Mediterranean eats that are decid-
edly lighter and healthier than
classic German food.
While on this side of the
Atlantic pork ribs are de rigueur, in
the Mediterranean, the preference is
for lamb ribs. After you taste Kill’s
pork ribs ($14), you might very well
change your allegiance. Marinated
in za'atar, cooked sous vide and
served atop a flavorful herb sauce,
the ribs are super-meaty and tender.
And they're easy to share: The kitch-
en cuts the ribs into single pieces so
that you and your friends can pick
one up — don't bother with utensils
— and dig in. Forget napkins, too:
Lick your fingers clean after you
demolish the ribs to get every drop
of that marinade and sauce.
A nutty butternut squash soup
($10) drizzled with pumpkin seed
oil was so rich and delicious, I was
stunned to learn it had no cream.
Credit its lushness to mashed roasted
squash pulp perfectly seasoned with
nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.
The only appetizer I sampled
that disappointed was an eggplant
caponata ($10); it was so bland and
watery that I left nearly all of it on
my plate, including the flat pita that
accompanied it.
I’d be hard pressed to name a
better tasting fish dish than the
potato-crusted cod ($22), served with
sautéed spinach and a homemade
honey mustard sauce. The coat of
crisp potatoes gave way to a tender
piece of protein that, thanks to its
starchy covering, retained its delicate
texture and slightly sweet flavor. It
is, Kill told me in a follow-up phone
call, his favorite dish. It's easy to
understand why.
When the chicken tagine ($21)
I ordered was placed in front of
me, I did a double take. It wasn’t
served in a customary cone-shaped
Moroccan tagine as I had expected,
but in a generic deep dish, and the
bite-size pieces of chicken thighs
weren't braised as tradition would
dictate, but cooked sous-vide. (The
(Clockwise from top) Lamb ribs with chermoula, labneh and za’atar; the Cracker Jack torte with
peanut caramel, chocolate sauce, caramel corn, popcorn ice cream and maldon salt; the bar area;
Allegory’s gold-infused menu.
method involves placing food in a
vacuum-sealed bag, then cooking it
in a low-temperature water bath for
a long time.)
Upset? Are you kidding? I loved
the moist chicken and the chunks of
cauliflower, potatoes, mushrooms
and olives that joined it. Who needs
a tagine pot when the tagine itself is
so good?
Someone in the kitchen needed
to keep a more vigilant eye on the
tagliatelle, though. The long strands
of pasta were so overcooked, the
thick and rich beef Bolognese ($16)
that coated them struggled might-
ily to try to compensate — and failed.
Desserts had no trouble pleasing.
The chocolate pot de creme ($12) did
not pull any punches. It was the real
deal — heavy, rich, creamy — and,
for good measure, served with
home-made vanilla ice cream.
Terrific, too, was something
called MC “Cracker Jack” torte ($14),
a splendid caramel mousse atop a
peanut crust decorated with caramel-
ized popcorn. It didn't come with
any toy surprise as a box of Cracker
Jack would, but no one at my table
was complaining. We were too busy
devouring it.
As for the mishaps at the start
of our meal? With food this good,
the valet could have taken his sweet
time after my dinner while I took
my time fantasizing about my next
Negroni and meal at the Allegory. ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2020
35