We enjoyed an excellent dinner at Cafe Panache in Ramsey, NJ. We haven’t eaten here in over 3 months because we didn’t like the way the previous chef was rushing his customers, and bullying his staff. The staff seemed rushed and walking on eggshells. It was sad because this used to be one of our favorite restaurants before Chef/owner Kohler passed away. I recently read that a new chef had taken over, (Michael Matonti), who used to be a protege of Chef Kohler. We decided to give it one more try and are glad that we did. Service was much more relaxed and less stressed. We were not rushed at all. I am looking forward to adding this restaurant back to our regular rotation.
We enjoyed crispy potato crusted mahi mahi; crispy panko crusted halibut with forbidden rice and bok choy, in a wasabi sake sauce; lobster bisque with PEI mussels and sherry cream; pumpkin cappellacci with brown butter and crispy fried sage. For dessert we had coconut cake with caramel sauce. It all went great with an excellent Chateauneuf Du Pape.
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