Heirloom Kitchen, Old Bridge [NJ]

So they will be filming at the location for your dinner?

Oh sorry, I wasn’t clear. The show is over and none of these three won. These three contestants are getting together and each doing 2 courses each. The restaurant is doing only this special 6 course dinner that night. I have high hopes!

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Ahhhhhh gotcha…thought there was some reunion show. lol my bad.

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We went to the four Top Chef collaboration dinner in March- It also was six courses for $225. It was a very expensive night, but each and every dish was incredible. They also had wine pairings (included), but in hindsight I would have brought my own wine that night. Enjoy the night- it’ll be fun!!

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SO. JEALOUS!!! That’s an awesome hubby you’ve got, though… :blush:

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If I did the math correctly, that is 47.625 per plate with a 20% tip included in the equation.

Is that right? Is the food that good here?

YES.
But this is also a special event, so the price is a little higher.

Correct, normally it would only be $47.50 per plate.

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I didn’t want to do the math!!! :see_no_evil:

@CurlzNJ Yeah, I think I’m going to keep him. :blush:

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It has taken me a few days to write this which is a good signal that we have been outside finally! In short, this dinner was no joke. Crazy delicious with a ton of thought, preparation and talent behind each dish. The only major issue was the table next to us which was super loud and obnoxious. We actually had to ask them to keep it down. The dinner included wine pairings but we didn’t know and brought a bottle, too which we brought most home. They would serve the wine and each course then the chef who prepared it would describe the dish. Next the owner of Court Liquors would talk about why he chose that wine for this course.
My favorite course hands down was the first. It was NEXT level and I have been thinking about it since.








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ETA that I haaaaaaaaaaate the lack of editorial/proofreading at the APP. /rant

Yeah, I don’t know where they got “516 Marlboro Road” from, especially since they have the right address for the liquor store in the same strip mall.

I have to give a big shout out to Chef David and the crew at Heirloom Kitchen. We were a party of 3 for a late seating on Saturday and enjoyed one of the best meals I recall eating in quite some time. This is only the second time I’ve tried HK with the first being before the prix fixe/tasting menu change. I am blown away by the fact that we have this quality of food in a casual environment in Old Bridge NJ. Without going into great detail about everything we ate, suffice it to say we enjoyed everything we had. We decided to go with the 5 course tasting menu (which included 5 send outs including the amuse, a phenomenal pasta and caviar course, the chicken marsala from the 3 course prix fixe menu, a halva ice cream pre-dessert and some jellies at the end of the meal). The consensus winner of the night was the cod with saffron romesco and marbled potatoes (the pasta being a close second) while the least favorite was the Assam Tea Mousse (just plain - nothing special flavor wise - please chefs, please end with some type of chocolate). My photos of every dish (save for the halva ice cream and the jellies) follows. My apologies in advance for the quality of the pictures and the poor lighting. I am no RGR when it comes to taking pictures. Special thanks to our wonderful waiter Nick who took great care of us as well as Chef David for coming out and spending quite a bit of time with us as we geeked out over Top Chef. Minor nit picks include the decibel level of the great music and the temperature of a few of the dishes. I am no old fogey and love my music loud, but this volume was on another level. Maybe the music gets louder the later in the evening but to me it was a tad too much. However, don’t go changing the music selection. It was excellent and a welcome respite from your typical restaurant muzak. As for the temp of some dishes, the tuna in the “pasta salad” course could have been a bit colder, the fried rice warmer (was it really meant to be served cold?) and the mashed potatoes under the fresh from the fryer potato croquette in the NY Strip course was cold. While the kitchen was very generous with what they sent out, I would also like to see a bread service added as there were numerous times I wanted to sop up the great sauces that were left over on the plates (also at this price point bread is expected). Again, a stellar, wonderful and unforgettable evening. ***** IMG_5518 IMG_5519 IMG_5520 IMG_5521 IMG_5522 IMG_5523 IMG_5524 IMG_5527

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Words I’ll never type…!
But I do agree with you about the temperature of a few dishes. Still a WONDERFUL meal–glad you thought so too.

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Deal killer!

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@bgut1, Ha! I do appreciate the compliment! However, I think your photos here are actually quite good. (Taken with an iPhone?)

As you know, an uncomfortably high noise level will keep me from patronizing a restaurant even if the food is wonderful. So, we haven’t run into the loud music situation at HK. Did you ask them to lower it? I certainly would have.

I totally agree with you that bread service should be included with prix-fixe and tasting menus at this price point. When we did the tasting menu, I actually requested some. While they did provide it for an additional charge, frankly, I thought the bread wasn’t good, not anything like the excellent bread we had the first time we dined there.

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@RGR - The pictures were in fact taken with my iPhone X. I think they turned out okay but the lighting was poor and I took them quickly as I didn’t want to make a big scene/deal doing so. As for the noise, I did consider asking for them to lower it but again didn’t want to make a big issue of it. The decision to not offer bread puzzled me. People are hungry when they sit down and while I understand that restaurants are trying to cut costs, the menu price point made it even more surprising. The restaurant was far from stingy when it came to the amount of food offered though I would’ve rather they provide some good bread and butter in lieu of a send out from the kitchen. Just my 2 cents and I am sure others will disagree. All that said, it was a fantastic meal both in food and service. My regards to your family and wishing you an enjoyable 4th.

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@CurlzNJ - Not a chocolate fan? For me, you can’t go wrong with anything chocolate for dessert and since it is usually the last bite of food a diner will put in their month that evening, you want to end on a high and memorable note.

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While I’ll certainly eat chocolate, my preference is always for something tart/citrus. Or savory ( such as Nicholas creamery’s ricotta/olive oil ice cream). OR I can simply drink my dessert… :blush:

@bgut1, I probably don’t have to tell you that Mr. R. and I have had a lot of experience with tasting menus. Not only do they always include bread (though not necessarily served as soon as you are seated) but also an amuse at the start and mignardises or petit fours at the very end which more often than not include chocolates. Even upscale restaurants serving a 3-course prix-fixe include these. Since we agree that Heirloom’s price point is relatively high, which puts it in the upscale category, I feel all of these should be part of the meals there, if not with the 3-course, then definitely with the 5-course.

Wishing you and yours a Happy 4th!