dining out
Tasty Tale
Allegory at The MC Hotel stands for fine dining
WRITTEN BY ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
Montclair
ALLEGORY
690 BLOOMFIELD AVE., (973) 329-5600
ALLEGORYMC.COM
T
he dining room of the restaurant
Allegory, housed in the lobby of
The MC Hotel, was completely
empty when two friends and I
entered.
“You can have any seat in the house,”
the waiter said with a laugh.
So it was disconcerting to soon find our-
selves waiting and waiting for our waiter,
actually any waiter, to return to our table.
We no longer had the near-monochromatic,
rather cold and uninspired-looking room to
ourselves; a handful of diners also had made
their way in. I had to practically grab a
waiter to order drinks.
This took place after the hotel's valet took
an inordinate amount of time to relieve me of
my car so I could go to dinner.
Not a promising start for a meal out with
friends. But when a well made Negroni finally
arrived sporting one large ice cube (less water
to melt so less dilution; yes!), my mood lifted
considerably. It just about soared by the time
I finished the dinner that followed.
German-born-and-trained executive chef
Daniel Kill has worked at Tantris in Munich,
which has two Michelin stars; Wallsé, an
Austrian restaurant in New York City that
has one Michelin star; and the well-loved
restaurant Café Sabarsky, another Austrian
restaurant in Manhattan.
But don't expect schnitzel or sauerbraten
at his new spot in Montclair. Kill’s menu
is more eclectic, leaning toward Italian and
34
SPRING 2020 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
POTATO CRUSTED COD WITH SPINACH AND
WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD