May 31, 2013 • NorthJersey.com
Restaurant review: Raymond's in Ridgewood
By Bob Probert
Walking into the new Raymond's in Ridgewood, which opened in December and joins the very popular original in Montclair, I felt as though I'd emerged from a time machine and into a 1960s-era luncheonette, the tin ceiling, cookie jars on the white marble counter and black-and-white hexagonal-tiled floors evoking a charming, vintage feel of days gone by.
It's obvious that the nearly yearlong renovation of this former bank building on East Ridgewood Avenue cost co-owners Joanne Ricci and Raymond Badach a tidy sum. The result, though, is a stunning space with craftsmanship and attention to detail evident all around. On the wall separating the front and rear dining rooms are 88 lovely multicolored seltzer bottles, which, says Ricci, have become the iconic trademark of the two locations. Raymond's of Ridgewood seats 140, with additional sidewalk seating soon to be added, permits and weather permitting.
I made two trips to Raymond's — once for dinner and once to try the brunch for which it's so (justifiably) well known.
Given that our dinner visit was on a Saturday night in Ridgewood, my friends and I were pleasantly surprised to be immediately seated in Raymond's back dining area. Deep-red banquettes are joined by mismatched tables and chairs that reinforce the period atmosphere. A member of our party found it only mildly disconcerting that his seat was lower than everyone else's, but it did spark comparisons to George Bailey in Mr. Potter's office in the film "It's a Wonderful Life."
The dinner menu is varied, with a wide selection of what Ricci calls American regional cuisine. The head chef is Stefan Bahr, whose restaurant experience includes stints in Switzerland, Africa, New York City and his home country of Austria. For appetizers, we shared Maine crab cakes ($12), pulled-chicken quesadilla with sour cream and chipotle aioli ($9.50) and crispy calamari ($9). All were very good, but the calamari, served with harissa aioli, stood out. The harissa is a North African chili paste, and its aioli form nicely complemented the well-seasoned, flour-dusted, deep-fried calamari.
Roasted, maple-glazed salmon ($21) was cooked through, as requested, but wasn't dried out, as it often is when ordered this way. It was served with Brussels sprout leaves that Bahr sautés lightly in duck fat. Shrimp and grits ($17) were creamy and comforting (adding butter, cream and mascarpone will do that), and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. My veal chop ($19) was disappointing, however. I thought the panko/herb/Parmesan coating was over-seasoned, but, even worse, the pan frying left the dish heavy and oily.
The homemade desserts we ordered ended the meal on a high note. Milk chocolate ice cream ($5) with brownie chunks was decadent and not overly sweet, and the warm rhubarb crisp ($6.50) made our rhubarb-loving dinner companion almost giddy.
On our brunch visit, we arrived around 10:30 on a Sunday morning and must have hit a lull, because the wait we'd feared began to build soon after we were seated. The brunch menu features a number of familiar items, and a few unique ones like Raymond's Norwegian eggs Benedict ($11). Here, Canadian bacon is replaced by smoked salmon, and the English muffin with potato cakes. I enjoyed it, but would have enjoyed it more had it been served immediately, instead of sitting (as was apparent) under heat for a few minutes. This dried out the herb-hollandaise sauce, wilted the arugula and caused the dish to arrive several degrees short of its ideal temperature.
My brunch companion, who had previously enjoyed Raymond's French toast ($8.50), told me it was "flawless," and she was absolutely right. Half-and-half with egg-yolk-soaked baguette slices are pan-fried in clarified butter. Then they're stacked and lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. The resulting combination of textures — from the slightly crispy, golden-brown outside to the moist but fully cooked center — is a wonder to behold (and taste), and this dish alone is worth a visit. The slightly spicy Mexican hot chocolate with homemade vanilla marshmallow ($4.25) was a rich and appropriate accompaniment.
Raymond's is not a place for enjoying a quiet, secluded meal. On both occasions, we found it very loud — a downside of tin ceilings and tiled floors, maybe. On the other hand, my brunch guest, who has two small children, including a newborn, remarked that it's a perfect spot for families with children.
Walking into the new Raymond's in Ridgewood, which opened in December and joins the very popular original in Montclair, I felt as though I'd emerged from a time machine and into a 1960s-era luncheonette, the tin ceiling, cookie jars on the white marble counter and black-and-white hexagonal-tiled floors evoking a charming, vintage feel of days gone by.
It's obvious that the nearly yearlong renovation of this former bank building on East Ridgewood Avenue cost co-owners Joanne Ricci and Raymond Badach a tidy sum. The result, though, is a stunning space with craftsmanship and attention to detail evident all around. On the wall separating the front and rear dining rooms are 88 lovely multicolored seltzer bottles, which, says Ricci, have become the iconic trademark of the two locations. Raymond's of Ridgewood seats 140, with additional sidewalk seating soon to be added, permits and weather permitting.
I made two trips to Raymond's — once for dinner and once to try the brunch for which it's so (justifiably) well known.
Given that our dinner visit was on a Saturday night in Ridgewood, my friends and I were pleasantly surprised to be immediately seated in Raymond's back dining area. Deep-red banquettes are joined by mismatched tables and chairs that reinforce the period atmosphere. A member of our party found it only mildly disconcerting that his seat was lower than everyone else's, but it did spark comparisons to George Bailey in Mr. Potter's office in the film "It's a Wonderful Life."
The dinner menu is varied, with a wide selection of what Ricci calls American regional cuisine. The head chef is Stefan Bahr, whose restaurant experience includes stints in Switzerland, Africa, New York City and his home country of Austria. For appetizers, we shared Maine crab cakes ($12), pulled-chicken quesadilla with sour cream and chipotle aioli ($9.50) and crispy calamari ($9). All were very good, but the calamari, served with harissa aioli, stood out. The harissa is a North African chili paste, and its aioli form nicely complemented the well-seasoned, flour-dusted, deep-fried calamari.
Roasted, maple-glazed salmon ($21) was cooked through, as requested, but wasn't dried out, as it often is when ordered this way. It was served with Brussels sprout leaves that Bahr sautés lightly in duck fat. Shrimp and grits ($17) were creamy and comforting (adding butter, cream and mascarpone will do that), and the shrimp were perfectly cooked. My veal chop ($19) was disappointing, however. I thought the panko/herb/Parmesan coating was over-seasoned, but, even worse, the pan frying left the dish heavy and oily.
The homemade desserts we ordered ended the meal on a high note. Milk chocolate ice cream ($5) with brownie chunks was decadent and not overly sweet, and the warm rhubarb crisp ($6.50) made our rhubarb-loving dinner companion almost giddy.
On our brunch visit, we arrived around 10:30 on a Sunday morning and must have hit a lull, because the wait we'd feared began to build soon after we were seated. The brunch menu features a number of familiar items, and a few unique ones like Raymond's Norwegian eggs Benedict ($11). Here, Canadian bacon is replaced by smoked salmon, and the English muffin with potato cakes. I enjoyed it, but would have enjoyed it more had it been served immediately, instead of sitting (as was apparent) under heat for a few minutes. This dried out the herb-hollandaise sauce, wilted the arugula and caused the dish to arrive several degrees short of its ideal temperature.
My brunch companion, who had previously enjoyed Raymond's French toast ($8.50), told me it was "flawless," and she was absolutely right. Half-and-half with egg-yolk-soaked baguette slices are pan-fried in clarified butter. Then they're stacked and lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. The resulting combination of textures — from the slightly crispy, golden-brown outside to the moist but fully cooked center — is a wonder to behold (and taste), and this dish alone is worth a visit. The slightly spicy Mexican hot chocolate with homemade vanilla marshmallow ($4.25) was a rich and appropriate accompaniment.
Raymond's is not a place for enjoying a quiet, secluded meal. On both occasions, we found it very loud — a downside of tin ceilings and tiled floors, maybe. On the other hand, my brunch guest, who has two small children, including a newborn, remarked that it's a perfect spot for families with children.
