UPtown Looks to UP the Ante

An important element to a food review is that the place you're reviewing has no idea you're reviewing it. That way, you get the same type of meal anyone else would receive. Otherwise, a place can pull out all the stops to make sure the reviewer's meal is top notch.

So, this is actually not a review, because did exactly that this week. That said, they still made a hell of a first impression.

Once known as Palm Bar, this John Street business just over the Morristown border in Morris Township once was open only three nights a week, only in the summer. Then, it closed for a while, only to be reborn as UPtown, a seven-days-a-week business advertising itself as an all-in-one entertainment destination, appealing to those same fist-pumpin', shot-shooting party people it always had appealed to, but also sport fanatics and, finally, those looking for a good meal.

The latter is what brought myself and a friend to UPtown Thursday evening, as they had invited local media to partake in Chef Philip Lobo's culinary creations, a sort of "best of" collection of what this Atlantic Culinary Academy graduate has to offer.

The dining portion of UPtown only went online a few weeks ago, Lobo noted as he introduced himself to us. Given Palm Bar was not a dining destination, it had been some time since the kitchen had been utilized, and required extra time to get up to snuff.

Although this summer, this was the first time I personally had checked it out. For the most part, I was impressed. It's large, with plenty of tables for diners, which can easily be moved out of what they call "The Arena" in order for it to become a late night dance floor. Adapt to survive.

Jessica Dolese, our server and organizer of the media tasting, poured us some wine and started with a small sampling of several house made hummus, with lightly-crisped pita triangles. The olive hummus, and original, were nice. But, it was the red pepper hummus, with a slight unami touch, that had both myself and my friend taking notice.

Next came a simple garden salad, which was surprisingly one of my favorite items of the night. Served with a light apple cider vinagrette, the clean tones of the greens was surprisingly pleasant.

Several other mini-courses followed, which included a tasty pulled pork slider, with homemade barbecue sauce, a mahi mahi wrap, baby back ribs (the only blemish, as they tasted reheated) with some excellent baked beans, tender shrimps atop rice and a very tender braised shortrib with mashed potatoes that may have had a pat of butter per bite. Delicious (maybe not health food, but that was not the intention).

There was careful attention to every plate, and it was clear Lobo and the rest of the UPtown staff are serious about bringing food into the forefront of what they are known for. This has me excited, because I honestly would never go here when it's packed to the gills with what appears to be the leftovers from a Jersey Shore casting call. Just not my scene.

But, there is something very unique about UPtown that I want to experience. The openness of the space, the multitude of televisions and, of course, what ultimately was a very enjoyable meal.

Now, UPtown needs to make sure they keep up this consistency for when we actually review them. We hope to be impressed when we eventually go in cold. But, as far as first impressions, they're off to a good start.