Mosaica was my first kosher concept. I personally found a space in a dated Strip mall that was in it's last incarnation a real estate office. I tore down the tattered ceilings and gutted the worn office carpet and designed and built the physical restaurant myself.  A 60 seat Mediterranean bistro located in the New Jersey suburb of Vauxhall, between Short Hills and Maplewood NJ and a 30 min train ride to Manhattan.  Mosaica, It's name is the italian form of `Mosaic conjuring up its ancient origins of a rich and shared food history.  The 14 countries bordering the Mediterranean  are like the tiles of a mosaic which come together to create a unique cuisine with distinctive ingredients and techniques. This concept is where I employed all I had learned from my tenure at Savoy in Manhattan under the mentorship of chef Peter Hoffman. Like Savoy the menu was connected to the farmers market and the Garden State's finest local growers of produce like Matarazzo farms for those famous beefsteak tomatoes. The warm bistro like ambience included an open kitchen  design to allow our patrons to indulge all the senses with the  sounds and aromas of a busy professional  kitchen. The weekly rustic menu changed seasonally and Moroccan style petit fours and mint tea were gratis at every table. The concept was born out of a desire to create an experience of french bistro service in a Casablanca atmosphere inviting the customer to become  lost in the experience of a wonderful meal with family and friends. In it's inaugural year we received a 3 star, very good rating by The New York Times and we were included in the top ten best new restaurants of New Jersey also by the New York Times.

 

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