NJ Dining: Taverna Mykonos (UPDATED)

Per David Halbfinger’s rating of “Don’t Miss” (the paper’s highest restaurant rating) for Taverna Mykonos in the New York Times, I’m elevating this post back to the top due to general interest.

However, I am not in agreement that this restaurant, while producing very good Greek Taverna-style food, is to be considered in the same vein as the absolute finest dining establishments in the state or even Bergen County. More on this later.

This post was originally published on July 25, 2010, a few days after the restaurant’s opening.

Taverna Mykonos

238 Broadway, Elmwood Park NJ

(201)703-9200

It takes quite a bit to get me moving in the summer, especially when it’s nearly 100 degrees in the shade and my 20 year-old classic car’s air conditioning isn’t working.

The opening of brand new Greek restaurant in Elmwood Park serving traditional Taverna cuisine in a colorful atmosphere, featuring fresh Mediterranean food with all of the important attention to detail that’s necessary to do it well is one of the few things that will drag me out of my cool house on a Saturday afternoon in late July.

Taverna Mykonos in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Heaven is a Gluten Free Donut

By Laura Keiles

Fresh Lemon donut with Lemon glaze, Saskatoon Berry with Lemon glaze, and Pumpkin Gingerbread with Maple Cream Liqueur glaze

I admit it, I’m a donut junkie. You name them, I love them. My deadly weakness is the Dunkin’ Donuts blueberry cake or their seasonal pumpkin donuts. I’ve had Krispy Kreme; I’ve had Yum Yum; but to me nothing beats the perfect glaze on either of those cake donuts. In my line of work, my favorite afternoon stress reliever is a cup o’joe and one of those beauties. Over the years, however, stress eating caught up with me and had to get that under control. After starting to exercise and eating healthier (including watching the coffee and donuts), I still wasn’t feeling completely better.

Eventually, it was determined that the gluten (most everything I ate with wheat, barley and oats) was the main culprit. To top that off, the nightshade plants had to go, too. This means no tomatoes or potatoes or green peppers. Who can live without donuts and french fries with ketchup??? I had to give up all gluten and watch for hidden by-products. Life was like cardboard and after a while I got used to it. To give up my donuts was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. In simple terms, gluten was toxic to my health. (Note: I am not diagnosed with celiac disease, but I may as well be one, for what gluten does to me.)

Ready to bake some donuts? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to read more…

NJ Dining: Zinburger

Note: Updated with photos post-soft opening.

Zinburger
Promenade Shops
852 Route 3, Clifton NJ
(973) 272-1492

Web Site: http://www.foxrc.com/zinburger.html

Menu: http://www.foxrc.com/downloads/menus/zb_phx_menu.pdf

As I mentioned in a previous post, Northern New Jersey has been getting an increasing number of new burger-themed restaurants of late, which includes Five Guys, Smashburger, Bobby Flay’s Burger Place and now Zinburger, which comes to us from Fox Restaurant Concepts, a management company which has opened most of their restaurant properties in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Kansas.

The New Jersey location is owned by the Briad Group, out of Livingston which owns the Promenade Shops complex and where the new Zinburger has opened.

Zinburger joins Briad’s other Clifton restaurant property at the Promenade, Corner Bakery and Cups, a cafe, frozen yogurt and bakery dessert place and casual restaurant.

Zinburger (the “Zin” presumably referring to Zinfandel, a red wine grape varietal) is different from other burger restaurant concepts in that they are aspiring for a more high-end burger experience, accompanied by a full wine and beverage program.

Zinburger aims to merge the Wine Bar and higher-end burgers into a single dining concept. Did they succeed? Click on the Read the Rest of This Entry link below for more.

Menorah-rama

Last night, my wife and I were privileged to be invited to the home of Sid and Shuey Horowitz, a couple that has been collecting Chanukah Menorahs (Chanukiyot) for about 40 years. In the last 15 years or so, the couple has invited over 100 people to their home during Chanukah (Hanukkah, if you prefer the alternative transliteration) for a large party in which dozens of Menorahs are lit, and guests are encouraged to bring their own.

The entire operation is very well organized — the garage of the Bridgewater, NJ home is converted into a Menorah shrine, with fire-proof tables set up along the three walls.

Want to see all of these lit? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.