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Ed Hitzel's Current Column
JOHN SCHLANER FORMER CASINO EXEC CHEF
OPENS CAFÉ J, NORTHFIELD
John Schlaner, along with his fiance, Donna Vasallo, opened Café J in Northfield in late September. The restaurant occupies the building that once housed Eclectic Grind, and most recently, Amore Pizzaria.
The new BYO restaurant features American bistro style cuisine and casual ambience.
The 50-seat restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, with a strong emphasis on lunch service, due to the number of professional offices in the neighborhood. The menu is quite large and varied, according to Vasallo. "There's lots to choose from on the menu," she said. "There's really something for everyone."
"We'll offer creative specials and gourmet touches to the food, but we'll have simple dishes, too," Vasallo added. Prices will be moderate.
The menu will offer salads, with Schlaner's house-made Caesar, which Vasallo says "our guests rave over every time we serve it at home," house-made soups, appetizers, burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, and entrees. Some of the specialties are fresh matzoh ball soup every Wednesday, pulled pork sandwiches, and some vegetarian items, including a tofu burger. The entrée list features chicken, veal, seafood (including crabcakes with Schlaner's signature spicy roasted red pepper sauce), meatloaf and other meat choices, and pastas.
Schlaner was previously the executive chef at Resorts, and more recently, at Trump Taj Mahal. Vasallo served as director of employment at Claridge for nine years prior to opening her own employee training and development consulting firm. She is also a senior adjunct faculty member at Atlantic Cape Community College.
Vasallo said that Schlaner has always wanted to own a restaurant, and began a property search shortly after he left his executive chef position at the Trump Taj Mahal.
"Many former casino executive chefs go on to open their own restaurants, because when they reach that point, it seems like there are few career challenges left for them," Vasallo said. "Opening a restaurant seems to be a natural progression."
The new owners are thrilled with their location on busy Tilton Road. "We're quite comfortable with the size of the restaurant," Vasallo said. "And we especially like the fact that it's a BYO."
The restaurant has been completely redecorated, and the kitchen rearranged.
Café J is located at 1612 Tilton Road. The telephone number is (609) 383-6767.
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FORMER GIRASOLE EMPLOYEE TO OPEN OLD BAY RESTAURANT, EGG HARBOR
Sergio DeRosa, formerly of Girasole in Atlantic City, has purchased a bar and restaurant property in Egg Harbor City. The building was most recently known as Miller's Pub, and prior to that, Cedar Creek Brewery. The new casual restaurant will be called Old Bay.
DeRosa has hired Agostino Zavala to run the kitchen. Prior to accepting the position with Old Bay, Zavala was a sous chef at Girasole.
Zavala's menu will combine Italian and American cuisine. It features a wide variety of seafood and pasta dishes, with a few meats on the menu, as well. Upscale daily specials will include lamb chops, veal chops, and filet mignon. Appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and Bindi desserts will also be served. Prices will be reasonable.
While DeRosa is aware that Egg Harbor City doesn't have many restaurants, and the business climate may be difficult, he's not afraid of the location. "Girasole wasn't supposed to work either, but it did by appealing to casino VIP's," he said. "I hope to develop a similar clientele, along with people who live in the area."
The property has undergone extensive renovations and redecoration. "Everything inside the restaurant is new," DeRosa said. "It's been a family project. My wife designed the interior and my son's daughter designed the beautiful mosaic table tops." The dining room features a lighter, brighter, atmosphere with a "South Beach" feel according to DeRosa.
The new owner believes that one of the good points of the 40-seat restaurant is its small size. "By keeping it small, we can better control the quality of what we're doing," he said. "But I anticipate that, due to the size of the dining room, reservations will be required on the weekends." There will be additional seating outside on the deck behind the restaurant during the warmer months.
DeRosa is looking forward to an opening soon. Old Bay is located at 236 Philadelphia Avenue, Egg Harbor City. The phone number is (609) 804-1400.
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RONE STEPPING DOWN AS CHEF AT TOMATOES
Carmen Rone, chef and manager of Tomatoes in Margate, recently announced that Michael Merlo, formerly of the Ebbitt Room at the Virginia Hotel in Cape May, and Striped Bass in Philadelphia, will become chef at the restaurant.
Merlo has been with Tomatoes since late summer. He will assume control of the kitchen within the next few months, and will work alongside chef Marciel Montez, who has worked with Rone for over 15 years.
"Michael will be adding a few of his own specials and the recipes will be fine tuned, but there will be no drastic changes made to the menu. If it isn't broken, why try to fix it?" Rone said.
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TOMATOES TO GET "SISTER" RESTAURANT, FISH, IN FORMER RED'S LOCATION
Karen Sherman, owner of Tomatoes in Margate, along with chef/general manger Carmen Rone, will partner with Steve Marchel to purchase Red's in Margate. This will be Marchel's first restaurant endeavor.
The new restaurant, which is slated to open late next spring, will be called Fish, and will feature a seafood house theme. The menu will offer items ranging from $12 to $17 dollars, draft beers on tap, and a fun outdoor deck on the roof.
Fish will be seasonal, open six months out of the year, but will also include a seafood market that will be open year round. The market will offer items such as sushi, fresh fish, and prepared fish. "Items on our restaurant's menu will be offered as takeout in the market year round," Rone said. The restaurant will have seating to accommodate 200 guests, and a large bar.
Construction has already begun. Robert Curtain is the restaurant's architect. The new owners will handle construction themselves. "We are still in the concept stage, but we hope to get it started soon," Rone said.
Fish will be located at the corner of Washington and Atlantic Avenues, Margate. There is no phone number as of yet.
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BAY LEAF DELI OPENS IN SOMERS POINT
Jim Murray is no stranger to the restaurant business. He previously owned Cheeseburger in Paradise on the boardwalk in Ocean City. When his landlord sold the building to a contractor who planned to build condos on the site, Murray regretfully had to close the business. After a six-year hiatus, he knew it was time to get back into the restaurant business, so he decided to open a deli in Somers Point. "I live in the area and like it very much. I also love my customers and missed them."
The upscale Bay Leaf offers a unique atmosphere. The cooking line is situated in the dining room so customers can watch their food being prepared, as well as talk to the cooks. The diverse menu, which offers breakfast and lunch, has something for everyone. At breakfast there are eggs, breakfast burritos, fresh grilled muffins, and grilled sticky buns; and at lunch, the menu features old favorites such as cheesesteaks, as well as salads, soups, and sandwiches. Favorites include the blue cheese, pear, and walnut salad on winter greens topped with balsamic vinaigrette, and a waldorf salad with chicken, pears, apples, and walnuts. As of now, Bay Leaf is open from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, but Murray hopes to soon add a dinner menu. Bay Leaf is located at 701 Shore Road, Somers Point. The phone number is (609) 927-0818.
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CHOP HOUSE JOINS PJ WELIHAN'S GROUP OF RESTAURANTS
Bob Platzer, owner of PJ Welihan's, has opened his newest restaurant, Chop House.
There are several PJ Whelihan's locations in New Jersey, and one in Allentown, Pa. Platzer also owns Platz's Inn in the Poconos. According to Jeff Stein, Chop House's manager, "Mr. Platz decided he wanted to try a completely different concept by opening an upscale steakhouse. We are similar to Sullivan's or Capital Grill."
Chop House specializes in traditional steakhouse cuisine but with a contemporary flair. The menu offers a wide variety of items such as chicken, pork, and veal, in addition to steaks. The surprising fact is that forty percent of this steakhouse's menu is comprised of seafood selections such as salmon, shrimp, lobster, and tuna. The most popular item is the Kansas City bone-in sirloin with Maytag blue cheese and blackened onions.
The restaurant is open for dinner seven days a week. The bar opens at 4 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. A late night menu starts at 10 p.m. It features lighter items such as salads and sandwiches. Chop House is located at 4 Lakeview Drive, Gibbsboro. The phone number is (856) 566-7300.
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COMUSO'S BRICK OVEN CAFÉ OPENS IN HAMMONTON
When Manny Mertis was presented with the opportunity to open a brick oven eatery in Hammonton, it was an offer he couldn't pass up. "The opportunity to be different and innovative in this area really appealed to me. There are no other brick oven restaurants that I know of within a 12-mile radius of us."
Comuso's offers Italian-American fare, and a relaxed atmosphere. Popular items on the menu include Comuso's bianca pizza and shrimp pizza Venezia. "We have gotten quite a few compliments on our mussels and our pasta pasquelina, which is clams, mussels, and calamari in red sauce over linguine."
Not only does he offer his customers freshly prepared food, he also offers them a look into Hammonton's past. Black and white murals that depict the history of Hammonton adorn the walls. Historical events are chronicled, including town council, the annual Mt. Carmel procession, and downtown Bellevue Avenue in the 1940's. According to Mertis, "When customers walk in they seem to be in awe of how relaxed and friendly the atmosphere is. They really like the pictures on the walls." The building had once housed an armored car service, so another interesting feature is the old vault that is now used as a beer cooler. The vault door, as well as the bar, is topped with laminated copper.
Comuso's Brick Oven Cafe is located at 120 South White Horse Pike, Broadway Square Plaza, Hammonton. The phone number is (609) 567-3811.
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BOYS II MEN STAR AND WIFE OPEN
MAJESTIC RIBS, CHERRY HILL
Michael and Venus McCary have never owned a restaurant before. Michael is known for being part of the popular singing group, Boyz II Men, and Venus has always been an avid home cook. She frequently cooked for functions, and friends and family would always compliment her on her food, and suggest she and her husband open a restaurant where she could showcase her culinary talents. They realized that this was a good idea, and began looking for a place. The settled on Cherry Hill because, according to Venus, "there are only pizzerias around here, and if Michael and I wanted good comfort food we would have to travel for it."
Majestic Ribs is a family oriented eatery that offers good home cooking and comfort food. The McCarys will be doing all of the cooking at the restaurant. "We will not be opening cans and serving it to our customers. It will all be made from fresh ingredients. Even if it means getting to work a few hours earlier to cook it, everything will be fresh." The menu will include favorites such as pork and beef ribs, fried chicken, fried shrimp, curry shrimp, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, corn bread, and sweet potato pie. The menu items aren't the only things made from hand. The McCary's decorated the restaurant themselves, and Venus is most proud of the wall adorned with beads that she and her husband affixed by hand, one by one. Majestic Ribs is located at 1900 Greentree Road, Springdale Shopping Center, Cherry Hill. The phone number is (856) 751-8707.
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BRANDY OWENS, M.C. TAKES STAGE AT FOOD AND WINE FEST
Brandy Owens works at The Washington Inn as the person in charge of catering. Unless you book a wedding or banquet at the Washington Inn, you wouldn't necessarily get to see or meet Brandy. Or unless you attend one of the Sunday morning events at the Cape May Food and Wine Festival. Every year for the past four years, I have been a judge in the Sunday morning relay races and cookoffs that are part of the festival, sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts. Every year Brandy is the M.C. at the events, held at the city's Convention Center along the promenade, and every year Brandy becomes more comfortable in her role, a funny, glib and chatty host, interviewing the contestants and judges as would a female Art Linkletter. As a result, we invited Brandy to be a guest host on our radio show. So you will be hearing her glib, funny, non-stop patter soon on the show. Stay tuned.
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THE NEW CAFÉ IN MAYS LANDING
How long does it take you to try a new restaurant? Hours? Days? Weeks? Longer? If you hear that a "mature" (predictable) place that has lost its panache, has a new owner, chef or manager, will you give it a try? How many times will you try it? These are all questions that we ponder often as we go about our business of observing and chronicling the restaurant industry. We visited the Main Street Café, (at least that's the name on it currently) recently in our own neighborhood in Mays Landing. It's a restaurant formerly known as Cappalutti's, named after Paul Cappalutti, a local businessman who initially attracted attention with hot pork and hot roast beef sandwiches, excellent pizza and good soups. We cut back on out visits because the coffee had that iodine flavor, and we love a good cup of coffee at breakfast. But the new owner, one Sammy (don't know his last name at this writing) has improved the coffee and has turned up the energy and quality a notch in the restaurant. Soups, salads, breakfasts, and sandwiches we have tried in the restaurant have been impressive, but we are also impressed at the owner's personality, persistence and energy. (Did we already say that?) Mays Landing - with its surfeit of chains and mall eateries - has been tough on independent restaurants. Four have closed in recent memory (Huntzinger's, Caesars, Old River Tavern and H.I Rib). Sammy says he plans to invest much time and energy in his new venture, which might include dinner at a later date. We'll be watching (and sampling) as this new project takes shape. In the meantime, give this new restaurant a try.
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HAMMONTON'S MARCELLO'S IMPRESSES
We had visited Marcello's in Hammonton a few years ago. A few friends told us the food was good, but we don't remember feeling anything more than neutral after a lunch there. We do remember a combination scungili and calamari salad that was unimpressive. We went again recently after receiving an email from a Hammonton area resident who enjoys the place. For dinner we ordered the fruitti de mare and an evening's special, pasta in red sauce with chicken. Both were excellent, as was a lentil soup and a dinner salad with real Jersey tomatoes. And the scungili-calamari salad, which we ordered on this visit also, was impressive. We would order it again. Service was friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable by a young woman from Naples, Italy who told us (interestingly) that English was taught as second language in Italy. We invited the Marcello's folks on our radio show, but for now, they declined, preferring to do the interview by phone. We would enjoy having them in the studio...
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GUMBO
Frank Coliero sold Mamma Mia Restaurant in Williamstown, a fact reported in this column last month. On a recent Thursday night he was outside, next door to the restaurant (where he lives), crushing grapes and making wine with a friend, enjoying himself immensely. We should all be that relaxed and happy at age 70...
We attended two recent press nights, the first at Kyoto, the new restaurant at the Village Walk Shopping Center in Cherry Hill. The same night we visited Melange Café, where chef/owner Joe Brown kicked off the publication of his new cookbook, "Joe Brown's Melange Café Cookbook." The book is sprinkled with photos, tidbits and Creole-Cajun recipes from Brown's Cherry Hill restaurant, inspired by his mom's cooking. A perfectly-timed holiday gift.
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AND FURTHERMORE...
Since we arrived early for the grand opening press event for Kyoto, the new Japanese restaurant in the Village Walk of Cherry Hill, our assistant Lisa Provence was able to get a sneak peak of the new $850,000 Pinziminio Trattoria, which is still under construction, across the patio in Village Walk. Owner Karen Spinelli expects the restaurant to open by the time you are reading this...
Karen led Lisa and a small group of visitors around the facility, and pointed out that the dining room will have an airy, open design, but will feature specific areas defined by banquettes and walls. It will include both smoking and non-smoking sections, a small dining room for private parties, and the highlight of the restaurant, an antipasto bar that will feature a curved counter along with high tables.
Lisa said it was slightly difficult to visualize the design given the exposed ceilings, hanging wires, and construction equipment and debris littering the large space, but Karen described a casually elegant room, filled with warm colors and rich textures in the fabrics and furniture. To illustrate her description, she pointed out the beautiful faux fabric-textured wallpaper that had already been installed in the facility, although much too early, she said, which causes her to admonish the construction crew on a regular basis not to damage the wallpaper.
One of the interesting features of the restaurant is that it is designed to maximize employee efficiency. Server stations are located in private, but convenient spots throughout the restaurant. Hallways and the space between the cooking line and wall are narrow, which will prevent employees from congregating in conversation.
Karen is also quite excited about the outdoor seating area in the courtyard in front of the restaurant. She described large doors that will open to the courtyard and give an open-air feeling to the entire restaurant, similar to the restaurants in the Olde City section of Philadelphia.
Spinelli operated a restaurant in Beach Haven under the same name until just a few months ago, a lovely space she redecorated, but didn't build. She said that one of her favorite aspects of opening the new restaurant is that she has gotten to watch the construction process right from the beginning and knows every inch of the space.
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ED'S HOT LINE
Ed Hitzel reviewed restaurants for the Press of Atlantic City for 16 years and currently publishes his own newsletter, quarterlymagazine and menu guide, as well as produce and host a weekly radio show on WOND News talk Radio 1400. The show airs Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm, and features news, interviews and disscusions devoted to promoting excellence in the food and beverage industry. Hitzel welcomes your restaurant and dining questions. You can e-mail him at fastfork@acinside.com or find him on the web at www.edhitzel.com. For info call (609) 677-9770. Lisa Provence contributed to this report.
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By Ed Hitzel
Water's Edge in Cape May still has the edge
The paintings on the walls of the dining room of Water's Edge depict ocean, water and natural scenes. Most of them do, anyway. So when you look out the widows along the East wall of the Water's Edge dining room, you are looking at nature's painting, the real view of the dunes, the beach and the ocean.
The Water's Edge is cool that way, full of ironies and follow-throughs, hidden messages and metaphors in the surroundings, the service, and especially the food, which on the evening of our participation in the Cape May Food and Wine Festival, was terrific.
For example, the lighting understandably highlights the paintings, but the food on the plates, despite not being directly lighted, seems to cast its own light, probably as the result of the energy and creativity that goes into it.
And for example, despite the audible presence of the sea, and the maritime theme, and the name of the restaurant, most customers at Water's Edge order beef.
And for example, on the brunch menu, posted on a panel outside, is an entrée named "The Rebel" and next to it is the parenthetical ("like my wife"). We could have written that.
The Water's Edge aura was never typical, an assertion that still applies.
There is talk among foodies, critics and restaurant-fans, that Cape May has lost some of its creative and leading-edge edge, that some of the restaurants once known for trends, are now trending towards sameness, but that is not true at the Water's Edge.
Even the way the menu is written tempts you, draws you in, the ingredients and descriptive words, preceding the actual main event.
Listen to these items.
Mustard seed and cracked black pepper crusted seared very rare tuna. Barbecue confit of duck and chorizo quesadilla. Cracked pepper studded seared dry aged rib eye steak. Sauted grouper, cashew crust, sauted bananas, with dark rum, lime and cilantro. These were some of the items we sampled during a meal designed to reward ourselves for a long day at the festival. Excellence is in the details at the Water's Edge, just like they always were, and damn, we hope, just like they always will be.
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