In a year filled with fine dining superlatives, Stage Left gets an exclamation point! This New Brunswick fixture heads our list of the top 10 restaurants we reviewed in 2004, which was a banner year.
Fashioning a place deserving of a four-star rating is difficult enough. But it's even harder to re-invent such a destination. Its reputation must be continuously embellished to attract new patrons, while keeping longtime customers satisfied. The majority of the restaurants among our best over the last 12 months are old favorites that have been able to achieve both aims, often with new chefs aboard. But none did it better than Stage Left, which pursues perfection unceasingly.
Although many chefs have come and gone since the business was started in 1992, the guiding triumvirate of Mark Pascal, Francis Schott and Lou Riveiro has offered a steady hand to keep it on course. A peerless wine list, impeccable service and extensive renovations all amplify Stage Left's appeal, but the extra gloss this year can be attributed to chef Anthony Bucco's stylish food. Crispy-skinned day boat halibut is served with poached asparagus and a citrus beurre blanc, while simplicity also shines here, as in the wood-grilled filet mignon with a hint of shallots and wild mushrooms.
Staffers are caring and expert to make your dining experience one you'll remember all year long.
Stage Left: 5 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. (732) 828-4444.
Our number two restaurant is an impressive newcomer, Latour (Crystal Springs Country Club, Route 94, Hamburg; 973 827 0548.) Though it opened lat in the year, its white glove service and luxurious setting - complete with a mountain view - made an instant impact. This also is a quiet spot with well-placed tables, making it perfect for conversation or a romantic evening. Chef John Benjamin knows how to showcase food for maximum effect, from the crispy skinned Arctic char in a grapefruit beurre blanc with miniature potato pancakes, to sautéed tenderloin of veal with sautéed oyster mushrooms and pearl onions.
3) Restaurant Serenade (6 Roosevelt Ave., Chatham; 973 701-0303) like Stage Left is a long-running success story from chef/owner James Laird and his wife, Nancy. Food is seductive, whether it's down-to-earth delicately crunchy fried Maine oysters or roasted rack of lamb served with caramelized cauliflower and Jerusalem artichokes for a different twist.
4) The Bernards Inn (27 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville; 908 766-0002) got a new chef this year. Corey Heyer has put a scintillating spin on the food at this impressive institution, favoring a lighter approach than previously offered. Ahi tuna comes with a yuzu vinaigrette and an edamame succotash, rather than potatoes of rice and that old standby, grilled prime rib eye is juxtaposed a white bean brandade and a sauce made with carrot, orange and rosemary.
5) The Frenchtown Inn (7 Bridge St., Frenchtown; 908 996 3300) has a scenic location in the white-columned building on the banks of the Delaware River. Chef/owner Andy Tomko presides over fine service and offers a menu that includes a lighter than usual version of beef Wellington, quite appropriate fare to be offered in this 19th-century structure.
6) Soho on George (335 George St., New Brunswick; 732 296-0533) is casual fine dining. Service is sharp, but there's no standing on ceremony in this open kitchen establishment, where food is fun. Executive chef Kenneth Hoerle keeps the excitement going with lively plates that look as pretty as they taste. Chilled mango, avocado and red pepper salad dresses up seared tuna while a duck tasting delivers multiple pleasures via foie gras mousse, smoked breast and a lettuce roll of duck confit.
7) Stage House Restaurant and Wine Bar (366 Park Ave., Scotch Plains; 908 322-4224) changed hands, while sous chef Michael Clampffer moved up to the executive chef's post as David Drake too his leave from the landmark 18th-century inn. Despite the historic setting, the food is up to date, whether it's the warm ricotta tart with wild mushrooms and asparagus or the roasted black sea bass highlighted by fresh peas and Israeli couscous.
8) The Perryville Inn (167 Perryville Road, Perryville; 908 730-9500) is housed in a handsome Federal-style brick structure complete with a clubby lounge and fireplaces. Chef/owner Paul Ingenito whips up eye-opening creations, among them a seared yellowfin tuna with a gingered potato pancake and a pink peppercorn port wine reduction. Desserts are a "don't miss" course here, featuring the likes of the "retro Ring-Ding," our best sweet of the year.
9) Opah Grille (12 Lackawanna Ave., Gladstone; 908 781 1888) us best known for its fish dishes, but chef Brandon Carter can handle meat as well. Depending on your cravings, you'll find yourself equally satisfied by an ancho chili-rubbed venison porterhouse chop or the crispy wasabi-crusted Big Eye tuna.
10) The Dining Room (Hilton Short Hills, 41 JFK Parkway, Short Hills; 908 379-0100) The atmosphere is high style at this pinnacle of New Jersey hotel restaurants. The strains of a harp provide the perfect background music for a meal of tender Maine skate wing with a sprightly fingerling potato salad or duck breast with spaetzle, black truffle sauce, roasted asparagus and porcini mushrooms from the intrepid kitchen of executive chef Robert Trainor.
As you would expect, each restaurant in our top 10 offers fabulous choices in wine. Most have some reasonably priced bottles at the lower end of the scale for those who don't want to splurge in this department.
Winnowing the year's honorable mentions to a manageable level was difficult, since there were at least seven restaurants that could easily qualify for a nod. But I've narrowed it down to the cozy Andre's Restaurant & Wine Boutique (188 Spring St., Newton; 973 300-4192) the always lively Verve (18 E. Main St., Somerville; 908 707-8655 and Richie Cecere's Restaurant and Bar (2 Erie St., Montclair; 973 746-7811) where big ban music on the weekends is the feature that helps put this elegant place over the top.
We've had some disappointments along the way this year, of course. One is the sloppiness in menu preparation we have encountered at too many restaurants. Grammatical errors and misspellings are very off-putting. If an establishment can't spell the name of an ingredient, one might wonder if the kitchen knows how to use it properly. A menu should not be proffered until it's proofread by someone with a command of the language and its structure.
Another problem is that service too often lags. No staffer should go on the floor without proper training. It's hard to recruit employees, but it can be done. Making them effective involves more than hiring, though. They should be tutored on food and wine, proper manners and making serving an art, rather than a chore.
On the plus side, let's hop the trend continues toward poetic dishes with an under current of sweet simplicity. It has been heartening to enjoy compelling combinations of elements that make a statement without being so complex that the inherent beauty of the ingredients gets lost. As the New Jersey restaurant scene continues to develop, I look forward to a 2005 that is as memorable as this year, in a state where fine dining is definitely a wide-spread art.
