NJ Restaurant Reviews
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Few restaurant desserts After one bite of lemon-infused angel food cake at the casual Ho-Ho-Kus bistro Janice, I was thrilled. It was fresh and springy, a great dessert. In fact, chef-owner Janice Tinari makes all of her desserts in-house and takes great pride in how they come out. To say that this attention and quality is unique in North Jersey restaurants is a pretty big understatement. While reviewing restaurants in this area for the past year, I'm much more used to being frustrated or disgusted by dessert, not thrilled. Here's what I've eaten in the last year in restaurants around here: Incinerated berry cobbler. A sour, old chocolate cheesecake. A fist-sized blob of hardened, peanut-flavored filling atop a thick, hard crust that had to have been made long ago, in a place far away. A frigid lump that claimed to have been "apple berry crisp." And more fridge- and freezer-burned creations than I care to remember. Much of the time, I leave a restaurant thinking dessert was a waste of time, money and calories, and you'd be better off making a boxed brownie mix at home. The problem begins with the fact that many restaurants don't make their own desserts; they buy them from outside vendors. This alone wouldn't necessarily be an issue (and isn't in some places); many times the real issue is freshness. Often the desserts sit around for so long that by the time they get to you, the cakes wind up being gummy, the pies stale and old-tasting. Many of the warm desserts are frozen individual portions warmed to order this means there's less waste for the restaurant, but you could buy similar stuff in the freezer case at Trader Joe's for a whole lot cheaper. Carb- and calorie-consciousness often turns people away from the dessert menu, and many restaurants have also reported that the slow economy has led to fewer people ordering dessert. All of this adds to the quality issue because it decreases turnover. And, for some restaurants, dessert is a mere sideshow for which they have no time they prefer to concentrate their manpower on the appetizers and entrees. A colleague offered a theory awhile back that you only really get good desserts in fairly high-end restaurants (most of whom employ pastry chefs) or in smaller, homey, often family-run places that seem to put love and care into their sweets. So far, this has held up pretty well. "Most restaurants cannot afford a pastry chef that's given. But I do think that there are some things that they could make that would be better than what they're doing now," said Carole Walter, a renowned master baker and author of several baking cookbooks. Walter lives in West Orange, eats out nearly every night and describes the general state of desserts in North Jersey like this: "I think they're terrible."
And it's not her being a dessert snob she really likes the brownie-with-ice-cream dessert at the chain restaurant Houston's, which has a location in Hackensack's Shops at Riverside. She's also not opposed to restaurants purchasing desserts from outside vendors she says that's often the way to go with cheesecakes, which stay fresher longer than many sweets. Her issue is that so many restaurants overstretch in terms of what they offer, putting chocolate mousse cakes on the menu that are served stale, or sloppily throwing together pies and tarts that bear no resemblance to how they're supposed to turn out. And don't get her started on the ubiquitous molten chocolate cakes, which she complains are always overbaked. "If they're not willing to pay for good-quality bought cake, they should put something on menu that they're willing to do themselves," Walter said. She even has a few simple recommendations. "Pound cakes have a long shelf life," and she says you can serve them with hot fudge and ice cream for an easy dessert. Fresh fruit crisps are a fast, easy substitute to time-consuming pies or tarts and can be classed up with some crme frache. Or, she said, just serve scoops of gelato or cookies and biscotti. Simplicity has been Janice Tinari's approach to her desserts. She began making creations like her flourless chocolate cake because she has a substantial customer base with celiac disease and she wanted to know what was in everything she was serving. Soon she was making all of the sweets and getting into it, too. "I don't go for those fancy, crazy things. My desserts are more simple and straightforward," Tinari said. And to those of us accustomed to mediocrity at the end of our meals, quite a relief.
REVIEW: Charming, ambitious
bistro
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Last updated: Tuesday September 30, 2008, EDT 10:57 AM  By ELISA UNG RESTUARANT REVIEWER We had just finished the last bits of two different
but equally striking cakes — deep flourless chocolate and lemon-infused
angel food — when John Tinari approached our booth, welcomed
us and asked whether this was our first time at the Ho-Ho-Kus bistro
known as Janice. We had just finished the last bits of two different but equally striking cakes — deep flourless chocolate and lemon-infused angel food — when John Tinari approached our booth, welcomed us and asked whether this was our first time at the Ho-Ho-Kus bistro known as Janice.
It was, we said. And was he Janice's husband? He nodded. "But she doesn't talk to me anymore. She's cooking." Janice is perpetually buried deep in the kitchen, he said, even making all the desserts from scratch. He introduced the manager behind the bar as his son, David. He said he hoped we would tell others about their seven-year-old BYO. JANICE
 23 Sheridan Ave., Ho-Ho-Kus; 201-445-2666 Food: Mediterranean-influenced bistro food, homey yet at times surprisingly complex, with deftly balanced flavors. Ambience: A converted luncheonette with a dim, candlelit, mellow neighborhood pub atmosphere (minus the liquor). Service: Laid back, reasonably informed, sometimes slow. Value: Though prices are higher than many neighborhood restaurants, they’re generally a good value for the homemade quality of the food. Appetizers $6 to $10, entrées $14 to $29. Would be good for: Casual dinner with family or friends, with children or even alone. Less appropriate for: Formal dinner. Recommended dishes: The ever-changing nightly specials provide the most interesting selections. Favorites off the regular menu include linguine with white clam sauce, bistro burger, Key lime pie, flourless chocolate cake. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Liquor, wine: BYO. Noise level: Buzzing with conversation. Credit cards: AE, D, DC, MC, V. Reservations: Accepted for all days and times and all size parties. Accommodations for children: No menu, but will make accommodations, like smaller portions. Recommended dress: Casual. Early bird specials or deals: No. Takeout: Yes. Parking: Street. Rated by The Record: Sept. 26, 2008. About the ratings • Poor
In determining ratings, each restaurant has been compared with others of the same type and level of ambition. Reviewers make at least two anonymous visits to a restaurant, and The Record always pays the tab. "Hopefully you'll come back," he said, "and you'll see me." After greeting other patrons, he sat down by himself at a table with a plate and a bottle of wine and ate his own dinner. When I called later to tell them I was reviewing the restaurant, one of the first things John frantically asked was: someone greeted and welcomed us, right? After all, that's his point of personal pride.
This may sound like a cliché, but Janice really is the spot we all would hope for in our neighborhoods, where you can bring a bottle of good wine and eat as interesting and complex — or as simple and homey — a dish as you feel like; as much or as little as you want — drop in just for a burger, for instance — and most everything is satisfying and made from scratch and makes you feel like you're dining in the home of someone who can really cook. That "home" is a collision of charming elements: a converted luncheonette with tin ceilings, a dim, candlelit pub vibe and a festive mural of the Tinaris' friends and family painted by their well-known New York artist-daughter, Leah (whom you might have seen as a guest star on "The Apprentice's" first season). Feeling like an ambitious dinner? Janice's specials are the best place to focus on, though the restaurant insists on reciting them to you in a lengthy, detailed list that keeps you scrambling to keep up (this is Janice's only frustrating element, and on a night where a lot of specials sound good, it can be really, really frustrating). If you're like us, you'll plead for the waitress to repeat several items before making up your mind, but we were pleased with almost all of our selections. An arugula salad with cantaloupe chunks, shaved Parmesan, dark, salty prosciutto and a very subtle honey balsamic vinaigrette ($12) was such a well-balanced combination that we were soon pledging to copy it at home. A cool, summery cucumber soup was laced with a hint of vinegar ($8), and tender artichoke bottoms were stuffed with a mild Gorgonzola ($12). A big, flat fillet of basa, a white fish, was spiked with a Cajun-like seasoning, dolloped with a creamy sauce and accompanied by an exceptionally sweet beet salad and a less-bitter-than-usual broccoli rabe ($29). Very tender roast duck was smothered in an assertive peppercorn sauce, tempered by sweet potato fries and grilled asparagus ($29). The only special that did not impress was an overcooked halibut with a nonetheless beautiful anchovy butter ($32). The regular menu veers more toward simple food: a very thick, very dark lobster bisque served cutely with two thin breadsticks ($8), a half-dozen decent Blue Point oysters from the raw bar ($9), perfect al dente linguine in a very light white clam sauce showered in garlic slices ($17) and a smashing bistro burger with your choice of cheese ($15). We were less impressed with a bland rib-eye steak ($23) that could have been slightly fresher. Janice has been recognized for knowing her way around gluten-free preparations, and her flourless chocolate cake ($7) will make no one feel deprived of anything. The rest of her straightforward, home-style desserts are a must — Key lime pie was thick and custardy ($7), while a special – lemon-iced pistachio cake — was dense and nutty ($8). The bistro serves lunch daily and breakfast every day but Monday (there's brunch on weekends), resulting in long hours for its owners — 70 hours on a slow week for Janice, more like 100 for John and David, John says. Their wait staff is reasonably informed but can be slow and is not nearly as friendly as the clearly dedicated owners. "We're here too much," John sighs. "It's the nature of our business — you're only as good as your last meal." The exact attitude you want from your neighborhood bistro. E-mail: ung @ northjersey.com |
AMY NEWMAN
/ STAFF 
| Ridgewood News "That Janice is a family restaurant in every sense it's immediately evident when you first enter the small storefront in downtown Ho-Ho-Kus. The "family portrait," an impressive mural painted on the right-hand wall by one of the owners' daughters - an accomplished artist - depicts the many members of the colorful family who are working so hard to make their restaurant dreams come true. Most of the time, Janice's husband, John, will greet you at the door, show you to your table and check with you repeatedly throughout your meal to make sure you are happy. If there are no tables available, John will whisk you to a seat at the counter, where you will be doted on until a table opens up. The family has defined the restaurant as a "bistro" where neighbors and strangers alike are welcomed as friends and treated to home-style cooking. In transforming the luncheonette that previously occupied the space, the owners kept the casual, old-fashioned feel while adding some sophisticated touches. The banquettes and lunch counter are still there, but the lighting is muted, adding to the cozy feel. The dinner menu at Janice is appropriately limited, and there are often several specials. The kitchen shows great promise... Veal francese, a special offered another evening, was just as it should be - tender and buttery. Lobster tails fra diavolo over pasta, which appears to be a "regular" special, were flavorful but chewy, as lobster tails often are, but the pasta was perfectly cooked and contained just the right amount of spicy heat. An entree listed on the menu as peppered tuna with a gazpacho vinaigrette was not served rare as requested but was good, although the mainly tomato vinaigrette lacked punch. The daily fish special is offered blackened or oreganata. Nile perch, a fish that does come from Africa but thankfully not from the heavily polluted Nile River, was quite good one evening, the herbed oreganata coating delicious. Soups, 'which are often the benchmark for culinary skills, are a particular standout. We enjoyed both a clam chowder heaped with the mollusks and a cici bean soup that was hearty and heavenly. An appetizer of grilled calamari and shrimp over greens with an orange fennel vinaigrette was quite tasty... The antipasto plate, offered in both large and small sizes, includes a choice of several items, most notable a garlicky eggplant caponata and spicy dry sausages. This is a good choice for sharing. A special appetizer of two small salmon-and-spinach cakes was well prepared... Another special, a salad of baby greens with mandarin oranges, cranberries, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese, was just the right combination of sweet and tangy flavors. Desserts, which are all made in-house, are of the old-fashioned, familiar variety. A dark, rich chocolate Bundt cake was immensely satisfying, as was a tart Key lime pie and a luscious cheesecake. Janice is the sort of restaurant that is considered a "find" by those who have either stumbled upon the storefront or have been referred by a friend. But the word is out, and soon the couples and families that think of the place as their own may have to make reservations. In addition to dinner, Janice is open for breakfast and lunch. Tuesday-Friday the restaurant serves these as separate meals; on Saturday and Sunday they are combined as brunch. Dinner is served Tuesday-Sunday. At dinner, appetizers are $6-15, entrees $9-$24. Janice is located at 23 Sheridan Ave. in Ho-Ho-Kus" |
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HO HO KUS -- SOME restaurants, like some people, exist in their own world. Others are extroverts. Janice, a 65-seat bistro that took up residence here two years ago, is so outgoing it could just about run for mayor.
Ho Ho Kus -- spelled that way by the Postal Service, though locals prefer two hyphens -- is an affluent, somewhat reserved bedroom borough whose pleasant functional downtown has never had the fabric or street life of neighboring Ridgewood. Janice may change that through sheer force of personality. It is open all day, six days a week, with plans afoot to make that seven. It inhabits a narrow storefront space with the telltale cramped booths, long counter and chrome stools of a 1940's luncheonette -- which it was, until Janice Tinari and her husband, John, decided to set aside their careers (he was a real estate analyst, she was a caterer) and create an upscale, bring-your-own bistro. They peeled off layers of moldering tile to expose a nearly pristine hardwood floor, stained the kitschy pine paneling to a lustrous shade of cherry-mahogany, brought in tin ceilings from Manhattan's Lower East Side, hung an outsize French clock on a back wall, and set the room aglow with candlelight and fresh flowers. Their daughter Leah, a Brooklyn artist of some renown, painted a front wall with a giant, exuberant faux-naïf mural of three dozen family members, friends and relatives. By now, the old luncheonette is as beckoning as a hearth, and at weekend brunch and dinner it can be hard to get a table. Mr. Tinari -- who grew up on Arthur Avenue, still the Italian-food capital of the Bronx -- runs the front of the house with the sparkplug energy of a high school soccer coach. Mrs. Tinari, also a Bronx native (though the family has lived here for decades), presides over the kitchen and an open grill behind the old lunch counter. Though the restaurant's literature speaks of Mediterranean influences, her cooking is straight-ahead American with predictable Italian touches, as homey and unthreatening as the Johnny Mathis and early Beatles vinyl that flows from the sound system. At its best, it is very good, as in a bright and beautiful salad of impeccably fresh mesclun greens, sliced peaches, raspberries, goat cheese and candied pecans. The ingredients are bound, and their sweetness tamed, by a simple raspberry vinaigrette. Two other salads are just as fine: mesclun with goat cheese, macadamia nuts and lovely fresh figs, and spinach with mandarin orange slices, dried cranberries and a heap of fine Gorgonzola. You will note that on paper, each list of ingredients looks just a bit much. But Mrs. Tinari clearly knows just when to stop. She has a fine knack for offsetting flavors and textures. Oysters from the raw bar, well handled by a muscular young expert behind the counter, are also tinglingly fresh. A huge bowl of lobster bisque has the opposite effect: it's doubtless homemade, but the flavor is canned, and the creaminess becomes numbing. Mediterranean ingredients do surface, in the form of full-bodied, garlicky hummus, slightly smoky baba ghanouj, feta cheese and triangles of fresh pita bread on antipasto platters. Grilled shrimp and calamari may be more Adriatic than Mediterranean, but they are terrific, with a rich complement of smokiness. With one exception, main courses are more New Jersey than anything else. There are the usual veal chop, the steak with fries, the great slab of chicken breast, the aircraft-carrier-sized platters laden with the predictable pastas. (A great many of these are in the form of off-menu specials that must be listed by the waiter and memorized by the customer, a practice that ought to be prohibited by local ordinance.) The exception is Nile perch, which comes not from the Nile but from Lake Victoria in Central Africa. It is a mild tender fish, served filleted in a plate-covering slab; it would benefit from more oregano in the breading. The veal chop is a good-sized cut, flavorful if not well trimmed, helped along by a sharp green-peppercorn sauce and porcini mushrooms. While the butterflied chicken breast has little flavor of its own, it does get a hearty, vinegary overlay of artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Beef short ribs have plenty of flavor, but their stringy, fatty texture suggests that they are not of the highest quality. As for those pastas, orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe is standard fare, and a whole lobster with mussels over cappellini in Fra Diavolo sauce is simply too much food, more a chore than a pleasure. I did like tender ravioli in an earthy, creamy porcini sauce. The best desserts are Key lime pie and pecan pie. Each is fresh, restrained in its sweetness and served with a tempting cloud of whipped cream. Apple pie, zabaglione with fresh berries and a highly caloric cheesecake are all middle of the road. Something called affogato moka d'oro turns out to be a World War II-era sundae dish, filled with ice cream or gelato. You get a demitasse of espresso and pour it over the ice cream. A warning here. It is a mess. Service here is uneven. The pace can be hectic, and the young servers have an overeager "Know what you're having, guys?" mode that can grow wearying. Worse, they sometimes vanish into cluelessness; one of them asked me how I wanted the short ribs done, when there is only one answer: braised, stewed and falling off the bone. Fortunately, John and Janice Tinari do an impressive job of holding everything together. As he later told me, proudly but ruefully, the restaurant has become a 100-hour-a-week proposition for them. That is 100 hours well spent. I hope they can keep it up." Janice a Bistro |
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"At Janice in Ho-Ho-Kus" "An enchanting feeling of goodwill starts to work even before the meal begins at Janice, a little neighborhood bistro in Ho-Ho-Kus. All who enter are welcomed with open arms, raised glasses, and welcoming smiles by a whimsical mural of the owners' fun-loving, foodhungry family. This is a family-run bistro in the true sense of the word, offering satisfying, honest fare in an often lively and always warm environment. The bistro is the dream and namesake of chef-owner Janice Tinari, a professional caterer who rules the kitchen with efficient skill and a confident hand - and the essential ingredients of Mediterranean cooking. Tinari feeds her customers like family and exhibits a feverish need to please, evident from the white linen napkins on each table breakfast, lunch, or dinner - to the fresh herb- and lemon-scented pool of extra virgin olive oil served with each basket of bread. Cozy green leather booths, pressed-tin ceiling, and swivel stools at a long counter fashion the unpretentious appeal of a luncheonette while deep cherry paneling, subtle artistic lighting, and well-placed candles pitch in to create a sophisticated, warm glow about the room. Janice's husband, John Tinari, another fixture here, directs the theater of the bistro behind the counter where he tallies checks, offers opinions, and stirs an authentic egg cream. Enthusiastic and good-looking young servers, many of whom are family members, keep up the pace, listening for bell commands from the kitchen. Bring a good bottle of wine and prepare to choose from a menu of timeless, home-style French, Italian, and American classics. The menu starts with a short list of appetizers, and we sampled two. Neither tender rings of grilled calamari and shrimp ($10) nor sweet, plump, and perfectly fried oysters ($10) gathered worthy support from a humdrum, sleepy bed of mesclun salad mix. However, two appetizers from the list of specials showcased elemental flavors and fresh ingredients at their best. I loved the simplicity of the cool, crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce ($8) draped in a savory Gorgonzola dressing and topped with shards of crisp bacon, and found true happiness in a perfect salad Caprese ($8) of ripe red tomato with fresh and milky mozzarella, finished with a blanket of flawless basil leaves, drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and generous twist of fresh black peppercorns. Gazpacho ($5), the soup of the day, served at room temperature, was thick with finely diced fresh vegetables. It had a deep and earthy flavor, but was too warm to be refreshing. Market-fresh ingredients inspire daily specials. We savored a steamed fat green artichoke ($8) with a creamy goat's cheese dipping sauce one leaf at a time, and delighted in a fritto misto preparation of asparagus and zucchini ($8), sealed in a cheese batter and fried to a golden brown. The firm white fillet of orange roughy ($22) laid down a clean, fresh foundation for a colorful and robust cover of chopped green and black olives, capers, and tomatoes. Lobster served fra diavolo style ($28), a frequent special, is often made with Brazilian lobster tails, and may include shrimp and clams in a spicy sauce. We hit the jackpot with what appeared to be a full 1-1/2-pound lobster, steamed and split, heady with garlic and a clean heat soothed by a steaming bowl of linguine. Although artful presentations and international titles compose much of the menu, it must be said that Janice's bistro burger ($10), topped with cheddar, Swiss, or blue cheese, is the best hamburger I've had this side of the Hudson. And pot roast ($20), braised tender in a rich and savory sauce and served with great "smashed" potatoes, is a heaping plate of pleasure. Homemade desserts are irresistible. A weightless cloud of tangy lemon mousse ($4) is made light and fluffy with sweet whipped cream. Cheesecake ($6), an heirloom family recipe, is creamy and luscious. Rice pudding ($4) is rich with a hint of cinnamon. My plan to "just taste" the chocolate cream pie ($5) was foiled from the first silky bite to the last sweet crumb of the graham cracker crust." |
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(201) Magazine - Main Dish "It's Friday afternoon at Janice, A Bistro in Ho-Ho-Kus. In the narrow, galley-style kitchen, a large pot of aromatic winter vegetables, stock and herbs simmers on the stove, ready to pour over meaty veal shanks. After several hours, of braising, the veal will be served as tonight's osso buco special. Janice Tinari, the restaurant's owner and chef, checks on her cooks as they put the finishing touches on soups and sauces. Janice is critiquing taste and texture to make sure everything that will be served to her customers has her stamp of approval. She understands that consistency is vital to a restaurant's success, so too is staff who will do things her way. |
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