Tag: Montclair Foodie

Valentine’s Day in Montclair

It’s that time again Montclair, reservations are being called in as we speak, even though it feels like we were just celebrating NYE! The ball dropped, we blinked, next thing you know the Eagles won the Super Bowl and it’s Valentine’s Day Montclair! We figured we’d help you out with the 411 on some of our current favorite spots in and around town that are doing a little something special for this Valentine’s Day! If you haven’t already made your reservations, hurry up!

Pig & Prince
For starter’s being the loving man that he is, Chef Mike Carrino decided to launch his new Winter menu just this last Tuesday putting Pig & Prince high on our list of must haves asap! If you’ve dined at Pig & Prince before you know Chef does not skimp and is not afraid to push the envelope (or plate in his case!) This new winter menu will be an experience for sure with new menu items that include Ostrich and Monkfish, you can’t go wrong!

Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas
Equally romantic (especially if you can snag a booth for 2) & bonus, they’ve got an extensive wine list; Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas (70 Kingsland Road, Clifton) will offer a 5-Course Prix Fixe menu from February 9 through February 17. Enjoy a tasting menu with optional wine pairing. Reservations can be made online or at 973.661.2435. If you end up here PLEASE don’t skip dessert!! Ciambelle (extra nutella for dipping please!) and Cinnamon Spice Cake!!

Plum on Park
We also LOVE the new relaxed romantic vibe at Plum on Park (which reopened this past Friday, February 2nd after a renovation and is looking AMAZING). Plum will offer a 3-course prix fixe menu (the entire week of Valentine’s Day for dinner) in addition to their regular menu.

Fresco da Franco
Then of course there is Fresco da Franco (15 Church Street, Montclair) will offer dinner with live jazz entertainment with a limited a la carte menu which we of course are hoping includes Mama’s meatballs. Reservations can be made through Opentable or at 347.974.2420.

Turtle and The Wolf
Turtle and The Wolf won’t feature a prix fixe menu but please trust us when we tell you EVERYTHING on their menu is special and so worth it! And you can be sure Chef Lauren will have a few tricks up his sleeves as he always does and NEVER disappoints.

The intimate sizes of most of these restaurants paired with the amazing food and service is truly what we love the most! But please don’t forget the wine!! Remember most of the above are BYOB but don’t fret, impress your date by giving AmantiVino a call and having wine delivered straight to your dinner table! Let’s just all be happy Vday falls on a Wednesday so MAYBE we’ll actually be able to get a table somewhere this Vday! #FoodiestrugglesonValentinesDay

Already have plans for Valentine’s Day in Montclair? Tell us your favorite romantic place to dine in and around town! Don’t forget to tell them #MontclairFoodieSentMe when making your reservations! @MontclairFoodie You never know Valentine’s Day Dinner might just be on us 😉

We want that Cake Cake Cakeaholic Obsession!!!!

Cake Cake Cake Cakeaholic Obsession — Cakeaholic Obsession

Cake, cake, cake, cake, with so many yummy places to grab sweet treats in Montclair, NJ you can never run out of options!! Montclair Bread Co for your donuts, Plum Bakery for the gluten free lovers, Little Daisy Bakeshop, KakesKimmy, Applegate Farm, Gelotti, the list goes on and on!! But another one of our personal FAVE discoveries at this years Taste of Montclair… Cakeaholic Obsession!!!

So what did we have you ask? Cookies and cream (with an actual cookie at the bottom of the cupcake!), Vanilla Birthday Cake, Chocolate Birthday Cake, Red Velvet, Chunky Monkey, and last but most certainly not least, Banana de leche. Banana de Leche was their flavor at Taste of Montclair although not currently on the menu of selections (although we think it needs to be!) It is hands down our favorite! So we have all these flavored cupcakes and then, we notice the ice cream.

Cakeaholic has homemade ice cream delivered weekly from Upstate New York. They even have custom flavors coming soon such as Lemon Berry, Banana Pudding (#MotherMayI?!?!?!), and Pink Velvet. What did we try? Cinnamon Brown Sugar… thats right I said CINNAMON BROWN SUGAR!!!! Take a drive to the southside of Montclair and allow yourself to… indulge (we did)!!! Veer off of Bloomfield Avenue and find your way to 324 Orange Road in Montclair NJ.

An already award winning bakery, Cakeaholics was just nominated for best bakery in Best of Essex 2016! Cakeaholic not only offers amazing cupcakes and homemade ice cream, they do events to!! Date nights, Girls nights, baking classes for the kids, and more! If you havent already tried Julie’s cupcakes, what are you waiting for??? Ask for the Banana de Leche and thank us later!

Cakeaholics has since closed their location in South Montclair. But are working on a new space coming soon and you can still order yummy cupcakes and treats online!!!

p.s. word on the street is Cakeaholics Obsession will be at this years Montclair Food and Wine BBQ on July 9th if you are planning on attending be sure to stopby their table and tell them MontclairFoodieSentMe!

-MF

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Dinner at Turtle and The Wolf!

About a year ago the Upper Montclair community welcomed Turtle and The Wolf to Valley Road a not so hidden (although not as popular YET) gem. Valley Road literally has it all; amazing homes, chain stores like Kings, William Sonoma, Starbucks, and quaint little shops like Sweet Home Montclair & Apple Village. And now you can top off a beautiful day about town with Dinner at Turtle and the Wolf!

Turtle and The Wolf is an American (New) Restaurant brought to us by the amazingly talented Chef Lauren Hirschberg. Having spent many years with Craft Restaurant Group, Chef Lauren brings his talents to Montclair, NJ where his culinary skills are displayed wonderfully when southern comfort meets big city dinning.

The dinner scene at Turtle and The Wolf is much different from Brunch with tables reserved 2 to 3 weeks in advance it is difficult to get a walk-in reservation any given weekend. But we finally lucked out! We mistakenly forgot to grab a bottle of wine, but conveniently there is a wine and spirits store right across from Turtle and The Wolf (Angelbeck’s The Wine Store). Saved by the wine store!

We walked into a warm room, dimly lit, filled with lots of chatter, glasses clinking, and laughter all around. There was a family of five out for a Friday night dinner, more than a few couples out on a date night and a handful of ladies in the corner enjoying a girl’s night. If the house made sausage on the brunch menu were any inclination, we should have known dinning at Turtle and Wolf would be nothing less than finger-licking good.

The menu….where to begin, I really really wanted to go for the deviled eggs, but having walked in knowing I was having dessert I opted for the Arugula, radish, cucumber salad. My date for the evening was not as modest, opting to start off with the hot wings. And from the looks of his pile of wipes, or better yet lack thereof, the wings were finger licking good… and we were in public… I can tell you it only got better and more fingers would be licked.

We ordered the roasted 1/2 chicken with red potatoes, fiddlehead, and gremolata and Braised Beef Brisket, Pommel Puree, radish, and Black Garlic Jus…. All I can say is people call things #fingerlickinggood often but this was #lickingyourplate #fingerlicking #pleaseletthisplatebebottomless Amazingly GOOD.

So, you’re probably thinking, salad, wings, chicken AND Brisket no way they had room for dessert (and remember I said Chef Lauren does not skimp on portion sizes)… Nope, you know how when your mom cooks your favorite meal and you know you’re no longer hungry but you could go for seconds, and then she reminds the table there is dessert and you feel like your entire life was just made! OK that feeling right there, enter Maple pôt de crême, Zeppoles, and Vanilla cake with house made whipped cream. I know I know you think every restaurant MUST make their own whipped cream, one taste of this ACTUAL house made whipped cream from T+ W and your night will be made! And yes, I have no shame in saying we ordered all 3 of their dessert items and boy am I glad we did!

It was just two of us, so we unfortunately could not try more from the menu, but never fear we will MOST DEFINITELY be back for more!!!

Tasting menus, Fried chicken, Duck pot pie, deviled eggs, I mean so much to eat (must wear stretchy pants….and maybe make a reservation for 4 next time?)

Who’s coming??

Dinner at Turtle and the Wolf — We were finally able to get reservations for dinner at Turtle and the Wolf last week…mouthwatering& delicious!

Dinner Turtle Wolf — Maple pôt de crême up front (my personal FAVE), Zeppoles, and Vanilla cake with house made whipped cream (Hubby’s FAVE)

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Brunch on Brunch on Brunch at Vital Montclair

I don’t know about you guys but we must admit, we were pretty bummed when HLS Juice Bar and Grill closed their doors back in 2014 (although you can still find them in Maplewood, NJ) and were almost skeptic to try Vital at all. BUT that all changed when we finally tried a bite of this amazing sweet plantain and pulled pork teaser at this years Taste of Montclair 2016 held at The Manor in West Orange NJ and presented by the Montclair Rotary Club.

Now having tried them for both brunch and lunch, we must say… it’s a shame Vital only does Brunch on Sunday’s (finger’s crossed that changes soon). You can immediately tell the ingredients Executive Chef Kwame Williams uses at Vital Dining are the freshest and best in season. I don’t know about you but, with suns out guns out season upon us, eating waffles isn’t typically the “healthiest” option for someone to choose, but these banana waffles were so light! We left 387 Bloomfield Ave in Montclair, NJ NOT feeling guilty about a single thing we had just consumed 🙂 and it was ALL so good (we are foodies after all and although they say you should eat for fuel and not because something tastes good… isn’t it just heavenly when you can have the best of both worlds)!!!

Vital also has amazing juices!! I like to believe we went uber healthy (although pretty much every juice seems amazing for the body from what we can tell) we went with the Detox (pictured below) and the Orange Zinger (hint in case the name isn’t telling enough, this drink was a zinger with a healthy dose of ginger)

Here is yet another great Montclair Chef who adapts his cooking and menu with the season. Can’t wait to see what new dishes the Chef introduces for these beautiful summer months that are finally here!

-MF

Brunch on Brunch on Brunch at Vital Montclair — Banana Waffles, St Mary’s Breakfast… Vital Brunch… great vibe & great food!

Brunch at Vital Montclair — Top 5 Green Juice in Montclair! Don’t you think!?!?!

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A Brunch fit for a WOLF!

A Brunch that could satisfy a Wolf, or at least my husband! LOL! So, we have become something of regulars for brunch at Turtle and the Wolf. If you are at all familiar with Montclair Center and the brunch seen in Northern NJ at all, you know that for quality eats, especially as the days thankfully get warmer, there typically are lengthy waits for a really good brunch. Being the foodie aficionada that I am and given that I married a man who hates waiting for food ESPECIALLY when he’s hungry, a concept I unfortunately can’t totally disagree with, I began searching for a new go to brunch location. I should also preface this by saying that my husband also doesn’t like trying new restaurants. He has his favorites and if he’s really hungry he doesn’t want to risk having a good meal. Also fair. So strolling down Valley Road in Montclair, NJ on our way to grab our Starbucks trying to decide where to go for brunch one late Saturday morning I finally convinced him to try Turtle and the Wolf since we were so close. To our delightful surprise (especially his), we were seated as soon as we walked in. What’s funny, having been there for brunch almost every weekend since our discovery, is we often see folks peering in through the glass door to get an idea of what’s going on inside. But the same way you can’t judge a book by its cover, you should ABSOLUTELY not judge T + W brunch by the number of filled tables. In fact, for now anyway, brunch at Turtle and Wolf is a hidden gem! No waits, amazing selection from French toast, Cheddar grits, No Ham Madame Croque, Eggs Florentine, HOMEMADE sausages, we can go on and on because yes we’ve had the entire menu by now (remember we’ve been there countless times)! But we must warn you, the menu changes with the season! Which is a great thing! We can’t wait what Chef Lauren will cook up with summer vegetables!!

Next time you are looking for a Brunch place and its 11am on a Sunday and you are dreading the wait at pretty much every establishment in Montclair Center, take a 5 minute drive, take advantage of the parking right behind them and venture into Upper Montclair for an amazing treat at Turtle and Wolf. Tell Chef Lauren #MONTCLAIRFOODIESENTME!! And then, go back for Dinner!!!

Brunch Time in Montclair — Brunch time! Where are you brunching this weekend Montclair?

Breakfast Focaccia Special at Turtle and the Wolf this beautiful Saturday Morning

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