Restaurant Openings:
Harvey’s Handrolled Bagels, Montclair
During the pandemic, Matt Harvey began operating a weekend pop-up in Walnut Street Kitchen’s bakery section. Earlier this month, Harvey opened his own brick-and-mortar and became Montclair’s newest bagel shop. House-made flavors include plain, poppy, sesame, sesame garlic, egg everything and cinnamon raisin. The sandwich menu entices with the likes of the Harvest Moon (a house-made maple sausage patty, fried egg, Fontina cheese and maple-cinnamon drizzle) and the Jam (prosciutto, caramelized onion, cream cheese, fig jam, toasted pine nuts, arugula and balsamic glaze).
98 Walnut Street, Montclair; 973-746-0789
Sushi by Sea, Ridgefield
The invite-only omakase pop-up, which took off in early 2021, recently opened its first brick-and-mortar—but it’s not leaving the exclusivity element behind. To participate, guests must register at sushibysea.com and hope to receive a personal invitation from an online bot. For two hours (and $165 per person), 12 guests per seating enjoy fresh fish sourced from around the world during a 16-course, super-seasonal meal that includes sake and something sweet at the end. The exact address in Ridgefield is kept secret until the day before your reservation. Seatings are at 5, 7 and 9 pm Wednesday–Saturday, and at 4 and 6 pm on Sundays. Registration is open now.
Ridgefield, 201-414-5692
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, Hoboken
The NYC-based Brooklyn Dumpling Shop is set to open in Hoboken in late October. An Automat-style system lets customers order online and then scan their barcode to open a temperature-controlled glass compartment and remove their meal. The compartments flash red when an order is placed, yellow when two minutes of waiting time remains, and green when the order is ready. The eatery offers 32 flavors of dumplings, including pastrami, bacon cheeseburger and shrimp scampi, as well as dessert dumplings like apple caramel and PB&J.
514 Washington Street, Hoboken; 917-409-1691
Café Lift, Haddonfield
The popular Philly brunch spot has opened its first New Jersey location. The seasonal menu uses local ingredients whenever possible. The all-day brunch menu includes sandwiches, salads, mushroom toast with poached eggs, breakfast poutine (waffle fries topped with a fried egg, sausage gravy and cheese), cannoli French toast and more. Reservations not accepted. BYO.
144 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield; 856-209-5880