2 Somerset County Restaurants Ranked Among Best In New Jersey

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Two Somerset County restaurants were named among the 25 Best Restaurants in New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly.

Ninety Acres at 2 Main Street of Peapack-Gladstone and Pluckemin Inn at 359 Route 206 South of Bedminster both made the list.

Here is the review for Ninety Acres by New Jersey Monthly:

"The raising of expectations begins with the winding, 2.5-mile drive through Natirar Park, up the steep hill, around the corner, into the woods, to the valet waiting outside the converted stable house to welcome you.

What’s remarkable is not just that executive chef David Felton and his staff fulfill those expectations deliciously on the plate and attentively in service, but that they do so on a scale found nowhere else in the Top 25. Fanning out from the large open kitchen are dining rooms varying in style and size, private rooms, a bar, a patio and seating around fire pits.

Depending on weather, the layout adds up to 250 to 300 seats, which translates on a busy night into roughly twice that number of covers, industry-speak for fannies in those seats. Given such volume, you might expect a limited menu. In fact, the menu brims with enticing choices that range from down home (fish & chips, fried chicken, crispy pizzas, a burger) to upscale (crab-crusted halibut in hot-sour broth, beef tenderloin with morels in Bordelaise sauce). Everything is expertly executed. Add a sophisticated cocktail program, long beer list and serious, if pricey, wine list, and you appreciate having that long descending drive through the park to gently return you to everyday reality."

Here is the review for Pluckemin Inn by New Jersey Monthly:

"Executive chef Andrew Lattanzio responds to praise with becoming modesty. When his chilled zucchini soup—a purée eventful with tender lobster, luscious burrata, snipped basil, tiny sourdough croutons and poignant violet flowers—is called creative, he replies, “It’s just basic.” He also shrugs off praise for his delicately seared scallops in a peperonata sauce beautifully poised between sweet and tart with a hint of heat.

Lattanzio, 36, deflects attention to his tested and talented deputies, chef de cuisine Kevin LaFemina, 28, and sous chef Jason Ramos, 35. Garland them all, because the word that comes to mind for so many of their dishes is masterful. Take, for example, the firm sheets of fazzoletti pasta enrobed in a fine-grained short-rib ragú with rosemary, pine nuts and Parmesan. It’s an unabashedly masculine dish with a filigree of refinement worthy of a silversmith. Under owner Gloria La Grassa, the Pluckemin turns 11 also boasting one of the best wine programs in the state, under Brian Hider and Christopher Cree, and a lively bar scene with its own embraceable and affordable menu."

For more information on Ninety Acres call 908-901-9500 or visit http://natirar.com/index.php/n...

For more information on The Pluckemin Inn call 908-658-9292 or http://www.pluckemininn.com/ of Facebook.

To get the full New Jersey Monthly list, click here.

(Photo, Pluckemin Inn Facebook)

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