Welcome to Em & M: the first-ever meal critics of The Echo. Sparked by a love of chocolate and a play on words, we, Emily Dayton and Malini Jathavedam, are excited to take you along for our 3-year-long tour of the finest restaurants, cafes, and eateries near Tenafly, New Jersey. We call ourselves “meal critics” rather than “food critics” for one very particular reason: we review more than just food. We will be exploring other factors, such as service, price, ambiance, vibes—everything it takes to create the perfect dining experience. As food connoisseurs, we sample foods from both vegetarian and meat-eating perspectives since we aim to share the best meals for all to try.
Picture this: you are sitting in a cozy restaurant with music softly playing in the background. The snow falls outside the window, piling up on the streets. You are surrounded by a group of friends, and soon, family-style appetizers take over our table. Calamari, eggplant rollatini, meatballs, and mini pizza are amongst the many that Cork and Crust has to offer. We loved the small portion sizes; they were enough to keep us full until our meals, but still counted as a light bite.
The pizza was our favorite with its thin crust and fresh tomatoes. The eggplant rollatini was a close second, with cheese oozing from the sides. Malini, an aspiring non-vegetarian, tried to eat a piece of calamari but failed to do so. Emily tried calamari for the first time, too, and we have to say it was a disappointment. It wasn’t as crispy as expected, and the bite of the octopus seemed to be a little thick. It was chewy with a soft breading, and we would have rathered a thinner inside and crispier breading. We thought it was very similar to the texture of an onion ring, but the center was too tough.
Emily decided to stick with a classic and went with rigatoni vodka. When the food came, Emily was astonished by the portion size. It was a mountain of pasta, and even after she thought she had made decent progress, there was still so much left. Large portion sizes are never a complaint, though. The pasta sauce was extremely creamy, and each piece of pasta was perfectly soaked in it. The flavoring of the sauce was there, but not overpowering. Overall, Emily thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and her only regret was filling up on pillowy-soft bread before she knew the pasta sizes.
Malini ordered the Wild Mushroom Ravioli and was blown away. This ravioli was hands down one of the best bites of the year. It had the thinnest pasta, cooked perfectly al dente and was sopping in the truffle cream sauce. The filling wasn’t overly heavy or cheesy, and gave a fantastic pasta-to-mushroom ratio. The only thing we weren’t the biggest fans of was the sheer size of each piece of ravioli. While they had a great bite all together, it was quite the mouthful. A smaller piece may be easier to eat in the future.
With large portion sizes and delicious appetizers and entrees, it was clear we would be taking some food home. To our surprise, the mushroom ravioli heated up perfectly in the microwave the next day, and while the cheese in the rigatoni vodka seemed to separate, it still tasted great. Cork and Crust is a great place to host a party of any size and can accommodate large numbers of people. Next time you’re in the mood for some elevated Italian dishes, check out Cork and Crust.
