Jeero Loves New York Taxis

(they're Jeero color!)

The World Famous Tick Tock Diner In Clifton NJ

Located on Route 3, about 12 miles west of the Empire State Building, the Tick Tock Diner is a landmark for diners and local weather reporters who often use its parking lot for location shoots during major weather events.

Matarazzo Farms Has A Peachy Way To Fight Hunger In New Jersey

Known to many in Essex County from his family owned and operated "Matarazzo Farms" in West Caldwell, Jim Matarazz has been a fixture at the Montclair Farmers' Market for several years.

It's peach season in the Garden State and Jim will be sharing his bounty with those in need on Saturday.

From 8am to 2 pm Matarazzos will give a free quart of Jersey Peaches to anyone who is struggling in this economy.   Each Saturday morning the Matarazzos, and several other farmers, bring the locally grown fruits of their labors to the Walnut Street station parking lot. As a foodie I'm all over the farmer's market, as a transplanted Californian I am thrilled to find produce that is not from the San Joaquin Valley and as a resident of NJ I love the idea that the Garden State is more than a slogan but a way of life.

I go to the farmers' market on Saturday mornings for the food but also to protect a way of life and use of land that is slipping away. This Saturday I am going to support a farmer who is doing something wonderful for the least among us. If you're in Montclair stop by Matarazzo's on Saturday.

If you're having trouble making ends meet know that Jim will be sharing his bounty. If things are working out for you, stop by anyway and just enjoy being in the presence of a true mensch.

Strawberries As Far As The Eye Can See At The Montclair Farmers' Market

There's A Buzz In The Garden

Someone's Cooking With Gas

Saturday Is Cupcakefest In Rutherford NJ

Barack Obama Spotted In Nutley NJ On Primary Election Day

Le Salbuen Is Now Open On Walnut Street Montclair

Le Salbuen Is Now Open 

Le Salbuen : Grand Opening This Friday In Montclair

I Got A Sneak Peek ~ Check Back For The Review This Week 

Le Salbuen Is Coming To Montclair :

Keep following Black Tie and Flip Flops ~ details will be shared as soon as they are known!

You Suck !

You Suck ! by Christopher Moore

Teenage vampires in San Francisco – it doesn’t get much better than that !

Reading You Suck was so good I got the audio book to take on walks. I am so engrossed in the 'audio-read' that I am walking several more miles a day than I expected !

Breakfast Croissants at Samba Montclair

Looking Behind The Paper At Le Salbuen on Walnut Street Montclair

Walnut Street in Montclair will soon welcome another "must-visit" foodie destination when John David and Christina Salierno open Le Salbuen Café Market later this spring.

By now the attractively papered windows, featuring vintage utensils stenciled on kraft paper have been on just about every local media outlet’s food page. Residents of the neighborhood report that gawkers have been spotted with their faces pressed up against the glass in an attempt to see just what’s going on inside. But only I was given access.

I recently had the chance to go inside and talk to the owners about the space, their plans, and their passion for food and what we found out had us wanting more!

John’s passion for food started when he was a child. His grandmother was a housekeeper in England before coming to America . That experience, cooking for others, started a family tradition about which she most surely would be proud. Her pancakes were the first dish he made, that led to him expanding  his culinary experience by cooking breakfasts for himself daily starting at the age nine. Over the years John explored the world of food, using Zagats guides and travel as sources of inspiration to recreate the dishes that could be considered culinary travelogues of places near and far.

Christina’s passion for food comes from her Portuguese heritage, but she’ll be the first to stop any food writer from calling LeSalbuen anything but World Cuisine. Like many Portuguese households, the women spent a lot of time in the kitchen, tasks were handed down and in the process a heritage of flavors and techniques were shared with a new generation.  Having met John in High School, the two have travelled the world, exploring off the beaten path places to find the real culture of distant locales. Those journeys inspired her bring new flavors to her repertoire and eventually led to the Café Market idea.

Part of the fun of my inside peek into LeSalbuen is that I know some secrets but cannot share them until opening week. You’ll just have to wait, of course hints regarding those secrets wouldn’t be breaking any of the rules, right?

The original concept for LeSalbuen was to sell their own sauces and spreads. (Rumor has it that the Quince Paste is off the charts) That concept grew into the Café Market where packaged goods, some their own, some imported, would be offered alongside John’s own creations. Foodies in the know understand why Walnut Street is a great location, with Egan’s, Marzullo’s, the Bakeries and the Farmer’s Market it has some of Montclair’s best and brightest foodie destinations but John’s story is even better. While training for a triathlon, John ran down Walnut Street several times and got the chills in the neighborhood. He knew this was the spot for their project.

The space inside is interesting. When they moved in the floors were far from usable, remnants of old stable items were beneath the floorboards and the space was in need of an overhaul. Having a passion for restoration projects, the pair installed new floors, put in new sheetrock walls and even put in a brick wall comprised of repurposed brick rescued from demolition sites in Brooklyn. That passion for reuse is seem in their preservation of the pressed tin ceiling and use of salvage barn beams on the walls. As it comes together it isn’t so hard to imagine the fragrance of herbs and spices filling the air and wafting onto Walnut Street in a place that is both new and very familiar at the same time.

One of the hits at a Taste of Montclair was the Braised Duck with Carrot in Croissant. The dish included a radish and cabbage slaw with avocado and orange.  (Walnut St at Depot Square, mention of this dish always makes people ask “where is this?”) The other surprise hit was a Carrot Cake protein shake. Carrots and Carrot pulp combine with whey protein to form the base of this creation. Granola and raisins crown it. The kids at Taste loved it as much as the adults.

Here’s the best foodie news: John worked as a personal trainer for many years and has a deep understanding of eating well. Where other restaurants use butter, cream and mayonnaise, John knows that garlic, herbs and spices, as well as traditionally made sauces bring a lot of flavor to a dish without the guilt that usually accompanies going out to eat. Vegan dishes as well as artisanal protein shakes will be a part of the menu – running to the train? You’re breakfast just got a whole lot healthier!

LeSalbuen is slated to open this Spring. The exact date has not been set, but early May seems most likely. The Café Market is at 97 Walnut St at the corner of Walnut and Depot Square, right across the street from Trumpets and the Montclair Farmer’s Market.

Want To Know What's Going On Behind The Paper At LeSalbuen?

Want to know what's cooking behind the pretty utensil craft paper at 97 Walnut St., Montclair? Details are coming soon to Black Tie and Flip Flops. 

CRASH ! Another Accident At Valley Road And Lorraine In Upper Montclair

Thursday Morning 4 August 2011 Upper Montclair woke to the sights and sounds of yet another accident at the corner of Lorraine and Valley Road.

Accidents at this intersection are about as common as parking tickets, and with two schools in close proximity of the danger zone one would think additional safety measures, like rumble strips, would be added to the area.

Tyler Perry's Medea Makes Us Laugh on #Madiba 's Birthday

Seriously people, it's Madiba's birthday, not Medea's!

Medea is a hysterically funny character created by Tyler Perry.

A madiba is a brightly coloured batik print shirt, popularized in South Africa by President Nelson Mandela. It is considered formal wear. The name madiba comes from the name of an honorary title given in his clan.  Madiba is also the affectionate name give by South Africans to Nelson Mandela, who celebrates his 93nd birthday today.

Discovering Newark NJ : The Collonade and Pavillion Apartments

Just outside of the south end of Branch Brook Park in Newark, and about a block from the Cathedreal Basilica of the Sacred Heart, is the Colonnade and Pavillion Apartments. Built in 1959, the stand-out feature of these apartments is that they were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the German born architect who was a pioneer of Modern Architecture. He fled Nazi Germany in the early 1930's because his work was "not German enough." Perhaps more well know than his building are this two phrases "Less Is More" and "God Is In The Details."

It's Clean Slate Monday ! And It's Raining (Again)

If it was snowing instead of raining, I would be out and about taking pictures. But alas all the leaves are brown and the sky is still grey so I will be attempt to be productive instead.

Today is Clean Slate Monday!

Everyone knows how I love Mondays as they mark the chance for endless opportunity and possibility.

Somehow Clean Slate Monday has gotten a "work" reputation, and that's great, but Clean Slate Monday is about more than seizing the moment in your profession. Return to the office on Monday and all calls should have been returned last week. Those piles of mail and files that came in all last week should be gone. Today is a brand new change to make things happen at work but why stop there?

Clean Slate Monday is about a new start, a chance to start fresh, and freshened. It can be work, and since that's where most people spend most of their waking hours it makes sense to embrace Clean Slate Monday there, but why limit it. Expand! Bring Clean Slate Monday into the rest of your life.

For me, I am using some of today's white space to include images from the blizzard a few weeks ago to highlight how I might have been distracted today if the rain were indeed snow. But alas, its rain, and other than the Great Falls at Paterson rainy weather isn't so photgenic.

The major clean slate project for the week is getting all the "I should" and "Wouldn't It Be Great If" things onto paper and into a schedule. There are things like a hedgerow of boxwood that need to be moved in the garden, and a garage door that should be painted. The enormous milk barrel I found is waiting to be painted, argyle perhaps? Once the weather is warmer, the ceiling of the enclosed porch is to be painted; and I seriously think I want to retile the bathroom. Uh Oh, this is turning into a DIY Marathon! My planner has been found and "shoulds" are entered.

And Clean Slate Monday is Clean Again!