Disappointment at Huntley Taverne

Let's set the scene: my wife's cousin and husband proposed to go for a lunch date to a restaurant in Summit, NJ where they went for their wedding anniversary and had a great dinner. They know how much I love food and you do not need to ask twice...We even went to the website of the restaurant few days before and already knew when we walked in what we would eat! 

Huntley Taverne is a nice restaurant, very warm with an interior that reminds me of the chalets you would find in Switzerland or in the French Alps. The service was very nice and attentive, but we must have ended up on a bad day...

Their menu made me want to order every item! They had some soups in the special menu and I found it very smart to propose a soup sampler. I think that restaurants should propose samplers so people can try different dishes. While we were waiting for our food, they brought us some delicious focaccia bread with a small portion of ricotta cheese. That was a good way to start!

We then ordered:

• Trio of sliders (Vermont cheddar burger, BBQ pulled pork on a cheddar scone, mini crab cakes with creole remoulade). Of the three, the only one I liked was the BBQ pulled pork: it was perfectly cooked and moist. The burger was overcooked and the bread they used for the burger and crab cake slider was very dry too. According to the manager, it is because the chef is tasting a new recipe for his potato bread. Thanks for trying a new recipe on us!!! It is sad because the crab cake was pretty good but they should have put some more sauce because it was also a little dry. Apparently the crab cake sandwich entree, served with a brioche bread was delicious and not dry at all. Maybe because of their size, sliders are more difficult to make. 
• Truffled Mac&cheese: I could taste the truffle, but the cheeses were bland and it was barely warm.
• Mushroom pizza with Vermont cheddar, truffle oil and onions. Ok, this one was good! The mushrooms were delicious and paired well with the vidalia onions and the cheddar. 

It seems they had an off day: they came few times apologizing for the lateness of the food (they had an issue with their fryer and I guess the food sat a bit) and felt really sorry to hear that the sliders were not good. It is sad, because their menu was so mouth watering! I would give them a second chance and would probably go for the crab cakes entree or appetizer, but not the sliders.

Enjoy (I wish I did)!