Alcohol: BYO
Take out: Yes
Review
Special Rolls
Morristown’s Sushi Lounge, a chain with two other NJ locations in Hoboken and Totowa, has black lacquered tables, a chic bar, and an elevated DJ booth. I’m sure many people go for the slick downtown vibe, but you should also go for some very good sushi and Japanese-inspired food.
There are actually two bars in this large, well-designed space, the bar and the sushi bar, each with counter seating. The sushi, sashimi, chirashi and rolls off the extensive sushi menu feature high quality, fresh fish. The rolls range from the usual spicy tuna and California (crabstick, avocado, cucumber and masago (capelin roe)) to the outlandish: Optimistic (tuna, salmon, avocado, masago and tempura flakes wrapped in soy paper), Spicy Banana Tempura and Jalapeno Salmon. The Angry Dragon roll I ordered (lobster, asparagus, mango and scallions topped with eel, avocado and spicy jalapeño-mango sauce) could have been angrier for my taste.
Japanese Risotto
The best dish we ate, however, was the “Japanese Risotto” appetizer, a fantastic mound of lump crab, shrimp, shitake mushrooms, edamame & rice, flavored with parmesan cheese and truffle oil. Other winners are the Shrimp Shumai and Seared Scallops served on a flaming plate. Kitchen entrees on the menu include Salmon Katsu, teriyaki, ramen, udon and hibachi.
Fried Ice Cream
If you don’t mind the extra calories, try the dessert. Fried ice cream with three different sauces is very good, and popular with the kids.
Uni and Hamachi
Take out: Yes
Review
Filet Mignon Kebab with Basmati Rice
Persian food is unique within the broad category of “Middle Eastern” cuisine. Morristown’s Marjan is on the short but growing list of New Jersey restaurants serving authentic Persian specialties.
On the menu, you’ll find dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), various kebabs (chicken, lamb, ground meat, filet mignon and even cornish hen), basmati rice dishes like Shirin Polo (with saffron, almonds, orange peel, carrots and pistachios), and hearty stews like Koresht-e-Fesenjoon (chicken with pomegranate sauce and crushed walnuts). The hummus we started with was less seasoned than we like it. The kebabs are much better, served with fluffy saffron-flavored rice. The slow cooked lamb shank braised in tomato sauce, however, was the big winner at our table.
Braised Lamb Shank
A comfortable spot with friendly service, Marjan is a small, family-run storefront that’s BYO. It’s easy to grab a bottle of wine a few stores down to enjoy with your meal.
Links
Links
- Author: Anthony
- Published: Mar 12th, 2011
- Category: Colombian, Food, South American
- Author: Anthony
- Published: Oct 10th, 2010
- Category: Didn't Like, Food, Indian, Review
Review
- Part of a restaurant group that includes Moghul and Ming in Edison, Mehndi serves refined Indian food in an upscale setting. The food is very good, but nothing we tried stands out, especially compared to the intensely flavored Indian dishes we’ve enjoyed at lower-brow Jersey Indian restaurants. Morristown’s Mehndi seems to ratchet down the spice for its largely non-Indian clientele. The dining room is beautiful and the service solicitous, consistent with the high prices. The entrance, at the end of an office building hallway, is an awkward round room where one hostess station greets diners for both Mehndi and the attached pan-Asian Ming II. “Your restaurant this evening is behind door #2.” It feels like Epcot Center.
Mehndi, like Chengdu 46, demonstrates the unreliability of popular New Jersey restaurant rankings. Expensive ethnic food doesn’t mean New Jersey’s best ethnic food. Mehndi is the New Jersey Monthly 2010 critics’ pick for best Indian restaurant in New Jersey and Zagat’s #2. Is it the small sample size that gives this place a high Zagat rating every year? More Jersey Indian food fans should make the trip south on 287 to Middlesex County to do some taste testing.
Links
