This region running along the Garden State Parkway is a curious contradiction. It’s undoubtedly planted firmly in New Jersey’s densely populated Northeastern Gateway region, but it has enough parks, public gardens, nature preserves, cultural attractions, and historic sites—even a national wildlife refuge—to make you feel like you’re far from one of the country’s most densely populated metropolitan areas.
This was the homeland of the Lenni-Lenape before Dutch settlers moved in and carved the landscape into farmland in the 17th and 18th centuries. A passenger-rail line was built through the region in the 1890s, bringing wealthy New Yorkers who came to the rolling hills for a respite from the rigors of fast-paced city life. Many chose to stay, building so many grand country estates in the hills that the area earned a legendary reputation as the Newport of New Jersey. Today, Somerset and Essex counties are peppered with wealthy suburbs like Montclair, Summit, Glen Ridge, Maplewood, South Orange, and Short Hills. Visitors looking for luxe accommodations head to the Hilton at Short Hills, or to Summit’s Grand Summit Hotel, a highbrow Tudor-style country accommodation built at the site of The Blackburn House, which was the place for a genteel 19th-century getaway.
You can spend days trying to see all of the well-preserved historic sites and top-rate museums. In Ho-Ho-Kus, the Hermitage is a restored 18th-century stone manor and national historic landmark that counts George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, James Madison, and Aaron Burr among its distinguished guests. The lush gardens surrounding the 18th-century Durand-Hedden House in Maplewood boast one of the largest collections of herbs in the Northeast. In Fair Lawn, the Garretson Farm County Historic Site was the location of a forge and furnace that operated well before the American Revolution; today it’s a living-history museum of the early Dutch colonial period. There’s a museum in Montclair devoted to baseball great and hometown hero Yogi Berra, and a national historic site in West Orange at the site of Menlo Park, Thomas Edison’s famous invention factory, where he developed the motion picture camera, incandescent light bulb, and 1,000 other patented machines and gadgets.
Perched alongside the Great Falls of the Passaic River is Paterson, New Jersey’s third-largest city and the nation’s first planned industrial city. It was the vision of Alexander Hamilton, who first saw the thundering falls when he visited the area in the 18th century with George Washington. In 1778, Hamilton proposed that a city be built of industries that could harness the tremendous waterpower at the 77-foot falls. In terms of volume, it’s the second-largest waterfall east of the Mississippi. The city was established a few years later and named for New Jersey governor William Paterson. It quickly earned the nickname Silk City, known for its silk- and textile-manufacturing plants as well as its locomotive industries. In 1906, Cooke Locomotive Works produced the locomotive that helped build the Panama Canal. Later, the Silk City Diner Company produced the ubiquitous shiny chrome diner cars that were scattered along roadsides throughout New Jersey and around the country. The modern-day submarine and the Colt revolver were also developed here.
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Hundreds of Paterson’s original buildings were destroyed by fire and flood in the early 1900s, but a historic district was established to preserve the remaining mills and houses from the city’s manufacturing heyday. The Paterson Museum has a permanent exhibit on the city’s industrial past, while the American Labor Museum honors the thousands of working-class immigrants who powered the mills. Paterson’s industrial landscape inspired artists, including the poet William Carlos Williams, who immortalized the city in his writings; Beat-generation icon Allen Ginsberg, who was a Paterson native; Edward Hopper, who painted it; and Jack Kerouac, who made references to the city in his seminal novel On the Road. Today Paterson’s residents represent more than 75 ethnic groups. Naturally, the city’s restaurants are a melting pot of exotic cuisines, from Lebanese and West Indian to Creole and Turkish.
Montclair is affluent and artsy, and visitors shouldn’t miss a stroll down eclectic Bloomfield Avenue, shopping and dining along Church Street, an afternoon at the Montclair Art Museum, or a performance in the community’s summer parks concert series that attracts international musicians. Plainfield is home to New Jersey’s oldest community symphony orchestra as well as the Plainfield Shakespeare Garden, one of only a few gardens dedicated to the Bard in the United States. In Upper Montclair, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is a National Historic Trust Site with 100,000 plants that erupt into a spectacular springtime show. Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse was founded in the 1930s as one of America’s first regional theaters; today it’s New Jersey’s official state theater, offering Broadway-caliber musicals and plays.
Essex County’s network of 26 parks and reservations is America’s first county park system, the 19th-century vision of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., whose pièce de résistance was New York City’s Central Park. His sons, the famous Olmsted brothers design duo, helped their father with the pioneering project. South Reservation, tucked between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Range, includes a zoo, skating rinks, and three public golf courses. Eagle Rock Reservation is known for its spectacular views of the New York City skyline, and for Highlawn Pavilion, one of the top gourmet restaurants in the state. Union County maintains the Watchung Reservation, a 1,000-acre wooded preserve near the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 7,600 acres of federally protected wetlands less than 30 miles from Times Square. The refuge is the result of efforts by a local environmental group who fought the proposed development of an airport here in the 1970s. The Great Swamp isn’t a swamp, per se, but rather a mix of meadows, marshes, woodland, brush-filled swamps, and wetlands. The diverse habitat is home to a variety of wildlife, from fox and deer to more than 250 species of native birds.
Entries in this section are arranged in roughly geographic order, from north to south.
AREA CODES 732, 908, 201.
GUIDANCE A state welcome center (201-391-5737) is located at mile marker 172 on the Garden State Parkway northbound in Montvale. You’ll find all sorts of helpful travel literature here, from brochures to maps, and a knowledgeable staff to field your questions.
The Somerset County Chamber of Commerce operates a visitors center (908-725-1552) at 360 Grove St. (at Rt. 22) in Bridgewater.
GETTING THERE By air: Newark Liberty International Airport (973-961-6000; 888-397-4636; www.panynj.com) in Newark is served by more than 40 major carriers. AirTrain Newark (888-397-4636; www.airtrainnewark.com) provides rail service between airport terminals and mass transit, including New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains as well as New York’s and Newark’s Penn Stations. John F. Kennedy International Airport (718-244-4444; www.kennedyairport.com) and LaGuardia International Airport (718-533-3400; www.laguardiaairport.com) in New York City are both close to the Northeastern Gateway region.
By rail: Amtrak (800-872-7245; www.amtrak.com) serves Penn Station in Newark. New Jersey Transit (973-275-5555; 800-955-2321; www.njtransit.com) commuter trains reach many communities in this region. The Bergen County and Main lines run to Hoboken, where PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) train service (800-234-7284; www.panynj.com) continues on to Manhattan. The Morris & Essex and the Montclair–Boonton lines go directly to Penn Station in Manhattan.
By bus: Greyhound (800-231-2222; www.greyhound.com) stops at the Short Line terminal in Ridgewood and makes limited-service stops (no terminal) in Waldwick, Ramsey, Mahwah, Ho-Ho-Kus, and Allendale. From there, New Jersey Transit buses and commuter trains head into the suburbs.
By car: The Garden State Parkway runs from north to south along the eastern edge of this region. Other major highways include I-287, which cuts a wide arc around the New York City metropolitan region from New York State (and the Tappan Zee Bridge) to the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) in Edison. I-80 and I-78 start in this region and run east–west across northern New Jersey to Pennsylvania.
GETTING AROUND Taxis: Madison Livery (973-377-6843) in Madison, Paterson Area Taxi (973-628-8333), and Wayne Taxi & Limo (973-742-5808) in Wayne; and West Orange & Orange Taxi (973-672-5252) and Eagles Taxi Service (973-675-3017) in Orange serve the region.
Bus services: New Jersey Transit (800-772-2222; www.njtransit.com) buses serve the entire region.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY Chilton Memorial Hospital (973-831-5000), 97 West Pkwy., Pompton Plains. The emergency number is 973-831-5111.
Wayne General Hospital (973-942-6900), 224 Hamburg Tpke., Wayne. The emergency number is 973-956-3300.
Barnert Hospital (973-977-6600), 680 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy., Paterson. The emergency number is 973-977-6603.
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center (973-754-2000), 703 Main St., Paterson. The emergency number is 973-754-2222.
The Valley Hospital (201-447-8000), 223 North Van Dien Ave., Ridgewood. The emergency number is 201-447-8300.
Union Hospital (908-687-1900), 1000 Galloping Hill Rd., Union. The emergency number is 908-687-1900.
To SeeCOLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Many area colleges and universities have art exhibits, concerts, lectures, and cultural events in theaters, arts centers, and galleries that are open to the public. They include Drew University (973-408-3000; www.drew.edu), Madison; William Paterson University (877-978-3923; www.wpunj.edu), Wayne; Montclair State University (973-655-4000; www.montclair.edu), Montclair; Seton Hall University (973-761-9000; www.shu.edu), South Orange; Ramapo College (201-684-7500; www.ramapo.edu), Mahwah; and Fairleigh Dickinson University (201-692-2000; www.fdu.edu), Teaneck.
HISTORIC HOMES Dey Mansion (973-696-1776), 199 Totowa Rd., Wayne. Open Wed.–Fri. 1–4; Sat. and Sun. 10–4; closed Mon. and Tues. Admission $1; children under 10, free. George Washington used this brick and fieldstone Georgian-style mansion as his military headquarters in 1780 during the American Revolution. One of the home’s front rooms served as his office, where he met with his aides and worked on battle strategy. While Washington and his personal guards stayed in the house, thousands of Continental soldiers camped in tents on the property. Although his wife, Martha, stayed with him at times during the war, on this occasion she stayed at the Ford Mansion in Morristown. The circa-1740 home, built by Dirk Dey and son Colonel Theunis Dey, contains period artifacts and Queen Anne- and Chippendale-style furnishings.
Van Riper–Hopper House (973-694-7192), 533 Berdan Ave., Wayne. Open by appointment; admission by donation. A handsome Dutch Colonial farmhouse built in 1786 by Uriah Van Riper is the headquarters of the Wayne Historical Commission and the Wayne Township Museum. It’s a fine example of the early New Jersey architecture typical of this region in the 1700s. The original six fireplaces are still here, as are the wide-plank floors, rough-cut hand-hewn beams, and thick fieldstone walls. Also on the property is the Mead–Van Duyne House, a circa-1740 stone Colonial farmstead that was moved here to save it from a highway construction project. A six-lane highway—Route 23 South—now passes over its original site.
MONTCLAIR ART MUSEUM
(973-746-5555; www.montclair-art.org), Three South Mountain Ave., Montclair. Open Wed.–Sun. noon–5; closed Mon., Tues., and major holidays; reduced summer hours. Adults $12; seniors and students $10; children 11 and under, free. This stately Greek Revival–style building houses permanent and changing exhibits of top-notch American and Native American art in New Jersey’s first public museum, which opened in 1913. There’s an excellent representation of 18th- and 19th-century American artists, including impressionists Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, and Montclair native George Inness. In the 1800s, the Newark-born landscape artist was known for his rural scenes, especially the hill country in the Delaware Water Gap region and the countryside around Montclair. His early landscapes were influenced by his association with the 19th century Hudson River school of painters, famous for their dramatic vistas of New York’s Hudson River valley and the western frontier. Later he developed his own signature style, what he called “civilized landscapes,” hazy, dreamlike images that emphasized the serenity of nature but also contained a human element—a house or a barn, perhaps—that implied the presence of people.
(201-445-8311; www.thehermitage.org), 335 N. Franklin Tpke., Ho-Ho-Kus. Guided tours Wed.–Sun. 1–4; the last tour leaves at 3:15 PM. Closed Mon., Tues., and major holidays. Adults $5; seniors $4; children 6–12 $2; 5 and under, free. The original dwelling, a circa-1740 brownstone, was built by high-ranking British military officer James Prevost, who counted George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, James Madison, and Aaron Burr among his distinguished guests. In July 1778 General Washington used the home as his military headquarters, where he and his Continental troops regrouped after the bloody battle of Monmouth. Following the death of Captain Prevost, Burr married Prevost’s widow, Theodosia, here in 1782. Local industrialist and physician Elijah Rosegrant (from the Dutch, Rosenkrantz) purchased the home in 1807; his son, Elijah Rosecrantz Jr., transformed it into the Gothic Revival–style manor that stayed in the family for 163 years, until 1970. Today, the whimsical gingerbread-style stone house is a national historic landmark, and the only restored 18th-century structure in Bergen County. Displays of clothing, furnishings, personal items, and documents are a window into the Rosencrantzes’ high-class Victorian-era lifestyle. A museum shop sells gifts and reproductions. Vintage auto festivals, crafts and antiques shows, and military encampments and reenactments are held on the grounds throughout the year.
Grover Cleveland House (973-226-0001), 207 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell. Open Wed.–Fri. 9–6; Sat. 9–5; Sun. 1–6; closed Mon., Tues., and major holidays. Free admission. This is the birthplace of America’s 22nd and 24th president, born on March 18, 1837. Grover Cleveland was a man of firsts: the first Democrat elected after the Civil War, the only U.S. president elected to two nonconsecutive terms, the only president born in New Jersey, the first one to marry in the White House, and the first to publicly admit to fathering an illegitimate child. He moved to Princeton following his presidency in 1897, and is buried in Princeton Cemetery.
Durand-Hedden House and Garden (973-763-7712), Grasmere Park, 523 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood. Limited hours; phone ahead. A restored circa-1790 farmhouse on 2 acres with one of the largest collections of herbs in the Northeast. When Ebenezer Hedden bought the property around 1740, it encompassed more than 70 acres; his son Obadiah built a farmhouse here after the American Revolution. It’s part of the present house, including the kitchen, with its original sandstone fireplace and reconstructed beehive oven, and an upstairs bedroom. His son Henry bought the house in 1812; it was then passed on to his son James Madison Durand, a prominent Newark jeweler, who introduced the decorative Greek Revival and Italianate features—peaked gables with rounded-top windows and the ornate front doorframe. These were added in the mid-1800s, around the time that the front room, porch, back parlor, and bedrooms were constructed. The award-winning Victorian flower and herb garden is maintained by the Maplewood Garden Club, and is the setting for an annual summertime garden party, tours, educational programs, and open-house events.
HISTORIC SITES 130 in “The Southern Gateway” for a description of the Edison National Historic Site, located in West Orange.
Garretson Farm County Historic Site (201-797-1775; www.garretsonfarm.org), 402 River Rd., Fair Lawn. Open Sun. 1–4. The Garretson forge and farm is one of Bergen County’s oldest historic sites. It was established half a century before the American Revolution by one of the first Dutch families to settle and farm the region. The sandstone house was built in 1719, and six generations of the Garretson family resided on the sprawling farm along the banks of the Passaic River. Today the remaining 2-acre site is a living-history museum of the early Dutch colonial period; the original sections of the house show the crude building methods and materials of the time—the sandstone blocks were held together with a mortar made from river mud and straw, and the pipes were made of clay. The carriage house was built in the 1800s, and the gambrel roof was added at the turn of the 20th century. Special events include programs on colonial horticulture, agriculture, and crafts.
GREAT FALLS NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK DISTRICT
Paterson’s historic landmark district is a nod to its rich manufacturing heritage and proud history as the first planned industrial city in America. The Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.) was founded in 1791 to develop Alexander Hamilton’s vision of an industrialized nation. Massive factories and millraces were built along the banks of the Passaic River to harness the tremendous waterpower of the Great Falls, where a billion gallons a day tumble over a 77-foot cliff. By the 19th century, Paterson’s mills were producing, silk, cotton, bricks, jewelry, and shoes; more than 6,000 locomotives were built (second only to the number produced in Philadelphia); and Samuel Colt was manufacturing his famous revolvers in the city’s Old Gun Mill. Thousands of immigrants came to the “Silk City” to work on the factory floors for low wages as mill owners got rich.
Paterson’s 118-acre industrial historic site includes the city’s Beaux-Arts-style city hall, the Phoenix mill complex, the 19th-century home of silk manufacturer John Ryle, the 1835 Benjamin Thompsen House, and the Thomas Rogers Locomotive Erecting Shop, home to the Paterson Museum (973-321-1260; www.thepatersonmuseum.org), Two Market St. The museum is open Tues.–Fri. 10–4; Sat. and Sun. 12:30–4:30; closed Mon. and holidays. Adults $2; children free. Exhibits reflect the evolution of Paterson’s 19th century heyday as one of America’s leading industrial centers. They tell the story of inventor and local schoolteacher John Holland, “the Father of the Modern Submarine,” who produced two experimental subs here. The hulls are part of the museum’s permanent collection, as are exhibits on mineralogy (including New Jersey’s famous fluorescent minerals in a replica mine), local archaeology, and 200,000 photographs and negatives. Changing exhibits feature the work of local and regional contemporary artists.
Hamilton never got to see his dream come true—he was shot and killed in a duel with longtime political and personal rival Aaron Burr in 1804. A memorial statue of Hamilton stands overlooking the Great Falls.
THE GREAT FALLS OF THE PASSAIC RIVER INSPIRED FOUNDING FATHER ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S VISION OF TURNING PATERSON INTO AMERICA’S FIRST PLANNED INDUSTRIAL CITY, FOLLOWING HIS CREATION OF THE SOCIETY OF USEFUL MANUFACTURES (S.U.M.) IN 1791.
Photo courtesy of Joe Costa
MUSEUMS See also Paterson Museum (See sidepar, these pages).
American Labor Museum (973-595-7953), Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood St., Haledon. Open Wed.–Sat. 1–4; closed Sun.–Tues. and holidays (open on Labor Day). Adults $1.50; children, free. This 1908 Victorian home with restored period rooms is a national historic landmark, with exhibits, photos, artifacts, and a research library that trace Paterson’s industrial history and labor-union past, and the culture of its working-class citizens. Pietro and Maria Botto were Italian immigrants who worked in Paterson’s silk mills in the early 20th century. In 1913 the massive Paterson Silk Strike put 20,000 mill employees out of work; the Botto home was the nerve center where union leaders would rally the hardworking immigrants that ran the mills.
(973-247-0085; www.lambertcastle.com), Three Valley Rd., Paterson. Open Wed.–Sun. 1–4. Adults $3; seniors $2; children 12–18, $1.50. Grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk; the research library is open by appointment. The opulent 19th-century estate of silk baron Catholina Lambert is now home to the Passaic County Historical Society. Lambert built this monument to his success high atop Garrett Mountain, where it could stand sentinel over the “Silk City” mills where his vast fortune was taking shape. When his sandstone and granite home was built in 1892, it was modeled after Warwick Castle, one of many royal estates Lambert often saw as a boy in England. The future tycoon was the son of poor cotton-mill workers, and seeing the castles perched above humble homes like his own inspired him to pursue success in America, where the dream of building his own castle could come true. Visitors can tour the castle and see period rooms, local-history exhibits, and Lambert’s impressive collection of European artwork.
Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center (973-655-2378; www.yogiberramuseum.org), Montclair State University, Eight Quarry Rd., Little Falls. Open Wed.–Sun. noon–5 (until 7 during New Jersey Jackals home games); closed Mon., Tues., and major holidays. Adults $6; students $4; children 4 and under, free. If you’re heading to a New Jersey Jackals baseball game, arrive early and spend some time at this worthwhile site. It’s a museum dedicated to Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra’s stellar career. He began as one of baseball’s greatest catchers in the 1950s and was a 15-time All-Star and a three-time Most Valuable Player; later he did a stint as a major-league manager for the Yankees and the Mets. The museum features nostalgic memorabilia-filled displays on the history of baseball, the story of the New York Yankees, New Jersey’s role in the history of major-league baseball, and, of course, the longtime Montclair resident who coined such familiar phrases as “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Israel Crane House Museum (973-744-1796), 108 Orange Rd., Montclair. Open for guided tours Fri. and Sat. 1–4; Sun. 2–5. Adults $5; children 10 and under, $2. A handsome 1796 Federal-style mansion—one of the few remaining in northern New Jersey—is not just a museum; it also includes a 19th-century general store and post office, a farmhouse, a library, and herb and flower gardens. Montclair founding father Israel Crane was known as King Crane, not only for building the first toll road into central New Jersey but also for his role as a prominent local tycoon. He ran several mills, a general store, and prosperous brownstone quarries, and built the mansion—which was quite opulent by 18th-century standards—when he was only 22. Three generations of the Crane family lived here; the Ionic columns and other Greek Revival details were added circa 1840. Rooms contain 18th- and 19th-century furniture, rugs and quilts, paintings, tools, and household items—even an 1816 painted bedroom set owned by Paul Revere. Special events include open-hearth cooking and beehive oven baking demonstrations in the reconstructed vintage kitchen.
Whippany Railway Museum (973-887-8177; www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net), One Railroad Plaza, Whippany Rd. and Rt. 10 W., Whippany. Open Apr. to mid-Oct., Sun. noon–4, and select days in December; phone ahead for a schedule of seasonal train excursions and to make a reservation. Admission to the museum and grounds: Adults $1; children 11 and under, 50 cents. New Jersey’s railroad history is on display in changing exhibits of railroad artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, and rare documents—even antique train bells and whistles—in a restored turn-of-the-20th-century freight house. The Whippanong Valley Railroad, a 30-foot-long model-train layout, is one of the largest such exhibits in New Jersey. Outside in the old Morristown & Erie Railway yard is a 1942 steam engine built for the U.S. military, historic locomotives, restored passenger cars and cabooses, and coal loaders. The museum offers seasonally themed train rides through scenic Morris County aboard their enclosed passenger cars and a 1940s-era parlor car pulled by a vintage diesel-powered locomotive. Annual excursions include the Easter Bunny Express, Halloween Express, and the Santa Claus Special, with Santa and his elves on board.
Museum of Early Trades and Crafts (973-377-2982; www.metc.org), Main St. (Rt. 124) and Green Village Rd., Madison. Open Tues.–Sat. 10–4; Sun. noon–5; closed Mon. Adults $5; seniors, students, and children $3; children 5 and under free. A unique museum recognizing the art of ordinary people—18th- and 19th-century craftsmen and craftswomen—in preindustrial New Jersey. The permanent collection includes an exhibit of rural New Jersey farm life in the early 1800s, another on the history of blacksmithing (which goes back about 3,000 years), and displays featuring local 19th-century tradesmen, including a cabinetmaker, cooper, distiller, and shoemaker. The museum shop sells children’s toys and books, handcrafted pottery and glass, and other crafts.
Tunis-Ellicks Historic House and Museum (973-292-0161), Village and Millbrook roads, New Vernon. Limited hours; phone ahead. The Harding Historical Society maintains this circa-1800 farmhouse as a museum depicting life on a typical 19th-century New Jersey farm. A re-creation of an authentic 19th-century parlor garden surrounds the house with 120 varieties of perennials and herbs.
Liberty Hall Museum (908-527-0400; www.kean.edu/libertyhall), Kean University, 1003 Morris Ave., Union. Open Wed.–Sat. 10–4, Sun. noon–4; closed major holidays. Call for a schedule of guided tours. Adults $10; seniors $8; students $5; children two and under, free. This stately 1772 mansion—built by William Livingston, New Jersey’s first governor—and 23 manicured acres of lawns, formal English gardens, and ponds is a national historic site that doubles as a rare oasis in this heavily developed part of the New York City metropolitan region. Seven generations of the royal governor’s family occupied the magnificent house for 225 years. The Georgian-style manor–turned–Victorian Italianate mansion hosted such illustrious guests over the centuries as George and Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ulysses S. Grant, as well as several 20th-century U.S. presidents. The visitors center in the restored 18th-century Blue House has an orientation video that’s worth seeing before you explore the museum. Exhibits trace New Jersey history and the history of the family from the colonial era to the early 20th century. Exquisitely restored rooms are furnished with art, antiques, and memorabilia. Some of the original outbuildings still stand, including a wagon shed, carriage house, and icehouse, all filled with artifacts.
GENERATIONS OF THE LIVINGSTON AND KEAN FAMILIES HAVE LIVED AT LIBERTY HALL SINCE 1772, WHEN THE GEORGIAN MANSION WAS BUILT BY WILLIAM LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY’S FIRST GOVERNOR.
Photo courtesy of Liberty Hall Museum
ZOO Turtle Back Zoo (973-731-5800; www.turtlebackzoo.com), 560 Northfield Ave., West Orange. Open daily 10–3:30; extended hours during the summer. Adults $6; children 2–12 and seniors, $3. The 2,000-acre South Mountain Reservation is home to this popular zoo—the largest in northern New Jersey—where wild and domestic animals live in their natural surroundings. Hundreds of animals representing more than 200 species inhabit the zoo, which gets its unusual name from a rock formation, located in the picnic area, that resembles a turtle shell. The resident wildlife includes timber wolves, bobcats, penguins, monkeys, cougars, prairie dogs, birds of prey, and black bears. Children love the petting zoo with barnyard animals and pony rides, and the miniature-train ride through the reservation.
To DoAMUSEMENT PARK Bowcraft Playland (908-389-1234; www.bowcraft.com), 2545 Rt. 22 W., Scotch Plains. Open Apr.–Oct.; closed Nov.–Mar. The arcade is open daily year-round. Free admission to the park; tickets must be purchased for the rides. An old-fashioned amusement park that’s ideal for younger children and families. Amusement rides, a video arcade, mini golf, a miniature-train ride, games of chance, and a food court are among the attractions.
GOLF The Northeastern Gateway region’s suburban sprawl is surprisingly dotted with many well-regarded public 18-hole golf courses. Most have a clubhouse with a snack bar or a restaurant, a pro shop, and instruction or practice facilities. They include Darlington Golf Course (201-327-8770), 277 Campgaw Rd., Mahwah; High Mountain Golf Club (201-891-4653), 845 Ewing Ave., Franklin Lakes; Sunset Valley Golf Course (973-835-1515), 47 West Sunset Rd., Pompton Plains; Passaic County Golf Course (973-881-4921), 207 Totowa Rd., Wayne; Meadows Golf Club (973-696-7212), 79 Two Bridges Rd., Lincoln Park; Francis Byrne Golf Course (973-736-2306), 1100 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange; Pinch Brook Golf Course (973-377-2039), 234 Ridgedale Ave., Florham Park; New Jersey National Golf Club (908-781-2575), 579 Allen Rd., Basking Ridge; East Orange Golf Club (973-379-7190), 440 Parsonage Hill Rd., Short Hills; Ash Brook Golf Course (908-756-0414), 1210 Raritan Rd., Scotch Plains; Oak Ridge Golf Course (732-574-0139), 136 Oak Ridge Rd., Clark; and Green Knoll Golf Course (908-722-1300; 908-722-1301), 587 Garretson Rd., Bridgewater.
HIKING Ramapo Valley County Reservation (201-825-1388), Rt. 202, Mahwah. A network of hiking trails connects a series of lakes in this 3,300-acre tract of wooded terrain. For an easy walk, follow the trail around Scarlet Oak Pond; for a challenge, take the trail up Rocky Mountain to Bear Swamp Lake, a remote mountaintop lake. Pick up a trail map at the park entrance.
Eagle Rock Reservation (973-268-3500), West Orange. Bridle paths and hiking trails lace this wooded Essex County park in the Watchung Mountains. Mostly easy to moderate hiking trails lead to stunning views of Manhattan, from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the George Washington Bridge. As its name implies, Lookout Point provides visitors with a spectacular view of the New York City skyline, including the George Washington Bridge and the Empire State Building.
South Mountain Reservation (973-268-3500), West Orange and Millburn. This is an inviting forest with surprisingly rough terrain, considering its location at the heart of suburbia. Most visitors stick to the 27-mile network of gravel carriage roads, which are easy to follow and make for rewarding hiking. There are 19 miles of trails—the yellow-blazed Lenape Trail and the white-blazed Rahway Trail—which are inconsistently marked and sometimes hard to follow. First-time visitors should contact the park for guidance before heading out on the trails. Highlights include panoramas from atop the Watchung ridgeline, the beautiful Hemlock Falls, and the Maple Falls Cascade, a dramatic 25-foot plunge into a steep, narrow canyon.
Watchung Reservation (908-789-3670), 452 New Providence Rd., Mountainside. A network of dirt roads, nature trails, and bridle paths winds through the Watchung Reservation. Pick up a free trail map at the Trailside Nature and Science Center; from there you can leave on a variety of hikes of varying degrees of length and difficulty. One of the most popular is the white-blazed Sierra Trail, an 8.5-mile loop that circles the reservation on dirt roads, bridle trails, boardwalks, and footpaths. Along the way, you’ll pass an 18th-century cemetery, the brick ruins of an old mill, picturesque Surprise Lake, and the deserted village of Feltville, an abandoned 19th-century mill village.
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (973-425-1222), 241 Pleasant Plains Rd., Basking Ridge. Grounds open year-round daily from sunrise to sunset; headquarters open Mon.–Fri. 8–4:30. This refuge is more popular among birders than hikers. Trails are short and easy, ideal for families with young children or those looking for a relaxing nature walk. The Orange Trail and the Red Trail are the two main mile-long trails that start behind the visitors center and follow a series of boardwalks and footpaths through marshy areas. Summertime brings a lot of people and a lot of mosquitoes; it’s wise to carry insect repellent to avoid the bugs and to visit early in the morning to avoid the crowds. The best time to hike here is at the height of the annual bird migration in the fall, when thousands of songbirds and raptors pass through.
SPECTATOR SPORTS New Jersey Jackals (973-746-7434; www.jackals.com), Yogi Berra Stadium, Montclair State University, One Hall Dr., Little Falls. Games are played from late May to mid-Sept. This is the smallest minor-league ballpark in New Jersey, and the only one named for a person. The stadium and outfield lawn have seating for 7,000 spectators. The adjacent Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center (see To See—Museums) is a good stop before the game.
Somerset Patriots (908-252-0700; www.somersetpatriots.com), Commerce Bank Ballpark, One Patriots Park (off E. Main St.), Bridgewater. Games are played May–Sept.; call for a schedule. The Patriots are a professional minor-league baseball team in the Atlantic League. Their 6,100-seat stadium is a state-of-the-art facility with the feel of an old-fashioned ballpark; it features 20 luxury suites, an alcohol-free family section, and a picnic area that’s open before games.
STARGAZING Sperry Observatory (908-276-2730; events hotline: 908-276-7827), on the campus of Union County College, 1033 Springfield Ave., Cranford. The observatory is open to the public for free Friday-evening lectures followed by an observation session. Most talks—on various astronomy-related topics—are given by members of Amateur Astronomer, Inc., one of the largest astronomy clubs in America. The observatory’s two telescopes are among the largest telescopes on the East Coast available for amateur use.
Green SpaceGARDENS James Rose Center (201-446-6017; www.jamesrosecenter.org), 506 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood. Open for self-guided tours from mid-Apr. to Oct. Admission $8. James Rose was a leading landscape architect during the 1930s, known for his pioneering design ideas. With a plan he conceived while serving in the South Pacific during World War II, Rose built his Ridgewood main house, guesthouse, and studio in 1953. Its blend of architecture, art, and landscape—with wall murals, gardens, and an Asian-style roof garden—was revolutionary in modern American design. Rose lived here for 40 years, and after his death a foundation was established to restore and preserve the complex.
Avis Campbell Gardens (973-746-9614), 60 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair. Gardens open daily. Free admission; a fee is charged for some programs. Lovely English-style gardens maintained by volunteers from the Garden Club of Montclair—the largest garden club in New Jersey—include an herb garden, a rose garden, and a formal walled garden surrounding a central fountain. Many plants are labeled, a gesture that’s appreciated by visitors who see something they want to plant in their gardens back home.
Van Vleck House and Gardens (973-744-4752; www.vanvleck.org), 21 Van Vleck St., Montclair. Gardens are open daily 10–5. The gardens represent the work of three generations of gardeners in the Van Vleck family. The 6-acre estate is lush with azaleas, rhododendrons, and wisteria, and well-manicured formal gardens surrounding a 1916 Mediterranean-style villa.
Brookdale Park Rose Garden (973-268-3500), Brookdale Park, Grove St., between Summit and Wildwood avenues, Upper Montclair. During the month of June, close to 100 species of roses erupt in a profusion of bloom in this 121-acre suburban park on the border of Montclair and Bloomfield. The rose garden was established here in 1959 with a donation of 750 rosebushes by the North Jersey Rose Society.
Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum (973-408-3000), on the campus of Drew University, 36 Madison Ave., Madison. Pick up a trail guide at the entrance to the arboretum, located on the southwest part of Drew’s 186-acre campus. The brochure describes numbered sites along the nature trail that passes along two glacial ponds, popular stopovers for migrating herons and waterfowl. Visitors can take a self-guided walk through this serene woodland retreat, created and named for Drew faculty members Florence and Robert Zuck.
Reeves-Reed Arboretum (908-273-8787; www.reeves-reedarboretum.org), 165 Hobart Ave., Summit. Grounds are open daily, dawn to dusk. Free admission. An arboretum at the former Reeves-Reed family estate, on the National Register of Historic Places, is a center for environmental and horticultural education. The 12-acre landscape of open meadows, woodlands, and sweeping lawns surrounding formal gardens was designed in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the plantings were coordinated to deliver a succession of blooms from spring to fall. Springtime begins with a cheerful profusion of color from bulbs, wildflowers, flowering trees, rhododendrons, and azaleas. Summertime brings roses, herbs, and daylilies, while perennial beds and rock gardens put on a continuous show. There’s a botanical library, and maple syrup demonstrations in late winter and early spring.
Greenwood Gardens (973-258-4026; www.greenwoodgardens.org), 274 Old Short Hills Rd., Short Hills. Open for guided tours; reservations are required. This once-opulent private estate fell into complete neglect; today it’s one of a dozen restoration projects of the Garden Conservancy. The 22 acres includes stately Italianate gardens, grottos, and walkways.
PRESBY MEMORIAL IRIS GARDENS
(973-783-5974), Mountainside Park, 474 Upper Mountain Ave., Upper Montclair. Grounds are open daily 10–8 during the blooming season, which peaks between mid-May and mid-June. Free admission. Frank H. Presby was one of America’s leading horticulturalists and a founder of the American Iris Society, not to mention a prominent Montclair resident. He began planting irises here in 1927, and today his legacy is one of the finest collections of irises in the world. Each spring more than 40,000 irises—4,500 historic and new varieties—blanket this National Historic Trust Site in a profusion of vivid color. The gardens include tall bearded specimens; Japanese, Siberian, and dwarf varieties; and species that produce a second bloom in late September and October. Iris growers from around the world have donated plants to the gardens, which are maintained by hundreds of volunteers. Extensive written records support the history of the collection and trace some species to the 1500s. It’s believed that other varieties date back thousands of years. Special events like iris identification classes, art exhibits, and concerts take place mostly while the irises are in bloom.
Plainfield Shakespeare Garden (908-753-3000), Cedar Brook Park, Park Dr., Plainfield. The garden is open year-round but reaches its peak in early June. Plainfield’s Shakespeare Garden—one of only a few such gardens in the United States—was established in 1927 and is maintained by the Plainfield Garden Club. More than 40 flowers, herbs, and shrubs appear in the Bard’s works, and they’re all here—old-fashioned roses, peonies, herbs such as rosemary and lemon balm, and topiary-style clipped shrubs, including yew and holly. The garden features a sundial, a honeysuckle-covered arbor, and 19 flower beds edged in brick, as was customary in Shakespearean-era English gardens. Scattered throughout the plantings are markers giving the common and botanical names of each plant, plus quotations from Shakespeare’s writings about each one. The annual Shakespeare in Bloom festival features lectures, tours, and demonstrations.
NATURE CENTERS James A. McFaul Environmental Center (201-891-5571), Crescent Ave., Wyckoff. Grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk; the museum is open Mon.–Fri. 8–4:45; Sat., Sun., and holidays 1–4:45. Free admission (some programs charge a fee). An environmental center with live animals, a wildlife exhibit hall overlooking a waterfowl pond, and a full schedule of workshops, demonstrations, and programs for children and adults. Outside, nature trails wind through 81 acres of woodland, grassy hillsides, and gardens. The grounds put on a spectacular display in springtime, when some 25,000 daffodils create an explosion of color in open meadows.
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center (973-635-6629), 247 Southern Blvd., Chatham. Open daily 9–4:30. Free admission (some programs might charge a fee). A 40-acre outdoor education center on the eastern fringe of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, maintained by the Morris County Parks Commission. Hikers and bird-watchers come for the 2 miles of trails that follow footpaths and a boardwalk through the natural area. Ask about their educational programs, interesting nature activities, and guided nature walks; they offer programs for adults as well as children.
Somerset County Environmental Education Center (908-766-2489; www.somersetcountyparks.org), 190 Lord Stirling Rd., Basking Ridge. The center is open daily 9–5; trails are open year-round, dawn to dusk. Free admission. Pick up a trail map and explore some of the 8 miles of boardwalks and footpaths through this pristine natural area adjacent to the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Lord Stirling Park. The nature center is maintained by the Somerset County Parks Commission, which offers workshops, programs, and nature-themed special events, as well as environmental education classes and guided field trips.
Trailside Nature and Science Center (908-789-3670; www.ucnj.org/parks), at the Watchung Reservation, 452 New Providence Rd., Mountainside. Open daily 1–5. Admission by donation. New Jersey’s first nature center is tucked into the wooded 2,000-acre Watchung Reservation and maintained by the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation. This is a great place for families; young children love the hands-on Discovery Room with its live reptiles and interactive exhibits. There are permanent and changing displays on the food chain, geology, pond life, birds of prey, and other environmental topics. The center also has a small planetarium and a bird observation area. Outside, the 13-mile network of trails satisfies hikers, while the herb, butterfly, and wildflower gardens are ideal subjects for nature photographers.
NATURE PRESERVES Lorrimer Sanctuary (201-891-2185), 790 Ewing Ave., Franklin Lakes. The trails and visitors center are open Wed.–Fri. 9–5; Sat. 10–5; Sun. 1–5; closed Mon., Tues., and major holidays. Lucine Lorrimer donated her estate to the New Jersey Audubon Society in 1956. The 18th-century main house is a visitors center with programs on birding and photography, nature-study workshops for adults, and Saturday nature classes for children. Kids love the hands-on exhibits and interpretive displays; there’s also a well-stocked gift shop with field guides, nature-themed gifts, natural-history books, bird feeders, and T-shirts. Go outside and check out the winter bird-feeding area before heading out on the nature trails that lace through 14 acres of serene evergreen and hardwood forest.
Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary (973-376-3587; www.hartshornarboretum.org), 324 Forest Dr. South, Short Hills. Open daily from dawn to dusk. Free admission. This lovely arboretum encompasses 16 acres of native woodland habitat donated by Cora Hartshorn in 1958. Her hope was to create a nature sanctuary to raise public awareness and respect for nature and New Jersey’s native flora and fauna. Today, the sanctuary protects more than 150 species of wildflowers and rare ferns, 45 species of trees (including 275-year-old tulip trees), and 100 species of birds. The arboretum is an official monarch butterfly tagging site as well as a milkweed habitat and butterfly habitat observation site. If you’ve come here to hike, you can pick up a trail map on the door to the Stone House (stop inside to see the mounted animal and bird specimens) and head out on the 3 miles of trails that traverse hilly terrain and pass through a natural amphitheater carved by glaciers.
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (973-425-1222), 241 Pleasant Plains Rd., Basking Ridge. Grounds are open year-round, daily from dawn to dusk; headquarters are open Mon.–Fri. 8–4:30. Free admission. Morris County’s Great Swamp was formed when the Wisconsin Glacier melted and retreated some 25,000 years ago. The land was purchased by English settlers from the Delaware Indians in the early 1700s, and cleared and farmed for the next couple centuries before reverting to woods and swampland. In the 1960s the refuge was established, and the eastern half of the 7,600-acre tract became a federally designated wilderness area. It’s a prime feeding and resting area for migratory birds—more than 244 species have been seen here—and a popular spot for viewing deer, muskrats, beavers, foxes, and reptiles as well as birds. Many visitors come on spring and fall weekends to see the refuge’s wildlife. It’s far more rewarding to visit during the week, in the early morning or late afternoon. There are walking trails and boardwalks, plus a wildlife overlook and two bird blinds. Those opting to stay in the car can drive along Pleasant Plains Road, where wildlife is often seen. Guided walks, informative programs, and activities for children are hosted by Friends of the Great Swamp Refuge. There are also two environmental centers at the refuge—the Somerset Environmental Education Center and the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center—that offer nature classes and guided tours.
RESERVATIONS Eagle Rock Reservation (973-268-3500), West Orange. The mountain was named in the early 1800s, when bald eagles were said to nest in the steep cliffs. When the reservation was formed later in the century, it was kept largely undeveloped, except for a network of hiking paths and bridle trails crisscrossing the wooded terrain, and a historic cobblestone road winding up the mountain. A rustic structure built at the top is now Highlawn Pavilion (see Where to Eat—Dining Out), the park’s landmark mountaintop restaurant that’s renowned for its gourmet cuisine and stunning views of the Empire State Building and other icons on the Manhattan skyline.
South Mountain Reservation (973-268-3500), West Orange, Maplewood, and Millburn. A sprawling Essex County park, established in 1895 after a decade of political wrangling, covers 2,047 acres in the Watchung range and spreads across several communities. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a network of trails and footbridges here in the 1930s. The paths are still popular with hikers, while other visitors come for the fishing and rock climbing, or to see the wild residents of Turtle Back Zoo. There’s even a Revolutionary War–era site, high up on the mountain. General George Washington ordered the construction of a signal station that would allow his Continental army to keep tabs on British forces occupying New York City. Today an observation area at the site affords visitors a panorama of the Hudson River and New York City beyond it.
Loantaka Brook Reservation (973-326-7600), Loantaka Way, Chatham Township. This 570-acre reservation, part of the Morris County park system, was formed in the 1950s when several local property owners donated their land for public use. Loantaka, the Native American name given to the stream that runs through the park, means “place of the cold winter.” There are 5 miles of trails shared by hikers, cyclists, joggers, and equestrians; the reservation also has a recreation area with ball fields, a fitness station, a picnic area, and a playground.
Watchung Reservation (908-527-4911), 452 New Providence Rd., Mountainside. Nature trails, picnic areas, playgrounds, ponds for ice-skating, and hiking trails—all in a 2,000-acre natural setting. The beautiful pine forest was planted in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The reservation is the well-known location of the deserted village of Feltville, a settlement founded in 1845 by David Felt, a New York City entrepreneur who wanted to attract people to work in his paper mill in the Watchung Mountains. A small village of a dozen homes, and a building that functioned as a school, general store, and post office, thrived for about 30 years before it was abandoned. Remnants of the 19th-century village, including houses and a cemetery, are on the National Register of Historic Places and are undergoing restoration.
LodgingHOTELS 
Hotel Westminster (973-533-0600; 800-388-2741; www.westminsterhotel.net), 550 W. Mount Pleasant Ave. (Rt. 10 West), Livingston 07039. A full-service hotel set amid the many Fortune 500 companies in the Morristown, Short Hills, and Parsippany area. Naturally, business amenities are state-of-the-art, as are all those extras that are conducive to relaxation after a long day in the office or the boardroom. There’s a top-rate fitness center, an indoor heated pool, and massage therapies and facials in the spa. The 187 guest rooms and suites boast sophisticated and contemporary décor, with luxe touches like triple-sheeted beds, comfy duvets, feather or down pillows, plush robes, and upscale bath products. Suites have a separate parlor/dining area, and a choice of a kitchenette or an additional bedroom. Rooms and suites have oversized work areas, high-speed Internet access, fully stocked minibars, three phones, TV, and an in-room safe. Strip House serves top-notch steaks, chops, and seafood in a lavish setting. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle to the ultra-exclusive Mall at Short Hills. $199 and up.
Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center (973-377-2424; 800-321-6000; www.hamiltonparkhotel.com), 175 Park Ave., Florham Park 07932. Corporate headquarters are a dime a dozen in this part of New Jersey, and many of their clients and business associates stay here, where the around-the-clock computer center and 40 meeting rooms help them take care of business. Leisure travelers and families like to stay here, too. The 219 tastefully decorated guest rooms and suites—some boast handsome antique reproduction armoires and four-poster beds—have high-speed Internet access, work areas, and dual phone lines. The hotel sits on 13 acres of pleasantly landscaped grounds complete with walking trails, gardens, a fountain, and an in-ground pool. Inside there’s another pool, a fitness center, whirlpool tubs, saunas, and racquetball, tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts. Vanderbilts is a lively sports bar and game lounge with big-screen TVs, billiards tables, shuffleboard, and live music; STIR is a new martini and wine bar. $229 and up.
The Hilton at Short Hills (973-379-0100; 800-445-8667; www.hiltonshorthills.com), 41 John F. Kennedy Pkwy., Short Hills 07078. A luxury hotel in a parklike suburban setting, with 304 guest rooms and suites. Standard rooms are nicely furnished in pleasing natural tones and have two-line phones, plush robes, and a complimentary daily newspaper. The suites, which have a bedroom and a living room connected by a French door, come with thoughtful touches like umbrellas and lint brushes. The executive suites on the top floors are elegantly appointed and have their own concierge, as well as continental breakfast, evening hors d’oeuvres, and late-night desserts. A full-service spa pampers guests with luxurious facials, massages, and body treatments, and the state-of-the-art fitness center has a Jacuzzi tub, an indoor pool, and personal trainers. Outside there’s a tennis court and a lagoon pool with a seasonal patio bar and grill. The Hilton obviously has travelers in mind: their amenities include airport shuttles and foreign-currency exchange as well as a shoe-shine stand and airline and car-rental desks. The Terrace serves light bistro fare; The Retreat lounge serves afternoon tea. The hotel is just across the street from the upscale Mall at Short Hills, and provides a free shuttle to and from the boutiques. $275 and up.
Grand Summit Hotel (908-273-3000; 800-346-0773; www.grandsummit.com), 570 Springfield Ave., Summit 07901. A magnificent brick Tudor-style country hotel two blocks from downtown and within walking distance of the New Jersey Transit train station. In 1868 this was The Blackburn House, an elegant country resort where wealthy Manhattanites came to relax and recover from the fast pace of city life. The Summit Suburban Hotel was built at the site in 1929, just before the stock market crash. It stayed in business largely because of the ill fortune of many wealthy residents, who were forced to sell their estates and move into the hotel. European craftsmen created a stately lobby with vaulted beams, a massive stone fireplace, stained glass, and richly gleaming wood. Today, some of the 150 individually decorated guest rooms are upgraded with a fireplace and French doors; turndown service with homemade cookies is a nice touch. The Hunt Club steak and seafood grill serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. Shoppers appreciate the free shuttle to the Mall at Short Hills. $165 and up.
Olde Mill Inn (908-221-1100; 800-585-4461; www.oldemillinn.com), 225 Rt. 202, Basking Ridge 07920. A pretty country inn surrounded by a brick courtyard and landscaped grounds in a lovely country setting not far from I-287. The 102 guest rooms and two suites are spacious and comfortable, outfitted with marble baths and elegant décor. The deluxe rooms add a king four-poster bed and wet bar with microwave and refrigerator. The suites have living and dining areas, Jacuzzi tubs, and wet bars; one has a fireplace. Guests mingle and relax in common areas that are at once gracious and cozy—the formal piano lounge, the lobby with its grand circular staircase, the mahogany-paneled library, and the light-filled conservatory, where breakfast is served. The Grain House Restaurant serves traditional American cuisine for lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch in a charming 18th-century building with antiques-filled dining rooms and a convivial pub with live music on weekends. Continental breakfast. $179 and up.
Hotel Indigo Basking Ridge (908-580-1300; 877-846-3446; www.hotelindigo.com), 80 Allen Rd., Basking Ridge 07920. A newly renovated inn, formerly the Inn at Somerset Hills, with the amenities of a full-service hotel. There are 120 guest rooms, suites, and efficiencies. Standard rooms are simple and comfortable; junior suites have a bedroom, living area, and kitchenette; king suites are the roomiest accommodations, with Jacuzzi tubs, living and dining areas, and a kitchenette. Phi serves American cuisine in a contemporary setting; The Golden Bean and The Tap Room offer more casual fare. There’s a 24-hour exercise room, a library with laptop computers, guest laundry facilities, dry-cleaning services, and a free local shuttle. Continental breakfast. $150 and up.
Somerset Hills Hotel (908-647-6700; 800-688-0700; www.shh.com), 200 Liberty Corner Rd., Warren 07059. A 111-room hotel in a pleasant setting tucked into the rolling Watchung Mountains and adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary. The standard rooms, efficiencies, and Jacuzzi suites have traditional décor and thoughtful amenities; guests have use of an outdoor pool and an exercise room. The Tap Room has a full menu, a casual bar and nightly entertainment. $180 and up.
Kenilworth Inn (908-241-4100; 800-775-3645; www.kenilworthinn.com), Kenilworth Blvd. and South 31st St., Kenilworth 07033. The 112 guest rooms and suites are clean and comfortable with traditional décor and custom cherry furnishings, as well as TV, phone, refrigerator, and highspeed Internet access. The nicely landscaped grounds have an in-ground pool and a gazebo, and the Fireside Lounge serves light meals at dinner. Continental breakfast. $99 and up.
Best Western Westfield (908-654-5600; 800-688-7474), 435 North Ave. W., Westfield 07090-1433. A longtime downtown lodging within walking distance of Westfield’s charming shops and restaurants. All the standard amenities are here, with one notable addition: Chez Catherine, one of the state’s top French restaurants (see Dining Out). Continental breakfast. $140 and up.
BED & BREAKFASTS Les Saisons (973-762-3416; www.lessaisonsinn.com), 304 Elmwood Ave., Maplewood 07040. The Christensen family’s elegant circa-1840 Second Empire French Victorian offers eight antiques-filled guest rooms and suites, a comfy sitting room with fireplace, and lovely grounds that invite strolling. Full breakfast. $100–185.
The Pillars of Plainfield (908-753-0922; 888-745-5277; www.pillars2.com), 922 Central Ave., Plainfield 07060-2311. This majestic 1870 Victorian-Georgian mansion tucked behind a wrought-iron gate on parklike grounds is a secluded escape, yet convenient to many places in the Northeastern Gateway region, including Newark Liberty International Airport and Manhattan. The interior is striking, with many original features like a circular stairway, fireplaces, and stained-glass windows. There are four guest rooms, two suites, and a studio apartment (ideal for extended stays), all with private bath, phone, air-conditioning, TV and VCR, robes, and turn-down service. Each room is uniquely and thoughtfully decorated—the Clementine Yates Room is wonderfully sunny and bright—but the suites are extra-special and worth the splurge. Complimentary chocolates, cookies, and refreshments are served in addition to a full Swedish breakfast of home-baked goods. $125–190.
Where to EatDINING OUT Saddle River Inn (201-825-4016; www.saddleriverinn.com), Two Barnstable Court, Saddle River. Open for lunch Wed.–Fri.; dinner Tues.–Sat.; closed Sun. and Mon. Reservations and jackets are required at dinner. This romantic spot serving impeccable French cuisine is where people come for special occasions. It’s part of Barnstable Court, a former 19th-century country estate, and the restaurant occupies a restored mill house. The seasonally changing menu features expertly prepared and artfully presented French cuisine with Swiss touches. Appetizers might be smoked salmon with crème fraîche, or escargot baked in brandy and herb butter. Move on to the roasted filet of beef with chestnut puree, served with either roesti or spaetzle, or the Maine lobster with cognac-champagne sauce and potato gnocchi. BYOB. $29–36.
THE PILLARS OF PLAINFIELD BED AND BREAKFAST INN, AN 1870 VICTORIAN-GEORGIAN MANSION TUCKED AWAY ON A SECLUDED ACRE OF LAND IN NEW JERSEY’S BUSY NORTHEASTERN GATEWAY REGION.
Photo courtesy of Chuck Hale
The Chef’s Table (201-891-6644; www.chefstablenj.com), Franklin Square Shopping Center, 754 Franklin Ave., Franklin Lakes. Open for lunch Tues.–Fri.; dinner Tues.–Sun.; closed Mon. Reservations are required. An intimate and charming bistro serving classic French cuisine. Lobster thermidor is a signature dish, as is rack of lamb baked in puff pastry; daily specials might be bouillabaisse, cassoulet, or braised lamb shank. Crêpes, tarts, and crème brûlée for dessert. BYOB. $19–30.
Chez Catherine (908-654-4011; www.chezcatherine.com), at the Best Western Westfield (see Lodging—Hotels) 431 North Ave. W., Westfield. Open for lunch Tues.–Fri.; dinner Tues.–Sat.; closed Sun. and Mon. Chez Catherine’s fare wins high marks for authenticity and tops readers’ polls on a regular basis. The kitchen re-creates the classics with fresh ingredients and solid techniques. The short but well-executed menu features appetizers like leek soup and foie gras; entrées include osso buco and Dover sole. Service is attentive and impeccable. Prix fixe $59.
Il Capriccio (973-884-9175; www.ilcapriccio.com), 633 Rt. 10 E., Whippany. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner Mon.–Sat.; closed Sun. Reservations are recommended. Old World elegance on the outside—topiary, urns, and statues—hints at the goings-on inside. The regional Italian cuisine of chef Antonio Grande has been a local favorite for more than a decade. In the dining room, an impressive tapestry depicts Venice, and the menu is printed on exquisite Florentine paper. A signature dish is the veal tenderloin in salsa agrodolce, a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, lemon, pine nuts, and raisins. Much of the fish and shellfish is imported from the Mediterranean, and much of the produce comes from their own organic farm. Keep in mind that a meal here is a pricey proposition. $26–45.
Fascino (973-233-0350; www.fascinorestaurant.com), 331 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open for dinner Mon.–Sat.; closed Sun. Reservations are suggested, and should be made well in advance for a weekend. The seasonal cuisine in this family-run hot spot is Italian with hints of American and French, so the menu can feature just about anything. It’s near impossible to choose; as you read the menu, each dish sounds more interesting than the one before it. The sophisticated dining room and impeccable service make you feel like you’re dining in a chic private club. Entrées are a short but interesting selection of meats and seafood, and might include sage and garlic chicken breast with braised escarole and mascarpone polenta fries; or East Coast halibut with a salad of shaved fennel, kalamata olives, grapefruit, and a blood-orange reduction. Dessert shouldn’t be missed, whether it’s something homey like pistachio praline bread pudding or the decadent molten chocolate cake. BYOB. $22–29.
CulinAriane (973-744-0533; www.culinariane.com), 33 Walnut St., Montclair. Open for dinner Wed.–Sat.; closed Sun.–Tues. Reservations are recommended. Chef-owner Ariane Duarte appeared on Bravo’s Emmy-winning reality show Top Chef. Her tiny storefront restaurant features eclectic modern American cuisine. The brief but well selected seasonal menu might include pecan-crusted chicken with apricot cheddar risotto, creamy goat cheese polenta with roasted imported mushrooms, and for dessert, chocolate truffle cake with Jamaican rum custard. BYOB. $22–34.
Osteria Giotto (973-746-0111), 21 Midland Ave., Montclair. Open for lunch Mon. and Wed.–Fri.; dinner Wed.–Mon.; closed Tues. Reservations are recommended. A tiny and cozy eatery known for its generous portions of gnocchi, ravioli, and other homey Italian dishes. It can be tough to get a table at this lovely spot, aptly named for a thirteenth-century painter. Even if you have a reservation, you might have to wait (it’s worth it). BYOB. $20–35.
Epernay (973-783-0447; www.epernaynj.com), Six Park St., Montclair. Open for dinner Tues.–Sun.; closed Mon. A French bistro that’s regarded as one of the best of Montclair’s many restaurants. In a town with a solid reputation for dining, and dozens of restaurants, it’s no small feat. Daily specials range from bouillabaisse and cassoulet to braised short ribs. BYOB. $19–33.
Mesob (973-655-9000; www.mesobrestaurant.com), 515 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open Tues.–Sun. for lunch and dinner; closed Mon. At this stylish and chic eatery, diners enjoy the exotic cuisine in true Ethiopian fashion—without utensils. A mesob is the traditional small woven table that holds communal platters of food. Injera, the country’s national bread, is sometimes used to hold food; you can also tear off pieces to scoop up whatever you’re eating. The menu features many stewed meats, simmered in garlic, ginger, and berbere (Ethiopian curry), cut into pieces small enough to scoop with bread. End your meal with a cup of tea infused with cloves, ginger, and cardamom. BYOB. $14–26.
Highlawn Pavilion (973-731-3463; www.highlawn.com), Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily. Jackets are required at dinner. The former Old Casino built on an overlook in the reservation in 1911 is now one of the best gourmet restaurants in New Jersey. Spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, grand architecture, and 15th-and 16th-century antiques all blend into a romantic and elegant setting that truly can’t seem to be topped. Take away the setting, and you’re left with gourmet European cuisine that would still be worth coming for. You might start with the warm duck salad with marinated asparagus, grape tomatoes, and red currant vinaigrette, or citrus-cured Atlantic salmon with jumbo lump crabmeat and caviar. Entrées run the gamut from tamarind-glazed rack of lamb with black truffle cassoulet, to a grilled veal chop with sweet potato puree and beet salsa. Desserts are exquisite works of art, especially the key lime cheesecake mousse with pistachio syrup and berry confit. The piano bar features gourmet pizzas from the Italian brick wood-burning oven. $27–38.
Basilico (973-379-7020; www.basilicomillburn.com), 324 Millburn Ave., Millburn. Serving lunch and dinner Tues.–Sun.; closed Mon. Reservations are recommended. A stylish storefront eatery with impeccable service and decent prices. The extensive menu takes traditional northern Italian seafood, pasta, and meat dishes, and gives them a creative twist. Start with fresh mussels and clams in Pernod sauce with fennel, or their signature creamy wild mushroom soup. Next, try the calamari and shrimp over polenta, or the grilled whole Mediterranean sea bass. The house specialty is osso buco served over fettuccine. BYOB. $18–29.
Restaurant Serenade (973-701-0303; www.restaurantserenade.com), Six Roosevelt Ave., Chatham. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily (à la carte Sun.–Thurs.; prix fixe Fri. and Sat.). Reservations are recommended. Many words have been used to describe chef James Laird’s restaurant: stylish, chic, sophisticated, are just a few. Whatever you call it, this lovely spot is a gem, critically acclaimed for both its romantic surroundings and the food. The menu has many decidedly French touches, from the calves’ liver with a bacon-onion tartlet and cassis sauce to the dijon-crusted salmon with chanterelles, potato gnocchi, and fennel. Desserts are part elegance, part comfort food. Try the roasted Bosc pear with butterscotch ice cream and cocoa reduction or the Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée. Entrées $23–38; prix fixe $80.
THE MANOR
(973-731-2360; www.themanorrestaurant.com), 111 Prospect Ave., West Orange. Open Tues.–Sun. for lunch and dinner; Sun. brunch; closed Mon. Reservations are recommended, and jackets are required at dinner. Dinner here is truly a world-class experience—so is lunch, for that matter. Critics include the restaurant and its contemporary New American cuisine among their personal favorites. The setting is a magnificent manor house surrounded by 20 beautifully landscaped acres that include exquisite formal gardens; the kitchen makes regular use of the property’s herb garden. This landmark restaurant—in business for more than half a century—is considered one of the top dining experiences in New Jersey, equal parts haute cuisine, impeccable service, and romantic surroundings. The dining room and lobby are furnished in rare antiques that set an elegant stage for the food, which is as gourmet as you’ll find anywhere in New Jersey. You might begin with grilled quail with thyme goat cheese risotto, or house-smoked salmon with caviar crème fraîche. Next comes a seared veal chop and roasted artichoke and asparagus ragout in a shallot vinaigrette, or caramelized scallops with roasted-corn risotto and sweet pepper sauce. Buffets are a specialty here, too, from the acclaimed Sunday brunch to the sumptuous lobster dinner buffet offered from Wednesday through Saturday. Desserts are equally stunning. Profiteroles are filled with white chocolate and dark chocolate mousse, warm Valrhona chocolate cake comes glazed in a berry compote, and Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée is paired with iced almond-rum cake. The menu is accompanied by a wine cellar with more than 500 bottles. The Terrace Lounge has live piano music, and the elegant 80-seat Le Dôme rooftop nightclub has live music and dancing every Friday and Saturday night, and a monthly Cabaret Soirée series that draws top performers. $26–45.
Scalini Fedeli (973-701-9200; www.scalinifedeli.com), 63 Main St., Chatham. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner Mon.–Sat.; closed Sun. Expert service and flawless cuisine makes this formal dining room one of New Jersey’s top Italian restaurants. At the helm is chef-owner Michael Cetrulo, who also runs the more casual Il Mondo Vecchio (973-301-0024) in Madison. A French influence is seen in dishes like sliced duck breast with seared foie gras. Signature mascarpone cheesecake for dessert. Prix fixe $52; entrées $22–35.
Stage House Restaurant and Wine Bar (908-322-4224; www.stagehouserestaurant.com), 366 Park Ave., Scotch Plains. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily. Reservations are recommended. Four-star French dining at fireside tables in a circa-1737 Early American brick mansion. In warm weather, you can dine on the outdoor patio complete with kitchen herb garden and bubbling fountain. The innovative New American and French cuisine is a longtime favorite of local foodies and nationally known gourmands. The seasonal menu might start with butternut squash soup with Granny Smith apple and pumpkin seed oil, or a risotto of Bosc pear and roasted prawns with golden raisins, braised Napa cabbage, and lemon verbena. Dinner could feature roasted Atlantic halibut with baby beet risotto, or grilled filet mignon with green pepper sauce and glazed vegetables. A signature dessert is the passion fruit panna cotta. Entrées $18–36; prix fixe $15–55.
Lorena’s (973-763-4460; www.restaurantlorena.com), 168 Maplewood Ave., Maplewood. Open for dinner Wed.–Sun.; closed Mon. and Tues. This highly touted restaurant is named for Lorena Perez, who is in charge of the dining room. It’s widely considered one of the best French restaurants in northern New Jersey, and it’s as charming and romantic as you’d expect a jewel box of a restaurant to be. The classic French cuisine is elegant and expertly prepared. Atlantic monkfish comes with mussels and fingerling potatoes; filet mignon is accompanied by braised onions in a black truffle sauce; and Maine skate wing is paired with brown butter cider emulsion. Sweet endings include lavender-scented crème brûlée. BYOB. $26–34.
Verjus (973-378-8990; www.verjusrestaurant.com), 1790 Springfield Ave., Maplewood. Open for lunch Tues.–Fri.; dinner Tues.–Sun.; Sun. brunch; closed Mon. Reservations are requested. Critics rave about the contemporary French cuisine, which changes daily and with the seasons. You might start with roasted pumpkin soup with smoked prosciutto, then choose steak au poivre with green peppercorn sauce, ending with molten chocolate almond truffle cake. $23–33.
Roots Steakhouse (908-273-0027; www.rootssteakhouse.com), 401 Springfield Ave., Summit. Open daily for dinner. Feeling carnivorous? Meat is the word at this urbane chophouse and bar that stands out in a region rich in gourmet dining options. Generous hand-cut rib eyes, filets, and strip steaks are served with a choice of sauces—horseradish cream, au poivre, hollandaise, or bearnaise. The atmosphere is reminiscent of an old-school Manhattan steakhouse, perpetuated by the sophisticated dining room and mahogany-beamed bar. $25–40.
Café Panache (201-934-0030; www.cafepanachenj.com), 130 E. Main St., Ramsey. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily. Chef-owner Kevin Kohler recently gave his longtime restaurant a refreshing facelift, much to the delight of the regulars that crowd in for his farm-fresh cuisine. The kitchen takes full advantage of the region’s seasonal flavors in dishes that blend creative American fare with international flavors. If seafood soup is on the daily menu, be sure to order it; ditto for the crispy wasabi halibut. BYOB. $25–36.
Trap Rock Restaurant and Brewery (908-665-1755; www.traprockrestaurant.net), 279 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights. Open for lunch Mon.–Sat.; dinner daily. Reservations are recommended. An upscale eatery offering innovative dishes and a half dozen or so of their own brews daily. Start with the wild mushroom and Roquefort strudel with black truffle vinaigrette, then the pan-seared scallops and crab fritters or the slow-braised short ribs with horseradish potato puree. End with warm caramel-pumpkin bread pudding with ginger-vanilla cream. You can eat at the bar that overlooks the brewery and serves a lighter menu. Outdoor patio dining in-season. $22–33.
Restaurant MC (973-921-0888; www.restaurantmc.com), 57 Main St., Millburn. Open for lunch Tues.–Fri.; dinner daily; brunch on Sat. and Sun. This chic American bistro is one of New Jersey’s hot new restaurants, the go-to place for pasta, pizza, seafood, and steak prepared with regional ingredients in a wood-burning stone oven. The sashimi and salads will satisfy those looking for something lighter. A sommelier is on hand to guide you through the award-winning wine list. $18–32.
Stone House at Stirling Ridge (908-754-1222; www.stirlingridgeevents.com), 50 Stirling Rd., Warren. Open for dinner Tues.–Sun.; Sun. brunch; closed Mon. A dress up and dine kind of place, whose stellar modern American cuisine keeps pace with the rustic yet elegant surroundings reminiscent of a grand western-style lodge. Chef Jerry Villa puts a sophisticated spin on familiar favorites, using high-quality ingredients to create gracious country cuisine. Starters like sea scallop carpaccio lead to entrées like seared Chilean sea bass and peppercorn-dusted sirloin. Service is knowledgeable, professional, and efficient. Live jazz on weekends. $25–40.
EATING OUT E&V Ristorante (973-942-4664; www.evrestaurant.com), 320 Chamberlain Ave., Paterson. Open for lunch Tues.–Fri.; dinner Tues.–Sun.; closed Mon. A family-friendly restaurant serving huge portions of homemade Italian cuisine in casual surroundings for nearly 40 years. You’re apt to be dining alongside longtime regulars anytime you’re here. There’s a long list of house specialties, along with the regular menu—the chef’s special features shrimp, mushrooms, and artichokes prepared with prosciutto, butter, and white wine and served over homemade fettuccine. No credit cards. $10–20.
Thai Chef (973-783-4994), 664 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open daily for lunch and dinner. A popular BYOB where the exotic and aromatic cuisine of Thailand is prepared with French accents. If you’re familiar with Thai cuisine, the menu is fairly standard—satays, pad Thai, and meats and seafood with earthy flavors like lemon-grass, chili, cilantro, and ginger. Other locations in Somerville and Hackensack. BYOB. $12–18.
Ritz Diner (973-533-1213), 72 E. Mount Pleasant Ave., Livingston. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One of the fancier diners in New Jersey, not the traditional chrome-and-neon kind of place, but the same quick, satisfying, no-frills food. Breakfasts are homey and filling; if you come for lunch or dinner, don’t miss a slice of their famous apple pie. A popular place that’s always packed with locals. $9–15.
Pals Cabin (973-731-4000), 265 Prospect Ave., West Orange. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations are accepted. What started as a hot dog stand in 1932, opened by Martin Horn and his “pal” Roy Sale, is now a casual roadside family restaurant, and a local favorite serving a huge menu of homey comfort food. They’ve got half-pound burgers and foot-long hot dogs for a quick, light meal; entrées like Idaho rainbow trout, and sautéed calves’ liver (topped with fried onions and bacon, on request) if you’re in the mood for something more. Desserts include freshly baked apple pie, and homemade caramel custard. $11–35.
Sweet Basil’s Café (973-325-3340; www.sweetbasilscafe.com), 641 Eagle Rock Ave., West Orange. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and brunch. A longtime favorite spot for creative lunches now serves breakfast and brunch: think French toast, fluffy pancakes, and omelets stuffed with just-picked fruits and veggies. $7–15.
The Huntley Taverne (908-273-3166), Three Morris Ave., Summit. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily. An upscale bistro in a mission-style building, serving grilled fish, chops, and other New American fare. The upstairs Arts and Crafts–style dining room overlooks the bar, where a lighter menu of sandwiches, appetizers, and pizza out of the wood-burning oven is served. $14–34.
Raagini (908-789-9777), 1085 Rt. 22 E., Mountainside. Open for lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily. This popular Indian restaurant is always at the top of readers’ polls, and earns its spot there with attentive service and well-prepared authentic dishes that fill the room with exotic aromas. Chicken, lamb, and seafood are marinated in spices and sauces of varying degrees of spiciness, from cool yogurt and mint to fiery curries. Start with the veggie-stuffed dosas, a typical southern India dish, then pick from the curries or kebabs, or the delicacies from the tandoor oven. Traditional breads like naan are baked to order. $13–32.
Van Gogh’s Ear Café (908-810-1844; www.vangoghsearcafe.com), 1017 Stuyvesant Ave., Union. Open daily. A coffeehouse and café where an artsy crowd gathers all day. In the evening, the café showcases the talent of comedians, musicians, and other local artists with a full schedule of art exhibits and live entertainment. A coffee bar serves the usual; the eclectic lunch and dinner menus include lots of vegetarian options. BYOB. $8–12.
Star Tavern & Pizzeria (973-675-3336), 400 High St., Orange. Open daily. Nothing fancy, but legions of hungry fans drive long distances for the crispy thin-crust pizza. Here’s a tip: order a whole pizza for yourself (many proclaim a steadfast devotion to the plain cheese variety) and ask for it well done. The repertoire isn’t limited to pizza, however. Fried calamari, pasta dishes, and eggplant parmesan are among the Italian staples on the menu. $9–20.
Indigo Smoke (973-744-3440; www.indigosmoke.com), 387 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open daily for lunch and dinner. A Kansas City–style barbecue joint where the ribs are smoked long and slow. Accompaniments are straight out of the South: corn bread, collard greens, and whipped sweet potatoes. Sandwiches and salads accommodate small appetites. $8–21.
Raymond’s (973-744-9263; www.raymondsnj.com), 28 Church St., Montclair. Open for breakfast and lunch Mon.–Fri.; dinner daily; brunch Sat. and Sun. Vintage-inspired décor lends the feel of a 1930s brasserie. Corn-batter pancakes, omelets, and French toast at breakfast; later on, dishes such as mussels marinara, burgers, and steak frites lead to decadent desserts like Valrhona chocolate torte. BYOB. $10–23.
Dimaio’s Cucina (908-464-8585; www.dimaios.com), 468 Springfield Ave., Berkeley Heights. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Chef/owner Sal Passalacqua, a longtime guest chef on the Food Network, has cooked with chefs around the world. Fittingly, his southern Italian cooking is influenced by global flavors, from the pizza with asia-go cheese and truffled mushrooms to the barbecued salmon with pine nuts and raisins. $15–30.
Country Pancake House (201-444-8395), 140 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Befitting its name, this local institution serves huge portions of pancakes that come in more than 100 varieties. You’ll have ample time to ponder your choice as you wait to be seated; tables are in constant demand. $8–15.
SNACKS Libby’s Lunch (973-278-8718), 98 McBride Ave., Paterson. Open daily until 1 AM. Locals flock to this friendly eatery near the Passaic Falls for the tasty dogs with a host of toppings, including Libby’s special sauce. It was opened in 1936 by William Pappas, who was the first to sell Hot Texas Wieners, one of many in Paterson to eventually do so. The Texas Wiener—a deep-fried hot dog smothered in mustard, onions, and fiery chili sauce—actually originated in New Jersey. There are several varieties of the original, all perfectly paired with piping-hot french fries. $4–10.
Millburn Deli (973-379-5800), 328 Millburn Ave., Millburn. Open daily 8–6. The usual soup, salad, sandwich roster is available, but most come in for the sloppy joes. In fact, it’s not unusual to see regulars lined up when the deli opens to order them. Here, the sandwich doesn’t consist of the ubiquitous ground beef and tomato sauce on a bun; rather it’s a triple-decker sandwich with turkey, ham, or roast beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and homemade coleslaw tucked between freshly sliced rye bread.
The Bread Company (973-509-2525), 113 Walnut St., Montclair. Open Tues.–Sat.; closed Sun. and Mon. A small organic bakery (they cater to vegans and customers with wheat allergies) that gets many ingredients from local farms. Freshly baked muffins and scones, homemade soup, and of course, earthy, whole grain breads. The Walnut Street Loaf is studded with dates, nuts, raisins, and figs; and the Celebration Bread—a fruit, spice, nut, and seed-studded loaf more appropriate as a dessert than as a sandwich—is wildly popular. Enjoy your treats at an outdoor table, when the weather allows.
Belgiovine’s Italian Delicatessen (973-744-2221), 714 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open Tues.–Sun.; closed Mon. Close to the Montclair Art Museum. A busy family-owned takeout deli for 25 years. Loyal regulars come for the handmade pastas, sausages, antipasti, mozzarella, and fresh bread.
Café Eclectic (973-509-9179), 444 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. Open daily until midnight; until 2 AM on Sat. Coffee and coffee drinks pair nicely with cakes, pies, and other desserts. Cozy and comfortable, with décor—and a clientele—that lives up to its name. Live jazz and folk music on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Summit Cheese Shop (908-273-7700), 75 Union Place, Summit. Open Mon.–Sat.; closed Sun. This is a tiny shop, but it manages to display about 100 varieties of cheeses from around the world, including an entire case devoted to goat cheese. The cheeses are hand-cut when they’re ordered from whole wheels. There’s also a deli with fresh meats and homemade desserts.
Towne Deli (908-464-5400), 810 Old Springfield Ave., Summit. Across from the New Providence railroad station. A big selection of take-out sandwiches. Grab a sandwich before you grab the train.
Bovella’s Pastry Shoppe (908-232-4149), 101 E. Broad St., Westfield. The Mastroianni family’s old-school Italian bakery is a neighborhood institution, where ricotta pies, biscotti, macaroons, and other traditional favorites put Grandma’s to shame. Come summer, Bovella’s is also a popular stop for gelato, granita, and sorbet.
Café Beethoven (973-635-0005), 262 Main St., Chatham. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A likable little place, where you can lunch on inventive sandwiches and salads, or order a cup of tea and sample the decadent desserts. Reading, working, and general lingering is encouraged.
Johnny & Hanges (201-791-9060), 23-20 Maple Ave., Fair Lawn. This hot dog joint, in business since 1939, is a New Jersey favorite for top-notch frankfurters. Order yours “all the way,” which means topped with mustard, onions, and their signature chili sauce.
Jimmy Buff’s (973-325-9897), 60 Washington St., West Orange. also in East Hanover, Irvington, and Scotch Plains. Today, “Italian hot dogs,” topped with potatoes, onions, and peppers and tucked onto Italian bread, can be found all over New Jersey. In the 1930s, however, Jimmy “Buff” Racioppi was credited with dreaming up the sinfully good sandwich.
Donna Toscana (908-272-4380), 19 Eastman St., Cranford. Open Wed.–Sun.; extended summer hours. Chocoholics, rejoice! What’s not to love about a café devoted to the cocoa bean? This chocolaty oasis is full of decadent grown-up treats designed to help you embrace your sweet tooth. Chocolates and truffles are filled with old faves like hazelnut as well as of-the-moment flavors from lemon and basil to nutmeg and balsamic vinegar. In addition to these handmade wonders, the lounge also serves chocolate fondue, gelato, cheesecake, and frozen hot chocolate.
ICE CREAM Holsten’s Brookdale Confectionery (973-338-7901), 1063 Broad St., Bloomfield. Open daily. An old-time ice-cream parlor serving homemade candy and ice cream. Hot fudge sundaes, burgers, classic diner standbys.
EntertainmentARTS CENTERS Luna Stage Company (973-744-3309; www.lunastage.org), 695 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair. A professional theater in Montclair’s bustling town center, offering musicals, classical and contemporary theater, and concerts. The intimate performance space consists of three state-of-the-art venues, one seating 99 people, the others seating around 50. Special performance series include concerts, live comedy, storytellers, and local musicians and artists at informal open-mike nights. The theater is within walking distance of many downtown restaurants.
Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center (973-669-7385; www.ospac.org), Four Boland Dr., West Orange. The outdoor amphitheater and 3 surrounding acres were donated by local resident Larry Pantirer to found the only performance center in the country named for the man who saved the lives of more than a thousand Jews—including Pantirer’s father—during the Holocaust. A full schedule of ethnic celebrations, music festivals, arts workshops for children and adults, film festivals, and concerts.
The Watchung Arts Center (908-753-0190; www.watchungarts.org), 18 Stirling Rd., Watchung. A nonprofit arts center showcasing visual, performing, and creative arts. There’s a concert series featuring classical, jazz, and acoustic folk rock, art programs for adults and children, and photography workshops and exhibits.
Shea Center for the Performing Arts (973-720-2371; www.wpunj.edu), at William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Rd., Wayne. Live music, theater, family programs, lectures, and art exhibits.
South Orange Performing Arts Center (973-275-1114; www.sopacnow.org), One SOPAC Way, South Orange. A new venue offering family shows, music, dance, and plays; there’s also a five-screen cineplex.
MUSIC Opera at Florham (973-443-8620; www.operaatflorham.com), at the Florham Madison campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, 285 Madison Ave., Madison. Oct.–Apr. A professional regional opera company in residence at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Madison campus. Their schedule offers fully staged operas, cabaret recitals, children’s productions, lectures, and vocal competitions.
Plainfield Symphony (908-561-5140; www.plainfieldsymphony.org), 176 Watchung Ave., at E. Seventh St., Plainfield. Concert schedule runs from Nov.–Apr. This is the oldest community orchestra in New Jersey, together for nearly 90 years. Classical performances, as well as pops and children’s concerts, are held in Plainfield at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian church.
Westfield Symphony Orchestra (908-232-9400; www.westfieldsymphony.org), 224 E. Broad St., Westfield. Performances from Oct. to mid-May. A professional orchestra that presents five concert series a year at the Union County Arts Center in Rahway and the Presbyterian Church in Westfield.
Trumpets Jazz Club (973-744-2600; www.trumpetsjazz.com), Six Depot Square, Montclair. A popular spot for live jazz, blues, and world music.
Shanghai Jazz (973-822-2899), 24 Main St., Madison. Reservations are essential. This always-packed downtown hot spot offers live jazz Wednesday through Sunday; it’s also a supper club serving pan-Asian cuisine.
Wellmont Theatre (973-783-9500), Five Seymour St., Montclair. The area’s newest music venue in a fully restored historic 1922 theater.
THEATER 12 Miles West Theatre Company (973-259-9187; www.12mileswest.org), Playwrights Theatre, 33 Green Village Rd., Madison. This award-winning professional theater is New Jersey’s first resident theater company. It’s also home to the New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts, a theatrical education program for kids and adults. An annual one-act play festival showcases playwrights from New Jersey, and the guest-artist series features tango dancers, cabaret, and concerts by regionally and nationally known musicians.
Paper Mill Playhouse—The State Theatre of New Jersey (973-376-4343; www.papermill.org), 22 Brook-side Dr., Millburn. The playhouse was founded in 1934 as one of the first regional theaters in the country; in 1972 it was designated New Jersey’s official state theater. Today it offers Broadway-caliber classic American musicals, children’s productions, concerts, and a wide variety of plays, including new material. The art gallery showcases the work of more than 500 regional artists every year.
Chatham Community Players (973-635-7363; www.chathamplayers.org), 23 North Passaic Ave., Chatham. Offering the public high-quality theater since 1922. There are three main plays and musicals each year, plus children’s shows in the Fantasy Theater. Jersey Voices is a series of one-act plays by New Jersey playwrights, staged during the summer.
Forum Theatre Company (732-548-0582; www.forumtheatrecompany.com), 314 Main St., Metuchen. Performances Nov.–June. The 1920s-era theater was built as a vaudeville house and later became a movie theater; then the Forum Theatre Company turned it into a regional arts center. Today they stage performances of musicals, comedies, and dramas, including new works by New Jersey artists.
Selective ShoppingART GALLERIES Ramapo College Art Galleries (201-684-7575), Ramapo College of New Jersey, 505 Ramapo Valley Rd., Mahwah. Rotating exhibits of contemporary art by faculty members and international artists. Exhibits are mounted at the Berrie Center Art Galleries, Potter Library Galleries, and the Selden Rodman Gallery of Popular Arts.
Ben Shahn Galleries (973-720-2654), at William Paterson University, Pompton Rd., Wayne. Open Sept.–June, Mon.–Fri. 10–5. A dozen exhibits mounted during the academic year showcase the work of contemporary artists working in photography, sculpture, painting, and other media. Also on display are permanent collections of Oceanic and African art, and an outdoor sculpture exhibit. Call for a schedule of their popular lectures.
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (908-273-9121; www.artcenternj.org), 68 Elm St., Summit. Galleries open daily. Adults $5; children $3. An art school, founded in 1933 by a group of local artists, with galleries and outdoor exhibition space devoted to contemporary art. The public is welcome to attend the lectures, demonstrations, juried shows, and performances, or to take a docent-led tour to have a look around.
University Art Galleries (973-655-3382), Montclair State University, Valley Rd., Montclair. A series of three indoor galleries and a sculpture garden, this establishment features changing exhibits by students and professional artists, at least one international show every year, and an annual juried show. The permanent collection includes contemporary American paintings and sculpture, African art, and 17th- and 18th-century European paintings. A lecture series brings students and the public together with professional artists.
Atelier Gallery (973-377-3660), Creative Hands Art Studio, 14 Kings Rd., Madison. Open Mon.–Sat. 10–3; closed Sun. A year-round schedule of changing exhibitions featuring the work of emerging and established artists from the New Jersey and New York area. An art studio offers classes for adults and children.
THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE OF NEW JERSEY
(973-408-5600; www.shakespearenj.org), Drew University, 36 Madison Ave., Madison. Main-stage productions from June–Dec. New Jersey’s only Shakespeare theater—one of the top such theaters in the country—features a professional group of actors devoted to the Bard (they present other classic works, too). It’s the longest-running Shakespeare theater on the East Coast, presenting Shakespeare’s best-known works, from Hamlet and Macbeth to Romeo and Juliet, as well as some of Shakespeare’s more obscure plays. Most productions are at the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University, which has a well-regarded drama program of its own. The theater also holds a variety of unique Shakespeare-themed events, from wine tastings and lectures to art exhibits.
BOOKSTORES Bookends Bookstore (201-445-0726), 232 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood. A full-service independently owned bookshop with a wide selection of titles and an extensive schedule of discussions and signings by best-selling authors. Ask about their story-time program for children.
Montclair Book Center (973-783-3630; www.montclairbookcenter.com), 219–221 Glenridge Ave., Montclair. This is the largest new and used bookstore in New Jersey, with more than a million books in stock and a collection of rare books and first editions. It’s also one of the largest independent bookstores in the state, with a diverse selection of books on New Jersey, Americana, military history, children’s literature, and sports, plus many author-signed books.
Watchung Booksellers (973-744-7177), 54 Fairfield St., in Watchung Plaza, Montclair. Everything an independent bookshop should be: weekly signings and readings by local authors, in-house book groups, and lots of staff picks.
Chatham Bookseller (973-822-1361), Eight Green Village Rd., Madison. This welcoming shop has a book-savvy staff and shelves crammed with used and out-of-print books of all genres.
SPECIAL SHOPS The Mall at Short Hills (973-376-7359; www.shopshorthills.com), 1200 Morris Tpke. (Rt. 24), Short Hills. Open Mon.–Fri. 10–9; Sat. 10–7; Sun. noon to 6. Luxury shopping in an upscale mall with more than 175 chic specialty stores and restaurants. All the venerable boutiques are here: Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Versace, and Cartier, anchored by Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s.
Montclair Antique Center (973-746-1062), 34 Church St., Montclair. Period furniture, estate jewelry, and one-of-a-kind home accessories.
The Outdoor Store (973-746-5900), 30 Church St., Montclair. An independent shop with enough hiking, trail running, and backpacking gear, plus clothing and accessories, to rival the big box stores.
Pumpkins and Petunias (908-654-1600), 258 E. Broad St., Westfield. Funky clothing for “hip mamas and babes,” which means AC/DC T-shirts for toddlers and stylish maternity frocks.
NURSERY AND FARM MARKET Waterford Gardens (201-327-0721), 74 E. Allendale Rd., Saddle River. Open daily Apr.–Aug.; Mon.–Sat. during the rest of the year. The focus of this nursery spread along the banks of the Saddle River is water gardening. A profusion of tropical plants bloom in a series of artfully planted ponds. They sell a diverse selection of lotuses, night-blooming water lilies, and other exotic plants.
Special Events February: Maple Sugaring Festival (973-635-6629), Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, Chatham. Tree-tapping demonstrations, syrup tasting, games, and crafts (see Green Space—Nature Centers). Antiques Show (973-744-1796), Upper Montclair. Sponsored by the Montclair Historical Society. 24 dealers.
May: Montrose in May (973-763-1880), Montrose Park, South Orange. A vintage-trolley tour of South Orange’s 19th- and early-20th-century homes.
June: New Jersey Renaissance Festival and Kingdom (732-271-1119), South Mountain Reservation, South Orange. A popular renaissance festival with medieval food and games, crafts, and performances; puppet shows, comedy troupes, and fairy-tale reenactments for children. Spring Fine Art and Crafts at Brookdale Park (908-874-5247), Brookdale Park, Montclair. An arts-and-crafts festival with close to 200 exhibitors.
July: Jazzfest (1-800-303-6557), Drew University, Madison. A 2-day outdoor jazz festival hosted by the New Jersey Jazz Society. Fourth of July Parade (908-753-3000), North Plainfield. The oldest parade in central New Jersey attracts close to 100,000 spectators. Passaic County 4-H Fair (973-831-7788), Wayne Civic Center, Wayne. Music, crafts, food, farm animals, and children’s activities. Fourth of July Celebration, Memorial Park, Maplewood. Independence Day festivities include traditional events like pie-eating contests and an old-time circus.
September: Harvest Festival (908-527-4900), Trailside Nature and Science Center, Mountainside. A colonial and Native American celebration. Great Falls Festival (973-278-4019), Paterson. A Labor Day weekend multicultural celebration that attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Art in the Park (908-874-5247), Anderson Park, Upper Montclair. More than 200 artists plus live music, crafts, games, and international cuisine. Fine Art and Crafts at Verona Park (908-874-5247), Verona Park, Verona. Some 150 exhibitors featuring photography, crafts, sculpture, and fine art.
December: First Night celebrations in Summit (908-522-1722), South Orange (973-763-4778), and Montclair (973-509-4910) feature music, entertainment, and food on New Year’s Eve in a family-friendly environment. Candlelight Mansion Tours (908-527-0400), Liberty Hall Museum, Kean University, Union.