Sunday, February 22, 2015

Paragon Tap and Table

Coworkers of mine visited this one Friday for happy hour and just raved, so when my husband and I had a rare date night, we trekked out to Clark.

The vibe of the place is very nice; you certainly forget that you are sitting inside a suburban strip mall with exposed brick, fireplaces, and lots of chalkboards around.

We both chose flights, and neither one of us really hit the mark on our choices. My coworkers probably sat at the bar, and if I'd done that I would have tried samples until I nailed the right one and then ordering a pint; this was a disappointment but not at all the restaurant's fault.

We each had ravioli, but different types. I chose to go outside of my comfort zone by choosing Butternut Squash ravioli, and they were outstanding. My husband chose Pear and Pork Ravioli and he was pretty excited about them.

Since we visited on Valentine's Day weekend, we also opted for a special dessert option. It involved three different treats, and all were fantastic.

A super nice touch was the chef walking around and checking in on everyone as they ate. I know he has several locations, so the kitchen probably runs itself, so this was a really nice touch for him.

In short, we had a very good meal and a nice time, but we probably wouldn't make the trek to Clark if it's just the two of us. But for those in the Clark area, this is like living close to New Brunswick.

We did not have our children this time, but there were many families there, so I'd have to give it a kid friendly rating!
 photo posted by @smallbutfeisty78 on
   Paragon Tap & Table on Urbanspoon

Hailey's Harp and Pub

I have not blogged in forever, possibly the result of having too many blogs. So it's time to just start writing.

My family paid our second visit to Hailey's Harp and Pub in Metuchen the other night. My kids LOVE this place, simply because of the shuffleboard table. Yes, my children love bar games.

My husband and I though, love the food. The first time we visited, they had a special Oktoberfest menu and the food was great, and this time we both ordered from the regular menu.  He chose and entree I was eyeing, "Hailey's Hooley," which was tasty but out of season tomatoes really brought it down a smidge. My husband raved about the eggplant in the dish, though. I tried the Guinness Stew. Despite not being a fan of the beer, this stew was so good. My 4 year old tried it, and he did a "watch me fall out of my seat to show you how much I love this!" I had leftovers the next day and the meat was still incredibly flavorful and tender.

As of this post, Hailey's is on restaurant.com; stop at ebates first to get up to to 10% cash back on your shopping there!


Hailey's Harp & Pub on Urbanspoon