At the urging of foodie friends, I dined at Upstairs in Montclair last night. At first, I couldn’t find the place on a street lined with shops and restaurants, but then a glass door with “Upstairs” stenciled on it caught my eye. Immediately after opening the street-level door, guests are led up a flight of stairs that look like they’re made of ice blocks glowing with soothing cool backlights. As I made my way up, I couldn’t imagine what I’d find…Upstairs. The space is a cross between a chic South Beach club and a trendy Manhattan hot spot. To put it simply – wow.
Off the bar area is an open kitchen with a team of hard-working chefs. It’s always fun to have a full view of the food being prepared and to get a nose full of aromas coming off the kitchen.
Our server, Mackenzie, was energetic, knowledgeable about the menu and helpful with drink and food selections. The menu is comprised of small and large plates and my party and I opted for several small plates to share. A special on the evening we visited was brown sugar-caramelized slab bacon. At Mackenzie’s urging, we selected it and absolutely loved it paired with ripe peaches. Another winner was the Sautéed Calamari ($12) prepared with basil, garlic, chilis and topped with breadcrumbs. The only negative about this outstanding dish is that I had to share it. Absolutely delicious and perfectly prepared to optimal tenderness.
We also sampled the Pork Terrine ($11) a “loaf” of melt-in-your-mouth slow cooked pork slathered with tangy barbeque sauce and served with grilled toast and pickles. The last dish we tried was the Housemade Ricotta Gnocchi ($12) with sautéed mushrooms, basil and sheets of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. One dish was better than the next and has me looking forward to my next visit.
The cocktails are creative and the wine list is outside the predictable with affordable options and several wines by the glass.
The place was hopping by 8PM on a Friday night, so arrive early for a prime table in the bar area. The dining room is somewhat more relaxed but has a hip vibe about it. I was told to eat in the bar area and am very grateful for that insider tip – fun atmosphere.
Beautifully designed place with solid food and a smart wait and kitchen staff. A must-try when in Montclair.
Cheers,
Veronique Deblois, Food & Wine Chickie
Veronique is a food and wine writer based in Morris County, NJ. As the author of the popular blog, Food & Wine Chickie Insider, Veronique shares recipes, wine and restaurant reviews and insight into the travel industry of which she’s a 15-year veteran. Follow Veronique on Twitter or like her Facebook page.
608 Valley Road
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
973-744-4144
Tuesday – Thursday: 5PM – 10PM
Friday – Saturday: 5PM – 11PM
Sunday: 5PM – 9PM
Closed on Monday
Veronique Deblois, Food & Wine Chickie: Veronique is a food and wine writer based in Morris County, NJ. As the author of the popular blog, Food & Wine Chickie Insider, Veronique shares recipes, wine and restaurant reviews and insight into the travel industry of which she’s a 15-year veteran. Follow Veronique on Twitter or like her Facebook page.
I’m reluctant to call this a recipe—it’s just too easy. But having made this gloriously simple “recipe” twice now and wowing guests both times, I’ve decided it is Jersey Bites worthy. If you’ve never cooked with tomatillos, there’s no need to be afraid. They may look strange in their paper husks, but they are easy as pie to peel. All they need is a rinse in some warm water to remove the sticky residue and you’re ready to roll.
After cleaning the tomatillos, cut them in half and brush with olive oil then salt and pepper them. I use no measurements and you won’t have to either. Shuck and clean the corn of all silk. Grill corn until charred and tomatillos until the skins begin to wrinkle. Remove from grill and allow to cool until they can be handled. Cut corn off of cob and dice each tomatillo half into quarters. Toss in a large bowl with the juice of one lime and a handful of chopped cilantro. Taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed. You could add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, but quite frankly it doesn’t need it. We are lovers of hardwood charcoal, and we grill the corn and tomatillos over the coals for that added smoky flavor, which I highly recommend.
Wednesday, June 6th was the opening day of the Ventnor International Farmers Market in the City of Ventnor. The market is open from 3:00pm to 7:30pm to accomodate working people rather than the more typical early morning markets. The market is an event I am very proud to say was created by the committee in which I am very actively involved. As the Chairperson for the Ventnor City Beautification Committee, it was very satisifying to take an idea and help make it a reality. It was a very exciting process. But what made it all worthwhile was seeing all the people shopping and enjoying themselves. There was live music, Lite Rock 96.9 WFPG appearance, face painting, great fruit and produce from New Jersey farms, where else! The freshest seafood,scrumptious baked goods, gluten free baked goods, teas, honey, cut flowers and bedding plants and we also have arts and crafts people with original artwork , handmade jewelry and handcrafted soaps. Coming this Wednesday we will have Renault Winery featuring New Jersey wines as well. Plus, Fresh mozzerella cheese, infused oils and vinegars with wonderful teas and tea accessories, baked bread and foccacia. We will be adding delicious specialty items from our area restaurants and a few more wonderful vendors as the summer progresses! We will be having live demonstrations and informative guest speakers at coming market days ahead.
This is the first year for our Farmers Market which opened with throngs of people on a beautiful mostly sunny day, thank goodness! We hope to be around for a long time bringing Jersey Fresh to the people in our town and surrounding areas. Farmers Markets are a great way to bring our states heritage of farming to the people and in the process helping the farmers themselves. A perfect partnership!
Wildwood Restaurant Week, June 17th-22nd. Wine and dine in some of Wildwood’s finest restaurants. All participating restaurants will offer a complete four course meal, including appetizer, salad, entree and dessert for one low price, plus tax and gratuity. 
BrewFest at the Ballpark, Saturday, June 23rd. Two sessions: 12pm-4pm & 6pm-10pm. Held at the Lakewood BlueClaws Stadium. There will be over 100 styles of beers to taste. There will be local, regional, national, and international brews. There will also be giveaways and a live broad casting from the WRAT. For more information and tickets, 
Blueberry Festival, Saturday, June 23rd from 10am-4pm. Celebrate all things BLUEBERRY at the 29th Annual Whitesbog Blueberry Festival. Great family fun. Enjoy blueberry picking, live country music, exhibits & demonstrations, lectures & tours, great food and an array of children’s activities. Enjoy the famous pie eating contest. Whites Bogs Road, Browns Mills, NJ. 609-893-4646
Baymen’s Seafood Festival, Saturday & Sunday, June 23rd & 24th from 11am-5pm. Tuckerton Seaport. Enjoy delicious Jersey fresh clams, crabs, scallops and shrimp from the finest local seafood purveyors. Crafters, vendors, music, food, refreshments, family activities, demonstrations,boat rides, boat builders and decoy carvers. Speak with commercial fishermen to learn about occupations on the bay or take a clam shucking class.
Taste of Rutherford, Thursday, June 28th from 6pm-8:30pm on Park Avenue. Taste the delights of Rutherford restaurants, meet other downtown business owners, wine tasting tent with live music.
Red, White & Blueberry Festival, Sunday, July 1st from 10am-5pm. Hammonton, NJ. The combination of live music, kiddy rides, arts & crafts, a fantastic Classic Car Show run by Cruisin’ Classics, incredible food and blueberries in every shape and form has made this day a family favorite for people from all over the Delaware Valley. Click for more details.
When you think of New Jersey you think of great pizza. Yes the word Jersey may conjure up images of hair as tall as the empire state building and fake tans, but where I come from GTL stands for good, tasty, and lip smacking delicious. Being born and raised a costal Jersey dweller, I know my way around a pizza pie. I grew up on the thin crispy deliciousness of boardwalk pizza that is so big you could probably sail a boat with it. I still have joyful memories of eating my first slice of Three Brothers Pizza on the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, mainly because it was almost as big as me. Nowadays, people come from all over to get a piece of the oversized pie. After all, you don’t have to be a kid to get excited about a huge pizza.
The race for the 2012 Nature’s Plate Award in New Jersey is heating up. The Nature Conservancy has asked foodies in New Jersey to vote for their favorite green restaurants for Nature’s Plate, a contest to name the people’s choice for the state’s top green restaurant. The nominations are in, and five finalists have been selected. Now it’s your turn to cast your vote<http://www.nature.org/
Are you a Food blogger? Maybe you have dreams of starting your own food blog, or writing for JerseyBites or another food publication? Join us for a fun afternoon of cooking, chatting and learning all about the art of Food Writing and Food Photography. 
Rosie Saferstein is a food writer for 
Peter Conway, who works by day in the business technology field, began writing about food and wine in December 2005 as a learning venture into a new Internet publishing medium called “Blogs.” He is often found in the kitchen of his Montclair, NJ home creating some new internationally inspired dish or waiting by the oven for a delicious dessert to emerge. Over the years, living in New York City, with trips to Europe, Australia, South America, California and Canada has provided many opportunities to explore the vast world of fine wine. He is completely self-taught, but fueled by his love of writing and fervent pursuit of new viticulture and culinary experiences Peter’s food and wine blog, 
Dan Horan, Founder, President and CEO of Five Acre Farms is on a mission: “Bringing the Farmers Market to the Supermarket.” Horan’s career includes Papaya King, the NYC-based restaurant/hot dog haven, Gourmet Garage, upscale independent supermarket and 22 years in organics. In 1990, he founded Waldingfield Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Washington, Connecticut, which continues to operate. He knows people want what tastes good. Marry good taste with locally production and you understand what is driving Horan’s latest initiative: Five Acre Farms, a local, fresh brand of supermarket-ready products grown and prepared within 275 miles of where they are sold.
Horan’s goal is to stabilize our region’s farms and orchards, which are losing ground to shrinking farmland, low payments to farmers and high costs. Horan wants to keep farmers farming and reward growers who are using smart, earth-friendly practices, which is essential in the Northeast where humidity is a constant threat to crops.
Packaging seems equally important to the folks at Five Acre Farms. Simply designed labels are easy to read, explaining who farmers are and where they are located. Each plastic jug is stamped with a Sell By date and the words Positively Local underneath. Milk is sold in half gallon and one gallon jugs. Dan and a colleague from his 10 person team write the content for tags not only to highlight the brand but to speak to the authenticity of the product.
Consistency of the sauce and a secret blend of apples makes Five Acre Farms Apple Sauce a winner. A special strainer in the company’s processing plant yields a texture that lends itself to eating directly from the jar or serving alongside roasted or grilled meats like pork and chicken. Five Acre Farms Apple Sauce retails for $3.49.
At its Annual Conference in Princeton, the 
A statistical evaluation of the tasting, conducted by Princeton Professor Richard Quandt, which was similar to an earlier analysis of the Judgment of Paris (
As a Jersey Bites editor, I spend a great deal of time reading, talking, writing, and thinking about (and of course sampling) food. What I spend very little time doing is cooking it. Full confession: I find cooking about as much fun as weeding a garden. In the middle of July. Without sunscreen.
The class was run by a teacher named Marla who was great with the kids. She gave clear instructions, let them handle big chef knives, and mercifully assigned the helpless moms to hull strawberries and then work together to prepare a simple chimichurri sauce in a Cuisinart that did most of the work. Ah, time for a coffee break!
When we dined at Tarantella on a recent Friday night, my husband ordered a chicken cacciatore dish that was a bonanza of juicy chicken pieces, red sauce, and glistening red and green peppers. I chose the lobster manicotti special-three tantalizing tubes stuffed with lobster meat and ricotta cheese, topped with three large shrimp (as if the manicotti by itself was not enough). Both dishes tasted like they had been slow simmered in sauce and were very flavorful. True to form, both of us walked out with portions of our meal wrapped to go.
