Today, the corner of Chestnut and Forest is, once again, the neighborhood hub. Around noon, kids from Montclair High School start drifting in for lunch— they can get a slice, a drink and a freshbaked chocolate chip cookie for $ 4— and they’ re back again after school, giving Perretti hugs, then sitting in groups, chatting, on their phones, playing with Dungeons and Dragons cards. The owners are cool with that, even though the kids don’ t tend to be big spenders.“ From the beginning, we let them know they were welcome if they were respectful, and got them hooked on our pizza and mac’ n’ cheese,” she says. Word of mouth spread from kids to their parents, who themselves got hooked on the barbecue and stayed for the music.
To Perretti, who doesn’ t have children of her own, the local kids are more than a marketing vehicle. She’ s an active supporter of the Montclair-based nonprofit Jazz House Kids; young musicians perform at Ruthie’ s every August before their appearance at the jazz festival. She also provides lunches to the Montclair Coop school across the street; their art students provided the colorful mosaic murals that adorn Ruthie’ s outdoor walls.“ I love the kids,” Perretti says.“ It was the kids who saved us.”
Of course, the real secret to the success of Ruthie’ s is the food. Despite his fancy bona fides, Eric has always had an aversion to fussy food. His“ slow-smoked” barbecue— pulled pork or chicken, chopped brisket— is the real deal, and comes with 11 dipping sauce options, including tarragon-Dijon and roasted garlic-rosemary. Everything down to the mayo is house made.“ Eric can’ t open a bottle or jar,” laughs Perretti.
HANGING OUT( Top) Montclair High students drop by;( Above) Eric Kaplan and Ruth Perretti.
“ He just can’ t do it.”
In season, their produce comes from the couple’ s family farm in western New Jersey, where Perretti grows tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic and zucchini. Sides are Southerninspired and spiced with sophistication: collard greens with burnt ends; cornmeal crusted fried okra, hush puppies. As befits Ruthie’ s open-door policy, non-meat eaters are welcome, with smoked salmon cakes and four salads, including one with warm goat cheese, walnuts, apples and sherry vinaigrette. Even the dogs leave satisfied, thanks to the $ 3 Lulu pork shoulder bone, named after Perretti’ s beloved dachshund. And the pizza pies are more than an afterthought: 18-inch thin crispy discs with foodiefriendly toppings like caramelized onion, jalapeno, pesto, fennel, Texas sausage and asiago cheese.
The fitting accompaniment to Ruthie’ s down-home food is the live music— blues, bluegrass, funk, R & B— every Friday and Saturday evening from late spring through fall. On warm weekend evenings, the corner of Chestnut and Forest, a residential neighborhood just down the street from Montclair High School, vibrates with energy as families with young kids, some with the family dog in tow, fill the metal tables that line the sidewalk.
Dusk brings an influx of adults jockeying for prime tables on an elevated platform facing the pit by Ruthie’ s back door, where musicians are tuning their guitars. After placeholding tables, steps and ledges with brown-bagged bottles, patrons order food inside and return to mingle and meet neighbors, passing around plastic cups and communal corkscrews.
Soon, waitresses are weaving in and out of the tables, the kitchen’ s screen door slamming behind them, delivering soul food on Styrofoam. As night falls, a kitschy neon Ruthie’ s sign glows and fairy lights twinkle, the musicians start to jam, the families with young kids drift home, and the music and the night take over.
Eric is a talented guitarist with deep roots in the local music scene who can draw top musicians; sometimes he’ ll take a break from kitchen duties to jam along with them.
“ Ruthie’ s grew out of the places that make us happy, with simple food done right and the roots music that shaped Eric as a musician,” says Perretti. Judging from the scene on the corner of Chestnut and Forest, that combination makes a lot of other people happy, too. ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE BACK TOSCHOOL 2018
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