Heys guys. It's me, the Spainaird and I'm back. Completed my training, graduated and am now the "king of smudges". But enough about me let's get dishing. Last night my winebeau and I went to a lovely french restaurant Chez Catherine. This establishment has been around for over three decades and has listed in NJ Monthly magazine as one of the top 25 restaurants in New Jersey. How excited was I to discover it was practically around the corner from my new digs. Upon entering the quaint 40 seat space we were immediately greeted and rushed over to a corner table, our reservation name never even questioned. A few moments later we were welcomed by proprietairer Didier Jouvenet. His lifetime of experience was clearly demonstrated the entire evening by his hospitality, warmth and class. And of course the accent...wewe.. We were presented an amuse bouche of a light salmon mousse atop a cracker of puff pastry. Perfect bite to start the night. Although the wine list is excellent we opted to bring our own bottle of Opus One 2005 and pay the $35.00 corkage fee. We were in no way snobbed against by our very french waiter by presenting a California wine, in fact he was impressed and we even got Didier to join us in a glass (hidden from the wife, of course). The menu is a prix-fixe for $59.00 a head which includes app, entree and dessert, some offerings required a supplemental up charge. We started with traditional escargot and terrine of foie gras. The snails were tender but could have used a touch more garlic and the foie needed just a little more humph but melted like butter. We added an additional course of truffle infused risotto - Killer!! Wished I could have that for all three of my courses. For our entrees we had the halibut, Dover sole was already sold out and the Entrecote de Boeuf, NY strip. Halibut was cooked perfectly and the sauce light and flavorful. The strip was a tad tough but good enough, the dauphinois potatoes more than made up for it. For dessert we chose the creme brulee and a rhubarb and strawberry tart. Both were delicious and just the right size. The dessert menu reflected that they must have an excellent pastry chef on premise.
Overall a great evening. I would highly recommend visiting. Call for reservations, limited seating. Web site attached, chezcatherin.com and tell Didier I said hi. Bon Appetit!
The Spainaird
