Sonoma Chicken Coop: Something To Crow About

I had the chance to attend the "soft opening" of the new restaurant this past Sunday for their friends and families, and am pleased to announce that we have a great new restaurant opening up in our town that everyone will want to try.

Located in the same building as , it seemed as if they were never going to open and that the renovations must have been going on forever. Well, the wait was worth it. When you see the incredible remodeling job, you will understand the time it took to get it right. The first Sonoma Chicken Coop to be opened outside of California, where there are currentlyf our, is sure to be a huge hit. I predict you will see people lined up outside on weekend nights once they open this week. The new interior has a warm Southern California artisanal feel to it that never makes you feel that you are in a chain restaurant. With Fuddrucker's shifted over to the left-hand side, Sonoma takes up about three quarters of the building's space. Yes, unfortunately, the kid's play area and ball pit are gone. But once you eat here, you won't miss them.

Being in the catering business myself, I am hypercritical when I eat out. It's the nature of the beast for us folks who do food for a living. Considering Sonoma did two full seatings of the restaurant on Sunday night, the management should be very proud and pleased at how well the staff performed. Everyone was courteous and friendly. From the bartender to the waitstaff to management, you could tell that they were enjoying the evening and doing a great job. Besides a minor hiccup that could have happened at any restaurant that had been open for years, the evening was amazing.

And the food? All I can say is when you have the word CHICKEN in your name, you better do it well. And, boy howdy, do they! The half-chicken my wife devoured was nothing but bones at the end of her meal. Big and moist and delicious in a lemon sauce that I had to stop her from licking the plate to get the last few drops.

Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to the goat cheese fondue appetizer. Soft, warm, gooey goat cheese bubbling in its little fondue pot with five or six different things to dip in it. I could have had it for my entree, it was so delicious.

A half rack of ribs in an awesome barbecue sauce ended up a pile of bones on my plate. And I am a man who takes his barbecue sauce seriously.

Dessert was unbelievable. From the butterscotch bread pudding to the chocolate fondue, we found every sweet treat to be incredible.

So, be prepared to loosen your belts, Parsippany. Because if you're like us, after your visit to the new Sonoma Chicken Coop, you're going to need the room for your belly.

To the staff of Sonoma, welcome to the neighborhood! You will be seeing a lot of us.