Playoff energy
RESTAURANTS • Suburbs Report
Two seats at the bar for dinner at 830p on Friday night, just as the second half of the Knicks game was starting, on the way back home from dropping one daughter at a friend’s, the other two also out for the evening. It’s the sort of stolen time that doesn’t come easy to parents, a gift in need of no further adornment.
And so my wife and I didn’t ask for much else from The Fox & Falcon in South Orange, part of chef David Burke’s restaurant empire. The night overdelivered anyway.
The game was on, of course. There was also a woman at a microphone in the corner singing Norah Jones. The women next to us at the bar ordered a pair of Grey Goose martinis. When they arrived, one of the women sheepishly complained to the bartender that hers was too strong. (“It’s the first time I’ve had one,” she explained.) Make it a lemon drop, a woman from the party next to her suggested. And so the bartender did.
The menu here is suburban New Jersey date night — burrata and octopus, butternut squash ravioli, branzino and meats with pureed vegetables and whipped potatoes, even a sushi section. Since we were already so far ahead, we skipped all of that for burgers and fries, a side of brussel sprouts, a beer, and a glass of wine. The burger was cooked right, the fries and sprouts crisp, the drinks cold.
At about 930p, Burke himself emerged from the kitchen in chef’s whites. We were surprised. In addition to The Fox & Falcon, where he took the reins in early 2023, Burke’s hospitality group runs eight more restaurants across the state and another dozen or so in NYC, Long Island, Westchester, Saratoga Springs, North Carolina, and Saudi Arabia. And yet here he was, in the trenches, for weekend dinner service. Maybe next time we’ll get the branzino.
Moments later, as the game crescendoed in a tight fourth quarter, the area between the bar and the dining room filled suddenly with people craning their necks, asking which Pacer had hit that three, groaning in unison when Brunson whiffed on his own attempt to tie the score.
It was an energy we hadn’t felt in a while. The Pacers won and the crowd dispersed. Our time was up, too. We settled up and walked out, a couple baskets short of a perfect May evening. –Josh Albertson
→ The Fox & Falcon (South Orange, NJ) • 19 Valley St • Reserve.
Earlier: Sports Bars, Elevated.