Something to Wine About..

"I'll meet you in the drawing room of the Château." Wouldn't you love to say that to a friend? Well you can do more than say it, you can do it! This Wednesday, October 14, you can join an intimate and exclusive evening (just 70 guests) at the Wines of New Zealand Dinner at the Pleasantdale Château.

A seasonally appropriate menu including New Zealand mussels, barramundi, lamb, herbs and vegetables from the chateau's on-site farm and a selection of sheep's milk cheeses from the Valley Shepherd Creamery (Long Valley, NJ) will be paired with a portfolio of wines from Kim Crawford vineyards. Matt Large, winemaker of Kim Crawford wines will fly in from New Zealand to discuss the wines, the food pairings and the winemaking process.

The "Wines of New Zealand Dinner" will be preceded by a cocktail reception in the Drawing Room of the Château starting at 7:00pm. The dinner will begin at 7:30 pm in the Music Room.

To attend this event, please call Laura Madden, senior sales manager of Pleasantdale Château at 973-731-5600 x3016. The all-inclusive (meal, tax and gratuity) evening is$125. Kim Crawford wines will also be available for purchase at discounted rates. pleasantdale.com

Juice Makers

Like great food? Who doesn’t! Are you a bit of a health nut? Ok, maybe I’m not, but I like great food. And I am a huge fan of Tico’s Eatery & Juice Bar on Witherspoon Street (although it faces Spring Street) in downtown Princeton. Tico’s is one of the few juice bars that offer wheatgrass shots in the Princeton area. Wheatgrass is said to help detoxify the body and keep you healthy. They also make fresh juices to order and have everything from orange and pineapple to carrots and beets. If you are in the mood for a smoothie, my favorite is the strawberry banana, plus all of their smoothies are made with non-fat frozen yogurt. Custom-make your own or choose from one of the already declared favorites such as the Jamaican Jammer. Try one of their quesadillas, panini or Jose’s chicken salad. Everything is made fresh daily and with the highest quality ingredients. They are open Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm and Saturday from 9am-3pm, serving breakfast, lunch and the occasional snack or juice. If you don’t have time to sit and eat and watch the passers-by, you can order something quick to go or grab something pre-made in their “on-the-go” section. Princeton students can find Tico’s food in the University Store. Check out the menu at www.campusfood.com. Did we mention they will cater? This is a real mom and pop shop serving great food in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Once you go there, they will know you by name. It’s no wonder Tico’s is one of the little gems of Princeton. Written for www.njmyway.com by Princeton’s Katie DeVito who also blogs for www.princetonscoop.com. www.facebook.com/njmyway www.twitter.com/njmyway

It’s convenient. It’s professional. And it’s harmful to you and the environment. It’s dry cleaning! Surprised? What you may not realize is that the chemical agent called Perchloroethylene (Perc), which is used to clean our suits, dresses and coats is actually contaminating the ground and harming our own health. So, who do you call in a time of need like this? Captain Dry Clean to the rescue! Known as entrepreneur Michael Waintraub by day, Captain Dry Clean has been making the Mercer County area a safer place to do laundry professionally since 2007 with the use of Organic cleaning agents. “Perc has been used for a long time, but it’s so dangerous,” said the Captain. “It’s why the dry cleaner tells you to put your clothing out in the garage after you pick it up, to let the Perc air out. We found a cleaning agent that is safer and does just as good a job.” The chemical Waintraub uses is a biodegradable and non-carcinogenic Organic compound called Gen-X from a Wayne-based company, Caled Chemicals, one of the leading distributors of dry cleaning products. He has also found other ways to be resourceful by using biodegradable bags and recycled hangers from customers. Waintraub is just one of those New Jersey dry cleaners who have moved to Green cleaning because of the state mandate to phase out the use of Perc by 2010. According to AmericanDryCleaner.com, “drycleaners would have until Jan. 1, 2010 to install fourth-generation, nonvented perc units to limit airborne emissions of perc” and the use of perc will be completely eliminated by 2021. But it wasn’t the regulations that made Waintraub be a Green dry cleaner. It was a personal and forward thinking choice. “When I started in the business I was a mobile dry cleaner using a distributor that used perc,” recalled Waintraub. “I was getting headaches and nauseous and decided that when I started my own company, I didn’t want to use perc for the health of my family and my customers.” You can catch Captain Dry Clean in action at either of his 2 Ewing locations, but fear not: the Captain hopes to swoop in to your community and make it a cleaner and greener dressed place!

No Sign of Sammy's

Drive a few miles past Mendham and you are in another time and land. Take care not to be distracted by the gentleman farms or the steeply winding road ahead of you; there is no sign to let you know that Sammy’s Ye Old Cider Mill (www.sammyscidermill.com) is there. The parking lot is the only tip-off, set just off the road across from the crumbling mill. Enter through the formerly screened front porch, or from the back if you can’t find a space up front. This former Prohibition era speakeasy (hence no sign out front) really bustles on a Saturday night with "multi-hour" waits for a table. Place your order in the dining room and go downstairs to the bar, play a few games of pinball, have a classic shaken cocktail like their famous "historic" Gin Martini, and smile as people in the know, like yourself line up for a few drinks amongst friends before dinner. Food: Choices are extensive, we always get the Shrimp Cocktail that is comprised of 3 prawn sized shrimp, sweet and lemony as if just plucked from the steamer, then flash cooled for your plate, served with fresh cocktail sauce, brimming with hot horseradish. But Prime Aged Steak is king here. Prime aged beef. How about a Rib Eye, studded with crunchy fat? Maybe you'd enjoy a bone in NY Strip? They have double cut lamb chops too, plus a commendable hand ground burger that rivals the best available in New York. Nearly everything is made in house by loving hands. Try the appetizer portion of pasta with garlic and oil with excellent bread and the made in house red wine vinegar doused-lettuce, tomato and red onion tossed salad that comes with the meal. Freshly steamed local corn greeted us with our steaks, as well as the show-stopper-the double cooked French Fries, Crispy, searing hot and salty… Get yourself some Heinz Ketchup and dig right in. Go ahead and use your fingers, everyone else does too. Fish is handled with the same care and love as the steaks. Wild Salmon was the choice the other night, cooked perfectly to exactly the requested temp. Service is always with a smile. The seventy year old murals of verdant farms which surround you inside of the dining rooms serve to connect you with the past. Bring a group of your friends, but if they’re from the area, they’ll already know everyone at Ye Old Cider Mill. It’s that kind of place. NJ My Way Food & Wine Contributor Warren Bobrow grew up on a farm in Morristown and is a contributing editor of the Stockton-based Wild River Review (www.wildriverreview.com). NJ My Way is always on Facebook and Twitter!

The Cycle of Stuff

We are fans of Terracycle, (www.terracycle.net) the Trenton company where ordinary household goods are recycled into a cool assortment of candy wrapper school bags, pencil cases, and decorative objects. Now, these greener than greenies have opened a new store in Princeton’s Palmer Square, (63 Palmer Square West) so you can see and feel and buy these products, plus bring your recyclables and do some good of your own. Terracycle buys your stuff and converts it to these goods. We explained this program on our original post in March of 2008 after an impressive factory tour: http://www.njmyway.com/index.php?option=com_wordpress&p=317&Itemid=53. The company even has a special program that helps hundreds of schools with fundraising. At the Princeton store, there is a wall of cubby holes for you to stuff your throwaways, and get paid $.02 for each item. It’s a great way to teach your little ones to recycle and be rewarded. Teachers, this is worth a field trip! Terracyle’s line of green garden products, includes the famous Worm Poop fertilizer (sounds awful, works great) packaged in recycled soda bottles. The company is succeeding in this unique eco-capitalism. They are making the Garden State –and every place greener, and we’re glad to help.

Doggie-Doo-Care

Too pooped to scoop..poop? It's a stinky job–– literally and figuratively.

But just as you can hire a maid to clean your toilet, you can have your dog's toilet (er, your yard) cleaned too! Here are some sources: www.poopbutler.com/pooper-scooper-service.htm

www.canineclean-up.net Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties. 973.981.005 Happy Tails, Inc. Morris County, Northern NJ 973.713.5649 Scoop De Tail Essex and Morris Counties scoopdetail@yahoo.com www.scoopdetail.com 973.886.8281

meredith viera

NBC’s Meredith Vieira to Speak

On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, Saint Barnabas Medical Center invites community members to “An Evening with Meredith Vieira.” The nine-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, co-host of NBC’s Today show, wife and mother of three will share stories from her unique career which spans 30 years. She will discuss how she maintains a balance between work, family and health care concerns. This FREE Saint Barnabas presentation will be held at Temple B’nai Jeshurun, 1025 South Orange Avenue in Short Hills, N.J. Doors will open at 7:10 p.m. and the program will begin at 7:30 p.m. sharp. Registration is requested by calling 1-888-SBHS-123, option 1 or emailing teamlink@sbhcs.com. Complimentary parking will be provided.