JAZZ MENU AT HIGHLAWN PAVILION, WEST ORANGE
Every Wednesday and Friday in the bar and piano room at Highlawn Pavilion, Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange, executive chef Mitchell Altholz offers a three-course Jazz Menu, with choices, for $29. Appetizers include French onion soup, baby arugula salad, and tuna and salmon tartare. Entrées include Wagyu hanger steak, fusilli carbonara, and sautéed striped bass. Dessert options include a chocolate tasting and sorbet and fresh fruit. Reservations: 973-731-3463.
Executive chef Mitchell Altholz.
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NICO KITCHEN + BAR, NEWARK
Coming February 21 is Nico Kitchen + Bar, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark (973-642-1226), an “Italian without borders” restaurant from the renowned chef Ryan DePersio of Fascino (Montclair) and Bar Cara (Bloomfield). Chef de cuisine is Adam Rose. The small-plates dinner menu and eclectic lunch menu (think tapas with contemporary American and Italian leanings) features some of the following dishes: pomegranate-chili wings with Gorgonzola dipping sauce; lobster mac and cheese; mascarpone polenta fries; mache salad with beet pinwheel and goat cheese “snow”; olive-crusted king salmon with roasted jumbo asparagus; cheeseburger; grilled soy-paprika lamb chops with eggplant purée; and, for dessert, rum raisin bread pudding with caramel pecan gelato and praline-dusted ricotta cheesecake. A more traditional value-priced three-course prix-fixe menu will be offered for performance nights and matinees.
Nico will also have a happy hour with crafted cocktails and specially priced bites, and guests will have 21 wines by the glass to choose from, along with original seasonal and classic cocktails and artisanal beers. The space has been updated with new booth seating and a community table for twelve, plus pendulum lamps and theatrical panels on pulleys that create intimate dining spaces. The private dining rooms can accommodate events for up to 240 guests.
Nico will serve lunch Monday through Friday and dinner every night but Sunday. Reservations: 973-642-1226.
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SICKLES IN SICILY
Sickles Market, 1 Harrison Avenue, Little Silver, is hosting a trip to Sicily, October 1 through 10. Attendees will meet the producers of the specialty food products found only on Sickles Market’s shelves; have private tastings of wines, olive oil, and chocolate; accompany a Sicilian chef to a seaside market and later taste the dishes made from the shopping spree; explore the native fauna in a private garden; and roam the ancient ruins. For more information and pricing, call Kirsty Dougherty at 732-741-9563.
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MARITIME PARC, JERSEY CITY
Every Thursday is the Oyster & Burger Bash at Maritime Parc, 84 Audrey Zapp Drive, Liberty State Park, Jersey City, with six oysters on the half shell, a specialty burger with fries, and a glass of beer or wine for $20. Other burger choices include a seasonal veggie burger, the MP burger with grilled onions and special sauce, and the scallop burger with bacon-corn remoulade. Reservations: 201-413-0050.
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CHEF JESSE CONCEPTS
Chef Jesse Jones, who specializes in country French, Cajun, and Southern cuisines, has changed his business name to Chef Jesse Concepts. He will be cooking prix-fixe dinners at Harrar Cafe, 11 Village Plaza, South Orange, on Sunday evenings throughout the year. For more information and reservations, call 973-580-2203; BYO.
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MADE WITH LOVE, JERSEY CITY
Made With Love Organic Bakery & Cafe, 530 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City (201-451-5199), is now hosting Italian dinners every Friday from 5 to 9 PM; BYO. Some menu items offered are Tuscan cannellini bean soup, pizza of the day, vegetable lasagna, house-made gnocchi in vodka sauce, and tiramisu. Along with cooking classes, communal dinners are held once a month. For more information, log on to www.madewithloveorganics.com. Reservations: 201-451-5199.
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JONATHAN WAXMAN COLLABORATING AT ROSA MEXICANO
Chef Jonathan Waxman will join Rosa Mexicano as culinary advisor for 2012. He will collaborate with the culinary team to create the following seasonal menus: February/March, Eclectic Cuts, the Art of Butchery; April, Mexican Passover; June, Foods of Baja; and October/November, Day of the Dead. Chef Waxman is the owner of Barbuto in New York City, the author of the cookbooks A Great American Cook and Italian My Way, and a recent contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters. In New Jersey, Rosa Mexicano is located at Riverside Square, 390 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack (201-489-9100).
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LOOKING AHEAD
On March 31, Diamonds and Denim, a charity gala hosted by the American Red Cross, Jersey Coast Chapter, will be held at the Spring Lake Golf Club, 901 Warren Avenue, Spring Lake Heights. Tickets are available now for $225 if purchased by February 29, and there’s a special offer of parties of eight for $1,600. For more information, contact Kim Price at the Red Cross at 732-493-9100 ext 1227.
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