Due Mari, New Brunswick NJ

Last weekend we tried a restaurant we've been talking about for a while now...Due Mari in New Brunswick, NJ. With Susan & Rich, we managed to eat through a pretty good selection of their Italian inspired, seafood heavy menu. And with $25 for the first bottle corkage policy, we were able to bring a bottle of champagne to kick the evening off with while selecting a red to go with the later courses.

They started us off by a different take on bread & butter; focaccia served with oil & hummus spread. Very nice. For the table we started with a small plate off their Szifi menu. The Duck Liver Rillette, Crostini, Caramelized Onion, Figs caught our attention. Unfortunately, they were a not constructed in the best manner. There was not enough duck liver and way too much onion. The fig was nice but being impossible to cut through, you were guaranteed to get one bite with fig and one without. Not the best start, but our hopes were still high.

Next we went into appetizers. Both Rich & I ordered the Butterhead Lettuce, Lump Crabmeat, Oven Dried Tomatoes and Tarragon-Mustard Dressing. Alan selected the lobster dish and Susan the Polipo of grilled octopus, olives, peppers, radicchio and Ceci beans. I loved the salad - it reminded me a little of the peeky-toe crab salad at Daniel but not as citrus infused. The dressing was quite nice with a plenty of crab to last through every bite. Alan's lobster dish was very good but I don't remember much of Susan's octopus other than it seemed to be grilled properly without being to chewy.

For a mid-course we asked for two different pasta dishes split four ways so everyone got to try both. The first was the Garganelli with Parma Prosciutto, Mushrooms and White Truffle Butter. Susan & Rich had tried this dish before and remembered it fondly.

I have to say - what a luscious pasta! Creamy, hint of saltiness and a wealth of favor. This was a winner! The second pasta dish was the Fusilli with octopus, bone marrow butter and Pomodorini. We expected this is to basically be the crispy octopus Fusilli with bone marrow from Marea (Michael White's other, more famous restaurant in the Altamarea group). Sadly, it wasn't. Not that it wasn't good - but if you've had the one from Marea and you have any level of expectation you will be disappointed. The octopus in this dish was not crispy and the bone marrow in butter form didn't have the same impact as the NYC version. Good, not great.

And on to entrees - Alan ordered the Red Snapper, Caramelized Cauliflower , Marcona Almonds, Green Beans with Roasted Red Pepper Espuma. Susan ordered the signature fish of the restaurant, the Grilled Mediterranean Branzino, Escarole, Oven Roasted Tomatoes, White Shrimp and Black Olive Vinaigrette. Rich selected the Grilled Berkshire Pork Chop, Cavatelli, Broccoli Rabe and Ham in Scallion Butter. I opted for the Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Roasted Winter Squash, Oyster Mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Beurre Monté.

Susan & Alan's fish were both cooked beautifully and my scallops were full of flavor, blending nicely with the brussel sprouts and mushrooms. And Rich's pork - oh, joy! What a nicely cooked piece of heaven. Moist, medium with a hint of pink in the middle and just as succulent as can be. Very nice indeed.

All in all - a fun, casual place with a cool ambiance and some good, hearty options on the menu. While not spectacular, it's probably the best restaurant I've been to in New Brunswick so far. There's a vibrant bar scene and it's easy enough to get reservations. Going back would definitely be an option.

Jenn's Rating: 83
Zagat's Rating: 26-24-25

Truffle Tasting Menu, Stage Left, New Brunswick NJ

The week between Christmas and New Year's is a favorite one with lots of time to see friends and eat some great meals. With Susan & Rich, we decided to try the White & Black Truffle tasting menu at Stage Left in New Brunswick, NJ. With a 7pm reservation, there were already a decent number of people seated when we arrived but we were still shown to one of the best tables. Right next to the fireplace in one of the small dining rooms. Stage Left has a lovely ambiance with soft lighting and a muted decor. It comes off as romantic and special.

Our hopes were high - the four of us have spent many a dinner eating truffles together and generally agree they are perhaps one of the greatest edible items to ever come out of the earth. In fact, speculating about training Mya & Bacchus (the Lahey bulldogs) to locate truffles has come up on more than one occasion. But that's an inside joke you might not appreciate until you meet the Lahey bulldogs...

Anyway, we all ordered the special tasting menu with one additional item thrown in. In addition to the truffles, the restaurant was also offering wagyu beef served rare on a sizzling 500 degree stone for patrons to cook to their preferred doneness. We asked to have one portion of that special served as our last course before dessert.

Stage Left has the highest food rating in New Brunswick and is ranked highly overall for the state of New Jersey according to Zagat. But it doesn't have the consistency of a good New York City restaurant nor the warmth of service of a Pluckemin Inn or favorite local sushi places (Yumi & Shumi). One of the areas they are missing the mark is their wine list. Sizable with over 1,000 bottles represented, the list is fiercely skewed towards Italians with scarcely anything else represented. And the pricing was off the mark; being high for even well reputed restaurants. So finding a bottle of champagne and a red to go with dinner was harder and took longer than we'd have liked.

One other wine note - once a champagne was picked (rose, Roger Coulon, non-vintage) it couldn't be served to us for a noticeable amount of time as is wasn't cool enough. Not having a large champagne list, they should be able to manage the storage and temperature of their bottles better, in my opinion. I really don't like to have to wait for my bubbles.

But onto the food!
The amuse-bouche served to us goat cheese on raisin, pecan bread with mango. A nice bite with good contrast between the tang of the goat cheese and the sweetness of the fruit. But we found it interesting that they served it on the same bread that was a table side option along with sourdough. We'd come to find out later they seemed to have very little depth when it comes to bread & pastry.

First Course:
Anson Mills White Polenta with nested Suydam Farm Egg Yolk and White Truffles.

This course struck me right. It was lush and creamy with noticeable truffles (you could see them and you could taste them). The egg was well incorporated and enhanced the overall flavor. This was my favorite dish of the evening and I think it went perfectly with the champagne. Alan didn't have the same reaction...he thought it was good, but not memorable.

Second Course:
Dayboat Scallops with Black Truffles

This dish was lovely and very fragrant. The scallops were cooked nicely. But it's the first course that it became apparent that this dinner wasn't going to be TRUFFLES, TRUFFLES everywhere. I had to deconstruct my dish to find the little black truffle pieces. It felt more like essence of truffle than nice big shavings. Nonetheless, the dish was really good. The leeks and scallops went nicely together and the broth was wonderful. I did have to ask the server to please bring me a spoon. Who wouldn't want a spoon to scoop up all that broth?

Third Course:
Open Ravioli of Lobster, Crab and White Truffle

The lobster and crab sat in the middle of this open, delicate pasta and swam in a thick sea of cream. Here again, the truffles were hard to find and even harder to taste. That being said, I truly enjoyed this one. It was decadent and really good, if a bit heavy in the stomach.

Fourth Course:
Duck Breast with Duck Confit and Cipollini Onion Tart and Black Truffles
(no picture)
I don't recall this dish well...except to say that the duck was nicely prepared and served medium rare. The duck confit and onion was in a round pastry tart that was looked and tasted suspiciously store bought and frozen. I didn't eat the tart and accompaniments but was asked by our server if I wanted to take home the leftovers (with no duck, odd question). I was also hitting the food wall thanks to the previous course.

Fifth Course (our addition):
Filet of Wagyu Beef

The four of us split this course (there were eight pieces of beef like the one shown above). The idea - the beef is served on this 500 degree sizzling stone and you take off the meat or leave it on to your particular level of doneness. I kept my beef pretty medium rare and did enjoy the interactive quality of the course and the meat itself.

Sixth Course:
Barely Buzzed Cheese Tartlet with Truffle Honey

See the pastry pictured above? Exactly the same pastry as was served with the duck course. That's just not cool for a restaurant serving a menu at this high of a price point. I had no interest in this course at all...took one bite and stopped. It didn't make any sense to me and the flavors weren't meshing.

Seventh Course:
Black Chocolate Truffles

This final course was four truffles - elderflower, espresso, Irish cream and a pumpkin spice with salt. They were okay...sort of looked like something you get at the Godiva store but hey, the chocolate was pretty good.

It was a memorable night because we got to spend a nice leisurely evening with two of our favorite people but I was disappointed in the dinner overall. And at over $600 per couple, they missed on too many dishes and too many service points to get my vote of confidence. In the past the four of us have done the truffle tasting menu at Nicolas in Red Bank and I for one, will be voting to go back there next year.

Zagat: 27-24-26
Jenn's Rating: 81