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Vesta, East Rutherford

6/12/2011

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Another week, another business trip. This time it was a trip to New Jersey and the hotel was near the Meadowlands Sports complex. Probably not somewhere you’d stay by choice. There was a restaurant (Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse) next door to the hotel but it was closed for renovations. There were no obvious alternatives so it was choose a direction and see if a restaurant turned up. First choice direction turned up a Gentlemen’s club and nothing else. Backtracking and going in completely the opposite directions brought up a whole load of eating alternatives and I opted for Vesta Wood-fired Pizza & Bar.

Pizza had seemed like a good option but there were other items that sounded more appetizing. Chosen starter was beets and goat’s cheese. With the wonderful dish from  Lumière still fresh in the memory, a craving for the beetroot/goat’s cheese had to be satisfied. The dish was a mix of red and golden beetroot, pear, goat’s cheese, plum tomato and red wine vinaigrette. This was quite nice despite a couple of massive flaws. There was no sign of the goat’s cheese unless it had been blended with the red wine vinaigrette and the pear might have eventually been ripe about a week and a half after it was served on this plate. Being the US, serving size was totally out of control too. This was sufficient starter for four people, not just one lone diner. 
Picture
The main was short rib braised in red wine and porcini over polenta. The kitchen really sold themselves short here.  The dish looked like a dog’s dinner. Why set the short ribs adrift on a sea of polenta? And what was gained from sticking a rosemary twig in it? Such a shame because the core of the dish round the short ribs was delicious. Summary - The short ribs and sauce were polished off with enthusiasm and a big bowl of leftover polenta went back to the kitchen. 
Picture
Overall verdict.
The kitchen seemed more focused on large portions than quality control but flavour-wise the basic dishes were okay. 

Would I revisit Vesta?
 I hope never to stay in that part of New Jersey again. However, if business takes me there, Vesta was a decent place to eat. 

Overall Rating - 3/5
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