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The Record dishes on food and dining

Food Truck Wednesdays to start in Overpeck

MICHAEL KARAS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

MICHAEL KARAS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Rosie’s Weenie Wagon food truck is launching Food Truck Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Overpeck Park starting Sept. 24 and running every Wednesday in October.

Rosie’s owner Rosario D’Rivera said she will be serving with several other food trucks in the Henry Hobel area off Fort Lee Road on the Leonia side of Overpeck. The trucks include BBQ Heaven, Mexi-Flip Taco Truck, Sweet Spot ice cream and Tropical Scoops ice cream.

There will be entertainment from singer Reina Williams at noon on Sept. 24. D’Rivera said picnic tables are available nearby.

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Joint dinners with Chakra, Terre a Terre chefs

ciszakvillani
Chefs Thomas Ciszak (left) and Todd Villani (right) will hold two joint dinners in October showcasing local farms and fall flavors at their respective restaurants, Chakra in Paramus and Terre à Terre in Carlstadt.

The Oct. 6 dinner at Chakra (144 W. Route 4, 201-556-1530) will feature dishes such as Villani’s Viking Village scallops from Barnegat Light with cauliflower puree and lardon and Ciszak’s lavender-honey glazed duck with duck fat potatoes and fennel; the five course dinner will be paired with wines. The cost is $89 a person, plus tax and gratuity.

The Oct. 22 dinner at Terre à Terre (312 Hackensack St., 201-507-0500) will be paired with Tavalon Teas and include Villani’s cured duck pastrami with Shibumi Farm mushrooms, and Ciszak’s arctic char with peas and carrots. The cost is $79, plus tax and gratuity. Reserve by calling the restaurant holding each dinner.

Full menus for both follow:

Continue reading

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All-day pub menu starts next week at Dog&Cask

The Dog & Cask in Rochelle Park will launch a new all-day pub menu on Sept. 18. The menu features items such as meatballs, grilled-cheese sandwiches, lamb and veggie burgers, and traditional pub favorites such as Shepherd’s pie and fish and chips (the dish I was hankering for in my 2.5-star review from April). It is also updating its fall regular menu with items such as duck spring rolls, a pork belly trio and a version of chicken pot pie. 55 Route 17 South, 201-845-5101, thedogandcask.com.

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Mighty Quinn’s chef on making the best ‘cue and…

Hugh Mangum

Asked for the secret to a great barbecue, Mighty Quinn’s man in the kitchen, Hugh Mangum, answered:  Patience and a good fire.

For more from the chef whose cooking has been hailed by Travel & Leisure, Time Out New York, the New York Times and this newspaper, click on http://bit.ly/1BbBI7H.

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Kosher sports bar to open in Teaneck tomorrow

Teaneck Doghouse’s opening is scheduled to coincide with the start of the NFL season. http://bit.ly/1oD6rlq

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Chef Michael Merida starts pop-up restaurant in Montclair

meridaMichael Merida, who until recently was the chef at the well-received Cravings Tapas Bistro in Ridgewood and who worked at some of the most celebrated New York City restaurants, is hosting a twice-a-month pop-up restaurant at Trattoria Rustica in Montclair. The Emerson resident is starting with a tapas night, offering some of “my signature dishes as well as some new ones from Cravings,” he said in an email. Merida will be cooking a 10-course sharing menu for $50.  The first dinner will be on September 10. Reservations for the event are being taken now at (973) 783-3436. Trattoria Rustica is at 517 Bloomfield Ave.

 

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Callahan’s, the restaurant, to open in Norwood this Fall

 

callahansjpgIt didn’t take long.

Five months after Daniel DeMiglio launched a food truck to sell his family’s famous deep-fried extra-long hot dogs, Callahan’s, he is set to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Norwood to sell the super-popular hot dogs – and then some. DeMiglio, the grandson of founder Leonard “Artie” Castranni, said he felt he had no choice.

“People would ask, When are you going to have french fries? When are you going to have burgers?” His answer now: Sometime in the Fall, at the new Callahan’s at 10 Broad Street. “We’re going to have everything that the original Callahan’s in Fort Lee had: the deep-fried hot dogs, of course, plus cheesesteak sandwiches, cheeseburgers, curly fries, onion rings…” The demand, he said, was just too great to ignore.

DeMiglio, who grew up in Old Tappan and now rents an apartment in Norwood (“I moved down the street from the store”), had planned on eventually opening a Callahan’s restaurant but he said he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

“The food truck has been phenomenal,” he said. So phenomenal that on Father’s Day at the Closter farmers’ market, the line was so long, he couldn’t see its end. “We sold 1,700 hot dogs in three hours.” Callahan’s, he noted, has 14,000 fans on Facebook. “I never knew how big this could possibly get. But it’s huge. People just love Callahan’s.”

Callahan’s will have from 20 to 30 seats indoors, he said; in nice weather, DeMiglio said,there will also be outdoor seating. And as for Callahan’s on wheels?

DeMiglio said he’s planning on getting another food truck that he can use to sell his hot dogs at the Jersey shore, in Philadelphia and environs. “My current truck — an ’88 — can’t go past 55 miles per hour. It’s so slow that it took me six hours to get home from Seaside Heights one day.”

Until the new Callahan’s opens and the truck shuts down for the winter, DeMiglio said his hot dogs can be purchased via his truck at Van Saun Park in Paramus on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12 to 4 p.m. (“in front of the zoo”) and this Sunday at the Fort Lee farmers’ market from 12 to 3 pm.

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The Park West Loft slated to open Oct 15

John Halligan, chef/owner of The Park Steakhouse in Park Ridge and Park West Tavern in Ridgewood, said that he plans to open a special events venue/banquet hall, The Park West Loft, on October 15. The 4,400-square-foot space, that sits right above the Tavern at 30 Oak Street,  will have a big bar, a lounge and a fireplace, he said.   It will also offer catering.

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Food truck rally at Overpeck Park August 14

Love alfresco dining — in the park? Mark your calendars. On August 14 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Overpeck County Park, a Food Truck Rally and Beer Garden is planned. The event is hosted by the New Jersey Truck Association and local brewers Bolero Snort Brewery (Record food writer Elisa Ung profiled Bolero Snort this Sunday;  http://bit.ly/1s931xW). Among the participating food trucks: Aroy-D the Thai Elephant, Polkadot Cupcake and The Cow & The Curd.

And, oh yes, it’s free. Except for the $5 wristband those 21 and older need to purchase to enter the “beer garden.”

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Momma’s Kitchen to replace 15 Grand American Bistro in Montvale

Paramus resident Paul Skiadas, who owned  Paulie’s in Closter (the now shuttered Cask 171), has bought 15 American Bistro in Montvale  with his partner Bob Meidanis, who owns the Village Grille in Waldwick. Skiadas said Momma’s Kitchen may officially open “this Monday or next Monday.”

“It’s a casual Italian-American restaurant,” he said, “serving the kind of food that we like to eat. Food that is popular.” On the new menu: thin-crust pizzas and a selection of various types of meatballs.  The chef, Juan Santamaria, remains. “We got to know him and we really like him,” Skiadas said.

At the same time, Skiadas is  revamping the well-known Brother Bruno Pizza in Wayne, popular with William Paterson University students. “We’re going to also have hot dogs and hamburgers,” he said. And the new name? “Momma’s Boy,” he said.

“I love my mother,” he said, laughing heartily.

 

 

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