High Summer 2019 Issue
THE JOYS OF DINING
An exquisite passage in literature comes from author Donna Tartt in her best-selling novel Goldfinch. I return to the passage often, reminded as always by the univer...
New Jersey's Ever-Changing Restaurant Scene
Edible Jersey shares a look at some of the new things happening this season in the kitchen, the front of the house and on the menu.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY
New Jersey’s restaurant community is dynamic and ever-evolving. Restaurateurs and chefs statewide strive for increasing levels of excellence, and brand-new restaurants constantly emerge on the scene. Edible Jersey shares a look at some of the new things happening this season in the kitchen, the front of the house and on the menu.
17 SUMMER
17 Summer St., Lodi
973.928.4780
17summerrestaurant.com
Located in a former butcher’s shop in Lodi, 17 Summer is a destination for omnivores, with a little bit of everything on the menu, from braised lamb to stuffed roasted fennel. Vegetables are never an afterthought; in fact, once a month, they take center stage.
The brother-and-sister catering team of Joseph and Jenna Cuccia opened 17 Summer in 2015. Joseph Cuccia is the executive chef. In 2016, he was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef of the Year” award.
The restaurant’s monthly vegan dinners, launched last year and celebrated in a James Beard dinner this spring, are billed as “a plant-based celebration,” with a five-course chef ’s tasting that focuses on seasonal vegetables. Two big hits are the restaurant’s vegan burger and the chef ’s play on foie gras, made with mushrooms. The Cuccias have an uncle who has been vegan for 30 years. “We’re very familiar with the diet,” says Jenna Cuccia. “People should be eating more vegetables anyway.”
CANEDA’S WHITE ROOSTER
781 Fischer Blvd., Toms River
732.929.2822
thewhiterooster.net
Splashy and fun, Caneda’s White Rooster highlights Cuban cuisine in a collaboration by Patty Caneda and Jeremy Grunin. The menu includes empanadas, ceviche, pork and shrimp dishes and comfort classics such as ropa vieja.
Caneda’s White Rooster is a date-worthy spot with cozy tables for two, but the restaurant also offers a kids’ menu (including “Arroz con Pollito,” among other offerings).
Armed with a new liquor license, the restaurant will serve cocktails beginning in June. Caneda’s is already adept in pretty presentations with coffee drinks, such as the Pink Latte, so the cocktails should prove creative.
FELINA
54 East Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood
551.276.5454
felinarestaurant.com
Star power comes to downtown Ridgewood in the form of Felina, the new restaurant helmed by Chef Anthony Bucco and his team. Bucco is renowned for his work at Restaurant LaTour in Hamburg, the Ryland Inn in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township, and Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi, both in New Brunswick. In collaboration with Frank Cretella of Landmark Hospitality, Bucco opened Felina as a destination for locally grown and foraged cuisine with an Italian influence.
Martyna Krowicka, who worked with Bucco at Restaurant LaTour (see “Her Own Beet,” Edible Jersey Travel 2018) is chef du cuisine. Vegetables are given their due, whether as appetizers (roasted beets with fennel pollen, ricotta and mint; Romanesco cauliflower with buttermilk, pomegranate, crispy shallots and dill) or tucked into lasagna (mushrooms and caramelized onions with ricotta, béchamel and thyme). Expect fresh, comforting dishes featuring polenta, seasonal crudo, Amish chicken, day boat scallops and more NJ delicacies.
A rooftop area is expected to open this summer.
THE FOX & FALCON
19 Valley St., South Orange
973.419.6773
thefoxandfalconnj.com
Renowned restaurateur David Massoni’s latest project is essentially in his backyard. A resident of South Orange, Massoni opened the Fox & Falcon with the aim of bringing elevated American cuisine and artisanal cocktails to the SOMA (South Orange/Maplewood) scene.
Massoni previously worked with Three Kings Restaurant Group, opening eateries in New York. The Fox & Falcon is in the former location of South Mountain Tavern.
The three-story building includes the Snug, the bar below the main dining room, as well as two other bar areas. Styled after an Irish pub, the Snug has its own entrance, accessible for an after-work meeting with friends or a cocktail before dinner upstairs. Live music, including jazz nights and a singer-songwriter series, keeps the energy high throughout the restaurant, while the menu emphasizes comfort with pub fare and revamped Italian-American specialties.
The world-class culinary team of Massoni and executive chef Matt Ruzgo is sure to raise the culinary bar in South Orange, a town that has long been off the dining destination radar.
Il NIDO
184 Rte. 9 North, Willow Point Shopping Center, Marlboro
732.851.6347
ilnidonj.com
One of the most exciting new restaurant concepts—especially for those of us who appreciate authenticity and farm-to-table ingredients— is Il Nido in Marlboro.
Il Nido promises to celebrate Italy’s artisan traditions (without necessarily favoring one particular region). The chef here is Joseph Voller, formerly of Eno Terra in Kingston, which was among New Jersey’s first strictly farm-to-table restaurants.
The menu at Il Nido changes with the season and boasts grilled octopus, fluke crudo, local veal, black spaghetti and seasonal risotto. The restaurant sources many of its ingredients from Four Story Hill Farm in PA, seafood from Local 130 and olive oil and beans from Italy. Pasta flour comes from Molini del Ponte in Sicily, a company that is working to save ancient grains from extinction.
Il Nido is taking the concept of authenticity one step farther, working with Cherry Valley Cooperative in Princeton to grow produce from organic seeds from Italy, including heirloom tomatoes, legumes, squashes, beets and greens.
MARITIME PARC
84 Audrey Zapp Dr., Jersey City
201.413.0050
maritimeparc.com
The Jersey City restaurant with one of the best views of New York City has reopened. Martime Parc, which always emphasized its cuisine and not the sparkling lights of Manhattan, was closed earlier this year for renovations.
New banquettes, light fixtures and polished concrete flooring were installed in the 2,400-square-foot, semi-circular space. The bar was expanded, and the signature nautical-themed design was refreshed.
The chef at Maritime Parc is Chris Siversen, who has maintained his commitment to seasonal, local ingredients. The restaurant is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The restaurant’s popular Thursday burger night special—a half-dozen oysters, burger of choice and a glass of wine or beer for $25—remains a weekly option. Siversen is considered a burger nerd, and has worked years perfecting his recipes.
MARUCA’S
On the boardwalk, Asbury Park
marucaspizza.com
You’ve seen that signature swirl of tomato sauce on Maruca’s pies in Seaside Heights. That pattern will soon be hypnotizing pizza lovers on the Asbury Park boardwalk, as Maruca’s expands into Monmouth County.
Owner Dominic Maruca has partnered with music promoter Sammy Boyd to bring the Seaside institution to a new boardwalk. Maruca’s has been famous for decades for its distinctive interpretation of the Trenton-style tomato pie. The new Maruca’s will have that same cheese-on-the-bottom, swirl-on-top design that made the original so tantalizing.
Better pizza on the boardwalk? What’s not to love?
OLIVE & IVY MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN
78 Rte. 35, Eatontown
oliveandivymediterranean.com
The husband-and-wife team of George and Diana Melassanos, who previously owned restaurants in Brick, approach their new place with a cultural understanding that comes from having lived in Greece.
The extensive menu at Olive & Ivy covers Greek classics, from spanakopita and moussaka to lesser-known dishes such as saganaki (flaming Kefalograviera cheese with lemon olive oil) and avgolemono (egg and lemon soup with chicken and arborio rice). Ingredients throughout include fresh herbs, fresh greens, free-range chicken, house-made marinara and lots of extra-virgin olive oil. Olive & Ivy serves lunch and dinner.
Olive oil is the inspiration here, but the menu also features a selection of slow-roasted rotisserie meats, including beef, chicken, lamb and pork.
OSTERIA CRESCENDO
36 Jefferson Ave., Westwood
201.722.1900
osteriacrescendo.com
The energetic and colorfully tattooed chef Robbie Felice has made a name for himself with his ambitious salumi program at Viaggio in Wayne (see “A Passion for Salumi,” Edible Jersey High Summer 2018). Now, Felice has opened a second restaurant, Osteria Crescendo, in Westwood.
In Westwood, the décor is crisp, urban and modern. Yes, salumi is featured, but here Felice is expanding his reach with what he calls the best of Italy—from gnocchi with oxtail to olive oil cake. Expect ingredients such as fennel pollen and preparations including saffron-chile crema and tomato-eggplant puttanesca. Indeed, the menu is so Italian that Google asks if you’d like to translate the page. Felice, who has worked at Babbo in New York City and who honed his salumi skills in Vegas, owns the restaurant with his father, Joe Felice, a longtime restaurateur. Both are from Wayne.
At this new spot, Felice offers large, family-style portions meant for sharing, including Bistecca Fiorentina (30-day dry-aged local black angus porterhouse) and Collo di Agnello (saffron white wine braised local lamb neck).
PORCH & PROPER
619 W. Collings Ave., Collingswood
856.477.2105
porchandproper.com
The Philadelphia food scene is suddenly white hot, thanks to the energy of a few new spots. But Alma de Cuba and Buddakan were among the places that set the bar high in the first place. Thus, it was good news for the Garden State when two veterans of those Stephen Starr restaurants announced an opening in Collingswood.
Jason and Casey Simkins are the owners of Porch & Proper, an upscale American BYO that showcases regional ingredients from local farms. Menu items include sourdough focaccia, Brigantine oysters and pappardelle with rabbit.
The building is 100 years old, featuring (of course) a porch and an herb and flower garden.
Anthony Marini, winner of CNBC’s Restaurant Startup with Joe Bastianich and Tim Love, was named executive chef in June.
SOMOS
85 River Rd., North Arlington
201.621.0899
somosnj.com
This Latin fusion restaurant is the long-awaited venture by Chef Juan Andres Placencia, of the popular Peruvian restaurant Costanera in Montclair. Placencia is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in some of the most well-regarded and demanding kitchens in Manhattan: Jean-Georges, Gramercy Park and Eleven Madison Park. At Costanera, a cozy, intimate spot, the chef ’s ceviche is legendary.
Somos, however, is a much bigger concept, offering a large space for events and late-night dancing. Peruvian flavors are a guiding force on the menu, with Cuban specialties, pan-Latin dishes and Spanish tapas added to the mix.
A lively cocktail scene energizes Somos, where DJ Arian spins on Saturday nights and Sundays are meant for samba and mambo dancing to live bands. At Somos, the party lasts until the wee hours.
—EJ contributors
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