New Jersey Fine (?) Dining
If you happen to like quality food, in less excessive quantities or with more sophisticated features than the usually good but basic food at the ‘Family’ restaurants, try a ‘Fine Dining’ restaurant. Don’t expect the same kind of quality or service you find in Europe, however.
Even after three-hundred years of practice opportunity, and despite their effort to resemble a stylish European (often French) restaurant, none of the NJ Fine Dining restaurants we visited were able to serve the food in a ‘proper’ way.
They will completely empty wine bottles in your glass, frequently provide you with incorrect eating tools, mistake between red and white wine glasses, or serve the food in the wrong order (e.g. coffee before dessert).
You just have to endure this. In compensation for this treatment, they will charge you about 100% more than the family style restaurants. There are no alternatives, except going to the City. There, you will find restaurants where the owners and servers know what good quality service and food is all about, often starting at a much more reasonable price.
From the City perspective, NJ is seen as uneducated and snobbish. These overpretentious ‘Fine Dining’ restaurants are often unfriendly to children and will probably complain about their behaviour, while the ‘fine diners’ around you will cut and eat their food with a fork, will talk while having food in their mouth, or chew their food with open mouth. We’ve tried several ‘Fine Dining’ restaurants in the East and Middle NJ area. Positive points are for the Stage House Inn in Scotch Plains. They have their little problems with wine service, but the quality of food and friendliness is good. Lowest on the scale was ‘La Petite Rose’ in our home town Westfield, with food without fantasy, unprofessional service, and child-hostile management offered for exceptional prices. Our Manhattan friends are right: Stay in the City if you want a good meal.