Visiting Samba in Montclair!

Mango Mousse

Recently I took a spur of the moment trip to Brazil. Without having to dig out my passport, pack a bag, or exchange currency. How did I do that? Well, I was invited to visit Montclair’s only Brazilian restaurant, Samba.

Owned by Ilson Goncalves, a native of Brazil, Samba recently installed a new chef and new menu. Chef Roberto Carnero, a graduate of the International Culinary Center in NYC, took over the kitchen in March, and has transformed the menu into a delicious, virtual trip to Brazil.

Chef Carnero offered one of his signature dishes, Butternut Squash Soup with Shrimp. Presented in the hollowed-out squash, the soup was luxurious and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. I scraped up every bit of the squash to make sure I didn’t miss one delightful mouthful. 

Butternut Squash Soup

One of Brazil’s traditional dishes has been transported to north Jersey with the Chef’s Bolinho de Mandioca.

Bolinho de Mandioca

Lovely little pastries made with yucca and filled with dried beef and more of that fabulous butternut squash. This was followed by a Roasted Beet Salad topped with Strawberries and creamy Goat Cheese.

The main act was Chef Carnero’s tender Skirt Steak served with roasted cauliflower and “farofa,” (toasted yucca flour). Make sure you try farofa when you visit; this side dish reminded me of polenta, and had a tender nuttiness that I loved. Because farofa does not seem to be well known here, I asked the Chef about this dish. He told me “through my research many restaurants use only the southern farafo. I personally like the northern farofa. I like the texture. We use a Brazilian purveyor from the ironbound section of Newark. Preparing the farofa is tricky as the more milled southern farofa can burn quickly, which obviously changes the flavor. We bloom garlic and onion until it browns but doesn't caramelize adding saffron when the time is right. We then add the raw farofa until it's cooked. If it not cooked, you get that raw chalky taste in your mouth.”  

Farofa

Two terrific desserts completed my little weekday visit to Brazil, a luscious mango mousse, and a flourless yucca-coconut cake with dulce de leche and passion fruit sauce.

Yucca Coconut Cake

Samba’s warm casual interior invites you to linger awhile, and candles and wall sconces provide a romantic atmosphere. 

I understand there is a lovely outdoor patio that I look forward to enjoying next summer. But I don’t think I will wait that long to return to Samba. Chef Carnero’s inventive Brazilian-inspired cuisine in nearby Montclair may just satisfy my culinary wanderlust. 

Samba

7 Park Street

Montclair, NJ 07042

973-744-6764

www.montclairsamba.com

Serving lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Comes to NJ!

By now, most hard core BBQ fans have probably heard that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has arrived in New Jersey. I would think that most of these people have already been to Dinosaur. At least once. I was there twice in one week. Yes, it's that good. We're talking competition style BBQ, my friends. This is the real deal. This is brisket that is smoked for 14-16 hours, and when you see the smoke ring, and taste the tenderness of the meat, you understand why the people at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que say "BBQ is not a science, it's not an art, it's a craft." Amen.

Sausage, Cheese, & Crackers

The newest Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Newark, opened about two months ago, after two years of renovation on a building that was once a distillery and a haberdashery (in Newark's hey day). It is in fact the fifth location for this young company, all in urban environments. They started out in 1988 as a mobile operation in Syracuse, NY. 


But we came to eat so let's get on with it! At a blogger's lunch in mid-June, hosted by Scott Kleckner, Dinosaur's VP of Operations, we were treated to a non-stop parade of appetizers, mains, and desserts. Important to note that everything is made in-house and from scratch. During the tour, Scott made it a point to show us the storage room so we could see that there are no boxed items and nothing frozen. Even the pickles are house made. 


Appetizers included a benign sounding "Sausage, Cheese, & Crackers." Whoa, there was nothing benign about this! House made smoked hot-link sausage served with pimento cheese, and black pepper cheddar crackers and pickled onions. Absolutely addictive!

Fried Green Tomatoes

They've got a hit on their hands with the authentic Fried Green Tomatoes. Crispy tomatoes served with a spicy smoked shrimp remoulade and topped with chives. 

Deviled Eggs

When was the last time you saw Deviled Eggs on a menu? Um, I'm thinking maybe never. Well, Dinosaur's version have a delicious Creole spice to them.

Salmon Fritters

It's not all about meat at Dinosaur. The BBQ Salmon Fritters were outstanding. House smoked (I can probably stop saying that; you get the idea)salmon tossed with red pepper, corn, and chives. They are crispy fried and served with a creamy creole mustard sauce. 


Still on appetizers...next up, the Bar-B-Que Shrimp. Wild-caught Louisiana Gulf shrimp sautéed in a Creole butter sauce and served over grilled corn bread. Just like being on the Bayou!

Gumbo

Staying with the Southern theme, Scott thought we should try the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (and who am I to argue?). Smoked chicken, okra, and chorizo served over rice. That would be great on a chilly evening.

Korean Chicken Wings

Finishing up the first course, Dinosaur's famous Jumbo BBQ Chicken Wings. Their wings are spice rubbed, pit smoked, then finished on the grill. They come in four varieties: Mild (honey BBQ or sesame hoisin), Hot (Wango Tango with a Jerk glaze), Hotter (garlic chipotle), and hottest (Devil's Duel). These babies were finger-lickin' good! The Wango Tango was my favorite. 

The Pitmasters - don't mess with them!

The Newark location has 160 employees, including two pit masters. They have 12 people just in the finishing kitchen on the main floor. The three smokers are in the basement and they go through at least two cords of wood each week. That's hickory wood. They do all their own butchering, and all the BBQ gets inspected and approved by a manager before it gets served. This is a very hands-on operation. The managers must learn every aspect of the restaurant and learn to make all the food, even the sausage.

Ribs!

Now that we've digested the appetizers, Scott sent out the ribs. They do St Louis ribs here - dry rubbed and slow pit smoked. The ribs have a very light glaze of Dinosaur's own BBQ sauce. They sold over one million pounds of ribs last year. At the top of this post I mentioned "competition style" BBQ. That means the meat should not fall off the bone. There should be a slight tug when you bite it. Too many so called rib joints, overcook the meat and when that happens, the meat falls off the bones. This is not how it's done at the highest level of real BBQ. And Dinosaur knows what it's doing here.

BBQ Chicken

But maybe you're not a rib eater. Not to worry, Dinosaur has probably the best BBQ chicken I've ever had. Just to be clear, I almost never order chicken out because it's usually dry and boring. Not here. The BBQ Chicken is apple brined and pit smoked. It was moist, juicy, and melted in your mouth. The texture was like velvet. 


We asked Scott what they do with any ribs that perhaps don't make the cut for the manager's approval. Like any restaurant, they put it to good use. Here, they make an incredibly delicious BBQ Fried Rice. You read that right. It was fabulous.

Blackjack Pie

Even though we were bursting, Scott "forced" us to try two desserts. A smooth Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie, and the Blackjack Pie. I am not a big fan of peanut butter pies, but this was really good. My favorite was the Blackjack Pie. Who wouldn't love a pie filled with bourbon, pecans, molasses, and chocolate? Decadent, yet surprisingly light. 

Pina-Rita

There is a full bar with a large list of great cocktails, wines,and craft beers. They even put their smoking expertise to use here. Their winter beer is a Smoked Porter. The hops are smoked and then sent back to the brewer for finishing. 


Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which is adjacent to the Prudential Center, will soon open an outside dining area. Inside, they've got seating for 200. In the future, they'll open a private dining room for 60, and will even offer "whole hog." Sign me up!


Three to six months before the opening, they put a sign out for "help wanted." They were inundated with applicants. They hired all locals, some for whom this is a second chance. Management didn't hire a Pastry Chef - they hired someone who needed a job and could be taught the recipes. Like the areas that the restaurants are in, it has more to do with the building than the location. They look for buildings with character. They use reclaimed furniture, the bar top is made from old beams. Seems to me they've got the right idea. By going into areas that are underdeveloped, they're transforming more than just buildings.



www.dinobbq.com
224 Market St.
Newark, NJ
862-214-6100


Open Monday-Thursday: 11:30am - 11:00pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:30am - Midnight
Sunday: 11:30am - 10:00pm

Curtain Up in Newark!

A world class performing arts center needs a restaurant of the same caliber, and NJPAC in Newark is no exception.  So without further adieu, please welcome Nico to the stage.

Brought to life by the capable hands of Ryan DePersio, Nico recently opened in the space previously owned by the Theatre Square Grill. And while Theatre Square made for a decent place for a quick bite or a drink before or after a show, it was never a destination restaurant. That’s all about to change.

Between the soaring ceilings, dramatic drapes, gorgeous bar, and seductive lighting, Nico invites you to spend some time here. Order a perfectly made martini or a luscious Pinot Noir and peruse the “Italian Without Borders” menu.

Mr DePersio, along with his family, is the force behind a growing mini restaurant empire in Essex County. You may know them from Fascino in Montclair, or Bar Cara in Bloomfield. Nico is the latest entry in this culinary kingdom. All of the restaurants are grounded in their Italian heritage, but Nico pushes the envelope just a little.  At a recent press dinner, Mr DePersio showed us how far his culinary creativity reaches.

Chef DePersio is ably assisted by a wonderful team at Nico, both in the front of the house and in the kitchen. The Chef de Cuisine duties are handled by Adam Rose, and desserts are headed up by Binicio Salas, Pastry Chef.

The evening began with a Trio of Tartares consisting of Scottish Salmon, Truffled Beef, and Yellowfin Tuna, served with small slices of toasted Italian bread. I loved the mix of flavors as the seafood played off the beef.  But the Beet Pinwheel was the star of the first course. Paper-thin slices of beets dusted with goat cheese “snow” and topped with a red wine syrup and mache salad were incredible. If beets were cooked like this more often, they wouldn’t be such a maligned vegetable!

The second course brought us some of the Chef’s pasta that we know and love. No one beats Ryan’s Ricotta Gnocchi – little pillows of lightness enveloped in a sweet sausage Bolognese – heaven here on earth. The other half of the pasta course was equally delicious, but diametrically opposed - black as night Squid Ink Cavatelli with peppadew peppers, pomodoro, and gremolata. Perfectly spiced with just the right bite.

A Quattro Formaggi Pizza arrived next. One of the first things Chef DePersio did upon taking over the space was to install pizza ovens, along with other significant kitchen renovations. These thin-crusted babies should be a big hit for hungry theatre goers. The crispy crust was topped with ricotta, goat, pecorino, and Parmigiano cheeses, black truffles, and lardo!

A fine new entry to the “Italian Without Borders” menu is the Cumin Scented Lamb Meatballs with roasted peppers and crumbled feta. Reminiscent of an Italian grandmother’s old world meatballs but with a hint of the Middle East peeking through – these were delectable.

But wait - there was still another course before dessert!  Direct from Fascino’s much lauded menu, the Porcini Dusted Sea Scallops sitting on a crispy eggplant round, gently floating in a peperonata, red pepper emulsion. I have enjoyed these many times at Fascino, but the lightly fried eggplant platform gave the scallops a whole other delicious dimension.

Following on the heels of the scallops, Thyme Roasted Beef Tenderloin – read this description slowly and let it sink in: bone-marrow crusted tenderloin with Yukon gold rosti, and wilted Swiss chard. Cooked to a T, butter tender, and exuding all kinds of wonderful beefy flavor, this might have been my favorite dish of the night. Except, of course, for dessert, which brought down the house.

A chef’s selection of artisanal cheeses served with Acacia honey, seasonal fruit compote, and crostini was a wonderful choice for those not afflicted with a demanding sweet tooth (yours truly!).

 

The parade of desserts began with Praline Ricotta Cheesecake with Grand Marnier Sauce, followed by Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with Fudge Pot, Cherry Compote, and Pistachio Mousse; and bringing up the rear, but by no means a lesser player, Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with Caramel Pecan Gelato. 

For those of you who know me and read my articles on JerseyBites and The Cook’s Tour, you know that I am a passionate home baker (and former dessert caterer). I believe that dessert, as the final course, can make or break a meal – it’s your last impression of a restaurant. Mr Salas’ desserts deserve multiple curtain calls. All three desserts were delicious and unique, but the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake stole the show. Incredibly moist, not overly chocolate-y, with a delectable dark sour cherry compote that had us all scrambling for the last drop. But sitting innocently next to the cake, was a small white pitcher filled with what appeared to be chocolate sauce. This was no ordinary dessert sauce. This was a silky, fudgy pot de crème like I’ve never had before. After finishing the one closest to me, I started anxiously scanning the table to down another before leaving. It was that good (and let me just say, that I am not a chocolate fiend).  Mr Salas has graciously supplied the recipe for the cake and fudge pot, which I am happy to share with you. Make this for your next dinner party and you take the curtain calls.

Nico brings a level of dining to Newark that hasn’t been seen here since the early 60s. When I was a child, my family frequently dined at The Newarker, an elegant restaurant set inside the original Newark Airport. With huge window panes looking out at the tarmac, we ate magnificent meals served by tuxedoed waiters, and watched as planes with names from the past like Pan Am and TWA, came and went. Men wore suits, women donned their finest dresses, and genteel waiters made a fuss over little girls – picture the Mad Men cast at dinner (without the debauchery!). Of course, that was a long time ago, in a very different world.  Nico is all modern and sleek, and you don’t need to dress up to visit, but the food and service lives up to that very high standard.  A welcome addition to the north Jersey restaurant landscape for sure, that should be on your must-visit restaurant list. This is not just a place for when you have tickets to an NJPAC event. Although isn’t it nice to know that there is a restaurant worthy of taking a bow right outside the stage door?

  

Nico @ NJPAC

One Center Street

Newark, NJ

973-642-1226

Nicokitchenbar.com

Lunch: Monday through Friday 11:30am to 3pm
Happy Hour: Monday through Thursday 3pm to 6pm
Dinner: Monday through Thursday until 10pm | Friday and Saturday until 11pm
Sundays in conjunction with selected performances

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM CAKE

Yields 96 servings (2”x 2”)

4 eggs

6 yolks

4 oz. unsalted butter melted

16 oz. brewed coffee

4 oz. buttermilk

12 oz. sour cream

28 oz. granulated sugar

15 oz. all-purpose flour

7 oz. cocoa powder

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1.    Place parchment paper in a full size sheet pan and spray with Pam 

2.    In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients

3.     Melt butter

4.     In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolk until combined

5.     Add melted butter while you are whisking the eggs, add coffee, butter milk, sour cream and vanilla extract, mix until combined

6.     Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients

7.     Pour into the prepared pan, bake at 300*F until cake springs back when touched or test it with a toothpick, about 10-15 minutes.

Print Recipe

FUDGE POT

Yields 10 servings

4 ½ oz. milk

4 ½ oz. heavy cream

2 yolks

2 oz. granulated sugar

3 ½ oz. semi sweet chocolate

1 Tbs. pomegranate liquor

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1.     Heat milk, cream, vanilla and half of sugar to boil

2.     Temper into the yolks with rest of sugar and cook over low heat until slightly thick

3.     Strain over chocolate and mix

4.     Add pomegranate liqueur and mix

5.     Put over ramekin and refrigerate at 2 hours

6.     Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard

Print Recipe

A Virtual Dine-Around

Greetings, Culinary Friends.

I've got so much to write about today I just don't know where to begin! This will sort of be like those old-fashioned "dine-arounds," but rather than restaurants, we'll do quick stops at a few different topics. How does that sound?

First up: Friday night, we went "down neck" with some friends. Now, for those of you not from north Jersey (and not familiar with local slang), "down neck" refers to the Ironbound section of Newark. This section was once populated mostly by Italian immigrants (including some of my ancestors), but in the early 70s, a large influx of Portuguese arrived. With their arrival, came small restaurants focusing on fresh seafood and traditional Portuguese food. I haven't been to this section of Newark (let alone almost any part of Newark other than the airport) in about 25 years. So it was good to see the Ironbound alive with restaurants and activity on a pleasant spring evening.

We ate at Seabra's Marisqueira. I felt like I left the US and was indeed in Portugal. From the beautiful sea-blue tiles that cover the walls, to the wonderful Portuguese bread, to the waiters serving us, it was an authentic experience. It was recommended that we try their house specialty, Pork with Clams (photo above). I've never had clams as sweet. All around, a delicious evening. BTW: I have no idea what "down neck" means. If anyone knows, please write in!

Next stop on our dine-around: Low-Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread. Tooling around the various blogs that I read, I happened upon this terrific recipe from Joy the Baker. I actually wasn't planning to bake anything Sunday night, but when I read this recipe (see below) I quickly remembered that I had three very ripe bananas sitting on my counter. And, it looked easy (remember my rule?). De-lish!

Next: so much for low-fat. Today, my friend Melissa brought me a surprise bag from her excellent Mother's day brunch adventure to Brooklyn. Melissa took her mother and grandmother to Sweet Melissa Patisserie. Melissa (the bakery one) is the award-winning author and baker. Melissa (my friend) shares my love of sweets and brought me an incredible, to-die-for, little bag of Chocolate-Orange Macaroons. If you live anywhere near Brooklyn, and have a penchant for fine baked goods, you must visit Sweet Melissa.

Rounding out our trip are two stories from the May 18th issue of Time Magazine. The first is a terrific article by the always amusing Joel Stein as he reviews a new book about eating locally and America's culinary heritage - a virtual Americana dine-around.

The second article has nothing to do with food, but you should read it anyway. It's titled "Do-It-Yourself Heroes," written by Nancy Gibbs, probably one of the most gifted writers out there. In this piece, Gibbs eloquently tells us that in "tough times, the virtues that inspire us are old-fashioned, unglamorous and hiding in plain sight." Among others, she calls out Captain Richard Phillips, Susan Boyle (she of Britain's Got Talent recent fame), and Barack Obama. Ordinary heroes doing the extraordinary.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour. Come back next week to see where our travels take us.

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread (Joy the Baker)

adapted from the Weight Watchers site

makes 1 loaf of 10 slices, 4 points per slice

- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-

- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-

- 1/2 tsp salt
-

- 1/2 tsp baking soda
-

- 1/4 tsp baking powder
-

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-

- 3 tsp canola or walnut oil
-

- 1 large egg, beaten
-

- 2 medium egg whites, beaten
-

- 3 large bananas, ripe
-

- 1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.

In a medium sized bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.