Restaurant News

This week Rosie tells us about brunch at Maritime Parc in Jersey City, The Preppy Cookbook by Christine Nunn, and much more news about NJ restaurants.

MARITIME PARC, JERSEY CITY
Put a pair of sneakers in your car so that you can walk on the beautiful waterfront in Jersey City after brunch at Maritime Parc. It’s a great way to work off a meal (one of the finest brunches that we have had), as well as soaking in the gorgeous views of Manhattan. Under the direction of chef/owner Chris Siversen, this stunning restaurant is a fabulous place to spend a weekend afternoon dining on exemplary food.

There is plenty to choose from. If you crave sweet, there are buttermilk pancakes with butterscotch bananas and cinnamon whipped cream; homemade granola with organic yogurt and seasonal fruit; and a belly buster, which was so scrumptious we had a second order, blueberry croissant French toast with rhubarb berry compote and vanilla mascarpone. We were at a press brunch and had a “food lover’s” experience.

While waiting for our food, we sipped on a refreshing blood-orange Bellini and nibbled on addictive bread from Balthazar Bakery along with little knobs of blueberry ricotta doughnuts. We slurped up the grilled oysters with leeks and bacon cream, as well as the pan-roasted mussels with Parmigiano Reggiano broth, lemon, roasted garlic and breadcrumbs. A bowl of crispy duck-fat French fries topped with garlic and herbs was devoured and sometimes dipped into the mussel broth. A hash brown potato (potato pancake) served as a base for a fried egg, smoked salmon, sour cream, bacon and greens; a most colorful dish that we are going to try to recreate at home. Other fish dishes were an unusual scallop burger with corn mayo, bacon, and marinated tomato and a classic crab cake with a fried egg, arugula, grainy mustard vinaigrette and sauce gribiche.


Smoked salmon, potato hash brown, fried egg, sour cream, and bacon.

Not a fish eater? Not a problem. The Maritime Parc burger with creamy and tangy Califon Tomme cheese, grilled onions and special sauce was beefy and juicy. For something different, try the rich Mangalitsa pork burger with smoked-onion relish, king oyster mushrooms and gruyere cheese. You also can’t go wrong with a salad, omelet or frittata.

Whatever you choose to order, be sure to make room for desserts created by executive pastry chef John Sauchelli, especially the rhubarb-berry upside-down cake with toasted-almond ice cream; the lemon meringue bar with pistachio cake, toasted meringue and not-often-seen candied raspberries; or a new one for us: hard-to-stop eating tiramisu sundae, with espresso-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone and cocoa nib ice cream. Wash this all down with a surprisingly good NJ Vidal Ice Wine from Tomasello Vineyards.

Brunch is offered on Sunday from 11:30 AM to 5 PM and a modified brunch is offered on Saturday.


Lemon meringue bar with pistachio cake, toasted meringue and candied raspberries.
Photos courtesy of Lowell Saferstein

Maritime Parc
84 Audrey Zapp Drive
Liberty State Park, Jersey City
201-413-0050.

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"THE PREPPY COOKBOOK" BY CHRISTINE NUNN
Chef Christine Nunn has quite a witty sense of humor. Her newly published cookbook, The Preppy Cookbook—Classic Recipes for the Modern Prep not only has enticing and well-presented recipes, it is a very good read. It’s one of those cookbooks that had me laughing all the way to my stove. Remember this is a "preppy” cookbook, it contains amusing satire. Nunn, a very talented chef, was raised a “preppy,” and although she took the mandatory trip to Europe after college, she writes about how she did it her way.

Let’s start with the recipes and then I’ll tell you about the liquor. Nunn has quite a few dishes that I am in the process of trying, and a few that I have already tried. The meat loaf and grilled cheese casserole are keepers. We had them with company and everyone scarfed the food down. I love that she describes the French “mother sauces,” such as hollandaise and then tells us to go with something canned, such as cream of mushroom soup. I had a “Why didn’t I think of that moment?” when I tried her recipe for classic meat loaf. She tells us to put the meat mixture on white bread as it removes the fat from the pan and the meat forms a crust. You also find a trick for really creamy mac and cheese…that works. Another favorite is the summer squash salad, so simple yet elegant. And chef Nunn, you got me with the grilled cheese casserole. It’s sublime, addictive and so good that it has become a staple in my repertoire. Some of the chapters in the book are: Summer & the Living is Easy; Brunch as a Verb; the Cocktail Party; and Home for the Holidays; all with easy to follow recipes.

Now for the liquor. I don’t think I have ever seen a non-cocktail cookbook with so many references to liquor. But remember Nunn is a preppy, and she tells us many instances when the liquor is more important than the food, such as when Preps play tennis but are “more interested in the gin and tonic than the score” and should have this drink for hydration. The perfect picnic basket should contain a “thermos filled with G and T’s.” With her gin and tonic recipe she states, “It is The Drink.” And don’t worry about drinking too much. There is a recipe for Hangover Hash Browns that Nunn states, “Is loaded with all the culinary hangover remedies.”

Chef Nunn was the owner of Picnic in Fair Lawn and is now the executive chef at Grange, in Westwood. It’s not too early to start buying holiday gifts and this one would be appreciated and used. I’m lovin’ it!


The Preppy Cookbook by Christine E. Nunn
Photos by Ted Axelrod
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

On August 28, Nunn from Grange will be signing The Preppy Cookbook at Bookends, 211 E Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood at 7 PM. Information: 201-445-0726.

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JEWISH HOLIDAY DINING
Kuzina by Sofia, Sawmill Shopping Center, 404 Rt 70 W, Cherry Hill, is offering a special catering menu for Rosh Hashanah and Break the Fast, Yom Kippur. Pick up or delivery available throughout NJ. Rosh Hashanah dinner reservations are also being accepted at the restaurant; $35, children under 12, $15. The Yom Kipper smoked-fish feast is $18.95; children, $10. Call Assad Khoury directly at 856-448-5055 for details.

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COLLINGSWOOD POP UP GALA
Would you go to a dinner if you didn’t know where it was being held and you are asked to wear white? The Collingswood’s Pop Up Gala will be held on September 7 at an undisclosed location. This is how it works: You buy a ticket and will be notified approximately one week before the event with a location to meet your team leader and a group of fellow Pop-Up attendees between 6:15 and 6:30 PM. Your team leader will  receive a text promptly at 6:30 to proceed to a top-secret spot, where hundreds of diners will converge to enjoy to a giant, elegant, dinner with music and festivities. You are required to wear all white and bring your own tables, chairs, silverware, food and drink. You will walk through Collingswood as a group and your tables, chairs and accouterments will be driven to the site.

According to Cass Duffey, director of community development, Borough of Collingswood: “The pop up dinner party aims to bring together people from all over the community for a night of cultural enjoyment and enhance the use of a secret, yet ordinary public space just for one night, leaving no trace behind.”

Full details and rules are available here.
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