Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
Lifestyle Designs

RESTAURANT REVIEWS/GOURMET FOOD SHOPS

True Artists at Artisan Bread, Wine, and Cheese in Chester

By Barbara Seelig Brown

Artisan Bread, Wine & Cheese
350 Route 24 East
Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: 908-879-0300
E-mail: artisanbwc@earthlink.net

Hours:
Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m.
All major credit cards accepted

Do you get excited when you walk into a gourmet or wine shop? If you never have but might like to give it a try, treat yourself to a new experience and visit Artisan Bread, Wine and Cheese in on Route 24 in Chester. Not only will your senses be aroused by the aromas of freshly baked artisan breads, just brewed coffee and gourmet cheeses, you will be impressed by the "artisans" working there with their extremely high level of enthusiasm and expertise in their respective areas.

Sean Coyne is the bread baker and he actually does shape each loaf of bread by hand. Coyne walked me through his bread baking routine, which begins at midnight. The kitchen is immaculate and the equipment kept to a minimum to ensure that you are purchasing a true artisan product.

Coyne attended the Culinary Institute of America after college and has worked in such notable kitchens as Gramercy Tavern, Sullivan Street Bakery, Amy's Bread and Balthazar in New York. In fact, the bread-baking oven, which is massive, was purchased from Balthazar when they decided to take their retail bread baking operation to Englewood New Jersey.

The oven was imported from France by Balthazar and now, fortunately for us, happily resides in Chester.

The passion that Coyne exuded when describing his craft made me want to go home and start baking. Coyne uses all organic flours to produce his breads. He mixes, kneads and shapes to ensure that you get to appreciate the character, flavor and distinction of each type of bread produced. I assure you that this is accomplished. On my visit to Artisan, I tasted all of the breads, bought some for dinner that night and my guests insisted on taking the leftovers home.

The bread menu is as follows:
* Currant Walnut @ $4.89
* Olive & Herb Baguette (with Green Olives) @ $2.99
* Rustic Loaf @ $3.49
* French Style Wheat & Rye Loaf @ $3.00 per pound
* Traditional Baguette @ $1.89
* Nine Grain @ $4.49
* Ciabatta (Rolls) @ $.99 each

The Cheese expert is Stacey McClutchy who attended Johnson & Wales, and has worked in food all her life, including a long time family cheese shop in Upper Montclair.

Stacey is glad to show you and describe any of the cheeses that are available. The selection changes regularly as smaller quantities are ordered to ensure freshness.

I visit gourmet shops anywhere I go and any chance I get but have never seen some of the cheeses that I tasted at Artisan. Being a real fan of anything Italian, I had to try the Pecorino Stagianato which was hard, well seasoned, sharp and absolutely delicious. This was a nice contrast to the Italian Baita, which was soft and mellow. But we didn't stop with Italy; we also visited Tasamania and sampled the Roaring 40's that was a sweet soft blue. When paired with the currant walnut bread, I was hooked. The surprise was the goat cheese cheddar from Quebec that can be used as a table cheese or in cooking.

Coyne and I were swapping ideas and decided that it was perfect for "grown-up" macaroni and cheese. Stacey is also offering Tartines which are large sections of baguette with jam and butter or cheese and oven roasted tomatoes. These are available for breakfast or a mini lunch item.

A delicious selection of sandwiches is also available. The Roasted Portobello Mushroom with Garlic, Slow Roasted Tomatoes, and Zucchini on Ciabatta @ $4.75 is to die for! But there are other equally delicious choices such as Oven Roasted Turkey with Manchego, Mayonnaise and Mango Chutney on a Baguette at $5.25 or the Sopresata with Mimma's Mozzarella at $5.45. Mimma's mozzarella is store-made and named after the lady who taught Coyne to make Mozzarella.

Ah the wine...many of you probably remember Tony Caristi from The Wine Cellars of Bernardsville. He's back and is co-owner of Artisan with Coyne and Michael Peter's of Pierre's Bistro in Morristown. In fact, Pierre's is now serving Artisan's breads.

Caristi searches out smaller growers and producers and hand selects the wines for the shop. He wants to ensure that he has quality wines that are true values for his clients. A great medium bodied white for summer is the Castelvero Piemonte Cortese at $7.99. With its pale green color, hints of citrus and mineral it can be enjoyed with lighter summer foods or as a sipper on the deck. You can also join Caristi for Wine Tastings and Wine Dinners at Pierre's on a monthly basis. Please call or e-mail Tony for details.

You will also find a selection of American and European micro brewed beers, from hard to find microbreweries that exhibit a variety of styles for all tastes. Two notables are Weyerbacher Hefeweizen from Easton, PA and Dogfish Head from Lewes, DE, made by Sam Calgione a former college roommate of Sean Coyne.

Gift baskets are also available. The team art Artisan couldn't stress more the importance that they place on trying to accommodate special requests for cheeses or custom baskets.

Artisan Bread, Wine & Cheese with its family of artisans, and fine food and wine is a must for all who know can appreciate quality. And along those lines, Tony invited Maggie back and she is at the register looking just as spiffy as ever!

Stress Free Cooking by Barbara Seelig Brown's Lifestyle Designs

RESTAURANT REVIEWS/GOURMET FOOD SHOPS

True Artists at Artisan Bread, Wine, and Cheese in Chester

Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
Lifestyle Designs