and the past few weeks have been writing about our experience. We’d love about your renovation experiences. Past articles here.
http://njmonthly.com/blogs/tablehopwithRosie/2012/10/24/restaurant-news.html#read_more

This was not the nightmare we expected and when the destruction and construction were started. We finally felt comfortable and pleased with our choice to use Showcase because of how this phase was handled. When we initially asked friends about their renovation experiences, all we heard were horror stories. When asked what advice they could give us some said, “just know that they all lie.” Our contract said that the kitchen would be completed in 15-20 working days. We didn’t believe it as everyone we talked to told us to double the time. But we’ve got to give credit to Showcase as the kitchen was completed within the time frame they gave us—except for some added on electrical work that we requested. They had the workers lined up…electrician, plumber, appliance delivery…and everything went smoothly. The two very talented men who put in the cabinets and backsplash tile, Tom and John, who we dubbed “kitchen gods,” did an outstanding job that exceeded our expectations. Additionally, our kitchen and garage were thoroughly cleaned daily. There were a few glitches, but they were handled well. For example, we found out that the floor tile did not go under all of the cabinets and appliances, except for the stove and refrigerator and had to retile those areas. Electric outlets needed to be replaced, so that all the colors would match. Both of these jobs cost us extra. The stopper on the new faucet in the bathroom didn’t work and the company replaced it with a more expensive faucet immediately, without any extra charges.

Although all of the expenses were itemized on our contract, they were listed on different proposals and unless we asked, Showcase did not send an invoice after each payment was made. The cabinets had four different payment options, the kitchen purchases (tile, sinks, faucet, door pulls etc) a different set of “pay this amount by,” and the labor was grouped on another list. All we were doing was writing checks, but had a better grip on the expenses once we made a chart to keep track of costs and with the check numbers, and what the check was for. It’s very easy to overspend when renovating. Additionally, appliances, painting, and blinds were extra.

The kitchen is not quite finished yet, but next week read about a few of the places we dined while kitchenless.

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Please send press releases and restaurant news, including information on staff changes, wine tastings, and cooking classes, to [email protected].

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