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Wine & Food Affinties


Café Matisse
167 Park Avenue, Rutherford
(201-935-2995)

Cafe Matisse is one of the finest restaurants in New Jersey. The stunning new decor, the beautifully prepared and presented dishes (OK, so maybe they go overboard with the towers) and the solid service make this a restaurant to go back to. Expensive, but worth it. $$$$ [6/01, revisited several times]


Villa Rosa
470 Lafayette Avenue, Hawthorne
(973-427-3689)

Villa Rosa is one of those little Italian restaurants that have built a well deserved following of loyal, local customers. It isn’t fancy, the service is just adequate (though friendly), but the food is superb and freshly made with lots of down-home Mamma-in-the-kitchen love. Think southern Italian cuisine, and nothing on the menu will surprise you. Well, maybe the Honey Dipped Fried Chicken will. There are always a few specials that are a bit more creative. Everything here is good and portions are plentiful. The only caveat is that there isn’t a no-smoking section; not a big problem on most nights. $ [4/01]


Ciao Bella
172 Piermont Road, Creskill
(201) 894-1444

Located, adjacent to Samdan, Ciao Bella is a very worthy Italian restaurant. It features interesting pizzas from a wood-burning brick oven as well as numerous seafood, chicken, veal and pasta dishes. Specials are always available and are reasonably priced. The grilled calamari and seafood Pappardelle that we tried were excellent. A quite respectable family style salad is included. Seating can be tight at some tables, so choose your table carefully. $$ [3/01]


Wondee's
296 Main Street, Hackensack
(201) 883-1700

One of the best Thai restaurants in the area is Wondee’s in Hackensack. It is not a fancy place, but it is a comfortable, small storefront restaurant. The staff will gladly help you through a unique tasting experience. We thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken Satay (BBQ), Crispy Duck Salad, Keang Mustsaman (chicken curry with coconut milk, peanuts and tamarind sauce) and the Karna Moo Grob (stir fried crispy bacon with Chinese broccoli), but there are so many interesting sounding dishes that you can go here many times without tasting the same thing twice. Great food, great prices. $ [11/00, revisited several times]


Village Gourmet
75 Park Avenue, Rutherford
(201) 438-9404

Village Gourmet is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It’s an unusual restaurant, with a liquor store in the middle of the restaurant (You may still bring your own). The food here is very good. Many of the dishes are blackened (Cajun-style). Many of the others come fairly spicy, but they will adjust the heat if that’s not to your liking. The fare is quite eclectic so there’s something for everyone. The Filet Mignon and Swordfish that we tried were excellent: remarkably moist and tender. $$ [5/00]

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