Notes From The City: An Abundant Life - Dreaming The Night Away

Last fall I heard from Chef Paul Gerard that he was consulting on a new restaurant opening in Closter, New Jersey named Stern and Bow that was a project of the well respected and admired Restaurateur Russel Stern. As anyone who knows me knows, Chef Paul Gerard is my favorite Chef in the world and the restaurant Antique Bar & Bakery in Hoboken where he is Executive Chef and Partner is my preferred restaurant to go to anywhere. I had the very beautiful opportunity to attend the opening night of Stern and Bow and it was truly wonderful. I went back again just before Christmas last year and wrote about it in my blog. The food is more than excellent, the staff friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, and the design is lovely, and I would be there more often except that it is hard to get there from where I live unless you have a car which I do not, and I'm very old fashioned when it comes to car services and rarely take them preferring to walk where I can and take public transportation if I must.

I had been planning on returning at some point earlier in the year with the Sommelier and Mixologist Joel Liscio because I had wanted to introduce him to Russell Stern. I had a feeling they would get along well and have fun together because they both have a love of excellent and interesting wines and spirits and excellent food to pair with them. At the time when Joel and I were talking about it he was very busy, and before we could set a date the world as we knew it changed seemingly overnight and everything was shut down all at once making it impossible to travel far or do much of anything at all except for necessary things very close to home. During that time Joel was working even longer hours than he had been in the past, because in addition to everything else he was doing in his professional and family life he was continuing to do his famous and well loved wine tastings, a regular feature at the restaurant where he worked in normal times that he had re-imagined virtually as online Zoom calls. I sat in on a few of them and loved them as much as I had loved his in person tastings because there is something about Joel that makes everyone feel comfortable and right at home that translated perfectly to a live online conversation. As things slowly began to open up again and I heard that Stern and Bow had opened their outdoor seating area, I checked in with him to see if now might be a good time to visit Russell Stern at Stern and Bow.

From all of the photographs I'd been seeing on Instagram and because I had experienced the excellence of the restaurant before, I knew we'd be in for a lovely treat, especially after all these long months of not being able to share time together over a delicious meal at a restaurant. We traveled up to Closter on a very hot summer day, but when we got there everything was so cool and peaceful, very calm and collected, and though there was a threat of rain we didn't have to worry at all because they had the excellent planning to have the open air dining area covered with a sturdy tent that had open sides but that could also be protected in the event of rain while still staying open and breezy. The tables were spaced out comfortably and safely in the large parking lot area, and our meal was superb.

We started with Oysters and went on to have tastes of several other lovely dishes, mainly seafood but we also had a delectable pizza made with N'duja, Fresh Ricotta, Calabrian Chili and Acacia Honey which I had been wanting to try for a while. Delightful and refreshing cocktails and an excellent wine list, along with my favorite Veuve Cliquot kept us enjoying the evening sunset while we talked and tasted the delicious and inventive recipes. Everything was wonderful, the oysters marvelous as always, the lobster roll lovely, a ceviche that was as beautiful as it was delicious, a sampling of fresh smoked scallops that arrived with a perfectly complementing chilled white wine. A memorable standout this time was the New Orleans Barbecued Shrimp in Dark Beer Shallot Sauce that came with Corn Fritters that reminded me of Rhode Island Johnny Cakes, like flat light and crispy pancakes made with fresh corn underneath the shrimp. Soaked in the sauce from the shrimp they still maintained a lightness in their texture while adding a richness to the dish that was perfect for an outdoor summer evening. I've been a corn fritter lover and maker all my life and I've never had one like that. They were delicious as were the fresh and flavorful head on shrimp that covered them. I'm not usually a dessert eater unless it's fully chocolate, and the sticky toffee pudding, my favorite from past visits, was not on their current menu, but I was happy to try the homemade donuts served warm with Grand Marnier pastry cream and kiwi fruit at Joel's suggestion, and the chocolate blackout cake was all a chocolate cake should be and more. I'm still dreaming about that dinner, and looking forward to the next time because Stern and Bow is too lovely a place to visit to stay away for long.
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Stern and Bow Restaurant

171 Schraalengurgh Road

Closter, New Jersey

https://www.sternandbowrestaurant.com/