Medicare For All

Munchies on Monday

I was writing this week’s Movie Monday during our installation of FIOS last week. (And kudos to Don [don’t know his last name] the Verizon tech/installer. He was fast, knowledgeable and unobtrusive. All you could ever want and more from a guy who is climbing in the attic, basement, and through all the rooms of your house.) But then once I got FIOS and two free months of HBO and Cinemax I sort of went to the dark side TV-wise and gobbled up as much viewing as I could be I zoned out into sleepland. Bye, bye Movie Monday writing.

And then it was Saturday and I was eating at a new restaurant on Rt. 1 in West Windsor, NJ (they advertise their address as Princeton but I think this part of Rt 1 is still WW) and I thought: Hey, I can write a restaurant review. Hmmmm, let me see, what’s the alliteration? Munches on Monday. OK, I’m good to go.

BT Bistro - 3499 Rt 1 S, Princeton, NJ
BT Bistro has replaced the steadily-declining Charlie Brown which occupied the site for over 10 years. BT Bistro is attached to a small hotel which looks like a two-story motel from the back. Almost like a precursor to Marriott Courtyard but so much older and less slick.

We were traveling the day we stopped at BT Bistro so it wasn’t like: Hey it’s lunch time, let’s eat. We were passing the place about 11:45 a.m. (found out lunch is 11:30 to 4) so we stopped in. The layout is the same and CB except booths have been removed, the place looks cleaner though still dark. When we arrived, we heard workmen and discovered that they were laying the dance floor for the evening crowd and yes, they were serving lunch. (Don’t you love it when you enter a restaurant thinking a) Boy, am I too early? and b) Are we going to be the sole diners? We weren’t the sole diners, a group of young girls soon came in and when we left, close to 1 p.m., another couple had arrived.

First, some particulars: I loved their cutlery. It was artistic while being sleek and functional. And, when the food arrived, I loved their dishes. They were restaurant white but bowls were set on an angle which adds panache to even mundane food.

The Appetizer: But the food was not mundane. We started with shared calamari for $9. No, squiggly pieces resembling Davy Jones’ face in Pirates 3 here. All the calamari were wedding ring size and shaped, coated with a Russian dressing colored sauce and accompanied by red peppers and green pieces of what tasted like small chunks of sweet pickles. (Hey, I didn’t say I knew culinary terms.) Now, my benchmark for the best in calamari is the Old Ebbett Grill in Washington, DC and I have to say BT Bistro’s version came very close. We ate the whole thing and that’s unusual since with most servings of this dish you always come to those unattractive and tough bites at the bottom. Calamari here gets an A.

While waiting for our sandwich and salad entrees, the waiter cleared the table, replaced the cutlery, swept the table of any crumbs (Yes, they serve bread without asking.) and left us with a pristine table.

The main course: I had grilled chicken with, avocado and oven-dried tomatoes over greens. There was a lot of chicken and it was very, very good. I’m going to say it was poached and then grilled since it was plump and light. (But don’t forget, I have no idea if I'm right here.) Once again, probably the best chicken I have ever had atop greens. The greens were fresh, the tomatoes were not reeking with salt and the avocado was arranged in dollops under the greens so it was sort of an unexpected culinary treasure hunt when you found it. All for $9 and very rewarding.

Hubby got the pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and an unlisted coleslaw. He liked the meal in this order: 1) coleslaw - delicious and unusual, possibly because a man ingredient tasted like celery; 2) fries were light and fine, not heavy and oily and 3) pulled pork which was surprisingly oily and also dry. His meal was $8.

Final thoughts:
Would I come back/recommend? Yes and yes. Only talking about lunch, this is a place you could take business clients or come with a group of women. Prices for lunch are right in line with area prices for this type of restaurant.
What were the lunch prices? Entree prices range from $8 for the pulled pork to $14 for herb-crusted flounder. We got bread with our meal. The “real” lunch entrees come with salad and/or a vegetable. They list an All-You-Can-Eat salad bar on both the lunch and dinner menu but it was not available.
How is their “butler” type of service going to make out? I can’t see them continuing with this high-end table service unless they are going to change themselves into a high-end restaurant. Of course, they should then turn the hotel the same way. I really don’t need table sweeping and new cutlery for a fast lunch (though it was nice.)
Is it BYOB? No, which for us is a minus.
Need reservations? Not at this stage for lunch. It’s a big restaurant.

OK, that was my first restaurant review. Hope it was helpful.

Here's their website: http://btbistro.com/