DARYL, NEW BRUNSWICK
We expect a knockout meal when a restaurant is headed by the very acclaimed executive chef Zod Arifai, owner of Blu and Next Door in Montclair. And indeed that’s what we experienced at Daryl, 302 George Street, New Brunswick. Chef Zod’s supporting star, the talented chef de cuisine David Viana, along with his proficient staff, provided us with a memorable dining experience.
We started with seafood dumplings in a spicy coconut broth, which is one of the signature dishes at Blu. A beautifully dressed roasted pumpkin salad with orange and watercress was another refreshing starter. Chicken liver agnolotti with sage, balsamic vinegar, and caramelized onions was shared. Do try this pasta if you’re a fan of chicken livers—it’s now on our favorites list. A fabulous entrée of humungous and perfectly cooked pan-seared scallops, a special of the evening, was paired with potato purée, fava beans, peas, asparagus, wild mushrooms, and truffle froth. Salmon was enhanced by an orange-mustard glaze and was colorfully plated with butternut squash purée and finely chopped cranberries. Monkfish, an ugly-looking fish that’s also called poor man’s lobster, was moist and married well with the accompanying spinach, wild mushrooms, and red wine sauce.
For dessert, we highly recommend the Irish Car Bomb Sundae, based on the drink of the same name. It consisted of Guinness Extra Stout ice cream, Jameson whiskey caramel, Baileys Irish Cream whipped cream, and chocolate-covered sourdough pretzel pieces. Sounds heavy, but it wasn’t, and we scarfed it down and fought over the last spoonful.
Daryl has an approachable and wallet-friendly wine list, with 50 whites and 50 reds all priced at $50. The restaurant is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday and for dinner daily. On Friday and Saturday nights, the bar remains open until 1 AM. Reservations: 732-253-7780
Scallops, with potato purée, fava beans, peas, asparagus, wild mushrooms and truffle froth.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
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VILLAGE GREEN, RIDGEWOOD
When Tommy Eats, at www.facebook.com/tommyeats and http://tommyeats.typepad.com, says that he had a great meal at a restaurant, we make sure to dine there. He’s always on target. So with that in mind we headed to Village Green, 36 Prospect Street, Ridgewood, a place we’ve been patronizing on and off for at least nine years, since Chef Tom Goodman was manning the stoves. The place has had quite a few chefs since then but has always maintained a reputation for having appealing food.
The restaurant is now owned by Chef Kevin Portscher, who serves an à la carte New American menu as well as a five-course tasting menu with choices. We opted for the à la carte selections. Our amuse-bouche, couscous salad served on an oversize spoon, was a perfect start to our dinner, along with crusty bread. Almond and saffron soup, an unusual one for us, was a refreshing change; be sure to try it if it’s on the menu. A savory custard and lardons accompanied a salad of greens perfectly dressed in a lemon vinaigrette. It was delicious, and when I pointed out to the waiter that the description on the menu said frisée and not mixed greens, he immediately checked on this and then told us that the chef didn’t like the frisée that was delivered that day. This type of professionalism impressed us. Then, in a gesture of goodwill that showed us how much the chef cares about his customers, we were brought small bowls of heavenly gnocchi with butternut squash, pine nuts, and butter-sautéed mushrooms. In any case, order the gnocchi for yourself or for the table to share. One entrée, the slow-baked salmon with Israeli couscous risotto, lemon-scented asparagus, and Pommery beurre blanc, was expertly prepared, moist, and tasty. The one disappointment was a diver scallop and prawn preparation, as the accompanying hand-cut pappardelle were stuck together and the tomato and shrimp broth tasted salty rather than spicy. Dessert was a decent caramel cashew cheesecake, but I think we would have preferred the banana walnut bread pudding with maple ice cream.
Village Green is open for lunch Monday through Friday and for dinner daily; BYO. Reservations: 201-445-2914
Slow baked salmon
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
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EPHESUS, DENVILLE
“Seize the Taste” is the motto at Ephesus, a Turkish Mediterranean restaurant at 490 East Main Street, Denville, and we thought the food was better than at any of the Turkish restaurants we’ve tried in the Paterson/Clifton area. Not that our experience was perfect—service was amateurish, and there’s definitely a language barrier, which in our case created mistakes with our order. But with the quality of the ingredients and the perfectly cooked, tasty food, as well as the price, which for us came to $20 a person before tax and tip, Ephesus is a restaurant that we’ll definitely return to.
We started with a large mixed appetizer consisting of smoked eggplant and smoked green and red peppers with olive oil and garlic; hummus; house-made creamy thick yogurt with walnuts; stuffed grape leaves; eggplant in a fresh tomato sauce with onions, herbs, and garlic; and a spicy paste made with finely chopped vegetables and walnuts, which you may want to avoid, as the heat level was high. Warm pide (pita) bread was used as a base, and we all agreed that we prefer the pide made at Taskin Bakery in Paterson. You may want to order lavas, a thin, crispy bread that we saw on a table when leaving the restaurant. When I asked the diners what it was, they offered us a taste, and it was preferable to the pide. But try both and see what you think. Or order one of the Turkish-style pizzas, with different ingredients such as lamb chunks, feta, ground meat, spinach, or chicken.
The menu is large, but there are repetitions in dishes. For example, I ordered a lamb shish kebab, which was tender and flavorful, but there was also a mini lamb shish kebab on the menu, which our friend ordered. When we asked the waiter what the difference was in the dishes, he told us that the regular shish kebab had “pieces of meat the size of ice cubes, and the other dish has small pieces of meat.” Well, the dishes were exactly the same. Our entrées came while we were eating the appetizer, and one dish was something that hadn’t been ordered. When we told the waitress this, she said, “We were out of what you ordered.” Why did the restaurant substitute something else without telling us? So our friend ordered a different dish, and it was served when we were finished with our entrées. Still, juicy chicken cubes on the chicken shish kebab, with the marvelous yogurt, made for a most appealing dish.
The restaurant was out of one of the four desserts offered, and our waitress recommended what she called “our five-star dessert.” She was right. The kunefe, a sweet pastry made with kadaifi (crispy shredded phyllo pastry), mild melted cheese, honey, and walnuts, was an absolute knockout. I will not agree to share this dessert again.
Most of the usual Turkish dishes are offered here, including shepherd salad, lamb, ground meat, and gyros, but if you’re looking for something different, veal liver and Turkish pastrami are on the menu, and lamb’s head soup is offered in the winter. This small BYO strip-mall restaurant was packed on a Saturday night. Reservations: 973-453-6263.
Ephesus mixed appetizer with eggplant salad, hummus, lebni, eggplant with sauce, spicy paste, and grape leaves.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
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MAIFEST AT PILSENER HAUS & BIERGARTEN, HOBOKEN
Through May 31, Pilsener Haus & Biergarten, 1422 Grand Street, Hoboken, will be celebrating Maifest, the annual festival held throughout Germany to welcome the arrival of spring. For information on upcoming events, visit www.pilsenerhaus.com or call 201-683-5465.
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UPCOMING CHARITY AND WINE EVENTS
On May 14, a Pala Winery Sardinia dinner will be held at Undici Taverna Rustica, 11 West River Road, Rumson. $79 including dinner, seminar, tasting, tax, and gratuity. For reservations, call 732-842-3880.
On May 18, A Winebow Portugal wine dinner will be held at Salt Creek Grille, 1 Rockingham Row, Princeton Forrestal Village (Route 1), Princeton; 7 PM. Call 609-419-4200 for reservations and more information.
On May 20, chef/owner Jim Weaver will be hosting the Taste of the Nation event as a launch party for his new book, Locavore Adventures: One Chef’s Slow Food Journey, at his restaurant, Tre Piani, 120 Rockingham Row, Princeton Forrestal Village, Princeton. One hundred percent of the ticket sales will benefit anti-hunger organizations. 2 to 5 PM; $85. For tickets and more information, visit www.strength.org/princeton.
Also on May 20, a Lilac Party and wine tasting will be held at the Willowwood Arboretum, 300 Longview Road, Far Hills, to benefit the Willowwood Foundation. 4 to 7 PM; $75. For more information and tickets, call 908-234-1815.
On May 21, Grand Tastings XVIII will be held at Pleasantdale Chateau, West Orange, to benefit the Jersey Battered Women’s Service. Some of the participating chefs offering samplings of their signature dishes are Corey Heyer from the Bernards Inn, Scott Cutaneo from Great Scott, Walter Leffler from 5-Diamond Culinary Consultants, Danny Besser and Michael Weisshaupt from Restaurant Latour, Fredy Umanzor from Tim Schafer’s Cuisine, and Andre de Waal from Andre’s Restaurant and Wine Boutique. Also in attendance will be specialty beer, wine, and liquor vendors coordinated by Gary Fisch from Gary’s Wine and Marketplace. 6 to 9:30 PM; $350. For tickets, log on to www.jbws.org.
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