Do you have plans this Thursday night? A certain group of men in Baristaville do — and they’ve had those same dinner plans — on the last Thursday of every month — for more than 12 years. Those plans center around an all meat menu and some major male bonding. Nothing — not work, vacations, wives or girlfriends — gets in the way of what’s become known simply as Meat Night. Continue Reading
If you’ve ever had to handle heated restaurant negotiations (“I want sushi!” followed by “but we had Japanese last time — I want beef with broccoli”), East Gate, a new Chinese and Japanese restaurant in Verona offers a win-win for a car-ful of finicky diners.
Located at 144 Bloomfield Avenue (in the tiny strip mall just beyond the intersection of Bloomfield and Pompton/Mt.Prospect Aves.), East Gate is not fancy, but the spanking new restaurant has a mix of tables and booths as well as a sushi bar, where you can glance over to watch the chefs create beautifully fashioned platters of makis. Sure, you can order your favorite roll (spider, dragon, rainbow) or try East Gate’s Edison roll (shrimp tempura, with spicy tuna inside, spicy crab outside). Your dining partners can also go a different route — ordering everything from chicken teriyaki to udon to Kung Pao.
Feeling really hungry? There’s also an all-you-can-eat option. For $21.95 per person (or $19.95 weekdays; children under 10, $10.95), you can order as much as you can eat from both the kitchen and sushi bar, checking off what you want from a separate menu (that also includes soups, salads and desserts) with a mini golf pencil. Stick to one cuisine or go back and forth choosing your favorite makis along with tempura (try the pumpkin), udon, teriyaki and gyoza.
East Gate, 144 Bloomfield Ave., Verona, 973-857-2780, BYO, Delivery
Whitney Houston, pop superstar and Newark native, has died at the age of 48. Houston started singing as part of the choir at the New Hope Baptist Church. More about her childhood in Newark and rise to stardom from the Star Ledger, including that a recording of Houston’s fantastic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner opened every Newark Council Meeting.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker tweets “RIP Whitney Houston, a Legend and great American artist. And always, one of Newark’s and New Jersey’s treasured daughters.”
We’ve been on a romantic bent all week as we gear up for Valentine’s Day, so we’re happy to extend congratulations to Etiosa Uwumarogie and Patricia DeAvila, who got engaged at Montclair Art Museum last weekend! The happy new was tweeted by @MamMontclair. My husband of 20+ years proposed to me in front of Monet’s Water Lilies at MOMA, so this story had me smiling. Feeling romantic, too? Leave your favorite love/romance quote (click here) and win a gift certificate to Fin. While you’re at it, go tell us your special love song (click here) and win a gift certificate to Salute Bistro. And just for fun, tell us how you proposed/got proposed to in comments.
The TD Bank on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair was robbed this morning, but the bank robber didn’t get very far. From Deputy Chief Todd Conforti, Montclair Police Department:
On 02-10-12 at approximately 11:05 am, police responded to 233 Bloomfield Avenue, TD Bank, on a report of a robbery in progress. Upon arrival, police observed a cloud of red smoke, consistent with a red dye pack from the bank and a man, who was later identified as Wayne Whitfield, walking north through the parking lot. As police approached and detained Whitfield, he was observed holding money in his right hand. The money totaled $1,396.00, which was confirmed to be the same amount that was taken from the bank. During the course of the investigation, police learned that Whitfield had demanded the money by stating “This is a Robbery” before exiting through the front door. Whitfield was arrested and transported to Police Headquarters where he was also found to be in possession of 17 Alprazolam pills.
As a result of the investigation, Whitfield, 30, of Montclair, was arrested and charged with Robbery and Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance. Whitfield is being held on a $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be sent to the Essex County Jail.
A popular reader question we get emailed to us every spring is “When does Montclair Farmer’s Market start up again?” Officially, the Walnut Street market runs June through November, but for some purveyors and customers, the market never stops.
A tempting menu, elegant setting and the chance to dress up and get together brought a group of baristas out to Highlawn Pavilion to check out the restaurant’s new jazz menu. The field trip was a hit.
Highlights of Highlawn’s jazz menu ($29 prix fixe, offered Wednesdays and Fridays) included a tasting of tuna and salmon tartare, Wagyu hanger steak in red wine sauce, a sauteed striped bass with shallot sauce (pictured) and an off-the-hook chocolate tasting. Continue Reading
If you’re out picking up some last minute game day goodies, The Little Daisy Bake Shop is offering bacon, cheddar, chive biscuits (perfect with chili) whoopie pies with red and blue fillings, cupcakes with frosting in team colors and these fan-tastic Giants sugar cookies. I’m running out to get avocados for tacos and nachos, but I’m tempted by my neighbor’s menu which includes lobster rolls — a tasty nod to the Patriots. Tell us what’s on yourparty menu and give us your game day predictions.
Valentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday — and area restaurants are offering special menus. Before the big day, you could work side by side with your sweetheart at a cooking class with molecular gastronomy chef Tre Goshal. Continue Reading