Mind of a (Mad) Chef at Blu and Next Door

Mind of a (Mad) Chef at Blu and Next Door

BluThis Wednesday, June 17, Zod Arifai, the beloved Chef/Owner of Blu and Next Door in Montclair will host what he dubs “Eat What You Want, Pay What You Want”.

Chef Arifai, known to combine modern cuisine with French, Italian and Asian influences, has wanted to bring this eating concept to fruition for a long time. With the impending closing of Blu and Next Door this summer, the acclaimed Chef has decided to take the plunge.

This is how the concept will work:

  • As guests arrive, they’re handed a menu which features some of popular Blu and Next Door dishes.
  • Diners then order whatever is on the menu that’s appealing to them. They can eat as many things as they want but must finish everything ordered, ensuring no food waste occurs, and can’t take food home.
  • At the end of what’s sure to be a memorable meal, customers are given a check listing what they ate and the dishes’ associated costs. There, the guest will enter what he/she wishes to pay and what the gratuity amount is and tax is then added by the restaurants. The goal is to have the guests take ownership of determining what he/she wants to pay for the meal.

Chef Arifai tells me he’ll repeat this dining concept again if he receives good customer feedback.

The ones of us who have been patrons of Blu and Next Door understand and appreciate the slightly mad scientist-ish techniques and ingredients used by Chef Arifai to produce some of the best food in the area. Time will tell if the mad scientist has truly gone mad, or if he’ll teach his peers a thing or two about hospitality.

Blu and Next Door – 554 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ. 973-509-2202.

Cheers,

Veronique

Zod Arifai Does Blu So Well

Zod Arifai Does Blu So Well

Salmon

Could it be that the 45-seat restaurant in bustling downtown Montclair serves up the best food in New Jersey?  It is quite possible. At his award-winning restaurant, chef and owner, Zod Arifai, masters modern cuisine with French, Italian and Asian influences.

Born in Kosovo to parents who were both good cooks, chef Arifai is self-taught with an inquisitive mind and short stints at Bouley and Aureole in Manhattan that have proven to be better at helping him transform in the chef he is today than formal training at a culinary school might have been.

On a recent visit, our party sampled dishes that blew us away. For starters, the Spaghetti Carbonara with Crispy Duck is creamy, velvety with rich duck morsels, the Risotto with Wild Mushrooms and White Truffle Oil is pure decadence with its unctuous texture, earthy mushrooms and drizzle of fragrant truffle oil.  The Seafood Dumplings with Spicy Coconut Broth showcases the thinnest, most delicate wrappers over a tasty seafood mixture that bathes in an ultra-flavorful, just-spicy-enough broth.

Veal Belly

Must-have entrées are the Salmon, Forbidden Rice served with peanuts, scallions and coconut-chili broth, the Duck Breast, Red Cabbage served with a caramelized turnip with a red wine-fig emulsion and the Veal Belly with Soft Polenta, Wild Mushrooms and Sweet and Sour Glaze. The salmon is of the finest quality and the forbidden rice is of toothy perfection. The duck is cooked to a flawless medium-rare and the red wine emulsion is a perfect complement to the protein. The absolute star is the veal belly. For those of us who think pork belly is the perfect food, chef Arifai’s veal counterpart is heavenly. The sweet and sour glaze is tart and cuts through some of the veal’s richness and the polenta is the best I have had, even in Italy – order this dish without fault.

Spaghetti Carbonara

At Blu, chef Arifai creates dishes from techniques and ingredients he tests out extensively and the results are simply spectacular. Nearly seven years after opening, Blu is more at the top of its game than ever.

Blu
554 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ
973-509-2202
www.restaurantblu.com

BYOB

Hours:

Tuesday – Thursday: Open at 5:30PM

Friday – Sunday: Open at 5PM