From Food Editor Esther Davidowitz:

This Sunday, check out our second First Course column. No spoilers but you may be surprised by what a very, very high-end farm-to-table restaurant is putting in its yogurts.

Here’s last week’s installment.

Cuong Le, the longtime sous chef of Harvest Bistro in Closter, has been promoted to executive chef, according to owner Russell Stern. Le replaces Denis Whitton, who left this summer to become the executive chef of the new Pier 701 Restaurant and Bar in Piermont. (Stern had initially been involved in Pier 701, but said he had since left.)

Restaurateur Tony Del Gatto told Food Editor Esther Davidowitz today that he and his younger brother were “in talks” to purchase Assembly Steak House in Englewood Cliffs, which is across the street from Del Gatto’s Italian restaurant, Grissini. Del Gatto said they’ve been talking for some time. “My brother thinks I’m crazy,” he said. Del Gatto said that if it all works out, he planned to totally renovate the restaurant. And while he couldn’t say much more, he did say that it would not be an “Italian restaurant.”

Jack Koumbis, Assembly’s owner, said he had no comment.

Performers Francine Evans and Joel Zelnik will perform a cabaret show, “RAT PACK 2: The Ladies and The Gents,” on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Assembly Steak House in Englewood Cliffs. The $30-per-person price includes a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. and the show at 8 p.m. Reservations: 201-568-2616.

Here is the description of the show and the bios of the performers:

Continue reading →

MICHAEL KARAS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Park Steakhouse in Park Ridge will offer a beefsteak dinner at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24. The $75 family-style dinner will feature buffalo mozzarella, caesar salad, crabmeat and shrimp cocktail, as well as “massive amounts of certified aged sirloin of beef with all the ‘fixings.’” Reservations: 201-930-1300.

Here’s my three-star review of the steakhouse from 2010.

What kind of store brings in a live swing band to entertain customers? Jerry’s Homemade in Englewood. The Italian deli and grocer will host The Cialtrontrio Bigbanda from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 5.

TYSON TRISH / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs in Hamburg will offer a special eight-course, $135 Mangalitsa tasting menu from October 17 to 20.

From the press release: “Raised by New Jersey’s own Mosefund Farm, Mangalitsa are a heritage breed of wooly pig from Central Europe descended from wild boar that are much sought after by chefs for their rich, succulent meat. Crystal Springs worked directly with Mosefund in preparation for their Mangalitsa menu, first choosing two pigs to raise and then providing them a special diet of acorn and chestnuts for three months.”

The menu, created by Crystal Springs’ executive chef, Timothy Fischer, and Chef de Latour, John Benjamin (a West Milford resident), “utilizes every part of the animal from the belly to the loin to the cheek to the fat back for a unique nose-to-tail dining experience.” An optional wine pairing is available for $60, highlighting the pinot grape.

For reservations: 973-827-5996, ext 3. For some background, here’s my story on Restaurant Latour from 2011.

The menu follows:

Continue reading →

MICHAEL KARAS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Some news from Englewood’s The Kitchen, which Bob Probert rated three stars in January…it’s now open for lunch from 11: 30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to its Facebook page.

The Michelin Guide released its New York 2014 edition released today, and the prestigious three-star rating went to the same seven restaurants that also received it in 2012 and 2013, AP reports: Daniel, Per Se, Masa, Le Bernardin, Eleven Madison Park, Jean Georges and Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare.

Here’s the complete list of restaurants with one-, two- and three-star rankings, from Bloomberg.