Aaron was born on Valentines Day, so we usually swap out celebrating a Hallmark holiday for his birthday. In that spirit, we drove up yesterday to see him. I’d have three things for tonight’s post but I didn’t get any good food pics at Fernandez Steak House in the Ironbound section of Newark. Aaron has always liked Chima in Philly, so I figured one of the Portuguese places in Newark would be a nice birthday dinner since he’s so close to Newark. Marriott upgraded our room to a studio, which has a kitchenette and a separate seating and TV area. But Fernades does the Rodizio thing, with the meat shaved off table-side in a succession of salty ribbons of protein.
Tramonti Vineyards (née Iron Plow)
Our intention was to hit Stokelan Estate Winery on the way up to visit Aaron yesterday, but they were all booked up. It’s not the kind of place you just chance by on a Hallmark holiday. The same was true for Valenzano. We thought we’d go to Working Dog, as the only thing they had on the calendar was a cupcake pairing in the evening, but I remembered seeing Iron Plow on Apple Maps when I was scouring for places to visit.
It’s not Iron Plow anymore; as the labels on the rosé and sauvignon blanc show, but Tramonti. We were offered a number of tastings before making a selection; we had the rosé in the tasting room, with our own snacks that I packed, and took the Sauvignon Blanc with us. The rosé has a deep flavor that I didn’t expect; it’s made from four different grapes, one of which is Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dashen Restaurant and Bar
A former colleague noted on an earlier Facebook post that we should check out Dashen, an Ethiopian restaurant in New Brunswick. It’s within walking distance of Aaron’s dorm, and right around the corner from the Indian Place we tried when we visited for Parents Weekend last fall.
I’ve never had Ethiopian before. It was served with injera, which is a fermented-tasting crêpe or thin pancake. The meat and vegetable sides are all very stewy and you eat them using the the injera instead of silverware. It was a lot of fun and we all loved our dishes.
