buzzworthy
Montclair
COLORRIOT ! COMES TO MONTCLAIR ARTMUSEUM
Fall has gotten off to abright start at the Montclair Art Museum with its COLOR RIOT ! HOW COLOR CHANGED NAVAJO TEXTILES , which opened Sept . 11 and runs through Jan . 2 , 2022 . The exhibit features bold woven artworks created between 1860 and1930 , a time when Navajo — or Diné , as the people often refer to themselves — weavers incorporated style features from Hispanic textiles , bright dyes , and wool yarns . With older trading networks disrupted , weavers had unprecedented freedom to experiment , and turned to new sources of inspiration . The collection also includes textiles made in recent years . Color Riot ! was organized by curators at the Heard Museum in Phoenix , Arizona ; Laura J . Allen , MAM ’ s Curator of Native American Art , coordinated its presentation at the Montclair Art Museum . An additional room in the installation highlights the beauty of weaving as a connective practice for the producers of these works of art . • 3 South Mountain Ave ., ( 973 ) 746-5555 , montclairartmuseum . org
— CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
Montclair
ACUT ABOVE
VAN HOOK CHEESE & GROCERY , apopular cut-to-order artisan cheese shop and gourmet grocery store in Jersey City , has opened a Montclair location . “ Montclair has a thriving dining scene ,” says owner and resident Carl Chastain , “ with lots of independently owned and specialty businesses , all sorts of coffee shops , roasters . People are doing a lot of great things here .” An artisan cheese shop , he says , is a nice addition .
Van Hook carries more than 100 varieties of cheeses , many produced by small creameries . The cheese , says Chastain , is evenly divided between foreign and domestic brands . You can get cheese from just about every major European cheese-producing country , including France , Italy , Holland , Spain and Greece — as well as nearly every state in the country . “ The domestic artisan cheese scene is fantastic right now ,” he says . “ It can stand on its own .”
And while the Garden State does not — atleast not yet — have many creameries , Van Hook does carry cheese from Long Valley-based dairy farm Shepherd Valley Creamery and Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrence Township .
In addition to cheese and platters , Van Hook offers cured meats , jams and spreads , crackers , dried fruit and nuts , as well as bread from local and New York City bakeries including Le French Dad in Montclair and Sullivan Street Bakery and Amy ’ s Bread , both in Manhattan . It also makes its own mozzarella . Beginning in September , Van Hook started offering cheese classes every two weeks .
Want a grilled cheese sandwich or a small cheese plate to enjoy in the shop ? No problem . Van Hook has three bistro tables . Chastain recommends grabbing a bottle of wine from a nearby liquor store — or from home — to enjoy with the cheese . If you are not a cheese connoisseur , he says , you needn ’ t worry ; his staff is more than happy to offer samples to taste .
Asked to name a few of the shop ’ s most unique cheeses , Chastain gives shout-outs to Spanish sheep ’ s milk cheese El Abuelo Ruperto , which “ has a rustic , nutty , toasted quality and is made by an amazing woman ;” Vermont-based Lazy Lady Farm ’ s Bonaparte , an ash-rinded , truncated pyramid goat ’ s milk cheese ; a “ frankly stinky ” washed-rind , runny cow ’ s milk cheese called Foxglove made by a Dutch man ; and Swiss Belper Knolle , a “ hard-as-rock aged cow ’ s milk cheese that ’ s rolled up in a ball with chopped garlic and black peppercorn , and looks like a black truffle ,” he says . “ It ’ s designed to be used like a truffle .”
• 111 Grove St ., ( 973 ) 830-2676 , vanhookcheese . com — ESTHERDAVIDOWITZ
ART : CRAIG SMITH / COURTESY OFTHE HEARD MUSEUM ; CHEESE : COURTESY OF CHRISTINE HAN
10 FALL 2021 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE