It would seem there was always a restaurant critic locked inside me, waiting to come out. I had to laugh when I recently came across my handwritten notes from a dinner I enjoyed, back in 1993, at Luchento’s Ristorante, on Route 33 in Milllstone. The place (under different ownership now), was legendary for its huge portions … Continue reading
Filed under Eating out …
Tasting menus taken to task
Don’t miss Pete Well’s great piece about the proliferation of tasting menus menus in today’s New York Times. It’s an interesting subject to someone like myself, who has usually ordered à la carte, but is noticing more and more tasting menus with grand ambitions, including locally – the Peacock Inn has pretty much totally moved to that, as … Continue reading
Le Virtù in Abruzzo
This is my September 21 In the Kitchen column from the Lifestlye page of the Packet. Since it is not yet online, I reproduce my original text here, so I can be sure to share this with online readers. Food and Traditions of Abruzzo I was all set to write about kale -very trendy! – for … Continue reading
Happy Labor Day!
My brother Mark, who loves to cook out, emailed me this photo early today to let me know how he was celebrating the holiday weekend. It’s hard to beat the taste of grilled lobster and corn. In my grilling days I always split the lobster and buttered the inside after sort of flattening it. This one looks like … Continue reading
Milanese Two Ways
I love chicken, veal, or pork prepared Milanese style. Turkey works too. A pounded cutlet (or sometimes a chop on the bone), is dipped in (usually) flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and then fried in butter. Or maybe butter and oil, depends on what you like, or the chef’s preference. I don’t think it should be deep … Continue reading
Terms of non-Endearment
I only had time to tweet about this when it first appeared, but wanted to be sure you had seen Ben Schott’s Op-Art Terms of Service piece in the New York Times last week about the linguistic shorthand restaurant staffs use to communicate with each other about various aspects of their customers behavior and preferences (and sometimes … Continue reading
Birthday Dinner at Camillo’s Cafe
I took my friend Carol out to dinner for her birthday earlier this month, and since I hadn’t been to Camillo’s Cafe, in the Princeton Shopping Center for a while, thought we’d give them a try. What started out several years ago as a very modest and inexpensive Italian spot has grown into a larger … Continue reading
Brothers Moon Blueberry Tart
As promised in today’s In the Kitchen recipe column in the Packet, here is Brothers Moon chef/owner Will Mooney’s recipe for Blueberry Tart. The photo here is mine, from a reduced size version I made at home. The quantity of crust below should be enough for at least an 8-inch tart, if not 10-inch. I … Continue reading
Dinner at The Blue Bottle Cafe
Has it really been more than six years since Aaron and Rory Philipson opened The Blue Bottle Cafe in Hopewell? Apparently so, and for a place that opened strongly to very positive reviews, giving them little time to work any kinks out, they have maintained their momentum surprisingly well. Call it focus. They are carefully … Continue reading
Lunch at Za in Pennington
This is what happens when I don’t have my wits about me! The delicious soup and quiche I had at Za Restaurant a couple months ago drove all thoughts of photos and blogging out of my mind once it was put down in front of me. The creamy dreamy tomato soup (with goat cheese if … Continue reading
NJ SPICE 