Restaurant Review

Next Door

If at first you do succeed—but not the way you intended—try again. That could be the motto of Zod Arifai, who opened Blu in 2005 as a casual, modestly priced restaurant. Foodies soon outed him as one of the best chefs on either side of the Hudson. With an appreciative clientele embracing the full range of Arifai’s talent, the 45-seat Montclair restaurant evolved into a culinary sensation (and made the Top 25 in our August dining issue).

But Arifai didn’t give up the original vision. In December, the 43-year-old dynamo, who has barely taken a day off in three years, decided to open a second restaurant in the empty storefront beside Blu. His staff kept referring to the space as “next door,” so that’s what he called it. “I wanted a simpler place where I could serve comfort food at low prices, where restaurant people could go and relax after work,” he says.
You’ll usually find a table of chefs and waiters from other restaurants—always the sincerest form of flattery. The fact is, the food at Next Door is just as good as Blu’s but less complex. Blu is still a bargain (top entrée $24), making Next Door (top entrée $16) a steal.

Like Blu, Next Door (with 38 seats) has a spare, angular aesthetic, largely reflecting Arifai’s do-it-yourself approach to décor. Next Door’s warmth comes from walls painted the colors of food: pumpkin, olive, and burgundy. Arifai, a former rock guitarist, plans to add a rock soundtrack at some point. And he’s thinking of papering the walls with classic album covers from his collection of LPs.

“Even during my rock and roll days, I was into food,” he says. “On tour in Paris with the band, they’d be eating at McDonald’s, but I’d go to Taillevent.”

His evolving menu centers on salads, sandwiches, pastas, two soups, and a handful of appetizers, and grilled or pan-seared entrées. Ingredients are ultra-fresh, and nearly everything is made in-house (save for Balthazar baguettes and De Cecco pasta).

The kitchen, supervised by Arifai’s father, Durak, aces everything. “They’ve been with me a long time,” Zod says, “and Next Door’s food is not complicated to cook. It’s just a matter of knowing how to do it right.” Starters range from ethereal (ginger- and chili-spiced tuna tartare, $8) to earthy (velvety sautéed chicken livers with caramelized onions, $6). Entrée-sized salads ($8), available with add-ins of chicken ($9), steak ($10), or shrimp ($12), present varied tastes and textures; the arugula salad piques the palate with pecans, dried cranberries, crumbled Gorgonzola, and bits of orange and apple. It comes with lemon vinaigrette, but diners may request the wonderfully garlicky Caesar.

Pastas ($9-$12) are attentively cooked. A meatless fettuccine with roasted garlic and Portobellos is seriously satisfying; an all-beef Bolognese ragù gains flavor from having simmered for six hours. A sizable square of beef and ricotta lasagna is worth doing treadmill penance the next day.

Bistro-style entrées are prepared with flair and finesse. Naturally sweet tilapia fillet ($14) contrasts beautifully with spicy ginger sauce. Hanger steak ($16) is juicy and perfectly cooked, and beef meatloaf ($12) is the apotheosis of a diner standby.

Arifai’s desserts ($6) are archetypal and flawlessly executed: vanilla crème brulée; warm chocolate cake with a luscious molten center; a nostalgic rice pudding, not overly sweet. My favorite was the thick chocolate custard, actually a pot de crème intense with Belgian chocolate.

“The intention of Next Door is for people to eat good, simple food and leave,” Arifai says, without being facetious. With genuine surprise, he adds, “But they’re coming in groups, bringing lots of wine, and ordering every course.”

Arifai hasn’t advertised or marketed Next Door, wanting to iron out kinks under the radar. So far, service and execution have been beyond reproach. The challenge will be to maintain that quality once the secret gets out. At some point, Next Door may need a Next Door.