When I asked my daughter where she wanted to celebrate her birthday; she said Calandras. We made…read morereservations and got there early so sat at the bar for cocktails. It was a very lively place to be and the server was such a delight. We had a sangria, a mimosa and a bullet 95. All excellent! In fact I had another sangria with dinner because it was so light and refreshing. My daughter loves arancini and theirs was perfection. The right amount of crunch on the outside with the tastiest sauce. She remembered a fancy grilled cheese that her dad made when she was younger. He told her it was mozzarella en carozza and ordered it for us to share. Omg, it was amazing. Grilled cheese for adults! I was getting kinda full from the drinks, appetizers and the most incredible bread (our server sent a loaf home with us-their ovens truly make a difference) so I ordered a side of Mama E's meatballs and risotto. Both were so very good and a couple of meals for me. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his sole oreganata. The right amount of seasonings and the sole was cooked perfectly. It was delicate and flakey as it should be. My daughter picked the tortellini Alfredo and loved it very much. We were too full for desert but the server was super nice and brought a scoop of ice cream over a brownie and sang to my daughter. All in all it was an excellent meal, the service was amazing and the restaurant was everything we wanted it to be to celebrate a Milestone birthday. Weather permitting, you can opt to eat outside, inside or by the bar area if you want a more lively evening.

We had an early dinner at Il Vecchio Cafe. It is very pretty inside and the staff is very friendly…read moreand attentive. The bread brought to the table was fresh although on the cool side. It comes with fresh cheese. Olive oil, red pepper, salt, and pepper are at the table. We ordered an eggplant rollatini appetizer which was three good size rollatinis, plenty for two people, even maybe 3-4. For entrees, we ordered short ribs and a salmon filet stuffed with crabmeat. The waiter asked how I wanted the salmon which I thought was odd for a stuffed filet. The entrees were both good, the short ribs were nicely done and seasoned. The kitchen or waiter made a mistake and brought me a piece of salmon, not the stuffed one I ordered. It was thick so I thought maybe it was stuffed but seared closed. As I cut in, I saw it was plain salmon. It was OK but very dry and not what I ordered. I cut into the middle, thinking maybe it was just stuffed in the center. Nope. I also then realized the side veggies were not what was on the menu (because they brought the wrong dish). I let the waiter know and he apologized. Mistakes happen and I was not going to insist on a new dish when I had eaten about 1/3 of this one. They did bring over a small cup of shredded crab meat and a sauce. Again, mistakes happen but what irked me was they didn't even adjust the price, charging me higher price for what I ordered, not the lower priced dish they served. I was not looking for a free meal or even a free dessert, but you don't correct the price on what you served??? Again, staff was all nice, but this is my second time there and second eh experience. Calandra does have a nice restaurant up the road, Med Grille, and that is always top notch.

Beyond grateful for Marlie for the best cupcakes and cookies for my engagement party. She is truly…read morethe best! She is extremely professional, easy to work with, helpful with questions and ideas and executes the vision perfectly! I would highly recommend considering her for any dessert! Also-- her classes are pretty amazing too! Thank you Marlie for everything. I will be ordering again soon!

I don't live locally, so I did an extensive search to find the perfect person who could pull off a…read morewild cake idea for my dear local friend, and WOW did Marlie deliver!!! It was an Edward Cullen themed cake, and we were SO happy with the result! Marlie was a dream to work with. Please consider her if you are in need of celebration treats!

We recently moved to the area and were looking for a decent bakery to get sweets from. We are so…read moredelighted to have found this gem. We have picked up multiple cakes for birthday and anniversary events from this bakery. The smell of bread and sugar can be smelled walking towards the store. There is always a line of people here waiting to get their goodies. My chocoholic little one who loves to try out chocolate lava cake from different restaurants and bakeries, thinks that this place has the best one! Very moist and indulgent! I have not seen very many bakeries that make the "Brown Derby" cake. It is chocolatey, yet light and refreshing with the fruit. They have a deli counter, but we have yet to try any of the items there, as we always walk out of there with many cookies and other treats. But, we will one day.

Petcher's in Harrison. Mazur's in Lyndhurst…read more Brother's in Kearny. Vitello's in Nutley. Every (baking) empire eventually... crumbles. (Dad's gotta dan pun, we can't help ourselves.) With all the old guard now in the history books I began searching for a new reliable bakery. Very first visit here and... I was on the fence. Second visit... okay, I'm a fan. Subsequent visits... actually I'm a big fan. From red velvet cookies to Sfogliatella to carrot cake - they have more than enough treats to quell your sweet tooth. The breads (the reason I find myself here most times) - incredible. Rolls (of varying sizes) as well as a damn perfect bastone (crunchy and flaky, ready to be piled high for a sandwich) not to mention... the almighty Pizza Bread?! Oh, yeah. A bit more rare to find but the only proper 'pane' if/when you're going to make an Italian hot dog. They also have a side/section with a full deli if savory is more your speed. Cool staff. Good pricing. Metered street parking but be warned... this one specific street feels more like a strip mall - with probably a dozen businesses (liquor stores to salons to fitness centers to a few restaurants to...) - all vying for those spots. (And if you ever need an icebreaker at a social gathering... tell 'em "da Vinci" wasn't actually Leonardo's last name. You're sure to be a hit at the party!)

I was doing my weekly food shopping tour of northern New Jersey and wanted a cool ethnic dessert…read more Found Kurly Kurtosh on Yelp and was excited to try an authentic dessert from where my grandmother's relatives were from. I showed up a bit too early on a Saturday after a nearby lunch, keep in mind they open at 2 p.m. on Saturdays. I was not about to miss out, so I read in my car for a half hour before being "that customer" that's waiting when the door opens. The two women working took my early arrival completely in stride and were impressively professional throughout my time there. They were engaging and once they heard I was a first time customer, gave me a rundown of the menu and their process. The shop is impeccably clean, modern, and features comfortable seating. I went with an original chimney cake and it was made fresh. I selected a drizzle of their store made dulce de leche and after a brief wait, it was ready. I really enjoyed the chimney cake, crispy exterior and a tender interior. Just sweet enough. I would certainly try it with their ice cream in the future but I'm glad I tried it on its own the first time. Excellent experience!

For the 1st time in a very long time a restaurant not only lived up to, but surpassed the social…read moremedia hype ... Kurly Kurtosh is an ENTIRE EXPERIENCE that everyone needs to treat themselves to! The minute you walk inside the doors you smell HEAVEN and find yourself in a spacious yet cozy and welcoming space. The employees immediately greeted us and since we were first time customers they gave us the detailed history of the Chimney Cake and explained what all of the options were for enjoying the cake itself. We were a party of 6 so there were a lot of decisions to be made but the employees were so patient with us and ensured that our orders were nothing short of perfect! We tried everything from the cinnamon chimney cake to the pumpkin spice chimney cake to the crystal sugar chimney cake ... which were paired with every single ice cream they offered and topped with everything from dulce de leche to Nutella drizzle and served with chocolate truffles on the side .... I mean it was literally HEAVEN!!!!! The hot chimney cakes paired with the cold ice cream is complete perfection! There's truly a combination to please everyone's palette. Oh and we were able to chat with the owner Nicole who was everything you want a business owner to be. Genuinely friendly, curious about our thoughts, open to feedback, grateful for the business and an overall wonderful human being! Kurly Kurtosh was truly all around a 5 star experience! And we WILL BE BACK! PS - we didn't take as many pictures as would've like to for the review but that was because we wanted to enjoy the chimney cake while it was nice and hot!

Like stepping onto a pastry shop in Sicily!!! Great…read moreselections, delish pastries, presentation just like in Italy!!!

Amazing dessert place. You'll definitely leave with more than you shopped for. Many desserts to…read morechose from. One pastry for everyone in family. Prices aren't that bad as well. You have to park in back of building. They have their own private lot.

No complaints about this place…read more Owner was very attentive as soon as we walked in the door, has small talk with us and answering any questions we had. He made us feel comfortable that we decided to stay and sit instead of taking our treats to go. A few tables have different games from checker boards to uno cards and we waited for our treats we were setting up the games which then he even served us himself and moved us to a bigger table to have more space. My best friend and I enjoyed the crepe and icecream and the aesthetic and coziness of the place! It's a very cute and clean spot!

Rip off. I ordered a large ice cream with Reese's Pieces that was charged extra there are exactly…read morefive Reese's Pieces and this ice cream cost over $18 with delivery so take off the delivery and the tip and totally not worth it

Stopped by little daisy bake shop to get some treats for my wife and I to sample. She's been dying…read moreto try this place and we were both super happy that we did! The shop is super nice inside and the staff are super friendly and helpful (they recommended their cinnamon bun among other things). Everything we ate was delicious, the cinnamon bun was one of the best I've ever had and the crumb cake was out of this world. You could taste just how fresh baked everything was. If you're looking for a great bakery in the area, look no further!

Super friendly and welcoming staff. Clean, modern store decor with counter style seating in the…read morefront window and a few stools. The cookies are soft and delicious. Nut free establishment.

Cute "farmstand" at Boonton serving coffee, pastries (if you…read morecan make it before they sell out!!) and curly's ice cream. family-run business and staff were so friendly you feel very welcomed. Good amount of parking space and love the outdoor seating. Can get busy and pastries sell out fast so best to visit early mornings or before lunch time.

This place has cute outdoor seating although I went on a rainy morning and couldn't take advantage…read more The latte was okay. They had different syrups to choose from. Service was fine.