A friend of mine alerted me to CulinAriane, so Karen and I thought we would give it a try.

33 Walnut Street
Montclair
973-744-0533

When we arrived, we thought we had the wrong address. The LAST place in Montclair that you would expect ANY restaurant, let alone one that is so highly touted. Tables set up outside, but the sidewalk, grass near the curb and the overall area outside was grim and not worthy of sitting outside.

When you walk inside, the room is very unappealing, being a square room, with ONE wall AC and ONE heater (which is located inbetween the curtain that seperates the dining area from the kitchen) and the kitchen. In the winter, that heater can't do much. In the summer, that AC wasn't doing enough.

Tables are set close together, with no ambience at all.

The food is another story. Outstanding in many ways.

I ordered the: Jumbo Lump Crabcake, Grain Mustard Remoulade, Mache $14. The lumps of crabmeat in it were as big as half of one of my fingers, and I have big hands. The crabcake was the size of a thick hockey puck. But the kicker was that it was delicious.

Karen ordered the Sashimi Tuna Flower, Crispy Wontons, Pickled Cucumber, Wasabi Crème Fraiche $14. I would have liked to see the tuna a little colder, but that is my personal preference. It was delicious. Perfect texture and one that I would order over and over, as I would the crabcakes. We opened a '00 Fevre "Valmur" Chablis. Delicious wine, with tons of ripe lemons, without being too tart. I am not that familiar with the aging needs and abilities of Chablis, but to me, this needs at least another 2-3 years to shine, although it was perfectly fine tonight.

For dinner, I ordered the Grilled Filet Mignon, Lobster Scampi with Mascarpone mashed potatoes in a Cabernet reduction sauce. $34. By this time, we were already getting a bit full, so we only ate about half, but it was outstanding. Not quite as great as the apps, but still terrific.

Karen ordered the Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Imported Mushrooms Ragout, White Truffle Oil $24. This dish was unreal. The scallops were the size of my cell phone. Seriously, they were at least 1 1/2" thick and were more than 2" in diameter. Cooked perfectly medium rare. The mushrooms were huge enough where you had to take about 1/4 of the scallop and about half of the mushroom for each bite, and that was a mouthful. But each bite was delicious. We loved it, but could not finish it.

We opened a '96 Bertani Amarone with our Entrees. I love this wine. This was my last bottle. I should look for some more. A terrific Amarone without becoming too much of a good thing. I love a great amarone.

For dessert, we shared a Tangerine Cobbler with Cinnammon ice cream. Not only was it scrumptious, but it was huge. Good thing we only ordered one dessert.

Great food....outstanding food. Decent service, passable decor. It is what it is. Dinner before tip was $ 102. Add in $30 and it was a great meal for a decent price, to us at least. Montclair has some great places to eat, including Fascino, and Nouveau Sushi....two of our favorites.

Enjoy!

Steve