Rail Paul Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 Very pleasant lunch earlier this week. This newish (May?) restaurant is located at 345 Bloomfield Avenue, between Fascino and Elevation burger. Lunch and dinner. Bryan Gregg, who's widely known for his farm to fork cuisine, is the chef owner. Good marks on opentable, too. The current deal is a $15 lunch, with a choice of dessert, app, entree. It's a good deal. Three pieces of excellent fried chicken (wing, drumstick, thigh), several wedges of potato and a pickle, a generous bowl of mussels in beer broth, and a brownie. BYO, fountain drinks are $2.25 and they charge for refills. Most lunch items are included in the deal. Very attentive service in a lightly patronized (4 tables of 20 were filled) lunch, although the GM told me reservations are absolutely necessary for Friday or Saturday nights. Liked it a lot. They're doing a special event to benefit the Carol Simon cancer center in Morristown. Michael Weisshaupt (chef at Fiddler's Elbow, and Crystal Springs) will join chef Gregg for a locally sourced dinner. http://www.escapemontclair.com/gallery.html 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Very pleasant lunch earlier this week. This newish (May?) restaurant is located at 345 Bloomfield Avenue, between Fascino and Elevation burger. Lunch and dinner. Bryan Gregg, who's widely known for his farm to fork cuisine, is the chef owner. Good marks on opentable, too. The current deal is a $15 lunch, with a choice of dessert, app, entree. It's a good deal. Three pieces of excellent fried chicken (wing, drumstick, thigh), several wedges of potato and a pickle, a generous bowl of mussels in beer broth, and a brownie. BYO, fountain drinks are $2.25 and they charge for refills. Most lunch items are included in the deal. Very attentive service in a lightly patronized (4 tables of 20 were filled) lunch, although the GM told me reservations are absolutely necessary for Friday or Saturday nights. Liked it a lot. They're doing a special event to benefit the Carol Simon cancer center in Morristown. Michael Weisshaupt (chef at Fiddler's Elbow, and Crystal Springs) will join chef Gregg for a locally sourced dinner. http://www.escapemontclair.com/gallery.html Thanks for the review. Appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Dee had lunch with two other women at Escape today, and came away with a totally different opinion. The salad was unacceptable, and returned. It took some discussion to get a replacement. The duck (same item as she ordered two weeks ago) was served on a smaller roll, as a smaller portion. Much saltier, too. Her companions were unimpressed with the place, and I've been directed to take it off my list. I may venture a solo visit sometime down the road to see what's going on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Dee had lunch with two other women at Escape today, and came away with a totally different opinion. The salad was unacceptable, and returned. It took some discussion to get a replacement. The duck (same item as she ordered two weeks ago) was served on a smaller roll, as a smaller portion. Much saltier, too. Her companions were unimpressed with the place, and I've been directed to take it off my list. I may venture a solo visit sometime down the road to see what's going on. If you don't mind me asking...what type of discussion? If she felt something was wrong with it -- it was unacceptable! -- then they should just take it back. Period. Big difference in their visit. Looking forward to hearing about your solo visit. Have a great weekend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 I wasn't there, but I gather they had to get the GM involved. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marauder Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Ah...NJ servers. arguing with a customer over a 12 buck salad... I don't miss it when reading stories such as these... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nuxvomica Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 hey marauder, you finally out of resto biz? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Ah...NJ servers. arguing with a customer over a 12 buck salad... I don't miss it when reading stories such as these... more like a $4 salad. part of a $15 salad + main + dessert offering I may stop by this week and see which of our experiences (Dee's second or my first) is the outlier. I've heard enough good reports about the place and my own experience was fine. So, I'd definitely like to resolve the issue. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marauder Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 hey marauder, you finally out of resto biz? yeah...pursuing some academic stuff. Still a little involved here and there, reading b plans and generally glad handing money people on behalf of owners, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
E.L.A. Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Ah...NJ servers. arguing with a customer over a 12 buck salad... I don't miss it when reading stories such as these... more like a $4 salad. part of a $15 salad + main + dessert offering I may stop by this week and see which of our experiences (Dee's second or my first) is the outlier. I've heard enough good reports about the place and my own experience was fine. So, I'd definitely like to resolve the issue. Doesn't make any sense to me...if someone wants to send something back, take it back! Period. If it's some larger issue or real problem of a difficult or problematic customer -- resolve the situation and get them out of there as fast as possible, and don't let them ever come back. What's the difference what the restaurant's position or concern was. I've never had a problem or seen a problem sending something back, getting another one, getting something else, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Teresa Politano liked it a lot. I find her Star-Ledger reviews often agree with my opinions. Gregg’s menu changes according to season and whim. (In an homage to the legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who died unexpectedly in November, Gregg put together a prix fixe menu of Trotter favorites, including truffled lamb tartare with a chanterelle mushroom salad, poached salmon with lobster potatoes and a Meyer lemon pudding cake with persimmon.) That constant change means sometimes things don’t work out as well as maybe they could. They’re not disasters, just less than perfect, an opportunity for the table conversation to turn to something other than food. One hands-down Escape success is the foie gras with brioche ($19) — a Gregg specialty that combines a perfect second-grade food memory with an equally perfect French white-tablecloth experience. It’s somehow Sunday morning and also Saturday night, and ought not to be missed. http://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/index.ssf/2014/01/escape_montclair_now_has_a_most_promising_restaurant.html#incart_river Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Rosie has a fine review on her site http://njmonthly.com/blogs/tablehopwithRosie/2014/12/10/restaurant-news.html#read_more Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 New menu, fixed price alternatives, some broadening of the menu... http://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/table-hopping-with-rosie/chef-bryan-gregg-announces-changes-at-escape-montclair/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Rosie samples the new menu, and appreciates the new decor... http://njmonthly.com/articles/eat-drink/table-hopping-with-rosie/new-changes-at-escape/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paryzer Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Sadly, Escape is closing for good on Halloween 10/31/16. Chef Bryan Gregg decided not to renew his lease which comes due in November. He wants to focus on his new venture called Tastes by Bryan Gregg which is located at the wine & spirits bar at the Wine Legend liquor store in West Orange, NJ. Below are some links to the Baristanet article and a sample menu of Tastes by Bryan Gregg. http://baristanet.com/2016/10/escape-montclair-close-good-tomorrow-1031/#more-250591 http://winelegend.com/WestOrange/SmallBites.aspx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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