F1rst in Hawthorne Is a First-Class Dining Experience

Most chefs are made, but some are born that way. Adam Weiss, the chef/owner of F1rst, is one of these food whisperers. His menu vaults to the skies from his amuse-bouche on and only builds excitement, like a Shore roller coaster. One taste of Weiss’s ethereal Parisienne gnocchi had me as breathless as Six Flags’ Jersey Devil. Made with Parmesan, white and brown butter, and airy French pastry dough rather than potato, every velvety bite coats your mouth and slides down your throat like an oyster. In fall, the gnocchi cozy up to Jersey-grown butternut squash.

Weiss’s affinity for food began in his Franklin Lakes childhood. As a teen, Weiss took food-related courses at Ramapo High. Senior year, he went on a field trip to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and was inspired to apply and enroll.

The newly minted chef was soon snapped up by Esty Street, a posh New American bistro in Park Ridge. He climbed its kitchen ladder, becoming executive chef in 2007. (The since-shuttered restaurant earned three stars from New Jersey Monthly in 2012.)

Weiss departed to conquer other cuisines, leading the kitchens at Ridgewood’s Due (Italian; now closed) and Glen Rock’s Stone & Rail (gastropub).

Later, the pandemic furloughed him. But the pink slip had a silver lining. Weiss, now 47, started to strategize the restaurant he’d long hoped to own, where he’d be the boss “with the freedom to cook and serve beautiful, creative dinners.” He opened F1rst, his first solo venture, in July 2023. Buoyed by avid diners’ posts, F1rst’s reputation traveled far. NJM designated it a Top 40 Restaurant a little over a year later.

Duck breast with roasted Brussels sprouts atop a sweet-potato purée. Photo: Heather Willensky

Finally the boss, Weiss has intensified his devotion to local, seasonal ingredients, setting his food apart. His plush, fall-winter gnocchi is made with Jersey-grown butternut squash and sweet corn. Fall’s succulent duck breast is fleetingly pan roasted to crisp its luxuriant fat, then gently roasted. Its autumnal guise combines roasted Brussels sprouts, local red cabbage braised in apple cider, and a fragrantly spiced sweet-potato purée.

A hunk of snowy cod is likewise garbed in herbs. It’s patted with panko, pan seared for a playful crunch, and tenderly poached. It snuggles into a fall jacket of mushroomy cauliflower purée. The downy cod and silken cauliflower trigger a voluptuous feel and mood. Free-associating for a moment, I imagined I was dining aboard Air France first class.

Mushroom Wellington. Photo: Heather Willensky

Several of F1rst’s reinvented classics are year-round calling cards. Foie gras is wondrously weighty and enhanced by crisped polenta rounds, cabernet syrup, and a house marmalade of black figs, golden raisins and white balsamic. Weiss does a makeover on Wellington. Where’s the beef? This comeback is vegetarian and spellbinding, with a portobello mushroom stuffed with leeks, shishito peppers and wild mushrooms.

This chef has a gift for desserts, savory or sweet. The cheesecake blends cream cheese with Montrachet goat cheese for a tangy tingle. Warm chocolate cake and heady house-made ice cream satisfy, too. But Weiss’s tour de force, at least on par with his main menu’s masterpieces, is his transformation of the Mounds bar. Expect a little table alchemy as liquified, bittersweet Valrhona-made chocolate is poured over house ice cream. The chocolate becomes a firm shell, a pleasure dome.

Mounds dome, with coconut-brittle ice cream, toasted coconut, and bittersweet chocolate shell poured at the table. Photo: Heather Willensky

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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