After very little Black Friday shopping in Westfied we headed up to the Huntley Taverne in Summit.  They’ve got a great space and we were sat in the bar area, near the fireplace (love that they had a good fire going).  Their menu is seasonal, strives to be as local as possible, and changes daily.

Our initial server (Tina, I think her name was) came over & took our drink order.  We had a bottle of Magito zinfandel and by the time she was done pouring we were ready to order.  She informed us that another server, Seth, would take our order and she’d send him right over.  Tag-team service is one of my restaurant pet peeves.  Here’s why:  we were hungry, ready to order, and Seth “came right over” about 5 minutes later.  My boyfriend, the chef, said later that he thought the service was excellent.  This wait alone made it “good” in my opinion.

The bread basked is a variety of smaller breads and biscuits.  Ours included a pumpkin bread, focaccia, corn bread, jalapeno biscuit, and a couple others I can’t remember. They were all good and didn’t need the cold, rock-hard butter that was served with it.

The BF Chef & I like to eat our way around the menu and try as much as possible.  That means we may skip the entrees and just go for a number of appetizers and sides.  We ordered the Sampling of Thai Roasted Pumpkin Soup and Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque, Huntley Salad, Simply Grazin’ Local Smoked Pork Belly, House Made Gnocchi, and Vermont Cheddar & Applewood Bacon Anson Mills Antebellum Grits.

The Thai soup was good, but I’m not a fan of spicy dishes so I left that for the BF.  The Tomato Bisque was delicious.  The tomatoes taste was predominant & there was just a touch of cream.  It wasn’t too heavy or overbearing.

The salad was my favorite kind: with fruit, cheese, and nuts.  Along with the mixed greens it had purple cauliflower, pancetta, Winesap apples, spicy pecans, Valley Thunder cheddar, and cider vinaigrette.  When the salad arrived the BF Chef & I were in mid-conversation which immediately halted.  That’s always a sign that something is top notch.

The gnocchi, pork belly, and grits were delivered next.  The gnocchi was very rich with a creamy sauce with bacon, grana & truffle oil topped with a fried Sandy’s farm fresh egg.  The sauce and egg were rich and delicious but the gnocchi were so light that they barely held together.  They were actually on the mushy side.

The pork belly delivered true, tender, porky goodness.  It was served with baked Black Mission Figs stuffed with Roaring 40s Blue Cheese and a Port reduction.  YUM!  (Figs stuffed with blue cheese is another favorite of mine.)

The BF Chef and I disagree on our level of love for the grits.  We agree that they were cooked perfectly but I expected more flavor from the cheddar and bacon.  He thought they were perfectly seasoned, not too salty, and couldn’t get enough.  I thought for sure he was going to lick the cast iron skillet they were served in.

We also never turn down an opportunity to peek at the dessert menu.  I was absolutely stuffed and we shared the maple cheesecake which came with a poached pear and a canell of pear ice cream.  It was a nice end to the meal.

Overall, I’d definitely return to the Huntley.  We didn’t get to try the wood fired pizza or a number of other dishes that piqued our interest, however I’m sure that by the time we get there again, there will be new items for us to explore.

http://www.thehuntleytaverne.com/

The Huntley Taverne
3 Morris Avenue
Summit, NJ