Faubourg is supposed to be wonderful! And I always loved Samba, too. I didn’t know MishMish had closed, but his market on Valley is terrific for lunch or food to go.
I moved out of NNJ 6+ years ago but still get up there to see family and agree—parking is still awful in that town!
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I have friends who’ve lived in Montclair since soon after college - so many years. Faubourg is one of their favorites.
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You should have tried the mushroom soup at The Circle. They used freshly foraged mushrooms and poured the delicious broth over them at the table. You could have even gotten fresh shaved truffles over your mushroom soup (for extra of course).
I know that the lobster dish is expensive but very well prepared with perfectly roasted lobster and crispy chili crisps on top with buttery escarole. I don’t think your $6.99 lobster would have come out like that 
I am surprised that you were worried about expenses since you seem to dine at the most expensive restaurants (Latour in Crystal Springs, 15 course dinner at Elements)
I will try the mushroom soup next time it’s on the menu. Re: lobster, I’m sure it was delicious, I was just expecting more to it so that it justifies the price 
We actually had our 20th anniversary so to celebrate we dined at 20 different restaurants in 3 months. I searched for best restaurants and Latour and Elements were one of them. Since it was a special occasion, it was ok to splurge We also dined at Ninety Acres and you might like this dish, it was so good - slow poached natirar egg with polenta, forest mushroom, 5-yr aged parmigiano and black truffle (lots of big shavings!). I didn’t like the desserts we had though. I still have other restaurants I want to try since now I’m kind of spoiled - Cafe Matisse, Common Lot and Saddle River Inn.
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Belated Happy Anniversary! What a great way to celebrate 20 years together!
That slow poached Natirar egg sounds decadent.
Those are all great choices of restaurants you would like to try. Cafe Matisse used to be spectacular but it has slipped up a little bit. The dining room is still gorgeous and they have the most beautiful outdoor garden to dine in during warmer weather. While you are in the neighborhood you should give Fiorentini (down the block) a try. It’s a new farm to table Italian restaurant that is very good.
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I actually canceled Cafe Matisse in favor of The Circle, as I thought we’d go there when their garden opens. It’s sad to hear that they are not as good, but I might still want to try them. Their desserts right now do not look anything I would want, so hopefully they change them soon. Will definitely put Fiorentini on my list! If you are going to The Circle this Sunday, you should check out The Farmer’s Daughter (3 min away). They close at 2pm though, but they have a market that close at 4pm (call to make sure). I heard good things about them. Thanks for the greetings and enjoy your dinner!
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Thank you!
Yes, I was looking at the Farmer’s Daughter & want to try them out; maybe in the Spring. I see they are open for Dinner on Saturday night until 8PM.
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Wow, happy retirement! We are giving this place another chance, so going there this Wed. If you read this before then, what would you recommend? We are only going to do the 2-course meal. Thanks!
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Thank you! We are going again this Saturday and to The Circle on Sunday.
For the first course I would recommend the mushroom panzanella salad or prosciutto San Danielle, and possibly the burrata (I haven’t tried that prep yet). I would also suggest you get the hand cut fries which are $10 extra but worth it. For the main course the tile fish was very good, the roasted duck breast, or the shrimp. Let them know if you want any crispy skin on anything 
Have you been to the Farmer’s Daughter yet? It’s excellent and highly recommended. They also have a store next door where you can get some gourmet foods.
I hope you enjoy your meal this time! Tell them Eli sent you
When I said to my husband that I want to eat there again, he said “why? It’s not even good”. I said I just want to try it again since we’ll be in the area anyway for a car appt, so we’re not going too much out of our way. Yeah, hopefully we’ll like it this time.
Btw is the first pic the duck breast? It doesn’t match the description on the site, so maybe they chgd the menu already. Is the 5th pic the foie gras? Was that worth the supplement? And the 6th pic is the mushroom app?
I have not been to the Farmer’s Daughter / market yet. Maybe when we go to the Circle again we’ll stop by there, since it’s pretty far. They must know you by now at the Circle, just like at JOM 
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Yes, the first and second pictures are of the duck breast. It looks like they changed the accompaniments to whatever fresh vegetables they had on hand. It was still very good.
The 5th picture was the foie gras and was comped to me because I had actually ordered a short rib special that was a little too tough, so I changed my order to the duck. They apologized profusely and comped me the foie gras. It was very good but I can’t say if it is worth the upcharge. The hand cut fries are definitely worth the extra $10.
Just make sure that if you don’t like the way anything is prepared please let them know right away and they will gladly change it for you. They want their customers to be happy and are very accommodating.
The 6th picture is the mushroom panzanella.
They know us a little at the Circle. Michelle is our favorite server. The Chefs aren’t too customer friendly like they are at JOM.
The Farmer’s Daughter is only about 1/2 hour away from JOM and about 10 minutes from The Circle.
Enjoy! I’m looking forward to your review!
Good to know that they are willing to replace something we might not like. Hopefully we’ll like everything
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Well, we enjoyed the dishes better this time. The only thing is, I thought some of the dishes were a little salty. The mushroom panzanella was probably the best dish of the night (ty for recommending), except for the salt level. The duck confit and halibut were good, but the skin on both were salty (the fish itself was perfectly seasoned). My husband got the duck breast, which was ok. We got the fries like you suggested, which were tasty, but I had better truffle fries before that made me say ‘wow!’. Maybe my expectations were too high because you like the place so much LOL. Since I still have a lot of restaurants that I want to try, it might be a while before I come back here. I took some pictures but not as amazing as yours. Enjoy your dinner today and tomorrow!
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Nice pictures! I’m glad that you enjoyed your meal a little better this time. You have to think of this restaurant as a friendly neighborhood restaurant, and not as a gourmet restaurant. I would consider The Circle more on the gourmet side.
My wife and I like our food more seasoned and actually add more pepper and salt sometimes. We even add sriracha powder to the fries.
You should try the Farmer’s Daughter when you get a chance. I think you will like it.
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What I find interesting is just how many words in that description would be totally unrecognizable by my mother.
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Happy birthday 
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Thank you 
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