Black Sheep Bar & Provisions in Garwood Is Worth the Hype

Sometimes a lot of buzz about a restaurant can be a setup for disappointment. Other times, word of mouth can be a kind of amuse-bouche to a great time. I’d heard a few solid you-gotta-go’s about Black Sheep Bar & Provisions in Garwood­—enough to lock in anticipation, but not enough to dangerously raise my expectations. That said, I will now go out on a limb and raise yours.

The dining room benefits from a bank of windows that fronts the restaurant and, by day, admits light to the handsome, modern space. A shelved wall behind the polished concrete counter glimmers with a collection of high-end liquors—small-batch tequilas and allocated whiskeys—hinting at the restaurant’s broad reach. At the end of the bar, floor-to-ceiling shelves house the ample wine collection. While the 60-seat restaurant presents on the small side, the arrangement never feels cramped. Dining takes place at freestanding tables; a long, shared banquette that bridges several separate tables; and the generous bar.

Scallop skewer wrapped with sweet Italian Jimmy Nardello peppers and candied bacon ragu, and topped with pea tendrils. Photo: Cayla Zahoran

Happy hour, offered daily from 3 to 5 pm, was about to end when we arrived, so we snagged the grilled wings and a house-made hot dog. Banish any idea you have about hot wings, these are not that. They are juicy, plump and perfectly grilled, with a honey-sweetened, spicy Calabrian chili sauce that gives gentle heat while chunks of gorgonzola add a creamy tang. The hot dog, too, elevates its category. This one, topped with a house-made relish, is a snappy, all-beef version sourced from F.A. DeRosa, fourth-generation butchers in Westfield—the family to whom Nick DeRosa, Black Sheep’s chef, belongs.

Peaches with corn salsa, stracciatella cheese and croutons. Photo: Cayla Zahoran

The menus are tweaked daily, aligning with Black Sheep’s take from the two local farm-delivery services that keep just-picked vegetables and fruit on the tables. The dishes are built around the ingredients, so when a bushel of peaches comes in at peak ripeness, lucky guests may be offered the trio of peach preparations, including pickled peaches and bright peach salsa served over grilled peaches and bathed in creamy stracciatella that is neither sweet nor savory.

It’s no surprise, with DeRosa’s connection to the prime-beef purveyor, that Black Sheep offers 28-day dry-aged beef, or that DeRosa’s heat, timing and seasoning of said beef is impeccable. DeRosa held chef de cuisine positions at Kitchen Step in Jersey City, as well as at several Harvest Restaurant Group dining rooms. It was during his Harvest days that DeRosa met current partner Vincent Communale. Roughly two decades later, along with partner Daniel Meyer, they launched Black Sheep. “There’s no one else I was interested in opening a restaurant with,” Communale says of DeRosa.

A classic Old Fashioned. Photo: Cayla Zahoran

The Black Sheep team’s approach is the root of the eatery’s name. “We chose Black Sheep because we do things differently. We’re not confined to traditional norms,” says Communale, pointing out that being married with children is a departure from the typical model of new restaurateurs. “Family is crucially important to us,” he says. “[We were] all raised sitting around a large table surrounded by a large spread of food and even bigger personalities.” Black Sheep offers large-format options like roasted suckling pig and shareable, hand-cut tomahawk steaks, both designed for communal eating.

The convivial vibe of the place means the bar scene evolves throughout the week. “We’re like Cheers,” Communale says, “with regulars whose drinks are made as they take their seats. We’ve got weekend crowds, date-nighters, and groups that have made this their place for family celebrations.”

Creamy brown sugar budino. Photo: Cayla Zahoran

HOW WE REVIEW: Restaurants are chosen for review at the sole discretion of New Jersey Monthly. For our starred fine-dining reviews, our critics visit a restaurant at least twice with a guest, always maintaining anonymity to avoid preferential treatment, and the magazine pays for their meals. Stars are assigned by the dining-section editor in consultation with the reviewer.

Four stars = extraordinary; three stars = excellent; two stars = very good; one star = good; half a star = fair.

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