Lorena's, Maplewood NJ

We haven't seen friends of ours in a few months so jumped at the chance to meet them out for dinner. The BYO of the evening was Lorena's in the heart of Maplewood, NJ. This is a tiny little restaurant that seats only 32 at capacity, reservations are hard to come by. Luckily our friends secured a coveted Friday evening (Jan 17).

When you enter the restaurant you are both struck by how small and almost immediately relieved that the sense is intimate & cozy not crowded or uncomfortable in any way.

Service was close to perfection - the type you don't often find outside of NYC. Always there, never obtrusive - you didn't have to wonder what was taking so long; why food was coming too fast; or if your water glass would ever be refilled. Quite a nice experience.

The menu is moderate - roughly six each of appetizers and entrees. That being said, it was harder to choose than you would have thought with so many of the options sounding fascinating. In the end, we started with a shared plate of a dozen oysters from Long Island followed by two courses.

My first course was the Warm Lump Crabmeat Crepe, Shibumi Farm Wild Mushrooms, Fresh Herbs, White Truffle Oil. Spectacular! Nothing about this dish was heavy and achieving a meld between crab that can so quickly be overshadowed by anything with wild mushrooms was heaven. Fantastic!

Alan ordered the special of the evening, the wild mushroom bisque.

This was close to perfection - with truffle oil nice pieces of mushroom afloat in a soft but rich broth...wow, so nice.

I'm having difficulty remembering what anyone else ordered - I think there was a Scottish Salmon Tartare or perhaps the foie gras.

For our entrees we covered the majority of the menu including the Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs, Cipolinni Onion, Tomato Confit, Potato Puree, Cracked Black Pepper-Braising and the Roasted Domestic Rack of Lamb with Pistachio and Herb-Shallot Crust, Baby Carrots, Black Olive Powder, Potato Puree, Rosemary Lamb Jus.

The braised short ribs weren't as fall apart succulent as I've had in the past - they came off as a bit dry so this wasn't my favorite dish.

We did open four bottles of wine / champagne with dinner that we all brought (love BYOs) and skipped dessert. Overall, a really nice evening with fantastic service and some fantastic dishes.

Pluckemin Inn, Bedminster NJ - Winter Menu 2014

We saw that Pluckemin Inn had made some changes to the menu for winter including bringing French Onion Soup back which had been a favorite of ours years ago. So a few weeks ago (Jan. 18th) we went up for drinks & to meet friends for dinner.

While drinking champagne by the glass at the bar I sampled a dozen Maine oysters with a simple mignonette, cocktail sauce, citrus & horseradish accompaniments. We also had a dozen wild caught shrimp. The oysters - two different kinds - were briny and succulent. Wonderfully paired to the bubbly. The shrimp were quite large and the cocktail sauce had a nice bite to it.

For dinner we ordered two courses including the Lobster salad with castle valley farro, cucumber, meyer lemon, radish and fine herbs see below. Meaty, generous lobster was not overwhelmed by the citrus dressing & herbs but rather supported by them. Quite a nice dish.

In addition, tried the French Onion Soup (Jeff's serving was a better balance of broth to bread than mine both both tasted wonderful), Spanish Octopus with green olive, chorizo, hakurei turnip, pine nuts and salsa verde and the Mahi Mahi with heirloom carrots, hen of the woods, braised lettuce, hazelnut brown butter.

Thought these four dishes were a wonderful additions to the menu. Alan's Mahi was the standout of the evening; cooked to perfection (sous vide?) with a beautiful depth of flavor that can often be missing in fish preparations. The side order of French Fries with trio of dipping sauces for dessert didn't hurt either.

MEATmarket, Burgers in London

On our last night in London we wanted to find a great, local burger place. Staying in Covent Garden within a few blocks of both a Shake Shack and a Five Guys kept nagging at my senses. We needed burgers!

Using Google to see what Londeners were calling their best burgers and narrowing it down to those within walking distance of our hotel, we settled on a dive of a place, MEATmarket.

A simple enough menu of burgers and dogs in a small place on the Mezzanine level above the Jubilee Market in Covent Garden. It's only got half a dozen tall bar tables with stools - enough to sit four at a table and graffiti all over the walls. Ordering was efficient and the wait fairly short. This place gets crowded! Lots of young couples seemingly on first dates (odd).

We ordered two Black Palace burgers served each with two beef patties, cheese, grilled onions, pickles, mustard and ketchup (and a tomato).

These were two of the messiest burgers we've ever had. I took off my light jacket & rolled up my sleeves before even attempting the first bite. I mean - look at that crazy, dripping, cheesy patty!!

The burger was fantastic! Really, really great - on par with Shake Shack and Five Guys to be sure. Excellent flavor in every bite. The bun couldn't stand up to the sloppiness of the ingredients mixing together - in the end you were just holding onto something that used to resemble a burger. And perhaps if we went again I'd ditch the pickles - but damn, that's a great burger. Fries were also excellent - crispy and hot.

If you are in the area, highly recommend popping in...but leave your expectations about ambiance at the door (literally) and prepare to get dirty!

http://www.themeatmarket.co.uk/

National Pasta Day: Marea, NYC

We didn't know that the day we decided to meet after work at Marea (midtown, Central Park South & Broadway) for a casual dinner that it was National Pasta Day. Had we known, there probably wouldn't have been anywhere else we would have picked to honor this incredible carbohydrate.

Arriving at 5:00pm to grab to seats at the bar - coveted, quickly snatched up, seats. They start serving the full menu at the bar at 5:30pm which makes it a popular choice at this restaurant who's reputation and two Michelin stars make it hard to get a reservation in the dining room.

We went low key - crudos and pasta dishes. So to start, three bite size pieces of perfection. After much contemplation & discussion, we choose, from right to left, the Scampi (Pacifi c langoustine, Murray River pink salt); Ono (seared wild Pacifi c wahoo, wild mushroom, lobster roe) and the Dentice (Pacifi c snapper, mandarin orange, pistachio, carrot vinaigrette). The selection of crudos on the is stunning and diverse.

SIDE BAR: One night I'd like to go and order every single selection in a Crudo Taste Off. It would cost $407 before tax and tip and would consist of 21 different kinds, 4 pieces of each....if anyone wants to take me up on that just say the word!!!

The scampi was light, buttery soft with a cucumber it's sitting on giving a hint of crunch to offset the wonderfully mushy texture of the langoustine. Excellent.

The Ono was a more earthy flavor if you can say that about fish. The seared edges added smokiness while the mushroom gave it that forest flavor. Very nice.

And our favorite, the snapper with the citrus of the mandarin orange and nutiness of the pistachio was just perfect. Could have eaten those all night.

Then came the pastas. It's almost as hard to choose these as the first courses. We knew we wanted our favorite, the fusilli. But what else? After contemplating all we went for the agnolotti which were piemontese meat ravioli, veal sweetbreads, wild mushrooms in a brown butter. The kitchen was kind enough to split both pastas for us and serve them one after the other - our casual dinner was a three course meal!

First up was the fusilli...red wine braised octopus and bone marrow in a perfect red sauce.

This is hands down THE BEST pasta dish I've ever had. Ever, anywhere. There's something magical about the crispiness of the octopus; the decadence of the bone marrow and the perfect al dente fusilli that just creates perfect culinary harmony. I've had it four times now and it's always flawless.

The second, new pasta was the ravioli.

A much heavier pasta, the sweetbreads were tender; the mushrooms gave depth and the brown butter added a sweetness. Also an amazing dish. We were glad that they split the dishes for us - a full plate of the agnolotti would have proven to be too much for one person. In this manner, it was exactly the right amount. Full but not uncomfortable - a wonderful dinner once again.

I can't say enough about Marea. If you get the chance, you need to go. And then go again.
Jenn's Rating: 91
Michelin: Two Stars
Zagat:28-26-26

Dining London Style: Jamie's in Covent Garden

For Labor Day Alan and I went to London...him for business and me to tag along and check it out. Since he did have work obligations, I had a few meals on my own including Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant in Covent Garden...two blocks from our hotel at Seven Dials.

This was my first experience with a Jamie Oliver restaurant. I didn't know much about him other than his appearances on Food Network. I didn't even realize he was British until I saw the restaurant and connected the dots. I guess I never actually listened to any of his appearances on Food Network! That all being said - it's a huge place with two floors of dining (below ground & main floor) plus two outdoor patios - one in the interior courtyard and one on Upper Martin's Lane. It had been a gorgeous day but without a reservation, my only option was a tiny table for two in the wine cellar room. Lots of wood and a bit dark, the feeling very much was like being in a wine cellar but warmer.

The menu is made up of typical Italian fare - antipastos, pastas, risottos, main dishes and so on. Not wanting to go over board and not feeling adventurous, I ordered the Humble Green Salad and the Tagliatelle Bolognese that was a Ragu of British beef & pork with herbs, Chianti, Parmesan and crunchy herbed breadcrumbs.

The salad was simple & lackluster; the dressing was void of any noticeable flavor. But the pasta was super fresh with loads of meat and a hearty but not overly sweet red sauce. It was a good size portion that left me full but not uncomfortable (I have the capacity to throw down some serious pasta if given the option).

I paired all this with a glass of the house Rose, A Mano Rosata that was summery and light but forgetful.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend going for a casual, inexpensive meal (14 pounds all in). Order the pasta and try and sit outside if the weather was conducive. It's a popular, hopping place so get reservations!

Jenn: 77

Zagat: 20-19-19

Michelin: no stars

Lincoln, NYC

In late August, we reconvened the Manhattan Ladies Dining Club for an evening out at the much hyped, Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center in NYC. It's a gorgeous location and the restaurant itself is quite impressive. Wood, floor to ceiling glass - very modern and yet warm. 

We decided to start off with drinks from the Proseco Bar before heading to the table.

They infuse different seasonal flavors into this light, sparkling drink. A few of us went with the house special of PASSION FRUIT Purée –with Blood Orange Liquore di Solerno. Summery and easy to drink.

Once seated, we decided to go with an appetizer each, a shared special pasta dish as a mid course and then entrees. To start off, Dawn & Marisa ordered the Mare Salad with octopus and other shellfish. Mary had the lamb terrine with salsa verde and I had the burratini with heirloom tomatoes, mint, basil and grilled bread which was perfect for a summer evening. Mary's appetizer with salsa verde was a problem dish...the salsa was too spicy to eat. Unusual in a restaurant of this caliber.

For the mid course - the dish that made the largest impression on all of us...a special of the evening in a lasagna with pork in a bechamel sauce that was stupid good. Much lighter than what I was expected with perfect flavor combinations. The homemade pasta was airy and the bechamel creamy without weighing down the dish.

Entrees included three pasta dishes: strozzapreti, reginette & agnolotti plus the special of the evening, a pork loin porchetta.

Dessert included chocolate tartufo & a cheese plate.

Overall - the evening was a lot of fun. The food wasn't at the level of some of our other dinners but there's potential there. With a daily changing menu, I would definitely go again. Not to mention our waiter was a hoot - attentive, lively, witty...he recommended two bottles of wine that we went with pairing nicely with the dishes. The super Tuscan, LE SERRE NUOVE TENUTA DELL’ORNELLAIA Merlot-Cabernet-Petit Verdot 2010 (Bolgheri) was lovely with a lot of body and fruit but not so heavy you couldn't drink it. He also managed to talk us out of champagne and into a white: Campagnia GRECO DI TUFO Quinto Decimo ‘Giallo d’Arles’ 2011 that was nice...light, short finish but good fruit and fabulous aroma.

Zagat: 25-26-25
Jenn: 85
Michelin: no stars

The NoMad, NYC

In June Alan and I met up with a favorite foodie, Susan, for an early dinner in NYC. Located in The NoMad Hotel at Broadway & 28th Street, the restaurant is a quick walk down from midtown.

The restaurant is under the direction of Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park fame. It spans multiple rooms, each with a distinctive ambiance and decor. The atrium, parlor, bar, fireplace, library and rooftop.

We were seated far back in the fireplace room. Cozy and intimate, still feeling a bit informal and comfortable.

The menu is divided into snacks, appetizers and entrees. We ordered a series of appetizers to share and entrees. The appetizers included Fluke marinated with sorrel, amaranth & royal trumpet mushrooms; Tagliatelle with king crab, meyer lemon and black pepper; Foie Gras torchon with strawberry, rhubarb & black pepper; Egg poached with asparagus, brown butter and quinoa.

For our entrees we split the suckling pig confit with cherries, arugula & bacon marmalade; roasted duck and the whole-roasted chicken for two with foie gras, black truffle and brioche. 

They presented the chicken at the table and took it back to the chicken to be carved. It came out served with the dark meat mixed with truffle and the white meat with that gorgeous, crispy skin. Out of this world.

Overall, what a fantastic surprise. I didn't expect it to be that great - - good, yes. But this far exceeded expectations. I recommend going back. It's a fun vibe inside with a solid wine list. Good for groups or for an intimate experience.

Micheline: One star

Jenn's Rating: 93

Zagat: 26-27-25