A lot of last-minute decisions were made on Saturday afternoon, and this was one of them. I stopped by Dharma Bums with an old chum for lunch prior to a wild winery visit a few minutes' drive away. I grew up probably 25 minutes or so from this area in Hunterdon County, and I have quite a few young pup memories of driving past the wild, large antique store just up the road on the way to visit Peddlers Village or the sheep in Lahaska. Despite not being entirely sure where this was located, the signage made it pretty easy to spot, and I was able to secure parking right off the street with minimal drama.
It WAS a little more difficult to find the entrance, which was on the side toward the very back of the building (a ye olde stone one, for the record). Our first attempt to get inside (which admittedly just involved staring quizzically at a door that didn't look like it got a ton of use from the public) was unsuccessful, but there were instructions there to use a different, "barrel" door. Upon discovery, the barrel door was exactly what it sounds like - a giant barrel-like structure that had star decorations hanging from the interior that reminded me of Spencer Gifts. Once inside, my chum noted that this space used to be a dive bar, which sounded about right. Dive bars around here are either in dilapidated shacks or restored colonial buildings, and I was pleased to be in the latter.
Although the mac and cheese bites looked intriguing, I ended up getting the Grilled Cheese entree with fries. The Grilled Cheese was prepped with naan bread and tomato chutney; it was better than I thought it would be, with a fun flavor profile for the palate. The chutney gave it some sweetness and spice that separated this from the standard menu option you'd get anywhere else. The fries were a mistake, at least in terms of my personal palate preference - I'm a crispy fry adherent and these were pretty squishy on the whole. They also definitely needed ketchup for flavoring purposes. I'm sure there are plenty of customers who enjoy these, but they weren't my jam.
As much as I enjoy my spot at the top of the food chain, I didn't mind putting that to the side for a meal here (an unapologetically vegetarian establishment). There were a few other options on the menu I'd have zero issue sampling as well, and the service was perfectly fine. As an added bonus for the literary nerds out there, you can munch on your food in the presence of a portrait of Jack Kerouac. I prefer the thirst trap known as F. Scott Fitzgerald, but different strokes for different folks. read more