Neatly tucked between the Chatham Post Office and the Chase Bank on the south side of Main Street lies a little thai place well worth looking—and walking—into. Thai Passion at 225 Main St. has developed a loyal following since they opened in June 2010. The dining room is rarely full, which means you can almost always get a seat near the front window looking over at the Library of the Chathams. Besides the usual assortment of drinks, they also have hot teas and Thai iced tea. The selection of appetizers, entrées and desserts is subject to change, but most standard dishes, such as Pad Thai, Tom…

With Super Bowl fever hitting the area, residents are getting ready for Sunday's big game with all the usual accoutrements: chips and dips, pretzels, meat and cheese platters and assorted drinks. Every good meal needs dessert, though, and Woodland Bakery has concocted cakes and cookies with the colors of the New York Giants that will be sure to please your Super Bowl guests. Large football cookies are available for $1.50 each, in small or large orders. The cookies are decorated with blue sprinkles and pink icing, and are large enough to satisfy the most salacious appetites. For larger parties…

Preparing a meal for the holidays can be a stressful undertaking. At Restaurant Serenade, Chef James Laird stays open Christmas Eve to offer a three-course menu packed with holiday favorites that can provide a restful alternative to holiday dining. "It's one of our busiest days of the year," Laird said, a time when families come and "they don't mind bringing their 2-year-olds." Laird's Christmas Eve menu is packed with reflections of his time spent in Europe, including traditional French holiday dishes such as fois gras and duck, and several fish options reminiscent of the Italian Christmas …

Readers will probably get sick of hearing this, but I love sushi. Sure, the prospect of eating raw fish is comparable to donating your body to Dr. Frankenstein's lab for some, but I maintain they just haven't been properly converted yet. Sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between one sushi place and another. After all, the core items on the menu remain the same. Every sushi place you go to will offer a standard menu of approximately a dozen items that you can find in any sushi restaurant across the country (you can read more about this in the last article I wrote about sushi.) The only…

You don’t have to look far in northern New Jersey to find a great burger. But, not everyone has the time or wants to go through the hassle of waiting for a table at the local diner or greasy spoon, or resort to the local fast food outlet. Enter Smashburger, the fast-growing Denver-based chain that touts itself as a “fast-casual restaurant”. Looking for a quick dinner ahead of a borough council meeting, Patch stopped in at the Florham Village Smashburger at Columbia Turnpike and Ridgedale Avenue in Florham Park. The place has been popular since it opened, but Patch had wondered for some time …

The Fairmount Country Store is more than just a local restaurant. The eight cozy, intimate indoor tables, outdoor benches and an outdoor seating option during the fine weather create an ideal community gathering spot for the residents of Chatham Township. New owners took over the Fairmount Country Store in 2009, and since then patrons have noticed numerous changes. The sandwiches, always made to order, can be taken to go, and the addition of off-site catering has opened the store up to new business in town. Among the most popular sandwiches is the pulled pork, which is certain to please. The …

Along Main Street in Chatham Borough sits the unassuming Chatham Sandwich Shop, a culinary stop for many residents and employees in town. The shop's specialty is stated right in its name, but in truth it offers a lot more than what the name alone implies. Through the Chatham Sandwich Shop's doors await a daily selection of soups, with three sizes available (small $2.95, medium $3.95, $7.95). The moderately-priced entrees including: $7.95 for rigatoni ala vodka, tortellini alfredo or jumbo chicken quesadilla; $8.95 for grilled London broil, homemade meatloaf, chicken or eggplant parmigiana …

At the intersection of Fairmount Avenue and Main Street, Cafe Beethoven is one of the borough's prominent businesses. Don't be fooled by the small tables and wooden bench in the front of the cafe: this place does much more than coffee. Cafe Beethoven offers a full lunch menue Tuesday through Sunday, and dinners Tuesday through Friday (the cafe is closed on Mondays.) A dining room in the back, with an option for outdoor seating during fine weather, allow for a more private dining experience than the floor-to-ceiling windows along Main Street traffic can offer. The menus change with the season…

There's a very simple maxim I find absolutely essential for my physical wellbeing: Never cook yourself when other people can do it for you. I find this rule justified in places like Hickory Tree Pizzeria, which, despite its whole-in-the-wall first impression, ended up being a pretty enjoyable experience. The garlic knots were heaven in a plate – or rather, bowl, since a bowl was required for the garlic and olive oil sauce with endless chunks of garlic, and the bread was steaming hot with airy deliciousness. The chef's salad was pretty much what you would expect from a pizza place, iceberg …

Near the border of Summit and Chatham, the River Grille is now open. Owners Peter Schwab and Eric Moody have revamped the old Town Tavern with new tables and chairs, a stained wooden bar, a raised and open dining room and an exposed brick wall. The kitchen, which is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., offers a variety of menu options, generously portioned, and a fully stocked bar ready to serve whatever you may be drinking. Appetizers range in prices from $4 for soup of the day to $10 for Prince Edward Island mussels, lump crab cake made with parmesan risotto with lemon herb beurre blanc, or …

By now most everyone in Madison and Chatham knows that Patch, like an advancing army, travels on its stomach. Raised among the diners and delis of northern New Jersey and schooled at the finest Cajun eateries of New Orleans, true, but what you may not know is that Patch has a serious weakness for cheesesteak sandwiches. A Philadelphia birthplace will do that, especially when they showed up on Mother Patch’s prenatal menu.So it was with a gourmand’s delight that Patch beheld Kevin’s Roadside Grill parked at 326 Main St. in Madison and eagerly stepped under the awning and up to the window to …

Local residents know Farley''s Place on Main Street in Chatham as a great place to get a quick bite and a cup of coffee in the mornings. What they – and you – may not know is that after Farley's closes at 3 p.m., it undergoes a makeover in time for dinner. Madison resident Gloria Henao approached Chris Farley, the owner of Farley's Place, about four months ago to propose that the two of them strike a bargain. Farley's is empty after closing, and Henao wanted to open a Mexican restaurant. "I've always felt very passionate about Mexican food and spices," Henao said, "and I've worked in this …

When springtime allergies hit, you usually are willing to try anything that keeps you from sounding like a fog horn when you talk. One of my favorite things to try is tom yum soup, which is soothing enough to ease the scratchy throat that allergies cause and spicy enough (it is made with lemon grass and heavily seasoned) to clear your sinuses like a vacuum. Recently I tried the tom yum soup at Nine Thai, located in the Hickory Square shopping center in Chatham Township. The soup ($3.95 for a pint, $5.95 for a quart) still worked like a charm, and though the broth was thinner than other …

I’ve been dining at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse as long as I can remember, which is a fact because the New Jersey-based chain was founded only a few years after me. My Charlie Brown’s is still at the same location, a windowless bunker that as a lad made me think that all steakhouses were dark, forbidding places. Happily, the Charlie Brown’s in Chatham is in a grand renovated Colonial home, and offers a bright and airy setting to enjoy prime rib or any of the many entrées on an expansive menu that won't obliterate your wallet. We were seated at a comfortable table in the large main dining room …

Chatham residents know Charley's Aunt on South Passaic Avenue the way they know the gazebo in Reasoner Park or the 9-11 Memorial in Memorial Park. The pub and restaurant is part of the landscape, part of the town's identity. And with a menu that can accommodate the pickiest of eaters, this friendly restaurant has much to offer besides its prime location. While it's tempting to stick to fried appetizers at a bar, such as calimari, mozzarella carrozza (with house anchovy sauce as an option instead of the traditional marinara sauce) or chicken fingers, Charley's Aunt also has healthier options …

There's only one thing that's as lengthy and varied as the menu at the Nautilus Diner and Restaurant, and that's the people who stream to the Madison landmark for a meal, a snack, or just a cup of coffee. Madison Patch is all about people, and makes regular visits to the Nautilus to get its fix of classic Jersey diner food, and to do some serious navel-gazing. OK, maybe not this much navel-gazing, but the point is well-taken. After being shown to our booth in the dining room, on this occasion Patch ordered the grilled chicken sandwich as a change from the excellent cheeseburger. The time was …

It's easy to walk into Arminio's Italian Corner in Chatham and think of nothing but pizza. The slices are all on display and the ovens, located in the front of the store and plainly visible from the door and windows on the street, give off the delicious scent of thincrust bread coupled with tomato sauce and cheese. A pie from Arminio's is never a bad way to feed a starving and impatient crowd, but the next time you crave a hearty, full meal, don't discount this eatery, for the menu, once you look at it, offers far more than just pizza. In fact, the menu is so startlingly wide that it was …

If you’re looking for a low-key eatery with a comfortable atmosphere that accommodates a virtual office or an office lunch, check out Atlanta Bread, at 6 Main Street in Madison. Get there early in the morning and you’ll get a jolt of energy from the hustle of people on their way to work or the train or school. There is a vast assortment of bagels, pastries, ham and cheese sandwiches and other breakfast treats, as well as fresh-brewed coffee and hot chocolate, to take the edge off those chilly Morris County mornings. But once the rush hour crowd melts away, Atlanta Bread’s got plenty of room …

The European Market on Main Street in Chatham is more than its name implies. While it does offer such european treats as Kinderchocolat and biscotti, there is also a full deli with a variety of meats, cheeses and fresh breads to choose from, as well as a gourmet menu of hot entrees. The market has developed a reputation for eastern European dishes, such as juicy kielbasy seasoned with sauerkraut, but its menu also betrays an Italian bent: chicken parmasan, made with tomato and basil sauce and meat lasagna with mozzarella cheese. The panko-crusted chicken breast with fresh ginger tastes …

Poor Herbie’s has been a fixture in Madison for a long time, dating to the early 20th Century. One step inside the doors, and the historic aura of the pub/restaurant immediately welcomes you with walls plastered with memories of years past. “If you look at the walls here,” said Judy Mullins, who has owned Poor Herbie’s with her husband, Dennis, and son, Dennis Jr., since 1992, “there’s so much memorabilia that I think you quickly get the idea that there are people that run this business." Open seven days a week, Poor Herbie’s has amassed a countless number of regulars who frequently fill the …