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places to dine for special occasions
Lesson on special occasions: This year, my bubbly teen daughter insisted on a little black dress to attend fashion cheap hermes handbags an important birthday party. She had found the dress online. It was just like one worn by her favorite actress. "Mommy, please!"
I prepared to do battle, picturing a revealing cut out frock, a sparkling "Dancing With the Stars" ensemble, a dress that would be, in polite terms, too mature. In reality, the dress she chose was remarkably modest, black with short sleeves, a high neckline with a contrasting white Peter Pan collar, and a flared skirt that actually grazed the knee.
"Special" is in the eye of the beholder, and it's with this in mind that I share my list of 30 best special occasion restaurants. Some are sparkly, some are modest. Like the occasions and the celebrants themselves, each is unique in its own way.
In her personal life, Ariane Duarte is likely to walk through the door with a bag of burgers from White Castle for family movie night or take her girls to Sharky's in Clifton for a basket of chicken wings. Which may explain why Duarte is our favorite Jersey Girl chef, the sassy, down to earth counterpart to her more demure friend, the chef Amanda Freitag (Food Network star and "Chopped" judge). Duarte, who closed her tiny jewel box of a restaurant in Montclair in 2014 to open a more lively space in Verona, seems to have found her groove. Her fine dining signature dishes remain; the cornmeal crusted oysters are always a fake hermes bag must, as is the exquisite, Instagram perfect sashimi tuna flower. But in Verona, the vibe is more fun and the restaurant has a liquor license. The burger at AKB is fierce, Kobe beef with a fried green tomato and a harissa aioli. (Duarte learned her burger lessons early in her career, working a grill station in Dallas.) The chef is no stranger to television and last year beat Bobby Flay in his own wheelhouse with a one on one throwdown that involved steak. This summer, she prepared skate for Kathie Lee and Hoda on "TODAY" and both women just gushed. At the restaurant, Duarte still draws customers thanks to her season five appearance on "Top Chef," which aired in 2008. Yet, if you were to sneak into the AKB kitchen on any given afternoon, you'd find the octopus bubbling on the stove alongside a pot of homemade chicken soup, which is being made for friends and family and neighbors anyone she might know in an hour of need.
Ariane Kitchen Bar 706 Bloomfield Ave., Verona; (973) 744 0533;Executive Chef Corey W. Heyer is also a farmer and, now, his acres of land are in Bernardsville, which means that local produce is even closer to the kitchen. Fans of the restaurant's sweet potato ravioli, which is an autumn menu favorite, may be heartened to learn that the sweet potatoes are locally sourced. (At least some of them. In reality, the dish is so popular, the local yield is insufficient.) Heyer handcrafts the ravioli and fills it with a sweet potato puree seasoned with honey and nutmeg. The accompaniments are fresh sage, a brown butter sauce, Austrian pumpkin seeds (more nutty and rich than their American counterparts) and, drum roll, black truffle pecorino. The dish is a signature (ambitious cooks will find the recipe on the website) and the restaurant frequently pairs it with chardonnay. Ravioli aside, the real reason we love this spot is for its grandiose patio, all that fieldstone and marble, the gleaming wood that frames the windows. Just add sunglasses and, immediately, you're a femme fatale, Old Hollywood, Marlene Dietrich. The menu is full of regal classics lobster bisque, seared foie gras, dry aged sirloin, Maine lobster, king salmon. The Bernards Inn experience remains genteel, sophisticated, elegant. Heyer has been at the helm of this kitchen for more than a decade, which, in restaurant time, is an eternity. But his kitchen philosophy continues to be shaped by his earlier kitchens, at the Fromagerie in Rumson, Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank and Restaurant Daniel in New York.
Bernards Inn 27 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville; (908) 766 0002;They call it honest simplicity at Brick Farm Tavern, but you've never had meat and potatoes or chicken like this. This is the refined promise of farm to table, superior ingredients married to superior skill in the kitchen. The farm, owned by Jon and Robin McConaughy, is 800 acres, an outdoor pasture for cows, pigs, lambs, ducks. To get out of the car is to be disoriented. Is this really New Jersey? Yet, it's as bucolic as it appears. This is a place where Berkshire pigs, for example, are fed GMO free grain, which is roasted and milled on site. The heritage pigs are also fed (get this) spent grain from Beach Haus Brewery in Belmar. Yes, such is the fodder for satire, "Portlandia" style. And, yes, the occasional dish feels forced and overly precious (hay is an ingredient in an alarming number of dishes). But Brick Farm Tavern is no caricature. The food here is seductive. Executive chef Greg Vassos has worked with Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin, and that disciplined classic French training is evident. (In other words, the farm is just the beginning.) Choose the rich Bolognese, with its lofty homemade gnocchi, or the sinfully creamy veloute. And the homemade bread with lardo, don't skip the lardo. The refurbished ancient farmhouse, all stone and wood and hearths, is unexpectedly elegant, with unconventional artwork throughout, which is exuberant and sometimes cheeky. The wine list is thoughtful; general manager Mike Lykens loves to showcase boutique wines and introduces wines at Hermes birkin bags fake half price on Wednesdays. But the backstory of chef Peter Loria? It can't be rivaled. Loria's childhood was one of Sunday dinners, milking cows, homemade pastries baked by a Czechoslovakian grandmother. But it was also a childhood in a Pennsylvania orphanage. As an adult, Loria began his career as a mathematician and engineer; he was successful but not satisfied. In 1986, he earned his degree from the then French Culinary Institute, then worked at Bouley. He opened his own place in New Jersey, hoping eventually to expand. Then Loria suffered an aneurysm that went untreated for four days. His doctors were shocked he lived through it. Love, for him, came later in life and he married at age 53. He owns rescue dogs. This is the man behind Cafe Matisse, which is considered by OpenTable to be one of the 100 most romantic restaurants in America. Cafe Matisse is indeed romantic, both the bold decor and the food are inspired by the French impressionist. Then there's the European garden located in a seductive hideaway in warm weather. Service is extraordinarily gracious and the restaurant somehow has retained the enviable electricity of the American '80s culinary scene luxuriant, creative, experimental. Dishes are an ambitious and complex layering of numerous ingredients. It may seem anachronistic, but, almost every time, will absolutely surprise and delight. At press time, the restaurant was scheduled to open its Moroccan front room, with expected additions to the menu. Still, he has learned that his filet mignon ravioli, a rich, decadent seduction made with homemade pasta, is a sacred menu item and he doesn't dare remove it. Other revered offerings at Cafe Panache include the halibut with wasabi, the pecan chicken, the ginger duck. But ask Kohler about the best meal he's ever had and he'll tell you it was the most simple thing. Striped bass, which he caught in the waters off Montauk. He grilled it outside, sparked it with a squeeze of lemon. It's what he wants to eat now. So, Kohler is doubling down on the number of seafood choices at the restaurant, especially favoring wild or line caught fish. (He hopes to spend next summer fishing for salmon in the Yukon River.) Kohler has always been smart enough to follow his gut. He fell in love with vegetables long before anyone else in the industry and, for years, spent his mornings in the gardens, choosing the perfect tomato. Today, he has shipments of organic produce delivered to his door. The choices at the restaurant are chef driven, the selections of an expert, which explains why he remains a leader in the industry. It also explains why the restaurant has been open more than 30 years, which is not a typo and which Kohler would explain away with less flourish. He attributes his success to hard work and constant reinvention. Recent updates included a shipment of chairs from Italy to refresh the casual elegance of the dining room.
Cafe Panache 130 E. But a fine restaurant is not a museum and you ought to be able to bring your party attitude. Chef Thomas Ciszak is a classic chef, born in Germany, hard working, disciplined (his history includes Tavern on the Green). He's also a perfectionist and a wine nerd (the restaurant's wine room is also where he cures Mangalitsa pork). But the chef's appearance remains boyish, as does his attitude. His food is globally inspired Peruvian chicken, pork schnitzel, hanger steak with chimichurri. Ciszak excels at seafood: His crispy trout is a must. But Chakra, with its candles and music and filmy decor, feels more like a nightclub than a restaurant. The energy is upbeat, sexy and self indulgent, with whimsical cocktails that play along. (Boy Meets World is made with rye, brandy, homemade vanilla syrup and cinnamon.) Ciszak's food also is playful, with a potato wrapped shrimp, for example, that looks like a Coney Island treat and tastes impossibly right. For dessert, Ciszak accompanies his treats with house made cotton candy and caramelized popcorn. Also, there are doughnuts soft, sugary pillows. Was Ciszak first to offer New Jersey warm homemade doughnuts as dessert? Perhaps not, but no one does them better. Indeed, Chef Vola's customers say the same it's wonderful, thank God. The praise for the food here is a near communal swoon, for the outsized portions, for the warmth of the family, for the preservation, every day, of the classic New Jersey celebratory dinner in an Italian American household. The restaurant has existed since 1921, was bought by Louise and Michael Esposito in 1982, and is where the Esposito sons, Michael Jr. and Louis, grew up, washing dishes, snapping green beans. Chef Vola's has always been a local favorite, but became suddenly famous thanks to a James Beard classic award in 2011, plus a later cameo on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire." Louise Esposito, who is instantly your friend, speaks in a breathless, continuous sentence. She loves the story of the James Beard award, how she was asked to speak but insisted that the entire family take the stage. "You'll turn us down?" The James Beard representative was incredulous. "It wouldn't be worth it if we couldn't be together," she replied. At Chef Vola's, it's all about tradition and family; the Espositos have traveled to Italy each year for nearly 50 years, are today saving to pay college tuition for the grandkids. (If we thought college was expensive, says Esposito, today it's a real sticker shock. "It's a couple of houses in Philly.") The restaurant itself is nothing special. Part of the charm is that it hasn't changed, that it is hard to distinguish from the rowhouses nearby, that it feels like an illicit discovery. Occasionally, says Esposito, a new customer is disappointed, expecting statues, water fountains, marble. "You'll have to go to the Borgata for that."
Chef Vola's 111 S. Albion Place, Atlantic City; (609) 345 2022
The Lecture Room in London offers a particularly plush, gilded and eccentric experience; it is the most elite of the rabbit hole adventures that make up the dynamic of the restaurant known as Sketch. At Sketch, even the hot chocolate is legendary, and the tea room fills with Fashion Week elite. (The restaurant is within walking distance of Hermes, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, a stone's throw from Savile Row.) The Lecture Room, with its French inspired cuisine, has two Michelin stars. So how is the story of Sketch relevant to a New Jerseyan? Because the Lecture Room kitchen was the training ground for chef Ehren Ryan, who last May opened one of the state's most exciting spots. In fact, the advance buzz for Common Lot was so intense, and the delays so frustrating, that foodies and critics practically stormed the Millburn dining room when the restaurant finally opened. The consensus is joyful. Nearly a year later, weekend seats are still hard to get. Chef Ryan, who grew up in Australia, and his wife, Nadine, who grew up in Austria, bring an entirely fresh spin on the New Jersey food scene from pea guacamole to sweetbreads to dry aged ribeye in a relaxed, vibrant setting. (Unlike The Lecture Room, the Common Lot space is neither precious nor intimidating.) Another reason to love Ryan: While the restaurant opening was delayed, he volunteered as chef adviser to a team of high school culinary students from Passaic County Technical Institute. The team, with its entree of roasted quail, faro risotto and Swiss chard, became state champions in the annual National ProStart Invitational and traveled to Dallas for the national competition. The uniquely rigorous rounds of judging done by the select groups of experts for the International Chocolate Awards with its numerous levels of competition, all done in blind tastings, each of which is executed in thoughtful silence was conducted at Montclair State University. Presilla, one of the founders of the organization, is proud to have brought the replica hermes handbags outlet group to New Jersey, and the chef, who has a doctoral degree, is also proud to be affiliated with a university. This was also the year that Presilla introduced her version of Colombian potato soup, the humble ajiaco, to her restaurant in Hoboken. The events are not unrelated. The soup was salvation for the chef during a visit to a cacao farm, the perfect respite after she walked up a mountain in drenching rain. These adventures define the career of Presilla, who brings the divine, mystical and ancient foods of her travels to those of us in the United States. Presilla, who escaped from Cuba when she was a teenager, has won numerous James Beard awards, has cooked for President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. But when she's in town, she's likely to be sitting at the bar at Cucharamama, sharing calamari with her newest friend. Order the roast pork, the chocolate rubbed short ribs, the homemade empanadas, the mille feuille cake with Malbec icing. Cucharamama is history and anthropology at its most seductive. The linens are delicate, the rooms bright, the bathrobes lush. The porch is black and white crisp, and leopard prints are a witty accessory throughout the hotel. These facts already earn points, contributing to the Ebbitt Room's popularity as a memorable destination. The food at the hotel's Ebbitt Room also tends to avoid the cliches of fine dining in this seaside resort thanks to the restaurant's own makeover, which eliminated some of the more ornate elements of the dining room, and thanks in part to the restaurant's relationship with Beach Plum Farm. The picturesque farm is just 2 miles away. There, blueberries are grown, of course, but also sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini, lettuces, kale, leeks, ambrosia cantaloupe. The farm has 12 beehives, 800 chickens, Berkshire pork. The menu at Ebbitt Room features the Beach Plum pork chop, straight from the farm, when available. Also, seasonal berries in the creme brulee and, depending on the season, hakurei turnips, pickled peppers or eggplant puree (spiked with saffron) as accompaniments to the dinner entrees. Seafood here is also locally sourced. Other recent renovations included a 30 seat private garden, which the restaurant didn't publicize, hoping to keep it a secret for locals. The Ebbitt Room, which boasts a reputation for superior service, remains open on weekends in winter.
The kitchen staff is also the wait staff, and a 20 percent gratuity, defined as a guest experience, is included in the bill. Such things, in the industry, are considered radical. But that's like going to a concert and talking about the traffic. What's radical about elements, what's always been radical about elements, is the food. Chef Scott Anderson is a genius, the archetype of the future of the restaurant business. Just 28 seats, dinner only. You may order a la carte, but the tasting menu experience is encouraged. Anderson's journeys are impeccable, with some dishes mannered and precise, others robust and outrageous. Dinner changes with the micro seasons and according to the chef's fancy, but expect venison, rib eye, local scallops, pheasant and ramen, with accompanying ingredients such as sumac, buckwheat, bergamot. As it has from the beginning, this is food that encourages debate, food with intellectual muster. Yet, this food, unlike that from other restaurants favoring experimentation and innovation, also tastes grand. You may never understand it or even be able to explain it, but you'll know immediately what the fuss is all about.
A chef never tires of inspiration from Italy. Ryan DePersio took the trip early in 2016 three regions, six days, 12 wineries. Wine was the reason for the journey and food was the uncomplicated accompaniment. Yet, it is the food DePersio talked about upon his return to the United States the authenticity of dinner, the simplicity and, especially, the flawless ingredients. "Everything in Italy is so perfect," he says. The olive oil, the sea salt, the orange zest. Fascino has been a starred New Jersey restaurant since it opened 13 years ago, a menu of Italian favorites (Bolognese, mezzaluna) made remarkably light, at times ethereal, thanks to DePersio's French culinary training (creme fraiche, celery root, scallions). At Fascino, the dining room is elegant and refined, the pasta is hand crafted and vegetables are not an afterthought. (A vegetarian tasting menu has always been a priority.) In Jersey City, DePersio also runs the sprawling Battello and the indie casual Kitchen Step, but Fascino remains his signature space, a BYOB that's classy, refined yet understated. After he returned from his wine tour, DePersio paid homage to the experience with a special dinner, featuring carne cruda, braised veal cheeks. An American chef must search for the perfect ingredients. In Italy, procurement is easier. "Go in the back and pick some cherries. That's it."
Lesson on special occasions: This year, my bubbly teen daughter insisted on a little black dress to attend fashion cheap hermes handbags an important birthday party. She had found the dress online. It was just like one worn by her favorite actress. "Mommy, please!"
I prepared to do battle, picturing a revealing cut out frock, a sparkling "Dancing With the Stars" ensemble, a dress that would be, in polite terms, too mature. In reality, the dress she chose was remarkably modest, black with short sleeves, a high neckline with a contrasting white Peter Pan collar, and a flared skirt that actually grazed the knee.
"Special" is in the eye of the beholder, and it's with this in mind that I share my list of 30 best special occasion restaurants. Some are sparkly, some are modest. Like the occasions and the celebrants themselves, each is unique in its own way.
In her personal life, Ariane Duarte is likely to walk through the door with a bag of burgers from White Castle for family movie night or take her girls to Sharky's in Clifton for a basket of chicken wings. Which may explain why Duarte is our favorite Jersey Girl chef, the sassy, down to earth counterpart to her more demure friend, the chef Amanda Freitag (Food Network star and "Chopped" judge). Duarte, who closed her tiny jewel box of a restaurant in Montclair in 2014 to open a more lively space in Verona, seems to have found her groove. Her fine dining signature dishes remain; the cornmeal crusted oysters are always a fake hermes bag must, as is the exquisite, Instagram perfect sashimi tuna flower. But in Verona, the vibe is more fun and the restaurant has a liquor license. The burger at AKB is fierce, Kobe beef with a fried green tomato and a harissa aioli. (Duarte learned her burger lessons early in her career, working a grill station in Dallas.) The chef is no stranger to television and last year beat Bobby Flay in his own wheelhouse with a one on one throwdown that involved steak. This summer, she prepared skate for Kathie Lee and Hoda on "TODAY" and both women just gushed. At the restaurant, Duarte still draws customers thanks to her season five appearance on "Top Chef," which aired in 2008. Yet, if you were to sneak into the AKB kitchen on any given afternoon, you'd find the octopus bubbling on the stove alongside a pot of homemade chicken soup, which is being made for friends and family and neighbors anyone she might know in an hour of need.
Ariane Kitchen Bar 706 Bloomfield Ave., Verona; (973) 744 0533;Executive Chef Corey W. Heyer is also a farmer and, now, his acres of land are in Bernardsville, which means that local produce is even closer to the kitchen. Fans of the restaurant's sweet potato ravioli, which is an autumn menu favorite, may be heartened to learn that the sweet potatoes are locally sourced. (At least some of them. In reality, the dish is so popular, the local yield is insufficient.) Heyer handcrafts the ravioli and fills it with a sweet potato puree seasoned with honey and nutmeg. The accompaniments are fresh sage, a brown butter sauce, Austrian pumpkin seeds (more nutty and rich than their American counterparts) and, drum roll, black truffle pecorino. The dish is a signature (ambitious cooks will find the recipe on the website) and the restaurant frequently pairs it with chardonnay. Ravioli aside, the real reason we love this spot is for its grandiose patio, all that fieldstone and marble, the gleaming wood that frames the windows. Just add sunglasses and, immediately, you're a femme fatale, Old Hollywood, Marlene Dietrich. The menu is full of regal classics lobster bisque, seared foie gras, dry aged sirloin, Maine lobster, king salmon. The Bernards Inn experience remains genteel, sophisticated, elegant. Heyer has been at the helm of this kitchen for more than a decade, which, in restaurant time, is an eternity. But his kitchen philosophy continues to be shaped by his earlier kitchens, at the Fromagerie in Rumson, Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank and Restaurant Daniel in New York.
Bernards Inn 27 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville; (908) 766 0002;They call it honest simplicity at Brick Farm Tavern, but you've never had meat and potatoes or chicken like this. This is the refined promise of farm to table, superior ingredients married to superior skill in the kitchen. The farm, owned by Jon and Robin McConaughy, is 800 acres, an outdoor pasture for cows, pigs, lambs, ducks. To get out of the car is to be disoriented. Is this really New Jersey? Yet, it's as bucolic as it appears. This is a place where Berkshire pigs, for example, are fed GMO free grain, which is roasted and milled on site. The heritage pigs are also fed (get this) spent grain from Beach Haus Brewery in Belmar. Yes, such is the fodder for satire, "Portlandia" style. And, yes, the occasional dish feels forced and overly precious (hay is an ingredient in an alarming number of dishes). But Brick Farm Tavern is no caricature. The food here is seductive. Executive chef Greg Vassos has worked with Eric Ripert, of Le Bernardin, and that disciplined classic French training is evident. (In other words, the farm is just the beginning.) Choose the rich Bolognese, with its lofty homemade gnocchi, or the sinfully creamy veloute. And the homemade bread with lardo, don't skip the lardo. The refurbished ancient farmhouse, all stone and wood and hearths, is unexpectedly elegant, with unconventional artwork throughout, which is exuberant and sometimes cheeky. The wine list is thoughtful; general manager Mike Lykens loves to showcase boutique wines and introduces wines at Hermes birkin bags fake half price on Wednesdays. But the backstory of chef Peter Loria? It can't be rivaled. Loria's childhood was one of Sunday dinners, milking cows, homemade pastries baked by a Czechoslovakian grandmother. But it was also a childhood in a Pennsylvania orphanage. As an adult, Loria began his career as a mathematician and engineer; he was successful but not satisfied. In 1986, he earned his degree from the then French Culinary Institute, then worked at Bouley. He opened his own place in New Jersey, hoping eventually to expand. Then Loria suffered an aneurysm that went untreated for four days. His doctors were shocked he lived through it. Love, for him, came later in life and he married at age 53. He owns rescue dogs. This is the man behind Cafe Matisse, which is considered by OpenTable to be one of the 100 most romantic restaurants in America. Cafe Matisse is indeed romantic, both the bold decor and the food are inspired by the French impressionist. Then there's the European garden located in a seductive hideaway in warm weather. Service is extraordinarily gracious and the restaurant somehow has retained the enviable electricity of the American '80s culinary scene luxuriant, creative, experimental. Dishes are an ambitious and complex layering of numerous ingredients. It may seem anachronistic, but, almost every time, will absolutely surprise and delight. At press time, the restaurant was scheduled to open its Moroccan front room, with expected additions to the menu. Still, he has learned that his filet mignon ravioli, a rich, decadent seduction made with homemade pasta, is a sacred menu item and he doesn't dare remove it. Other revered offerings at Cafe Panache include the halibut with wasabi, the pecan chicken, the ginger duck. But ask Kohler about the best meal he's ever had and he'll tell you it was the most simple thing. Striped bass, which he caught in the waters off Montauk. He grilled it outside, sparked it with a squeeze of lemon. It's what he wants to eat now. So, Kohler is doubling down on the number of seafood choices at the restaurant, especially favoring wild or line caught fish. (He hopes to spend next summer fishing for salmon in the Yukon River.) Kohler has always been smart enough to follow his gut. He fell in love with vegetables long before anyone else in the industry and, for years, spent his mornings in the gardens, choosing the perfect tomato. Today, he has shipments of organic produce delivered to his door. The choices at the restaurant are chef driven, the selections of an expert, which explains why he remains a leader in the industry. It also explains why the restaurant has been open more than 30 years, which is not a typo and which Kohler would explain away with less flourish. He attributes his success to hard work and constant reinvention. Recent updates included a shipment of chairs from Italy to refresh the casual elegance of the dining room.
Cafe Panache 130 E. But a fine restaurant is not a museum and you ought to be able to bring your party attitude. Chef Thomas Ciszak is a classic chef, born in Germany, hard working, disciplined (his history includes Tavern on the Green). He's also a perfectionist and a wine nerd (the restaurant's wine room is also where he cures Mangalitsa pork). But the chef's appearance remains boyish, as does his attitude. His food is globally inspired Peruvian chicken, pork schnitzel, hanger steak with chimichurri. Ciszak excels at seafood: His crispy trout is a must. But Chakra, with its candles and music and filmy decor, feels more like a nightclub than a restaurant. The energy is upbeat, sexy and self indulgent, with whimsical cocktails that play along. (Boy Meets World is made with rye, brandy, homemade vanilla syrup and cinnamon.) Ciszak's food also is playful, with a potato wrapped shrimp, for example, that looks like a Coney Island treat and tastes impossibly right. For dessert, Ciszak accompanies his treats with house made cotton candy and caramelized popcorn. Also, there are doughnuts soft, sugary pillows. Was Ciszak first to offer New Jersey warm homemade doughnuts as dessert? Perhaps not, but no one does them better. Indeed, Chef Vola's customers say the same it's wonderful, thank God. The praise for the food here is a near communal swoon, for the outsized portions, for the warmth of the family, for the preservation, every day, of the classic New Jersey celebratory dinner in an Italian American household. The restaurant has existed since 1921, was bought by Louise and Michael Esposito in 1982, and is where the Esposito sons, Michael Jr. and Louis, grew up, washing dishes, snapping green beans. Chef Vola's has always been a local favorite, but became suddenly famous thanks to a James Beard classic award in 2011, plus a later cameo on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire." Louise Esposito, who is instantly your friend, speaks in a breathless, continuous sentence. She loves the story of the James Beard award, how she was asked to speak but insisted that the entire family take the stage. "You'll turn us down?" The James Beard representative was incredulous. "It wouldn't be worth it if we couldn't be together," she replied. At Chef Vola's, it's all about tradition and family; the Espositos have traveled to Italy each year for nearly 50 years, are today saving to pay college tuition for the grandkids. (If we thought college was expensive, says Esposito, today it's a real sticker shock. "It's a couple of houses in Philly.") The restaurant itself is nothing special. Part of the charm is that it hasn't changed, that it is hard to distinguish from the rowhouses nearby, that it feels like an illicit discovery. Occasionally, says Esposito, a new customer is disappointed, expecting statues, water fountains, marble. "You'll have to go to the Borgata for that."
Chef Vola's 111 S. Albion Place, Atlantic City; (609) 345 2022
The Lecture Room in London offers a particularly plush, gilded and eccentric experience; it is the most elite of the rabbit hole adventures that make up the dynamic of the restaurant known as Sketch. At Sketch, even the hot chocolate is legendary, and the tea room fills with Fashion Week elite. (The restaurant is within walking distance of Hermes, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, a stone's throw from Savile Row.) The Lecture Room, with its French inspired cuisine, has two Michelin stars. So how is the story of Sketch relevant to a New Jerseyan? Because the Lecture Room kitchen was the training ground for chef Ehren Ryan, who last May opened one of the state's most exciting spots. In fact, the advance buzz for Common Lot was so intense, and the delays so frustrating, that foodies and critics practically stormed the Millburn dining room when the restaurant finally opened. The consensus is joyful. Nearly a year later, weekend seats are still hard to get. Chef Ryan, who grew up in Australia, and his wife, Nadine, who grew up in Austria, bring an entirely fresh spin on the New Jersey food scene from pea guacamole to sweetbreads to dry aged ribeye in a relaxed, vibrant setting. (Unlike The Lecture Room, the Common Lot space is neither precious nor intimidating.) Another reason to love Ryan: While the restaurant opening was delayed, he volunteered as chef adviser to a team of high school culinary students from Passaic County Technical Institute. The team, with its entree of roasted quail, faro risotto and Swiss chard, became state champions in the annual National ProStart Invitational and traveled to Dallas for the national competition. The uniquely rigorous rounds of judging done by the select groups of experts for the International Chocolate Awards with its numerous levels of competition, all done in blind tastings, each of which is executed in thoughtful silence was conducted at Montclair State University. Presilla, one of the founders of the organization, is proud to have brought the replica hermes handbags outlet group to New Jersey, and the chef, who has a doctoral degree, is also proud to be affiliated with a university. This was also the year that Presilla introduced her version of Colombian potato soup, the humble ajiaco, to her restaurant in Hoboken. The events are not unrelated. The soup was salvation for the chef during a visit to a cacao farm, the perfect respite after she walked up a mountain in drenching rain. These adventures define the career of Presilla, who brings the divine, mystical and ancient foods of her travels to those of us in the United States. Presilla, who escaped from Cuba when she was a teenager, has won numerous James Beard awards, has cooked for President Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. But when she's in town, she's likely to be sitting at the bar at Cucharamama, sharing calamari with her newest friend. Order the roast pork, the chocolate rubbed short ribs, the homemade empanadas, the mille feuille cake with Malbec icing. Cucharamama is history and anthropology at its most seductive. The linens are delicate, the rooms bright, the bathrobes lush. The porch is black and white crisp, and leopard prints are a witty accessory throughout the hotel. These facts already earn points, contributing to the Ebbitt Room's popularity as a memorable destination. The food at the hotel's Ebbitt Room also tends to avoid the cliches of fine dining in this seaside resort thanks to the restaurant's own makeover, which eliminated some of the more ornate elements of the dining room, and thanks in part to the restaurant's relationship with Beach Plum Farm. The picturesque farm is just 2 miles away. There, blueberries are grown, of course, but also sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini, lettuces, kale, leeks, ambrosia cantaloupe. The farm has 12 beehives, 800 chickens, Berkshire pork. The menu at Ebbitt Room features the Beach Plum pork chop, straight from the farm, when available. Also, seasonal berries in the creme brulee and, depending on the season, hakurei turnips, pickled peppers or eggplant puree (spiked with saffron) as accompaniments to the dinner entrees. Seafood here is also locally sourced. Other recent renovations included a 30 seat private garden, which the restaurant didn't publicize, hoping to keep it a secret for locals. The Ebbitt Room, which boasts a reputation for superior service, remains open on weekends in winter.
The kitchen staff is also the wait staff, and a 20 percent gratuity, defined as a guest experience, is included in the bill. Such things, in the industry, are considered radical. But that's like going to a concert and talking about the traffic. What's radical about elements, what's always been radical about elements, is the food. Chef Scott Anderson is a genius, the archetype of the future of the restaurant business. Just 28 seats, dinner only. You may order a la carte, but the tasting menu experience is encouraged. Anderson's journeys are impeccable, with some dishes mannered and precise, others robust and outrageous. Dinner changes with the micro seasons and according to the chef's fancy, but expect venison, rib eye, local scallops, pheasant and ramen, with accompanying ingredients such as sumac, buckwheat, bergamot. As it has from the beginning, this is food that encourages debate, food with intellectual muster. Yet, this food, unlike that from other restaurants favoring experimentation and innovation, also tastes grand. You may never understand it or even be able to explain it, but you'll know immediately what the fuss is all about.
A chef never tires of inspiration from Italy. Ryan DePersio took the trip early in 2016 three regions, six days, 12 wineries. Wine was the reason for the journey and food was the uncomplicated accompaniment. Yet, it is the food DePersio talked about upon his return to the United States the authenticity of dinner, the simplicity and, especially, the flawless ingredients. "Everything in Italy is so perfect," he says. The olive oil, the sea salt, the orange zest. Fascino has been a starred New Jersey restaurant since it opened 13 years ago, a menu of Italian favorites (Bolognese, mezzaluna) made remarkably light, at times ethereal, thanks to DePersio's French culinary training (creme fraiche, celery root, scallions). At Fascino, the dining room is elegant and refined, the pasta is hand crafted and vegetables are not an afterthought. (A vegetarian tasting menu has always been a priority.) In Jersey City, DePersio also runs the sprawling Battello and the indie casual Kitchen Step, but Fascino remains his signature space, a BYOB that's classy, refined yet understated. After he returned from his wine tour, DePersio paid homage to the experience with a special dinner, featuring carne cruda, braised veal cheeks. An American chef must search for the perfect ingredients. In Italy, procurement is easier. "Go in the back and pick some cherries. That's it."
The Wall