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The Teators had thrown a bit of a curve, leaving the
house at six, prompting the others to assume we had
reservations at seven. Forty minutes into the ride, with
a left directional blaring to cross traffic onto Frontage
Rd, the fearless band of eight turned, six of them more
than skeptical, but we had arrived.
The Mastrantuono family, known for a decade’s stint
as owners of Sophia’s Restaurant in Greenville,
fostered the culinary talents of young Mike, now the chef
of Milestone. The Teators had known Lou and Mike from the
Cairo gym, and so it felt like long-time acquaintances
meeting up again.
We commented that the restaurant’s location is a
contradiction of well-trafficked and, at the same time,
hidden, with excellent accessibility for travelers of Rts
32 and 9W, but hidden in the mishmash of the nondescript
building fronts that comprise Frontage Road. The fact
that Milestone was the former Stone Ends, a well known
upscale restaurant, is such ancient history that only our
generation remembers it, and then mostly not.
We dashed through a getting-ready-to-pelt rain, the first
we could remember in nearly a month, through a corridor
to the service counter, met Lou, turned left into the
main dining room, one of the more distinctive dining
spaces in the area. Approximately a 40’x40’
cavern, two sides are bluestone, ceiling to floor,
sculpted with the recessed lighting so every layer of
rock is delineated. The front has two grandly large
casement windows with vista views of traffic and light,
with two long and tall windows dividing each of the stone
walls. (Meanwhile, there is another room, almost as
large, holding the bar, more seating, and a stage for
music.)The menu is
classic American cuisine, with a heavy scent of an
Italian touch, with room for many preferences. This
evening, we selected:
—> pork osso buco,
with mushroom risotto, bits of arugula, a touch of white
truffle (Don: a first-time ever order, a delicious and
mouth-melting cut; risotto a bit dry but interestingly
earthy; a very good experiment and would do again)
—> seared sea
scallops, dusted with smoky paprika, pinned to a risotto
cake, drizzled with beurre blanc, accompanied with bacon
lardon and asparagus (Deb T: of course; the small portion
choice of three scallops; rated one of her top scallops)
—> 12 oz strip
steak, with a baked potato and grilled vegetables (Kriss:
well-done, as always; average-ly good)
—> grilled salmon,
cilantro , soy, ginger and a healthy dose of sesame
seeds; baked potato and grilled vegetables (KEN—our
steak person!: one of his first-ever selections with DP8,
very good ...)
—> frutti di mare
– shrimp & scallops & calamari &
mussels, in a homemade marinara, over fettucini (Judy:
so-so, a bit dry, cold food; and Chay, mediocre, sticky
pasta; 2 shrimp, 2 scallops, 6 mussels – meal is
overpriced)
—> carbonara, with
bacon lardon, sweet peas, pecorino romano, garlic &
shallots, all tossed in cream and fettucini (Deb K: pasta
a little pasty but likes it that way; very good)
—> chicken
francaise, lightly breaded, lemon-butter sauce (Tim: a
very good meal, with light cheese sprinkle frites, large
portion of spinach that Judy deemed excellent)
For
starters:
—> the house salad,
ordered with the entrée, with a mix of greens, slivers
and small chunks of onion, red bell peppers, cherry
tomatoes, with a few croutons, with the sun-dried tomato
dressing catching the attention of a few; a good basic
salad (Don, Ken, Judy)
—> Caesar salad,
advertised as romaine but the eaters saw mostly iceberg,
homemade dressing, croutons, advertised as shaved
pecorino but the consumers felt there was precious
little; one of the weakest Caesars ever ordered (Chay,
Kriss)
—> fried encrusted
goat cheese, with strawberries, and greens similar to the
house salad (Deb K & Deb T was heard moaning in
appreciation)
The
dessert menu, although it felt limited, listed
enough to satisfy a range. The addition of two specials
attracted three of us:
—> pecan pie special
(Ken: not to his liking, who was expecting a
Grandma’s style pie; a unique round six inch pie.
Ken asked for vanilla, got hazelnut gelato instead;
wasn’t impressed with either, and perhaps one of the
worst pecan pies he’s had; Kriss kinda agreed)
—> chocolate praline
cake special, with dense cake, chunks of praline, a
Grenache coating, drizzle of caramel (Don: very good
chocolate dessert, a tad dry but tasty; & Deb K, who
was given another chance to moan – I think she liked
it)
—> butterscotch
white chocolate crème brûlée (Deb: different tasting
but loved it; Judy: ok, a bit sweet for her tastes)
—> and a Sambuca on
the rocks for Chay
Beginning it all was the delivery of
a large basket of sliced Italian baguette, accompanied by
two plates of olive oil, accompanied by herbs and chopped
nuts – a tasty start.
Service,
by Lisa, was good, attentive, efficient, especially with
delivery when two or three staff would deliver. Thank
you, Lisa.
The service off-notes might have been slight – a
mix-up with Tim’s dinner sides, and requests for
cheese for the pasta, ketchup for fries, a bowl for the
mussels shells. Otherwise, water glasses, for the most
part, were filled often (and we drank a lot of water this
evening, more than usual, it seemed from my seat). And
Ken was pleased with a coffee mug that was three times
larger than most we have seen!
Pacing drew considerable attention. We often maintain
that we a three hour meal is desirable; however, it was
clear that most of us, this evening, felt these three
hours overstretched.
The fifteen minute mark saw the bread basket come out,
the half-hour mark for the drink order, sixty minutes for
salads, ninety minutes for entrées. After-entrée pacing
seemed acceptable to most of us but a few felt the lull
before dessert was long also. Too long, or were we just
itchy this evening?
Our drink menu contained two diet sodas, a split of
sparkling wine, and two bottles of Massimo 2010
Rioja—a pleasant wine for dinner.
Other notes about Milestone:
The interior is such a striking element – not sure
if the stone is cold, or strong, but it is seldom seen
elsewhere, and commands attention.
About fifteen tables fill the floor, with round tables
anchoring the three available corners (the entryway
taking the fourth). We were placed at one of the round
tables by the windows, affording unique views, depending
on placement at the table. I faced the window, so I saw
the auto traffic, while Chay, opposite me, saw the human
traffic toward the bar area.
Tables were elegantly set, with white linen top, and
white linen napkin holding a knife, dinner fork, and
salad fork, set next to a white square plate (against the
granite gray of the wall). Large water glasses awaited,
filled five minutes after seating. Wooden chairs, sturdy,
held a large comfortably cushioned seat.
Overhead, the front roof/ceiling line slopes ten degrees
upward toward the back; the back half of the room is
ceilinged with a raised level, the building’s second
floor. Three large, dark, and parallel beams divided the
ceiling space, matched in color by the ceiling and
flooring material.
Noise level was on the high side, with the piped in music
medium loud, and we happened to be sitting near one of
the speakers. (However, a few mentioned our area seemed
to be quiet!) A modern-ish jazz and “cool” pop
filled the air, if, in fact, one noticed. Another round
table seemed to be having as much fun as we were,
meaning, just as noisy.
Another distinctive feature of the restaurant is its
plate-ware. The white square solid plates were the first
evidence, matching the whiteness of the linen. Then, some
of the salads, and some of the entrées, arrived in a
white bowl, with an off-set base, leading to a feeling of
unbalance, but interesting nonetheless. The only
difficulty I had was setting the knife on the
“plate” edge, something I was successful with
for about thirty seconds.
... A visit to the bar/lounge area led to the music of
the evening – a Russian pianist, who seemed to have
drawn a sizeable audience in very comfortable
surroundings. ...
The final bill came to $115 per
couple, a medium-high average lately, perhaps a speck
higher than a few of us were expecting. Entrée prices
ran from the upper end of $30 to most in the low-mid
$20s, with smaller plates in the mid-teens, and burgers
and such nearly $10, and salads extra.
We bid adieu and tried to dodge the major puddles on the
way to the car and trekked the 25 miles back to Freehold.
Starting
the evening was the gathering at the Teator house.
Arranged was the usual medley of hors d’oeuvres of a
broccoli-cauliflower-sweet pea plate with dip; three
kinds of crackers and three kinds of cheese; pretzels;
grapes; almonds. A dozen TGIF wings with dipping sauce
rounded out the supply.
Drinks included some seltzer; a white zin for Kriss (I
have a “Kriss section” in my refrig!); a
Vouvray for the white drinkers; a Douro and Bordeaux for
the red drinkers; and no takers for milk!
Discussion topics at the house, in the cars, at the
restaurant, ran the gamut but the number one topic, as
expected, was Tim and Judy’s three month,
winter-long RV trip to Florida, Texas, Nawlins, and more.
Places seen, living conditions, foods eaten, stops in DC,
interesting and/or unique people constituted a good
segment of the banter. The very recent purchase of a new
and improved RV added to the content, raising speculation
where the next trips might be, if the RV was available
for DP8 dinner trips, what the improvements were, etc.
So, Tim and Judy, if you were wondering if we missed you,
you found out tonight.
Which led to more discussion about the existence of DP8,
with one more retirement soon to happen in a couple
months, with her spouse’s retirement in a few months
also or in January, depending on who ..., and their
travel plans, leaving the two youngest whippersnappers of
the group long-faced about working after the other six of
us have retired. We tried to reassure them that working
is “good for ya” and exactly what they should
be doing.
Which led to our immediate dinner schedule – six
months in advance, with only a couple days possible some
months.
Some of the other topics: a new roof needed for the
Karnes’ house, much before warranty is up, costs,
warranties, prices, high prices, very high prices, etc.;
Kalli and his strength, nearly enough to drag Deb K along
in cartoon fashion if she is not careful; Monet and
Jackson, and Deb had a photo of Jackson almost touching
noses with a cow; Nathan’s house addition; Deb
T’s foot cast and her resting of it, or not; and
a big topic, at the house, and on the ride up was C-D
school affairs, budget, administrative changes, cuts in
teaching staff, sucky morale, closing of Durham, ...
leadership ..., treatment of long-time service providers
(Tommy Rogers), givebacks, and a ton more; and
the Monteverd offspring and where they are; the first
cutting of grass; the near drought that should be ending
these next couple of days; “tip” giving;
Judy’s stick-shifting ...; macerated fruit; play
tickets that Ken had to retrieve; $300 replacement keys;
Hawaii; Jersey Boys; inviting subs to the summer meeting,
or even them hosting the meeting; ...; and more topics
than a pen can capture.
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