Photo courtesy Barbara Figge Fox. On left: Barbara Figge Fox & Rich Rein, both of US 1 newspaper
Last week I spoke on this subject to members of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce – and had a ball. In the audience was Rich Rein of US 1 newspaper and Community News Service, who was my editor and my patron for many years. Here in the February 21st issue of US 1, he provides a very nice, thoughtful recap of my talk, for which I am very grateful.
Posted in Events
Tagged Community News Service, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, US 1 newspaper
It Really Does Take a Village
In my neck of the woods, Princeton gets all the restaurant glory. But these days I’m enamored of my (new) home base of Lawrenceville. So I was honored when the local non-profit, Lawrenceville Main Street, asked me to be part of its premier annual event, A Night in the Village, which is happening this coming Sunday, October 1st. The weather forecast is for a beautiful fall day and evening, so if you don’t have dinner plans, please meet up with me and a few hundred other locals as we restaurant-hop through 11 outstanding eateries for tastings of food and beer, first at 4:30 and then again at 6:30 pm. All the details here.
We’ll also be reporting live on facebook and twitter during the event!
They’ve Been Going Strong in the Same Location and with the Same Families Behind Them Since the 1930s. Three Restaurants that Have Stood the Test of Time
What is the magic that allows a restaurant to weather- even thrive despite – economic depressions, world wars, and ever-changing cultural and dining norms? I interviewed the folks behind Conte’s in Princeton, Chick & Nello’s Homestead in Hamilton, and Freddie’s Tavern in Ewing to find out. I guarantee that their answers, here in the September 27 issue of U.S. 1,will surprise you.
Mother’s Day 2017
As I post this, it is Mother’s Day. I want to wish an especially happy day to my daughter, Alice, who is celebrating her first one as a mother. And for all us mothers who have left little ones in the care of their father, here’s something we can really relate to. It was sent recently by Alice’s husband, when he got hungry while in charge. He titled it “sous vide bottle warmer.”
Changes at Princeton-area Farmers Markets
Kate Festa, Manager, Princeton Farmers Market (courtesy the Princeton Echo)
At long last, farmers market season is underway! With it comes changes. Here, in the May 2017 issue of the Princeton Echo, I introduce you to Kate Festa, the 27-year-old dynamo now managing the Princeton Farmers Market. Also included: a line-up of new vendors at this and other Central NJ markets this spring.
Food for Thought: Korean Fried Chicken Comes to Princeton (About Time!) & “Compost Man’ in Mercer & Hunterdon counties
If you’re not already familiar with the other KFC – Korean Fried Chicken – you may want to avail yourself stat. The well-known purveyor, Bon Chon, has been active in New Brunswick for a while. Thankfully, the wonder that is Korean fried chicken has finally debuted in Princeton, at the independently-owned Hobin Chicken. Details on this, and on Kevin Carroll’s ‘Compost Man’ quest to turn the household waste of Mercer and Hunterdon counties into rich compost, here in my FFT column in the May 2017 issue of the Princeton Echo.
Posted in Events, Favorite Finds, Interviews, Restaurants
Tagged Baldpate Mountain, Changing Climate Changing Appetites, Gingered Peach, Hiking in New Jersey, Jen Carson, Joanne Canady-Brown, Lillipies, Marilyn Besner, Mercer Meadows, New Jersey Monthly, Pole Farm, Princeton Echo, Princeton Studies Food, Princeton University Conference 2017, Sourland Mountain Nature Preserve, US 1 Spring Dining, Wildflour
Talk about a mixed bag! Today’s post runs the gamut from coq au vin and crispy pork riblets to authentic ramen and hard-to-come-by Italian-style breast of veal. Oh yes: and how you can experience collecting nectar like a bee.
Inaugural Video of Griggstown Farm Chicken Channel Features Chef Chris Albrecht of the Ryland Inn
Coq au Vin, Griggstown Chicken Channel
Chris Albrecht & George Rude, Sr., Griggstown Chicken Channel
The folks who raise Griggstown’s chickens and other premium, all-natural birds have launched a YouTube channel that has New Jersey’s top chefs demonstrating how to put those birds to excellent use, and pairs each video with related special offers. I sat in on the first taping and got the behind-the-scenes scoop while Albrecht demonstrated making coq au vin. My full report here, in the March issue of The Princeton Echo.
A Second Mistral Opens in Newly Expanded King of Prussia Mall
The folks behind Princeton’s popular Elements and Mistral restaurants – Steve Distler & Scott Anderson – opened their second Mistral on March 1st, across the river in Pennsylvania. As I reported a few months back, chef de cuisine for this newly constructed space is Craig Polignano, who left the Ryland Inn (and moved to Conshohoken) to take the post.
The bright and airy restaurant is larger than its older sibling – 111 seats inside and 48 outside – but just as stylish, although with a different aesthetic, dominated by pale, whitewashed wood tones accented with bright azure.
Below are highlights from my first meal there. Three of us shared seven dishes, each so impressive that it was hard to pick favorites. The menu structure is mostly small plates (like its Princeton forebear), but the selections are unique to KOP. If you go: locating the restaurant is tricky. It’s next to Nieman Marcus. Look for the sign for Grand Lux Cafe – Mistral is below.
Pork Riblets w/scallion pancake, shiitake, English cucumber – Mistral KOP
Ricotta Cavatelli w/roasted squash, capers, pecorino tartufo, & yolk – Mistral KOP
Olive Oil-Poached Organic Salmon w/onion, baby beet, mustard, buttermilk – Mistral KOP
My Food for Thought column in March’s Princeton Echo is chock-full of happy finds, including:
A don’t-miss, 3-course ramen meal prepared by an expert is coming up for one night only inside Princeton’s Nomad Pizza restaurant. Here are pics from a previous one:
Frank Caponi’s Mushroom Ramen
Frank Caponi’s Chasu Ramen
A Central Jersey Italian restaurant offering roast breast of veal that beats my own mother’s version. Here’s a pic from the meal that won me over:
Breast of Veal, Chick & Nello’s Homestead Inn
Think you know all about how bees gather nectar? I guarantee you’ll be gobsmacked by what you didn’t know at this small but captivating display in Ewing at The College of New Jersey.
Jessica Rath, Resonant Nest, Photo by Brian Forest
All details here.
Posted in Events, Favorite Finds, Interviews, Restaurants
Tagged A Better Nectar, breast of veal, Chef Chris Albrecht, Chick & Nello's, coq au vin, Craig Polignano, Food For Thought, Frank Caponi, George Rude, Griggstown Chicken Channel, Griggstown Farm, Homestead Inn, Mistral KOP, Princeton Echo, Ryland Inn, Scott Anderson, Steve Distler
Listen in to Sergeantsville’s WDVR on Monday, 1/9
I will be co-hosting “Let’s Talk” with my friend Walt Haake from 3 to 5 pm. We’ll be discussing restaurants and dining in Hunterdon and Bucks counties, food and dining trends for 2017, and myriad other food-related topics.
Joining us are those inimitable Canal House Cooking gals, Melissa Hamilton & Christopher Hersheimer, who host the “Canal House Cooking Hour” on WDVR each Wednesday at 4 pm.
For me, it’s a blast from the past, bringing me back to my radio years hosting “Dining Today” in the Princeton area. WDVR can be streamed live or listened to on 89.7 FM in Bucks & Hunterdon, 96.9 FM in Trenton/Princeton, and is simulcast over WPNJ 90.5 in Easton, PA. Please join us!
Calling all NJ Organic Home Gardeners & Farmers Market Aficionados
The 27th annual conference of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ) is taking place at Rutgers New Brunswick on Saturday & Sunday, January 28 & 29. Many of the scheduled expert speakers and 25+ workshops address cutting-edge issues of concern to home gardeners, cooks, and CSA members. Among them:
Elizabeth Henderson will speak on the past, present, and future of CSAs
Among the presenters is Elizabeth Henderson, who founded one of the nation’s first CSAs almost three decades ago. She will speak on a subject near and dear to my heart: food justice for farmers, farm workers, and consumers. Read my preview interview with Ms. Henderson here in the January issue of The Princeton Echo.
For cost and registration details, click here.
January’s Wide-Ranging Food for Thought Column: Tiffins, Food History on TV, Traditional Dried Italian Pasta from an Historic Village
My Tiffin Express is a Plainsboro-based business that delivers home-style Indian meals daily to 6 pick-up locations around the area. I tried it and report on the results.
Much to my astonishment, I am recommending you tune in to the Comedy Central show, Drunk History, which is as informative as it is amusing. Find out why. Hint: artichoke wars and the great molasses flood.
I was tickled to read the story in the 1/4/17 New York Times about the resurgence of Italian dried pastas made with 100% Italian durum wheat, which appeared after I shared a recommendation for exactly that from none other than Rome food expert – and Jersey girl – Katie Parla. (p.s.: Look for my profile of Parla in the winter 2017 issue of Edible Jersey, which should hit the streets any day now.)
Specifics on all the above, here in the January 2017 Princeton Echo.
3 Princeton Area Chefs Tell Their Stories of Working Their Way from the Bottom Rung to the Top of the Restaurant Kitchen Ladder
For the 2016 Harvest Dining issue of US 1, I approached executive chefs at 3 of the Princeton area’s most popular and revered food establishments for the stories of how they navigated their way from the lowest to the top position. That all 3 are Hispanic immigrants with no English at the start speaks volumes. (Donald T***p please take note.) Read about the journeys of Juan Mercado of One53, Jose Lopez of Nassau Street Seafood, and Edgar Urias of Blue Point Grill here.
Nature-as-Muse Workshops at Princeton’s Mountain Lakes Preserve Feature Successful Perfumer, Food Artisan, Graphic Designer, and Poet
Gab Carbone of the Bent Spoon, Courtesy Princeton Echo
The bad news is that this series of October workshops mounted by Friends of Princeton Open Space is sold out. The good news is there probably will be more to come. So if you’re interested in upping your creativity quotient, check out this unique series of open-air walks and a related workshop. Each is led by a different successful professional on four consecutive Sundays: a perfumer from Firmenich (scent), an independent graphic designer (color), a poet (words), and the inimitable Gab Carbone of the Bent Spoon ice cream shop (flavor).
I share all the fascinating details here, in the October issue of the Princeton Echo. Bonus: Get to know Princeton mover-and-shaker Fran McManus, the genius behind the workshops.
Halloween Fun for Grown-ups and New Milestones for Brick Farm Tavern and First Field (the NJ Ketchup Folks)
Check out my “Food for Thought” column in October’s Princeton Echo for details on:
Posted in Events, Favorite Finds, Interviews
Tagged bent spoon ice cream, Blue Point Grill Princeton, Brick Farm Tavern, Chef Edgar Urias, Chef Greg Vassos, Chef Jose Lopez, Chef Juan Mercado, First Field ketchup, Fran McManus, Gab Carbone, Mountain Lakes Preserve, Nassau Street Seafood, Nature as Muse workshops, One53, Patrick Leger, Planet Apothecary, Princeton Echo, Theresa Viggiano, Tre Piani restaurant, US 1 Fall Dining, US 1 newspaper
You watched them on “Chopped Junior” and “Rachael Ray”…
Photo by Andrew Wilkinson, Courtesy of Edible Jersey
…and you may have purchased their most successful product: Kitchen Twins shake-and-bake kale chips, available at 300+ markets nationwide. Now get to know Lawrenceville’s 12-year-old dynamic duo, Emily & Lyla Allen (above), who I profile here in the High Summer issue of Edible Jersey.
I admit it: before I watched and heard Princeton University’s carilloneur, Lisa Lonie play, I didn’t even know the difference between church bells and carillons
Photo by Robert Yaskovic, Courtesy of New Jersey Monthly
Turns out that not only do carillons make beautiful music, but everything about them is fascinating. Including Princeton’s 67 cast-bronze bells (the fifth largest carillon in the world) and Lonie herself – Princeton’s first female carilloneur and a repository of carillon knowledge. (Two examples: Philip Glass has composed for the carillon, and not all that long ago, Lonie would have been termed a carilloneuse.) With Princeton’s summer carillon festival underway through August, now’s the time to read my profile here, in the July issue of New Jersey Monthly.
After 20 years, Masala Grill says goodbye – and thanks – with a blowout open house
Owner Suchitra Patel didn’t want to leave the modest Chambers Street space she had leased in Princeton for two decades, but when the time came she knew exactly how to thank her many loyal fans. Two-hundred people showed up on the final day. Here’s my report – and where to find her food now – in the July installment of Food for Thought in the Princeton Echo.
“First Ladies of Cape May” Takes Readers’ Choice AND Critics’ Choice Awards for 2016!
Dot Burton & Lucille Thompson. Photo by Aleksey Moryakov
Thank you to everyone who voted for my story, which appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Edible Jersey and which was one of 5 nominees in the Best Chef Feature for this annual award sponsored by Edible Communities. Many of you voted every day – I am beyond touched. And thank you to the 50 food world superstars who served as judges.There were over 600 submissions in all categories, and Edible Jersey’s publisher, Nancy Painter, tells me that the Chefs category was among the most highly submitted. I’m so flattered.
Here’s the official announcement from http://www.ediblejersey.com:
Congratulations to Edible Jersey writer Pat Tanner and photographer Aleksey Moryakov on winning both critics’ choice and readers’ choice awards in the 2016 EDDY competition for Best Feature Chef article. (And thanks to all of you who voted!) Click here to read the winning story about “The First Ladies of Cape May,” two sisters working at the Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May for generations.
My only regret is that the elder of these wonderful women, Dot Burton, passed away shortly before my story was published. But Dot’s sister, Lucille Thompson, was back when the hotel reopened the next season, along with Dot’s daughter, Tina. So the family legacy continues.
NJ’s Newest Fresh Pasta Company: How Local Can You Go?
Richard & Mario Zeck, courtesy the Princeton Echo
For brothers Mario & Richard Zeck of LoRe Pasta in South Brunswick, the answer includes fresh-milled whole grains from two local granaries, eggs from a newly hatched poultry farm in Hillsborough, and cheeses – including ricotta impastata – from Flemington’s Fulper Farms. The result isn’t cheap, but it is remarkable. The details, here, in my July feature in the Princeton Echo.
First Look: Barrio Costero, Asbury Park
In a previous post I wrote about the many Princeton restaurant alumni who have found their way to Barrio Costero, a hip new restaurant with a modern take on Coastal Mexican cuisine and inventive cocktails to match. Here’s a closer look at my first tastes there. You’ll have to bear with me: the house cocktails by Jamie Dodge were so good that my photographic skills rapidly deteriorated.
See what I mean about the cocktails? Above is the Chico: gin, zucca amaro, creme de mure (blackberries), sugar, lemon, tiki bitters, and pink peppercorn salt. Gorgeous, balanced, and irresistible.
Here’s the restaurant’s logo – an Aztec rabbit – atop a Hotel Nacional: dark rum, pineapple, lime, apricot liqueur, and bitters. I resisted trying this concoction at first, thinking it would be sticky-sweet. Silly me.
Small plates with big flavors complement the cocktails, wines, and beers beautifully. Above is beet hummus (much tastier than you’re supposing) on corn chips and nicely seared scallop Yucatan (with pineapple, jalapeno, and white beans).
Above is chicken adobo roulade with quinoa, one of the surprise hits of the evening. Vying for top tastes were pork belly with pineapple, pickled onion, and orange rub and lamb tacos with cactus. Too hard to pick a winner!
Congratulations to everyone at Barrio Costero, especially chef David Viana and Jamie Dodge.
Join Me on July 16 for 3rd Annual Food Writers Panel
Rachel Weston Portrait
I am delighted to be participating once again in this lively, popular event at the West Windsor Farmers Market. Fellow panels are: Fran McManus, marketing manager of the Whole Earth Center, cookbook author, and principal of Understanding Flavor; Nancy Painter, publisher of Edible Jersey, and Rachel Weston, food writer and cookbook author (“New Jersey Fresh”).
The fun starts at 11 a.m. Get the details here.
New Restaurants from Familiar Names & Faces in Union, Asbury Park, & King of Prussia Mall
Jamie Dodge, Beverage Manager at Barrio Costero, puts a finishing touch on his Hotel Nacional cocktail
Here in my June “Food for Thought” column in the Princeton Echo I have the scoop on the latest projects & whereabouts of folks like Jamie Dodge (formerly of Elements & Mistral), Derek Brousseau (One53 & Mistral), David Viana (Kitchen @ Grove Station & Battello), Carlo & Raoul Momo (Terra Momo Restaurant Group), and Scott Anderson & Steve Distler (Elements & Mistral).
Jen Carson Shares Plans for the June Opening of Lillipies, Her Bakery-Cafe on North Harrison Street
Jen Carson, Lillipies, courtesy The Princeton Echo
Besides the sweet and savory baked goods that have earned her a large following, Carson’s first brick-and-mortar spot will offer scratch-made soups, sandwiches, coffee, ice cream, and live entertainment. Details here, in my June feature story in the Echo.
There’s still time to vote for my EDDY-nominated story, “The First Ladies of Cape May!”
Dot Thompson & Lucille Burton. Photo by Aleksey Moryakov
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am honored that my story from Edible Jersey is 1 of 5 nominees in the Chef Feature category of the EDDYs: the national writing awards of the 90 Edible Communities magazines. You can cast one vote a day every day from now through Wednesday, June 8th by clicking here. (As of this writing, my story had accumulated 66% of the votes!!!)
Posted in Events, Favorite Finds, Interviews, Restaurants
Tagged Asbury Park restaurant, Barrio Costero, David Viana, Derek Brousseau, EDDY award, Edible Jersey, Jamie Dodge, Jen Carson, King of Prussia mall restaurant, Lillipies, Princeton Shopping Center, Scott Anderson, Steve Distler, Terra Momo, Union NJ restaurant
Welcome to Dine With Pat. I am a Jersey-based food writer and restaurant critic. While you can read my reviews in New Jersey Monthly and my food columns in U.S. 1 and The Princeton Packet, here you get the very latest scoop on where I’m dining, who I'm interviewing, what I’m cooking, eating, and drinking, and my most recent culinary finds – everything from gadgets and books to ingredients and events. Recommendations are always welcome! For more about me, Pat Tanner, see My Bio.
Dine With Pat 