The Montclair Farmers Market has a certain intangible quality. I might call it spirit, or maybe community, but je ne sais quoi seems more appropriate.

Each Saturday morning, New Jersey farmers and artisans of the highest quality and integrity set up tent in the Walnut Street Train Station Parking Lot. Soon, regular patrons swarm the space, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the quality of goods they are purchasing. At the risk of sounding slightly utopian, it’s is more than just a Farmer’s Market – - it’s a communal experience.

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Anybody who ever ate at the late, lamented Table 8 on Bloomfield Ave. in Montclair will immediately recognized these “crushed raspberry red velvet chairs” — now on sale for $30 a pop on Craigslist. Fifty of the chairs, which originally cost $150 each, are available. Makes me sad to see one of Montclair’s finest restaurants sold off piece by piece, but I remember those chairs as comfy, and they probably would look good in my dining room…

Baristaville has many bakeries, but only one that is completely peanut and nut free and that’s Bella’s Bakery in Millburn. And when I say completely peanut and nut free, I mean it in the strictest way. Owner and chef, Janet Antico, makes sure that all of the ingredients that go into the yummy treats come from peanut/nut-free facilities, from the flour to the chocolate, which she orders from the Vermont Nut Free Company.
Antico earned the Grande Diplome for Pastry & Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in London in 1997. Soon after, she discovered that her daughter Bella had a peanut and tree nut allergy. That was 13 years ago when nut allergies weren’t as common as they are today. Antico found herself making cupcakes and cookies for school events so she could provide safe treats for Bella. Soon, she had moms and the school system asking for more. She started selling her treats and two years ago, opened up Bella’s Bakery on Essex Street in Millburn.
Cupcakes, which come in many flavors, are the most popular. When you walk into the adorable shop, they are the first thing that catches your eye. Bella’s always has chocolate and vanilla cupcakes to purchase and puts out a few special flavors daily. The day I visited it was Rainbow cupcakes with a baby blue frosting. There was also Red Velvet, which Antico said has become more of a must have since it’s gotten so popular, and a mini Chai Latte flavored cupcake.

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Last week I visited Matarazzo Farm in North Caldwell. I brought home about 25 pounds of tomatoes, half Roma, and half Beefsteak. Not a single tomato met supermarket standards of visual perfection, yet all were perfectly suited for the sauce I created with Cooking with Friends‘ Alison Bermack.
A Montclair mom committed to serving healthy fare to her family, Alison grew up spending a lot of time in the kitchen with her father. There, she learned family recipes, cooking skills and appreciation for communal cooking.
Taking that love for communal cooking one step further sparked the creation for Cooking with Friends. Tomatoes also played a part. A friend told Alison she had overabundance of garden tomatoes. Alison offered her family recipe for tomato sauce and the two began transforming the tomatoes into sauce, all the while sharing stories, laughing, and giving intermittent tastes to their children.
Alison soon began cooking with men and women all over Montclair, hosting food swaps and improvisational cooking dates. This led to the formation of Cooking with Friends LLC in 2006.
Cooking with Friends has thrived in Montclair and developed a sister network in Denver, run by Alison’s best friend from high school, Shannon Henry Kleiber. Together, Alison and Shannon publish monthly Cooking With Friends e-newsletters; they’re also on Facebook and Twitter.
Alison and I spent a morning turning my Matarazzo tomatoes into sauce. Want to see how we did it? Watch the video:

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To call Mia Famiglia an Italian deli or sandwich shop misses the mark. It’s more like the Italian food store owned by a favorite aunt
and uncle who show their love by making sure every morsel you get is
the best it can be.

“We’re an Italian grocery that serves lunch” says Manny Licitra who, with his wife Sharon, has owned and run Mia Famiglia for the past 15 years of the store’s 90-year history.

“We bought the store because we wanted to do something we love and do it together” says Sharon. The Licitra’s dedication to the business comes through in everything they do.

Manny, a fourth generation cheese maker, makes his own mozzarella every morning as well as his own scamorza (a dry mozzarella used in his prepared dishes). Also made on the premises: fennel sausage, meatballs, tomato sauce, pesto, vodka sauce, sfogliatella, cannolli cream, daily soups and hot prepared foods. Why stop there? Every day, Mia Famiglia has a dozen homemade antipasto items that may range from octopus to marinated olives, caponata, broccoli rabe and other favorites that come to mind that morning.

The same care is given to all items sold at Mi Famiglia. Fresh bread is delivered every day from four small bakeries in New Jersey and Brooklyn. Asked why he doesn’t buy his breads from a single, quality bakery, Manny says “how can one bakery make all the breads we use unless they are too big to make any of them well.” Fresh buffalo mozzarella is flown in from Italy every two weeks. A range of Italian cheeses are bought and aged in-house. All meats, fish, cheeses and condiments used in Mia Famiglia’s sandwiches and prepared foods are the highest quality.

Did someone say sandwiches? Sure, Manny will tell you that Mia Famiglia is not a sandwich shop, but it makes the best I’ve ever had. From a standard Italian sub, to eggplant, mozzarella and arugula on focaccia with balsamic to a classic muffaletta. Passing through Millburn and not getting a sandwich from Mia Famiglia is your loss.

I haven’t even touched on the grocery items. Mia Famiglia carries one of the largest selections of D.O.P sanctioned (certified by Italian government) items you will find anywhere. Several dozen kinds of imported Italian pastas line the shelves. Have issues with gluten? Manny makes sure there are spelt, faro and corn pastas for you. Did I mention the fresh frozen stuffed pasta?

Why have only San Marzano tomatoes when you can also have the more upscale Strianese? Imported balsamic vinegar is great, the one aged 12 years is better. Risotto? Of course, but what about the black rice and faro? Dozens of best quality olive oils, dried, canned and jarred specialty items round out the bounty on Mia Famiglia’s shelves.

Mia Famiglia is a gem that has been enjoyed by folks in Millburn for years and a “must stop” spot for any foodie in the region. If you’re in Millburn and want lunch, dinner, a snack or the best ingredients to make your own delicious Italian food, stop in at Mia Famiglia. Sharon and Manny won’t steer you wrong.

– Written by Mark Taffet

Mia Famiglia
277 Main Street
Millburn
(973) 467-5740

www.miafamigliainc.com

Tomorrow (Tuesday, August 24th) Greek Taverna, located at 292 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, is hosting its Second Annual Open House Anniversary Party. Owners, Peter Hajiyerou and Wei Chen, will be serving up a free buffet, from 6-9 pm featuring skordalia, tangy Greek salad, spanakopita, lamb stew with orzo, pastitsio, and moussaka.
The preparation that goes into this party is serious business – the feast costs over an estimated $18,000.00. The chefs will be preparing 1800 meatballs, 15 trays of moussaka, 15 trays of pastitsio,15 trays of lamb giouvetsi, 15 trays of salad, 1800 pieces of spinach pie,and 10 trays of dips. Of course, if the hungry masses finish all the food before 9 p.m. the very generous Greek Taverna owners will provide more.
You must go to the Greek Taverna website to print an admission ticket. Without this ticket, you will not be admitted. There will also be live Greek Music from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Remember, Greek Taverna, Montclair, does not have a liquor license, so BYOB.
I visited Greek Taverna yesterday afternoon, when preparations for the big feast had already begun. Chefs, Harry and Emilio, let me in on the secret to their enormously flavorful Greek Meatballs. Want to know what it is?

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(Updated with details of Taqueria Autentica truck at Montclair farmers market, after the jump)

Take two inspired men, a passion for healthy, tasty food and a vision of running a restaurant one day, and what do you get? Well, Two Pitas in a Pod, to start with. A kitchen on wheels which they hope will grow legs as their business idea, and Mediterranean-themed food offerings, take off, leading to bigger and better things.

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Alan@594 on Valley Road has closed and will be replaced with Four Seasons Kebab House. The renovation phase has already started and is expected to be finished in a couple of weeks. One of the workers there last week said that Alan retired and sold the place.

There’s something in the air at Highlawn Pavilion – they call it amore. Perhaps it’s the reverberation of marriage proposals past, or the remarkable Italianate aesthetics that have you at “hello,” “Salve.” Or maybe it’s the gracious patio, lined with tropical Mandevillas and fluttering butterflies, that envelopes guests as they blithely gaze at a sweeping city skyline. Pardon my attempts to wax romantic, but if I were a songwriter I’d be inspired to pen a ballad for Highlawn Pavilion. Alas, I am no songwriter, my gift is my review, and Highlawn, this one’s for you.
My heart tells me that Mitchell Altholz, executive chef at Highlawn Pavilion, is a bit of a gastronomic romantic. Each morning Mitchell visits the garden and hot house at the Pleasantdale Chateau, where much of the produce used at Highlawn Pavilion is grown. There, Chef Mitchell selects the finest of what is in season, and incorporates it into the dishes he prepares.
On my recent visit to Highlawn Pavilion, Chef Mitchell prepared a stellar assortment of selections from Highlawn’s exquisite Bar Menu that has forever altered my preconceptions of bar fare. Want to see what we ate?

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“It’s Divine!” Those are the words Chef Jesse Jones, wants to hear each time you enjoy one of his meals. The chef’s style of cooking, New Carolina Cuisine, is a French influenced interpretation of Southern heritage cooking that incorporates healthy alternatives into standard southern recipes, but without compromising the gastronomic comfort factor that makes southern fare so satisfying.
Jesse Jones was born in Newark and raised in North Carolina. He then returned to Newark where he followed his passion for cooking, encouraged by his mother’s words, “[y]ou know what’s best for yourself. Keep moving.” And move he did. Jesse worked for ARAMARK, where he became Director of Food Services. He then honed his craft further under the tutelage of French Chef, Dennis Foy at Town Square in Chatham. Most recently, Jesse was crowned Ultimate Chef of Bergen County, at the annual Chef Central competition in Paramus.
Unlike chefs who opt out of the kitchen when they’re not at work, Chef Jesse thrives on cooking for people, and is inspired and encouraged by pleasing those he feeds.

When I go back south, it’s my honor to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family. You can’t get a Southern woman to sit down, but when I cook, my mother, my aunts, they all stop, sit, and eat.

That’s exactly what I did when Chef Jesse prepared Seared Scallops over Baby Arugula Salad tossed in his signature Apple Cider Vinaigrette. Want to see how it’s done? Watch the video:

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