So...where'd you eat this week?

[E.L.A.]

Had a business lunch today -- at Mantra (Paramus) -- with an associate, and two Indian gentlemen. For lunch, Mantra does a buffet, with a nice variety of dishes. They seem to range from authentic, real deal, to a toned down Americanized version of a couple of dishes. That said, the Indian gentlemen, who live in Edison, and eat at Indian restaurants day and night, very much enjoyed Mantra. They educated us a bit on some of the dishes, variations, and the difference between authentic and Americanized versions of various dishes.

 

Today, they had a "chilli chicken" dish that was very good. Not too spicy, but a slight tinge of bite. If you needed it muted, the white rice offered on the buffett did a very good job. They had several other dishes which the Indian gentlemen enjoyed finding on the buffet -- and even more, enjoyed the dishes themselves. There was a goat dish -- and two things, no, don't ask me the name, and no, I didn't try it, LOL -- as well as several vegetable based dishes. They always have several vegetable/vegetarian dishes. One of the Indian gentlemen was a vegetarian, the other was not. I don't know Indian food well enough to give you the names of the various dishes -- but they always have the name on a placard, with a description, ingredients, etc.

 

While I go here often, and I enjoy it -- it's around the corner from my office, it is convenient, quick, etc. -- today was very good.

[paryzer]

We had another spectacular dinner at Boulevard 572 Saturday night. We sat in the comfortable and quiet wine room. This time we ordered the tasting menu, which was $75 for 3 courses plus an excellent amuse bouche of jumbo lump crab & avocado cannelloni with mango & papaya passion fruit vinaigrette.

For appetizers we started off with very flavorful sautéed day boat scallops with green lentil daube, applewood smoked bacon, & celeriac puree, in a caper herb butter. We also had Maine lobster agnolotti, with chanterelles, confit pear tomato, in a sherry lobster froth.

For entrees we both had the certified black angus filet mignon with Danish blue cheese, rosti potato, baby carrots, asparagus, in a red wine reduction.

For dessert we both had the dark chocolate mousse torte with chocolate olive oil cake, fleur de sel, & mascarpone gelato. It went very well with a 10 year old Taylor Fladgate tawny port.

Below are some pictures of a cool light fixture and part of the wine room.

I enjoyed the tasting menu but I think we will stick to the a la carte menu next time.

[E.L.A.]

Nothing exciting as I've been up in Saratoga, and eating healthy lately -- so, when I snuck back into town for a day each week, for me it was Mezza (Westwood), Jack's Cafe (Westwood), and the River Palm (Edgewater).

[Tubbs]

A week in lbi...pretty bad meal at blue water cafe, gave up on going out after that. Multiple takeout meals from Pinky's shrimps, fried scallops were excellent as was everything else, though the beach view from our patio probably didn't hurt.

[paryzer]

Juan Placencia has done it again. The owner of Costanera in Montclair just opened Somos Restaurant in North Arlington at the sight of the old Euro Lounge. While Costanera is strictly Peruvian, Somos includes food from more Latin countries. This restaurant also has a full bar with all kinds of custom made cocktails. They have a very limited wine list, and unfortunately you cannot BYO and pay a corkage fee. Since we normally only go to BYO places, we probably won’t come back, since I can’t see paying almost $40 for a mediocre Malbec that would normally not retail for more than $15. It’s a shame because they have a very creative menu, plus Juan has reunited with his original Chef Roberto, from Costanera, who had left to go to Samba among other places. They are still in soft opening mode and have a limited menu. We tried a bunch of apps and shared a special entree of crispy fried branzino with onions and tomatoes, rice and beans hash topped with a fried egg, and plantains. The highlight was an appetizer of cachapa, a crispy corn pancake topped with mushrooms, grilled leeks, tomato jam, and melted Monterey cheese. We also had the quinoa salad, Cubano flatbread, chicharrón de pescado (carried over from Costanera), and shrimp ceviche. They start you off with some nicely seasoned popcorn with Mexican chili, sea salt, and butter. The descriptions of the dishes are on the below menu.

 

 

Below are some of the creative cocktails created by their 'mixologist' and some Sangria/pitcher options.

 

Somos Cocktails

11

Drinks Designed by @Chickologist

Have a Cigar – Cask & Crew Rye, Banana, Lime, Panela, Coffee & Cocoa Bitters

For a Good Time Call… - 1615 Pisco, Vanilla, Passionfruit, Lemon, Cane Juice, Cava

Humbert & Lo – Choice of Rum or Horchata Vodka, Lime, Pineapple, Cotton Candy

Carmen Sandiego – 1615 Pisco, Ginger Beer, Calamansi, Cardamom, Orange Blossom

Drama in the LBC – Apostoles Gin, Tonic Essence, Yerba Mate, Citrus

Run Nemo Run – Tanteo Jalapeño Tequila, Mango, Lime, Thai Green Market Bitters

Tati’s Locks – Brockmans Gin, Pink Liqueur, Guava, Pink Peppercorn, Lemon, Violet, Rose

 

Glass  8 / Pitcher  26

Johnny Llamas – Tito’s Vodka, Housemade Chicha, Clementine

Holiday Sangria – House-made Cranberry Sauce, Rosemary, Allspice, Apple Brandy

[Tubbs]

My better half tried lunch at Lefkes, the new Greek place in the American Cut space. She reports back the space is beautiful and bright The $23 3 course lunch is an excellent deal, and the half portion of seafood orzo I ate the next day for lunch was a good sign.

[E.L.A.]

Recents -- O Lar (Piermont), Hunan Taste (Denville), Jockey Hollow (Morristown), River Palm (Edgewater and Mahwah), No. 12 (Ridgewood), Sear (Closter), Oceanos (Fair Lawn), and Jimmy Buff's (West Orange)...more details to follow...

[E.L.A.]

I am still behind on my postings...Sonny & Tony's (Mahwah), Sangria (Mahwah), Capital Grille (Paramus), Oceanaire (Hackensack), Baumgart's (Ridgewood), Shumi (new, in Ridgewood), Mantra (Paramus), Hiram's (Fort Lee), and 103 Prime at Valentino's (Park Ridge).

[Tubbs]

Yada in Bergenfield reopened across the street where Reilly's had been. We did takeout but Mrs tubbs reports that the small dining room was full last night. It's refreshing to see a Thai restaurant in the burbs that doesn't feel the need to offer pad Thai, etc. Oh yeah, everything we ate was great too, favorites were the Bangkok fried rice and the marinated pork app.

[paryzer]

We went to Sayola Restaurant, an upscale Spanish restaurant in Montclair, for the first time, and had an excellent dinner. The restaurant is gorgeous and the service was exemplary. We even had our first soft shell crab of the season   We also shared appetizers of excellent dates stuffed with cheese and wrapped with crispy Serrano ham, as well as a light and refreshing seafood salad with calamari, shrimp, octopus, and avocado. I had a pork loin special with sauteed peppers and garlic, and the most amazing potato au gratin with bacon and cheddar. Mrs. P had a John Dory special in lemon butter with escarole and beans. Everything went great with a 2015 Domaine La Consonniere Châteauneuf Du Pape. We have to find a way to work this restaurant into our regular rotation. They also have another restaurant in Tenafly which is about half the price as Montclair.

https://sayolarestaurantnj.com/montclair-menu/

[rozrapp]

We used to go to Montclair with some regularity specifically to eat at Epernay (a search shows I wrote a detailed report on this board) though I recall eating once at Raymond’s and once at a place called Yves. All that was more than 10 years ago.

 

paryzer, Very glad you decided to post about Sayola here. Great photos!

[paryzer]

Thanks Roz! This is the type of restaurant you might like, but I realize it is a big trip. They did a really beautiful job decorating it, and the service is exemplary. The manager came over a few times to check on us, and we even met the female owner at the end when we left. They must have spent over a million dollars on decorating this place.

 

Also, if anyone is looking for a place to have a little party or business lunch, they have a beautiful private room with a fireplace that holds 40 people. Please note that all of the bottles of wine are for decoration. This is a BYOB.

[Tubbs]

Looks great! On the one hand I wish the Tenafly one were byo too, on the other if it was it probably couldn't survive (or would be much more expensive).

[paryzer]

Thanks Tubbs! Yes, I guess the liquor license in Tenafly allows them to charge lesser for the food. Also, I'm sure that the rent is a lot more expensive in Montclair, which also adds to the price of the food.

[rozrapp]

Not that big a trip for us. Without traffic, about 45 minutes. How long was your drive? I would think you’re closer to the Tenafly location.