Clark’s Summit 100th Anniversary

On Friday, Nicolas Village in Clark’s summit played host to a wine and dinner event celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the city. Entitled, “Ragtime Roundup,” the theme of the even was to dress from the 1910’s decade. As many people do not have that kind of garb in their dressers and closets, many wore a standard cocktail evening outfit. Many restaurants in the local area were represented, as well as Maiolatesi Winery. Tickets were $20, which included 1 drink ticket.

The pool and the connected ball rooms were filled with guests and food. The local Weis grocery supplied the crab for the crab cakes as you entered. The cakes were deep fried and crispy on the outside without being greasy. The lump of the meat was not as big as you might find in Maryland, but there was not too much filler and the sweetness of the crab came through nicely. Next on the seafood lineup was seared tuna from Formosa. Encrusted wit white sesame seeds and cooked to order, the fish was fresh and clean. Served on a bed of mixed greens with an orange aioli, it was my favorite dish of the night. I preferred mine seared rare with only a dot of the aioli (my personal preference against mayonnaise and its derivative products).

Continuing down the line was sushi from Akita. Also featuring Edamame and seaweed salad, the sushi was one of the first items to go. I much preferred the diced tuna and the crab/avocado to the tempura vegetable. Tempura should be eaten hot from the fryer and crispy. Putting it in a sushi roll only makes the fried batter soft.

Cagiano’s had a fresh fruit tray and crudités platter, standard fare and nothing to speak of. Raganochi’s featured a meatball that was rich and succulent, clearly made with higher fat content beef, served with a tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. There were two pasta dishes, the first being a penne with vodka, heavy with cream and garlic, second was a tortellini in a cream sauce. Another Italian restaurant (I even get mixed up with how many there are) brought a seafood risotto with peas. The seafood was fresh and went well with the cheese (despite the common misconception that seafood and cheese should never go together) but there was not enough seafood for me to taste it.

The final table I tried as a skewer of grill-charred chicken with a balsamic glaze, bruchetta that was heavy with garlic and had chopped kalamata olives. Canolli that was filled and dusted at the table. There was also a beef wellington that came in a puff pastry, though the juices of the beef did not soak through. A chevre, peach and mango salsa was served in a mini martini cup (I say cup because they were plastic). The salsa,(which is what they called it) was good, but there was too much creaminess in it to identify the sweet yet tangy goat cheese. The same table also featured roasted pheasant gnocchi. I love pheasant, but my favorite preparation is smoked because the gaminess of the bird comes through. In with the gnocchi, it tasted more like chicken.

Overall the food was wonderful, but the one free drink ticket was a bit of a letdown. Then again, I’m mostly there for the food rather than the wine. My date and I did make friends and heard about the taste of the Abingtons, so more to come on that in late Sep.