We told you about Farm2Bistro, the Nutley restaurant that tries to buy all its ingredients locally, last fall. On Sunday, New York Times Jersey food critic David Corcoran reviewed it, giving it a “good” rating.
Amazingly, Corcoran never met the affable and usually omnipresent chef Michael Madigan, who was working on his yacht business one time Corcoran was visiting, and stuck in the kitchen the other time. Still, after interviewing the chef by phone later, Corcoran certainly got the flavor of the entrepreneur.
Hard to say, but the moment you enter Farm2Bistro, you know you’re in unfamiliar territory — a restaurant based not on formulas but on ideas. And to speak with the chef and owner, Michael Madigan Jr., is to know he has a million.
One of the servers on our first visit, for example, was a delightfully courtly gent in his 70s who had worked at the Friars Club in Manhattan for 40 years. Mr. Madigan said he liked to hire older people, to teach the ropes to college and high school seniors. “That’s my ‘seniors and seniors’ program,” he said.
That’s one idea.
Corcoran characterized Madigan’s execution as “not spectacular” but “gratifyingly consistent and full-flavored.” That was enough to pack the restaurant on Saturday (when home subscribers received the section with the review), Sunday and Monday, Madigan says.
Disclosure: David Corcoran is a friend, and I was the one who told him about Farm2Bistro. He likes to see restaurants survive at least six months before reviewing them.
What is on that dish in the picture?
Glad to hear they’ve hired some more mature/experienced servers since our 2 visits–when we were there, the place seemed to be run (and I use that term loosely) by 12-year-olds. It may have been to the chef’s benefit that he wasn’t around when the reviewer was there, since we found him to be extremely overbearing when we ate there.
I know there have been good reviews on Bnet, but I just can’t bring myself to try it again. Love the idea of the place, though.
That is the biggest plate of food. Ever.