Date
1/28/2012
Location
Just off Hydraulic, west of 29
2001 Commonwealth Drive
What I ate
Smoked salmon, asiago, and mini farfalle in a light grappa sauce
Chianti slow cooked beef stroganoff with wild mushrooms and au gratin potatoes
Affogato al caffe
Who went
Cassie, Kelsey, Alex, Cathryn, Bobby, Stu, Chris, Raj
Website
Brasserie Montiel
Thoughts
What a day! I'm going to try to keep this review to dinner, but I can't let the rest of the day go without mention. Awesome times heading to Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch, wandering Grounds, and drinks after dinner. Those of you in the "who went" section - you know how much fun the day was. The rest of you - I'll switch back into restaurant review mode from here on out.
Brasserie Montiel is far enough out of the main road to go unnoticed, but easy enough to find if you know where you're going. It's a small, cozy space that worked great for our group. We occupied our own little corner of the restaurant and it was exactly what we were looking for. Our waiter was a little out of sorts and gave us the weirdest receipt I've ever seen, but that didn't detract much from the experience. Looking at the non-Restaurant Week menu, it seems like it'd be a nice place to go for a fancy dinner if I'm ever back in Charlottesville for an extended period of time.
Now to our focus, the food. Far be it from the Jewish kid to turn down smoked salmon; I'm glad I gave into that stereotype. The sauce was the best part of the dish and I could've used a little more fish (surprise surprise), but it was a light, tasty way to start off the meal. The cheese melted into the grappa sauce and coated all of the pasta. I'm really happy that they gave me a spoon for the stroganoff. I thought I was keeping up my dignity for the first half of the dish, but I switched over to the spoon when I realized how much of that delicious sauce I was leaving behind. The beef was tender and the whole thing just made me feel good to be eating it. I'm still not entirely sure what constitutes a stroganoff, but I think that's more because of what I ate growing up rather than what I was served at this dinner. Whatever they call it, it was delicious. The only disappointing part of the meal was my dessert. Following the success of my birthday dinner, I was excited to try another version of affogoto (see Tre Piani). While the taste was similar, very little else was. The plate looked pretty and I liked the little pot the affogato was in, but it came to me already combined and starting to get soupy. I did snag a bite of Cassie's much-tastier dessert, but mine just fell flat. It wasn't enough to bring down the whole meal, but it was a disappointing finish.
Recap
Pros - tasty food, relaxed ambiance
Cons - confused wait staff
Overall - I had a great meal and recommend a visit, though be sure to choose your dessert carefully. I'm happy they joined in on Restaurant Week because I'm not sure I would've found them otherwise.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tre Piani
Date
1/4/2012
Location
In Forrestal Village
120 Rockingham Row, Princeton, NJ
What I ate
Mushroom pizza
Tortellini in bolognese (half-portion)
Spicy grilled tuna steak with avocado risotto
Affogato
Who went
Mom, Dad, Dan, and Julie
Website
Tre Piani
Thoughts
Another birthday(ish) dinner! Again, there's a decent gap between the eating and writing dates, so don't expect the best details.
It amazes me to come home on breaks and find local places I've never visited. I lived 15 minutes from Tre Piani for the first 18+ years of my life but never ate there until recently. I don't think I've been to Forrestal Village since middle school. I was definitely missing out. We had a great dinner and I'll have to seriously consider going back next time I'm up at home. The space is very open with particularly tall ceilings and it's really well-lit without being garish. Our waiter was a little too doting, but had some great suggestions and was very knowledgeable about the food. This is the first place in a while where the maitre d' really made an impression on me. He made easy conversation, checked up on us during the meal, and even gave me a little background on my dessert.
The menu feels a little scattered, but it give you a ton of options. We took advantage of that flexibility and turned a pizza and a pasta into family-style appetizers. The pizza was great and the pasta was much tastier than anything I've tried to make myself. I'm not sure how they made that sauce, but I'm going to have to keep trying to figure it out. I got a taste of Dan's tuna tartare, which was excellent. It's probably for the best that I can't find good-quality tuna around here or I'd waste a lot of money trying to recreate that. Redundancy was certainly not a risk when it came time for the entree. My tuna steak was quite tasty and the spiciness actually came through. I'm not sure how, but the creamy avocado risotto was delicious by itself and an excellent complement to the tuna. As good as rest of the meal was, the dessert may have been the best part. I'm a sucker for anything interactive and dynamic, so pouring the hot espresso over the creamy, rich gelato satisfied both of those criteria. Plus, the whole thing looked quite elegant in the balloon glass. I just checked a thesaurus for synonyms for "delicious" and I still can't find a word good enough to describe the affogato. It seems like such a malleable dish and I'm going to try to recreate that as well as make some new iterations.
Recap
Pros - awesome food, great ambiance
Cons - probably too expensive to go regularly, but great for special occasions (note: that's what Tre Bar is for)
Overall - This was just a really good meal, one of the best I've had in a while. I thoroughly recommend a visit for fancy dinner. Take a look at the specials (most are at the bar) if you're looking for a great-but-not-that-expensive night out.
1/4/2012
Location
In Forrestal Village
120 Rockingham Row, Princeton, NJ
What I ate
Mushroom pizza
Tortellini in bolognese (half-portion)
Spicy grilled tuna steak with avocado risotto
Affogato
Who went
Mom, Dad, Dan, and Julie
Website
Tre Piani
Thoughts
Another birthday(ish) dinner! Again, there's a decent gap between the eating and writing dates, so don't expect the best details.
It amazes me to come home on breaks and find local places I've never visited. I lived 15 minutes from Tre Piani for the first 18+ years of my life but never ate there until recently. I don't think I've been to Forrestal Village since middle school. I was definitely missing out. We had a great dinner and I'll have to seriously consider going back next time I'm up at home. The space is very open with particularly tall ceilings and it's really well-lit without being garish. Our waiter was a little too doting, but had some great suggestions and was very knowledgeable about the food. This is the first place in a while where the maitre d' really made an impression on me. He made easy conversation, checked up on us during the meal, and even gave me a little background on my dessert.
The menu feels a little scattered, but it give you a ton of options. We took advantage of that flexibility and turned a pizza and a pasta into family-style appetizers. The pizza was great and the pasta was much tastier than anything I've tried to make myself. I'm not sure how they made that sauce, but I'm going to have to keep trying to figure it out. I got a taste of Dan's tuna tartare, which was excellent. It's probably for the best that I can't find good-quality tuna around here or I'd waste a lot of money trying to recreate that. Redundancy was certainly not a risk when it came time for the entree. My tuna steak was quite tasty and the spiciness actually came through. I'm not sure how, but the creamy avocado risotto was delicious by itself and an excellent complement to the tuna. As good as rest of the meal was, the dessert may have been the best part. I'm a sucker for anything interactive and dynamic, so pouring the hot espresso over the creamy, rich gelato satisfied both of those criteria. Plus, the whole thing looked quite elegant in the balloon glass. I just checked a thesaurus for synonyms for "delicious" and I still can't find a word good enough to describe the affogato. It seems like such a malleable dish and I'm going to try to recreate that as well as make some new iterations.
Recap
Pros - awesome food, great ambiance
Cons - probably too expensive to go regularly, but great for special occasions (note: that's what Tre Bar is for)
Overall - This was just a really good meal, one of the best I've had in a while. I thoroughly recommend a visit for fancy dinner. Take a look at the specials (most are at the bar) if you're looking for a great-but-not-that-expensive night out.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern
Date
1/3/2012
Location
1 East Franklin Pike, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
What I ate
Fall squash soup with marshmallow, roasted pear, and brown butter
Sea bass, "sugo alla fagioli", broccoli rabe, smoked garlic
Fig hazelnut tart
Who went
The whole family
Website
Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern
Thoughts
Disclaimer - I wrote this almost 4 weeks after we actually went, so the details are a little fuzzy.
Our directions were a little screwy, but we found the Inn without too much searching. The bar area seems like a great place to hang out, a nice relaxing evening with good food. The dining room has a very cozy feel to it, complete with a fireplace. Yes, they had candles in it instead of a real fire, but that probably would've made things uncomfortably warm and unnecessarily exciting for anyone coming too close to the flames. I'm glad we were one of two families in our section of the dining room; it would've been a little cramped to have more people in there. I don't remember much about our waiter other than that he was particularly knowledgeable about the food and the area (we had to get Dan at the train station), both of which were helpful.
When we were looking for a place to go, I remember the marshmallow in soup as a pretty striking idea; it lived up to expectations. The little bit of burnt sweetness made those spoonfuls quite good. I know it's tough to balance, but I would've liked that little background sweet taste to be throughout the soup, not just the little spot where the marshmallow melted. The pear should have helped, but I couldn't detect much of that flavor. The smoked garlic was pretty strong and helped keep the broccoli interesting. The fish was well cooked; crispy fish skin is quickly becoming one of my favorite things. I'm still not entirely sure what sugo alla fagioli is, but it was mostly beans and a tasty way to make it a more filling dish. All of the things that go into that dessert are among my favorites, so I was off in my own blissful world during that course.
It looks like they do a bunch of special events, notably craft beer tastings. If you're in the area, I'd keep an eye on their calendar and find something that sounds like fun; it shouldn't be difficult.
Recap
Pros - Good food, comfortable setting
Cons - Probably not great if crowded
Overall - It was a really good meal and a great time to catch up with my grandparents. I don't know if the food alone was worth the hour-long drive, but that was because we were finding a central meeting point. If you're in the area, I definitely recommend stopping in and getting a meal.
1/3/2012
Location
1 East Franklin Pike, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
What I ate
Fall squash soup with marshmallow, roasted pear, and brown butter
Sea bass, "sugo alla fagioli", broccoli rabe, smoked garlic
Fig hazelnut tart
Who went
The whole family
Website
Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern
Thoughts
Disclaimer - I wrote this almost 4 weeks after we actually went, so the details are a little fuzzy.
Our directions were a little screwy, but we found the Inn without too much searching. The bar area seems like a great place to hang out, a nice relaxing evening with good food. The dining room has a very cozy feel to it, complete with a fireplace. Yes, they had candles in it instead of a real fire, but that probably would've made things uncomfortably warm and unnecessarily exciting for anyone coming too close to the flames. I'm glad we were one of two families in our section of the dining room; it would've been a little cramped to have more people in there. I don't remember much about our waiter other than that he was particularly knowledgeable about the food and the area (we had to get Dan at the train station), both of which were helpful.
When we were looking for a place to go, I remember the marshmallow in soup as a pretty striking idea; it lived up to expectations. The little bit of burnt sweetness made those spoonfuls quite good. I know it's tough to balance, but I would've liked that little background sweet taste to be throughout the soup, not just the little spot where the marshmallow melted. The pear should have helped, but I couldn't detect much of that flavor. The smoked garlic was pretty strong and helped keep the broccoli interesting. The fish was well cooked; crispy fish skin is quickly becoming one of my favorite things. I'm still not entirely sure what sugo alla fagioli is, but it was mostly beans and a tasty way to make it a more filling dish. All of the things that go into that dessert are among my favorites, so I was off in my own blissful world during that course.
It looks like they do a bunch of special events, notably craft beer tastings. If you're in the area, I'd keep an eye on their calendar and find something that sounds like fun; it shouldn't be difficult.
Recap
Pros - Good food, comfortable setting
Cons - Probably not great if crowded
Overall - It was a really good meal and a great time to catch up with my grandparents. I don't know if the food alone was worth the hour-long drive, but that was because we were finding a central meeting point. If you're in the area, I definitely recommend stopping in and getting a meal.
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