MEALS

Meals has been in Stockton New Jersey forever. Two worked in the same building as an assistant pastry person years ago before it became Meals, when the restaurant was called Cakes and Catering. Not much has changed. Two's parents swear by the brunch served there, Two has had a number of nice homey meals there, and recently Two thought she might introduce One to a nice local place to eat...no strip mall in sight.

The evening started off on a great foot. Phillips Fine Wines is across the street from the restaurant,convenient since Meals is BYOB. Two knew One would love it. And he did. He asked the proprietor, Dick Phillips, if he had an obscure bottle of Chinon, which he did, and a true wine geek relationship was formed. Phillips is a wonderful wine shop and if this were a wine blog, Phillips would be tipping the edge of four wine bottles. Wine in bag, One & Two walked across to Meals and sat down to the worst corn fritters ever created. The fritter was a soaked in oil saturated soggy fried mass whose inside was full of bits of corn slogging through uncooked batter, none of which was improved by the slightly warm raspberry mayonnaise. The fritter dish sat piled with it's picked over carcass cooling on the plate while we sat and sat and sat...and sat. The wine bottle slowly emptied. The restaurant slowly emptied. We saw the lettuce part of the salads that we ordered appear on the prep bench in back and then they sat. The crowd had dwindled to two tables when the grilled duck met it's plate of lettuce. One ordered the flank steak to adornhis lettuce. Two has found more palatable and interesting lettuce in January than that cushioned her duck. The dressing was equally blah. The duck was not bad. One's flank steak was not bad either. It would have been better if there had been some wine left to go with it but alas we had to occupy ourselves somehow while waiting for our meal. Two knows plenty of people who have had good meals at Meals, so give it a shot. Maybe someone/everyone at Meals that night were off their game. The fritters didn't even make it to the field.

KRAFTWORK

Michael Thomas has left Bar Ferdinand to help create a new restaurant called Kraftwork. Sculptor Andrew Jevremovic, whose work is self described as sensuous, sustainable, and otherworldly has designed the room which additionally houses lighting made from unknown objects found outside the restaurant as well as the remnants of wall finishes found during construction. The resulting ambiance is casual with a strong industrial, yet relaxing sensibility. The place retains a sense of its history without being overly historic. The wine list is small but chosen with respect for the menu. One and Two had a lovely Rioja with their meal. Kraftwork is also a beer lovers paradise with over 20 beers on tap and take out growlers. Again, One and Two sampled two different beers and loved them both. The menu is seasonal and local wherever possible, reflecting Chef Michael's passion for a farm to table experience. Our first dish was Crispy Pork Croquettes. The plate was very reminiscent of Bar Ferdinand, with a refreshing shift from tapas to a more homey blend of flavors. The croquettes sat atop a honey mustard sauce, more mustard than honey, with a parsley caper salad and pickled red onions. The pickled onions, in our opinion stood out above salad and sauce. Pork croquettes were good as well. The charcuterie board, again reminiscent of Bar Ferdinand was very good, particularly the rabbit terrine. It came with a wonderfully creative herbed flat bread. Chef Michael is talking about creating his own sausages on premise so stay tuned for that event. We ordered the new Jersey asparagus with fried egg and shaved Manchego from the specials page. Each spear tasted like Spring...toothy and tender at the same time. The fried egg provided a simple, almost rustic sauce accent and the shaved Manchego....we wanted more of that in the ring with the asparagus. Last to arrive were the Ricotta Dumplings served with Roasted Red Pepper Harissa sauce. They were good. Everything was good, from the decor to the beer to the food to the wine to the casual, yet hip and fun staff. There is not yet transcendence. One and Two have had dishes at Bar Ferdinand that elicited a sigh from the first bite. Our Kraftwork experience did not provide that, though from all appearances, that experience is soon to come as everything aligns itself at this great new place to go in Fishtown. Definitely go and try Kraftwork.