runny yolk that was the perfect dressing for the accompanying radish and asparagus salad. Kudos to the chef for obviously soaking the radish in an ice bath, rendering them crisp and peppery, without bitter afternotes.
I couldn’ t wait to try the tempurabattered Maitake mushrooms with a truffled fontina fondue. Maitake is Japanese for what we know as hen of the woods, a culinary treasure of a mushroom that grows at the base of trees and is well-known for its medicinal benefits. Lightly battered, the mushrooms were near perfect. Sadly, the accompanying fondue
AT A GLANCE
• MOST ENTREES $ 15- $ 20
• CLOSED MONDAYS
• TAKEOUT AVAILABLE
• HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE
• FULLBAR
• CATERING
that was drizzled on every piece suffered from a heavy hand of truffle oil, and was extremely salty— so salty, in fact, that I attempted to remove the sauce so Icould enjoy the mushrooms.
Asparagus was the star of a housemade fettucine featuring celery root puree and egg yolk in a parmesan broth. The dish was quite serviceable, though Ihad ahard time finding celery root flavor, or the unctuous yolk. It was light, refreshing and came across as spring in abowl. The pasta, however, could have done with a bit more seasoning.
The opposite held true with a breaded Berkshire pork. Served Milanese style with a delightful salad atop, the pork was so utterly salt-infused that I could not handle more than two bites. The accompanying beet, apple and cucumber salad laced with beets and bacon and tossed to perfection in a mustard vinaigrette could not offset the overwhelming salt in the dish. It was gorgeous to look at, and Iwas sad to not be able to eat it.
The Mussels and Fries dish was aplay on Belgianstyle mussels. In the classic preparation, they are served over fries that soak up the accompanying sauce. We were served abowl of very good, albeit small, mussels, in a delightful fennel broth; however, the fries were nowhere to be found. When we finally got the fries – about 10 minutes after we were finishing up the mussels— they were room temperature and overcooked.
We went with our server’ s dessert suggestion of coffee and donuts. The donuts were
POTROAST
exactly as described by the server: Mexican churros with a delightful chocolate mocha dipping sauce, anice sweet ending to the meal.
Braun’ s is a terrific spot. It will be even better when the chef has a lighter hand with seasoning. The over-salting of our meal was the sole reason it was not a completely sweet experience. ■
We congratulate Christine E. Nunn in her new job as executive chef of Fables, a family-friendly restaurant in Oak Ridge. This is her final dining review for Montclair Magazine.
BLUEBERRYMOJITO MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE BACK TOSCHOOL 2018
61