First it was Restaurant One53. Now we also have the Rocky Hill Inn Eatery & Tavern. It’s great to have two nice restaurants in Rocky Hill, close to me.
I’ve had many good meals at One53 (they also own the popular Lucy’s Ravioli Kitchen), which is currently offering a $25 prix fixe menu Monday-Wednesday, with a good choice of entrées, including one of my favorites, their chicken Milanese. I’m always railing against boneless, skinless chicken breast, but this dish is one big (and unfailingly moist) exception for me. The prix fixe comes with soup or salad and ice cream or sorbetto.
And at the Rocky Hill Inn, a friend and I recently enjoyed the Roasted Griggstown Chicken pictured here (with fingerling potatoes and creamed spinach), and the lamb shank shepherd’s pie. This sweet spot, in a historical building, was lovingly restored by Chef-Owner Evan Blomgren and his wife, Maria, who charms the front of the house.
Times are tough all over, but especially so in the restaurant business, where margins are notoriously slim to begin with. I like to support locally owned businesses, and these independents, which offer a wide range of menu options and prices, deserve as much encouragement as we can afford them. I’m happy to do my small (& delicious) part, and thank them for being there.
NJ SPICE 
Dear Faith,
I am right WITH you on supporting local restaurateurs! Read a fascinating blog from The Frog & Peach in New Brunswick on exactly this subject.
Good for you for reminding everyone of the larger picture. Times are tough, indeed. But in real, human, and especially local restaurants, one can forget for awhile.
Agree! That Rocky Hill Inn is a dear place, and I nearly made it back there over the weekend. The welcome is warm and the food quite varied and created with care and attention to taste and the visual.
Happy memories, that’s the ticket these days.
Best in all ways, Carolyn
For those of you who want to read Frog and Peach owner Betsy Alger’s blog, it is at http://blog.frogandpeach.com/.
Ms. Alger was also, until recently, the Chairwoman of the board of the New Jersery Restaurant Association, and is the Honorary Chair of this year’s Princeton Taste of the Nation
(http://taste.strength.org/site/Clubs?club_id=1066&pg=main),
which takes place on April 20 this spring.