I just received an email from Joe Bembry at 56 Degree Wine in Bernardsville, NJ, inviting Rex and me to help kick off their second annual holiday “Champagne Campaign” on Sunday, December 7th from 3:00 to 5:00pm at the Bernards Inn.  Rex, London, Maddie and I are headed into NYC that day for our annual holiday get together with old friends from our co-op in the West Village, but that shouldn’t stop the rest of you from adding a little bubbly to your holiday shopping in Bernardsville, NJ.

The celebration will include a wide array of sparkling wines from around the world, everyday bubbles to serious vintage Champers. Partygoers will feast on delightful hors d’ouvres, cheeses, pasta station and carving station. A group of bright importers and distributors of wonderful small artisanal growers will talk about how the wines are made and the people behind them.  And it’s all for a great cause, as Grapes for Good will donate the proceeds to The Friends of the Shelter.

Admission is $80. Call 56 Degree Wine at 908-953-0900 and tell ‘em Roxy sent you to reserve your spot. Make it quick, as space is VERY limited.

56 Degree Wine, 40 Quimby Lane, Bernardsville, NJ 07924. Phone: (908) 953-0900

Dear Roxy,
I have a toddler son and am trying to find local (Bernardsville, Bedminster) things for him to do in the afternoons. I’m sick of Gymboree..any toddler cooking classes, or other different types of things?  Thanks in advance.
Desperately Seeking Activites

Dear Desperately Seeking Activities,

Thanks for visiting Roxy’s Best Of… here are a few tips for you and your toddler in and around the Bernardsville and Bedminster areas:

• Little Music Makers in Basking Ridge, NJ: a more local, personal version of Gymboree for “mommy and me”… or as their web site describes it, ”a fresh, fun, and innovative approach to making music with your child.”  Our very first nanny out here in the Roxiticus Valley found Little Music Makers for us when we moved here from New York City in October 2003, and my girls really had a lot of fun there when they were toddlers.  Little Music Makers playfully blends weekly themes, as well as singing, live music (12 string guitar/piano), dancing, musical instruments (from near & far), marching, chanting, fingerplays, lap songs, puppets, scarves, parachute, free movement, props (hoops, balls, beanbags), musical flannelboard stories, unusual tonalities & rhythms, musical make-believe, weekly themed stickers and activity sheets in a rich, diverse musical environment….and, if I recall correctly, a dog puppet named Petey. 
• Annie’s Playhouse in Far Hills, NJ – acting, singing, dancing, movement for boys and girls of all ages, starting quite young and continuing through high school.  London and Maddie have attended the Annie’s Playhouse Summer Stars camp for the past two summers and particularly enjoy the end of summer performance.  During the school year, Annie’s offers a Broadway Babies program for ages 17 months to 5 years.
• There’s a place called Cooks & Crafts in Flanders, NJ, that my girls have been to for birthday parties, probably not inclined towards toddlers as there aren’t many people brave enough to teach toddler cooking classes, but worth a phone call.
• For afternoon outings but not formal “classes” with your toddler, check out some of the local farms (Alstede, Riamede, Stony Hill) for pumpkin or apple picking, petting zoos and other activities on the Roxy’s Best Of… Community Site Kid Stuff Category.
• Although it may be a bit out of your way, Randolph, NJ has a lot of London and Maddie’s favorite kids stuff:  Time In, Aspen Ice (ice skating), Tai Kwon Do, Pump It Up, the Little Gym, and Garden State Ballet.  Randolph Gymnastics (and Randolph Rock Climbing) is a great venue for both lessons and birthday parties.  When my girls were toddlers, we also spent a fair amount of time at the West Morris YMCA for swimming lessons and other toddler-oriented classes and activities.  The Somerset County YMCA, with a similar selection of family programs, is located in Basking Ridge, NJ.
• For more of a commitment than just the occasional activity, Roxy highly recommends Westmont Montessori in Mendham, NJ, which starts with small classes for 2-year-olds and was an enriching pre-school experience for my two girls.  They’re having an open house for new families on Saturday, November 15th.

Good luck, and if you find something great for your toddler son, I hope you’ll share it by leaving a comment here on Roxy’s Best Of… so that I can pass it along to my local readers. Oh, and don’t forget — please let everyone know that Roxy sent you!

All the best,
Roxy

It’s a brisk autumn day in the Somerset Hills, and I am heading in on the train from Bernardsville, New Jersey to our office in New York City. As I waited to board the train this morning, I happened to see a poster at the Bernardsville Train Station for the upcoming Kitchen Tours of Somerset Hills. On November 20, 2008 from 10:00am until 2:00pm, the H.S.A. of Somerset Hills invites all you ladies (and gentlemen) who lunch to get a peek at ten (10) prestigious kitchens in Bernardsville, Far Hills, and Gladstone, New Jersey. The kitchens have been decorated by local designers and florists (including Laura Clare, Flowers on Ridge, and Jardiniere), and will be catered by local restaurants, including Le Petit Chateau, Bernards Deli, The Station, and Bamboo Grille. Rex and I have enjoyed the kitchen tours we’ve taken down at the beach in Bay Head, New Jersey, and this one promises to be every bit as tasty and entertaining. For $50 per ticket, participants will spend a delightful day viewing some of the area’s most magnificent kitchens. It seems a small price to pay for the chance to peek into some of the spectacular kitchens of the neighboring Roxiticus Desperate Housewives.

All of the funds will go toward long-term spending initiatives to benefit the Bedwell Elementary School and Bernardsville Middle School, such as technology, LCD projectors and laptops, SmartBoards, sound enhancement systems and literacy programs. For more information, call (908) 766-7335 or e-mail kitchentoursofsh@yahoo.com. You can also pick up ticket purchase forms at Bedwell Elementary School.  Sure beats the days of the bake sale for raising money!

When our family first moved out to the Roxiticus Valley from New York City’s West Village, Rex and I commuted in to our NYC office a lot more than we do now, but we had a hard and fast rule of “never on a Friday.” Instead, on Fridays we ventured out to explore the local restaurants and catch up our “couple time” over a business lunch….at the Limestone Café in Peapack, Black Horse Tavern in Mendham, or Grill 73 in Bernardsville. A couple of Fridays ago, Rex commented that we hadn’t been out for one of our Friday lunches in far too long, so we tried out the new Equus restaurant in Bernardsville, New Jersey. We had such a good time (and a delicious lunch) that we decided to get back in the weekly habit last Friday with lunch at Grill 73 in Bernardsville.

I must apologize in advance for neglecting to take pictures of our food, as it was both beautiful and tasty. Some days I forget the photos, other days I take lots of photos and never get around to posting the restaurant review. One day Goldilocks will get it just right, but in the meantime, I’ll share the photo I snapped of the restaurant, as well as some photos from the Grill 73 web site.

With so many great choices on the Grill 73 menu, you’d think Rex and I would have ended up with two different appetizers and two different entrees. Surprisingly, we both chose exactly the same thing: the fried calamari with spicy marinara to start, followed by the Thai Beef Salad (marinated flank steak over romaine with tomatoes, red onion, cucumber & soba noodles, sweet thai chili soy dressing). Rex remembered the calamari appetizer as small, so he refused to share, but when he saw how huge the portions were, he immediately regretted his decision…even though Grill 73’s calamari is amazingly crunchy and flavorful, there was no way either of us could finish, so they packed it up for us to take home. Turns out it heated up just fine in our toaster oven for Sunday leftovers. The Thai Beef Salad was just the right combination of flavors, textures, and some serious heat (spicy spicy!), and unlike our appetizer, the size was just right.

We didn’t have room for dessert, so it was time to head off to Gary’s Wine and Marketplace in Bernardsville to pick up our wine order and a couple of cases of Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Back in August, Rex and I organized a table full of Roxiticus Desperate Housewives and Husbands and headed out to the 14th Annual Seafood Dinner at Pierre’s Restaurant.  Just as I’m only getting around to posting about that evening over a month later, we recently headed over to Gary’s Wine & Marketplace in Bernardsville, NJ, to see if we could find two of the wines we enjoyed:  the Marco Felluga Molamatta 2006 (artistically pictured at left, if I do say so myself) and the Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico 2005 (served with the braised striped bass with cucumbers, under which Chef Michael tried to hide a taste of satanic mushrooms).

Although we ended up with a cartload of pinot noir and several six-packs of pumpkin ale and Oktoberfest, Gary’s didn’t have either of the two selections on our earlier visit, but they promised to see if they could get us a case (6 bottles) of each.  We got a voice mail earlier this week letting us know that both of our wines were in, so we planned a rainy Friday of errands and lunch at Grill 73 in Bernardsville.

Our afternoon was a huge success.  In addition to picking up the Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico ($14.99/bottle on sale) and Marco Felluga Molamatta ($15.99/bottle after Gary’s 20% case discount), I was able to procure two cases of Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.  At $60 per case, the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin ale is, hands down, the best, most expensive, highest alcohol content (8%) beer I’ve ever had.  As they say on the Weyerbacher web site, their Imperial Pumpkin Ale is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren!  It is a perfect finisher (or 4 o’clock beer) on a cool autumn night, or match it up with a slice of pumpkin pie and fresh whipped cream.  Yum.

I’m sitting out on our porch in Bay Head, New Jersey, finishing up the weekend-long celebration of our tenth wedding anniversary, and reflecting on our perfect Friday evening at the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

London and Maddie were giggling about our plans all day, excitedly insisting that I must wear my “poufy black dress” with the feathers at the bottom.  All three girls wore fancy black dresses, and we headed out for our 7pm reservation, arriving at about 7:15pm.  We started the evening with a minor disappointment…Rex had asked for a table for four near the piano, overlooking the bar, but we could see that someone else’s wine had already been set up there. Later, after the other party arrived and the silver-haired ladies covered their ears and abandoned “our” table in favor of a quieter spot in the back, the Maître d’ came over and asked if we’d like to move, explaining that the gentleman reserves that table every Friday night, but that his guests wanted to sit elsewhere. At that point, the girls were settled into their coloring (brand new abstract art coloring books that Rex and I picked up at the Jewish Museum in New York City earlier in the week), so we stayed where we were.

We kicked off the celebration by toasting our ten years of marriage with glasses of Rose Champagne, then turned to the menu and wine list. We had peeked at the menu online, and felt like we wanted to try EVERYTHING!  Luckily, Executive Chef Coery Heyer was offering an amazing six course Autumn 2008 tasting menu, so we could get a taste of just about everything on the menu. We decided to have one tasting with wine pairings (second tier of wine, $185) and one tasting without wine ($85) and shared the six glasses of wine.

For our first course, we both chose the Coriander-Spiced Tuna Sashimi with white soy-marinated savoy cabbage, fresh wasabi, and pomegranate reduction, which Wine Director Terri Baldwin paired with Paul Laurent Champagne Brut, Epernay NV.  The sashimi was delicious and the champagne kept us in a festive mood.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that London and Maddie enjoyed some tasty french fries from the bar as their appetizer, and both girls shared a few fries with their mom.

For the second course, I chose the Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecorino, toasted pumpkin seeds, and sage brown butter sauce, once assured that the chef would prepare it without the evil black truffles.  Maddie caught me lying to our waiter about being allergic to (rather than disgusted by) mushrooms, but I’ve found over time that feigning a deadly allergy is the only way to be absolutely certain the Satanic fungus would not appear in my food.  Rex chose the Day Boat Sea Scallops with celery root, green apple, frisee, fried celery leaves and black truffle emulsion (he’s not “allergic”).  Every bite of both dishes was scrumptious.  We shared the wine that Terri Baldwin had paired with my ravioli, a Ramey Cellars Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2006, as we’ve been fond of Ramey Chardonnay for several years.

Rex and I diverged on our third course as well. Rex opted for the Rice Flake-Encrusted Halibut with almond puree, haricots verts, grapes, and piquillo pepper vinaigrette. I selected the New Zealand King Salmon with barley, Brussels sprout leaves, butternut squash, and bacon vinaigrette. Again, every bite was perfect, but the Spatburgunder Pinot Noir was “small” and didn’t stand up to the salmon.

For our fourth course, Rex and I both chose the Crispy-Slow Cooked Suckling Pig with MacIntosh apple puree, bacon wrapped peanut butter stuffed dates (my favorite!), and black cardamom jus, which was paired with a Lail Vineyards “Blueprint,” Napa Valley, CA 2004. I was feeling kinda stuffed, so I gobbled up the “cracklin” off the top and let Rex double up on pork. At this point, our servers also presented a dish of angel hair pasta with butter and cheese for Maddie, as well as London’s Twenty-Eight Day Dry-Aged Sirloin ($48), cooked medium and with the kohlrabi & black truffle gratin, haricots verts, roasted pearl onions, and horseradish-lemon butter on a separate plate.

The fifth course was a selection of artisanal cheese, accompanied by Graham’s 30 Year Tawny Port. And last, but never least, was the dessert tasting: almond mousse stuffed poached seckel pear, warm pumpkin tartlette topped with marshmallow (!!), and apple cider ice cream. The dessert wine was Dobogo Mylitta Irabella Tokaj Late Harvest, Hungary 2004.  London enjoyed an extra large serving of chocolate ice cream, while Maddie feasted on a huge apple dumpling ($11).

We took our customary photos in the “queen’s chair” in the reception area, and recovered Maddie’s missing charm bracelet. By the time the evening was over, it was three hours later…10:15pm! Feeling stuffed and satisfied, we took the long straight route home through Far Hills, NJ, and look forward to our next celebration at the Bernards Inn.

Wow. I can’t believe it’s been ten years since Rex and I were married on the beach in Bay Head, New Jersey, but it’s true: Rex and I are celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary tonight. We’re taking the girls with us for dinner at the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, New Jersey, one of our favorite restaurants for a real celebration. I’m a bit busy at work today, tying up loose ends before the weekend, but I’ll take some pictures tonight and try to share the experience with you from the beach on Saturday.

The girls were busy at school and we didn’t have any business conference calls scheduled on Friday afternoon, so Rex and I decided to slip away to drop off a donation at the Visiting Nurses Rummage Sale in Far Hills, pick up a case of wine at Gary’s and to try out Equus, a new-ish restaurant in Bernardsville, New Jersey.  Mysteriously, the Equus web site claims that they were “established 1848,” but my recollection is Spring 2008.  Before that, the building housed a not-very-good pizza and casual food establishment called the Stone Tavern where Rex and the girls and I had some of the worst steamed clams in our family history.

Luckily, Equus is a dramatic improvement over its predecessor.  We looked over the menu and decided that, while I was ravenous from my morning workout and the descriptions were so good that we could eat almost anything on the lunch menu, we would stick with two appetizers each.  I started with the Crispy Fried Calamari with sambol aioli & wasabi honey drizzle ($10)…it was quite good and the wasabi really had a nice kick to it.  As my entree, I enjoyed the Tuna & Rice Paper Wrap appetizer with cucumber & green papaya slaw with nuok chem sauce ($14)…there were four pieces, enough for two people, so I shared half with Rex.  Now, here comes trouble…our waiter didn’t have any menus that we could take home, promising that the menus are all on the Equus web site, but so far I haven’t found either of Rex’s dishes online.  His first appetizer was a “perfectly executed” pulled pork over cornbread pancake that disappointed Rex only because he remembered (too late) that he doesn’t really enjoy cornmeal based items such as tortillas or corn muffins.  Rex’s second dish was his favorite — charred tuna.  I’m afraid I didn’t take any pictures of the food, just the surroundings, which gave Equus just the right ambiance.

Dear Roxy,
I’m also a local mom (in Gladstone) and have read through portions of your blog - lots of fun commentary. I think it would be an ideal place to post information about a new Pre-K to 4th Grade school opening in Bernardsville, New Jersey. You may be familiar with the Cottage School in Peapack-Gladstone. Both of my children attend that school and love it. This additional school in Bernardsville is run by the same director (Laura Soulages) and is held in the St. Bernards Episcopal Church in Bernardsville. It is the location of a former Little Lamb program there. Please let me know if it is something you might add to your Bernardsville section of the blog.

Thanks,
Amy Dietrich
Gladstone, NJ

If you’re thinking about joining Roxy and the rest of the Roxiticus Desperate Housewives by moving to the Greater Roxiticus Valley (Bernardsville, Mendham, Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone, Bedminster, and Basking Ridge, New Jersey), have I got a recommendation for you!

Ann Tannen, a great realtor with the patience of a saint, spent 2 years searching Bernardsville, NJ and Mendham, NJ and helped us to find our dream home in the Roxiticus Valley. She stayed with us even after 12-month-old Maddie puked in the back seat of our GMC Yukon XL on one of the twisting turning roads of Mendham Township….hey, at least it wasn’t Ann’s own car!

Here’s a link to Ann Tannen’s Realty Executives web site: http://www.tannenrealty.com. Before Roxiticus Desperate Housewives and our Best of Mendham, Chester, Bernardsville, NJ directories existed, Ann was our only resource for a handyman, tailor, pre-school, etc. Give Ann Tannen a call at (908) 221-9900 and tell her Roxy sent you.