If you are hopping all over Baristaville searching for last minute items for your Easter Sunday celebration, here are five things I found that would make a wonderful addition to any one’s holiday.
If your idea of filling an Easter basket is an impulse buy of yellow, marshmallow mini-chickens in the checkout lane at Target, perhaps you should just grab Season 6 of the Sally Jesse Show and enjoy some good couch sittin’ this Sunday? For those of your still reading, browse below for some items sure to enhance the holiday — however you choose to celebrate.
The hand-made frosted sugar cookies (above) from Le Bakers Dozen are also available in a lovely cellophane gift bag and can be personalized!
The best lamb in Baristaville is from Rosario’s — end of story. They’re at 252 Park Street in Upper Montclair and will be open Saturday the 23rd at 8 a.m. (fully staffed), selling all kinds of wonderful beef, lamb, whole goat and a wide selection of pork products. Try the ciabatta bread if they have any left!
Please do not  shut your pie hole. Pies sweet and savory, scones and Cornish pasties all can be found at The Pie Shop. Samantha (proprietor of The Pie Shop) is featuring Pizza Rustica, Blackberry and Pineapple Ricotta for this Easter.  If you still buy a crappy grocery store version after reading this, and it tastes –well, like crap — I will be here singing the “I told ya so” song.
Buying good wine at Amanti Vino is a magical experience. You stroll in, ask one of the super nice wine experts for the type of wine you need and your price range then *POOF* they hand you a bottle! Ok, real magic would be if it appeared in my glass while at home, but really Amanti Vino is the next best thing (and they do deliver). These are some of the wines  general manager Will Sugarman suggested to me. The reds are to accompany more robust meats such as lamb and he advised the Cava and the Rose for their light spring flavors. Try some Cava with a splash of St Germain (they sell small bottles) and lemon, it is heavenly!
- Avinyo Cava Brut Nature NV, $20.99
- Le Croix de Prieur Rosé 2010, $14.99
- Alhambra Malbec 2009, $13.99
- OCD Syrah 2008, $18.99
What is the first part everyone eats off the chocolate bunny? The ears of course! The Chocolate Path has chocolate bunny ears, eggs and just about anything chocolishious to fill your Easter baskets!
Where are you going to be this Easter and what are you serving? And why is it that Gene Autry seems to be most famous for his songs about mythical holiday creatures?
Lamb. Yum.
Stop with the food pix already! You’re making me hungry.
Go Lightly also has some cute basket fillers. I splurged on some when I tried the hemp ice cream – which is actually iced hemp since there’s no cream in it. Still, it was good.
I like the chocolate ears at Chocolate Path!
Did we really need that picture of a dead animal?
Karen, every time B’net posts such a pic, I’m one step closer to being a vegetarian.
Dined on a most impressive rack of lamb at Rose Mediterranean in Caldwell yesterday. All around the table (chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, stuffed fillets of sole, crabcakes, and the aforementioned baa baa) the food was exceptional as were the apps (lamb meatballs and clams algarvia) and the deserts. BYOB so you know the wine was good, too.
Ok Nellie what is stopping you from becoming a vegetarian??? Conan you are killing me here! That sounds fantastic.
Go. Those were the Easter weekend specials but there is a regular menu and weekend specials every week. BYOB. Outdoor dining in a lovely pergola behind the building starts soon.
I’m just not there yet, holly. But I do have the utmost respect for those who choose to eat vegetarian or vegan!
I had a huge plate of delicious lamb at Greek Taverna yesterday.
My biggest fear if I ever became a vegetarian would be running out of sources of protein. Due to a hereditary condition, I cannot eat a carb-heavy diet without health repercussions; I must include some sort of protein with each meal. I DO enjoy a lot of vegetarian dishes but I worry that I would get bored on a veg. diet since there are fewer options for protein sources.
Georgette:
How mobbed was Taverna yesterday? Both Greek Easter and Western Christian Easter were this weekend, so I expect it was very crowded. We will go to Stamna maybe next weekend when things calm down some.
Christos Anesti! Kalo paschal!
I’m fine with anyone’s choice in what they want to eat. I just believe if you enjoy meat looking at a peice of it before it is cooked shouldn’t gross you out. It is reality. I have some one get in my face about animal rights and they only ate kosher meat. That ain’t right.
My question is why is it any worse to show a raw lamb rather than a cooked one? I don’t believe that Karen would have asked that question if it was a cooked rack of lamb on a platter. Point is….they are both dead and they both get eaten.
I think I’m cranky because everyone had lamb on Easter but me. I love BYO.