As a Blue Collar Foodie, my epicurean journey started with dive bars and unexpected foodie finds across this wonderful state of ours. The places that I frequented in the early days of this culinary adventure would make the typical fastidious foodie cringe with disgust. I however loved every minute of it! I still enjoy eating a gourmet meal off a paper plate in a wood paneled wonderland, while the glare of a 50 inch television broadcasting a sporting event illuminates the dark and dingy dining room, but my new true love is the Gastro Pub.
A Gastro Pub is quite simply a bar that serves high end food paired with craft beer and they have been sprouting up in the Garden State faster than reality shows that focus on drama fueled D-bags from the planet orange. My preferred Gastro Pub right now is none other than the Twisted Elm Tavern located at 435 River Drive in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. This relatively new eatery in Bergen County is the brain child of co-owners Jim Rogers and George Kantakis, and according to this foodie, they have struck gastronomic gold!
The Twisted Elm Tavern offers its customers two distinct atmospheres to enjoy the imaginative creations of the Elm’s Head Chef Albert Scazafave. First and foremost is the “sit down,” experience, which I recommend for the Twisted Elm virgin, which is comparable to any high-end restaurant you will find in this area. The second way to appreciate the many offerings of the Twisted Elm is to belly up to the bar, where you can not only have a great conversation with one of the exceptionally sociable and educated bar-tenders, but order anything off the dinner menu as well.
The Twisted Elm’s décor is littered with artistic photographs of local historical sites that initiate countless conversations about native folklore, which is always entertaining for a townee like me. The rustic yet refined approach to design that the Twisted Elm has chosen lends itself very well to the genre of Gastro Pub, and creates a home-like appeal with a fine dining flare.
Now that I have pontificated and preached about everything but what truly matters to the people who read foodie blogs such as this one, I will move onto the metaphorical meat and potatoes of this review, by discussing, well the literal meat and potatoes. The Twisted Elm Tavern has quite an eclectic menu, which allows the Chef to truly show his prowess by jumping from Hot Wings to Pork Shank Ossobuco without missing a step. Although the menu is slightly limited, every dish that I have sampled at this establishment has been outstanding.
Even though I have never been disappointed in any dish I have devoured at this spot, I do have some favorites that standout amongst the crowd. First off, the bread and butter that are served will challenge your self-control, because between the enticing artisanal everything butter and the fresh baked bread, if you are not careful you will fill up before your meal begins. As For appetizers, I highly recommend The Spicy Garlic Shrimp($12), which combines garlic shrimp with Spanish chorizo in a mouthwatering sauce perfect for seafood lovers, or The East Meets West Ribs($12), which are covered in a sriracha barbecue sauce, that, I am not ashamed to say, have dreams about. As for the Main Course, I am a sucker for the Skillet Mac and Cheese with Lobster($15), which delivers a tremendous amount of Lobster flavor thanks to the gigantic pieces of lobster mixed into the cheese sauce that has a slight smoky flavor due to the loving addition of my favorite condiment, Bacon! That is right, you heard me, I said condiment, bacon makes everything taste better, and therefore it is the only meat that should be considered a condiment. The aforementioned Pork Shank ($24) also makes my list of culinary contenders on the Twisted Elm’s menu, due to a perfectly executed chasseur sauce that displays the Chef’s wide array of influences.
As you are eating the generous portions the Twisted Elm offers please keep in mind that not partaking in one of the daily dessert specials would be a foodie crime punishable by excommunication and a lifelong sentence of eating at McDonalds. The evil genius that constructs these decadently suggestive concoctions deserves the utmost praise, for these deserts leave me speechless each and every time I indulge in one of these masterpieces.
Since this is a foodie blog, I have spent a substantial amount of time describing the Gastro facet of the Twisted Elm, but I would be remiss if I did not inform you about the Pub side of this establishment. The Twisted Elm Tavern is not your ordinary local watering hole slinging Pabst Blue Ribbon and Budweiser long necks; they offer a rotating craft beer selection that is handpicked by an unofficial Cicerone, a beer sommelier, which fluctuates with the seasons. The beer menu, which is listed on a large blackboard behind the bar, regularly features craft brewing legends such as Stone Brewing, Dog Fish Head, Rogue, and Flying Dog.
To add to the allure of the Elm’s libation selection they offer much more than just craft beer. The Elm consults a sommelier to choose the wine that they offered to their customers who prefer grapes over hops. Furthermore, much to my wife’s delight, they also serve artisanal Hard Cider by Crispin. To top it all off, they of course offer a full bar complete with every kind of alcohol your heart desires, or you can allow one of the bartenders to whip you up a specialty cocktail designed by their own in-house mixologist.
Whether you are looking for a peaceful gourmet meal with friends or a place to watch the game and have a couple of craft brewed cold ones, The Twisted Elm has got you covered. As a parting piece of advice, I suggest that if you decide to go to the Twisted Elm Tavern, please leave your inhibitions and diet at home. The Twisted Elm experience is all about adventurous dishes and extraordinary beverages that all combine for a gastronomic expedition that calorie counting and hesitations will not support.
Mike Arp a/k/a The Blue Collar Foodie was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and has spent most of his adult life on a relentless quest to uncover eateries that deliver white collar fare at blue collar prices. This never ending journey, combined with his passion for writing gave birth to his current food blog, The Blue Collar Foodie, which is published on bothWordPress.com and The Fair Lawn Patch. This blog chronicles him and his wife Zoe’s excursions to eccentric, unconventional, and of course affordable restaurants throughout the great state of New Jersey and beyond. If you are the type of person that would rather rock a Nirvana T-shirt and jeans while eating your filet mignon then you most likely will enjoy what The Blue Collar Foodie has to say. Follow him on Twitter @Fairlawnfoodie or Like him on Facebook to keep up to date with his current gastronomic gallivanting.
January 19th: Round 2 of the Ultimate Chef Bergen County: In each of 3 rounds, two of Bergen County’s top chefs will compete head to head to select a challengerto the reigning UCC, Ninamarie Bojekian of Ooh La La Catering in February. Round 1 winner: Chef Adam Weiss. Competitors in Round 2 are Chef Arthur Toufayan of Cafe Amici (Wychoff) vs. Chef Ryan Lagud of Biddy O’Malley’s (Northvale) Competition begins at 11am at Chef Central in Paramus.
January 20th: Hoboken: Stuff your face and the ballot boxes at the First Annual Hoboken Mutzfest Hoboken is a town known not only for baseball and Frank Sinatra but also for its world-famous mozzarella. On Jan. 20 we’ll bring the best that the town has to offer at the First Annual Mutzfest in which you can sample and vote for your favorite. The event promises to be fun-filled with friendly competition in order to earn sought-after bragging rights to be named the city’s best. Competing for the top honors are Biancamano, Fran’s Deli, Lisa’s Deli, Losurdo Brothers Bakery and Vito’s Deli. While all of the city’s top deli’s known for the fresh-made mozzarella were invited to participate, some are unable to attend because of other obligations. The Mutzfest, which runs from 2 pm – 6 pm at the Elk’s Club, will also feature a mozzarella-making demonstration, live entertainment and DJing by Angelo Cerrone, desserts, beer, wine and prizes. The cost to enter is $10 per person and is free for kids 10 and under. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hoboken Family Alliance philanthropic efforts including a portion of proceeds for the Rebuild Hoboken fund and programs for children with special needs. Buy your tickets today. Tickets are on sale now at participating deli’s or at 
January 22nd: Asbury Park: Mr. Green Tea Presents a Night Out to Restore the Shore. $100 Tickets include full access to this exclusive event. Full course family style meal, drinks, live music and silent auction with items that range from bottles of wine to lavish vacations. Hurry only a few tickets are still available. Go to MrGreenTeaIcecream.com/RTS
Januray 31st: Westwood: Westwood’s Fourth Annual “Green Screen” — a week-long festival of fascinating and informative environmental films — will kick off on Thursday, January 31, 2013 and run through February 6, 2013 at the Westwood Cinema, 182 Center Avenue, Westwood, NJ and at the Westwood Public Library, 49 Park Avenue, Westwood, NJ. This environmental film series, which has a couple great foodie flicks, one of which is free with a talk from Guy Jones, one of the Garden State’s most acclaimed farmers, will kick off at pre-festival reception on Thursday, January 31st at 6:00 p.m. at 
The “Growing School Gardens” community on edWeb.net provides the seeds needed for the adoption of sustainability in schools to grow. In their new community, edWeb.net, a social networking and continuing education site for professionals in the education field, and the New Jersey Farm to School Network team up to create a place for “educators, gardeners, parents, and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, and integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school” (edWeb.net). Its goal is to make sustainability a community wide effort in order to “help children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment, and their communities at large” (edWeb.net).
ALL PROCEEDS GOING TO NJ VICTIMS OF SUPERSTORM SANDY
“As Buddha says your cup must be full in order for it to runneth over.”
“The first day I headed back to Langosta Lounge someone said to me ‘How does it feel to help yourself instead of others now?’” she recalls. On the verge of tears she thought that comment wasn’t a reach. For the past few months, she describes what she’s going through as experiencing “a death loss.“ The damage done to the restaurant will take hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. After three months, Marilyn has still been unable to open two of her venues (Langosta Lounge and Labrador Lounge). Langosta Lounge hasn’t even begun demoing due to lack of funds and Labrador Lounge remains closed due to the curfew and lack of residents. Without the cash flow, there’s little Marilyn and her team can do.
“We’re working class people. I never expected to make more than what I needed and to pay for a few vacations. We’re restaurant operators. I can’t get unemployment because I’m a corporate officer.” She now understands that in the future she will need that safety net that she had lived without, but to get back to that point, she needs help. That’s where Go Fund Me came into the picture.
I was doing my regular weekly shopping trek to the Somers Point ShopRite and missed the light to make the left into to the shopping center parking lot. I had to go to the next traffic light and after I cursed under my breath, it turned out to be a good thing. Low and behold a new restaurant had opened in place of Chubby’s. Was it a sign, a lucky coincidence or kismet?! Who knows, but in it’s place was Heavenly Health Cafe. Talk about opposites! Hopefully it is a sign of better things to come in regard to better food choices. The name certainly was promising. Inside was a warm dining room with a gleaming open air stainless steel cook area. When I first arrived we were the only two in the place, ( I dragged my husband along to carry all the bags, I mean to help) but it quickly filled with people. The young waitress was friendly and helpful. We were told all the soup was made fresh and from scratch and the fruit, veggies and meats were organic as much as possible. Their breads are locally sourced. We both ordered the Vegetable Soup which came hot and full of veggies in a flavorful tomato broth with spaghetti squash “Noodles”. Neither of us missed the pasta noodles and the next time I make my own vegetable soup I am going to steal that idea!
My husband Richard chose the Whole Grain Grilled Pannini with house baked hand carved turkey, brie, cranberry chutney, and honey mustard, a delicious sounding combo, and I decided to stick with a salad.
I love Roasted Beets so it was a no brainer for me, they had a Roasted Beet, Arugula, Pears, Goat Cheese with Sliced Almonds topped with a House Made Wine Vinagarette. It was yummy with just the right blend of bitter and sweet and creamy goat’s cheese to round it out. And oh so good for you too. And my husband devoured his pannini saying it was moist and juicey and the combo of brie and cranberry chutney made him think of Thanksgiving all rolled into one sandwich. So that is a good thing because Thanksgiving is one of my husband’s favorite holidays. Ask about juicing! They will make design one for you. The sisters plan on building a juice bar soon.
What’s your favorite beer of 2012? To be honest, I have no idea how to answer that question definitively. Sometimes the perfect moment and the right beer collide to create a memory. I’ve heard that theme echoed by brewers more times than I can count. Ironically, they often focus on what’s around the glass and not just what’s in it. The story is important for them. Foodies know that presentation, atmosphere and circumstance can enhance (or detract) what’s on the plate. So too for beer geeks.
This 
The next course was a little unusual, but worked so well. Local Sea Scallops, Braised Short Ribs, Sauce Gribiche was absolutely luscious. The pairing of fish and beef in one dish was one I would not have ventured to chance, but in Chef Siversen’s hands it was magic. This was paired with a Domaine Sigalas Santorini 2011.
The fourth course was Foie Gras, Spiced Cantaloupe, Lavender Honey Gastric, Brioche Toast…I am not a huge foie gras lover, both from a moral standpoint and taste wise, but the accompaniments were fabulous! This was served with a very dry 2010 Gini Soave Classico.
Did you notice that the previous paragraph stated, “course one?” That’s right, there were two dessert courses (not a bad thing). This was definitely the chocolate lovers course. S’mores Sundae with Toasted Marshmallow, and Coffee Chip Ice Cream; 16 Layer Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Fudge, and Pistachio Crunch Ice Cream, washed down with a Heitz Ink Port from Napa. You couldn’t go wrong with any of these choices.
Perseverance
