Entries categorized as ‘Ridgewood’
December 21, 2008 · 1 Comment
It’s about time.
Ever since moving from Philadelphia to the NYC area, we’ve struggled to find restaurants that in some way approximate the eclectic, yet sophisticated mix of cuisine and attitude to which we’ve become accustomed in that city of brotherly love.
But in the past few months, we’ve found a couple places that tap into that Philly flair.
The first (pictured) is Perilla, a great little restaurant nestled into the back streets of the West Village. We arrived there very randomly one night, having made a reservation in haste when I realized some out-of-town friends were coming into the city for the night. After a whole lot of web browsing and a few phone calls, we ended up with an 8:30 reservation at one of many NYC restaurants I never knew existed before that night.
You know how sometimes things just work out? Well, from the restaurant choice on, this was one of those nights.
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Categories: NYC · Philadelphia · Restaurants · Ridgewood · new jersey
Tagged: new york, restaurant, striped bass, Ridgewood, Perilla, Gazelle Cafe, West Village, chickpea fries, homemade doughnuts, hanger steak, pork belly, pork tenderloin, barbecue, sweet potato sticks
Now that I’ve shamelessly lifted this great pic from Jason Perlow’s in-depth review of the pizza restaurant, A Mano, I’m not sure I can add anything of value to what seems to be an extremely well-covered dining experience.
But then I read about a huge change to the eatery that occurred six months previous to my arrival in North Jersey: the original pizza pioneer left and the menu was retooled to become more America-friendly. Evidently, the well-regarded Roberto Caporuscio was let go for making pies that were a little too authentic.
What?
If you go back to that first review, which is pre-menu-change, you’ll see some pretty convincing evidence that Roberto was serving one of the most authentic (and by all accounts tasty) Neopolitan pizzas around. That the management felt this uniquely Italian food was off-putting to much of its New Jersey clientele seems to me to be completely insane. But, hey, they own a restaurant and I don’t.
So, being that I did not have the opportunity to try the original Roberto pies, I figured my little review here might provide some insight into what the A Mano experience is like to a newbie, ignorant (at the time of dining) of the menu shenanigans that took place not seven months earlier.
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Categories: Restaurants · Ridgewood
Tagged: A Mano, American, authentic, chef change, gorgonzola, Neopolitan, pizza, tricolore salad
It’s now been more than a month since I moved from Motown Philly to Bergen County, New Jersey - land of well-manicured lawns, gigantic strip malls, and alcohol-less Sundays.
The suburban lifestyle is quite a turnaround from our previous urban environment. We can’t walk to restaurants, convenience stores, movies or just about anything. And with only one car, let’s just say I’ll be cooking more often.
However, my wife and I have found some time to go out and eat together so far, and we’ve gravitated to Ridgewood: an affluent town center a few miles south of us teeming with restaurants, boutiques and other rich-folk amusements. In general, the food has been good, though nowhere near amazing.
Other than the Country Pancake House, here are our other conquests:
CAFE TULIP
Probably the best of our Ridgewood meals thus far, this BYOB (they actually exist outside of Philly!) is a quaint, casual food factory with all the warmth and attention of mom’s kitchen. It’s described as a Mediterranean place but leans heavily toward Greek and Turkish, with lots of spinach, stews and fish specials.
We shared a sampler appetizer with grape leaves that were among the best I’ve ever tasted. For entrees, we both ordered fish specials, although I can’t quite remember the details. They were both white fish and both were perfectly tender and delicious. We barely found room for dessert, but the baklava looked too amazing to pass up. It was.
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Categories: Restaurants · Ridgewood · Roundups · new jersey
Tagged: Cafe Tulip, chicken tikka masala, dragon roll, Gen Sushi, grape leaves, Greek to Me, Indian restaurant, Malee Thai, Mela, naan, new jersey, pad-see-eew, Ridgewood
