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Inside Bivio, photo credit Dana Schaeffer
Inside Bivio, photo credit Dana Schaeffer
“I’m a jazz musician, too,” says Tomasso Colao, pizzaiolo and owner of Bivio in Montclair, “so I have to improvise. “ And, improvise is the name of the restaurant game right now. Colao, like many others in the hospitality industry, have modified their business in response to the COVID-19 disruption, evolving in ways never before anticipated.
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With bright white paper stars from Christmas still hanging in the front window we're saddened to report that we've been told True North Osteria has closed its doors. Taking a quick peek into the restaurant this morning it looks like the crew did a final clean up and then left with everything where it was.
True North was more than just another pizzeria - this place was artisinal, from the locally sources tomatoes to the homemade mozzerella to the crust that was so good guests were known to snatch uneaten crusts from their dining companions.
In our yearly roundup of the best and rest of 2012 we wrote "Situated “down Bloomfield Ave” True North Osteria tends to fall off our radar but the pizza will change your life - for real. And yes, there are great vegetarian options including Pan Seared Brussel Sprouts with Pistachios and Shallots that will leave you rethinking Brussels Sprouts forever."
According to Leah Moon, owner of True North,
"We took a significant financial hit in the 3 weeks following Sandy. The loss was more than we could afford. While we did not suffer any damage, business came to a standstill while the trains were down and the town was without power. I'm sure that was the tipping point for the handful of restaurants that closed in November as well. December was also a slow month in Montclair."
True North will sorely be missed. As more details emerge about the closure of True North we will post them in the comments below.
Chef Patrick Pierre-Jerome and owner, Albert FrancoCafe Amici, located at 32 Church St., will soon become Albert's Montclair. The change is largely inspired by the new chef heading up the kitchen at Cafe Amici, acclaimed Patrick Pierre-Jerome, the former chef/owner of Yves in Montclair.
Read more on Montclair Restaurant News.
Some of my favorite meals have been enjoyed outdoors. Whether it's a spring afternoon, or a sultry summer evening, food just tastes better outside.
There are so many options in Montclair - just take a look at John Lee's slideshow!
If you want to know Elizabeth's favorite spots, check out her Top Five Outdoor Dining Spots in Montclair.
*slideshow courtesy of John Lee.
A Lebanese bistro, a new cafe, and more. Details on Montclair Restaurant News.
Zod Arifai at BluImagine! One chef, one week, and thirty-one courses. Zod Arifai, the fascinating, rocker-turned-chef, invited me to dine at his restaurants, Blu, Next Door, and daryl - a Tour de Zod, if you will. The dining experience left me, in a word: seduced. In the afterglow, one question remained: how does this untrained culinary genius do it?
“I don’t think anyone taught me how to cook.” Zod says, with a lingering European accent, “there were influences in my life. My mother’s cooking was very simple, but it was always very delicious.”
Zod’s cuisine, which he describes as “pure, unmasked food,” is largely due to the local purity of Zod’s homeland - a small countryside town in Albania, where everything he ate as a youth was a product of the land.
“We ate extremely, extremely natural. The only thing we bought was salt and oil. My family ground their own flour, made their own bread and butter. If we wanted milk, we’d go to the cow. During the day, my friends and me would take our animals out for grazing, and then we’d go play soccer or swim all day. On the way home, I’d stop to pick up some beans, cucumbers, or tomatoes at the farms. Mom would do something with them, and that was dinner.”
