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23 Sheridan Avenue
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423
201-445-2666
Date of Visit: Saturday, March 27, 2009
The atmosphere at Janice's is simple and unpretentious. It is chef owned and family run. Both my husband and I had heard rave reviews about Janice a bistro and were looking forward to an outstanding meal. We made a reservation for 6:00 PM. Upon arrival there were plenty of tables and we were given our choice of booths to sit. I moved toward the back of the restaurant thinking it would be a little quieter and a bit more intimate. I was wrong, as sitting near the kitchen was not only very noisy with the constant rattling of pots and pans and also included the greasy smell of garlic and oil cooking. I would recommend choosing to sit closer to the entrance.
The wait staff was prompt and courteous. After giving us an opportunity to review the menu, he told us about the daily specials which were priced about 10 to 20% higher than the standard menu. We realized later our waiter hadn't provided us with all of the daily specials.
The menu includes a number of appealing appetizers, salads, pastas, and entree's including a few gluten free items; as well as daily specials (menu link attached below).
We chose our main entree' from the menu a Wild Atlantic Salmon with lemon, capers and dill served over sauteed spinach with mashed potatoes at $24 and Pink Peppercorn crusted Breast of Duck served with sweet and sour sauce, mashed sweet potatoes with goat cheese and truffle oil $29. Unfortunately it did not measure up to my expectation. The Salmon was quite fishy and overcooked, the mashed potatoes were not quite warm; however the spinach was perfect. The duck was tough, yet the sweet potatoes were piping hot and delicious.
The dessert menu was very tempting, as all of the desserts are made in house. The mint chocolate chip gelato was superb and very reasonably priced. I'd recommend trying the gelato.
Overall, when compared against other Ho-Ho-Kus establishments the value and quality were missing.
Link to Menu: http://www.janiceabistro.com
Link to Menu: http://www.janiceabistro.com
Pat
I decided to take my family to Janice a bistro in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ. I have to say at first I was impressed by the menu. It was nice and simple and didn’t have too many items. I decided to have the Bistro Burger with blue cheese. The burger was a little overcooked but the service we received was phenomenal. Our server was on point and never missed a beat. My overall experience was excellent; I give it 4 out of 5 stars!
ReplyDelete-Robert Iocona
I love your blog Pat, not just because it's well written and visually appealing, but because it deals with restaurants in HoHoKus, one town over from where I live (Ridgewood).
ReplyDeleteI go to Janice's Bistro quite often, usually for breakfast or lunch. I find it a couple of steps above a local diner, with more unusual choices of food, but I do have to agree with you that it can be noisy and some of the food requires more care.
I haven't been to the newly renovated HoHoKus Inn yet; sounds good, as does the Sicilian Sun. Is that the restaurant that has outdoor dining on the side of the building?
OK, enough about my eating, I loved your blog. Great job.
Linda
Hi Linda
ReplyDeleteBoth Sicilian Sun and Kevin's Thyme have outdoor dining. Kevin's is kind of secluded between the buildings and from what I hear a bit pricey, but delicious. The renovated HHK Inn is well worth a visit. As is Cafe Amici, I was very pleasantly surprised as it was not what I expected and the food was very "high end" I hear many folks enjoy Cafe Amici for lunch or a pizza dinner; but have been warned it gets quite loud with the later diner crowd after 7:30PM. Thanks for a great semester and Bon Apetite'
Pat