Plans Underway for Bloomfield’s Second Restaurant Week

Over 20 local eateries taking part in weeklong restaurant showcase in August.

Hope you're hungry this summer. Bloomfield will hold its Second Annual Restaurant Week from Sunday, Aug. 4 through Saturday, Aug. 10.  More than 20 local eateries are expected to delight customers with prix-fixe menu selections. The offers include multiple-course lunches at $15 or less and dinners for $30 or less, excluding tax, tips and drinks. “If you’re a foodie, Bloomfield is the place to be during our Second Annual Bloomfield Restaurant Week,” Anthony Lauro, owner of Anthony’s Cheesecakes, and one of the Bloomfield Restaurant Week committee members, said. "You will get to see what our talented chefs have to offer Riding on the success of the first event in 2012, organizers are optimistic that the second food week event will yield an …

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Five Questions With

Anthony's Cheesecake Owners Dish on Thanksgiving

Philip Byrne and Anthony Lauro share dessert tips and give thanks before Turkey Day

It's the most wonderful – and busiest – time of the year at Anthony's Cheesecake in Bloomfield. Co-owners of the beloved Washington Street shop Anthony Lauro and Philip Byrne stepped out of the kitchen Tuesday to talk holiday desserts, what they're thankful for this Turkey Day and more for Patch's "Five Questions With" column. What Thanksgiving dessert is everyone ordering from your store? No surprise here: Lauro and Byrne said pumpkin cheesecake is their biggest seller this time of year, with sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie not far behind. How many orders have you racked up for Thanksgiving? The quaint shop has gotten at least 400 orders so far for Thanksgiving pies and cheesecakes and will be baking through Thursday. "I always find the …

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Bloomfield Eateries Part of 'A Tasteful Experience'

Delicious event raises more than $60,000 for children's medical treatment at Clara Maass

The eighth annual "A Tasteful Experience" showcasing fare from Bloomfield restaurants raised more than $60,000 last Monday for children's medical treatment at Clara Maass Medical Center. Anthony's Cheesecake, Gencarelli's Bakery, Orange Squirrel and Stamna Greek Taverna were among area restaurants to partake in the annual food tasting at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange. "We were so delighted at the wonderful community support and response to A Tasteful Experience," said Mary Ellen Clyne, president and CEO of Clara Maass Medical Center, in a statement. "Our medical center treats thousands of children and supports their families through that process. These funds are critical in helping them receive the best experience possible through …

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Suburban Essex Chamber of Commerce, Donna Pietroiacovo

2:23 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thank you to Gencarelli's Bakery for your continuous support in our local community over the years. Suburban Essex Chamber of Commerce   more ›

Anthony's Cheesecake Cafe to Open for Dinner

Popular cafe to open for dinner three nights a week

In honor of its upcoming two-year anniversary, Anthony's Cheesecake Cafe will soon be serving dinner.  The popular café will be open three nights a week for dinner, starting September 27, said owner Anthony Lauro. Already one of Bloomfield’s top breakfast and lunch destinations, Anthony’s will mark its two-year anniversary on October 1. “September 27 will be a soft opening,” explained Lauro, sitting outside his café last week with co-owner Philip Byrne. “Later on there will be a big grand opening.” On the menu will be homemade soups, fresh salads and appetizers to start, with specialty seafood, meat and vegetarian entrees.  New seasonal and traditional dishes, which will include lasagna, shrimp scampi and skirt steak, will be served, along…

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Bloomfield Family Treated to Special Lunch

Anthony Lauro, owner of Anthony's Cheesecake cafe, invited Mayra and Tony Pastore to be his guest for lunch.

  For the first time in seventeen years, Mayra and Tony Pastore, the devoted parents of two children with disabilities, had a week off.  They stayed right here in Bloomfield and made the most of it. The week’s events included dinner at Bella Napoli and Houlihans in Secaucus, a Yankees-Rangers game, a dinner party with friends, and a couple of movies.   “We went to see Hope Springs at Clifton Commons,” said Mayra.  “It was a very good movie.” The Pastores are parents of 16-year-old Jessica, who is blind as a result of a brain tumor, and 14-year old Danny, who is non-verbal autistic.  Though both attend out-of-town schools for special needs children, they live at home with their parents.  Mayra and Tony have devoted their lives for to taking…

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Local Restaurants Contribute to Clara Maass Cancer Center Fundraiser

The annual event, “A Tasteful Experience,” raised $70,000

  To benefit its newly-expanded, state-of-the-art Cancer Center, the Clara Maass Medical Center Foundation raised more than $70,000 with its annual fundraiser, “A Tasteful Experience” held Nov. 14 at Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange.  “We are so grateful to all of the attendees, from the guests to the restaurants and beverage purveyors who donated their time, talent and product,” said Jane Newman Kessler, CFRE, vice president, Clara Maass Medical Center Foundation. “Participation in this event equates to real dollars for an important cause.” More than 350 guests attended the eleventh annual fundraising event, including WABC-TV Eyewitness News anchor Ken Rosato, all of whom dined on food from 45 of the area's finest restaurants and …

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