Bergen County eats

[keena]

Visiting relatives in Bergen County (Tenafly area) soon. Anything of note there? I was last there many years ago when Chez Madeleine was in Bergenfield, but they are long gone.
Thanks!

[fourunder]

Chez Madeleine......oh the memories. I was fortunate enough to have Chef Caloz's very first New Year's Eve Dinner served @ Chez Madeleine. It was an eleven course meal and offered at a ridiculous price of $65.......and it may have been for two, I do not recall. Even if it were for one, it was still a steal......and each course was served as an appropriate appetizer or entree size, not as a tasting menu. I remember these courses were served out of the eleven:

Foie Gras
Escargot
Veal Tenderloin Medallions
Salmon en croute
New York Strip Au Poivre

When Chef Caloz came out to greet his guests for the evening and stopped by my table, I asked him how he could serve such an incredible meal for so little money. He replied, since he was a new restaurant and only open a short time he did not realize how much he could charge for the night, but he did not want to compromise his quality and desire to serve the best meal possible for anyone who came to his restaurant........All should follow his lead......but maybe not his pricing.

What does this have to do with your query? The good news is Madeleine and Gaspard Caloz reinvented themselves ten minutes up the road from Bergenfield and Tenafly in Northvale, now with full liquor service and a larger venue.

http://www.madeleinespetitparis.com/i...

For anyone who is not familiar with Gaspard Caloz, he won the Cooking Olympics and not many chefs have that distinction on their resume.

[keena]

yeay---thanks to all. we'll be there for over a week, so I will be hitting up a bunch of these places. can't wait to do madeleines again! they made the best cassoulet i ever had.

[fourunder]

keena,

If you want to recreate your memories, I suggest a call to the restaurant to see if they will make the dishes you want for the evening. I would be surprised if Gaspard did not accommodate your request if the ingredients are seasonally available.

On an additional note, if you provide a few more details to your preferences and time willing to travel, I can furnish you with some more very fine restaurants, both casual and fine dining.

[keena]

I don't want to drive too far (Dad is getting up there in age) but we love all kinds of foods but would prefer toward the casual side. Also, I remember going to Park and Orchard in East Rutherford (the older and newer ones) and thinking it was pretty good but that was a long time ago.
All suggestions are welcome. The place in Teaneck sounds good too.

[dock]

oh the memories.... waiting in a dark hallway in the freezing cold. Loved the food but hated the restaurant. The new place, 5 years old?, is not a problem. I also would recommend Bistro En in Teaneck. Weird place with both French and Sushi. Went last week and had the 3 course prie fixe for $25. Very good pate although the portion was enough for the entire dinner. The duck breast ($3 suppliment) was very good but again, an entire breast not presliced and fanned out as usual, huge. And an OK tarte tatin for dessert. Go on a weekday.

[thaichile]

Axia is very good but we enjoy Segreto much more. One Greek and one Italian respectively. We had Easter dinner at Segreto and it was wonderful. If you are looking for French, there is a BYOB in Franklin Lakes called Chef's Table. The owner is the same who owned/chefed Claude's in Ho-Ho-Kus several years back.

[sixelagogo]

There's a nice upscale greek rest. called Axia that opened last year in Tenafly that can be very good.