|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pizza Fusion
Pizza Fusion is not fine dining, but this eco-friendly (recycled materials are used where possible) franchise offers organic food of good quality. In addition to numerous, interesting pizza combinations (there are even vegan and gluten-free ones), there are some very nice salads and sandwiches. And the wine glasses are terrific! View the menu at www.pizzafusion.com. $ [3/10]
(201) 507-0093 Sorrento Ristorante (201-507-0093), at 132 Park Ave in East Rutherford, carries the same name and location as a previous restaurant back in the early 1990s, but the ownership is new. This unabashedly Italian restaurant offers excellent quality food that doesn't stray far from the classics. The seating is spacious and very comfortable - perhaps the most comfortable restaurant chairs in Bergen county. Chef Zorko Zoran Glavan shows a deft hand using obviously fresh and high quality ingredients. The menu may be viewed at www.sorrentoristorante.net. Closed Mondays. $$ [2/10] Peter Wang's Peter Wang’s is owned by the former manager at Baumgart’s Cafe in Ridgewood and Englewood. There are similarities between the menus, but Peter Wang’s offers some Thai entrées and dim sum in addition to the Chinese standards. There are also some wonderful salads that are practically a meal in themselves. Saving the best for last, the ice cream desserts are homemade and fabulous! Peter Wang’s is more a family cafe than a fine dinning experience, but the food is quite good. I always check out the wines brought by patrons. Peter Wang’s cafe nature may explain the generally poor quality of the wines on the tables. I brought MOMA red, our November wine of the month. It was by f ar the best wine in the house. $ [1/10] Kevin's Thyme is a high-end catering and take-out establishment, but it is also open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. There are only 23 seats inside (there's also a little courtyard with tables during the warmer months), so reservations are a must. The menu is eclectic and creative, the presentations are very attractive, and the food and service are top notch. $$$ [11/09] With an abundance of Italian restaurants close to home, it takes a special restaurant to make you want to drive to Lyndhurst. But Casa Giuseppe is exactly that kind of restaurant. It’s a tiny place, so you’ll have to go relatively early during the week or make a reservation on the weekend. It’s well worth the effort. The northern Italian offerings are limited and quite traditional; that’s a good thing. The quality is very high with obvious attention to detail. $$ [10/09] Istanbul
Restaurant Istanbul Restaurant is a Turkish restaurant with a few appetizers and entrées beyond those typically found at middle eastern restaurants in the area. Besides the numerous lamb, chicken, fish, and vegetarian dishes, you can try a Russian salad (potato, egg, and peas in mayonnaise), beer batter fried mussels, and homemade dumplings filled with ground lamb in a yogurt, garlic, and tomato sauce. If the desserts don’t appeal (the Baklava is outstanding), there’s a terrific little gelato place up the street. Open seven days. $-$$ [08/09] Tandoori Chef Tandoori Chef (201-457-0057), at 260 Main Street in Hackensack, is a fine northern Indian restaurant. Hackensack may not be foremost in your mind as a restaurant mecca, but you won't have to fight the traffic, and street parking is no problem. Lamb, chicken, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes dominate the extensive menu, but the adventurous will also find goat. Service is attentive. View the complete menu and print out a coupon at www.tandoorichef-nj.com. We did not try it, but a sister-restaurant named Veggie Express is next door. $-$$ [08/09]
La Reggia, at 15 Park Avenue in Rutherford, is not just another Italian eatery. Yes the offerings here are strictly Italian, but the chef has a deft hand and produces dishes with balance and nuance as opposed to typical heavy red sauces. In addition to the usual southern Italian selections, there are several northern Italian dishes. Pastas are homemade. $-$$ [07/09]Scanio's
Scanio's
Vasili's Taverna There are quite a few basic, chain-like Greek restaurants in Bergen county, but most of the fine dining establishments have liquor licenses. Vasili's Taverna fills that gap with high quality food in a cozy little storefront space. Yes table spacing is tight, but the food quality is terrific, the service more than adequate, and the noise level reasonable even when the place is packed. Which it is on weekends, so make reservations. Bring your appetite, bring your wine, park in the back, and enjoy. Like most Greek restaurants, seafood really shines here, but everything we tried was very good. Open seven days a week. $$ (Greek classics) - $$$ (specials) [5/09] The Stable The
Stable is for
those of us who say we eat healthfully but secretly lust after a big,
juicy steak. Of course there are many other options at this new
restaurant, but the Argentina-inspired Rodizio (all you can eat skewered
meats) and other beef courses predominate. Check out the empenadas. The
decor is charmingly horsey and the acoustics are quite lively. $$ (unbeef) - $$$
(beef) [4/09]
Crème de la Crèpes may sound too chic for guys, but
this terrific restaurant has a French flair that goes far beyond
traditional crêpes. Yes everything but the soup comes on a crêpe, but
don’t worry, you can get meat! The ambiance is comfortably French,
spacing between tables is surprisingly good for a BYO, and the food is
creative and of very high quality. Owner/chef Svetlana Spivak and her
French Culinary Institute-educated son and executive chef, Arsen Mirochnik,
have created a little gem. And of course the desserts are fabulous. Open
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. $$$ [3/09]
Website Design ©Maron Marketing Consultants, Inc.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
